March of the Southwest

Princess Ariana receives the letter that Leon writes for her two days after. The letter is again ready by Prince Louis' eyes and ears, but they ignore it for being too abstract and vague. Ariana knows otherwise. He understands every word that Leon writes in his letter. Throughout the entire day, her spirits are as high as heaven.

As she heads to her daily report with the queen, she gleefully graces through the hallways and through the concourses. She arrives in the queen's room finding Prince Julien and Queen Sophia amid discussion.

"Hello, dear," the queen stands and welcomes her with open arms, "how is your morning?"

"This morning is one of the best ones of my life," the princess replies.

"Is that so?" the queen smiles at her and looks at Julien. "Did something great happen?"

"Have you finally found an inspiration to write something again?" Julien joins in the conversation.

"It's nothing, I just feel great today." Ariana answers.

"Well, if you are feeling great, then, I have even greater news for the two of you. Your wedding which is supposed to be two weeks from now is rescheduled to be on the seventh day from today," the queen announces. "So, we have to make sure that everything is ready."

"WHAT?" Julien is greatly taken aback.

"That's such a great stretch," Ariana crosses her arms.

"Why are you both looking eminently shocked? Aren't you both happy that you are going to be betrothed sooner?"

"The wedding is not the surprise, but the rescheduling is something to be surprised about," Prince Julien answers.

"I'm sure my father would also be shocked by this news, Your Majesty," Ariana utters.

"On the contrary, it was your father's idea to hasten your wedding. He will actually arrive this afternoon to help with the preparations."

The revelation widens Ariana's eyes. She fails to predict such a thing from happening.

"But why would he make a decision without our consent?" Ariana wonders.

"That I don't know," as the queen replies, one of Gallia's highest generals open the door of the room.

"Your Majest and Your Highnesses," she suddenly announces, "the king and the rest of the generals requests your presence on the war room this afternoon when King Gregor arrives."

"A war meeting?" the queen looks terribly shocked. 'Why would there be a war meeting?"

"The Essenians have amassed a large military force greater than Gallia's and Inglatera's forces combined," she replies. "They build it right under our noses." Soon after, she leaves the room, and closes the door silently.

"Well, I think we all need some time to collect our thoughts," the queen tries to lighten the mood. "You two should do what you want to do right now, we shall reconvene at the war room this afternoon." She dismisses the two.

As they are leaving, the two fears for their plan. The transpiring events prove to be a great obstacle for their plan. If Essenia manages to wipe out their kingdoms, then the existence of the plan itself is all for naught. If their lives end in this war, there is no future to look forward to. They traipse to the library together, where they gather their thoughts.

"What was your plan again?" Ariana asks.

"Disbanding the monarchy and establishing a democracy after we divorce after marriage," Prince Julien answers.

"Well, with a war completely imminent, your plan is in total shambles. We cannot disband the monarchy while an army marches to threaten our borders. The supporters of the crown will never consent to its disbandment, which will cause the entire nation to be torn apart into two," Princess Ariana explains her thoughts.

"It seems this marriage is inevitable," Prince Julien replies.

"It seems it is," she sighs.

The two continues to gather their thoughts. Later that afternoon, the ruler of Inglaterra, Princess Ariana's father, King Gregor Tyrell enters Tracy with gifts and his grand army to defend against the southwest.

King Gregor Tyrell of the royal house of Tyrell is the seventeenth king of Inglatera. The rule of the Tyrell's began during Gregor's great-grandfather, Duke Desmond. Desmond won an internal strife in the kingdom. The other nobles rallied behind him and they all supported his ascension to the Inglateran throne.

The Inglateran army is capable of laying siege on the royal Capital. The entire army camps outside as the king enters the Capital bringing gifts for the wedding and for the royal family. The king greets with the royal family as he enters the gates of the city. Princess Ariana steps forward and inducts him to the royal family of Gallia.

It is customary for the royal family to greet the king of an allied country. After exchanging greetings and embraces, they all make their way to the palace, where a war meeting ensues as scheduled.

A large low round table is at the center of the war room. A painting of the entire continent is on the surface of the table. The round table is knee-level and everyone even the farthest person from the table can see the map. A smaller table is beside the round table. On top of it is a box filled with pieces resembling horses and pawns, similar to chess pieces but distinguishably different. All the generals of both kingdoms are present in the room. They sit circularly around the table, with slits and spaces for minor generals at the back of the row.

"Essenia is trying to prevent the future unification of our kingdoms," King Gregor outlines the situation. "They march to immediately overwhelm our armies and stop the wedding before it could happen. Thankfully, we already rescheduled the wedding and the Inglateran Army is here to help fight against our common enemy."

"We are at your debt, King Gregor. The might of Inglatera would surely help in vanquishing the forces of Essenia," King Charlemagne replies.

"You owe me nothing, Charlemagne. Our kingdoms will soon be united. That makes us have a common enemy, the southwest."

"I have already sent spies to monitor the southwestern border of the kingdom. Any movement will be quickly detected and the forts in the area will fortify themselves and do their best to stall the enemy as they can, just in time for our united armies to arrive," Queen Sophia speaks.

"Isn't there a more peaceful way to resolve things?" Prince Julien utters. "Is war truly unavoidable? Must we march our armies when we could sue for peace?"

"Essenia does not want our two kingdoms to become under a single rule, Prince Julien." King Gregor answers. "There is no argument that we can use that may urge them to stop their march. They outnumber us and outpower us. There is no reason for them to stop."

"Yes, there is," Princess Ariana supports Prince Julien, "to the south of our kingdoms, a great dragon sleeps and has managed to become neutral despite all the kingdoms that the four kingdoms have had in the past. Why don't we ally ourselves with the Venetii Empire? If we forge an alliance with them, then surely Essenia will stop at its tracks because of an imminent threat on their flank."

King Gregor and King Charlemagne laughs at the idea. They think it preposterous to drag the Venetii Empire into a war that they will gain nothing from.

"The Venetii Empire does not care between the conflict of our kingdoms, it is as it was in the past," King Charlemagne answers.

"But surely, we could try something," the princess answers. "We could envoys there who would be the symbol of hope in stopping this war. If we are able to drag the empire into this war, then Essenia will sue for peace as soon as they march their armies."

"You have a point, child, but it is simply not possible," Queen Sophia replies to the princess. "The Venetisse want peace and nothing more."

Princess Ariana gives up on her suggestion as she knows that the knowledge and wisdom that Queen Sophia possesses is beyond a normal person's. The meeting soon turns into marital discussions.

"As the wedding is nigh, we should work on a formal constitution for the unification of our kingdoms," Queen Sophia shifts the topic. "What should be the name of the unified kingdom? What will be the Capital city?"

"We should discuss those later mother," Prince Julien intervenes. "I'm sure that King Gregor is tired from his travels. We should adjourn for now." Everyone agrees to the ssuggestion and ends the meeting.

They all proceed to the banquet hall where a dinner feast waits for them. The royals and their generals feast on the meal. Prince Julien quickly finishes his meal and heads out to see Gianni, who is completely focused in his physician duties.

Upon arriving at Gianni's door, he knocks but there is no response. He knocks again and again but no one is inside. He goes outside and finds Gianni, in the place where he thinks he would be. Gianni is taking care of the herbs that he and Claire planted. He carefully examines every plant, making sure that they are growing healthy, and they are receiving enough attention.

"You are very hardworking," Prince Julien speaks as he approaches Gianni. He lights the way using a torch, "you should rest sometimes."

"Your Highness," Gianni is caught off guard but is able to see who it is, "it's an honor to see you." Gianni stands up and comes close to the prince.

"How is being a physician?" Julien asks.

"Well, there is a shortage of medicine and a lot of people are catching colds because of the climate, but it's not something that we couldn't handle," Gianni's eyes start to glitter as he narrates. "All those herbs that we collected the other day really helped."

"How many people did you heal today?" the prince asks. Gianni replies and narrates every patient that fully recovers today. His eyes sparkles as he narrates each account. Prince Julien's chest pounds harder as he sees Gianni's eyes glitter. He feels calm, but he feels nervous. Suddenly, the prince kills the fire from the torch and embraces Gianni, which stops him from speaking anymore.

"I wish things were different," the prince whispers. "I wish I was never prince. I wish I was never born into royalty. I wish I was with you." Prince Julien embraces Gianni tighter and holds him never letting go. The clouds prevent any of moonlight to shine. Under the cover of darkness, the two melts their hearts as they finally confess what they feel.

"Gianni, I feel something strange, when I'm with you," Julien says. "When you are near, I feel nervous and relaxed, calm and excited. I have this feeling that I want to tease you every time and hug you every night before I sleep. I love you, Gianni."

"Your Highness, I…" Gianni also wants to confess, but Julien prevents him from speaking.

"Speak no more, I am well aware of what you feel. You love someone else. As much as it hurts me, I want you to be happy with your life," Prince Julien says.

"The truth is, I also like you, Your Highness," Gianni answers.

"What?"

"I do, I don't know if it's love, but I want to be always by your side and help you whenever I can. I want to feel your embrace and moan through the sensations that you give me whenever you bite my neck. I…"

Before Gianni can say anymore words, Prince Julien kisses him. As their lips meet, the clouds break and the moonlight reaches through. As they kiss under the moonlight, their hearts melt and their feelings are full of satisfaction.