Chapter Ten

The second prince picked up the beeping communication crystal and asked

“What do you have to report?”

Olivia responded “I’m calling about the matter of the unknown settlement. We have done some more reconnaissance and confirmed that it is filled with enemy combatants from the Sanguine Empire.”

The prince sat up straighter in his chair and started to talk “How do you know it's the Sanguine Empire? What are their numbers like? Have they shown any signs that they are going to attack soon?”

“We know it is the Sanguine Empire because we ambushed one of their scouting parties. They used blood magic during the fight and we captured one of them for interrogation. As for their numbers and intention to attack that is less clear. Our men saw at least fifteen warriors in their settlement, but the true number is likely higher. On top of that they are getting regular shipments of men and supplies so the numbers are just going to go up. As for their intention to attack the man we interrogated claimed they would wipe us out, but so far we haven’t seen any signs of them readying an immediate attack.” Olivia said

The Prince thought for a few seconds before saying “Alright. In the next supply ship I’ll send you as many fighters as I can spare. Is there anything else that would help?”

“As I mentioned before either raw metal or premade arrows, axes, and swords would make sure we are prepared for more than a single battle. The other things that might help are just basic supplies. If we manage to harvest all the winter crops we planted we should be fine, but if they do attack our settlement I wouldn’t be surprised if they burned all our crops to the ground and salted the fields.” Olivia replied

“I’ll get everything there as soon as possible. Just focus on harvesting blood river flowers and defending your settlement until the reinforcements get there. Once they arrive we can start to plan an attack. Contact me again once they get there.”

The prince ended the call as soon as he stopped speaking and then called out to his assistant “Where are those adventurer’s my father promised me? They were supposed to be here last week!”

The assistant came into the room with her head down and started speaking “Ah, about that your Majesty. Our spies reported some bad news.”

The assistant paused to take a breath and the Prince interrupted her “What bad news? Why aren’t they here?”

“Ah, well, they appear to have been distracted while passing through your brother's territory. They accepted a task to kill a monster that was terrorizing a local village they passed through. After they succeeded in killing the monster the village threw a celebration that lasted a week. Apparently it was quite the party because three of them now have pregnant fiancees, and the other three want to wait for the weddings before traveling overseas. I’ve tried convincing them to leave earlier, but short of issuing a royal decree and ruining your reputation among every adventurer that hears about it I doubt you’ll be able to get them to move.” The assistant replied

The Second Prince slammed a closed fist on the table and said “It’s my brother again. How can my family not see that he is doing everything possible to ruin me? Prepare all the evidence you can gather on their sudden desire to avoid their jobs, and arrange a meeting with my father. I doubt I'll be able to convince him that it was brother’s scheme, but he should be willing to give me replacements for them.”

The assistant cleared her throat and said “Your Highness, arranging a meeting with just your father will probably take a week. May I suggest another course of action?”He prince gestured for her to continue “Instead of meeting with just your father I suggest you use a meeting you already have planned. You already have a dinner scheduled with your mother, father, and sister for two days from now. If you bring it up there you would be able to get your replacements much more quickly.”

The Prince thought for a second and said “Prepare a present for me to bring for mother. Hopefully that will put her in a good enough mood that she puts in a good word with father.” The assistant nodded and started to leave but the Prince started talking again. “Before you go, remind me how my relationship is with my sister right now. I don’t remember doing anything to her, but you know how she can hold a grudge.”

“You only sent her a token gift for her birthday last month, but other than that you have not informed me of any other offenses.” When she finished speaking she backed out of the doors and left the Prince to his thoughts.

Two days later the Prince was dressed in fine clothes carrying gifts for his mother as he headed towards the palace in a carriage. When he arrived he quickly walked through the ornate halls and had the steward announce his presence so he could enter the dining room. He walked in and spoke saying “Royal Father, Empress Mother, Sister. I’m honored to see you all here.” then he sat down at the fourth seat at the table.

The emperor responded “ Come now. You know I don’t call for formalities when there is only family. Just call me father when no one else is present.”

“Yes Father.” The prince said before he started talking to his mother. “I found a gemstone I thought you would like and bought it. What do you think mother?”

He handed over the present he had prepared and she opened it quickly. Inside was an amber gemstone with a small snake preserved inside. His mother examined it for a while and then spoke “Ooh. How unique! It will be perfect for when I want to intimidate some of the ladies but can’t let their husbands know. Wherever did you find it?”

“Just luck really. One of the shops I manage told me they had a unique piece so I checked on it when I had some free time.” the Prince responded

The empress was about to start talking some more, but the emperor butted in and said “I’m starving in here. Bring in the food.”

Soon the hall was filled with the clatter of servants putting down plates and glasses. The Princess took advantage of the noise to learn over towards the second Prince and ask “So what are you buttering Mother up for? I know there’s no way you would take your time and examine rare pieces at your jewelry store.”

The Prince sniffed and said “I’m just being a filial son. I’m not buttering Mother up.”

The Princess leaned in closer and said “Tell me now or you might find me a bit distracting while you're asking for whatever it is you want. Why don’t you just take the easier path?”

“Fine” The Prince said with a sigh “Some of my men have been distracted in elder brother's territory. I simply want Father to either replace them or get them out.”

“Just replace them? It looks like you're aiming low this time. I was expecting you to come in here raving about how brother is always sabotaging you again.” the Princess said

“Of course it would be nice if they would recognize brother’s schemes, but I have my own goals to accomplish. Simply asking for reinforcements is what will get me men most quickly so I’ll have to go with that.”

The princess cocked her head to the side and said “Oh? What could you possibly be working on that is so important to you?”

The 2nd Prince puffed up his chest as he responded “I am working towards the defeat of the Sanguine empire. When my plans come to fruition our greatest enemies will fall like a wall made out of sand.”

“I might be willing to offer you a little assistance if you asked nicely. If whatever your plan is actually works, maybe father will stop bothering me about finding a partner for a political marriage.”

As she said that the servants finished setting the table, so the conversation went back to the four of them.

“So how do you like the food? We order our newest territory to send over their specialties along with a chef to make them. I myself have found them quite delicious.” The empress asked

The Prince took a few bites of his food and then said “It is very good. What spices do they use? I haven't tasted anything like it before.”

“Oh I can’t pronounce the name, so I’ve just been calling it Aritorea spice since that’s where it comes from.” the Empress said

“Can you send my chef some? I think it would make a great addition to my meals.” the Prince asked

The Empress shook her head and said “I’m afraid I can't. It's quite rare, so there isn’t even enough for our chefs. I’ve been thinking about conquering some more territories in that area just to have enough for myself.”

From there the conversation went through various topics, until it ended up on one that the 2nd Prince knew would come up. His father gestured with a full fork and said “Did you hear about your brother’s latest accomplishment? Apparently he managed to tame one of those wild witches from the north. I really don’t know how that boy does it. All the ones I captured committed suicide.”

The 2nd Prince ground his teeth and focused on the matter at hand. “I actually had something I wanted to mention about elder brother. Those men you promised to send me appear to have been sidetracked in his territory. Could you please send me some new ones? My settlement is at a critical point and I need to send it reinforcements quickly.”

“You should really talk to your brother about that, but since you say it's critical I can give you some different ones this time. Now let's stop talking business and enjoy dinner.”