The First-born Royal (III)

The name Hexie meant 'To be in harmony' in Thaleia, there were two powerful people that the rest of the kingdoms feared greatly. The first being the Marquis of Order, a simple human blessed with the strength and skill of One Thousand Men, he had unsurpassed strength, he was strong enough to lift a boulder that weighed over a thousand pounds, and with that strength he would wield the Great Hexie Sword. To an average human, the weight of the sword would be equivalent to the weight of a mountain, it was too heavy for mere folks to hold. The sword also came with its own magic, it could be able to come in harmony with the Marquis of Order, the man and sword would become one. The man could feel everything the sword was feeling, be able to order the sword and open up the trick hidden deep Inside of it.

However, it was different for Ares. He had not the strength of One Thousand Men nor was he one with the sword. He could only wield the sword but not harmonize with it. The sword rejected him for reasons unknown but at the same time acknowledged him as the Marquis. Due to this, many kingdoms regarded Ares as a failure, as a laughing stock. The news of his inability to unite with the sword had become a tale to placate children. Some of the people of Thaleia sympathized with him and avowed his efforts to keep the kingdom safe, as long as he could wield the sword, he was the Marquis that deserved their respect. Some thought otherwise and mocked him openly.

Aelia could only sigh and remained quiet waiting for Augustus to get tired and long for his wife, so that they could return to the comfort of their beds.

The group had left the protection of the Palace, they had headed out to the pond with no guards whatsoever, just the four of them. It really was a terrible mistake because there were some bandits lurking in that region. The only person that was concerned and feared for their safety was Ares, the rest were all laxed, riding in their horses as they headed home.

Unfortunately, just like he feared, a man disguised in black robes and black paint on his face jumped from a nearby tree obstructing the passage of Augustus who was riding in front. The sudden appearance of that cladded man scared both Augustus and his horse, they both violently halted.

Before he could think of what to say, two other men joined the cladded man in front of Augustus, one appeared beside Aelia and the other beside Ares. Veda was riding her horse in between Aelia and Ares with Augustus in the lead.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Augustus asked. He had chosen the call approach even though nothing in the tone of his voice seemed peaceful. His deep voice reverberated throughout the forest, but it could not scare that group of bandits.

"Gold" one of the bandits replied as he pointed the tip of the sword at Augustus "and the head of the monarch of Thaleia"

So the bandits did know who they were and still disregarded them. Just like Ares had thought, these men were not people of Thaleia, because other than the men of Thaleia being farmers, they regarded their King in such a high esteem, they treasured him.

"So you do know who we are and you still dare to impede our passage?" Aelia sneered. "You seek death" as soon as she said she pulled out a sword from God knows where and jumped down from the horse, in that moment, removing the head of the bandit that stood on her side.

Ares took it as the permission to attack and he instinctively joined Aelia in fighting off those men. Aelia was not one to dabble in conversations when a bloodshed is meant to take place. Wasting time to ask them what they want and who they were did not sit right with her.

While Aelia and Ares fought off the men, Veda and Augustus surreptitiously climbed down from their horses and hid behind a boulder. The both of them were not martially fit to hang around a battlefield, so they both watched with anxiety as Aelia and Ares brought the men to their feet.

Though they were outnumbered, they were not outskilled. Harmonized with Hexie or not, Ares was still the Marquis, gifted with the insurmountable power and knowledge of the way of the sword, there was no one under the clouds that would match with him. Princess Aelia could only come close.

Those bandits must've heard about the youth and carefree nature of the King of Thaleia and the tragedy of the Marquis, so they underestimated the strength of the Kingdom. Only now that they realized that even a royal was skilled, this should show that Thaleia was not a weak Kingdom, though they were a lover of peace, they weren't to be taken for granted.

"Do not kill them." Aelia ordered Ares before he had taken the pleasure of plunging his sword into the body of a bandit. "We will bring them with us and question them" she said as she knocked out the last man standing with the hard round pommel of her sword.

Veda and Augustus sheepishly came out of hiding, Augustus in quick steps walked to where Aelia stood. He looked around and those once frightening men had been reduced to nothing but lowlives lying defeatedly on the ground after being knocked out.

"What do you plan on doing with them?" He asked Aelia as he noticed that the men were still breathing, except the first one she attacked, the one she had beheaded.

"I have some ideas, '' she replied. A vile countenance making its way to her face. Ares could see the bloodlust in her eyes as her tongue grazed over her bottom lip.

"Do you know what this means?" Ares asked randomly at the two Royals standing before him.

Augustus looked around once more, no matter how he tried to avoid the truth like a plague, to look over the insults and degradation of other Kings, there were still some things that were inevitable for example: "War" he replied to Ares.

"This means war".