Something With a Prince

Chapter Twelve: Bloody Boot

Arlyn

"They've crossed the border, and are on their way here, your Majesty. I have it on a reliable source, she's sent mercenaries out and is offering a reward for his capture."

The soldier speaking was drenched in sweat and trying to contain his breath as he spoke. There were four other men behind him who resembled the same picture. Each came from four different corners of the kingdom, and all had the same exact news.

Queen Cassida was moving fast and with precision. No doubt Rughwen was backing her every move, happily sponsoring her man hunt for Lansing. The nerve they had to cross our borders and hunt a royal member out in the open. She must be confident in our surrender to Rughwen. I thought as another guard wheezed at my mother's slippered feet.

There were so many people cramming into the courtroom that I could scarcely draw breath without the tang of sweat and dirty metal. Soldier after Knight after soldier, they resembled a forest of shining armor. Stocky trees of men and women with the same exact expression on their faces. Personally, I never understood what Thea saw in the life of being a soldier. There was a sort of emptiness in their eyes that infiltrated spaces with silent ease. I could never shake the feeling that soldiers were different from other people. They had the power to ascertain your weaknesses and devise ten different ways to exploit them within moments of looking at you.

I am glad we had such an army, so many loyal men and women who were willing to fight for their home. To lay down their lives. I had been trained in the same ways, (though now I am admittedly rusty) but I lacked a mindset that seemed required for the job. How the hell is a diplomat supposed to command an army? How did he do it?

My stomach grew tight. A wave of unease rose inside me, but I forced myself to sit through it. My father's voice echoed in my head: Trust your instincts, Arlyn. You will lead them someday. They will die for you. You will live for them. Do not take that for granted.

I would live and die for them. This was something I have always known. It was the reciprocation that gave me unrest. Why should these men and women...why should Thea... die for me? What have I done to earn a love so great as that? I would rather take to the battlefield myself than sacrifice a single soul for something as porcelain fragile as pride.

My mother was watching with a placid expression, but there was something in the soldier's words that weighed down the corners of her mouth. Her fingers tightened around the arm rest of the throne and I raised my eyes to the person who now spoke in cool and even words. I realized this was not just a soldier, but Oveda Izatt, the General of our military.

She was not as rumpled as the rest. With ginger colored hair pulled tightly back against her head and steady green eyes, she was the only presence felt in the room beside my mother and myself. A thick strap holding a broadsword crossed over her heavily armored body and a substance that looked like blood was dripping off the toe of her boot.

Something like a smile pricked at the corners of my mouth.

"Our borders are being tested more and more everyday by the spies of Rughwen." The Commander spoke, her voice clear but frustrated, "If this war is to happen, we need to strike first and find the high ground."

Her eyes found mine and she turned boldly to face me, "If we are caught in the valley, we will be slaughtered."

I dipped my chin in understanding.

"The plan is to deflate the chance of war, General." The Queen spoke, "The priority is to care for the people and exhaust Rughwen's resources before they have a chance to strike. Our borders will hold."

This seemed to frustrate her more than content her. "Of course, your Majesty."

I sat up straighter, watching her gloved fists clench at her sides. There was a murmur among the crowd and the General's lips pressed down into a line.