On the other end of the valley, far from the screams of the main battle, Andree was moving in silence. The Moon was their friend.

  "So," Malik whispered, crouched low in the grass. "We are going to sneak up on them?"

  "Yeah," Andree whispered back, eyes on the wall. "But we need to stay quiet for it to be called sneaking."

  They moved closer. And closer. Suddenly, a twig snapped.

  On the wall, an Archer turned. "I thought something was moving there."

  He fired a blind arrow into the dark.

  The arrow struck a soldier in the leg, burying itself deep in the muscle.

  The soldier's eyes went wide. His mouth opened to scream.

  Andree clamped his hand over the soldier's mouth, muffling the cry into a silent whimper.

  They dragged him down into the shadows, holding him tight as he thrashed in pain.

  "Did you hit anything?" the second Archer asked, rubbing his arms.

  "Don't know," the first Archer said, peering into the dark.

  "Get inside," the second said. "It's getting cold."

  "Yeah... but who is going to watch?"

  "Nothing is going to happen." the second laughed.

  "They are dying in the castle over there. The vice-Warchief has them trapped."

  "And what if?"

  "No 'what ifs'. No watching tonight. Get inside before you die from the cold."

  The second guard dragged the archer away from the wall. The door clicked shut.

  Andree slowly removed his hand from the soldier's mouth. The soldier was sweating, tears in his eyes.

  "That," Andree exhaled, "was close."

  The door opened again.

  "No," the Archer whispered. "Something is out there. I can feel it."

  He reached into his pouch. He pulled out a lump of clay, molded around a Red Gem.

  He threw it into the darkness.

  The clay shattered. The gem ignited. A blinding red light washed over the field.

  It illuminated ten thousand men lying in wait.

  The Archer screamed. "THEY ARE HERE! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"

  Bells rang. The Captain came running to the wall, looking down at the sea of enemies.

  "Sir!" a soldier yelled. "We are outnumbered!"

  The Captain squinted.

  He saw their weapons. "Hold the wall!" he shouted. "They have axes! They don't have bo—"

  A bolt flew out of the darkness.

  It went straight through the Captain's hand, pinning it to the stone battlement.

  The Captain stared at his hand.

  Andree stepped into the red light, holding a heavy mechanical bow.

  "We have crossbows." Andree shouted up at him. "If you don't mind."

  He raised his hand. "SHOOT!"

  The arrows of the army rained down on the soldiers, clearing the wall in seconds.

  "CHARGE!" Andree commanded.

  The ten thousand roared. They charged, closing the distance before the enemy could even scream.

  "Now," Malik shouted. "Use the glass, Andree!"

  Andree pulled out the shard Ashley gave him. "I hope that witch didn't sell us out," he muttered.

  He smashed it on the ground. Above the castle walls, the sky rippled.

  Massive wooden siege ladders dropped out of thin air.

  They slammed onto the ramparts, crushing two archers instantly and hooking onto the stone.

  "GO!" Andree screamed. "HALF OF YOU CLIMB! THE OTHER HALF, GUARD YOUR BROTHERS!"

  The men swarmed up the ladders. The Archer tried to push the ladders, but the crossbows of the army didn’t let them stand.

  Andree vaulted onto the walkway.

  He slashed a guard, kicking him off the edge.

  Then Andree saw the captain. He fired his crossbow at him.

  The Captain deflected the first bolt.

  He raised his sword to strike Andree, but Malik slid under his guard.

  A wet tear, and the Captain looked down at his own intestines hitting the floor.

  Malik screamed grinning, covered in red.

  "Damn," Malik laughed, wiping his face. "Their blood is sweet, Andree."

  "Yeah, I know," Andree said. "Just finish the assault. Open the door already."

  Malik laughed, cutting down a guard. "These aren't the Veterans!”

  “The Veterans are dying in the desert! These are just the babysitters!"

  Room by room. Tower by tower. Until they reached the mechanism.

  Malik pulled the lever. The massive chains groaned. The drawbridge lowered.

  "Open sesame," Malik chuckled.

  The army flooded in. And Malik was screaming jumping on soldiers slaughtering them like cows.

  Screaming like a mad man.

  And then putting axes in their heads, laughing while doing it.

  “What have you made Ruther." Andree said.

  After the castle was cleaned from soldiers.

  Malik walked back to Andree, wiping his blade. "We have a present for you, Andree."

  Andree sighed. "What? Dead soldiers' heads?"

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  "No," Malik grinned, pointing up the stairs. "Go to the Warchief's room. And you will see."

  Andree sighed and started to climb.

  The stairs had blood flowing down them like a river. Thick, dark, and warm.

  There were handprints on the walls—bloody smears where dying men had tried to stand up one last time.

  He passed two severed heads.

  Their eyes were open, looking at the sky as if they had seen the Devil before they died.

  Andree stepped over them. He reached the top floor. The Warchief's room.

  There was a pile of bodies at the door. Soldiers who hadn't run.

  Soldiers who had stayed and died right on the threshold.

  Andree looked at them. He stepped inside the door.

  An arrow flew past his head, embedding itself in the doorframe.

  Andree didn't flinch.

  He just looked at the corner of the room.

  "A woman?" He chuckled, looking at the bow in her shaking hands. "As the Warchief?"

  "I am the Warchief's daughter," she spat, reaching for a dagger. "But... you look different than the others."

  "Yeah," Andree said. "Since I am the General."

  He reached up.

  He pulled the shoelace from his hair, letting his blonde locks fall.

  He tied the lace around his arm.

  "Well," she sneered, "your filthy King is going to be dead by now! My fathe—"

  "Oh," Andree cut her off. "You mean that plan? To attack us from the back?"

  He shook his head. "Well, sorry. We already finished that thing.”

  “And probably... your Dad's head is currently being used by my King as a glass for his wine."

  "What?" Her face went pale.

  He walked closer. "Sorry should have said that in a better way.”

  “Anyway, as you were the present given to me... I gladly accept. From now on, you are my servant."

  She screamed.

  She lunged with the dagger. Andree didn't dodge.

  He raised his hand. She stabbed him directly in the palm.

  The blade went deep, grinding against the bone.

  Andree didn't scream. His pupil dilated.

  A vein popped in his neck as his jaw clenched tight enough to crack a tooth.

  But he never blinked.

  He just stared at her. He grabbed her wrist with his other hand and twisted the dagger out of his palm, throwing it on the ground.

  Blood dripped onto the floor.

  "Okay," he said. "If you want to survive, you have to listen to me."

  "If I don't take you from here... those men out there? They will kill you, 'Miss Noble Woman'."

  He leaned in. "So. Either you come with me. Or you die."

  She didn't answer. She was trembling, staring at his bleeding hand.

  Andree walked to a dead soldier in the hallway.

  He cut a piece of cloth and wrapped his hand tight.

  He walked out. She followed.

  "So," he said loudly. "I suppose you are my servant from now on."

  He patted his soldiers on the back with his good hand. "Good work by the way, guys."

  "I hate you," she whispered.

  "Me too," Andree whispered back. “I didn't save you because I like you.”

  “I saved you because we are not animals. We kill soldiers. We do not touch women.“

  He pointed at her silk dress. "So, if you ever think about judging us... look at your clothes, Miss.”

  “And think about that dress you're wearing. How many people were cut to make that dress?"

  Malik walked up, grinning. "Hey. You like the present?" Malik laughed.

  "I know blonde likes blonde."

  "Yeah. Thanks for your energy, Malik," Andree sighed.

  "Anyway. Send the message to the King." Andree looked at the castle towers.

  "Let him know that the castle is his... Or, actually? He wouldn't like that phrase."

  Andree smiled. "Tell him... It's Ours."

  After six days a messenger arrived.

  “My king.” The messenger said. “A message from general Andree.”

  “Thank you and also call me Ruther not king.”

  The messenger raised his eye brow, giving the message to Ruther.

  Ruther opened the message. He read it twice. "So," Ruther said, rubbing his face. "He has done it."

  "So, as I was saying," Strang continued. "Roast turkey is much be—"

  "Hey!" Ruther interrupted, waving the paper. "Guys! Are you with me? Andree took the castle."

  Leo took a sip of wine. "Yeah. And?"

  Ruther stared at them. "And?! You really got used to taking castles, didn't you? Who thought..."

  "It isn't about us, Ruther," Leo said, putting his glass down. "It's you."

  Ruther blinked.

  "Your plans," Leo said. "They make us feel safe."

  "Yeah," Strang added, stealing a grape from the bowl. "I never thought a Warchief would be that stupid... but I found out that you are just the smart one."

  Shyn leaned back in his chair, polishing his bow.

  "There is a reason," Shyn said. "that you are the King. And we are the Generals."

  Ruther looked at them. And he just smiled.

  "Okay, Mister Generals," Ruther said, packing his bag. "We have to get to Andree now."

  "I have a suggestion, Ruther," Leo said.

  Ruther looked at him.

  "We should take the way through the city."

  "And spies, my friend," Shyn argued, "are going to kill us one by one."

  "Yeah," Leo said. "That is, if we don't secure the streets before."

  Leo stepped forward. "Let the people see their King. Let them know that you are one of them."

  He pointed at the castle walls. "You are the King, Ruther.”

  “The people think you are someone who is always in his castle, sitting, eating grapes.”

  "Well, Leo got a point," Strang said, rubbing his chin.

  "If I think of a King... I think of someone eating Roasted Turkey for breakfast."

  "But you demolished that image, to be honest," Strang added.

  "Like... I didn't see you eat chicken every day."

  "Once a week," Shyn corrected. "Because he can't afford it."

  "You still give the Treasury to the people," Leo said. "You are the King."

  "The King is just a name."

  "No, it's not, Ruther. You are a good King.”

  “But you have to show it to the people. Our city saw that. But this city..."

  "This city saw more than us."

  "They starved for bread," Leo whispered. "To the point that they started eating dirt."

  "I think they said..." Merk added quietly, "that they killed each other. To eat meat."

  Silence filled the room. "Ruther," Leo said softy.

  "We have food here. That I know you would share with the people."

  "But you have to do it yourself. Show the people that you are a Good King."

  Ruther looked at their faces. He looked at the food crates. He rubbed his face.

  "Fine."

  They got the carriages loaded with food crates. They entered the City of the Lens.

  This city was built by the King of the Earth Realm, with the support of the Sun Realm.

  A gift for the new treaty. "Two Kings, One Realm."

  But now, it was a City of Ashes.

  Kids sat on the curbs, looking like skeletons. When they saw the carriages, they didn't smile.

  They knew slavery was coming. Usually, soldiers took the boys to be slaves.

  If you were a Type 4, it was even worse.

  But this was different. The people on the horses wore normal clothes.

  And the one in the middle... had nothing out of the ordinary about him.

  Except that his shirt had a hole in the arm.

  Leo took a deep breath. He stood up in his stirrups.

  "THE KING OF THE GLASS WORLD COMES!" Leo roared.

  "HE ISN'T COMING FOR YOUR DEATH! HE ISN'T COMING TO TAKE YOU FROM YOUR HUSBANDS!"

  "HE BRINGS BREAD, NOT ASHES! HE BRINGS LIFE, NOT DIRT!”

  The people stirred.

  "HE IS COMING TO GIVE YOU FOOD! BECAUSE HE SLEPT NIGHTS WITHOUT FOOD, LIKE YOU!”

  “HIS FATHER WAS KILLED FOR YOU! HE DIDN'T SEE HIS MOTHER IN HIS CHILDHOOD FOR YOU!"

  "THE KING OF THE GLASS WORLD COMES TODAY TO BE ONE OF YOU!”

  “THE CASTLE IS DOWN! THE WARCHIEF IS KILLED!"

  "HIS HEAD IS A CUP FOR HIM TO DRINK FROM, AND FOR YOU TO SEE!"

  "WE CAME FROM THE CITY OF NORDES! AND WE WERE KILLED JUST LIKE YOU!"

  "BUT TODAY... WE AREN'T SLAVES TO ANYONE EXCEPT GOD!"

  The people heard the voice. And old men teared up.

  People jumped from their places, finding energy they didn't know they had.

  Ruther stepped down. "Open the crates for my people," he said. "Let them eat from what was stolen from them."

  The soldiers—people who came from the same gutters—jumped down.

  They started giving out soup. Roasted chicken. Rice. Food they hadn't seen in years.

  They ate. And tears dropped like a waterfall.

  Old men, who were born into slavery... today, they knew what freedom tasted like.

  People hugged the soldiers, crying on their shoulders.

  Describing the horrors the soldiers had already seen.

  Tears became a coin. A coin that the King had in his eyes.

  A coin that the Generals saw themselves in.

  Even the soldiers were giving food with tears in their eyes.

  Today wasn't a holiday.

  Today history wrote that the Lens City, was drowning. And the boat finally came.

  On the other end of the Diamond Part—in the conquered Capital—Andree stood on a balcony, eating a piece of bread.

  "Hm," he mumbled, chewing. "Actually, the bread here is much better than what we have in Nordes."

  "Of course, my Lor—" the servant started.

  "Call me Andree."

  "Of course... Sir Andree."

  Andree sighed. He looked to his side. He saw that woman. The Warchief's daughter.

  His face twisted. The look of a man finding a maggot in his apple.

  She walked closer to him. She looked at his hair. "Can I ask you something?"

  Andree didn't look at her. "Ask."

  "Why... why do you tie your hair with a shoelace?”

  Andree stopped chewing.

  He looked at her. "I would have said 'none of your business'," he said slowly.

  "But I am in a good mood today. Since Ruther is coming."

  He touched the dirty string in his hair.

  "It's the shoelace of my father's shoe," he whispered. "The last thing I could save... before they were burned."

  "Burned?" she asked,.

  "Yes," Andree said. "Your people killed my family.”

  “Because we had blue eyes. The color of the Glass People." He pointed at his own blonde hair.

  "And they said... 'How can the slaves have blonde hair like yours, Miss Noble?'”

  Andree looked out at the captured city.

  "And so... they burned their bodies. My dad threw me over the wall to the next street to save me.”

  “And from that day... I had nothing. Except this."

  Silence hung between them. The Noble woman stared at him. Andree sighed.

  "Go get me a glass of water, Miss Noble."

  She stared at him for a second longer. Then she nodded. "Yes, sir." She went to get him what he asked.

  Andree drank the water. He looked over the walls.

  He saw dust on the horizon. He saw the flags. "Ruther is here."

  His face lit up. He reached up and pulled the shoelace from his hair, letting his blonde locks fall loose.

  He tied the lace around his arm.

  He didn't take the stairs. He vaulted over the balcony railing.

  He hung from the edge for a split second, cutting the distance, then dropped.

  He landed in a crouch, his boots slamming against the stone, and immediately rolled to his feet.

  He ran at the gatekeeper. "OPEN THE DOOR! AND HAIL THE KING!"

  The gates groaned open. The army rode in.

  "Oh, come on." Strang groaned, looking at the empty supply crates. "I told you to leave me some chicken!"

  "Sorry," Merk laughed. "It was eaten. You know... starvation."

  "Shut up.” Ruther smiled, riding at the front.

  Andree, who hadn't seen Ruther for two months, laughed.

  He laughed at seeing them, even after all the blood that had dried on their skin.

  "Good to see you," Andree said.

  "What?" Leo gasped, pulling his horse to a stop. "His hair... he untied it. For once."

  "I can't believe my eyes," Merk whispered.

  "Yeah," Shyn said. "Since he is relaxing. And we are not in war."

  Leo jumped down from his horse.

  He walked up to Andree. "But damn. You got long hair."

  "Your hair is longer, Leo," Andree shot back. "It literally gets to your shoulder."

  Leo flipped his hair. "Yes. But my hair is beautiful. It's not that 'Noble Color' like yours.”

  “It's the Brownish-Gold of the People."

  Yeah, yeah," Andree sighed. "I know, Mister Green Eyes."

  "My eyes don't look green!" Leo protested.

  "Yeah," the Servant chimed in, stepping forward with a tray of drinks.

  "It's just gray in the center. And green at the rest, sir."

  Leo paused. He looked at the servant.

  "Thank you," Leo said. "Thank you for not being stupid for once."

  "I learn from you, sir," the Servant bowed.

  "Damn," Merk whispered to Ruther. "The servant... he got smarter."

  "He just learned to be a diplomat," Andree said, taking a bite.

  The Noble Woman walked in with a tray of bread.

  She kept her head down. "Eat, generals," Andree said. "It's the best bread I have ever tasted."

  The group froze. "What the..." Leo whispered.

  "You married a Noble?" Merk asked, disgusted.

  "Oh my god," Strang muttered, refusing to even look at the bread.

  "Or did you enslave her?" Shyn asked, his hand moving to his knife.

  Ruther saw the Noble Woman. Her dress was torn at the shoulder.

  She was trembling. Her eyes were red.

  He grabbed Andree's shoulder hard. "Did you rape a woman, Andree?"

  “Did the power take your head?" Ruther demanded. "Do you do what they did to us?"

  Andree raised his hands, the bread still in one. "Calm down! She is the Warchief's daughter.”

  “I won't rape a woman. She is my servant. Just like yours, Leo."

  Ruther held his gaze for a second longer. He let go.

  "Damn it, “Leo said.

  Leo sighed. "Well... let's see who can bake better."

  "Of course I will win for you, sir!" Leo's servant shouted, pumping his fist.

  Andree shook his head. He looked at the Noble Woman.

  “No," Andree said. "I won't make her cook for me."

  He pushed the tray away. "Her hands are too dirty with the blood of our people."

  They walked to the inside of the castle.

  "So, what now?" Andree asked, wiping blood from his sword.

  "We will build a wall," Ruther said, pointing to the map. "Around the Diamond Part.”

  “We can't take the Crystal Part and let them take the Diamond Part behind our backs."

  Leo looked at Shyn. "Great thinking. But that would take..."

  "Ten years," Shyn estimated. "At least."

  "Then we start now," Ruther said.

  The Generals groaned. A collective sigh echoed in the hall.

  "Break?" Leo pleaded. "Do you know something called a 'break'?"

  "No," Ruther said, walking to the door. "Come. We have work to do."

  "This guy," Merk muttered, "is going to make us die from work."

  "You had to ask," Strang said, eating a cookie. "I didn't think he would actually make us work!"

  [Door slams shut]