IN AZRAEL
"Your majesty, this is now beyond our power. More citizens are getting killed each day, and even the troops sent to subdue the attack on the border were all slaughtered. what do we do now?"
King Alan sighs, looking distressed. He was worried that if he didn't find a solution to the problem, more of his people would die. He felt bad that as a king, he couldn't protect his people in times of trouble.
What could King Arthur want? they already allied with Everton, so even if he keeps attacking them, there was no going back.
"Your Majesty, this is the reason I suggested we ask king Carl for help. If you had listened to me back then, things would not have escalated to this point."
"Yes he's right, things would have been resolved if we just asked Carl for help."
"Can you just shut your mouth? If we have to ask Carl for every little thing what does that make us. Carl has a nation of his own, that also needs protecting, we can't just turn to him every time we're in trouble."
Soon the throne room was in chaos, as the council members started arguing amongst themselves.
"Silence," king Alan yelled. This is not the time to fight, amongst ourselves. We need to be United more than ever. That's why I have decided to go to Neptune and meet king Arthur.
The members of the council were gobsmacked, they all looked at the king like he had gone nuts.
"Your majesty, I don't think that is a Good Idea. King Arthur is not to be trusted, and if you go to him, there is a possibility that you won't come back alive."
"Your majesty, Why do you want to go to Neptune?"
"I need to know why king Arthur's soldiers have been attacking our border towns. I need to know if it can be resolved, so the killing can stop," King Alan replied.
"But, your Majesty, I also don't think this is a good decision, even if you go to Neptune, I'm sure King Arthur would want something first before he stops the attack. And what if that something, is what you can't give?"
King Alan thought about what each of his council members had said. Yes, they were right about King Arthur being dangerous, but he couldn't just sit on his hands, why more of his people die.
"I've made my decision. I'll be leaving for Neptune, at dawn."
"But my king, you can't leave Azrael without a monarch, why don't you send king Arthur a letter, or maybe send someone else to Neptune instead."
"Arthur is a king, it will not be right to send someone else if we want him to take us seriously."
All the council members did not agree with King Alan's decision, even those who supported him before when he decided not to ask Carl for help, were against his decision this time. so after the meeting, they secretly went to meet queen Lyarra.
"Queen Lyarra, we came to you because we think, King Alan is making the wrong choice. What do you propose we do at a time like this?"
Queen Lyarra knew her husband refused to ask Carl for help and is now going to Neptune to negotiate with Arthur.
"That man is such a fool. if he thinks I'll let him go to Neptune, he lies. I'm not ready to be a widow," she thought.
"My dear council members, you don't have to worry, I'm the Queen, so it's my duty to step in when the king is making a wrong choice. I will make sure he doesn't go to Neptune, but first, we need to send a letter to King Carl.
...
IN EVERTON
"My king is everything alright," Jerald asked, seeing that the once happy Carl was now in a bad mood.
Carl scanned through the scroll again. The scroll was from Azrael and Queen Lyarra to be precise.
"Read this, what does it say," he ordered, giving Jerald the scroll.
"It says that Azrael is in distress, due to the constant attacks on their border town by King Arthur's men," Jerald reads out.
Carl scoffed, clenching his fist." I know why that bastard is doing this," he muttered.
Jerald tilts his gaze to meet Carls."My king, what are you going to do? are you going to send soldiers to fight off Arthur's men," he inquired.
"No, I won't," Carl replied.
"What do you mean, no you won't? are you going to leave Azrael like that?"
"That's not what I mean Jerald. I mean, I won't send soldiers to fight off Arthur's soldiers, because that would only lead to more innocent people getting killed. but I'm going to do the same thing he did to Azrael," Carl explained.
Jerald's mouth formed an "O" and he said, "sorry I misunderstood you."
Carl rolled his eyes, then he collected the scroll back from Jerald.
"I want you to send one hundred men to Neptune, tell them to kill the soldier defending the border, and burn all the houses too. They must do it in a way that no innocent person is harmed," Carl ordered, an evil glint flashing in his eyes.
"Yes, my king," Jerald answered, still giving Carl a questioning look.
"What?" Carl rasped, seeing that Jerald was not leaving.
"My king, are you going to tell queen Zara about this?"
Carl sighed, then he replied, "No, I won't. I don't want her to worry."
Jerald smiled at Carl's answer. "My king, you seem to care a lot about queen Zara," he teased, and Carl glared at him making him keep quiet.
"I will leave now," Jerald muttered, walking out of the office.
ZARA'S POV
I strolled happily through the beautiful garden, humming a song, with Lia trailing beside me. I didn't know why I was happy, but I was.
"My queen, you seem to be very happy, what or who is the reason behind your happiness?" Lia taunts, winking at me.
I scoffed, rolling my eyes."No one," I replied.
"Could it be king Carl, I heard the both of you spent the night in Lady Gwen's room, and you were also drunk, do you think something happened?" Lia whispered, moving closer to me.
I suddenly remembered what happened between Carl and I, and blushed really hard.
"Oh my God princess, you are blushing, that means something happened, tell me please."
"I'll tell you, but you must promise not to tell anyone," I whispered, pulling her even closer.
"I promise," She replied, giving me an impatient look.
I narrated everything, that I remembered happened between Carl and I, and Lia squealed.
"Oh my God! Zara, you and the king...
"Keep it down Lia," I yelled, cutting her off.
"But Zara, I find it strange. I mean, waking up in lady Gwen's room," Lia inferred.
"I know Lia, I also find it strange, that we woke up in her room," I muttered, remembering the incident at the bath. Lady Gwen is truly strange.
"My queen, you should be careful around her, I don't trust her one bit," Lia advised, and I nodded, giving her a light smile.
We continued admiring the variety of beautiful flowers but suddenly heard a twitch, inside them.
"My queen, did you hear that?" Lia asked, taking a step back.
"Yes, I did," I replied, striding forward to take a look.
"Zara, you should be careful, it could be a snake or something dangerous," Lia warned, hiding behind me.
I nodded, taking another step forward to check between the flower, only to see that it wasn't a snake, or anything dangerous, but a girl. A girl who looks like she was the same age or a little older than me and Lia.
"Who are you?" I asked, giving her a curious look.
She trembles, looking frightened, then she did something I didn't expect.