Kouka's Crowned Prince | oc insert

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I stopped riding far away from Xing but close enough for them to hear my shouts still.

"I am Aric, son of second prince Il," I announced, "I wish to speak with your leader!"

Wow, how the roles have changed. Wasn't that their line back the other time?

Murmurs spread around the army before a large split down the crowd appeared and a woman walked through with Neguro following right behind her.

I smiled slightly, glad to see a familiar face. He'd likely listen to me if anyone.

I'm glad that he got home safely. I don't really know what happened after I returned to the camp after that encounter, but I heard all the people were sent home again. Even the dead which baffles me but OK, I'm glad their families are being reunited even if it's after their deaths.

"I am the leader," the woman announced, "Princess Kouren."

"It's a pleasure," I nodded to her before taking a small breath and forcing on my façade again, the first move to show that I was wearing my mask was to bow with a dramatic spin of my hat before standing up straight and smiling.

Kouren was a blonde girl, maybe fourteen or fifteen years old. Bright blue eyes. She was beautiful, that's for sure.

"I can't say the feeling is mutual," Kouren replied, "you beat up my guard and massacred my army. The feeling certainly isn't mutual."

"We didn't kill the whole army," I laughed, clearly she's got her information back to front, "we sent some home alive to tell the tales."

"No," Neguro shook his head, "I was the only survivor."

Sorry?

I stared at him, fighting the troubled frown that was trying to form across my face, "that can't be right. There were at least two thousand soldiers left alive when I left."

"Yeah well there aren't anymore," he glared, "your first prince had them all murdered."

"...what?"

"He forced me to watch them all get decapitated, kid," he told me, "then he threw all ten thousand corpses onto the doorstep of Princess Kouren's Castle."

I just stared, speechless.

There's no way.

Uncle wouldn't have... they'd all but surrendered. Why would he—?

"Are you telling me you really didn't know of this?" Kouren asked, I shook my head and shrugged.

"Not a clue," I replied, forcing on an unbothered appearance for them.

Keep your mask.

Keep your mask.

Don't let it slip, Aric.

Don't be weak.

"You don't seem too affected by it," she commented.

I let out a slow breath before forcing on a smile.

"Truth be told, baffled, confused, mildly angry," I said as I slid off the horse, mildly was an understatement, "it was unnecessary, however, my Uncle most likely had a reason for such a feat."

I hope he did at least.

Kouren frowned.

"How dare you just act like the lives of those ten thousand men were nothing!" Neguro shouted.

"I'm not," I looked down, allowing my guard to fall and them to see my real emotions towards the situation for a second before forcing myself to put my façade back on, "if I knew he was going to do such a thing I would've stopped him even if it meant losing my own life. Shedding more blood than needed is wrong. Those ten thousand all had families and people they loved, who loved them."

I paused for a moment before looking at them seriously, I can use this situation to my advantage. Time to get them to back off before more men die for this unnecessary war, "We took them away from those families but with us sharing that blame you also share it as well."

"Why you—" Neguro started to shout but Kouren stopped him.

"How so?" she asked.

"You started this war," I reminded them, "if you hadn't become thirsty for power and land then those men wouldn't have had to die to the hands of my own."

"With those words, I'm guessing you're here to convince us to give up and turn back, stop this war and go home. Am I right?" she asked. I smiled and shot her a thumbs up.

"Very impressive," I nodded, "I heard rumours that Xing's first Princess was as dumb as a rock, but it seems that they were wrong."

They shot me a disbelieving look but before they could say anything, I dropped my happy mask and put on a serious on.

"Leave, Princess Kouren," I told her, "you lost ten thousand troops last month. Twenty thousand at the beginning of this war. Are you going to continue risking the small amount of soldiers you have left? Their blood won't be on us, it'll be on you for throwing them into a battle that you have no chance of winning."

"Oh you jest, surely," she laughed, "we have as much of a chance at winning this war that you do!"

"No. No you do not," I told her, she looked at me wide eyed, "in some way, a war is like a game. Every game always has a decided winner even before they begin to play, and it's the player who has all the luck and the winning cards. Guess who has the luck and winning cards in our war?"

She frowned.

"Kou. Ka," I said, breaking up the word and making them sharper than they needed to be, "that's because when you strategize there are three rules that you have to follow. The rule of time, the rule of landscape, and the rule of people. Time is as easy as to say the time of day, is it morning or evening, dusk, or dawn? Landscape is where are you? Are you familiar with it. Are these conditions to your advantage? The people is as simple as the morale of your soldiers."

"And how exactly do you have the advantage in all of that?" Neguro asked.

"Think about it. I mean— think really, really hard about it," I said, "have we ever fought in Xing? Who has been taking their troops onto who's land to attack?"

They noticed what I was getting at.

"Where are you?" I asked, "how're your troops feeling? What's the time? Do. You. Know. This. Landscape?"

I turned and pulled myself back onto the horse.

"Leave or we'll be forced to crush you," I smiled innocently at them as I turned the horse and waved, "I'll come for your answer in... shall we say two hours? I hope you choose wisely, for the sake of your people. Goodbye, Princess."

I rode away from them, charging towards the Koukian forces again.

"So?" Yu-Hon asked.

"They have two hours to make their decision," I replied as I dismounted, "until then we can come up with plans and get our troops some rest, food, water and let them have a bit of fun."

"Fun?" Soo-Jin repeated.

"You have to keep your soldiers happy," I told him, pointing at him, "or they're not going to fight for you. That is rule number one to battle."

I passed the reigns of the horse over to one of the Sky Tribesmen who'd come over to take it off my hands and stretched before grinning.

"I'm starving," I exclaimed, "what do we have to eat around here?"