George stared at Zander, unable to believe that Gennaios was so foolish, so arrogant, so petty as to start a war over a jilted bride. He felt that Aiden had been honourable enough to give the princess a way out instead of marrying her and then ignoring her. She would be far from home, alone and unloved. But he was a man, what did he know? Even when he was sane he had never been interested in the tender emotion called love. And with Ciel… George would have to admit he was hit by lust before love.
“They didn’t start a war immediately of course. But our relationship had soured very badly. In the coming months, they started by demanding recompense from the war with the Schied. There were no spoils, save the materials that we remembered to harvest from the dead beasts. But those had been divided long ago. Gennaios had even generously declined most of them, thinking that the union between both our kingdoms would be the biggest win. The price they demanded was high. They had hardly lost any of their soldiers but it wasn’t for the soldiers… it was for their lost honour and our broken promise… another option was to marry her myself but Aida, Aida was the only one in my heart. And neither I nor the princess could overlook that I was old enough to be her father.” Zander gave a wry smile.
“Gennaios was still using marriage as a political tool while we had long shunned it. If Aiden had not been interested in Estrelle in the beginning, perhaps we would have sent them away and sought help elsewhere… but back to the story, we could not afford to pay the ridiculous demands that Gennaios wanted. And when Declan had seen it, he had been angry as well. He had tried to reason with Liam but it was fruitless. Liam had been angry beyond measure at the way his beloved daughter had been treated. Myself and Declan, we had a horrible time then. I had wanted to reason with Aiden but when I looked in his eyes, I realized that he didn’t even like Estrelle anymore so I gave up. If I could marry for love, I couldn’t make my son marry for politics. He had changed overnight… his gentle face turned hard and his eyes and hair darkened… as if some evil had possessed him…”
It was a rather strange thing for hair and eyes to darken. George pondered over it and assumed that he had been possessed by evil like Zander had explained. He sighed at his story though. After experiencing so many things, he could almost foretell the ending of the story. Aiden would be lost to Zander as well. Now, instead of just losing one son, he would lose both.
“Since we could not, would not compensate them, things were starting to get a little difficult, especially at the border. Declan had tried to mediate the situation but he would not let Gennaios take advantage either. We knew that if we paid the demanded amount, my country would be a pauper and we would not last the cold season that was coming. If that happened, my enemies could just march in and take over the kingdom after that. To kill an enemy, it was easier to weaken him first.”
George nodded. The strategies of warfare were no strangers to him. He understood what Gennaios was trying to do; bleed them diplomatically and then rush in to take the kingdom, either by force or by pretext of helping them. If Zander had refused, then there was a legitimate excuse to use force. If Tharraleos was not strong enough or did not have a powerful enough ally, war against them was almost certain. It seemed despicable but it was what it was. Survival of the smartest.
“There were skirmishes at the border and we were amassing losses. The soldiers led by Prince Leopald would look for any excuse to attack our border posts. I finally had to close and barricade them. Gennaios was indirectly declaring war on us, Aiden had changed and my people had lost their faith in us. My constant questioning of Aiden was to no avail. He would not answer me, not tell me what made him change nor what was written in that paper. He still spoke to me respectfully but I did not seem to hold the same place I had in his heart any longer. Sometimes, I could still see traces of love and longing in his eyes but when I looked again, it was gone. He would brood by himself, and look upon the amulet around his neck. The white stone looked like it was glowing against the black clothes that he now chose to wear. At that time, I felt that it was strange but familiar. His hair, his cold eyes, his dark clothes… they reminded me of someone, but it was not my Aiden. When he finally lost his patience with me, he disappeared. We searched everywhere. The castle, the towns, the villages. I even sent someone to Andreios, hoping that he had sought the counsel of his uncles. It was all in vain. But I could not spend too much time searching. The cold was coming and I knew that Gennaios would probably attack after that. We had to prepare. This time I turned down the help that my brother-in-law offered. I would not let them hurt their relations with Gennaios, nor could I let other countries step in for what was truly a mistake on our part.”
“Declan now reached out to other kingdoms as well, hoping that the combined might of several countries would be able to cool Liam down and at least bring all of us to the treaty table to look for a peaceful solution. We succeeded in persuading him to come to negotiate again, but when I appeared alone to that mediation council, Liam lost his temper. He declared that Aiden was insolent and unrepentant, and would not even come to see him to apologize. He accused me of pampering him so much that he was now hiding behind the falling might of his doddering old father. He then laughed sarcastically at all the other kings present, telling them that they were also as foolish for thinking that they could be able to solve this peacefully. Liam declared war on us that day…” Zander was silent, remembering the events of that day.
“Insulting me, insulting my son, insulting all the royals present. Perhaps I should have seen it that day, the unexplained rage and foolish arrogance he displayed. He was never like that before, he had been a patient, amiable man who believed in nobility and justice. But we were all too angry see the changes, to say anything. Some felt angry, others tired and disappointed at the farce that was being played in the royal halls of Andreios castle. It was a failure of course. All it did was spread the ill will towards the other kingdoms that were previously only spectators of a childish fight. Now they had their pride and honour besmirched. The petty quarrel had escalated and everyone started casting stones at each other, bringing up slights from the past. Oh, why hadn’t I seen it then…”
Zander looked down, his back bowed in defeat and his face covered by his hands. George understood; the Schied had been sealed physically but their evil miasma had spread. Anger, pride, dissatisfaction, despair… those were the characteristics of someone who had been in close contact with the poison of the Arnitikós. George wondered if the missing elder son had done more evil than good with his actions. Zander continued his story, his voice muffled by his hands.
“Come the planting season, Gennaios’ troops appeared at the border. Their faces grim, their silver, black and white flags a contrast to the darkly armoured soldiers. So different from when they came to fight the Schied. The battle began. Perhaps it was because of the overwhelming numbers, or perhaps it was that my soldiers no longer believed in me… but there was no will to fight from my knights. They did not resist, preferring to be captured than to fight. But Gennaios was like a demon possessed. They did not abide by the rules of war, cutting down surrendering soldiers instead of taking them prisoner. Soon, it was a massacre and terrified, the knights that I was so proud of fled like frightened, inexperienced rabble. I had no choice but to sound the retreat, preferring shattered pride to lost lives. They chased us though… not letting us rest, taking us down in direct attacks or ambushes every moment they could. We lost territory little by little. Village after town was pillaged and razed in the wake of the crazed Gennaian soldiers. They no longer resembled the brave, honourable knights of the past but more like vulgar barbarians who only knew how to lust for blood.” Zander had finally looked up but his eyes were looking into the distance, his voice far away.
“It took several days but soon the battle had been brought to my castle door. Their unrelenting pursuit had brought them to my final line of defence. I despaired. I lost my wife, my son, my people, my honour… was I going to lose my home and kingdom too? We were fatigued beyond compare but those still loyal to me rushed to the castle and together, we sealed the gates and barricaded the doors. We were ready to fight to the death. I understood and the last of my faithful retainers understood as well. We could hear them. The roars as they stormed the castle, the crashes as they rammed the gates. The clashes of swords, the explosions of magic… I stood in the great hall, ready to fight to the last breath when they succeeded in breaking down my doors. Bang! Bang! Bang! Their battering ram hammering against my castle door, again and again. Our nerves were taut as above, archers and magicians were shooting their arrows and magic, buying our lives several more precious seconds. There was a crash as a magic projectile broke my mother’s beloved stained glass above the door. But that crash was followed by another as they finally succeeded in breaking down the door.”
“I stood there, back straight, sword clasped tightly in my hand as I faced my enemies at the door, loyal knights and retainers by my side. Leopald and Gerrald had led their troops this time. They marched forward, eyes a crazed red, breathing erratic and hair dishevelled. We stood apart, ready to fight each other to the finish when there was a tinkle of broken glass. We looked up and saw a man in a silver grey cloak jump in from the hole where the stained glass used to be…”
