Looming Dark Cloud

For the past days the Tulosans had been chasing them. No. Chasing might not be the right word. They were being harassed, hunted like prey. His host of a few hundred cavalry which escaped Knightsend had been reduced to less than a hundred.

This morning a pleasant news presented itself though. A group of Castonian cavalry requested to meet with them. Kristof thought that the soldiers belong to King Timothy. They will finally reach a safe haven.

But his expectations were shattered when he saw the annoying face of Ryon. The moment he saw him, he realized what Ryon had done.

"Deserted. Haven't we?" Kristof asked as his mount inched closer to Ryon.

"Ave, Prefect Kristof"

Ryon presented his arm to Kristof and waited for him to grab it. This could have been a salute among equals. But Kristof just looked at Ryon's arm. He was still vexed that Ryon abandoned his post in Greenwater.

Ryon slowly lowered his arm. "You would have done the same if you were the one in my position"

"No. I am no deserter like you. What can you do anyway? You can't rescue the Marquis with such a meager force."

Ryon blinked a few times and opened his mouth. "You haven't heard, have you? Of course. You haven't"

"Heard what?"

"Kristof" Ryon looked at him with a grim expression. "The Marquis is dead. He was executed by General Rickard. The rest of the defenders are probably also dead."

Almost instinctively, Kristof let out a chuckle after hearing this. Nonsense. Ryon was saying that Marquis Benedict is dead. He continued his chuckle and waited for Ryon to change his expression. But Ryon's grim face remained.

"It's true. He's dead Kristof."

Kristof's chuckle slowly died. "You surely jest. You have always been less serious when it comes to our job. That's why the Marquis has always favored me."

Ryon grabbed his hand and put a piece of paper on his palm. "Read"

Kristof unrolled the paper and read it. His expression turned from pleasant to bleak. It was true, the Marquis is dead.

Kristof felt his heart clench. It was his fault. He should have taken his men, stormed the castle and rescued the Marquis. Even if it cost him his life he should have. Instead he ran away.

He mocked Ryon earlier for abandoning his post in Greenwater. But after knowing what happened, he would have also done the same. General Rickard needs to pay for his crimes.

"And King Timothy? Is he coming?" Kristof asked angrily. The best course of action for now was to offer their service to King Timothy.

"He is. In fact we have spotted his army a few days ago. We were planning on joining him but we… we lost the courage to face him. We are deserters after all."

"But we must. We can't do anything on our own. Let's go see him together Ryon. If he punishes us, then so be it."

"Right." Ryon nodded. There was reluctance in that nod.

"Prefect! Tulosans!" A soldier behind pointed. Kristof looked at the direction and saw hundreds of horsemen riding towards them. The banner was that of the Whistlers. It seemed their pursuers had already caught up.

Kristof and Ryon looked at each other. Both of them understood that they can't outrun the Whistlers. So they must fight.

"Form a wedge!" The two of them shouted in chorus. In just a few moments, a wedge was formed with the two of them at the front.

Kristof wanted to be the sole apex. He wanted to be the only one at the very front. But with their lives on the line, he doesn't want old rivalries to tie them down.

They galloped towards the enemies. They were outnumbered but there was no other way other than forward. But when they were about to slam against the enemies, another group of horsemen appeared.

Knights. Kristof knew what that armor meant. They were Knights and there were about a Century of them. Battling the Whistlers was somewhat easy. But Knights? They will need a miracle to defeat the Knights.

Surprisingly, the Knights didn't attack them. They rushed towards the Whistlers and hit them hard. Kristof saw several Whistlers impaled by the heavy lances of the Knights. The scene in front of him was unbelievable. The Knights and the Whistlers should be allies right?

It wasn't even a battle. The Whistlers routed as soon as the Knights hit them. Of course with their heavy armor and sturdy horses, the Knights couldn't give chase. Kristof, Ryon and their men stopped just a few dozen meters from the Knights.

The Knights approached them. Kristof surveyed his men and he could see that some of them wanted to run. He also wanted to run. Even though Castonian prowess was not to be underestimated, the Knights were the masters of mounted warfare.

When the Knights were just a few meters away, they stopped. The man at the front removed his helm. Kristof doesn't know who he was but from the man's movements he could decipher that he was someone of high rank.

"Henry Molt?" It was Ryon beside him who talked first.

Kristof examined the Knight. So his name is Henry Molt. He then realized the meaning behind the name. Henry Molt was a legend among the Knights. The Knights liked to call him 'First Spear' for his habit of leading a charge from the front, always first and always deadly. Kristof had heard that First Spear became a Prefect when he was just seventeen, the youngest in the history of the Knights of Tulosa. There were also rumors that if not because of his age, Prefect Henry would have become one of the three Masters.

"Greetings Prefect Ryon" Henry smiled. "You have changed a lot since we parted in Greenwater."

"Changed? How?" Ryon asked.

"When we were in Greenwater, you were still a good Prefect. But now.." Henry's smile faded. "You have deserted your post and went against orders. His Majesty is not pleased with your actions."

Henry then looked at him. "Our scouts have also spotted you. We're glad we made it in time. King Timothy has ordered me to bring you to him."

Kristof was still astonished. A Knight serving King Timothy was surprising enough. But the Knight was First Spear.

"Will King Timothy execute us?" Kristof asked.

"I don't think he will do that" Henry turned his gaze to Ryon "As for him, I don't know. But King Timothy is magnanimous so don't worry about your friend."

"He is not my friend" Kristof denied. "We are colleagues but not friends"

"I see" Henry nodded. "Then shall we go?"

*********

It was already night when the two Prefects were presented to Timothy.

"We accept your punishment!" the two said simultaneously while kneeling in front of him.

One of them, Prefect Ryon, deserves to be imprisoned or even executed if the decision of a military tribunal is to be followed. The other, Prefect Kristof, was faultless in his eyes. Nevertheless the act of running away from battle still translates to desertion and some people would always stick to technicalities. In short, both of them were deserters. But Timothy decided to give the two a less severe punishment. They were good leaders and he needed leadership in his ranks now more than ever.

"Fine. I will not execute you. But you are demoted to the rank of Centurion. Go back to your men." Timothy said.

"Thank you King Timothy" Centurion Ryon said.

"We accept this punishment" Centurion Kristof bowed

The two men then left his tent and Timothy was left alone with Lucia. He was glad that was over. He had so many things on his mind that deciding the punishment of deserters was the least of his concerns.

Timothy rose and went to the table where a huge map was laid.

"That was quick" Lucia said. She went to him and cuddled on his chest.

"I don't have time to deal with trivial matters. General Rickard marched out of Knightsend and is only a few days' march away. A battle is going to start soon."

"But isn't this good news? This confirms that he has no reinforcements"

Timothy looked into her eyes. Even after several months of being with her, he was still amazed by her intelligence. She doesn't have experience in military planning but she correctly inferred the situation.

General Rickard had no reinforcements. He had only realized this yesterday when the scouts reported that the Tulosans had marched out of Knightsend along with the treacherous mercenaries. Rickard had the castle and he still chose to meet him in the field. He thought hard of the reason why Tulosan General would do that. While cavalry is deadly in field battles, hiding behind the walls of Knightsend would be a better choice. The Tulosans could just stay inside and wait for reinforcements. They could then destroy the Castonians with their superior numbers.

But General Rickard marched out of the Castle. This means that he was afraid of being sieged which brought Timothy to the conclusion that General Rickard was alone. The King of Tulosa might have given up on the invasion and General Rickard doesn't have reinforcements.

"Yes. But I'm still concerned. Facing him will not be easy. Those Knights under him are dangerous. To make matters worse, our allies are unreliable. And the mercenaries under your father can't be trusted. I don't know… "

Lucia then did a surprising thing. She put her lips into his. He shouldn't have been surprised by this since giving sudden smooches was a habit of hers- a habit he enjoys. But every time she does this, he couldn't help but be surprised.

He enjoyed the taste of Lucia Vanadis and closed his eyes. He could feel her warm breaths and her soft lips. A feeling of calmness enveloped him.

After their lips parted, she smiled at him. "You have so many worries on your mind. Just relax and let me handle half of it. We are partners aren't we?"

Timothy smiled. He was reminded that Lucia was not just his lover. She was also his ally, the person in the world he trusts the most.

She had become the most important to him. He was committed in winning this war and the throne of Castonia not just for the people, but also for her. He wanted to give her the best.

For this reason, he was worried. Although the Spectator had agreed to keep Lucia safe, there was no telling what's going to happen.

"We are. But Lucia if something happens to me, If I die, I want you to…"

"No" There was anger in her voice. "I told you already, I don't want to hear such defeatist words. We have decided that we will win"

She let go of her embrace and turned away. Timothy grabbed her arm.

"Listen to me Lucia" he pleaded. "If… if I am defeated, I want you to escape. You are important to me. I don't want your fate to become tied to mine."

She again looked at him. "That's my decision to make Tim. The moment I gave you my heart, I have decided to tie myself to you. If you are going to die, then I will too. If you are going to be imprisoned, then I will gladly join you in your cell."

"But I don't want that. Listen…" he slid his grasp from her arm to her hands. "I did not tell you about this but I asked the Spectator to save you if I lose. If that time comes, I want you to come with them"

"You did what!?"

"I asked them. I know I should have asked them to save me too but I know it's too much so I prioritized you. I will not forgive myself if something happens to you"

She was frowning. It was clear that she was angry. She closed her eyes and her frown slowly vanished.

"I will not come with them" she said

"Lucia…"

"Listen to me first. Living without you will mean nothing to me. Do you think I would be happy without you? No. So even if I escape or something, it would mean nothing. It's either we win together or lose together." She then hugged him. "But we will win Tim. I'm sure of it. So there's no point in worrying."

Timothy still wanted her to agree but he gave up for now. He wrapped his arms around her.

"We will continue this discussion next time. For now, let me enjoy you"

"Are you not going to plan strategies or something?" she asked. "Like what you said, we will soon face a battle"

He filled his nose with her lovely scent.

"That could wait. I will plan later" Timothy then shook his head. "No, it's better for you to help me. Two heads are better than one"

Lucia laughed. She again pecked on his lips. "After this?"

Timothy grinned and nodded. "Yes. After this"