It had been a week since Timothy made a temporary camp in Mercus Plains.

Mercus Plains, contrary to its name, was not actually a plain. The geography of Mercus Plains varies. In Mercus Plains, one could see grasslands, hills, forests, swamps and even small mountains. Mercus Plains was divided at the middle by the great Carnack River. The river originated from the Ferico Mountains near Knightsend and passes through the two cities of the Western Region, Solon and Greenwater.

The name of the region actually stems from a major misunderstanding. The first groups of explorers that gave Mercus Plains its name were actually referring to the nearby Grasslands of Kisma. But when people started to settle in the region, they thought that it was what the explorers referred to as the Mercus Plains. The locals didn't bother changing the name of the place because they had gotten used to it. Today, the Mercus Plains is a region in the Western Castonia that isn't actually a plain.

Timothy had chosen a protected area near the Carnack River as the place to build his camp. A hill protects his camp to the south, while the river protects it from the west. Timothy also built a bridge over the river in case he needed to escape to the other side.

The militia under Timothy was supposed to meet with the garrisons of Castle Thespelae and Munico. Both armies were still missing. Timothy had already sent messages to the two Castles but replies were yet to arrive. His situation was precarious. If the Tulosan army nearby discovered that he was in Mercus Plains with an understrength army, they would surely attack him. Timothy knew that his death at the hands of the Tulosans would do them more harm than good. The third prince dying in battle would reverberate through the hearts of the soldiers giving them courage in battle. Despite this, Timothy had no plans on letting himself get killed so he decided that if the two armies still fail to show up by tomorrow, he will retreat back to Nirvana. For the meantime though, he can't do anything but wait.

"After the wedding, we need to visit Holm. I want the meet the Vanadian King. I know Lucia would want that" Timothy said to Erik while sitting on the grass. The two of them had nothing to do so they were currently relaxing on a nearby natural garden.

"Yeah."

"I also want to visit other cities in Vanadis. But the journey would be long and tiresome. I hope Lucia will be fine with that."

"Tim, if you say Lucia's name one more time, I'm going to stuff this grass into your mouth. Every single sentence you say contains at least one 'Lucia'" Erik showed him the grass he's holding.

"Hahaha What? You're just jealous because you don't have anyone. If you continue being single I might think that you like men" Timothy laughed.

Erik threw the grass towards Timothy. But then he smiled.

" Oh? Is that so rooster prince?"

Erik stood up and went to a nearby flower field. He plucked a flower and said, "Do you think Lucia likes daisies? This flower is pretty, like her." Erik grinned while looking at the flower.

"What? You want to give her flowers!?" Timothy frowned. He was annoyed by Erik's question.

"Hahahaha This is the first time I've seen you jealous Tim. You look like a child who had his candy stolen." Erik laughed so hard he almost choked.

"What are you laughing at?" Timothy was still annoyed

"Hahahaha Answer my question Tim"

"No she doesn't. She likes white roses" Timothy said with a grumpy face

"Oh? How did you know? Did you asked her?"

"I just do"

"Hahahaha Alright I was just messing with you" Erik put down the flower "Even if I gave her flowers, I don't think she would accept them"

"You think so?" Timothy asked. His annoyance earlier had now subsided after he heard of what Erik said

"Yeah. I believe she's loyal to you and only you. But Lucia really hit you hard Tim. I never thought I would ever see the rooster prince like this" Erik grinned.

"Yeah she really did." Timothy admitted. He likes Lucia. This was the first time he felt this way. He was always thinking about her and the thought of her brings smile on his face. It had only been a week and he already misses her dearly.

"Well if the garrison of Munico is still not here by tomorrow, at least we're going home. I'm tired of eating rations" Erik sat beside Tim.

"You've been eating rations for a whole year at Knightsend. Why would you get tired of eating rations now? Don't tell me you've grown fat and lazy at a young age Erik" Timothy grinned

"Want me to make you jealous again?"

"Please don't"

Just then, James came running towards them. His face showed signs of anxiety.

"Tim the soldiers from Thespelae just arrived."He said between breaths

"Good!" Timothy exclaimed "We only need to wait for the garrison of Munico"

"No Tim! They're being chased! The Tulosans are chasing them"

"What?!" Timothy blurted. But then he tried to remain calm. This was not the time to panic. He must think of solutions with a clear mind. "How close are the Tulosans behind?"

"Less than a day's march!"

Timothy's jaw dropped. Okay maybe now is the time to panic

The three of them immediately went back to the camp. Timothy ordered James to call all the officers inside his tent including the officers of Thespelae garrison.

***************************

"How could this happen?" Timothy looked at General Bourgis. He was the garrison commander of Thespelae

"I.." The General was clearly tired from the march but he tried to maintain his composure "We received the letter a little too late. The messengers were killed on the road. Luckily the Vanadian Royal Guards saved the letter and captured the assailant" he explained

"Vanadian?" Timothy raised his brows. The first thought that came into his mind was Lucia. How was Lucia involved in all of this?

"Yes" General Bourgis looked at him sternly "They said that the Wismarines killed the four messengers headed for Thespelae and Munico. Munico did not receive the orders so they won't come. We had interrogated the Wismarine and his statement matches that of the guards."

Timothy's heart skipped a beat. Munico won't come? Wismarines?

"So someone ordered the assassination of the messengers to prevent my reinforcements?"

"It seems that way Prince Timothy. Also the Vanadians gave me a letter addressed to you" The General handed him a letter. Timothy saw the seal. It was Lucia's personal seal. He grabbed the letter and immediately read it.

Tim,

I know this will hurt you and you will find it hard to believe me, but I must tell you of your situation. It's your father. He made a pact with the Wismarines. In exchange for an alliance your father must break the partnership with Vanadis. The only way to do that without losing face is to prevent our wedding and kill either one of us. The King can't afford to kill me so he planned to kill you instead. He agreed on your request to draw you into the front lines and let the Tulosans kill you in battle. I came with this conclusion after hearing some rumors from the merchants. At the time of writing this, I am not yet sure about my conclusion. But if you are reading this letter, then that means I was right. I know it's hard, but please believe me. I do not wish you harm and will never lie to you. Even if you don't believe me, then please survive Tim. Come back. I need you to survive. I will wait for your safe return.

Lucia

Timothy closed his eyes. It was too much. What Lucia said was right, it will be hard for him to believe her. This conspiracy…it's just too much.

If Lucia was lying, then his heart would break. He trusted her already and breaking that trust would be painful. He would still like her and would probably still marry her, but their relationship would forever be strained.

But if she was telling the truth… then the situation was worse. His opponent was his father, the King. The involvement of Wismar also complicates things.

Tim can't decide on who to trust. Personally he wanted to trust Lucia, but he also loves his father. Either way, his situation was dire. The Tulosans are coming.

He looked at the officers. He must have been silent for a very long time for them to look at him like that. Now is not the time to decide on who was telling the truth. Their situation was dire and the Tulosans were near. Timothy could only think of single way out of this.

"We need to cross the river and go to Knightsend. We will break the siege. And then depending on our losses, we would either fight the raiding army or stay inside the castle" Timothy pointed at the map.

"Your highness, that would be dangerous! It would be better to go back to Nirvana. It's the closest safe haven for us" General Bourgis protested.

"If we go back to Nirvana then we need to traverse the Grasslands of Kisma. Horses move faster in plain grasslands so they would catch us halfway. Don't forget that the enemy is more mobile compared to us. If we go the other way, the forest and swamps in Mercus Plains would slow them down. Furthermore if we burn the bridge, we could probably buy ourselves a few hours" Timothy explained

"But if we go to Knightsend, then we still need to break the siege."

"I trust the capabilities of the garrison of Knightsend. I trained them for a year and I know that they are good soldiers. Besides, we don't have a choice. It's either we fight them with these numbers or join the garrison of Knightsend"

Timothy really thinks highly of the garrison. In fact, he believes that if the garrison learned of his situation right now, they would break the siege themselves. But Timothy knew that there was no way for them to learn about his predicament.

"What if we defend the bridge? It's a choke point and we could defend against cavalry here" General Bourgis suggested

"No!" Timothy disagreed "There are shallows a few kilometers ahead. They could just flank us with their cavalry"

The General frowned. But Timothy could see that he understood the logic. They had no choice but to join Knightsend. It will be hard to outmarch the Tulosans but it was better than facing them directly on the grasslands of Kisma.

"Okay" said the General. Timothy was relieved. If the General cooperates with him, then there's still a chance for them to survive this.

"We will march in an hour. Let your men rest. And one more thing" Timothy looked at General Bourgis "Bring me the Vanadian guards and the Wismarine"