Chapter 11

KRON

The draft that blew into the room tousled the papers on the table. The military planning tent barely provided heat from the cold borders unlike the other ones. My father knew this yet he had kept me waiting for almost an hour, alone.

I was used to him doing whatever he wanted but this time, time passed excruciatingly slow, the cold making it worse. Despite the fact that I was decked in full body armor, the cold still slipped through the cracks, pricking my heart.

"I found him in the garden all scratched up."

"I swear I'm not trying to hurt him."

"My name is Elayne Greycastle, your highness."

"It would be my honor, your highness."

The one who agreed to dance with me and the one who looked at me with those eyes while she held onto my brother, they were different and yet, they were the same person. Ever since we left Lady Andrella's house, I wasn't able to get her out of my head. It was maddening!

The tent flaps came up and my father walked in without a shred of guilt.

"Father."

Keeping the annoyance out of my voice was nigh impossible. He looked amused.

"Aren't you diligent? You look overeager."

"Why are we out here father?"

"To survey the land. Recently, the kingdom has been getting too small for us."

"You wish to expand, father? But that -"

"I know what it means, son. Yes, we're going to war."

The kingdom of Casella was located on a large continent, covering about 35 percent of the land. Considering the other kingdoms, it was large enough already. It was bordered by Zerramond to the north, Perimas to the far east, Uramuth to the west and south. Uramuth was our closest neighbor so if we wanted to start war, we would start with them.

But, all the countries around us were our allies. The far kingdoms were either neutral or openly hostile, especially since the death of the last king. Even some of our allies couldn't trust my father. He never said anything about it so I thought it didn't matter to him.

As always, my father was a mystery.

"You want to wage war on Uramuth?"

"No, I want to conquer the whole continent. Perhaps the world in fact."

The world? When did my father start sounding like a madman?

"You look rattled, son. Come with me, let me show you something."

The cold air welcomed us on the outside of the tent. A tremble travelled from my head to my toes while my father's gait remained steady. Sometimes, I thought he wasn't human.

The border that separated us from Uramuth, an equally large kingdom, was a ten feet tall and several miles wide wall. The army barracks was on our side of the wall and there was nothing but uneven forest slopes from there. We walked on top of the wall and looking over, there was no human or wildlife activity for miles.

It was strange. When last I'd been to the border, it was a hub of activity, especially after my father had taken over.

"Son, who was our biggest ally when we took over the kingdom?"

"The King of Perimas."

"Yes. With the help of Andrella, he became our ally and sent us help in exchange for conquering the kingdom of Uramuth."

Wait! I hadn't heard this before.

"You think he did it for free? The Kingdom of Perimas and the Kingdom of Uramuth have been secretly hostile to each other for years. King Dallas refused to intervene and resolved to keep peace between the three kingdoms. He was a foolish man till the end."

King Dallas Stavenger. He was a peaceful man that feared my father and rightfully so. In the end, he could only fall victim to his schemes. Many have fallen victim to the snake in human skin that was my father.

"Are we joining forces with the kingdom of Perimas's army?"

"No, not yet. Before then, we have to show them what we're capable of. We'll start by expanding our borders."

"Do we even have enough forces to do that? The other generals?"

"Leave those old fools alone. They're using the excuse of me not possessing the military seal to not join the army. They're probably planning something."

That was already obvious. If my father, an old general, could stage a revolt, there was nothing stopping the others.

"What are you going to do about them?"

"That is a job, I would leave to you, my dearest son. Show me you are worthy of your place as the crown prince. If you disappoint me..."

I'm the crown prince but I have numerous siblings. My father operated on a benefit level. If I didn't work well, he would dispose of me, just like Queen Moriah. It was too frightening to think about.

"Father, what happened to the military seal?"

"Oh, King Dallas didn't have it with him and even after we search the whole palace, we didn't find it. We have reasons to believe it is with Princess Ariana."

"Princess Ariana?! But I thought she was -"

"Dead? I had them release that hoping there would at least be a public reaction from the kingdom of Zerramond or the people here. I still haven't found her after all this time. She's smarter than I gave her credit for."

"D-Do you know where she is?"

He gave me a glance, making me feel stupid before his eyes returned to the rocky horizon.

"If you can, find her. But that is not your mission. You may go."

I gave a curt bow and left. My head whirled with various thoughts.

Princess Ariana is alive.

Does she want revenge?

The thought itself was ridiculous. How could a woman, a princess who had been trained for nothing else than marriage, have the senses for revenge?

Reassuring myself with that, I entered my tent. It was almost evening and I had a lot of thinking to do to fulfil my father's expectation.

Your highness. Elayne's voice filtered into my thoughts and I rapidly shook my head sideways.

No, I wouldn't let the thoughts of such a woman overwhelm me. I would not!