Princess of Victory - Guardians of Forewood [1]

Chapter 2: The Dustor Military

Day 11 of the Fourth Month, Year 1016

Dustor City, Grizzle Province, Forewood Kingdom

THE GENERAL of the Army was an intimidating man, well into his fifties with a strong, looming figure. Most importantly, he was polite and respectful. He didn't undermine Victoria's authority because she was young—and a female, at that. Neither was he too polite with his words, showering her with a feigned respect she didn't deserve. He was a very clever and tactful man.

Victoria understood why her father, the deceased King Gilbert, had promoted this man into his rank of General of the Army after Duke of Savire retired. Her father didn't choose wrongly. The General had proven to be very loyal. He almost died trying to save the King from a stab in the back—quite literally. The sacrifice was probably useless, as they were overpowered and the King had no chance of leaving alive.

Victoria cursed Lirsk in her mind when remembering that. The day a messenger came to the palace bringing news had been the most hysterical day in her life. It was a day after the assassination attempts on both her and her mother, simultaneously. Her mother had been depressed, but when the news came, she became even more miserable. Victoria herself was only five and didn't understand much, but she grew up resenting Lirsk for that.

Anyhow, a lot of her skills was trained by this mighty general in front of her. When she was seven, she followed him to Edgefort and learned a lot of military lessons, whether it was combat skills or battle tactics. It could be said that this old man was her tutor.

The General nodded at Victoria respectfully. "Your Highness," he greeted.

Victoria walked into the conference room with her four guards behind. Well, they weren't all really her guards, per se, but all her four friends graduated from the same knight school as her, so they sort of qualify as her guards. She deliberately didn't bring her personal guards this time, although those guards didn't know that—not until her mother told them to search for her, at least.

Luz had told the Queen that she went to Dustor, but the Queen Regent didn't know any details about her departure. That old lady would be livid if she found out Victoria didn't bring any of her designated guards.

The room was empty, save for the General and his attendants. Victoria nodded back towards the General and took a seat in front of him, followed by her friends. "I apologize for the inconvenience, Sir Adefine." Adefine had been a knight in his youth before he entered the military, which was why he had the title.

"No, not at all, Your Highness. Though I do wonder, why would you risk yourself going into this hostile area?" His sentence had a bit of reprimand in it, just like any other adults would (and had already done), but he sounded mostly curious.

"Of course, I have to see, General. Not that I don't trust you. I just want to perceive what is happening here for myself." Victoria laid back on her chair. "Did anything else happen, aside from the shipment?"

Adefine sighed. "I wouldn't say so, but truly, it was getting more hostile each day. Two civilians got shot by an arrow just because they were getting close to the wall." After the happenings ten years ago, a wall was built separating the new Kingdom of Lirsk and Northern Grizzle. Lirsk did the same with their side, so there were two sets of walls, with a wide river as natural border in between.

"To be frank, I don't think the hostility ever left. But they never did it to such extreme before. What changed?" Victoria frowned.

"I would say that the Lirsks had been planning for this, Princess. Ten years, they had never let lax their defense. It was only by sheer luck Fox got in." Fox was the codename of a spy of Forewood Kingdom that were sent into Lirks's territory. "If you forgive me for saying, the hostility between the Blackwards and Ulysses' had been going on for centuries. It wouldn't dissolve so easily."