The hot sting pumped adrenaline into his veins. Like a madman he raised his pistol again and shot another while still prone. He emptied a magazine on the gunmen. Each shot landing on their heads or in the chest area. Pushing himself up, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped his bloodied arm around it. Taking cover, he inserted a new magazine inside his pistol, taking a breath.

“Are you okay!?” Madam Wilde said.

“Not my first bullet wound, Madam,” he pulled the panel of his pistol. He got out of cover while exchanging fire without a single miss. He flicked the magazine off his pistol and looked at Madam Wilde.

“Madam, can you watch the Lady?”

“I can. Will you be alright?”

Mavin didn’t reply. He vaulted off the cover and held his breath long enough to watch the gunmen dressed like waiters appear out of columns. Each of his shots hitting the gunmen without fail. He recognized the face and the ethnicity of these men and as he continued to shoot, he picked off their pistol and emptied a drum mag to cover the Prince from the firefight.

“You Highness!” Mavin took cover. “Are you alright?”

“Fine! What about the Lady of Shina?”

“She’s fine!”

“We do know who they are after so it’s better for you to get out of this place.”

“I am no coward”

“That’s a given, your highness. But you are the target and the more you stay here the more the guests are in danger.”

“Who are these people?” Lord Gunther cuts in. He eyed Mavin with a blank stare.

“Same ethnicity, same guns, and the same bastards who have been eyeing you, your highness.”

“So they are from Flost then?”

“Former Royalists now turned angry men who wanted you dead.”

Lord Gunther was the first one to speak. “My Lord, we need you three out of this place. I will hold the line. It’s better if I stay here to explain what they are doing. We can hold this place. Your safety is our priority.”

“That’s right, your highness,” Mavin persuaded. “It’s better if the Ladies and you escaped. Your highness can handle yourself, but I am going to need some backup while I escort you out,” he glanced at Lord Gunther. “Is there a car we can take?”

“The car that the Prince took. Seeing that the royal guards are not appearing. It’s safe to assume that they have been neutralized.”

The rest of the hall was deep in a firefight. Those who were in the hall to act as extra protection held fairly well against the gunmen who came here to kill the Prince.

“I’ll take the lead and you three follow. Will that be alright, your highness?”

The Crown Prince glared. “I would have suspected you to be someone who wants to serve under me with how you talk, Lord Tomas.”

Mavin didn’t reply. Though he knew the events. He was unfamiliar with the details other than the biggest one. The Lady of Anastasia, who has been in a bad mood in the party, would try to make the Crown Prince save her. It was an illogical choice that put the life of the Crown Prince in danger and her as well. Though the Crown Prince managed to save the Lady of Anastasia, it caused the Crown Prince unable to walk straight without a limp because of a misfire. It would also be the event that would lead to the Lady of Shina becoming even closer, leading to the downfall of the Lady of Anastasia. Right now, Mavin needed a healthy prince without any weakness.  A healthy body comes with a healthy mind.

Mavin ran abruptly back to the table where Madam Wilde was exchanging fire. He had noticed that she was hitting her target. Unknowingly, a smile came to him as he stuck his back to cover.

“You are good, Madam.”

“Just call me Natalya.”

“Is that appropriate?”

“It is for the person who knocked me out of the way,” she exchanged a shot and hit another gunman. “What did you talk about with the Prince?”

“We need the Ladies and the Prince out of this place. I need someone to watch them. Would you mind?”

Natalya turned to the Lady of Anastasia who was covering. She had abandoned her graces to keep herself safe from harm. “My Lady, would you mind if I keep you out of harm’s way?”

The Lady looked at Natalya with a gape of her mouth. “Of course, if you were part of this scheme you would have shot me dead by now,” she turned to Mavin. “Sir Tomas, I will trust you with my life for now.”

“Understood, Madam,” Mavin turned Natalya “We’re going to move from cover to cover. I’ll signal the Prince to follow us. My Lady, please stay within the Crown Prince’s reach.”

Mavin inhaled before gesturing at Lord Gunther then the Prince. Lord Gunther instructed the men who had moved to his side to cover the Prince. Mavin carefully shot his pistol while counting the bullets he had shot. He only had one magazine left and he made sure to keep his pistol aimed only at those who would shoot them. As they reach the entrance, Natalya took the other side of the door and within three counts, she opened the door and Mavin rushed with a tray in his hand. Once he was out of the door, he spotted multiple gunmen. There were four men who carried submachine guns on their hands and armed to deal with anyone. As expected, the royal guards armed with ten-round rifles were down on the ground with their heads popped.

Mavin held his breath as his perception of time slowed down for him.  The sounds of gunfire faded away. He heard nothing other than his own heartbeat as he crouched-run behind the first gunmen, thrust the tray on the enemy’s neck, shot the rest of his pistol on the gunmen, stole the gunman’s pistol and shot the rest. Holding on to the gunman, making him a shield, he took the submachine gun and threw it at Natalya who was looking his way. She dove for the rifle, uncaring of her dress, and made quick work of the gunman looking her way. Mavin pushed on while checking all the sides. He lobbed another rifle at the Crown Prince who stayed close to the daughters of the Grand Dukes of the Empire.

Then he saw clearly how the gunman he was using a shield had his head popped. He threw the gunman aside, dived for the rifle used by the royal guard, and aimed it at the direction where the shot came from. Spotting a glint coming from the northwest of his position, he made a gamble and squeezed the trigger of the rifle. A man who was taking aim at a vantage point fell flat on the ground. He exhaled, pulled the bolt of the rifle, and scanned the area. Without missing a beat, he gestured for the Crown Prince to move in a hurry. The three moved next to the car while Natalya rushed to the side.

“We don’t know how many enemies there are. Natalya, let’s gather some ammunition from them. Take their drum-mags and throw them in the middle of the car. Crown Prince, please stay in the back and make sure that the Ladies are safe, your highness.”

He nodded. Natalya picked up the magazines left behind by the gunmen. Mavin ripped off a bandolier from one of the corpses and strapped it across his chest. He rushed to the car and started it.

The limousine owned by the Crown Prince was made from the newest technologies. A reinforced chassis, and with an engine that should be able to run 60mph without breaking down.

Other gunmen who heard the shots moved to their location. They were well-armed and ready for a fight. He didn’t understand where this was coming from. Even those memories didn’t tell him anything because after the prince was shit, it just skipped to another scene with Lord Gunther.

Mavin didn’t wait for a monologue as he drove away. While he was driving away from the place, the Crown Prince informed the forces around Upper Town that the same Royalists who had been plotting for the dissolution of the treaty. He had requested every force in the city to send reinforcements while ordering the Athesian Forces to secure the North and South Gates of the Empire. It may sound like a crazy thing to do, but this move alone should inform everyone that the Royalist forces had attacked the Crown Prince, and he had gotten away from their attempted assassination.

He didn’t inform just the Empire, but all the factions inside the City. He was not withholding the information. He was brazenly telling everyone that they come and secure the Royalists that are attacking them. He demanded their cooperation and it was clear that he wasn’t going to think twice condemning those who didn’t come to his aid.

“I had thought that we had secured the Royalists.”

“Apparently not,” Mavin drove the limo without minding for the traffic. The speedometer on the front reached close to 60. The city-state of Flost was big and spacious. As they got out of the enclosed area he found automobiles guarding their way.

“Hold on!”

Mavin slammed his foot down on the pedestal and rammed straight on center, piercing their blockade.  Natalya gripped her rifle and smashed the windshield. Kicking the windshield off the limo, she placed the rifle on the front and started aiming for the cars racing their way. Each shot hit the cars. She didn’t waste ammo with full-auto, and held her weapon with discipline as she shot single shots on the enemies.

In the mirror Mavin saw the daughters of the Grand Dukes holding on to the Crown Prince’s arms. He looked at the ladies with a strange stare, especially to the Lady of Anastasia who he had always perceived as a woman who would not quiver. Unless she was someone who had gotten used to five-years in a war. She would obviously act like this. The Crown Prince was a perfect man to others, but to Mavin who had knowledge of what his core was made out of. He was someone whose personality had allowed him to immediately assume things. It was expected of him to do so in order to anticipate everything. A man bred to become a ruler of an Empire with a Hundreds of Vassals, it was expected for him to be a perfect man.

Seeing him confused had oddly given Mavin joy. Of course, Mavin was glad that the Crown Prince hadn’t been shot or crippled because of the Lady of Anastasia’s actions. He didn’t know what made the Lady act so differently, then again this was better than her following the same actions.

Adrenaline was still pumping him. And as he took a peek at the one beside him. Natalya fired with such discipline that made it clear that she was not someone who had stayed in peaceful fronts. Remaining calm and composed under fire made her look like an angel with a rifle to Mavin.

Still, there was something nagging inside of Mavin as he looked at her. There was something that was missing. He couldn’t figure it out as he took a sharp right turn in an intersection. Thankfully, she wasn’t sitting on the window like a fool. The limo continued to resist the gunfire and Mavin was rather thankful that they took the Crown Prince’s car.

“They are following us around!”

“I can see that!”

Mavin kept his distance from the attackers. There was a swarm of them trying to put a bullet in the Crown Prince’s head. He didn’t have time to think. No time to even care about the damage he was doing as he bulldoze through the sidewalk stalls and avoid any incoming traffic. He was half-deaf with Natalya shooting her rifle on any chasers trying to ram them.

“Currently we are at Iven Street! We are on my Limo! A silver chassis flying the Imperial Flag!”

“I forgot to fucking remove the flag!”

Natalya aimed at the flag sticking out on the front and shot the flag off the car. The Crown Prince gritted his teeth and once again informed the people that they were coming. That field telephone installed in this car was something that was not available even in the frontlines back then.

“Prince, w-what should we do?” Lady Shina finally spoke after a long silence.

“We keep our head down.”

“B-but what about the people back there?”

“Too late for now! Trust in them Emil!”

“We can’t just leave them alone!”

“Don’t be foolish!”

Natalya who was scanning the road suddenly glared at the Ladies who were about to start something. There was a cold glare in her that made the two stop talking.

“Forgive my impoliteness, but right now we are KINDLY escorting the two out of this problem. I am not even supposed to be here, but as a citizen of the Republic, I don’t want the Prince, and the daughters of the Grand Dukes to be found dead in this City. So please, would you kindly shut your mouths before I shut it for yours?”

She smiled. Mavin saw through a single glance that deadly smile of hers. A vein popping. The two Ladies had strong personalities, but Natalya was not someone who they could argue with right now, not when she was holding the rifle that was keeping them alive.

“Nice job,” Mavin said.

“Do you think that the peace treaty can happen even with this?”

“I don’t know, but it must happen.”

Mavin pushed the car through alleys and streets, trying to lose the automobiles. If it wasn’t for the engine of this limo, Mavin couldn’t imagine what would have happened.

Rushing through checkpoints without stopping, the soldiers who saw the bullet-ridden chassis of the limo backed off. Spotting the cars that were chasing the limo they manned the machineguns and opened fired. There was an army of sedans still chasing them. From what he could deduce, the entire royalists forces were observing from a distance. If they could follow them then they must have spots where they could coordinate their attack. If they were trying to separate the Crown Prince from the party halls then they succeeded, and even if they did, they were not having a great time trying to kill the Prince.

“Why aren’t we going straight to upper town?”

Mavin answered. “Natalya, right now there are artillery on every goddamn rooftop in this city. If the Royalists could have managed to coordinate these much forces despite the cleanup, then they must have their own somewhere. I don’t know what they are thinking, not obliterating the party halls with shells. However, I can assume that their real goal is to take the Crown Prince with them and use him as a bargaining chip. We got away too easy from them and the only thing that I am sure is that if we fucking stop somewhere then they are going to shell it.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“We stop for a moment then we are going to get surrounded. How many miles can we drive before the limousine needs refuel?”

“Three days at best. Two days with the speed you are going. You are doing well, Lord Tomas. You are doing very well.”

Mavin knew his body well enough. This 7.3-liter eight-cylinder engine was a beast of a machine. It had so much torque. However, Mavin was using all his strength to shift gears. He had to double-clutch with a deft touch to shift smoothly.  Not only that, the rear-wheel brakes were operated by an off-hand lever. The brake pedal had to be activated with the transmission brake.

“So the plan is to cruise around while they hunt every royalist?”

“Hopefully.”

“I will make sure of it.”

The Crown Prince said with bloodlust in his tone. “We’ve been lenient to these monsters and we have tried to remove them peacefully. I won’t make the same mistake ever again.”

“Why can’t we talk it out?” Lady Shina said.

“After this?” Lady Anastasia retorted. “After they killed members of the royal guard and started firing at our enemies? Emil, my friend, there is a limit to kindness. We cannot be forgiving all the time. I understand where you are coming from. It is better to have a conversation than deal with it like this, but we must remain proud. My Prince, they will call this weakness, but I shall have my faction reduce these sentiments.”

The Crown Prince didn’t reply. Lady Shina kept quiet, though she seemed to have many responses she wanted to speak about. She was not safe. Even she could understand that the time for talking against these pretenders was done. If they continue to make this as peaceful as ever then it would only show that the Empire was being ‘cowardly’ despite the constant schemes.  The Crown Prince had already made an ultimatum to the forces in the city-state of Flost.

Either they wipe out the royalists forces with the Empire. Or the Empire will solve it and destroy the rats polluting their cities. Everyone would just think that these ‘royalists’ were a plot of the three nations. The Holmian ambassador was living close to the firefight and the government seat literally just a few meters away from them, and yet they saw no response. It would paint the three nations as nations who wanted another war with the Empire after two-years. They have enough ammo to declare war against the three nations and this time it would be a righteous crusade. Many in the Empire would force more men to die, but the Crown Prince would not allow it.

The citizens of the Empire refused to send good young men to die in the war again.

Mavin could admire the Crown Prince for that. He had seen what the new type of war could cause and he had fought in the field of battle personally and survived that hell to know what another war could cause them.

Mavin knew that many would call the Crown Prince ‘weak’ for this, but the Second Prince would probably support the Crown Prince in this. Mavin already knows what they call the Crown Prince in the mainland, and yet the Crown Prince still strives for this ‘peace’ while being slapped twice.

But that time for weakness was gone.

The city-state of Flost became a place of battle.

 

---

Soldiers flooded the streets of the city with an order from their superiors.

 To take out of the rest of the royalist forces.

It became a firefight from the Arches to the Grove. Most of the battle happened in the South Town. Artillery rang on the city of Flost as the ‘Royalists’ now turned into ‘Anti-Peace’ forces have started their fight. These ‘fighters’ were not trained in battle. They didn’t experience a true battle in the trenches and it became a slaughter for the anti-peace forces. In the radios and telephones of the force was the voice of the Crown Prince of the Empire reminding everyone who they are fighting.

Even those who had hatred for the Empire had chosen to participate against these bastards. They might hate each other, but the only reason they tolerate each in this city was because of this ‘peace’ that they were trying to achieve.

Every anti-peace member was taken to the streets and were either shot or chained by the garrison inside the city. It was brutal and turned the streets of Flost red. Those who operated the artillery were the ones who were cruelly dragged out in the open and hanged on lamp posts of the street.

Everyone was acting like animals as they vent their anger on these royalists turned rebels of peace. Each faction cleaned their own blocks with extremity. They kept their line bordered and blocked to anyone except the silver bullet-ridden limousine of the Crown Prince of the Empire roaming around.

Outside of the inner district where the Garrison was. There were many anti-peace forces that had occupied fortified buildings. Two hours after the attempted murder. There were fires that were started all over the city. Fire engines roamed the city as they put out fire.

With battle happening the civilians who were inside the city were obviously involved. There were people crying and shouting about. There were mobs who joined the fight. Those who were caught by the mobs did not look pretty. All of them were either hanged or brutally beaten to death. Those who were lucky got shot in the head by the soldiers who were fighting the forces.

“How horrible,” Lady Shina shook at the sight of chaos. It only took two hours for the city to change. The tension that was in the air completely broke. There was anger everywhere that it was breaking the heart of the Lady of Shina. “Is peace still really possible with this?”

“Yes,” the Prince said with certainty. “Right now, they have found an excuse to show that they are willing to fight for this peace. These ‘royalists’ have become the scapegoat for everyone’s hatred. The wounds have not healed, my lady. It has to be this way. They will pay.”

Mavin nodded his head. He had honestly thought that despite what he did. He still found this result better than the total war that had begun again when the Crown Prince got shot and became crippled.

A single day of slaughter or years of one? Mavin thought how maybe he should have done more. That he should have strived to find everything and everyone to make way for a better result.

He had understood that he was one man. Even he had no talents to stop the five-year war despite having knowledge of it.

 He had a peak body condition, but he didn’t have everything there is to know on how it started. He didn’t have good memories of these ‘memories’, and he was skeptical about these memories, thinking that he was going mad or delusional.

Only when he saw Kohl reunite with the person he had loved that he was sure that changes could be made. How he had prevented the bomber. That was what all he could do to make the situation less troublesome.

His memories of these strange games were vague. He didn’t have a convenient memory that told him everything. He wasn’t even sure that he knew everything other than the important points that were in those text-boxes. Mavin couldn’t be everywhere and couldn’t solve anything. There were also factors such as if he could even go to the places that they would be going.

This was merely the beginning.  The ‘memories’ told him that he was still far from peace. Not to mention that he didn’t know what would happen next. If the peace treaty is signed, then he’d be lost on what he should do. Right now, he was relying on the people that will be the cause of the events. Not on him actively influencing people to change their tones. Most of the people that were in the ‘memories’ were proud and stubborn. He relies on the ‘pre-conceived’ description of them. But there were only a few of them. Not to mention he couldn’t remember it all. He was a good fighter with a body in peak condition. However, he was not an all-seeing person who could read the mind of others and anticipate their moves and predict them. People were volatile and in those memories they acted obviously and those text boxes were not subtle on underlining and highlighting the important clues. He had no magical text box that would lead him to the proper choice.

His goal was to keep the Crown Prince from being out of the game. He wanted to rid the ‘weakness’ that made the Crown Prince vulnerable to affection. Right now, the Crown Prince that was with the two ladies were looking at them properly. He had seen their selves and had come to understand a part of them.

 

---

Mavin drove to a single location that he had remembered. The Crown Prince looked at him oddly as he then reported to the Colonel where the place was. The first one to get out was Natalya. She told everyone to get out as Mavin then lead them inside this rather strange abode.

Carrying the drum-mag rifles with them. Mavin and Natalya unlocked the door and went inside the house. Madam Natalya was a mess. She had tied her long skirt up like a sash around her waist. The two ladies were curious and wary. The Crown Prince who stayed on the Ladies side watched Mavin. Only Mavin seems to have certainty on what they are doing here.

“Lord Tomas, explained already.”

“The report didn’t say anything about this place.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was skeptical whether I should point the finger, but it seems like it was true. There was one person who I have started to suspect. When I was cleaning up there was always one name that came out. I wanted evidence, your highness. That I can still bring us to a peaceful conclusion with this man, and that he would know it was over. Instead, he had doubled down and now it brought chaos to the city.”

It was a grand lie. Mavin could only speak vaguely and lie. He was now using the direct method that he knew. He wanted to know more, learn more, and get more from every named character that existed in those ‘memories’. But he couldn’t afford that luxury right now.

“Tomas, no, Mavin,” Natalya said. “I don’t like your eyes right now.”

Mavin didn’t say anything. He led the three of them to a double-door room with an office. He searched around for a lever or a button and found it on the third shelf to his left. He gestured and walked in the spiral staircase leading down to a metal hallway.

Down the hall they could hear telephones and radios sounding. There were people inside the chamber not far from where he was standing.  Following the chamber, he found the door, and slammed his foot down before holding his breath.

His perception of time slowed down to a still. He looked at the people armed and pulled the trigger. Each shot hitting them in the head, neck, and chest. Before anyone could react, the only standing was an old man wearing an old style-uniform that belonged to the Imperial Army forty-years ago.

Before he could draw his weapon. Mavin pulled the drum mag off his rifle and threw it straight on the old man’s head. Before he could recover from the hit, a knee struck him squarely in the chest, pushing his back on the wall. Mavin stomped on his legs and hands, making sure that he was crippled.

“Your highness, I found him,” he said to the Crown Prince who was waiting up the spiral staircase. The four them entered the chamber and found the slaughter. Once the Crown Prince saw the old man with broken limbs. He seems to understand something.

“Old Sable,” he said blandly. “So you were the one who did this.”

The Old Man suppressed his own cries. He looked at the Crown Prince with a rather elated smile. That ‘terror’ that he had became a euphoria. As if he had been enlightened.

“So I was being played,” the old man giggled. “I was a fool to think that the First Son had no sharpened fangs.”

The old man was misunderstanding. The Crown Prince seemed to laugh inwardly at this ‘misunderstanding’ of his and played the role. He listened to the make-believe story that this old man concocted in his head, praising the Crown Prince for being the schemer.

“I was mistaken, your highness.”

“Enough, Old Sable,” the Crown Prince was about to order the man to surrender, but he held his tongue. He probably didn’t want to break what this ‘man’ thought he was.

With his broken hand he reached out for the telephone he was using. “He won. It seems that he had made a fool out of all of us.”

Then he looked at Mavin. “Hah, to think that the Ghost of Dinia was under you. I see. Hehe, the bastard who shot—”

Before he could continue talking. Mavin pulled the trigger. The bullet piercing through his skull, brain, bursting, and painting the Old Man’s brains juices in the wall.

The Crown Prince stared at Mavin. “Good, we don’t need people knowing that.” He turned around without a word. The ladies who saw what Mavin did looked away and followed the Crown Prince out of the spiral staircase.”

As Mavin was about to leave he noticed Natalya blocking his way. There was no light in her eye as she stared at Mavin.

“Madam?”

“In the Siege of Lekros, three years ago, in the early weeks of fall, during the last months of the war. Did you fight in there?”

“What are you—”

“Tell me. Did you fight in that siege, Mavin Tomas?”

“I did.”

“I see.”

Natalya ripped off the eyepatch from her face and gave a lightless glare coupled with a smile reaching up her ears. 

She breathed roughly as if she was craving. There was a strange obsessive madness in her eyes. And seeing her without the eyepatch, and imaging what she would look without the scar.

 Mavin simply froze.

“Lady Bellatrix?”

“So you know who you scarred that day? No, you only shot an enemy, not knowing who you fought for two days, testing her patience, waiting for your bullet to hit her head. I wanted to know who did it. I wanted to know who almost shot my head off that day. So it was you, Mavin Tomas. I am glad that it was you...hehe~”

She was two inches away. 

He could feel her breathe and smell the fragrance of her sweat.

“So it was you~”

She repeated herself as if she was the happiest girl in the world.

There was a person in those ‘memories’ that scared everyone in the Empire later on.

The very person who would challenge the Athesian Empire after the so-called happy ending. 

The woman who would rise to become Viola Whitefall, first of her name, Imperator of the Whilde Empire.

The Lady Bellatrix, and the soon-to-be Butcher of Dinia was standing in front of him.

---