It had soon become clear that taking Guanaca by force or cunning was a pipe-dream, the city was too well-protected for that and so, Jeraddin had ordered his army to encircle Guanaca, making it impossible for anyone to get in or get out.
By now, the siege had lasted for almost a year and yet, the gates remained closed.
In the Vinolian camp, the morale was becoming dangerously low; the rations of food and water had had to be cut in half and as a result, the men were getting restless and irritated. Almost daily, Jeraddin received reports of fights having broken out, often between the soldiers that were naturally born Vinolians and those who came from the conquered territories.
Oh, how Jeraddin wished he could just pack up and leave this dry, hot land with its merciless sun behind and return home. Home to Vinoli, where the cherry trees were no doubt in bloom, by now. Not that such an opinion was open to him. Taking a deep breath Jeraddin allowed his mind wander. It traveled back in time and for a moment, Jeraddin found himself standing on the carpet in the Queen's study, on the day of the Vinolian army's departure:
"We do not need to inform you, General" Argath told him, her fingers caressing a signed document lying on her desk. "What a benefit to Vinoli it would be if Guanaca came under Our influence. We do not care what methods you use to accomplish this or how long it takes, but it must be done."
"I won't fail you, Your Majesty" Jeraddin answered. Wishing, as usual, when in the vicinity of his monarch, that he could be anywhere else.
"See that you do not, General." The Queen's eyes narrowed slightly. "Should you fail, We might seriously consider looking among your officers for someone to take your place."
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Argath told whoever it was to come in and the door opened and Lorenzo appeared on the doorstep.
"Sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty" the fox said, using the casual tone, which no-one but him would dare address the Queen with. "I thought I'd tell you that the ambassador from Garzola has arrived."
"Escort him to the pavilion and tell him that I shall be with him shortly" the Queen replied, temporarily dropping the royal 'we' she usually employed when addressing her subjects. "I trust that the refreshments have been prepared, as I instructed?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Good."
Argath flashed her fox one of those smiles she bestowed upon people when she was pleased with them. Having done this, she turned back to Jeraddin:
"You may leave, General. We look forward to receiving news of your victory. One more thing; King Faljan has insisted on accompanying you on this campaign. Make sure nothing happens to him, will you?"
Jeraddin left the Queen's study feeling a bit pale. He knew all too well what the consequences would be should Argath choose to replace him. As he walked through the palace corridors, his heart pounding in his chest, a female voice called out behind him
"General, please wait!"
Not recognizing the voice immediately, Jeraddin had turned around and saw that it belonged to none other than Miranda.
"Can I help you?" He asked, wondering what she could want from him.
Having been the one calling out , the female raccoon now seemed overcome by a sudden shyness. Her eyes darted back and forth and she bit her lower lip as if embarrassed. Eventually, she had managed to gather up enough courage to respond to his question:
"Its Nasari, General. She heard you had been called to the palace. Unfortunately, she's busy doing her chores and can't come to take farewell as she would have liked, but she asked me to give you something..."
She motioned for Jeraddin to bend down. He obeyed , wondering what Miranda had in mind and then, his eyes widened as a pair of unfamiliar lips pressed against his own.
At first, this action had taken Jeraddin completely by surprise. He had quickly composed himself and, having putting one paw on Miranda's shoulder, returned the kiss.
"That one is for you to bring back to Nasari when you see her" he explained and having bid Miranda farewell, he left the palace and headed for the harbor where the Vinolian army was ready to embark.
Running his paw across his face, Jeraddin returned to the present. He stared up at the walls of Guanaca. There they stood in the sun; tall, white and seemingly impenetrable. For a moment, it seemed to the lynx as if they were mocking him, as though a high-pitched laughter could be heard coming from their stones.
I have been too long in the sun, he thought to himself, wiping the sweat from his brow. I had better lie down for a bit.
And with that, he turned around and headed towards his tent.
*******
Perhaps Jeraddin and his men would have found their situation easier to cope with, had they known that the situation on the other side of the walls was not much better than outside of them? In Guanaca, food was becoming scarcer by the day and the citizens had begun to grumble.
"To think the King had our private reserves confiscated, because the amount of food stored in the warehouse turned out to not be enough" some of them complained. "Now, those stores are almost completely depleted and we do not even have our own food to eat. Food that we earned with our money! What of our families? They are going to starve!"
"King Bashar should just give up the Crown" others muttered. "He is never going to beat the Vinolians, but he'd rather that we all starved to death than not be King anymore."
It did not take long before this sort of talk reached Bashar's over-sized ears. The King ordered any dissidents to be thrown in jail and then summoned his council for a meeting.
"The situation is becoming unbearable" the King ranted, as he paced agitatedly, observed by his councilors, who were all seated on cushions in a circle around him. "If we do not do anything about this siege soon, we are going to have a rebellion on our hands!"
This ominous statement, caused the listeners to turn and look concernedly at the person next to them.
"True, Your Majesty" said one of them, a boar with only one tusk. "But what can we do? Engaging the Vinolian army in direct combat would be tantamount to suicide."
"We had all figured that they would have gone home by now" a sand-cat, lounging on his cushion, chimed in. "That if we waited long enough, the climate would cause them to yield. He stretched and yawned. "Apparently, we've underestimated the tenacity of our foes."
A murmur of frustrated agreement filled the room. Then, the King's Vizier requested the floor. It was granted to him and so, the gila stood up while Bashar sat down on one of the cushions.
"Your Majesty" the Vizier began, bowing to the King, then turning to the others. "Honored council, I believe I may have the solution to our problems."
Everyone, including the King, looked at the speaker, anticipation on their faces.
"If you do, then do not keep us in suspense" Bashar said, leaning forward. His voice was firm and yet, there was a sliver of a plea in it. "Tell us what your plan is."
Savoring the feeling of being the center of attention, the Vizier cleared his throat and began to speak.
Why, the Vizier asked his audience, was the other nations of the World content with sitting on the sidelines and watching this conflict between Guanaca and Vinoli, unfold?
"The Reason, I believe is this: During his time on the throne, His Majesty has proven himself a fair and capable ruler, well deserving of leading our country. I think we can all agree with that, can we
not?"
Here, the Vizier paused and fixed his eyes on each member of the council, all of whom nodded eagerly.
"Alas" the Vizier continued "many of Your Majesty's royal colleagues do not see it that way. In their eyes, you, my king, will always be a usurper. To them, its the person out there, the person who has entered into an alliance with a woman whose ambition is only equaled by her depravity. The Person who has brought a foreign army to our gates, who is the rightful ruler of Guanaca."
And to emphasize his words, he pointed in the general direction of the enemy.
"Get to the point, Vizier" Bashar interrupted, he was beginning to grow impatient.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty" The Gila said, bowing apologetically. "My point" he went on, "is this; the other Kings and Queens of the World may not look with disapproval upon the Vinolian army having entered our land, since Your Majesty's cousin is with them. At the same time, Faljan's presence is the only thing that, in their eyes, adds an air of legitimacy to the Vinolian's being here. As long as she has him, Argath can claim that her army is only there to restore the rightful King, nothing else."
"I see what you mean" the King said, stroking his chin thoughtfully, his eyes gleamed. "Without my cousin, international opinion would turn against Vinoli and they would be forced to withdraw, is that it?"
"Precisely, Your Majesty. After all, the other Kingdoms may not necessarily like you, but none of them would want Vinoli or any other kingdom to have control over Guanaca."
"So, how shall we to get rid of my cousin?" Bashar asked. "Any ideas?"
"His Majesty could challenge his cousin to single combat" proposed the boar. "Winner gets the crown."
"Do not be absurd" the Vizier said, shooting the speaker a dismissive look. "The Vinolian General is no fool, doubtlessly he's aware that His Majesty's prowess in the martial arts far exceeds that of his cousin."
"They could each pick a champion to fight for them" the boar argued, though his voice had lost its strength and his eyes were drawn towards the floor.
"And what if my champion should lose?" King Bashar said, shaking his head. "No, its too risky a gamble. Vizier, you said that you had a plan. What is it?"
Touching the red ruby on his turban, the gila-Vizier drew himself up to his full heigth (which was not very impressive) and began to explain his plan. As he did, he soon saw the smile he now wore reflected on the faces of everyone else in the room.
"Vizier" Bashar said, his face divided by a widening grin and his voice expressing sincere admiration.
"You are a genius."
The Others agreed and the Vizier closed his eyes, basking in the glow of his sovereign's praise, thinking of the honors that would be his when this was over.
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