2 The Crevia

Crevia in the 14th century was not a nation. It was a mere land that was shared by two criminals. And each one of them was ready to kill the other to take control of the entire rule of the land alone.

And this enmity was not just between these two, it also separated Crevia into two.

Deprekia kingdom on the north.

Phridor kingdom on the south.

_________

18th century. Deprekia Kingdom.

Within the walls of Deprekia kingdom, the kingdom which is known for the valour and chivalry of its knights and soldiers, known for the sincerity of its people, the kindness of its inhabitants, the brilliance of its homes, and the purity of its lands.

King William Whitely in his fifties, is known for his justice, strength, and devotion to his people and his sacrifice for them with all his might.

Wearing his white royal coat, symbolizing the peace of his kingdom, and it is the colour that surrounds most of it. On his head, there is a royal crown filled with the most precious jewels, showing his position as a king of this kingdom. On his waist, there is a golden sword studded with diamonds that has been inherited from all the generations of the ancient Whitely dynasty.

The ministers and those members in the royal throne room bowed in respect while his majesty took a seat on his golden throne.

"Your Majesty, we were able to capture some spies from the Phridor kingdom, and we found their hideout in hidden caves at our borders."

These were the words of the Prime Minister aka Eze. A pale-skinned man with drowsy eyes, and black hair, as he spoke while kneeling in devotion and respect for his King.

Everyone was waiting for the king's decision, who only made a calm gesture, demanding "Let them in."

As soon as the king voiced his order, the prime minister got up from the ground and turned around to say in a relatively loud voice tone so that the guards could hear him, "Enter the prisoners!!" Then he concluded his speech by going back to his assigned seat.

Seconds were enough for four guards to enter with their eyes directed to the ground in respect and devotion to the esteemed King.

They were dragging two men of average bodily size who were tied with steel thick chains, and there is no facial expressions on their faces.

They were not scared at all.

The guards threw the two spies on the ground in front of the feet of the king. The guards meant that movement as a humiliation for them and for the Phridor's king and to prove that their value, no matter how high it is, would always remain under the feet of king William Whitely.

The two spies raised their eyes with boldness and insolence, looking directly into the eyes of the venerable king. They smirked causing an explosion of everyone's anger, while the king clenched his teeth and narrowed his fist.

"Where is the secret tunnel?" Said the king calmly, trying to suppress everyone's anger because he could clearly see how all the throne room's members were struggling to hold themselves back so that they don't cut the head of the two spies off.

Suddenly one of the spies burst into laughter and stood up on the ground while looking into the king's eyes with rudeness and hatred. "Do you think we will betray our king's trust for you?"

The spy's tone was filled with rudeness and rebellion, in addition to looking directly into his majesty's eyes without feeling any fear and boldly disrespecting the King of the Deprekia Kingdom.

"Take them back to jail and teach them how to properly talk to King William Whitely again."

As soon as prime minister Eze finished giving his orders, the guards came forward and took the spies out of the royal throne room in order to take them back to jail, while the king left his throne silently as everyone stood for him, bowing to him in respect, and then his majesty left the throne room with a heavy heart and busy mind with everything that has been going on.

The king entered his chamber before throwing his sword hard on the ground, followed by his crown, and then sat down pulling on his hair which was light brown with some white tufts that started to appear due to his old age.

With all these pressures from the Phridor kingdom, he is afraid for his people, his wife, and his children, afraid that he will not preserve the faith and trust that his father had in him, which is to always be strong and protect the kingdom and his loyal people including his family.

After a short period of time had passed that his majesty spent staring at the floor, thinking about the future of his kingdom, suddenly a woman entered the room with cheerful facial expressions and tufts of hair that reached the middle of her back with her neck that was filled with the most expensive types of jewels.

The woman smiled softly, approaching the king, holding his hand between hers, saying, "You know very well that stressing yourself out will not solve anything, your majesty."

The king raised his gaze to her and sighed in relief, whispering "Cathleen!"

Then he approached, placing his head on her chest, and she smiled with great love for the king, surrounding him with her arms while caressing his hair.

Cathleen Ambrose is the queen of the Deprekia kingdom, the second wife of King William Whitely, whom his majesty married after his first wife's death.

The queen bit her lower lip sadly at her lover, whispering, "There's a solution to your problem. I told you months ago, but you don't listen to me."

The king immediately shook his head after raising his arms to hug his wife back and still resting his head on her chest, while she was still caressing his hair, adding, "I can't, he's the crown prince. He's my son. I can't send him to war with the Phridors, and I'm sure we are losing. And you are asking me to send all my children. I can't do this, I can't! What if something happens to them? I will lose my mind if just one of them got hurt. I can't."

Cathleen sees the crown prince Claudius just like her own son. Even though she did not give birth to him, she raised him as if she was his real mother.

And she does not differentiate between him and her children by blood, and the king is aware of this, as is the case with princes and princesses and the crown prince himself.

"I don't want any of them to get hurt either, but if sacrificing one of the princes will save millions of people in our kingdom, we have to consider this. The three princes know this, they know their responsibilities and they are ready to go and sacrifice their life for their people. Think about it William, if we don't do anything, the princes will end up dead anyway when the Phridors succeed in crossing our borders."

__________

The twenty-three-year-old prince Sebastian Whitely has a beautiful smile with deep dimples that are located on both of his cheeks, he was standing in the training ground inside the royal palace of Deprekia kingdom, duelling with his twenty-one-year-old brother Logan Whitely.

"Sabastian, do you think the king will send Claudius to the war with the Phridors?" This was a question that was asked by prince Logan to his older brother.

Sebastian pulled his sword away and hummed before attacking the younger prince with his sword again who smoothly attacked back while listening to Sabastian talking "His Majesty has no other solution. Logan, father has to declare the war on the Phridor kingdom before they do when we are not paying attention to them. I understand he is worried about us, but we have to do something to save our people."

After a short period of time, Logan sighed tiredly and sat on the ground, when two servants approached them, offering them water "We will lose in the war without a doubt, Sabastian, they are cowards. They always attack from the back."

The older prince sighed while drinking water, listening to what Logan was saying, which was utterly right, everyone was worried about this war.

It is true that they possess the same number of soldiers and the same quality of weapons as the Pheridor kingdom, but the Phridors are known for their treachery.

While the kingdom of Deprekia is known as an honourable kingdom, its soldiers fight with courage and magnanimity and do not stab anyone in the back. They respect and love their king to the point of sacrificing their lives for him.