Capítulo 18: A New Collection

"Rion, send this letter to Jolene and Zire. Tell the messenger to be careful." Iria handed a letter which was scrolled to Rion.

"Even if we failed and this letter end up in the hands of the enemies, there's nothing to worry about. I used the secret alphabets that we create for us to use. Only four of us understand this letter." She added.

Rion took the letter from the Commander's hand. "Yes, Commander."

"One more thing. They must relay the contents of this letter to His Majesty. I will be waiting for his decision." Iria instructed Rion and took a seat with a troubled face.

"Commander, do you believe what the Crown Prince said?" Rion cautiously asked when he noticed the unusual expression.

Iria fell silent for a while before she turned to Rion who was standing beside her. "I'm not the one to decide that but His Majesty. I will follow whatever he decides." She eyed the door and said, "Let's not lose time. You should go now."

With that said, Rion bowed and left Iria's chamber.

Being all alone in her room, Iria was debating with her own thoughts. She didn't know why but... a part of her wanted to trust what the Crown Prince said.

Arin Helev; he was an enemy but she accepted that he was an admirable man. Somehow, she had a feeling that he won't lie to her. She recalled all the things he did ever since she arrived here in Qalagon; none of them was wrong. What's more, none of them were against her but always in her favour.

Commander Iria wanted peace but... even if Arin was telling the truth, everything was already a mess. She wasn't the Princess but a warrior.

The Qalagons wouldn't be still if they ever find out the truth and... King Tobias, her King would never allow her to stuck here forever.

She considered her opinion worthless as she was only to follow the order. However, deep inside her heart, she didn't want to stay in this kingdom for long.

How could she do that while the person she loved the most was killed by the soldiers of this exact kingdom? If it wasn't for peace and the people, she would already set out to avenge her father!

As she was feeling too troubled, she questioned her decision for the first time. Was her decision to replace the Princess wrong?

* * *

Days were quite peaceful in Qalagon. There was no war going on or one which might happen soon. People lead a calm and peaceful life for a while now.

Qalagon was famous for its natural resources which contributed greatly to the kingdom's immense wealth. They had the highest amount of gold, silver and copper mines in all the neighbouring kingdoms. Many people make a living by working in these mines but agriculture was also one of their primary occupations.

In contrast to Jerivia in the east which was dominated by plains, Qalagon in the west had many rough terrains and mountains. However, their geographical nature only played in their favour as they were harder to attack due to the shield provided by nature.

The Grenet forest was the one that acted as the border of the two kingdoms. However, this forest had many rivers which flowed throughout the forest. Despite being rivals, it was never easy for the two kingdoms to attack each other due to this forest which served as their border.

It was noon and Iria was taking a walk around the palace. Rion wasn't with her as she gave him some task to do outside the palace. When she was about to walk past the training ground, she saw two men who were fighting with swords, a friendly match. She recognized them as the Crown Prince and General Hanson Lorin.

The Commander briefly recalled the war which happened a year ago. She didn't witness the Crown Prince fighting the war. She had no knowledge of General Hanson's skill either. So, she thought that it would be a great chance to check out their ability. After all, there's still a huge chance for her to meet them on the battlefield.

She slowly walked towards them while never turning away from them. When she reached the ground, she took a seat on the chair which was placed and watched the friendly match while the two still didn't notice her presence as they were too concentrated on the match.

In a short time, she could easily figure out their strengths and weakness. However, one thing fascinated her. It was the Crown Prince's agility. She had never seen someone with such great agility. It even made her wish to have a match with him! He would surely be a tough one to beat!

When she was occupied by these thoughts, Hanson fell to the ground which snapped her back to reality.

Arin offered his hand to the General and they both decided to take a break. When they turned in the direction where the swords and other weapons were kept, they finally noticed Iria who was staring in their direction. Then they made their way to her.

"Your Highness." General Hanson bowed to show his respect while Iria nodded.

"Are you bored? Why are you here alone?" Arin asked her. He placed his sword on the table and drank the water.

"It's boring to be in my chamber all day." Boring was an understatement for someone like her who spent all her time in the army! However, she was the Princess in their eyes. She shouldn't exaggerate.

"If you want to go out for some air, I can take you. You might feel better that way." Arin calmly said.

"No, I'm fine." What use would it be to let the Crown Prince tagged along? She'd rather stay here than that!

"Then I hope you won't sneak out again if you prefer to stay here. The whole palace will be a mess again if that happens." Arin said. How could he be calm and earnest at the same time?!

"I won't answer that." She promptly said and turned to the sword which was placed on her right. It was General Hanson's sword but there was something that caught her attention.

The ornament hanging on the handle... it's the single arrow-shaped one which she recommended to the Prime Minister's daughter. Then her lips curved into a slight smile. "That's a nice ornament, General Hanson."

General Hanson narrowed his eyes at what the Crown Princess was looking. "Thank you, Your Highness. It's a gift." He said with a bit of an awkward smile.

Arin glanced at the ornament and turned to his friend. "A gift? I've never seen it before."

Thinking of a way to escape from his Crown Prince friend who always loved to tease him whenever he got the chance, Hanson glanced at Arin sword. "Seems like you also have a new collection." He remarked with a victorious smile.

Iria turned to her left and glanced at the Crown Prince's sword. There she saw it. The ornament that she chose, the sun-shaped one. It made her eyes flickered.

Arin didn't even seem to be thankful when she gave him but... he really hanged it in his sword?! She didn't expect this as it was bought in an average stall. He was the Crown Prince and he would surely have many ornaments more valuable!

She turned to Arin who was looking at her but he quickly shifted his gaze to the sun shaped ornament. "It's from the Crown Princess." He simply responded to his friend.....