Zemira held the posters as she walked around the four-poster bed. She could still feel Cassian's warm hands on it whenever he got up from the bed. She knew she had made an impossible request when she had asked him to come back alive. He was the general, the one who was going to lead the soldiers to the enemy, the one who was going to be at the front lines, and the enemy had personal issues with him.
"My Lady, what bothers you?" Gertrude asked as she walked into the room. Zemira turned around and put on a fake smile when she saw Gertrude, "Nothing, it is just pregnancy hormones" she said and Gertrude walked to her and cleaned her tears, "You miss him that much?" she asked and Zemira stepped back, "I worry about him Gertrude, what if he does not come back? I will have to raise our child all by myself". "Cassian is not one to die easily. That man was stabbed so many times in his last war, but yet he is alive and he has gone to another war" Gertrude patted Zemira's hand, "He will come back" she said and Zemira smiled then she turned to go.
"Do you ever worry about him?" Zemira suddenly asked and Gertrude turned back, "He takes you as his mother, so do you ever worry about his safety whenever he goes to war?" she asked and Gertrude sighed, "I worry about them all. I worry whenever Zelia goes on one of her trips! I worry whenever Cassian rides Gerta, I worry whenever he is infuriated because he tends to behave irrationally and do things that may cost him his life, I worry whenever he picks up his sword and goes to war. I worry all the time because that is what mothers do" Gertrude chuckled and Zemira smiled.
"But I worry more about this particular war...because he is going to fight his older brother; someone he looked up to as his role model, as a second father. Cassian may kill Isander but I know it will scar him emotionally. They were so close when they were children, all of them. Zelia would steal snacks every night for her brothers...and I would try and catch her" a tear slipped out of Gertrude's eye. "What I also worry about is that I have sold out the boy who took me as his mother...to his devil of a brother".
Zemira's face fell, "What?" she was confused and Gertrude quickly bowed, "Pardon my insolence, but I have to get supplies for the kitchen" she said and left hurriedly.
The servant that Cassian had told to be spying on Gertrude, followed her as she walked quickly out of the hall.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cassian stared at Stern as he rode on his horse. Why had he decided to join his army? He was sure Stern hated him for taking away Zemira and for slicing his chin, and from the way Stern had reacted when he had seen his own blood, it was quite obvious that he was not a fighter...so why?
"I do not trust him!" Soteria said as he rode close to Cassian. "I second that notion" Azrael said and Cassian looked at him, "I do not trust him either...he is behaving different like he is not scared or weak" Cassian said and Soteria shook his head, "Whatever the case may be, I do not want him among the army. He almost killed your baby!" "His father called your wife a prostitute!" Azrael chipped in.
Cassian stopped Gerta then he looked around, "I want to test something" he said and looked back, "Let us stop for a drink by the nearest lake. The horses are thirsty" he said and the soldiers responded, "Yes sire!"
After five minutes of horse walking, they reached the nearest lake and stopped. Cassian got down from Gerta and handed her reins to a soldier, "Get her some apples to eat" he said and the soldier bowed and led Gerta away.
Cassian looked at Stern who had gotten down from his horse and was now petting it as it drank water. Stern stopped petting his horse and turned, his green eyes jammed Cassian's grey eyes. For a moment, it seemed that he was glaring at Cassian.
Cassian quickly tore his eyes away, "Let us set camp here! We should not be tired before the main battle" he said. "But what if the enemy ambushes us?" a soldier asked "That is why we have the lake. There is no how we will not hear them coming from the lake and if they come from the forest, Gerta will alert us. She can sense danger" Cassian said and the soldiers bowed and started setting up the tents.
"What are you thinking?" Soteria asked Cassian who turned to look at Stern again. "I just want to test out a hypothesis" he said and Stern bowed and went to help set up camp.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"She is here!" a soldier bowed and Cato turned, "What? Lord Isander did not ask for her! How dare she comes here without an invitation?!" "That is enough Cato!" Isander said as he came out of his chambers with Nola behind him.
Everyone in the room bowed as he walked to his throne then he sat down, "Send her in!" he said and the soldier signaled another soldier at the door to open it. He opened it and she ran in frantically.
"I can not do it! I can not do it again!" she wept and Isander rested his chin on his fist, "Huh...you have already done what you do not want to do. You have helped me to know Cassian's current weakness and you also helped in my timing plan" he smirked. She clenched her fists, "I may have betrayed my Lord but nothing can stop me from coming clean and exposing your plans to him!" she said angrily and spun on her heel and was about marching out of the room, but Isander held out his hand to her and she flew to him...his hand lightly squeezing her neck.
"Did you know that you have a nasty habit of betraying people, Gertrude?" Isander sneered as he got up, his hand applying more pressure to her neck. "First of all, you betrayed Cassian, someone you had claimed to be your favorite and now you want to betray me, not very good Gertrude. What happened to the sweet lady who only cared about chasing little girls who steals snacks from the kitchen?" Isander laughed and choked Gertrude more. Water started coming out of her red eyes as she squirmed around.
"I have gotten awfully strong, have I not?" Isander asked and flexed his muscles. Gertrude's vision was becoming foggy, and all she could see was Isander's slim arm. They were at Lord Monterey's garden and the three of them were telling her what they would like to become.
"I would like to marry a prince, so I would be a princess" Zelia smiled and Cassian scoffed, "Yeah! And be locked up in your room for being naughty" "What? Princesses are not locked up! They are treated like eggs" Zelia arranged her dark brown hair. "Yeah! Rotten eggs!" Cassian sneered and Zelia hit his arm, "Gertrude..." she whined and Gertrude hugged her, "Stop taunting your sister!" Gertrude smacked Cassian's arm then he ran and climbed a tree.
"I would like to be an adventurer! You know, explore places and then come back home to my wife" Cassian gave a toothy grin...although he was missing a few teeth. "You are aware that for you to be an adventurer, you have to leave your house..." Zelia sneered and Isander chuckled. "Outside is just so scary!" Cassian got down from his tree and sat beside Gertrude.
Isander got up from the tree stump he was sitting on and gently flicked Cassian's forehead, "Ow!" Cassian whined and Isander chuckled.
"What would you like to be, Isy?" Zelia asked and Isander stroke his chin like he had a beard. "I would like to be a guard" "Huh?!" Zelia and Cassian asked, dumbfounded at their brother's choice of occupation.
"You will be poor! Guards are poor!" Zelia scrunched up her nose in disgust. "That is not fair! They are people like you and I...just that they were not privileged like you" Gertrude pulled Zelia's nose a little.
"I would like to be a guard just like Brother Caius. He protects Gertrude and the people he loves like us, mother and father. I want to do that too! I want to be able to protect you Zelia, when you become a princess and I want to protect you Cassian, when you go on dangerous adventures. I also want to protect mother and father...and also you Gertrude...and Brother Caius...when he gets old" Isander raised his shoulders.
Cassian rolled his eyes, "Brother Caius has big arms! You are just a scrawny child!" he teased and Isander rolled up his white sleeves and held up his skinny arm, "I will get big arms too! It is just a matter of time!" he smiled.
Zelia ran to him, "Isy, you are so cool!" she hugged him. Cassian rolled his eyes and held out his fist to Isander, "You better protect me when I go to climb the tallest mountain!" he said and Isander dragged him into the hug, "Of course little Cassie" he said as he patted Cassian's head. Gertrude just smiled as she watched them. She knew that even if she or her son, Caius were not alive to protect them, Isander would keep them from all harm...little did she know that he would be the one bringing the harm to them.
More water spewed out of Gertrude's eyes then she reached out to Isander's now muscular arm and touched it. "Of course you have...you...your arms...your arms are like...Brother Caius's" she managed to say.
Isander's eyes widened as he remembered that sunny day at the garden and his grip became loose. Cato saw remorse in his eyes then he signaled Nola to get rid of Gertrude.
Nola took out her sword and ran to where Isander stood with Gertrude. She was about to stab her but Isander's eyes flashed green and he subconsciously let go of Gertrude. Nola's sword was about to strike flesh, but she turned it to the bottom of her sword and hit Gertrude's head with it before she could land on the floor.
Isander stumbled back and Cato ran to him, "Are you alright my lord?" he asked and Isander looked at him, "Effects of transferring part of my subconsciousness into a weak body!" he stood up straight and looked at Gertrude who was in Nola's arms.
"Take her to where her son lies...she did come all the way to see him afterall" he chuckled and walked out of the throne room.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cassian took a swig out of his wineskin, "Are you enjoying that wine, my lord?" Stern asked and Cassian stopped midway to another swig, "Yes I am, do you want some?" he asked and Stern shook his head, "I am not much of a drinker" he said and Cassian raised his scarred brow. That was not what Zemira had told him. She had told him that her and Stern always went out to different bars to know which of them had the best wine.
Soteria slapped Stern's shoulder and sat down beside Cassian, "You do not drink what your general offers you?" he smirked and Azrael sat down on the log, "It seems you have never been to war" he said and snatched the wineskin out of Stern's hand and took a sip but it looked like a gulp, then he put it back in Stern's hand, "You do whatever your general tells you to do" he chuckled.
Stern looked at the three men who looked like they were closing in on him then he looked at the wineskin. Cassian kept on watching his movements. His hand was already at his dagger, if Stern did not drink the wine, he would be certain that he had put something in the wine...and that gave him leverage to kill him.
Stern gulped down the remaining wine in the skin, then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He handed it back to Cassian, "Good wine!" he smiled and Cassian gave a fake smile then he got up and walked away. Soteria and Azrael followed him.
"He seems normal to me" Azrael said and Soteria tapped his chin, "Why would he lie?" he thought aloud and Azrael looked at him, "Lie?" "Stern is a heavy drinker" Soteria said, "When I visit his father, I either see him nursing a glass of bourbon or a glass of whiskey. Either that or he is..." Soteria looked at Cassian, "...vaping with Lady Cobain on his laps" he murmured the last part.
"That is not what bothers me" Cassian said and Azrael folded his arms, "What bothers you?" he asked and Cassian remembered the way Stern had looked at him at the lake. His green eyes were like Isander's own...just in a green colour.
"Wrestle!" Cassian suddenly said "Wrestle?" Soteria and Azrael asked...
Six minutes later, Cassian and Stern were in the middle of a hyped up crowd, with their bare chests. "In all my years of war...I have never seen a general do this" Azrael said and Soteria sighed, "What do you think he is thinking about?" he asked Azrael who shrugged.
Cassian took his stance then he surged towards Stern. He threw a punch but Stern caught it. Cassian's eyes widened then Stern bent his arm and slid under Cassian but Cassian jumped back. The crowd continued hyping them.
This time, Stern ran forward and threw a punch but Cassian caught his fist. Stern threw another one but Cassian caught it, then Stern dragged Cassian and headbutted him.
The soldiers oohed. Stern should not be able to make Cassian bleed first, Soteria observed. Cassian smirked when he felt blood on his lips. Before he could recover from the headbutt, Stern grabbed his arms and raised him up from the ground then he threw him down.
Everyone was shocked. What was going on? A mere soldier had never beaten Cassian. So why was he on his back while Stern was on his feet? Stern stretched out his hand to Cassian and he took it but then he wrapped his legs around Stern's legs and pulled him down.
He flipped over and now Stern was on the ground with Cassian on top of him, one hand at his throat and the other, few inches to his face, in a fist.
The soldiers jumped for joy. Their general had won. Cassian got up and helped Stern up, "I can not remember the last time someone threw me down like that" Cassian laughed. Stern smiled and bowed, "Please excuse me" he said and walked away, bumping into Azrael's and Soteria's shoulders.
"Is he offended that he lost?" Azrael smirked "Was your hypothesis right or wrong?" Soteria asked Cassian.
Stern walked to the lake then he scooped a handful of water and remembered the way Cassian had dragged him down to the ground. He yelled and threw the water back, creating ripples.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his head. He screamed and held his head as he tried to stop the headache. It felt as if his head was on fire...even his body. He groaned and smashed his head into the water. The pain subsided.
When he raised his head and looked at his reflection in the water, he saw someone that looked like Cassian...only this man had dark eyes. He had a slight scowl on his face.
"Perhaps I am wrong, but...that person is not Stern" Cassian said. "What do you mean?" Azrael asked.
The man in Stern's reflection gave a small smirk then he started laughing. Stern threw his head back in laughter.
"Stern is a man who concerns himself with only politics and from the clothes he wears, he does not appear muscular, so how was he able to throw me down on the ground?" Cassian proposed the question. "I knew you had let him throw you on purpose" Soteria smirked proudly. "But if you are right and that person is not Stern, who is that person? And how did he get in Stern's body?" Azrael asked.
Stern's reflection morphed back into his face and then his eyes flashed black.