Chapter 33: There is no Peace without War

"Are you sure we will meet the king today?" asked Colt when they were among the crowds of people who waited for their chance to be in the presence of the king.

They waited in a hall near the court where the king was about to arrive.

Colt observed the palace around as he had never been inside the palace of Wild. He had visited the Kingdom of Vriton as an emissary and it was only his second visit to a palace of another kingdom.

"They have built one nice palace," he remarked when he looked around.

"Yeah," responded Rozerd. "They are known for building their palaces on a grand scale. Ours was a no match until recently. It was our great-great-grandfather Joker III who dealt a blow to them by capturing their two major seaports. We were able to gain a revenue to add major constructions to our palace."

"Right," added Gilbert. "There were other constructions which were added during the reign of your father. He had attacked and captured major fortresses during his early military expansion. His expenditures on war were compensated by the treasury they got from the enemies. It was only until the enemy forces retaliated and forced major losses in the later battles that our finances went down."

Colt shook his head sideways as he remembered something his brother Hammer had said when he went to meet him for the first time after the coup. "I understand the frustration of our brother Hammer had against my father. I admit, our father intentionally threw us into war." He had his eyes downcast when he said this.

Rozerd said to him, "It is not entirely true."

Colt looked up at him.

"While it is true that the major part of our losses was because of poor decision-making on the side of our father, the conflict was inevitable to happen. There was always a sense of animosity between the two kingdoms since the time of our ancestors. When General Khargaz had betrayed the king of Madmen two hundred and fifty years ago and split the empire into two, it was the onset of the conflict that was to last until centuries. It was bound to happen even if our father had not started the war."

Colt went into thoughts. There was a seedling that was sprouting into his mind. There was much to the animosity, conflicts, wars, and killings than the actual good for the people. He began to understand there were forces of the human mind leading all of this. "Brother," he spoke. "Is there any way we can forget being enemies and live as one?"

"I do not know," Rozerd answered, which gave Colt a sense of hopelessness. "But I do know one thing. There can not be courage without fear. There can not be peace without war. There can not be acceptance without conflict."

These words of Rozerd made Colt realize a truth which he had never much pondered upon. His eyes expanded in realization. "So there is no other way than to fight to establish peace."

There was someone watching them in the waiting hall. It was a person, but was covered in a shawl from head to knees, so their appearance was not visible.

Colt felt there was someone watching them, but found no one when looked around. There were people around, so it was hard to identify someone based on whims only.

"What happened?" Rozerd asked when he saw Colt searching around for something.

"Nothing," Colt said. "I just felt someone's gaze on me."

"There are a lot of people around. You might have felt uncomfortable around them."

"Yeah," Colt reacted. "You might be right."

Poirot arrived.

"We are next in line," Poirot said.

"Alright," Rozerd braced himself to be in the presence of the king. "Be ready for any possibilities."

Colt and Gilbert nodded at his words as they slowly went through the hallway and reached the court. They arrived in the presence of King Hangaz, the younger son of Gunderf.

He sat in all his majesty, adorned with silk garments and jewels. His blue silk robe with white fur suited his majesty as he took his place on a throne placed high above the eye level. He wore a golden crown studded with rubies and diamonds. He was a young lad almost of the age of Colt. He had white skin, brown eyes, and sharp features.

"I have heard you are foreigners and want some help related to trade," he said, looking down at the princes from his elevated throne.

"We do want help, but it is not exactly related to trade," Rozerd said.

"What do you mean? What do you want then?" the king asked with a confused expression.

Rozerd took off his turban and dropped it to the floor. His face was not clearly recognizable under the shadow of the turban, but it was out in the light now. There were nobles of old age who recognized him. They began murmuring among themselves when they saw his face.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" a man reacted in anger. "How can you even dare to show your face here?" He was a noble loyal to the old king Gandarf.

"What happened?" the king reacted at the commotion. "Who is this man?"

Rozerd, without waiting for someone else to introduce him, introduced himself. "I am Rozerd, son of Joker, prince of Madmen."

As soon as everyone heard it, the guards pulled out their swords and surrounded them. Colt and Gilbert were on their guards while Rozerd stood there unfazed and stared at the king.

"I know my face is not a pleasurable one after what I had done to a prince of your state. It was war, and I had to do what was necessary. I will not justify my actions, but I am here to ask for your help now." He looked around and smiled. "It is nice to see that nobles of your palace can take a decision in your presence. You are such a tolerant king. I must say I am impressed," he said sarcastically.

King Hangaz frowned at his words. "Lower your weapons!" he ordered his soldiers.

"But my king…" a noble tried to argue, but got silenced when the king glared at him.

When the soldiers put down their weapons, Rozerd asked, "Would you not ask me why I am here?"

"I know you are running from Hammer who has killed Joker and is now after your life," King Hangaz said. "You have also captured one of my castles and made it your base."

"Indeed. That is all true."

"Why are you here? Tell me."

"You are aware of our situation, but are not aware of yours," Rozerd said. "King Hammer is not only after us, but after this whole continent. Any kingdom, small or large, is not safe as long as he is there. He has already targeted you."

"What are you trying to infer?" King Hangaz reacted. "Do you think I would get scared of your brother? We have already taken many of your lands in the recent times. Why do you think we should fear Hammer when we did not fear your father Joker?"

"Hammer is not like King Joker," Rozerd explained. "He has united most of the clans of the wild tribes under his banner, and is heading towards total dominance. He has a much larger army than King Joker."

King Hangaz thought for a while and said, "I had only heard rumors of the tribes uniting under him. So it was true." He asked Rozerd, "What do you want then?"

"Your protection," Rozerd said. "We will help you fight your enemies in return."

The people in the court murmured among themselves when he heard this. Most of them seemed to oppose this idea.

"My king, it is not a favorable idea," a fat noble said. "We are already struggling with our own issues. If we give protection to them, we will immediately face another challenge at our borders."

"I agree," another mustached noble said. "We are not in a position to engage in wars immediately. It is better to delay it as much as possible."

The king listened to them and said, "They are right. It will be suicide to engage in a war so soon after such a long struggle. King Hammer had offered a peace agreement to engage in aggression for a few years."

Rozerd's eyes widened in surprise. "He offered a peace agreement?"

"Yes, he did. And we can not break it," King Hangaz said.

Rozerd gulped. "What did he want in return?"

Colt could not comprehend what was happening. He was slow to grasp the politics. "Hey, what does it mean?" he asked Gilbert.

"We are late, my prince," Gilbert said with a tensed face. "King Hammer had already predicted we would come here."

"I think you know what he wanted," the king answered Rozerd.

Suddenly, the guards pulled out their weapons again and pointed them to towards the princes and the old man.

"I am telling you, King Hangaz. Hammer is not to be trusted," Rozerd said with a tensed face. "Capturing an emissary is unlawful. We are the only ones who can fight against him."

"I am the law here," the king said before he ordered his soldiers. "Take them to the dungeon."

"Why are you not cutting their heads off right now?" a noble objected, but the king did not bother to answer him.

The guards took the three men to the dungeon.

"What should we do now?" Colt wondered. He had formed a relationship with dungeons recently.

Tch. Rozerd clicked his tongue. "We have to find a way before it is too late."

They get thrown into a dungeon which had no source of light except one fire torch and a webbed ventilator at the top corner.

"Would he hand us over to Hammer?" Colt asked.

"I do not know," Rozerd replied and sat in the corner with his back leaning against the wall. "We will find a way."

After a few hours, someone arrived in the dungeon and opened the gate.

"Huh?"

They could not understand what was happening.

"Who are you?" Gilbert inquired.

It was the person covered in a blanket. "There is no time to chit-chat. Just follow me." They walked away, giving the signal to follow them.

The three glanced at each other and nodded.