Chapter 27

Your Majesty:

It is my privilege to report that the band of raiders that had been such a scourge for the villages and settlements in the northern parts of your realm, has finally been vanquished. The battle against these rogues have been long and hard, but at last justice have prevailed. As of the time I am writing this message, most of the bandits are dead; having fallen in battle, with their surviving comrades having surrendered and been taken into custody.

We interrogated the  prisoners, as per Your Majesty's instructions and finally, one of them broke. He confessed that the new and superior equipment they had received had come from Frigonia and that the person, who provided them with said equipment was a wolverine with different-colored eyes.

I know of one person who fits that description. His name is Enoch and he is a part of the inner circle around Frigon III. Its my personal belief that these raids were meant to sow terror and leave us weakened to an invasion of the kind that Frigon III's grand-father, the first of that name launched, all those years ago.

That invasion ended with our victory, but of course, I need not remind Your Majesty about that. Ever since, the Frigonians have kept to their own borders and our two nations have been at peace. I know that we wish it to remain that way and so, I suggest that Your Majesty send an emissary north to let Frigon know that we are aware of his country's involvement with these bandits. Hopefully, the emissary can convince him to give up his ambitions, but in the meantime, I strongly urge that we strengthen our defenses and prepare for war.

Until then, I have the honor to remain Your Majesty's Obedient Servant.

-General Ursus in correspondence with King Sharan of Vinoli.

*****

In his castle in Friborg, the capital and only major city of Frigonia, the nation's current king, Frigon IV, was enjoying some time off from his many duties, by indulging in a brief nap.

We should point out that Frigon was a young ruler, he had only been five years old when his father had died during the second war between Frigonia and Vinoli. Since the young king was but a child at the time, his uncle Orloff had become regent.  Orloff had quickly realized that despite his country's initial success, Frigonia could not win this war and thus, he had sent a message to Ursus, who at the time was the commander of the Vinolian army, suing for peace. The message was forwarded to king Sharan and shortly afterward, the regent and the dragon-king met on neutral ground, signing the treaty. With that the war was over, Frigonia pulled back its troops and the survivors returned to their families.

The years passed and eventually, Frigon IV reached adulthood and could begin governing his realm
after his own fashion. However, he kept his uncle on as a councilor, having come to appreciate his advise.

As he lay splayed on top of his bed, eyes close and mouth open, Frigon felt someone shaking his shoulder. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and saw his uncle standing before him.

"What is it, uncle?" He asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Forgive me Your Majesty", replied the older ermine, "but you have best come with me. Something has happened that require your attention."

"Very well".

The King got up, having only taken a short nap he had not felt the need to take off his clothes and so, he followed his uncle through the hallways and out onto the castle's battlements. Under the open sky, a cold wind blew and Frigon wrapped himself in his cape. A lone sentinel made a salute.

"Well, uncle?" The King asked, shivering. "What was so important that I had to come out here in this damn cold?"

"Take a look, Your Majesty", Orloff replied, motioning for his nephew to come closer to the edge and then pointed outwards, beyond the city walls.

The King followed his uncle's finger, until he saw what it was pointing at. The shock caused him to reel backwards.

"That's an army", he said, disbelief causing his voice to crack.. "Right outside our walls.."

Orloff nodded, hands behind his back.

"The Vinolian army, to be precise."

"Why?" Frigon shouted, grabbing his uncle's collar. "Why are they here? How did they get here? What about the peace treaty?"

Orloff calmly grabbed his nephew's paws and removed them.
"Well, we did try to conquer them twice", he said, smiling wryly. "Perhaps they simply figured it was their turn this time?"

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, uncle!" The King snapped, excitement making his voice high-pitched.

"My apologies, Your Majesty", Orloff said, calmly meeting the King's stare.. "You are quite correct; the Vinolian army's precense here is no laughing matter. What are your orders?"

"We must find out what they want" Frigon said, wiping his brow with the back of his paw. "Uncle, I want you to go to the Vinolians and talk to their leader. Will you do that?" He added in a beseeching tone, having always found it hard to give orders to the relative who had ruled the country in his stead for so long.

"Your Majesty can count on me", Orloff said, bowing. "I shall leave at once."

"Do that. In the meantime, I suppose I shall have to gather the members of the council and inform them that we're at siege."

The king headed back inside, but Orloff remained on the battlements, staring down at the invading army, sitting there like a beast, waiting to strike.

****

"Halt!"

The command, given in a short, barking tone, cut through the air. 

Fixating the two Vinolian soldiers, whose spears were trained at him, Orloff held up his right paw in a gesture for peace, while sweeping his cape aside, to show that he did not carry a sword.

"I am Prince Orloff", he said. "Uncle to His Majesty Frigon IV. I wish to speak to your general."

The soldiers, a stoat and a boar eyed him suspiciously.

"Search him", the boar said.

Knowing that protesting would just waste valuable time, Orloff allowed the stoat to pat him down.

"He's clear", the stoat announced to his colleague.

"Very well", grunted the boar. "Come with us."

Walking through the enemy camp, Orloff could not help but admire the promptness by which the Vinolian soldiers carried out their orders, but this admiration was tinged with a large dose of apprehension:

They just arrived and they already have everything ready for an attack, the Prince thought with unease as he observed the Vinolian weapons gleaming in the sunlight and the war-machines that stood assembled.

Eventually, they made halt in front of a dark-blue tent, the largest in the camp. 

"Wait here", the boar said, before stepping into the tent. Mere Seconds later, he came back out and announced to Orloff that the general would see him.

Stepping inside the tent, Orloff found himself face to face with a tall, broad-shouldered lynx wearing a red cape and a breast plate. So this was the leader of the Vinolian army. 

"Welcome, Your Highness" said the lynx, his voice deep and well-modulated. "I am general Jeraddin, what can I do for you?"

Orloff looked at Jeraddin, unable to shake a feeling that he had seen him before. Than, it hit him:

"If I'm not mistaken, you were part of general Ursus' staff during the last war?" He said.

"I was, I must admit that I am surprised, not to mention flattered, that Your Highness would remember me."

The Prince nodded.

"Yes, its all coming back to me now. I seem to remember you giving us quite a bit of trouble back then."

"I hope that Your Highness is not holding a grudge?" Jeraddin said with a smile.

"Not at all. As the saying goes; all is fair in love and war."

They sat down at the table and Jeraddin asked Orloff if he wanted any refreshments, but the latter declined.

"I shall go right down to business, general. My nephew has sent me here to find out the reason for your presence here. Surely, King Sharan can not be unaware that this completely violates the treaty our nations signed?"

"We don't have a King anymore", Jeraddin replied and Orloff noticed the sadness that had crept into his voice. "Only a Queen, its she who sends us here."

"I am sorry to hear that. I always held your King in high regard."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Orloff felt that they had gotten away from the reason for him being there. After all, this was not a social call.

"General", he said. "For what reason does your Queen send you to invade our country?"

"Well, Your Highness, according to Her Majesty, you Frigonians are planning an invasion of our country."

Upon hearing this, Orloff stood up so fast that his chair tipped over.

"That's a lie!" He shouted, his fist hitting the surface of the table.

Jeraddin nodded.

"Oh, I believe you" he said, calmly. "Its exactly the sort of thing our Queen would dream up."

Orloff picked up his chair and sat down on it. Suddenly, he felt ashamed at having lost his temper, especially in front of an enemy.

"Than why?" He asked.

"Your Highness, I am a soldier. My first duty is to my country and my sovereign, despite what I may think of her personally."

"I can respect that."

"Your Highness, my Queen wish is to unite our two nations under one flag, the same thing your grand-father and brother both attempted, she has given me orders not to return home until the Vinolian flag has been raised on the battlements of castle Friborg."

Jeraddin paused to let his words sink in, then continued:

"However, I have no wish to spill blood if it can be avoided, so I will give Your Highness an offer: Tell the King that if he gives up the city without a fight, I will guarantee his safety and that of everyone in his entourage."

Orloff had listened to the lynx's proposition with closed eyes and his mouth a thin line.
He wanted to hurl the words back into Jeraddin's face, telling him that the people of Friborg would defend their home until the last rather than bending the knee to a foreign power and he was just about to do that, but checked himself: He was no longer regent, it was not up to him to make the final decision and besides, wasn't the offer generous? Certainly more than any that his brother had given king Sharan during the last war.

"I shall convene your message to the king", he said, standing up. "Farewell, General. You will forgive you that I do not shake your hand."

"Farewell, Your Highness. I expect the King's reply promptly. The men who brought you here will escort you back to the city-gate, unharmed."

As he watched Orloff leave, Jeraddin became conscious of another person next to him, a female hedgehog.

"Permission to speak, sir" the hedgehog said.

"Granted".

"Sir, why did you let him go? We could have used him as leverage to force the King to give us the city."

Jeraddin looked at the hedgehog and realized that she was young, probably only a few years older than Risha. For a moment, when he looked at her, it was his daughter's face that he saw and he found himself praying that Frigon IV would see reason and open the gates.