A Game of Cards

Prologue

"I called a meeting to negotiate a peace treaty," sighed the girl in the dark cloak, "but I will not hesitate to kill you all if you don't drop that weapon now."

She boredly assessed the golden-haired boy in a dark maroon doublet standing in front of her, holding a shining sword of gold in his hands, hundreds of men dressed in rose gold armor standing behind him. On the girl's side, there was only herself. She could not best them all, and they both knew it.

"Kill us all?" the boy sneered. "What bravado, Onyx."

The girl called Onyx spun a silver ace card between her fingers, looking completely indifferent to the tension hanging thick in the air, as if she hadn't noticed it at all, or, more likely, she chose not to care.

"I'd rather not go down that path. After all, I came for a peace treaty, not a massacre."

"Oh? And why should we believe that this is your true intent?"

Onyx's gaze bore into him, humor shining in them. At that moment, the boy only felt a boiling rage, all the suspicion in his head shifting into a reckless fury at the girl's audacity to find a situation like this amusing.

"Stop acting like you have a choice, Hayes. The High General's Council has already voted on an attack on Amocaria City, your troops are too weak to stop them. All we're asking for is economical reimbursement on the Spadian infrastructure damaged in the war. Just a few billion, nothing that will drain your royal coffers. You will lose more than just gold if you choose to go the other path and be 'defeated in glory'. Be logical. Your father would take this offer."

The boy's grip on his sword tightened, the smirk on his face became strained, and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to impale the girl standing completely unmoved in front of him.

"How dare you mention my father!"

"Still touchy about that? Is he the reason you're not taking this offer? It's been years since the incident, get over it, Hayes."

"It's Bloodbreak now," the boy hissed.

"Oh? So the royal family did decide to take you in, Hayes-Bloodbreak?" the girl taunted.

"I didn't come here for small talk, General."

"And I didn't come here to fight," the general returned. "Drop that sword, prince, or the deal's over."

Warily, the boy she called "Hayes" set his sword down, never once shifting his gaze off her still figure.

"So, what's it going to be? Do you want me to order Amocaria trampled to rubble, or are you willing to swallow your pride and spare the lives of your people?"

The signing of the Amocaria Peace Treaty would later become one of General Onyx's greatest victories, and one of her most fatal mistakes.