Kendrick was upset with all that had just happened as he looked at his surviving soldiers. “My daughter had better be safe or I will be having everyone of you executed!”, Kendrick said as he ran towards his daughter's room. But she burst open the locked doors from inside and ran out to him before he could get there, crying out loud. Kendrick kissed her forehead as he wiped off her tears with his thumbs. “It's alright”, he said to her. She looked beside him and saw Cyrus, covered in blood and sweat, panting. Kendrick noticed she was looking at Cyrus, and he smiled. “That young man saved my life”, he said, and she looked back at him. “If not for him, I would have been killed.” Felix and Richard were behind the dead soldier who that last rebel had just killed. Richard had killed a few of them with his arrows, while Felix followed behind. “What happened to all the soldiers I had stationed outside?”, Kendrick cried out angrily. “How could they let this hap
Later that day, it was not long after the assault on the Prefect's home, and Harold was highly upset. There he sat at a new hiding place, with Conrad and Olivia standing before him like guilty criminals brought in for questioning. "Just once when I choose to listen to your advice and follow your way of doing things, this is how it ends up", Harold said. "So, what do you both have to say for yourselves now?" "We were wrong", Conrad said. "We underestimated the strength of the reinforcements the Prefect brought along with him." "So you are the one who put up your sister into sweet talking me to allowing for this failed operation?", Harold asked. "Normally she would be divided on issues like this, but the fact that she was completely on your side felt like a good thing. Perhaps I shouldn't have listened." Olivia sighed. "Look, Harold", she said. "We were wrong and we failed, you don't have to rub it all over our faces. A lot of our men died today because of that failur
As Conrad walked away, Harold kissed her one last time. "How long?" she asked. "Two days," Harold replied. Then she turned towards Conrad, who was now almost out of sight. "Two days!" she yelled at him. He understood and signaled towards her with his hand before continuing on his way. Before Olivia could turn back to face Harold, he had already lifted her up with strange glee. She had never seen Harold so joyful, not in forever. As she felt herself getting swung around, elated by Harold's joyful smile, she couldn't help but feel that this moment would be short-lived, and a terrible thing was about to occur. Cyrus had put on his casual clothes and went to meet Richard and Felix, who were about to start a brief training session. Oddly enough, it wasn't for anything formal or very important, and the both of them couldn't help laughing at Cyrus when he asked the strange question. "I'm supposed to meet with Natalie soon. Tell me, how do I look? Is my hair well combed?" They
"I think I will just stop talking now," Natalie said. "Not necessarily," Cyrus said as he took his cup, blowing on it. "You still haven't told me much about yourself." "I don't know what to say," she said, laughing. "Well, how about we talk about certain philosophies you buy into?" Cyrus said. "What values do you have that others either lack or don't have as much as you do?" "Let's see," Natalie said, looking up with her hands joined together. "I love reading, a lot. But one distinct feature I think I have is that I dislike war and conflict." Cyrus arched a brow. "Who doesn't?" he asked. “Recently it feels like I have a thing for attracting pacifists. What gives?” "Don't be silly! You don't have to be one to hate bloodshed, although I'll admit that my case takes things up a notch," Natalie replied while chuckling. "I get uncomfortable with the slightest confrontation or disagreement, despite how trivial it may be. It just makes me upset when people don't get along." "Then it m
"That's right," Kendrick said. "I became prefect because I believed I was saving the town from starvation and extinction, but the rebels don't care about that. They just want me dead. And it's a shame I'm only beginning to understand that now." "I have delivered my message," the mole said. "Farewell." "Wait!" Kendrick said quietly. "I just need to ask a question," the prefect said. "But if you want, you don't have to stay longer." The mole remained motionless, indicating he was ready to hear the question. So Kendrick proceeded. "While I do appreciate your help so far, I still want to ask: Why are you doing this? You just said that you don't care about my leadership, so why do you keep helping me like this?" the prefect asked. "As I said, I stand for law and order, not your leadership or the Emperor. I don't view the Empire's rulership over Fayhold as a good thing but rather an evil that must be tolerated for the greater good," replied the mole. "I'm only helping you because we b
"Richard put down his daggers, feeling somewhat frustrated. "There is no better way for him to learn," Richard said. "You didn't think I was going to kill him for real, did you?" "You tell us," Cyrus said. "I was only being that way because of necessity," Richard said. "What on earth makes such aggression necessary on any level?" asked Cyrus. "Are you serious, Cyrus?" asked Richard. "I thought of all people, you would understand. Felix has no battle experience, and yet he is with us on a mission of conquest against one of the most powerful women on earth. And you are asking me what justifies such aggression?" "If we don't train him that way, who will? The need for immediate mastery is so important because if he doesn't know how to defend himself, he will die sooner or later," Richard said. "On the contrary, I want him alive as long as possible. He is my friend." "You don't protect your friends by trying to kill them while only holding back by a thread," Cyrus said. "That's not h
“Young man, you don't know what you are talking about," one of the oldest elders said to Apollos. "Sit down!" "I told him to speak, Jameson!" Kendrick said to the elder sternly. "And I am not done with him." Then Apollos continued, "Given the circumstances, I would say that a short time of tyranny is only a small sacrifice to pay for a longer period of peace. I know we will make more enemies, but our reaction to that would be more swift and efficient." Apollos went on to explain, "If I've learned anything from the people of Fayhold, it's that most of them are apathetic to political issues. That is part of why the rebellion is only a sect of the population. The people's stance on the current political system differs greatly from that of the general populace, who just want a peaceful atmosphere where they can live serene and mundane lives with their families and loved ones until they die, with or without the Emperor ruling over them." "So, with that said, I don't think we would make
“We made the mistake of assuming that applying extra security to our homes instead of going out there and fighting against those terrorists was the best way to address the issue. But we have only lost the lives of several soldiers and innocent civilians as a result. So how about we don't make that same mistake again? How about we identify the rebels for what they are - terrorists and take proper action against this movement once and for all? Let's stop pretending like we don't know what to do about this. You all can act all practical and diplomatic in front of the civilians for all I care, but you can't fool me because I know all of you. Let's bring an end to this, and for once in our dishonest lives, stand up for what we believe is right instead of putting up a false front for the approval of men. How about a bit of integrity for once?” All the leaders remained silent, including Kendrick, who wanted what he had just said to sink in. Knowing all the elders, he knew that they all agr