Marks of the New Era

Chapter 2.4

It was 8am and all the siblings were doing different duties.

Tai was having a meeting with the council trying to decide the next course of action, Takevu was organizing the royal guard so that they could increase the security, Hiroshi was outside the castle checking the area to determine how did the soldiers entered the palace so that he could pass the info to the others and Haru was taking care of their mother.

Each of the siblings has their own characteristics and personality that make them unique but despite that they all are very close.

Tai has the longest military experience, not only is he an incredibly powerful warrior, he is also a great strategist, his plans are very effective but at the same time they are made with the objective of losing the least number of soldiers, he is also capable of using multiple weapons but his usual choice is the katana, however, there are a lot of times where his insomnia or his syndrome stops him from showing all his potential and in occasions his feelings get the worst of him.

Takevu is one of the strongest warriors in Genzo, like her older brother, she can also use different weapons but she prefers to use spears, she is very proud of her skills and hates losing, however she is the type of person that is always late to the meetings or that gets lost all the time, she can be provoked and teased quite easily and she is so stubborn that it is not uncommon for her to butt heads with her brothers, specially Hiroshi, she still loves them though.

Hiroshi, similarly to his older siblings, also has a selected weapon, in his case, he is an excellent archer, being able to shoot without looking or through small places, his downside is that he is a little too confident about himself, which has backfired a considerable number of times, but despite his arrogance and mistrust towards strangers, he loves his family, they motivate him to be a better person and say's that without them he would be nothing.

Last but not least there is Haru, she is the only member of the succession line that doesn't use a weapon, instead, she is a doctor, despite her young age she is able to treat almost everything, from wounds to diseases, even after experimenting the cruelty of the world, she has been able to maintain her innocence and is always willing to help, although this can end up being a weakness since she is also a little naive and can be taken advantage of.

Maybe the reason why they're so close is because they only have each other, after all, they all had experienced the loss of a mother, of course they would look to the others for comfort.

"Good morning Haru" Tai greeted as he entered the room where the queen was recovering.

"Oh, hello Tai" She said cheerfully "How did the meeting go?"

"It was... complicated, the council suggested to wait until mother recovers to determine our next steps." He looked at his sister "How is she?"

"I already cleaned and patched her wound so it doesn't get infected" She informed "However, she lost a lot of blood so it's going to take some time for her to fully recover" Haru gave her brother a kind smile "Things seem to be going quite well"

"I wouldn't be so sure Haru" Both royals glanced towards the almond haired male "After all, they were soldiers from Yami, you know they can't be trusted"

"Hiroshi is right" Said Takevu as she entered the room "We can't let our guard down, especially if they were able to pass our security"

Now all the siblings were together

"Did you guys get all the things you needed?" The oldest asked.

"Yeah, let me inform you" Hiroshi took out a map of the inside of the castle and gave it to Tai "The left side of the palace is unprotected most of the time since it's full of cracks and could fall at any moment, that's where the guards entered, then they went through the underground corridors, the ones we would use if we needed to evacuate, until they arrived to the main hall" The prince explained.

"I have already called some architects to repair the wall and the ceiling" He glanced towards Takevu while saying the last words.

"In my defense, the ceiling was going to fall eventually" She tried to justify with confidence but the slight blush on her cheeks didn't help "Besides, when you're 1 against 30 you have to use everything at your reach to end victorious"

"She's right" Said Haru "Making the ceiling fall gave a huge advantage and lowered the number of wounded soldiers" Although she loved her work, the youngest could get easily overwhelmed if a lot of people needed treatment.

"Anyway" Takevu stated "I already arranged the army and created a plan to increase the security, I have to say, when I was organizing I realized that 10 years ago we had far more soldiers that we do now"

"It's not surprising though, since mother took the throne, the violence in Genzo has decreased significantly, which makes a royal guard not that necessary" Tai said.

"I admire her but sometimes I wish mother wasn't so pacifist" Hiroshi replied with a sigh "I mean look at how she ended because of the low security"

The four siblings glanced sadly towards the queen.

"Your Highness!!" They turned their heads towards the messenger "Guards from Yami have been seen at our borders!!"

"Again?, do you think they will try another ambush?" Haru asked.

"No" Tai began "They know that we have increased the security, the next option in this situation is a direct attack"

"We have to evacuate the citizens" Hiroshi declared.

"It won't be enough" Replied the crown prince "They won't stop until they kill us, think about it, this time we were lucky, if Takevu and I weren't awake one or even all of us may not be here today, but we can't depend on luck, we have to act before it's too late"

"And what do you suggest we do?" Takevu asked.

"We have to drive them away and make sure they don't come back" With a glance towards his siblings Tai said "It's time to enter the battlefield"