A royal Affair

Amantia

7 years ago 

Prince Darius pov 

"Your Royal Highness. The camp is set and the army's spirit is high. Everything is done according to your orders" - one of my commanders said to me after bowing with respect. 

"Good. I don't want any kind of your trouble within the soldiers. Any mistake and they will pay dearly with their lives for it." 

"Of course, your highness" - he replied. 

"Can I have a word with your, young master?' - lord Dukan said, bowing down to me after entering my military tend without asking permission first. He was one of my advisors, that my father had sent to spy on my every move. I hate that old man, but I can't get rid of him, without making my father go into full turmoil, and even lose his support. Well, the time hasn't come yet, but I will not by any means allow this fool to disrespect and belittle me. 

"I think its time for you to address the future king as "His Royal Highness". Your loyalty to the throne will not expire when my father passes away. will it Dukan? " - the surprise and shock on the old man's face entertained me, he went full red after I questioned his loyalty and honor. 

"No, never my prince" - lord Dukan replied bowing down to his knees almost immediately. "As my father and my ancestors before me, I will forever be faithful to the throne and serve our great empire till my last breath. And I know my children and my children's children will be loyal as well. " 

"I know you are a man of your word, Lord Dukan. You can get up now" - I said with a smirk 

"I have known you since you were born, you have always been very precious to me Dauris. Since, a child I have called you "Young Master", the force of habit... " 

"But I am not a child anymore, lord Dukan. I am the Crown Prince and the commander-in-chief of the army. You as one of my closest advisers must respect me in front of my men." 

"Of course, you are right my Prince. From now on, I will address you properly... Your Royal Highness" - he said bowing his head. The first lecture of humbleness, for the man, I thought to myself and it gave me a sense of satisfaction, but soon it annoyed me. I am giving to much importance to this old man. I am after all the future King, his approval does not even matter to me. 

"Why are you here Dukan? Go straight to the point" - I knew he would try to convince me to back off the biggest battle of my life, but I was not going to let that happen. 

"Can we discuss this in privacy, Your Highness?" 

I dismissed the guards and some of my commanders and took a sip of my glass of wine. 

"Speak your mind Dukan, even though  I already know what you are going to say"

"Darius...  I beg you to reconsider your decision. You are a great leader, but this is very dangerous. You are acting without your father's permission, and we both know that the King would never allow this attack to happen. It can a disaster for our empire" 

'The road to greatness and glory has never been a safe one Dukan. We both know that. " - I replied feeling tired of his speech which I had already heard so many times. 

"My prince... you will have time for the glory and I know that so many successes await you in the future. But attacking Amantia? This is insane, not even your grandfather,  The Lion King did not go past their walls. Their defense has been invincible for centuries." 

"Until now. I won the war of Arguba, didn't I? I crushed their rebellion and took their kingdom under our control. No Peace Treaty, none any of this diplomatic bullshit, which you were so fond of." 

"Your victory was remarkable Dauris, you will be in the history book for many years to come. Then why risk it? We should have marched back to the capital, not to the Amantias borders. We have a Peace Treaty with King Agon, that has lasted for decades, which you have already broken by showing up with the army in front of his gates." 

"He broke the Treaty first, by helping those bastards who had the audacity to rebel against me" 

'Against your father, the King you mean. It has not been proven that Amantia's leaders had anything to do with their rebellion. In fact, their trade has also been suffering from the sudden war." 

'Well, when I have their kingdom I will make sure that the trade flourishes again. And my empire will enjoy the sweet fruits of my glory " 

"My Prince... if we lose, which is very likely our entire army may disintegrate, our borders would be in great threat, and our many enemies will take advantage and attack us all at once. Our entire empire and civilization may fall within weeks, days even. Do not underestimate Amantians, they have proved themself to be great warriors and are loyal to their land" 

"The question here is if you are indeed loyal to me,  Dukan?" - this old man is seriously getting on my nerves now. I don't have time or desire to hear all this right now, when I am so close to achieving something that my ancestors have only dreamed about, taking over Amantia. 

"How can you doubt that my Prince? You know very well that I would give up my life for your father and you. As your advisor, is my duty to try and speak some sense to you. You are so young my Prince... your passion can be the ruin of all of us. " 

'Young? At my age, The Great Alexander was marching with his army across half of the world, building the greatest empire the world had ever seen"  

"Prince Dauris... you don't even have your father's permission yet, the royal messenger can take a week to send the letter to the capital...You know that our King will be furious, and may even take serious measures..." 

"I will have taken over Amantia before my father has even time to get mad at me, Lord Dukan" 

"But.." 

"That's all. I believe you have much more important duties as we prepare for our first attack. I need your services and experience, not to feed me with your doubts." 

"Your Highness, I speak for your greatest good when I say that..." 

"In my mind, I have already concerned Amantia and crushed their army. Soon, it will be me sitting on King Agon's throne, and you will be the first to have the privilege to bow in front of me there. You may leave now" 

He took a deep breath, looking at me with desperation but even fear and shock before he bowed down and left. He may be a wise man, I'll give him that, but no one can take my glory for me. I don't expect anyone to understand me, as long as they do as I say, I don't need their moral support. The road to greatness has always been difficult and lonely for anyone who dared to walk through. Now it's my turn, the history will remember my name and will praise my victories. The thought alone makes me get drunk in the glory that is to come. No one can stop me. No one! 

........................... 

third pov 

Isolda felt her heart beating like crazy, her breath was hard from all the running. As soon as she heard the alarm bells, she ran as fast as she could. On her way to the village, from the woods, she had never seen so much chaoses. As she passed at the center of the village, where the farmer's market she saw everybody running back and forth, she even saw a man preparing their arms and she got terrified. Isolda ran as fast as she could, passing through the people who were just as scared as her. 

When she saw finally saw her home, a sense of safety came to her and she ran even faster. There was her safe nest, no one could take that away from her, no one had the right to do so. 

"Father" - she cried out desperately, as soon as she hugged him asking for comfort. 

"Where were you Isolda? I've been looking for you like crazy" - he said breathing hard. But his voice was not angry, she only sensed fear and worry, which made her heart shrunk inside her chest. 

"I was in the ... in the woods. I came as soon as I heard the bells. Father... I am sure that I heard soldiers. " 

"Soldiers? Are you sure?" - he grabbed me by my shoulders violently, looking at me in my eyes, like he was investigating me. 

"Ye.. yes. But they must be King Agon soldiers. Who else can enter so deep into the woods? No one but the locals can find the path" 

"Yeah... yeah, you are right. Amantia has never been defeated." - he replied taking a deep breath, and nodding his head, to reassure his daughter and himself. 

"The people of the village.. they were going mad. They kept running and..." - Isolda could not finish her sentence as her voice broke into a soft sob. 

"They are worried, just like we are. Prince Darius' army is in Amantia's gates. They are preparing an attack" 

"What? " -Isolda felt her heart drop to her knees "An attack? But the Peace Treaty has been lasted for years ... Why? " 

"I don't know why, but everything will be okay my precious. The defensive walls of Amantia have never failed to protect us" - he said taking his daughter in a warm hug. 

"Oh, you are both here. Isolda go get your most necessary things, we have to get inside the castle walls before is dark." 

"What? The castle? You can't be serious, mother?" - Isolda looked at her like she was the most strange thing she had ever seen in her life. 

"There is an entire army attacking our kingdom, you think I have time for jokes right now? " 

"Irene... No army has passed through Amantias defense walls, many have tried and they all have failed. Besides the castle walls have not been repaired for years now..." 

"Because of that greedy monster, Lord Fari." Irene was on the verge of tears. " We need to go somewhere safer. Hans... I have a bad feeling, I am so scared" 

'Oh, my love... I know, but it's too early to make decisions. We need to wait for orders. Not even the royal guards have come yet. We will be fine" - he said hugging his wife, as she was crying in his arms like a child. 

....................... 

third pov 

King Agon royal throne room 

"How in the world could this... stupid kid pass through the "Golden Thorn" without any of our guards noticing?" - King Agon shouted at his highest commanders. 

"Your Majesty? After the Dardanias crushed the rebellion in the Arguba, our defense in the east was weakened. Prince Darius was ruthless with them, after he took their main cities he caused a bloodbath and sentenced to death all the aristocracy and military commanders." 

"That's not an excuse Markus. The "Golden Thorn" has been for centuries our first and most important line of defense. No one has managed to pass through that." 

"Your Majesty, it's impossible for Darius's army to pass through the walls of our borders. Our capital is as safe as ever. No one has done it, no one will. As you said, he is just a stupid kid with apparently big dreams, that will be the end of him"

"We can not underestimate him, Luke. He passed the "Golden Thorn", didn't he. We need to find a solution, and quickly."

"Let's try to avoid war. He is not on the throne yet, his father King Richard is the ruler of Dardania Empire, and he has been a peaceful and merciful king. Our Peace Treaty may still be saved, by diplomacy. We can send our best politicians to negotiate and to convince the Crown Prince to retreat. After all, they need Amantia's trade road to sell their goods. We can also send ambassadors to the King himself" - spoke Sanders, the oldest and wisest of King's advisers. 

"It will take weeks for the messenger to arrive to Dardania's capital.  But, you are right, my friend. We will try first the diplomatic ways. However, we must protect our kingdom by all means. Luke, activate the army in full capacity. Also gather man from villages and all cities, everyone who is able to fight must join to the army." 

"As you say, Your Majesty. I'll prepare the Royal Decret for you to seal and I will send my messengers today. We have no time to lose" 

"We also need to work on our defense strategy, Your Majesty. We lost the "Golden Thorn", we must adopt new ways I am afraid, as we can no longer rely on the navy's help" - one of his military commanders advises the king. 

"Of course, of course" - King Agon rubbed his temple, as much as he tried to hide it, everyone could see how stressed he was. It looked like he had grown 10 years old, within a single night. 

"Your Majesty? I want to ask your permission to negotiate with Lord Dukan about a possible Peace Agreement. He is an old friend of mine, a reasonable and wise man, and also one of the most confided advisors of King Richards. I believe that he may be a great help to us, as the king has appointed him as one of the Prince Darius advisors as well" - Sanders spoke again, bowing his head to the king 

"If you think that will work, do that Sanders. But be very careful, do not expose your self the enemies camp" 

"You can confide in me, my King " - he replied taking a deep breath, as he felt the weight of responsibility for his shoulders. 

"Markus? The women and children must be sent to churches, castles, and other safe places.." 

"That won't be necessary my King, they will not go past those walls. No one has" 

"Don't argue with me Markus, do as I say. Send the messengers by tomorrow morning in all the corners of Amantia." 

"Yes, My King"