The Red Prince (1)

by Stephen Lucas Lacroix

  “My Liege, please exit your carriage now,” said the Tigris guard.

  Moselei slid off his carriage and he was embraced by gifts. Moselei viewed his surroundings as some of the Tigris guards circled him and lined up towards the castle doors. As the surging water poured down, the guards bowed down and the doors slowly opened, noticing the gesture, Moselei followed. He took a peek at the castle doors and saw the beautiful queen of the Tigris, Mistrell Agamanu, escorted by her court.

  “Rise up, Diplomat Moselei,” said the Mistrell. The diplomat took several glances before he rose. She opened her arms graciously, “All of you, rise.” The guards then stood and then saluted the Mistrell, a status equivalent that of a queen.

  Moselei was impressed and kept gawking at the guards. The Mistrell beamed elegantly as she bowed for a moment in front of the Imperial guest.

  “I can see that you are fascinated by the city, Diplomat,” the Mistrell said.

  Moselei smiled and said, “I was mesmerized by your beautiful city, my Mistrell. However, that is not why I’m here.”

  The smile on the Mistrell slowly faded as she sighed for a moment. She turned her back and entered the castle. The diplomat followed her to the open throne room. The guards left and the doors of the castle closed. Inside, brown colored pillars, statues of previous rulers and heroes, and banners of the kingdom decorated the scene. Flooded with light, they arrived at the open throne room, and the council was already there, sitting on their respective chairs.

  The diplomat kept walking until he stopped at the middle where he could see the spectacular waterfalls. The Mistrell quietly sat on her throne.

  The Mistrell asked Moselei, “We received an earlier letter stating urgent news that will be delivered by an Imperial Diplomat. May you tell me of this urgency you speak off?”

  The diplomat cleared his throat before talking then looked back at the Mistrell. The council and the Mistrell’s eyes were now fixed on the diplomat.

  “As of now, the Trasidar Empire is weakened and I believe you have heard the news on how,” the Mistrell, looking awfully disappointed, glared back at Moselei and sighed. “The information I have when I left is that King Madarick Lluch is still bed ridden. Assuming the control of the Empire is the Archbishop turned Prime Minister, Menoich Anarchu. He was elected unanimously by the Imperial Council. He sent us to the remaining seven kingdoms to prepare your heroes for we request your help for a dangerous mission,” said Moselei.

  One of the councilors stood up and said, “The Imperial Trasidar, after the old war, didn’t accept aid from the other realms. Now you expect us to help you?” the rest agreed while the Mistrell quietly listened.

  Another councilor rose and pointed at him, “You still have the Imperial Phalanx, the strongest battalion of your army in the entire empire. You can still defend your cities without our help,” he exclaimed.

  They all agreed again and another spoke, “And you got the Orderian at your side including the Falcons, certainly it wouldn’t be hard for you to vanquish this rebel prince.”

  Moselei could not help but lower his head, feeling his mission to the Tigris Kingdom would be a loss.

  The Mistrell closed her eyes, clearly not wanting to get involved too early. Moselei gathered all his courage to speak up to the Tigris council, whom he knew were short-tempered people.

  “The Imperial Trasidar Phalanx needs the rest of the army to succeed. The Orderian was attacked, just as the daughter of the ruling family was about to leave,” he looked at everyone while the council was silent, “and even as we speak, they are still under threat by the Xerxecian army that is led by the Red Prince.”

  The council mumbled quietly as the diplomat continued his speech while the others were clearly shocked with the mention of the name, Red Prince.

  “It is also hard for us to decide and seek help from the other realms but this is the only way we know that will work,” he turned to his left. “We need the mightiest, the most powerful of warriors of the Seven Kingdoms of the entire land of Unibeltrasia, to defeat the Prince. If not, then the whole empire will fall.” He walked towards his right, “And the entire land will fall along with it. I hope that you’re well aware of the consequences.”

  “Defeat? Are you absurd? We have heard the rumors. The Prince is the strongest in the entire empire and possibly the entire eight kingdoms. Do you think that taking the Red Prince to a trial would be an easy feat?” a councilor said.

  “I’m afraid that there won’t be any trial at all, my dear councilor.” Moselei looked at the councilor, “By defeat, we mean, the Prince’s death,” he said, prompting a loud reaction from the council and surely surprising the Mistrell who was caught off guard.

  “Are you mad? Who even authorized such an act! You people are the ones who established trials in every kingdom in the continent. Now you are the very first people who wish to break it?” a councilor protested. “Have you no honor in your own words, Diplomat?”

  “My honorable councilors, I myself am against the order. Even the Prime Minister himself—”

  “Then why did he even let this kind of decision push through?” a councilor exclaimed once again.

  “It was a majority decision by our council. You of all people know the difficulties of running an empire as big as the Trasidians. Every decision has to be weighed against the benefit of the Empire as a whole,” Moselei explained. “Again, the Prime Minister tried everything he could to reverse it. But the law is the law as the Imperial Council puts it. Treason is punishable by death. Whether we like it or not.”

  A long pause followed after that. The council began to murmur and talk to one another while some whispered to the Mistrell’s ears.

  The Mistrell opened her eyes and stood up, “This is not the only time that the Trasidians have required our help. The last time you asked for help was when you were up against the Imperial Trodonar. Because they knew that if they fall, everything else will follow swiftly. They had set aside their pride and sought help from the other kingdoms.” The council buzzed louder while Moselei quietly listened to the Mistrell. “Yes. A punishment without a trial is certainly not acceptable and I do believe that Sir Moselei knows that it will not sit well with us. But the Imperial Council of the Trasidar Empire has already concluded that such a trial will not benefit the Empire and prolonging the problem even more would result only of ruin.” The Mistrell slowly walked to the center. Moselei stood firmly as he stared at the Mistrell and she returned his gaze, obviously pleased with his accomplishment of winning the votes of the council.

  “Honorable members of the Tigris Council I will send my daughter, Kaira Lamenreise to battle in hopes of defeating the traitor and preserving peace in Unibeltrasia and in our kingdom,” the council quietly listened to the Mistrell along with Moselei, “Anyone who opposes my decision, raise your voice now.” Both the Mistrell and Moselei waited around the councilors and none of them raised their hands.

  The diplomat released a sigh of relief and closed his eyes with a smile. The Mistrell seemed relieved of the outcome as well.

  “It’s decided then. By the power vested in me by the royal code of the Tigris and the honorable Tigris council, I hereby answer to the call of the Imperial Trasidar to send my daughter into battle.” The whole council applauded in the decision and the diplomat thought, mission accomplished!

  The council shook hands with Moselei while some continued to chat with him. They all hoped that their nightmare would disappear soon now that the Tigris Kingdom joined the fight. After a few moments, the councilors left the throne room, leaving only him and Mistrell Agamanu. She stood up and walked towards Moselei, smiling as she too shook Moselei’s hand.

  “All will be over soon, Diplomat. How about the other kingdoms?” They both let go of their hands.

  “The last I have heard, my dear Mistrell, the Orderian was the first to answer. Followed by the prince of Mystic Falcons and the Elves have also participated.”

  The Mistrell was intrigued, “The Elves? Wh
o knew they would work together again, Moselei?” They both chuckled a little before the diplomat answered.

  “To be honest, my dear Mistrell, we were also shocked because we’re expecting only one of them to join. But, the more we have, the chances of defeating the Red Prince is even greater,” he grinned towards the Mistrell.

  “My daughter is still training her troops. But later tonight she could start on with her journey,” the Mistrell said.

  The diplomat was contempt, “Before she leaves, I should give her the location. She can go on after that,” he said.

  “Very well, Diplomat. Well, I better get going then to tell her of the news. Meanwhile you can continue on your tour of the castle,” she added, the diplomat agreed, and then the Queen left the throne room, leaving the diplomat.

  Behind the castle was the Tigris barracks, and inside that were the Ligers’ training grounds. The Ligers was a division of the army solely led by the Tigris Princess Kaira Lamenreise and the elite of this corps will be part of the fifth strongest, the Tigris Arad-Assassins. Training was ongoing. Swords clanging, arrows slicing through the air, and constant sounds of bodies slamming the ground echoed almost the whole day.

  “Next!” the Princess yelled as she kept on training her new troops. “You guys are nothing compared to my youngest apprentice!” She pulled another trooper from the line and threw him to the ground. “And she’s just a seven! And a girl!” she shouted.

  The Mistrell, accompanied by her servants, entered the barracks. The troops saluted to her, some continued to train, and some were resting on the ground. She arrived at the Liger grounds only to see her daughter scaring off her new men, as usual.

  “My daughter,” Kaira still held another soldier under her arms and threw him hard to the ground.

  “Pick him up. I think I just broke his arm.” Two guards rushed to aid the crippled soldier as he screamed in pain. “Your kind of royalty doesn’t deserve to be in a place like this, mother,” she said and her mother approached and embraced each other.

  “It’s okay, my daughter. They need a little inspiration,” smiling towards her daughter, “I have something to tell you,” the queen adds.

  “Okay, mother. Hold on,” she answered. “Continue while I’m gone!” she ordered her troops as they scrambled.

  “What is it mother?” she asked as they walked out of the barracks.

  “The council and I just made a decision.”

  Feeling confused, she asked, “About what mother?”

  “We will send you to help the Trasidians defeat Prince Tamiron.”

  Kaira was baffled, “But, the Prince? Why?”

  They walked towards the castle’s gardens and continued discussing the matter.

  “To make the long story short, dear, the prince rebelled against the Empire, and launched a couple of attacks at the Orderian.”

  Kaira protested, “Why do they need our help, though? Do it themselves! It’s their problem, not ours!”

  The Mistrell sighed. “If the Trasidar Empire falls, then everything will surely fall with it.” Kaira was silenced and thought about it for a moment. “Do it for the people, my daughter.” She smiled as she held up her daughter’s head.

  “You’ll leave tonight to make up for the lost time. Am I understood, my daughter?”

  She quickly answered, “Yes mother, I will.” They hug each other and a little teardrop fell from Kaira’s eyes. Her mother stroked her golden hair.

  “I love you, my daughter,” she said as she comforted her daughter.

  “I love you too, mother,” she answered back and squirmed to her mother like a child. “Get your things, I’ll be waiting on the castle doors,” she said while smiling at her.

  Kaira nodded and ran inside to get the things she will need for her journey.

  Kaira quickly entered her chamber and grabbed only her trusted saber talon daggers that hung up on the wall, her iron-tail whip and her iron claw gauntlets. She met the Trasidar Prince before and from an early age, she was fascinated with the prince and had respected him ever since.

  As she was about to leave, a wooden toy fell from the shelves. She came to pick it up and saw the toy that Tamiron gave her when they came to visit. She remembered the wooden tamaraw he gave to her.

  It was in Tamara, Kaira and her mother were visiting the city. A great crowd greeted them with a grand parade. They were delighted to see how enthusiastic the people were towards them. She was a cheerful princess right back then, not as strong and deadly compared to the Kaira now. It was before she began her training the arts of the fighting style of the Tigris.

  As they made their way towards the Imperial Palace that was sitting atop of an enormous rock formation in the middle of the city, they were greeted by the Imperial King, and the young Prince Tamiron.

  After exchanging tokens, the Mistrell and the Imperial King proceeded back to the Imperial Palace and let the young Prince and Princess continue on with the parade around the rest of the city. They left the inner city and on to the outer city. A much larger crowd had awaited them. Both of them were not talking to each other. They only smiled and waved back to the crowd who were happy to see them, especially for Prince Tamiron. As they reached the eastern turn at the very edge of the city, they saw an elderly, seemingly trying to reach to them. The elder was frail, shaking as he extended his arm while the other held a cane. There was a small smile on the elder’s face until his arm was shoved back into the crowd and fell down on his feet. Prince Tamiron hurriedly jumped into the crowd and towards the elder. Princess Kaira was drawn back while her guards covered her. Tamiron rushed in the crowd, some of the guards followed quickly. A commotion rattled the parade.

  Tamiron held the stricken elder man and slowly brought him towards the carriage. The guards cleared a path for them as they returned. They got up in the carriage and the parade resumed. Kaira just stared at Tamiron as he tended to the elder. The old man was brought to tears just being in the presence of the Prince. He told him to rest and when they got back to the city palace, he will be taken care of. He returned to his post and waved to the crowd once more.

  Kaira was just stunned as she waved a bit slower and still staring back at the prince. Tamiron looked at her with a smile, prompting her to look at the crowd.

  “Why did you do that? You could’ve just let the Civilian Guard do it,” Kaira said to Tamiron. He only giggled.

  “Your Highness, if you want people to follow you and do what is right, you must set an example for them,” he said as he waved. Kaira cleared her throat and answered back.

  “You are their Prince. No matter how you treat them, they respect you, and swear their absolute allegiance to you. It is their duty,” she said with emphasis.

  Tamiron only sighed and said, “And it is our duty, to make our people happy and have a better life. Compassion towards the people will make them much more loyal to you,” he said. Karia stopped and stared at him completely.

  “What is greater than loyalty then?” Kaira asked firmly.

  Tamiron looked directly at the Princess and with a smile he answered, “To be loved.” She was left speechless and Tamiron gave her a wooden tamaraw.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “A gift. Keep it. That is my token personally for you.” Tamiron said.

  “But, we already gave you a token.” Kaira confusedly said.

  Tamiron laughed, “That is my token to you as a personal friend, silly.”

  Kaira never forgot those words that Tamiron said. It was the only thing that made her respect him, and made her think that what was happening to Tamiron now was completely out of his character. She then took the wooden tamaraw and put it in her bag.

  She ran back towards the castle doors and saw both the Imperial Diplomat and the Queen, along with some servants and guards lining up. The servants approached her and hands her water and some food along the way as the Diplomat bowed to show respect and hands over the map.

  “The Empire will be in debt for your particip
ation. It is on my behalf that, we thank you,” Moselei said to Kaira.

  She grabbed the map and smiled back at the diplomat. She went to her mother and planted one last hug before she dashed towards the platform. She was about to board the platform, when she stopped, looked at her mother and to everyone else. She saw her mother once again smiling at her and nodding at her, she gained new strength as she nodded back. The platform was several feet up but it didn’t stop her from jumping onto it. Dissatisfied for taking too long to go up, she jumped towards the chain that held the platform and climbed it with great ease.

  Upon reaching the surface she jumped off the chains and headed towards the Empire. While running on the grassland, she pulled up the map that was given to her and quickly put it back. Trying to recall the way towards her destination, she sped through the greens and onto her journey.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  In the forests of the imperial region of Gerominad, a pitch-black horse dashed across, with a man in red armor – Sevidon. He dashed hastily towards the meeting point, looking directly on the road ahead. Right behind him was Glaivel on a white horse with his dark green cape and green armor. Glaivel caught up with him and smirked.

  “Hey were in this together! Wait for me!” Glaivel shouted. Evenly close to each other in the same speed, Sevidon whipped his horse to make it go faster. Glaivel followed his lead and whipped his horse too and as he tried to catch up with his annoying rival.

  They continued on with their race until they left the forest into a wide plain and to the road. People who saw them from afar quickly got out of their way. They entered the park town of Samau, where a lot of people were on the streets. They hurried and got out of the way as the two elves dashed through the small town, dodging obstacles, avoiding civilians and even jumping over fences. A little girl was playing with a ball when it bounced in the middle of the street. The girl hopped her way to get the ball when Sevidon was closing in on her. He looked at the girl with fear, when in the nick of time, someone pulled the girl from the path and they dropped on the other side of the street. Glaivel jumped over a wagon full of hay and upon his landing, he looked at the girl and the man that saved her. He whipped the horse and then caught up again with Sevidon.