FOR THE LOVE OF LIBERTY
Alexander woke up in the morning but kept his eyes closed.
It was unusually cold and he wanted to warm himself up.
The immediate thought that came to his mind was pulling his Queen into his embrace.
He did it every time to keep the atmosphere calm and comfortable so that he would continue with his sleep.
He moved his hand across the opposite side where he expected Valerian to be lying.
He wasn't feeling a thing.
Had he rolled off the bed?
He was not sure that he opened his eyes and saw it empty.
He moved over and looked down beside the bed, Valerian wasn't there.
Whether he was up a bit early, Alexander was not sure.
His eyes travelled to the clock face that hang away from the bed.
It was 6:00am, too early for Valerian to be out of his bed.
Alexander got out off the bed and put on his night robe and walked towards the bedroom door.
He opened the door and then looked at the guards.
"Your Majesty." They said in unison.
"Have you seen the Queen?" Alexander asked.
"We have been awake the entire Night your Majesty, no one has walked in or out of your bedroom." One of the guards replied.
"Are you serious?" Alexander asked.
"Yes." The guard replied.
"Alexander rushed back into the bedroom and looked at the changing room and the bathroom.
He looked around but there was no sign of the Queen.
He then walked over and as he approached his windows, some thing caught his attention.
He stopped in his tracks and changed his course of direction as he travelled towards his table.
He looked at the table and the scroll that he had signed the previous night was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't tell me he got rid of it." Alexander said to himself.
His gaze shifted to the third biggest window in the middle of two smaller ones.
There was something unusual and it was one of the chairs of the study table.
When Alexander moved closer, he noticed the cloth that had been tied to the chair.
He froze when he noticed the long strip of bedsheets tied together.
He hurriedly rushed towards the door of the bedroom and faced the guards.
"Pass on the News to everyone in the palace, the Queen is missing." Alexander ordered.
"Now." He added
"Yes your Majesty." The guards said in unison and they all went their opposite ways.
The News spread about and the King moved right up to his study.
He was seated in his seat when Charles arrived.
"Your Majesty." Charles said bowing his head as he walked into the room.
"Charles." Alexander said.
"I hurried from my residence the instant that I heard I had been summoned." Charles said.
"The Queen is missing." Alexander said.
"And I have just been reliably informed right now that he is not missing alone." Charles said.
Alexander was puzzled.
"What do you mean by that?" Alexander asked.
"How would he have known the security blind points if he was not helped by someone who knew the palace very well.
In addition, Helren and Gerald his secretary and Valet respectively are both missing." Charles said.
Alexander stood up.
"And what is the status on the National security?" Alexander asked.
"Much better, the South has been filled with more soldiers and the people were successfully moved Northwards." Charles replied.
"This is quite absurd." Alexander said.
"What is the matter your Majesty?" Charles asked.
"He took the peace agreement with him, without it, I can't reassure the Skartians that we mean no harm." Alexander said.
"Wait your Majesty, you mean you signed it?" Charles asked.
"Yes, I had last night, it was going to go public early in the morning but the Queen vanished.
Without a word along with it I am certain." Alexander replied.
Charles bowed his head.
"What is with that long face that you are wearing Charles?" Alexander asked.
"Nothing your Majesty, just surprised by the Queen's untimely departure." Charles replied.
"Hmmm." Alexander muttered.
"I don't even know where to start looking for him." He added.
"Try to think in his shoes, at this particular time, where would his Majesty go?" Charles asked.
Alexander started tapping his forehead and he thought.
"Where would he go?" He said.
"That's it." He said later.
"What is it?" Charles asked.
"Valerian is not interested in this peace settlement, there us only one place he would go right now." Alexander said as he stood up from his seat.
He slowly walked towards the window and stopped as he stared at the rising sun in a distance.
"Where your Majesty?" Charles asked.
"Towards the danger." Alexander replied.
"You mean...." Charles said and was interrupted.
"Yes." Alexander replied.
"Valerian headed South." He added.
Helren, Gerald and Valerian travelled South the the woods and towards the hills.
Valerian had in his possession his usual banner and he wore a black hooded cloak.
Most of the villages had been abandoned and the soldiers that occupied them were a little bit surprised seeing them.
Mysterious hooded riders that were making their way further into the camps had to be halted at once.
The guards surrounded them before they would progress further and had their muskets and guns pointed at them.
"Halt." One of the commanders ordered.
Valerian and his company complied and the soldiers lowered their guns.
"Reveal yourselves." The Commander went ahead to say.
Valerian then planted the mast in his possession onto the ground and sent the banner flying.
It was his own personal flag, white with the 'V' in it that he needed no formal announcement.
He slowly removed the cape from his head and then the soldiers had a clearer image of whom he really was.
"Your Majesty." The soldiers said in unison as they went down on their knees and bowed their heads.
They had their right hands on their left chests as Valerian pushed the entire cloak off to expose his body.
He wore his pure white and gold military uniform and he sparkled in the early morning sun.
Valerian got off his horse and stepped down as he slowly walked towards the soldiers.
"You may all rise." Valerian said.
The soldiers stood up and then lined either side of the path as Valerian walked through them while the Commander followed.
Gerald and Helren walked behind bearing Valerian's banner until he got to higher ground in the town.
The soldiers gathered around to listen to what Valerian had to say and he looked confident at them.
"Order." The other generals and commanders present ordered the troops.
Every one quietened down as hope seemed to return to the soldiers eyes.
"All you the brave warriors of your country, I come in peace." Valerian said.
"I come here to represent the palace and the support of the Scoln people at large.
I come here to support the Scoln crown and to the aid of all those that have their hope in us." he added.
The mob seemed to be attentive to him that he continued.
"I have had enough of this tyranny, enough of this engineered imperialism to tear us apart." Valerian said.
He took a hold of the scroll that he had stolen and raised it up to the masses.
"In my possession is a petition from the Skartian King to surrender our southern lands over to him." Valerian said.
The soldiers erupted into absolute upheaval.
"And my reaction was no different from yours." Valerian said.
"They want to rob us of everything, make us slaves on our own soil and take our wealth.
The wealth that our ancestors struggled do hard to build and sustain for centuries." Valerian said.
The upheaval even became louder.
"But not for as long as I am still alive and I am still your Queen." Valerian said.
The crowd then cheered on Valerian.
"We shall not surrender whatever it is that we possess to those tyrants and those thieves." Valerian said.
The cheers gradually increased.
"They are all cowards, they hide behind their guns, they attack women and make corpses of our children." Valerian added.
The soldiers then loudly yelled out of anger.
"Now join me right now." Valerian said.
"Let us rise and fight together as Scolns, for the land that is ours and is for our children.
Wash your faces with water from the Scoln rivers and Wells, adorn your body with the grains of sand that constitute Scoln land.
Take hold of all your arms and rise stronger and more confident, for all our comrades that are fallen.
For the people that are still left to fight tomorrow, there is no place in this country for Invaders and rebels abroad." Valerian said.
"And in no sense shall I sit and watch my people being terrorised and enslaved." Valerian said.
He threw the scroll that was in his possession into one of the fires that burnt nearby.
"For the love of liberty." Valerian yelled.
"For the love of liberty." The Scoln soldiers yelled with their guns and words raised in the air.
He personally took both the Scoln flag along with his and let them fly high above his head in the early morning saffron sky.