•The•Two•Kingdoms

[Teesie]

[Strauss sat upon the mammal awaiting for the other to join him. Though when briefly glancing toward the enemy prince, the now dark-haired prince could see the other was deep in thought, but over what? "I don't really feel that comfortable when you think so much. You're already as devious as they get so planning some sort of skim scares me." The sire of Zelphia informs, a slight teasing tone in his voice. The thin foe needed to hurry so that he could have the boy regroup with his brothers. The third party needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.The two did not have time to waste on personal things when innocent lives were in danger.

 

"Come, hurry. We need to hurry to your brothers to think of a plan."

[BlaqueCatt]

Raven lifted his head and stared blankly at the older prince, saying nothing as he placed his hands on the horse's back and pushed himself up, his arms trembling with the strain, and swung his leg over the side; soon he was seated comfortably with his hands in his lap. Devious. Such a negative word. Not intelligent, not creative. Devious. He mentally rolled his eyes, though he kept his outward expression neutral and his blue eyes focused on the road ahead. He tells me not to think. Is it really such a bad thing to be centered around one's own mind? He let out a quiet, almost inaudible sigh and said softly, "My brothers cannot help us. I wish to speak to them only to ask them to call off the battle. If possible, however, they could provide resources for our investigation." He kept his tone strictly business-like, allowing no emotions into the words; he was done playing games with this man. It was time to be serious.

[Teesie]

Strauss smiled slightly to the road ahead as he shook his head. It seemed as if Raven was done being nice to him, the other was possible tired of him already; although the naturally red he's prince didn't give a damn. He was just as tired of the other as the other was tired of him. The young sire of Zelphia just wanted to get rid of the third party as quickly as possible and make the war end, but it seems that it would be much harder than it seemed.

 

"What to you mean if possible? You all don't have any control over your men? Just command them to retreat and my men would come to find me. They all know where I said to regroup and I can tell them the plan. Personally you all could leave quicker seeing as there are four of you.. The message would spread much quicker...I'm only one person so having my men to retreat would take much longer. We need as many alive as we can have." He Informed, the horse tramping off to the direction in which Strauss guided it in.

[BlaqueCatt]

The black-haired man turned his head to the side, for some reason not wanting to look forward, and shifted his gaze to the ground. "I have already said that I am the youngest prince, so I have less authority than my brothers. If all three disagree, then there will be nothing I can do." He refused to allow any bitterness into his voice, digging his nails into his palms to keep himself calm. The pain was distracting, in a good way; controlled and not enough to be inhibiting like his concussion. It seems that our feelings are mutual, he thought, picking up the underlying meaning in Strauss' tone. I can practically hear you smirking. Part of him was obnoxiously relieved that the other wanted nothing to do with him anymore, as it would make leaving easier, but the other part of him was slightly upset, as it seemed that in other circumstances the two of them may have gotten along.

[Teesie]

The horse kept prancing along in the direction of the enemy base, slowly edging to the smaller male's brothers. "Well that's funny. Seeing as you just announced that the king doesn't make a move without you, how come you can't get your brothers to do the same thing?It's completely useless if we go all this way just for them to disagree and try and battle me. Unless, that is your plan to begin with." Strauss accused, slowly shaking his head while giving a small glare to the ground as if it offended him.

[BlaqueCatt]

"What I said earlier was different," he responded smoothly, not even sparing him a glance. "You may not believe me, but it is." The relationship he had with his father was different from that with his brothers, and extremely different from that with his mother; but even those relationships were not to be considered normal. His brothers were protective of him, but they also teased him and found his ideas confusing. His mother was obsessive and never listened to what he said. His father...his father was not a very kind man in his youngest son's eyes, though he was a saint in all other perspectives. His people loved him as did the rest of his family, but not Raven; the small prince saw another side of his father that was unlike anything anyone else had seen before. "I am not trying to fight with you, it is pointless."

[Teesie]

Strauss only groaned to the other as he decided to ignore the dark-haired enemy prince. The naturally red head was tired of being confused over the other's problems. Raven surely had a fucked up family and the young Codiquíle didn't want to be a part of any of it. Sighing, the older teen stopped the horse as the mammal was now outside the tent that the brothers' of Raven were residing in. "Well we are here so get off. I just hope what you're saying is true." Strauss said, lifting his leg around to fall from the horses back. The two was now here, at least for a good reason this time.*

[BlaqueCatt]

The events following their arrival seemed to take place at an unnaturally fast pace. Once the three brothers heard the sound of a horse stopping outside their tent, they got to their feet and exited at the same time, thinking it was only a messenger. Edmund was first to notice Raven, and before he could alert his brothers the black-haired prince slid off of the horse and dropped to the ground, smoothing out his cloak. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was grabbed by Stephen and pulled back to the edge of the tent before any sound could come out; he was held tightly and virtually unable to move. Daniel and Edmund had their swords drawn and pointed at Strauss, their angry expressions concealing extreme confusion over why their brother had been returned to them.

 

Time soon returned to normal, and Raven struggled to get out of Stephen's grasp. "Stephen! Let me go at once!" he cried, fighting the panic threatening to overtake his rational thought. The blonde hesitated, then loosened his hold, but did not completely let go. The blue-eyed young man narrowed his eyes and stopped moving. "Daniel, Edmund, do not attack him. He is here to help. Listen to what we have to say." The eldest two princes glanced back at him but did not lower their weapons.

 

"What are you talking about, Raven?" Daniel demanded, disbelief clear in his voice. "He kidnapped you!"

 

Raven rolled his eyes and snapped, "I know that, idiot. But here I am, yes? We came back to talk."

[Teesie]

Strauss looked over to the brother who held their weapons out to strike him. The naturally red head male just hoped that the two would listen to Raven. It seemed like the smaller male had a way over everyone that met him. The smart, petit teen was much more powerful than he thought, especially with the reasoning strategy and his way of words. It made for a good way to get through many problems. The sire of Zelphia wouldn't be surprised if Raven could even talk himself out of death.

 

To show that he didn't come here to a fight, even though it could be a mistake, Strauss lifted his hands in surrender and stood to glance around at the others. "I don't wish to fight. Me and Raven...um Raven and I," Correcting his speech. "has found out something on our own and has chose to have you all help us. My intentions were never to kill Raven...I promise." Green, emerald eyes darted to each of the brothers, including Raven, for an accepting expression.

[BlaqueCatt]

Raven refused to meet Strauss' gaze, instead focusing his glares on each of his brothers. His icy blue eyes were expectant, knowing that they would not refuse him. Behind him Stephen's grip slackened, and the smaller man managed to free himself from his grasp, smoothing out his cloak and taking a few steps forward so that he was out of range. Edmund, the stubborn prince he was, looked like he was going to protest, and quite violently, but Daniel lowered his sword; though the anger was not gone from his eyes, his posture was slightly more relaxed. Upon seeing his older brother lose his aggression, Edmund put his own sword back into its sheath, but he was clearly not happy. "We'll hear what you have to say," Daniel said calmly, and although the heir had seemingly taken charge of the situation, Raven knew that he had the upper hand in the final decision. "Come, into the tent." He turned and walked back to the meeting room, Stephen and Raven following. Edmund stayed where he was, wanting to keep an eye on the red-head.

[Teesie]

Strauss stared to the other and didn't move one inch. One brother, not knowing any but one's name, stared to him like a hawk. It was quite funny to the natural red head to think that the other studied his every movement. It wasn't like the sire of Zelphia would do anything...more precisely he couldn't. True he was good with swordsmanship, but these brothers were royalties also. They had a Elite teacher as well to teach them skills and he could possible fight three men on his own, but not ones with, possible, their training.

 

"Um...I'm Strauss. Your name is?" The red head started, trying to strike a conversation, emerald eyes staring to the man in question.

[BlaqueCatt]

Edmund narrowed his eyes, studying the other prince with distaste; though he was Raven's brother, their eyes were different, not quite the same, even though both young men had blue eyes. "Are you coming or not?" he demanded hotly, crossing his arms and mustering up the harshest glare he could, which was nothing compared to his brunette younger sibling. "If we're going to talk, you'll have to do what we say."

 

Before he even had the chance to look smug, Daniel shouted at him from inside the tent. "Edmund! Hurry up! We haven't got all day for you two to decide who's manlier!" Stephen snickered, but Raven only rolled his eyes.

 

"I believe they are deciding who is more idiotic." Daniel looked over at him and gave him a small smile, but worry was clear in his expression.

 

"Did he do anything to you, Raven?" he asked softly, and the younger man bristled.

 

"Of course not! And if he had tried I would have stopped him!" he hissed back, also keeping his voice low.

[Teesie]

The Now black haired prince nodded before slowly walking pass the other prince once he noticed that he could join also. The Zelphia heir thought that one would watch him as Raven and the others discussed the plan. He was quite satisfied that he would actually join the debate instead...well more of a converstion anyways. He still noticed that the other had ignored him but it was fine. It didn't look like the enemy prince liked him as much anyways. Upon entering the tent, Strauss quickly strayed to stand beside Raven. The green eyes darted to the other in a bit of worry. The emo-like boy was the only one he kind of trusted.

[BlaqueCatt]

Almost as soon as Strauss moved to stand next to Raven, Stephen and Edmund changed positions so that they flanked either side of the youngest brother, much to said brother's annoyance. The black-haired prince said nothing, but his blue eyes narrowed and he let out a little huff that was barely audible. Daniel turned his attention to the enemy and gestured to an open chair off to the side of the table. "Please, sit, and we can begin." He took his own seat in front of his three brothers, ignoring the irritated look from Raven and the angry yet uneasy glances he received from the other two. Daniel sighed and put his elbows on the table, leaning forward and staring intently at Raven, not off-put by his blank expression, as it was fairly normal. "So, why don't you two tell me about what's going on?" He kept his voice level and his tone diplomatic.

[Teesie]

The Zelphia Kingdom's heir to the throne nodded at the one who commanded for him to take a seat to start te meeting. Nodding slightly, the naturally red head male padded to the open seat and sat into it, connecting his fingers to place his chin upon it. The hostility that the others was giving him wasn't at all unnoticed. Strauss didn't care though because he deserved it for kidnapping their youngest brother, and even it he hadn't done so, the four was all still enemies so they would still dislike him.

 

"So, why don't you two tell me about what's going on?"[/Quote]

 

"Um..personally I think Raven would do a much netter explanation of it than I. I can can say that we have a traitor in one of our Kingdoms...or both to be honest. Ones that are working with someone else of a third party or is forming this so called third party. We have a mysterious situation on hand." He explained, his green eyes darting to Raven to give a better story of what was happening.

 

[BlaqueCatt]

Raven could not help but give a small, pleased smile when the attention was directed to himself. Hmm, so he does acknowledge by intelligence. The smile quickly vanished, however, when three pairs of dark blue eyes fixated themselves on him. He brushed the black hair from his eyes and took a breath to steady himself. "You three know that it was not our kingdom who initiated the war," he began, waiting until he got three nods of agreement, albeit hesitant ones. "Well, during my time spent with Prince Crodiquile, I learned that it was not the Zelphian kingdom that started the war either." He was expecting the disbelieving gasps that followed, and he patiently waited for the brief arguments to die off before continuing. "I know he is telling the truth," he said, shifting his hard gaze to Edmund as he spoke, "because, as you know, I am very skilled at reading people; he was not lying when he told me. So, that information led me to believe that a third party has been manipulating our two kingdoms." There was a long stretch of silence as the three princes digested the information. Then, Daniel spoke.

 

"What do you mean by 'manipulating'?" he asked, his expression completely serious.

 

"It is likely that a member, or members, of the third party have been intercepting messengers and delivering false information to the kings. For example, one told us that Zelphia was attacking, and another told Zelphia that we were attacking. This third party is probably a third kingdom that wants us to destroy each other in order to get our land, or rebellious people in each of our kingdoms who are planning some kind of revolution and using the war to weaken us."

[Teesie]

The red head glanced around to the other to see if they were actually understanding what the smaller male was saying. The heir of Zelphia was sure that the princes would understand seeing as this was their brother. A person who had been living with them for many years. If anyone didn't understand it would be himself, but it was a good thing that he was intelligent.

 

Giving a small sigh the green orbs dotted to the other men in the room, giving a soft smile to the other to show that be was indeed friendly. Not that the others would take it to the heart, or too lightly. Strauss was pretty sure that one wrong move would result in the end of his life. The naturally red head male, was surely walking on thin ice here. That was something the the other would look out for. To not say or do anything too offending.

 

"Yes, just as Raven has spoken. Personally my messenger had been with us for precisely three months. The one that we have harvested for so long died due to a rivalry. So perhaps, if any, he is the traitor amongst my men....my kingdom.

[BlaqueCatt]

"So, uh, how do we find out which thing it is?" Edmund asked after a moment, wincing slightly at the strange looks his three brothers gave him, especially Raven's incredulous glare. "I mean, how do we know if the third party is another kingdom or if it's rebellious villagers?" Stephen looked at Daniel and Raven intently, also wondering the same thing.

 

Raven shrugged, putting his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands. "We will not know until we find the people who gave us the false information. Once we have them, we can determine who our enemy is." His icy blue eyes darted to Strauss, sparing him a quick glance before turning his gaze back to the wooden table. He was not sure what the other thought of him at the moment; he was not sure why he cared, but for some reason it bothered him to think that the red-head disliked him.

 

"Alright," Daniel said, looking from Raven to Strauss and back again. "Stephen, Raven and I will stay here and call off the battle, then start an investigation. Edmund can go with you to your kingdom and help find the other culprit."

[Teesie]

The Red head briefly glanced to Raven before once again averting his eyes to the other princes. The others were already moving out to stop the war, that was a relief; but it was something that the Strauss just wished to know. Glancing his green eyes up again, the orbs dotted to the dark-haired, younger, enemy prince. There was a question that he wanted to ask, but wasn't too sure if he should speak again or not. Oh well, he'd take his chances.

 

"Raven, how are we suppose to know who gave the false information? Perhaps we ask our messengers as to who gave them the information and go from there?" He asked, his expression in curiosity of the situation. This would be much harder than he thought. "Will the third party strike once they hear the spread of the war stopping? We have to do something on our own to not have that happen."

 

The red head just couldn't think up all the plans on his own. Raven was the most intelligent one it seemed and Strauss was just too lost at the moment. He wondered what the emo-like boy's plan was to learn who was the liar.

[BlaqueCatt]

Raven tilted his head, biting his lip in thought, his eyes narrowing as he went though the possible options and outcomes. "Yes, the third party will be spurred into action once they hear the war is stopping; they will know that we have caught wind of their plan and will attempt something else. Perhaps..." He trailed off, and all three brothers visibly stilled; they knew that when Raven paused like that it meant he was doubting his own idea, which meant that the plan would not go smoothly. "Perhaps we should continue the battle, but only for show," he said quickly when he saw the oncoming protests. "We inform both sides of knights of what is going on, and they stage fake battles."

 

Daniel and the others looked relieved, but that relief faded when their youngest brother shook his head a few moments later. "No...but what if the third party is working with the knights? We have no way of knowing who is comrades with whom..." His blue eyes hardened, as they did when he was making a very difficult decision. "We may have to keep the war going until we find who intercepted the messages."

[Teesie]

Strauss green eyes widened as he slowly frowned to the other before shaking his head and standing. "No...there must be another way. Our men is dying out there and we can not just have a battle continue which shouldn't have happened in the first place! Families lost all over a false war...one that shouldn't even be happening. That is not a good idea." The elder said as he frowned slightly to Raven.

 

The red head knew that it was a good plan, but they couldn't just let innocent people die over those who started it all together. There had to be a way that they could do something else, or just take the risk of the others knowing. "I don't know what the hell we are suppose to do, but that choice is unacceptable." Codiquíle said, brows furrowed in astonishment.

[BlaqueCatt]

The black-haired prince's blue eyes flared, but before he could say something insulting to the older man, Daniel interrupted. "I understand your concerns, Prince Crodequile, but what other choice is there? If the knights are alerted to the plan and there is a traitor, our men may turn against us." Edmund, for once, agreed with Strauss, and he hastily shook his head, standing up as well.

 

"That's a big 'if' though! What if there is no traitor?" He looked at everyone for help pleading his case. Raven huffed silently, looking away from the other men in the room.

 

"The odds are in favor of a traitor," he said darkly. "If I were a part of the third party and wanted to do something this elaborate, I would have my own men in each faction of the kingdom, and as many as I could."

[Teesie]

Strauss shook his head once again and stood also refusing to let this go on. "No, regardless if there is a traitor or not, who are we to say it's in both our kingdoms. Even so, I'm pretty sure than more of our men are loyal and not traitors. If they are out numbered by loyal soldiers I'm sure that they'll go by our rules until in contact with their leader. I'm sure if we keep a close eye on them, that wouldn't happen. I don't like this idea Raven." Staring to the boy with a frown present on his face.

 

This was all wrong. The idea was surely a good one, but for innocent knights to lose their lives were not acceptable, once again. Strauss knew most his men had families and it hurted to lose one that was loved dearly. "I won't agree with this one bit." The red head said, emerald eyes hard as steel as he averted them to the table.

[BlaqueCatt]

"Fine," Raven said flatly, before anyone else could speak. Daniel and Stephen looked surprised, as the younger man was not one to give up so easily, especially when he was defending his own idea. "But if it turns out that I was right, everything we do from then on will be my decision, no matter how morally wrong you think it is." Edmund gave his brother a small smile, but his relief was faded slightly when he saw the coldness in the black-haired man's icy blue eyes. "We will alert three of our top men in each station to command the rest of their knights in the staged battles. That way, if there are any traitors, they will have a harder time turning everyone against us. Believe it or not, but knights are more loyal to their fellow knights than to their kingdom."

[Teesie]

The Zelphia prince shrugged and nodded with that sentence. He was willing to let the other take over if the plan fucked up, after all it would be his fault. Although, even if it didn't go as planned, mens lives would be savored and not thrown to hell. "Well that's fine with me. As long as we stop this undying war that shouldn't have started in the first place." Strauss said, listening to his own words. Maybe the title 'Ice Prince' wasn't so right after all. The red head surely had remorse for others if it wasn't him causing the trouble in the first. So possibly the title was half right. Either way, he wasn't as cold as many thought he was.