King Hector and the army camped on their way. It was snowing heavily, it was the last wave winter, making travel difficult. They pitched tens of tents on a vast snowfield and built fires inside to keep them warm. They built a large tent for all the horses and another for their king. Meanwhile, Aeres, Eraga, and some soldiers were in the woods, gathering woods for more fire.
Eraga sighed and said
"I didn't think this journey would last this long."
"It's only been a fortnight," Aeres replied, sighed, and continued.
"You're spoilt. This is your first time outside the gate, and you can't even bear."
"I didn't say I can't bear it; I'm just saying it's an endless journey, two different things."
"No, that was obviously what you meant."
"It wasn't."
"Whatever sails your ship, Eraga, I can't argue."
"Man, you're so boring." Eraga smacked his head and exclaimed.
"Why are you even here?" Aeres asked.
"Well, I can't stay in that tent with my father alone. All he talks about is plans of attack, information, advice, or his achievements. 'I had already been to battle at your age.' *mimicking his father's voice* I've heard enough of that. There's a lot in common between the two of you, you know ,You would connect well and engage in extremely boring conversations " Eraga remarked.
" you'll likely need those words when you become king, you-"
"I didn't say I wasn't listening; I just said I've listened enough." Eraga interrupts Aeres.
"I didn't even finish, you idiot."
"Watch your tongue now, young man."
"Why are you even here?"
"Uh, I think you already asked that."
"I did, but you're here and not doing anything. You're just walking around, blabbering. You should at least help carry some wood."
"What?, Treason..... "
"Uhhh, this brat."
"...you should be graced by my presence. My being here is motivation for you, soldiers, to carry out your job with utmost confidence," Eraga proclaimed.
"You mean carrying wood? ,you should try that in a war instead," Aeres countered.
"Blah blah."
"I think your presence here is really enough for us, my prince," a soldier said with a bow.
"You see? This is a respectful and responsible soldier, please -"
"Clearly, he does not qualify as a soldier since he is not dressed like one.
"Huh, ohh," Eraga exclaimed.
"Yes, he's right, my Lord. I'm a cupbearer for lord Philemon," the cupbearer replied.
"Right, shouldn't a cup bearing be... uhh,I don't know... bearing cups? Why are you out here in the woods?" Aeres asked
"Well... Lord Philemon asked me to."
"Strange... I delivered the woods to Lord Philemon myself not too long ago. There's no way he'd already burnt them." Aeres said doubtfully.
"I think he may have wanted me to go out"
"He could just as easily say go out if he wants to, right?" Eraga questioned.
"Yeah, I think," the cup bearer answered.
"Anyways, do you have a name, Mr. Cup Bearer?" Eraga asked.
"Wait, you really want to know my name?" the cup bearer asked excitedly.
"Uhhhh... yeah, sure, why not " Eraga replied.
"Please, my prince, I'm not worthy to tell you my name."
Eraga and Aeres both looked at each other with confusion
"Uhhhh, yeah, you... are worthy. i....guess" Eraga implied.
"Enough, let's get back to work. We can learn each other's names later, We finish up before dark. Eraga, help a little," Aeres urged. Eraga exhaled and said
"ok, I guess."
"No, please, my lord, I can do everything here. Please proceed. I can't watch you work yourself out," the cupbearer pleaded.
"I won't be working it out myself; it's just some piece of wood," Eraga replied.
"No, please, my lord"
Eraga and Aeres looked at each other again. It was strange because in the Citadel or throughout Mycenae, no servant behaved this way toward royalty.
"Eraga, allow him carry it. Let's head back," Aeres concluded.
"Huh? Uhh… yeah, alright, nice to meet you, Mister Cup Bearer," Eraga quickly said.
"Likewise, my lord," the cupbearer replied Eraga, a bow, then Aeres and Eraga started walking their way out of the woods.
"You thought that was strange, right?"
"Absolutely, no servant thinks he's unworthy to tell his prince his name. Such absurdity," Aeres answered Eraga.
"Right, Philemon has his own way of training his servants, I suppose," Eraga added.
"It is rather strange that Philemon asked him to pick some wood even though he had enough; he wanted him to leave, but in a less suspicious way," Aeres assumed.
"What do you mean? This is very suspicious."
"Only because we found out, he thought telling him to go out would be suspicious, so he rather asked him to get wood."
"So it's possible the cupbearer didn't know you already gave him wood."
"Exactly, because I didn't see him around when I delivered the wood."
"So this means Philemon is up to something suspicious."
"We can't say that either. He might just really needed some privacy. Who knows? I'll just keep an eye him."
"Hmmmm, I feel bad for the kid, though."
Two days later, they were prepared to continue their journey. They returned to their formation and rode their horses toward Howelbr. It had been a peaceful and easy journey, even for the horses. Howelbr was already in sight of the soldiers, who checked around before reporting to the front batch. Once the first batch received the information, they sent it to the other batches. It was one day away.
One day later, the beautiful city was visible to all of them, with the big, beautiful trees before the gates. Colored leaves fell from the trees, carrying a refreshing scent of orchids. Strangely, it was as if snow had never fallen at all. Bright and beautiful, the day resembled spring. Leading to the gate, the road appeared to be constructed of steel. Surprise struck the soldiers. As they got closer, they saw people in front of the gate buying and selling, while some were on their way out and others were going in. Some were travelers, business owners, and transporters. They wore beautiful, shiny fabrics in different styles, designs, and colors. It was exactly as Dorian had described. Now everyone believed the wanderer. When the people saw the armies approaching the front lines, they were frightened.
Philemon, the leader of the first batch, dismounted his horse and spoke
"Fear not, people of Howelbr, for we come in peace and with no trouble."
"A hundred armed soldiers comes in peace?" a man asked
"Well, let's say we are prepared for the worst, but we hope we won't need them, or will we?" Philemon questioned.
"Do we look harmful to you?"
"You never know, you might have an entire army behind that gate."
"Sorry to disappoint, we are just a small city, living out our days. We didn't expect anyone to show up to the 'cursed land,' so why are you here?"
"Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Philemon of Greece. We heard about the miracle in this city and came to see for ourselves. Just consider the soldiers as safety measures. We also have another 5,000 troops on their way. *The crowd of people was in utter shock and fear.* And maybe another 5,000, but that's not the case..."
"That sounds a little more than safety measures to me, but it's not like we can stop you from witnessing this 'miracle' you talk about. As you've guessed, we have no army. These people are in shock because we expected no one to dare set foot in the cursed land, not even within miles of it. All we can do now is beg you to witness the 'miracle' and leave in peace."
"Well... we might do a little more than that, but there should be no casualties if there isn't any resistance," Philemon mentioned.
"Wow, so everything the wanderer said was true," a soldier expressed with awe.
"It will appear so," Philemon replied.
"Now you go pass this message to the other batch," Philemon added
"As you wish, my lord," the messenger said with a bow, then he hit his horse and rode away. Philemon walked toward the man in front of the gate and spoke.
"Let's make this easy. We are Greece, one of, if not the, biggest kingdoms in the world, even bigger than Rome. We would like to add Howelbr to our kingdom."
"Why are you telling me this? I'm not the ruler."
"There's no king in this city. From my experience, a kingdom with a king tends to be less rowdy, more composed, and more stable. Everything here is beautiful, but less composed. Everybody is doing their own thing. There is no order. There should be soldiers guarding the gate, and so on. If there's a king in this city, he's definitely a drunkard, and a drunkard can never keep a city this clean.There might be no King, but there's a ruler, or rather, a leader. I would say a very rich man, bold enough to do the things you're doing right now, my good friend. Therefore, I think you're the leader. My surprise is the coincidence that you're here at the gate."
"You appear really brilliant, Philemon …" "Thank you."
"…You're right. I'm the leader. These are my people. My name is Maron the maker, a big businessman. You met me here because this is where I do my bidding, in front of the gate. We have no army. We look after ourselves here…"
"Really? Interesting… How about crime? How do you subdue them?"
"If there are no needs in the city, everyone is happy. It doesn't eliminate crime, but it reduces it. There is less crime here than in your so-called biggest kingdom. There are no poor people here. Almost everyone has equal riches."
"How's that possible?" Philemon asked curiously.
"Calculations, we sell our goods to other kingdoms through our underground market. I don't intend to tell you all our secrets, but anyway… if you give them equal goods, they will most likely come back with equal money."
"Hmmmm, interesting. I really want to know how these work, but we really have no time for it. My king will arrive here soon. agree with his terms, and we'll all be fine."
"We don't have a choice. finding us alone, was our defeat . We lost. You win."
"I wouldn't say it that way. It's good for everyone involved. We both win, it's a win for each side Mr. Maron," Philemon said as he offered a handshake. Maron accepted.
"You must come inside the gate. We can't risk being seen. Other passersby might spot us. It might not look like it, but we have enough space for all your soldiers," Maron said.
"Good point, Maron, but we must await our king," Philemon replied.
Maron understood and waited
The messenger delivered the message to King Hector and his troop.
A few days after Kleon's huge funeral. The atmosphere felt off. The sadness was still very much present. Thaleia and the other maids were still crying. They were still in black. Lysandra stood in the corridor, looking out over the Citadel, lost in her thoughts. She still hadn't fully recovered from the recent event. Kleon was solely loved In the Citad, Hector's family, especially, loved him. They had all grew up with him. He never left, even when his father neglected him.
His father despised him, favoring Hector because he loved Hector's mother most.
A competition for the throne emerged between Kleon and Hector, but no matter Kleon's efforts, his father still preferred Hector. Kleon almost left the kingdom before a war broke out. He had to stay and fight for the kingdom. His efforts contributed greatly to the victory. He fought alongside his brother, and they saved the kingdom. But his father was badly injured and on his deathbed when he summoned Kleon, apologized, and explained that it was in the kingdom's best interest for Hector to become king because of his wisdom in ruling and in battle.
Kleon understood and supported his brother as king. Even though his brother never gave him the same respect, he never stopped being at his brother's side. He was also a big part of Hector's family life. The family loved him dearly, as he had no family of his own, and his absence now leaves an enormous mark on them.
A few days later, Lysandra received a report from the guards: they had swept the palace and found no trace of Aslron. Lysandra was sad, traumatized, and perplexed. People assumed he had burned in the fire with Kleon, a messenger has been sent to relay the event to the king
Days have passed, and everything is returning to normal. The sadness is fading, and the Citadel is growing lively again, as it once was. Calista and Thaleia had invited Helene to the palace to talk about Eraga and help him get her. They sat at one of the high dining tables when Helene walked in. Queen Lysandra was at the table as well, eating. Thaleia saw Helene and rushed to welcome her, asking her to sit.
"Nice to meet you at last, Helene, this is…"
"Uh, I knew you were at the bar that night, but yeah, it's really nice meeting you. You don't get to sit with royalty that often," Helene replied, interrupting Thaleia while still standing.
Lysandra was confused and definitely disliked Helene's tone, while Calista and Thaleia felt shocked and somewhat ashamed.
"Who is this, Thaleia?" Lysandra said calmly but authoritatively.
"Uh, yeah, so, Mother, meet Helene, Helene, meet my mother, the Queen," Thaleia introduced.
Helene quickly bowed and said
"It's an honor to meet you, my Queen."
"Thaleia, who is this?" completely ignoring Helene, Lysandra asked again. This definitely startled Helene.
"Mother , she is a girl Eraga is interested in. Can you believe it?" Thaleia answered.
"No, of course not, a girlfriend?" Lysandra asked.
"Uhhh, no, no, not yet, at least," Thaleia replied.
"What does Eraga see in this?" Lysandra interjected.
"Mother, come on-"
"Hey, Helena , or whatever your name is, what does Eraga see in you?"
Lysandra pressed, staring at her from head to toe. Helene, trying to control her anger, said
"I don't know. I'm not Eraga."
"Of course you're not. You can never be -"
"My queen, if I may-"
"You may not!, Calista, you interrupt me?"
"Sorry, Your Majesty," Calista apologized.
Lysandra exhaled and said
"I no longer have an appetite. I will be in my chamber. Please entertain your guests."
"Ohh..k mother "
She stood up and walked out of the room. "Sorry about that, Helene ,With the death of my uncle and another event I cannot disclose, she's been a little down." Thaleia apologized.
"It's okay, Your Highness. You don't have to explain." Helene replied.
"Please take a seat," Calista offered.
"Yes, thank you," Helene said.
"So....do you like my brother?" Thaleia asked.
"Whoa, that's really straightforward, but I can't say for sure, he's really nice."
Thaleia scoffed and said
"My brother, nice? He's vulgar and stupid." Helene and Thaleia both chuckled.
"Thaleia, don't say that about your brother in front of a guest."
"Sorry, Calista."
"Maybe that's why I like him," Helene added.
"So you do like him?" Thaleia asked.
"I guess so, yeah."
"Wow, my lucky brother."
"So, does that mean your date with him in the bar that day didn't get ruined?" Calista asked.
"No, not all of it. It was actually great. We both talked and laughed for hours after you both left."
"Wow, so he does know how to talk to women"
"Pffft, not a chance," Helene answered Thaleia as they both laughed.
"So I guess our invitation was unnecessary then. " Calista jolted
"No, not at all. I'm actually happy to be here. It's really beautiful."
"First time in the Citadel?" Thaleia asked.
"Yeah...not really though, but I got to see it properly this time. I think it's living up to its expectations," Helene answered hesitantly.
"Must be nice. ,So, what do you see in him? Actually?" Calista asked.
"Am I being interrogated?" Helene thought to herself before saying
"He's hilarious. Without trying, he's kind, innocent, and a little sweet. You know what? I actually told him we had sex when he was drunk, and he believed it." Helene continued.
"Really? ohh he is such an idiot," Thaleia said, laughing.
"Thaleia," Calista warned
"Oops, sorry," they all laughed as the discussion proceeded, and then there was a single knock at the door.