The sun had set and the sky was sheathed in darkness. The moon was absent, letting a tenebrous night reign.
His hands' tremors match that of their coldness. He was afraid- anxious beyond explanation.
The grasses beneath the hooves of his mount swayed in the biting wintry wind. He watched as the horsemen approach- big, muscular and with an aura of experience around them. One of them though was an aged stout man whose posture was crooked. This man looked feeble, and that may be true, but he knew that this man- Magistrate Chen- was the most dangerous of them.
"Pleasant night Arthur" Magistrate Chen greeted, pulling the hood of his cloak. He clucked and his horse stopped beside Arthur's. The others in the party also halted.
"A pleasant evening Magistrate" Arthur greeted back as he shone his torch towards them. He eyed the horsemen "Are they not too few?"
"Few is not a word a wise man would blurt Arthur. A wise man would notice quality first before he starts counting."
"And are they? Good I mean."
"The very best according to Rickard"
Magistrate Chen showed him a bottle. It was a bottle of one of those expensive Hadean wine. Arthur grabbed the bottle and examined it.
"Midnight Rose" Magistrate Chen said with an amused tone "Fresh from Wismar. I swear those Wismarines really know their poisons. Tasteless and odorless. Although it clouded the wine a little, such change will not be noticed in the darkness. I've already put five drops in the wine"
"Are you sure this won't kill her? What if the Wismarines gave you the wrong one?"
"It will only knock her out. And don't worry, I have made experiments this afternoon with my aide. While he slept for a few hours after drinking a cup, he didn't die."
Arthur kept his stare on the bottle until he put it inside his satchel. "Then we should go Magistrate"
"You should. Good luck Arthur" Magistrate Chen turned to the horsemen "Make sure the princess will not be harmed."
"Aye sir!" they answered simultaneously
The Tulosans followed Arthur to where Lucia's tent was. He didn't bother counting their numbers because it was dark. After riding for a while, a big blue tent greeted them. Both the flags of Castonia and Vanadis were erected outside and the tent itself was illuminated by dozens of torches.
"Are you sure this is it?" one of the Tulosans asked.
Arthur looked at the tent. Since Lucia is an important figure, the surrounding area was cleared and the next tent was about a hundred paces away. He was sure that this was Lucia's tent.
"This is it. Follow me" he ordered as they dismounted. While holding the bottle with two hands, he walked towards the entrance of the tent where two Vanadian guards were stationed. With full sets of armor the guards stood like statues with their spears crossed on the entrance.
"Prince Arthur" One of the guards smiled "Are you here to visit your sister?"
"I am" He answered.
Lucia's guard maintained a smile. "Strange though. You've never visited your sister. Not even once. And now that you are…" the guard tilted his head towards the Tulosans who were dressed in Vanadian armor "you are bringing armed guards. I wonder, why is that?"
"None of your concern soldier. Just let me pass." Arthur acted tough. He puffed his chest, straightened his posture and looked directly into the guard's eyes. Ironically, it was Timothy who taught him this good way of asserting dominance.
The guard stared back at him with a smug face. Arthur was holding his breath. Every second seemed to last for a day.
"Let him pass brother. He's our prince" the other guard uttered.
The guard looked at his partner and then at Arthur.
"Fine. Then proceed Your Highness. Princess Lucia would be happy to see you" the guard bowed and gestured towards the tent.
Arthur breathed and audibly loud sigh. He was so anxious that he couldn't imagine how pale his face was. With trembling legs he walked inside.
The fragrance of cherries greeted his nose with a welcoming scent. It was also warm inside the tent.
"So you're here" Lucia said. She was sitting on a chair, leaning against its backrest. In the table beside her was an unfinished meal.
"Lucia" Arthur faked a cheerful smile.
"Why are you here Arthur?"
"To see you of course." He showed her the bottle of wine "Wanna join me in this?"
Lucia eyed the bottle and patted on the chair beside her. "Have a seat. We have something to talk about"
Arthur didn't waste a second lest Lucia notice his shaking knees. He sat on the chair and put the bottle on the table.
When he was about to open the cork, Lucia gripped his wrist.
"Arthur" She was lowering her head "Timothy is a good man. He may be harsh to you sometimes but he just wanted you to grow."
"I know" Arthur lied and proceeded to open the bottle. He poured a cup for Lucia. "It's Hadean. Good stuff."
Lucia didn't even glance at the cup. "Arthur please reconsider. We love you- Father, Timothy and I."
"Yes. I'm not mad anymore. If you're talking about what happened during that celebration… Well to be honest I was just drunk. You know me, I talk nonsense when I'm drunk"
"Arthur!" She raised her voice. She was glaring at him. "Please! You don't have much time. We don't have much time. Reconsider now!"
Arthur was both taken aback and confused at the same time. "What are you talking about? Don't have much time? What?"
He then noticed a shiny thing under the cuffs of her dress. He ran his hand through it and pulled the cuff up her wrist. There was mail armor underneath.
Arthur heard a commotion outside. From the shadows against the tent he saw men being impaled by spears. A certain liquid splattered on the cloth of the tent.
"What's happening!?" he looked at Lucia and demanded answer. His heart was racing .
"We know Arthur. We know everything."
Those words choked him with fear. He didn't just fail, he was played. They knew.
Arthur opened his mouth but the words were stuck on his throat. Lucia was looking at him with both pity and sadness.
The entrance of the tent flapped. Arthur looked at the direction and he saw two men. Both of them had crowns on top of their heads. It was Timothy and his father.
Timothy's face wrinkled. With pounding steps he hurried towards Arthur and hit his face. His world blackened for a bit and the next thing he knew he was on the ground.
"Traitor!" Timothy shouted while pointing down at him
"No!" his father also shouted and went between him and Timothy. He put both hands on Timothy shoulders. "Please don't. I… I will fix this. Let me handle this. He is still my son and your brother."
"Son?! Brother!? He betrayed us. He would rather ally himself with the enemies. What about us?" Timothy looked at him with anger on in eyes "Do you realize that we are doing everything in our power to survive? We are fighting two wars back to back. Three! If that damn thing with the Calgarians is included. And you… You have the guts to betray us. And you dare include Lucia in this mess? You are a scum!"
"You were the one who started this war anyway!" Arthur shouted back. "I'm just doing the people a favor. I want to end this war. Besides they promised not to hurt Lucia."
Timothy curled his fingers and formed a tight fist. "Fool! Doing the people a favor? I raised my banner in rebellion because I don't want the Wismarines to enslave my people! I don't want the Tulosan criminals to escape justice! You did not betray us for peace Arthur. You betrayed us because you are angry at us. Cut that self-righteous crap. Also you say they promised not to hurt Lucia? How foolish you are to believe them!?"
"Just calm down. Just let me handle this okay?" his father patted Timothy's shoulder.
He knelt and supported Arthur's head. "Why Arthur? Why have you betrayed us? We loved you"
"Loved me?" Arthur looked at their faces. They never loved him. He was just a foolish prince in their eyes. He hated the way they treated him. What Timothy said was true, he betrayed them because he hated them. "None of you loved me. I am inferior remember?"
His father teared. Droplets of tears fell on his arm. "You are. But we would have loved you even so. But what you did crossed the line Arthur. I'm sorry but you left me no choice. This is for the best. I have realized lately how bad of a King I am. I failed to even see that my own son is conspiring with the enemies. I am weak. This will be both our punishment Arthur. Yours for betraying us and mine for being a bad father and an even worse King"
He straightened his back and wiped his tears. He took a deep breath. "Arthur Vanadis. With the power vested in me by the first King of Vanadis, I, Edmund Vanadis do hereby strip you of your heirship and transfer it to Lucia Vanadis. With the Omniscient as witness, let all men know of my decision which will be effective immediately"
Arthur blinked a few times until he realized what just happed. He turned his look towards Timothy and Lucia. Both of them were equally shocked.
"No" he mumbled under his breath.
But his father's next words were more shocking.
King Edmund turned to Lucia. "Lucia Vanadis. I, Edmund Vanadis, abdicate my crown to you. Let the Omniscient be the witness to this declaration. You are, beginning this moment, the Queen of Vanadis. All hail the Queen and long may she reign"