Sweet Waters Throne

180 Chapter 18What Lord Balrus said was treason, he knew it, his friends knew it and that’s why Lord Akirbus had to turn back and look if anyone was eavesdropping on their conversation. Lord Balrus assured him that all the servants were outside doing their chores and he had nothing to worry about.

“It’s not the servants I’m scared of, it’s these walls which can talk” said Lord Akirbus biting his teeth. “This boy has really lost it, you should have never told him about his true nature”

“It was his mother who told him, even after she swore to me that she will never tell him”

Lord Angun finally intervened on the conversation after being silent for some time, “Does anyone about this information, apart from us?” he asked.

“About the Taelins war or about the true heir to Sweet Waters throne?” Lord Balrus asked him.

“Both… but preferably the later”

“No one knows about Aprophil, except the Queen” replied Lord Balrus, and as he expected his friends were startled.

Lord Akirbus went crazy, “Aurora knows about him? How? Did you tell her?” he demanded to know.

“She knew way before anyone of us did. Even before she had dragons and married the King. She saw him in her visions, you all know she is powerful as a seer and a Dark Crawler, she sees things none of us do” said Lord Balrus and then he went on drinking. “That shouldn’t worry us now, it’s Aprophil who is our main concern. All four of us vowed before the King to protect his son, Lord Degon is dead and hence he is relived from his vow, but for us… we have a job to do”

.....

Well, Lord Balrus was right. All three of them had a task to do and that was saving Aprophil from dying in the war which he practically brought on himself. But he was shy away from his twenty eighth name day and no longer a boy but a man grown, not to mention Miranda was expecting another child of his. Artemis was shy from his twenty sixth name day but he showed great strength than his older brother.

Hence these three Lords discussed on ways they could turn the war in Prophis to Aprophil’s favor. Lord Angun suggested alerting Aryan who had no clue by then that armies were marching towards her kingdom, she was in a honeymoon with her new bride. All she and Olivia did was making love from dusk till dawn, and sometimes from dawn till dusk on a faraway island which was warm and had a lot of warm fruits.

This island was far way East and it was called Sweetfish Retreat, one had to travel to Andreia and from there board a ship to this island which was small and had very few inhabitants who were kind and very welcoming. Sweetfish Retreat provided the comforts one needed and the solitude too, many Lords and Ladies alike visited Sweetfish Retreat as a way of avoiding the crowded cities. In this island, the summer never ended and the fun didn’t stop.

No one knew who Aryan was when she arrived in the island, everyone was the same in this place and there were no titles to be considered. Aryan and Olivia stayed inside a luxurious inn and it had been three days since they arrived in Sweetfish Retreat and somehow they wished never to return to the freezing Raven.

During the morning, they would have hot porridge made of millet with bananas, for lunch it was smoked fish just near the sea and for dinner, the locals and foreigners would gather for a barbecue of either sheep, goat, or a whole cattle and sometimes a few pigs. The barbecue would go along with baked breads and pastries, sweet potatoes, honeyed wine and fresh squeezed juices. In short this life in Sweetfish Retreat was everything Aryan had wished and hoped for, and she thanked Olivia for arranging this place as their honeymoon destination.

Henceforth, alerting Aryan was a good strategy placed down by Lord Angun but how would that benefit Aprophil? “We won’t mention about Aprophil’s fleet sailing towards the small villages, we shall write to her that one hundred thousand men are marching towards the capital from South, and it’s Prince Ambrose coming for her throne” explained Lord Angun. Then he went on, “No one will suspect Aprophil’s fleet while it is yet to arrive in Prophis, but if she were to send riders to look for the Prince Ambrose’s army, then they will definitely see it marching towards their city”

It sounded like a good plan, but Lord Balrus wanted to hear more, hence he stated to pay attention to his friend Lord Angun. “Go on, then what?” asked Lord Balrus.

“Aryan is weak now and she barely has enough men, my guess is maybe forty thousand left after Artemis burned the rest. She will panic and she will know if she let’s Prince Ambrose and his men near her borders, then she will lose the war. This will leave only one place which stands between South and North, a meeting point”

Lord Angun paused and let his friend figure out the riddle by themselves. What place stood between South and North? The meeting point, if you have been with me until this time then you must remember this crucial place. When Castellan went to war with Lucian Mithandir, he didn’t want the Mithandir to step foot inside his city. For an army that huge it was just a matter of time before Castellan was defeated and the city sacked, hence there was only one place they could meet to battle it out.

Only Lord Balrus quickly solved this puzzle. He gasped and said it loudly “Stonedance” but he was still unsure of what he just said. “Stonedance? You really think she will lead her army to Stonedance?” asked Lord Balrus with a startled look on his face.

Lord Angun explained in details, “There has never been an open space like Stonedance, although this time it would be the Western part of Stonedance, because this part is closer to Raven. The Eastern part was close to King’s City but the capital now is Raven. Prince Ambrose will lead his men to this Western part with hopes of making it to Raven, but then he will be shocked seeing Aryan and her men waiting just when he was so close to the City”

The plan sounded too good, maybe if Aryan were to hear Lord Angun’s plan to defeat Prince Amborse; then she would have been flattered. But Lord Balrus wasn’t easily convinced, he kept on asking. “Stonedance maybe the perfect place for her meet Prince Ambrose and his army, but I think we are forgetting the most important thing my Lord. She doesn’t have enough men, fighting against eighty thousand men in an open battle is suicide. How do you think she’ll survive out of this?”

Then right there, Lord Angun smiled. He didn’t utter a single word, but just the way he smiled it was enough for Lord Balrus to know what he didn’t say out loud.

“Unless, she doesn’t…” Lord Balrus now smiled too, this whole plan was really working out on their favor and he had to learn about this at the end.

Lord Akirbus seemed lost, “Wait, is this a trap?” he asked Lord Angun.

Suddenly Lord Angun stood up and started to pace slowly around the room, back and forth feeling like a winner already with his masterplan.

“Then what happens after she and her army are defeated?” asked Lord Balrus, even he was eager to learn more from Lord Angun today.

“With Aryan out of Raven and all her army, Aprophil will find the city without a ruler. Maybe a few garrison guarding the palace, he will put them to sword, and everyone who is loyal to Aryan including the Lords she appointed, if they resist of course. By sundown, Prince Amabel Taelin will have Raven and the Silver throne, the next day he must be anointed in front of the masses and crowned the King of Prophis, Lord of Frozen Lands and Protector of The Realm” replied Lord Angun still standing and pacing back and forth.

“By the time Aryan falls, which won’t be that easy, Prince Ambrose’s men will be worn out from the victory. Let’s say he loses half of his men fighting Aryan, he rests for one night and during the first light he marches to Raven only to find Amabel has already taken the throne without even losing his men. Amabel shall have one hundred thousand men or maybe less, let’s say some of them died fighting the garrison. Even though, Prince Ambrose will still be outnumbered twice by his nephew. If he is crazy, he will want to fight again ─ but if he’s smart…”

Lord Balrus quipped in, “If he’s smart he will turn back and run. But knowing how feisty he is, Prince Ambrose won’t back down” he said.

“Good!” Lord Angun shouted. “That’s even more better, have the generals of Prince Amabel lead just thirty thousand fresh men to fight against starving and worn out Prince Ambrose’s men who by this time I’m positive they will be freezing to death and unable to fight.”