"I'm impressed, little boy," a voice said, coming over my radio. I grabbed my receiver. "Who is this?" I asked, but I already knew. She laughed. "I think you know, little boy. Honestly, when I first saw you, I thought it was going to be boring. But you put up a good fight. A much better fight than I assumed you could. I'm going, to be honest with you, my worthy enemy, I thought it would be over quickly. A pampered little prince playing sky knight? I figured I'd have you by lunch and I could get out of this hot hell." "You know who I am?" Was that why she kept but the chase? "You wanted to capture an Aquitese prince, was that it?" "Exactly. Those were my lord's orders, after all." "Why does Florentine want an Aquitese prince?" "Florentine doesn't want you. I don't serve Florentine. I'm here with them because of a deal struck." "What deal?" Was she a mercenary? "That is something I can't tell you. My lips are sealed. If you want that answer, you will need to speak to my lord."
"What!?" the general yelled, almost spitting out his coffee. "Are you sure?""Yes, sir! We confirmed it just now!"The general slammed his fist on the desk. "Have the mana lines been set up yet?""No sir!"The General almost spit. "Is Princess Victoria in radio range?""She might be.""Then run this by her. It's almost time for the operation to begin." It was little more than a week out. "Why thr hell is an Imperial Knight coming here?"The Imperial Knights served the Emperor. So if the Emperor had ordered them here...The General hated politics. That's why he became a soldier. If one of the Imperial Knights were coming...
Sir RisleyAs his plane began to land, Risley took one last look over the New Siberian wilderness. The authorities back in Aquroya were going to name New Siberia Alaska when they won and make it a new country, to be handed over to the Romanovs.At first, Risley couldn't understand why they would do that. It was imperial police never to surrender land conquered. The land was bought with the blood of Aquitese subjects. Their very people. Any land bought with such a price was far too expensive to allow it to be given away.Sir Risley wasn't looking at the big picture though. It had to be pointed out to him. When the Romanovs were given Alaska, they would have to give up their claim to the Roslachnian throne. The Emperor had designs to put his son on the throne with the Roslachnian princess.That plan revolved on trusting Prince Calixte, so if he needed to trust his son, why was Sir Risley being deployed as a spy?As the plane touched down, a retinue from the general met him. "The general
Sir RisleyThe door opened and a man with the biggest handlebar mustache Sir Risley had ever seen stood to greet him. The general was a huge, well build man that looked like he spent the entirety of his day working out.He was wearing the uniform of a general, so this must be the man who called him. The large man looked Sir Risley up and down, eyeing his uniform. Then he saluted. "Sir Risley! It is a pleasure to meet you!"Risley returned the salute. "Likewise, general...?""General Visset, Sir Risley!"In terms of military, the general outranked him, but the Imperial Knights spoke with Emperor Francois's authority, meaning that Risley was the most powerful person on the base right now.Well, except for maybe Prince Calixte. As a prince, he was also the extension of the emperor's authority.The general stepped to the side and Risley entered what he assumed was a meeting room, but it was completely deserted. This room must have belonged to the Roslachnians at one point because Risley c
The Knight"You? A knight?" Tammy said. She had that mocking look in her eyes. "Don't glare at me. Being a knight is dangerous. Do you want to die on the battlefield?"They stopped walking when they reached the top of the fill. The town of Branwell spread out before them, nestled in the middle of the Reaux Forest. The town at been built before the Industrial Revolution, when ships were still built of wood. The empire had transitioned away to an economy powered by industrialization. It was only the mining of sunstone that stopped Branwell from turning into another ghost town."I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life.""Then don't, but why does that mean you have to become a knight?""Maybe I should join the army.""That's hardly better. Prussia is at war with Roslachnian. Aquitaine is constantly an aggressor force and geared for war. A war we're likely to be dragged into. If you enlist, you'll be dragged out to some battlefield somewhere.""My dad thinks Prussia is just postu
Edge of the KingdomBranwell was a small border town, at the edge of the kingdom, but despite its size, the mayor's house was huge. It could rightfully be called a villa and was far too big to have been built for the mayor of a rural border town. It looked like it belonged to an official in one of the big cities. Yukina was at a loss as to why it had been built there.The mayor of the town was a minor noble, the head of a small branch family of House Reyns. He had built it himself, which explained everything. He had been hoping for a position in a more important place, and Yukina could imagine he hadn't been happy when he found out he was posted to somewhere so unimportant.She stifled a yawn as the mayor pointed out at his gardens. "Blue roses. It was expensive to buy them and have them brought here, but as you know they have wonderful healing properties. It was worth every penny spent, and I do say they are so beautiful when they bloom after winter. If you would permit me to show yo
Tanya Romanov, now Arc, didn't have the heart to speak with Prince Calixte, not today. Tomorrow was the final push into New Siberia and she didn't want to distract him. He was mentally preparing and if she interrupted...Tanya didn't want to risk it. Instead she climbed to the highest tower at the base and looked out at the New Siberian sky. The under developed landscape before her that stretched out as far as the eye could see.When Tanya was a child, she had come here with her family once. That was before the Roslachny had fallen to the reds.She never would have thought back then that she would return as an invader.
Tick, tick, tock. The mouse ran up the clock. Tick, tick, tock. The mouse ran up the clock. Tick, tick, tock. The mouse ran up the clock. Tick, tick, tock. The mouse ran up the clock. Tick, tick, tock. The mouse ran up the clock. Tick, tick, tock. The mouse ran up the clock. Tick, tick, tock. The mouse ran up the clock. Tick, tick, tock. The mouse ran up the clock. Tick, tick, tock. The mouse ran up the clock.Everything was ready. The spell he enchanted over his investments plane so he could watch his prince captured as in place.As the lord sat on his expensive house, he watcher as the magic flickered to life. At last, it was time.