When Angels Fall

Chapter 22 - A Day to Celebrate

Tristan

Vausterland

The sun shone bright through the tall glass windows, and so did the faces surrounding the long council table. A rare sight where the council members were not either tense or bored as they usually were. Because earlier that morning, good news had come from the North.

"As you may have already heard, Lord Bernard is confirmed dead," King William announced as the council started.

"Ha! I won the bet!" Prince Stefan raised his fist in the air, and everyone turned to look at him curiously. "Sophia and I made a bet on whether that Northman will kill Bernard or not," he explained. "She was so certain we are all being played and –"

"And why are council discussions taken outside the council chamber?" William asked with a narrowed stare.

"Well it's just Sophia..." Stefan smiled sheepishly. "And since she's part of the agreement, so I thought maybe she had the right to know."

"Your Grace, it is great news to learn that Lord Bernard is dead," one of the elder council members said, saving Stefan from William's dark glare. "And that means the Northmen are going according to plan."

"Still doesn't mean we can trust them," the old Lord Aryan of Tyrya snorted.

"Why not?" Tristan objected. "They fulfilled the first half of our agreement and proved their good will."

"What good will? Because they killed Lord Bernard?" Aryan sneered.

"Of course. Killing someone like Bernard is no small feat."

"They would have killed him anyway," Aryan said. "That boy with the short white hair, he would have killed Bernard and taken his place anyway without us being involved, I'm telling you. It's just an act to make us trust them."

"You are a very suspicious person Lord Aryan. You need to have some more trust in people," Tristan frowned.

"And you are one to speak about trust? We trusted you to defend Grytia and you lost it in a single battle because you trusted the enemy to fight clean."

"Aryan, that talk will not be necessary at the moment," William said.

"Not necessary?" Aryan turned to William with a deep scowl. "When I state facts it's not necessary, but you let this human lecture us nonsense on trusting the enemy, the same enemy who fucked us in battle because they played dirty."

"Aryan!" King William warned.

"Lord Aryan, Lord of Tyrya, must we all remind you that this human you so disrespect is King William's army commander?" a wingless knight said. "He lost Grytia, yes. So what if he lost one battle out of hundreds? You Lord Aryan, would have done no better had it been Tyrya attacked in Grytia's place."

"Come on my dear Lords, we're not here today in order to argue!" Stefan said cheerfully. "We should rather be celebrating. Bloody Heavens, Lord Bernard is dead!"

"I agree with the Crown Prince," a young Lord said in an attempt to lift the tension in the room.

"We can't simply celebrate and keep our guard down," Aryan insisted, still scowling. "Even if you want to trust the Northmen, we still have to remain alert and make sure our forces are ready for any possible disruptions."

"I agree with Lord Aryan on this," one of the elder Lords said.

"Very well. We shall keep our forces on alert. And I shall also send to the southern state of Esseria to keep their men ready in case we need them," King William announced before he turned to Tristan. "And you Tristan, keep an eye on our prisoner."