On the battlefield, a haunting silence hung heavy in the air, broken only by the occasional groan of the wounded or the distant cry of a scavenger bird. The ground was littered with the lifeless bodies of fallen soldiers, their once vibrant spirits extinguished in the brutality of war.
Rows upon rows of soldiers lay motionless, their uniforms stained crimson with blood, their faces frozen in expressions of pain and anguish.
Amidst the sea of corpses, a lone figure moved silently, his footsteps careful as he navigated the gruesome landscape.
Conan Emmanuel, The Commander in Chief of Yureshia army, that led the 10 year prolonged war into victory.
His dark hair waved with wind , his grey eyes lifelessly scanned the field turned grave.
He had lost count on how many comrades he had lost till now, at the end he cannot even figure out the difference in his and their men.
They die the same.
The sun was already set, the warm tint in the sky had disappeared into the indigo.
Conan plunged his blood stained sword into the earth, the blade sinking deep into the soil, as he kneeled beside it in solemn reverence, paying homage to the fallen warriors who had bravely fought alongside him and the warriors that faced them.
He was the last one to pay respect.
---
Despite the heaviness of loosing friends and family in the war, the soldiers gathered to celebrate the long awaited victory.
Some had lost their limbs and some had fractures and some had lost eyes.
But they all were joyful.
They crowded around Conan, their voices hushed in reverence as they praised him for leading them through the turmoil.
Each handshake and salute carried the weight of gratitude and respect for his unwavering determination.
Amidst the sorrow, there was a glimmer of pride in their eyes, knowing that their sacrifices had not been in vain.
After the long night, everyone discharged into their tents.
Conan can take shed the burden of a leader that had been weighing down.
"What are you thinking? " His friend Marquis Fazemoth asked him
Conan only looked at him with blank eyes. Fazemoth had known him for 5 years, since he arrived at the camp.
He saw him change from a boy to a man, Loosing the light of hopefulness and jollinesss once he had.
He pitied this young man, that went through hardship that no noble would.
He walked up to him with a pair of glass of wine and handed him one.
"Commander, why do you think they were happy even though they have all lost something"
"Because we won"
"Because they will finally get to see their loved once" He said
Conan eyes distantly lingered at his red wine.
"Don't behave like you have no one to live for" Fazemoth patted his shoulder " I still have kept those letters you told me to throw away, why dont you read it?"
"I told you to burn them" Conan glared at him.
"Well I felt bad doing so, you know I never received one"
"You got letter every two months for 5 years, you should, at least, appreciate this person who stuck to you even during your worst periods"
Conan didn't replied. He was uncertain of what to say or even feel.
He gulped down his wine in one go and retired to his bed.
The sleep was far away from his eyes.
___________
Crown Prince Niveus found himself sinking deeper into the plush cushions of his chair.
The day had been relentless, filled to the brim with lessons on diplomacy, strategy, swordsmanship, and court etiquette.
With a heavy sigh, Niveus rubbed his tired eyes, the weight of his responsibilities pressing down upon him.
But just as weariness threatened to overwhelm him, his trusted advisor, Ashter, entered the room with a fast paced almost forgetting to bow down.
"We won the War" Looking through the corners, Niveus spoke first with a small smirk on his face.
Ashter's eyes widened in surprise, but then again, this is THE CROWN PRINCE "of course Your highness"
He smiled gently feeling awed at the moment, pulling out an elegant golden envelope and placed it on the table in front of Niveus.
"Also, His Emperial Majesty has summoned you"
Niveus smile dead dropped.
Ashter noticed the sudden shift in the mood of Prince.
"Your highness I know you are tiered but this is important" Ashter tried but the other's face remained icy.
he tapped his fist on his on the palm of other hand.
"Oh! How about we take Miss Leonore to the Emperial palace, she would like to meet his highness the little prince? "
"Hmm" Niveus rose up from his already walking to the doors " I think it's been a while since I visited father"
A single bead of sweat trickled on his head, even though it was a whimsical idea, Ashter couldn't get used to absurdness he just witnessed.
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The young maids of 4 distinct hairs, we're discussing about the life problems they haven't encountered yet and munching on cookies.
The announcement of arrival of Crown Prince caught them off guard.
They ran to form a que, the blue-head nearly tripping on the way.
Niveus arrived with Ashter, they greeted them poised and stiff as if they weren't just horking down food and chatting like old ladies in 60's.
"Where is Miss Leonore? "
The red head, her head bowed " your Royal highness the Sun of our Empire, miss Kitty is has embarked on the quest to shed her abdominal weight "
Both the men looked at her in utter confusion.
Niveus ignored the maids and moved towards a weird looking tiny tent at the corner of the room.
"She means Miss kitty has went to the toilet" The green head named Lumi explained to Ashter
Ashter's lips formed an "o" Nodding.
The maids realised something and tried to stop the highness but they were too late.
Niveus was already crouching down to the tiny little tent.
The kitten who was unaware of the situation out side, sat to relieve herself off her daily ritual in the late evening.
Though her inside was conflicted, but she managed to retrieve her dignity to some extent with the tent she made with the help of maids who understood the cue.
'At least I don't have to go to the bushes'
As the kitty was on the process, the flap of tent was suddenly lifted.
'Huh? '
The kitten froze, dumbfounded at the Crown Prince who was staring back at her, had the same expression as hers.
The tent flaps went down and Niveus shrugged off like nothing happened
She blinked twice still concreted in the same awkward pose, broke into pieces out of utter embarrassment.
The whole palace was echoed with the blood-curdling shriek.
'You idiot f@#* @#*@*#"@!! @""@*@*!! "
_________
After the maid had helped her clean her hands and feet, the kitten clung to her like her skin.
Aster and Niveus were puzzled at why the little kitten was fuming so much.
Ashter tried to take her away from Licia but she hissed at him with her arched back and fur stood like electrocuted ready to claw out his eyes herself.
Even Niveus felt nervous as she was especially sending deadly glares towards him.
Due to her bad mood, they had to leave on their own.
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