The Dragon Brothers

* The Castle at Drakor; The Capital of the Chromos * Viola POV

"Agenta, my heart is in my throat. Why must he go to war again? I know it is to save my parents' kingdom but it seems like he is always leaving me to go to war. Now I must rule in his stead. I can make military decisions, be a mother, be a friend, but a judge on someone's life? I'm not sure that I'm ready for that." I now must take my tea with Agenta in the king's study room as I search through papers that need immediate attention and those that can wait until Lucian returns. "Oh my dear queen! You'll find that it comes to you naturally. I believe that leadership is one of your gifts. You do so well with the staff and look at what you did when you went to battle for Lucian. You saw that he needed help and you responded. That takes leadership. I know that passing a judgment on someone's life may sound heartbreaking or so final but there are ways to show mercy. I believe you will find those ways and become a Queen of Hearts." Agenta is always my cheerleader and encourager.

"You know you're right. I believe we can. Why don't we start with a list of everyone that is in the dungeon and see who we can release? After all, releasing some means less resources being consumed like food and maybe fewer guards. Can you find me the king's scribe and have him give me a list of each offender, their offense, their sentence, and time served." I'm starting to feel better about temporarily stepping into Lucian's role even though, deep down, I'm still hoping he returns sooner than later.

* The Western Border *

Lucian POV

I land at the western border and am greeted by my brother, Wolf.

"What brings you this way?" Wolf asks out of concern knowing that my visit doesn't bring good news.

"Viola's parents' kingdom, the Salona Kingdom, is under attack. They have asked for my assistance. Because it involves Viola's parents I feel the need to be present when our troops arrive at their kingdom." I explain rolling my eyes. I know that Wolf could have handled this on his own as their kingdom is not that large but I must make an appearance.

"Ha! Ha! In-laws! I'm happy to not have any to date." Wolf is laughing so hard at me he nearly doubles over. "Shall we both fly over and scout the land and then debrief with my lieutenants?"

"Wonderful idea." I agree with my brother smiling. Wolf is eight years younger than me but he's always had a wonderful way of cheering me up, making me laugh with his youthful antics, and was definitely the jester of the family. But, like all of my brothers, he has a wonderful military mind as well.

* Later Debriefing the Western Company's Lieutenant's *

Wolf begins the Debriefing by introducing me, then addresses why I'm here, and what to look forward to in battle. "Greetings! This is my brother, King Lucian, he was formerly the general of the northern company. He is now king of the empire and general of the royal army. The Salona Kingdom has been attacked and they have reached out for our assistance which the king has agreed to. The Salona Kingdom is a rather small kingdom but they harbor a vast diamond mine which can draw larger kingdoms wanting to attack. They are being attacked by the Suzdal Kingdom, which will either destroy the kingdom all together or enslave the people to work in the mines. We cannot let this happen.

The capital is under attack. Outside of the capital are small villages that really don't amount to very much and aren't of our concern. The kingdom's capital has a large wall that encloses it then a gate that leads to the king's castle. The wall that surrounds the capital also surrounds the castle. Then, there is only one gated entrance to the capital which leads to the one gate leading to the one entrance to the castle. On top of the wall there are four archers posted on each side of the entrance to both the capital and castle. At the bottom of each entrance are posted another four guards. On top of the wall every ninety feet is another archer. On top of the wall they also have access to boiling tar to dump down on invaders trying to scale the walls but these are only every one hundred and eighty feet. There are 15 guards patrolling the side streets within the capital and 10 guards patrolling outside of the castle. There are an untold number of guards within the castle. They have been keeping the gated entrance to the capital secured and pushed back the invaders but I'm not sure how much longer that will last.

Now, onto our enemies. The Suzdal Kingdom, is either over confident or just plain dumb, they've only come with two platoons worth of men. They are all camped in front of the main entrance to the capital. They have been making daily attacks towards the archers and towards the capital gate.

So, questions?" Wolf finally ended his detailed debriefing.

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"How and when do we attack?" Lieutenant Payne asks.

"Our western border has not been under attack in some time so I would like to suggest three platoons to leave at dawn. We can make it to the Salona Kingdom by the afternoon." I finally have the chance to speak up. I'm trying to be more on the sidelines and less of a decision maker. This is Wolf's company and it's his right to lead.

"That settles it. We leave at dawn with three platoons. We will attack tomorrow afternoon." Lieutenant Walter reiterates my suggestion as to add his approval.

* Invasion of Cait * Cyprian POV

It's the morning of the invasion. I'm expected to speak to my men. "Great moments in history are born from great men. That's what you are. You are born to be great. To go down in history. To be the ones that songs are sung about. To be the ones that legends are made of. To be the ones that tales are told to children of. But, you only have one opportunity and it's this morning. That's okay. That's all you need. Today the City of Cait falls. Today their streets will be filled with their blood. Because you were meant to be here this morning by fate. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. This is your time. So, fight and don't stop fighting until the Chromos' Empire's flag flies above the City of Cait." I finished my rally call to my men. The men seem ready to go. They are yelling and ready to become a great moment in our history. The invasion begins.

The City of Cait is enclosed by deep forest so we are able to sneak up on the city and then basically pounce when we want to attack. We took the city by complete surprise. We've already rushed the front gate before they even have time to close it. One of my men pushes a large rock underneath the gate so it cannot close. Several men start climbing the wall to get to the archers while we cover ourselves with shields to prevent being struck by arrows. We finally get the gate open high enough for us to get in and we rush the guards inside the city. There simply aren't enough of them to counter our attack. More of our men go inside the wall and finish off the archers.

One platoon of men and myself rush the castle. We are met instantly with a pack of guards that we have to fight through. It appears that they were keeping a small platoon of men inside the castle to guard the king's advisors and upper ranking officers.

* Lord Aragon's Manor *

I was moving slower today as I had to heal my wounds from yesterday's whipping. But I have been able to complete all of my chores on time. I just served the midday meal when a young boy from the neighboring village that the Lord oversees came running inside the manor.

"Lord Aragon! Lord Aragon!" The boy called excitedly, almost jumping up and down.

"What is the meaning of all this racket boy?" The Lord walks out from the dining room. He does not like being interrupted while he is eating.

"My father told me to run and tell you. The castle has been attacked by the Chromos Empire! It's only a matter of time before it falls! The king is absent. Nobody knows where he is. Some people are even saying he is dead! There is a meeting in the middle of the village tonight. The people are asking that you attend as our Lord." The young boy was so excited to share his news he barely breathed between sentences.

I've heard of the Chromos Empire. They've outlawed slavery. I wonder what that might mean for me. I can only daydream about what it would be like to be free. What if I could find true love? That would simply be too much to ask for. I don't want to tempt fate. Just being free is good enough.

A/N

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