The Rose Of The South
Chapter 39: Le Roi et La Reine

They kept running while holding hands. Without a word, they had promised to be silent and forget the thing they had just witnessed.

The northerners did not seem to pay much attention to the pair of fifteen and thirteen year old Orient teenagers who ran out of the luxurious mansion they occupied during their time in Nordhalbinsel. What they are watching is people trying to get in, not people going out of there.

It would be easier if they could change their shape and fly in the sky or swim in the ocean, but they were in the center of Noord. Too many people will see them. They were also not sure that those people would prostrate and worship if they saw the two dragons before them like the Orient. The northerners may indeed be no stranger to the legends of the four dragons and the Great Queen of Zhenra, but not necessarily the Twin Dragons will be worshipped as they were worshipped in the Orient.

"We'll keep running, Shuu. We can go back to the Orient, or hide in Westeria. I don't care as long as we can get out of here."

"We don't actually need to run. We're not the culprit."

"But we are witnesses! We are living witnesses. Evil people can twist the facts and accuse us of being murderers. We can find our King and Queen. Or wherever it's important we have to go far." Kaze had already insisted, so Shuu would also follow the little girl's will.

So that's what they do. Run and keep running until they find a place hidden enough to turn their form into two dragons. Dragon Twins. Water and Wind. The Ocean and the Sky. That's them.

As Kaze merges with the air, flying in the free sky, Shuu swims in the cold sea of Nordhalbinsel. I don't know how long they haven't felt that free. In the Orient, they were continuously inside the Palace. They were indeed worshipped there, but they felt more like the Emperor's pet instead of being some kind of god and goddess. It is in the sky and in the ocean where they can truly live freely. But they won't be like that forever. They're on the run from Prince Yi's army. The late Prince Yi. Prince Yi has been killed and they are witnesses. People would start looking for them either to accuse or to interrogate, so they had to leave. Seeking asylum. Looking for a safe place for two teenagers. Seeking their brothers and sisters. Seeking the King and Queen who are said to have come back to life.

But as the Wind Dragon was enjoying flying in the sky, he felt a pain in his heart, so he inevitably flew low towards the ocean below. The Water Dragon, who felt similar pain in his heart, swam closer to the surface of the water.

"What's that?" Kaze asked, still in her dragon form.

"You feel that too?" Ask Shuu.

Kaze growled in exchange for a nod. Lightning snatched in the sky as he growled. "Earithar... Earth Dragon..." Whispers, smirk. But he did not want to mention the next terrible words. He's not capable. He knows what happened to his sister. The emptiness he felt was impossible to recognize. Her tears flowed, falling into the ocean.

That day, even though all the land that has four seasons is spring, but in Nordhalbinsel it snows.

"I know." Shuu. His voice was calm and restrained, but at the same time, the water churned, forming huge waves. The fishermen abandoned their intention to sail because of the sudden storm. The storm that appeared as a result of the suffering of the Dragons who lost their sister.

"We must find our King and Queen immediately."

...****************...

Anna remembers her childhood in the Palace.

The little princess shivered in the cold under her blanket. Though the King had announced that spring came early this year, but the air was still too cold even though the sun was shining brightly.

Anastacia... My daughter... The Queen's soft voice woke her up.

When she woke up, the Queen's smile greeted her. The Queen smiled as she looked at her daughter whom she loved dearly. The little Princess' voice called out to her, "Mother?"

It seemed like the Queen knew that her Little Princess was cold, so the Queen grabbed her. It felt like a warming spring sun. "Spring has arrived, my daughter. Look at..."

That wasn't a dream. Anna should have known from the beginning that what she vaguely remembered from her childhood was not a dream.

His mother was Earithear. Nature's manifestation. The spring bearer. Earth protector. It was his mother who made spring come early at Schiereiland. His mother also made roses in her garden in the Palace always bloomed beautifully every day. He wakes up trees that have been sleeping all winter, spreads flowers in the garden and spreads warmth throughout the earth.

When she asked how her mother could do all that, she just smiled sadly. Without opening her mouth at all, the Queen said in their channel, This is the mother's secret talent. Now this will be both of us' secrets.

Only now did Anna learn, that was the first time Queen Isabella, her mother, referred to her as 'talent' after for a lifetime, the late Grand Duchess called her gift 'weirdness'. Something unusual and unacceptable. Something he had to hide forever. At that time, in front of her daughter, the Queen can show her own identity without fear.

The memory made it difficult to breathe.

The dawn has gone. Red tones decorate the sky. Anna was still sitting on the wet ground of the forest.

When a dragon dies, his body will disappear with the air. So there are no bodies left on earth to be buried or mourned. There was no soft hand of his mother that he could hold one last time. There was no navel she could visit later in the day whenever she missed her mother.

Anna was still clutching the emerald jewel necklace. At least that's all that's left of Earithear. From mother. But there's no pulse. The heart inside it had stopped beating.

Xavier is still holding her, trying to collect fragments of Anna's heart that broke and shattered due to her mother's death, trying to make her whole again. But it seemed like it would be difficult for him because Anna felt completely crushed. Tears still did not stop flowing from his red eyes. Her mother's death felt like a dream. Nightmares. But the difference is, he can't wake up. The nightmare never ended and she was stuck in it for good.

I don't know how many hours have passed. Anna finally decided to gather the rest of her energy and stand up. The sky is bright. But he was still staring into the void before him. Where her mother's body should be. Now there's nothing there. There's not even a blood patch. There were only remnants of the arrow that had previously stuck all over his mother's body. Anna took one of the arrows, watching him. Anna knows whose arrow it is.

"I'm sorry..." Xavier said as he looked at the arrow as if it was his arrow. It was as if he was the one who shot the arrow at Earithear. Xavier recognized the arrow more than anyone, but Anna also recognized the arrow as well as Xavier. It was not a red arrow, but the tip of the arrow was black. Not the arrows belong to the Red Queen members. It's not Constanza's. It was the arrow of the Nordhalbinsel warrior. The arrow from the country that Xavier was supposed to lead as King. The arrow smeared with Morta's poison belonged to his country.

"They killed him." Anna turned her gaze from the arrow to Xavier, "They killed my mother... After my father, my mother is now... Then who else?"

"I'm sorry, Anna... By the time I passed, they were no longer there. They've moved to another place. I should be able to burn and scorch them—“

"Not that." Anna shakes. The look in his eyes told Xavier what could happen after his mother's death. "If you too..." Anna paused for a moment, unable to really continue her sentence. "If you die too, what should I do?" Voice broke. It was hard for him to say it. "I won't have anyone else if you leave too."

Xavier wiped Anna's tears. The fingers are warm and soothing. "I'm not leaving. I'm not gonna die. I pledge. I will always be there for you."

Anna nodded. Trust those words, and hope that it is not just an empty promise. Can someone really promise not to die?

"Let's go back." Anna did not recognize her own voice. His voice sounded so far away, so hollow that he himself did not know what he was really saying. "Constanza and the others must be waiting."

...****************...

As they came out of the forest to the ruins of the tower, war was waiting before their eyes.

From a higher place they could see how chaotic the situation before them was right now. It was as if the silence in the forest was just a dream. Nordhalbinsel's forces fight the Queen's Army and members of the Red Queen. Their numbers were too many, perhaps hundreds, so the Queen's Army was overwhelmed by them. Even from a distance Anna could see Constanza unceasingly trying to shoot as many arrows covered with Morta at their enemies as possible. But they are outnumbered. They're gonna lose.

As Anna had already grabbed her bow and arrow with her hands still trembling, Xavier held her back. "You're not stable. Danger of missing. They'll solve everything. They're enough." Said.

Anna followed Xavier's line of sight. From a distance, from each tree of the forest, hundreds of wolves appeared with a size larger than the wolf that Anna had seen so far. The front wolf, who led them, looked as big as a horse and furry as snow. The wolf howled, greeted by the howls of his herd. And in just an instant, their fangs, their claws were already tearing apart the Nordhalbinsel warriors. They're helping the Queen's Army and the Red Queen. Unlike the humans, the wolves attacked mercilessly. There is no humanity in them, they attack without giving the enemy a chance. Their feathers were filled with splashes of blood. Their fangs tore at the bodies of their enemies like they were eating a steak party. Some of the soldiers shouted and ran away from the wolves, some did not even have time to shout.

Anna couldn't see it. He no longer wanted to see bloodshed, even if it was the blood of his enemy. Had enough.

"This is what we are like..." Anna's slow voice sank behind the sounds of fierce fighting before her.

But Xavier beside him could hear him very clearly. "What do you mean?"

"Until when will all this continue to happen? Blood is returned with blood. Lives are returned with life. How long will our kingdoms continue to attack each other? They, those soldiers, are your people. Just as the Queen and Red Queen are my people. How many more lives must be lost? Is it after everyone dies that your kingdom and mine can stop attacking each other?"

Anna was unable to take her eyes off the situation before her. Some of the Nordhalbinsel troops who were running fell down like they were tripping over something. Then others also felt the ground they were treading began to sway. One by one they fell to their knees. Even the wolves stopped their breakfast feast.

They all fell down, unable to stand on their two legs with their four legs, let alone to attack each other again. Then from the ground they pitched, rose thorn tendrils appeared. The tendrils are elongated, grow very fast and wrap around their feet and hands. No one can escape the thorns of the rose because wherever they go, there is always ground. Wherever there was soil, the thorn tendrils grew and caught their feet and hands. And if they rebelled, their thorns would grip and pierce through their skin, piercing through their hearts until they had no choice but to remain silent. The smell of blood rancid from the battle in an instant disappeared just like that, replaced by the fragrant and intoxicating scent of roses in the air.

"Anna. don't..." That's not an order. Xavier slowly clasped his hand. The touch is as warm as a fireplace on a snowy night. "They're not your enemy. Some, indeed. But there are the Schiereiland people too, the Red Queen members, and the wolves—they are the Winterthur Wolf Army. Please, stop... It'll hurt them."

Anna did not realize that she was the one who brought up the rose thorns. That he who made a tremor on the ground, made them all fall to their knees before him and grow a snare in the form of a garden of rose thorns around them.

"I did all that?" Anna was horrified.

Xavier nodded, trying to explain it slowly without any intention of scaring her. "Your mother's necklace. Earithear Heart." Xavier pointed to the emerald necklace that Anna was now wearing. "You wield the power of the Earth Dragon and subconsciously, use it. You're sad and angry, your emotions are unstable, so that power over you isn't you mastering it. You don't mean to hurt anyone, I know, but if you don't stop, it'll be dangerous for everyone."

"They won't attack each other again. They are tired too. Your thorns are not only piercing and hurting, but also sucking their energy. And if you don't stop, they'll die out of energy."

Anna doesn't know how to stop him. The more he looked at it, the more he was overpowered by that power. More and more rose thorns grew around them, entwining and confining everyone in the thorn forest. And in front of him more and more people are dying or just fainting due to the prick of the durinya or due to run out of energy.

"How do I stop it?"

Xavier stood before him, blocking Anna from the horrifying sight before him. Don't look. The more you look at it, the more uncontrollable you become. Lookatme...

Anna's staring. That pair of emerald eyes turned red like fire. Nope. Like rose petals.

As Xavier again clasped his hands together, distracting Anna from everything, the fire burned through Anna's forest of rose thorns. It was not a great fire, but only small flames that darted over the thorny tendrils, burning very slowly without hurting anyone. Just freeing those who want Xavier free. The Queen's army, the Red Queen and their Wolves were all freed from the tendrils of thorns.

"Slow your breath slowly..."

Anna obeyed. He had only realized since then that his breathing was fast and irregular. It was also possible that he had unwittingly used the power of the Earithear so brutally that it hurt everything.

"Blow it slowly..."

Anna breathed slowly. Adjusting the breath and arranging his emotions turned out to be quite powerful. And with that, the tendrils that were still entangling their hands and feet that were there, disappeared, returning to the ground, waiting for the next order.

"Better?"

Anna nodded. Acknowledging that now that he is calmer, his head feels lighter and his groin is gone. "Better."

But when they turned back to face everyone, they were surrounded.

Not by Nordhalbinsel's forces. Not by the witches. They were the Wolf Troops belonging to the Winterthur family, the Queen's Army and the Red Queen's visibly vigilant. They all pulled out their weapons. The Wolves stood on all four of their feet, looking obedient and alert, yet revealing their unusual-looking canines. The bloodstains on their muzzles reminded Anna that the Wolves were dangerous and deadly. The Queen's army in full armor and drawn swords was ready to wait for orders. The Red Queen members led by Constanza with their poisoned arrows aimed towards Xavier.

They must have seen you flying in the sky before. Said Anna. Or maybe because of what I did.

I'm gonna get over this. Don'worry.

"What's this?" Ask Xavier. Beside him, Anna tightened her hand.

"Daughter Anastasia, are you okay?" Constanza asked to be sure, but still had not lowered her arrow. Wounds in several places on his body, blood stained his clothes, but he looked very worried about Anna.

"I'm doing fine. Put your guns down." Anna's orders. In an instant, they all lowered their respective weapons. "What's going on?"

"Nordhalbinsel. Isn't that obvious? That person must have ordered them to attack us." Constanza's words are as sharp as his arrows. He had indeed lowered his arrows, but his gaze on Xavier seemed to be able to stab him.

"It's not me." Xavier said calmly.

"Then who? Who are you blaming the attack on? Who do you want me to lay down the lives of those who died for?" Constanza's tone of voice is rising.

Anna inevitably returned to circulate her gaze to the remnants of the battle. The bodies of the soldiers. The corpses of its people. And some bodies of Nordhalbinsel warriors. Some died from sword attacks. Some died from the arrow attacks. Some also died from Morta's poison from Constanza's arrow. Many of them died from the brutal attacks of the Wolves. But more than all of them, numbering in the hundreds, died or fainted from their thorns. Anna could not rule out the fact that she had just killed hundreds of people. Some of them may be very young. There are people waiting for their return. There are families they have to live with. Some have small children and wives who will weep over their deaths. They are all only human beings who serve a country.

Don'tdon't... Xavier's voice is heard on his channel*. Don't look at it again.*

I killed them, Xavier. I killed them.

You're defending your country. Defending your people.

So too with them.

"seen? You can't answer." Constanza said again.

"Constanza, stop." Anna looked at her cousin. "That's enough."

It managed to silence him, but Constanza's gaze was still fiery. His hand that was holding the bow of arrow was clenched at the side. "Take care of those who are injured. Bury those who died." Constanza's Order on the Queen's Army. They nodded obediently as if Constanza was his General.

But unlike the others, the Wolf Army still stood on standby. Anna realizes that they are on standby not to fight Xavier, but rather to protect him if the Queen and Red Queen forces attack her. All seemed to be silent restlessly, until finally one of the wolves came forward.

The wolf, the wolf that was leading them, was as big as a horse, hairy as snow with eyes as blue as ice. In the swing of his last move, the Wolf turned into his true figure.

"Elias, what's wrong?" Ask Xavier. His voice sounded calm as if the chaos earlier was something he used to see.

Anna could not remember how long she had not seen Elias. But the General looks different. There were some scars and blood stains on his face. Skin paled. He hasn't shaved. Her hair looks messy. His gaze... Something has happened that could make an Elias Winterthur who is as perfect as his twin sister, look so broken. Empty look.

Elias knelt before Xavier, his tone cold, "Our salute to His Majesty King Xavier, Lord of Nordhalbinsel, Schiereiland, Clera and the Northern Territory. Ruler of the Tygriss Ocean and the seven seas. May jaya be forever. Long live the King." As he said that, all the Wolves that might number in the hundreds or so also bent their front legs and lowered their heads to the ground.

Inevitably, all the Queen's Troops who were preparing to carry out Constanza's orders seemed surprised and listened.

"Elias! What are you doing?"

Elias looked up, looking at Xavier. His eyes are illegible. "Your father, King Vlad, passed away last night. Queen Eleanor is accused of killing him and is currently locked up in a dungeon. The entire Winterthur family will be executed today. The Queen's last word is to find you and escort you back to the Palace, Your Majesty."

"That's slander! Eleanor was here with us all night. It's not him who did it." Anna protested, still clasping Xavier's hand tightly. As if he were to take it off, Xavier might be missing.

Elias did not take his eyes off Xavier. "My last task before my head was beheaded this afternoon was to bring you home, Your Majesty. Please, let me finish my last assignment well."

Xavier nodded, understood. He looked towards Anna beside him. No words said. But with a heavy heart he let go of Anna's hand.

I'm so sorry... Said Anna. Knowing that his desire for Xavier to stay by his side was the most selfish thing. Elias explained everything. His country needs the presence of their King.

I'm sorry too.

Everything's gonna be fine.

Xavier was still looking at him. Know that words are not a certainty, not a promise, but a hope.

I-i know. Everything's gonna be okay, Anna.

Really it? Just this morning how many deaths have they faced? The Death of Queen Isabella. The Death of King Vlad. The death of hundreds of people in the forest of rose thorns of his creation. Anna began to wonder what the meaning of 'fine' was.

But then Xavier explained a little of the meaning of that 'well' in their channel. Tell him news he hasn't heard. A hope. A way out.

Anna, listen to me. There's something I haven't told you before... Your sister's... Alexis is currently in Eze, at Anastasia Palace. Plan succeeded. Louis and our emissary managed to bring him safely without anyone's knowledge so that no Nordhalbinsel troops knew. He's safe and unharmed. He's waiting for you now. The Queen's army had managed to gather all the noble families and they were ready to reclaim their titles and power from the Nordhalbinsel nobles who were on Selena's side. They will be ready to fight with the troops of each family if necessary. But it doesn't have to happen. As your mother said, the Tower project established with funds from the Nordhalbinsel nobles in Schiereiland was already destroyed so they had no reason to remain here. They also had no funds for the war so they would definitely surrender. Not to mention the situation in Nordhalbinsel is definitely not good because... Because of my father's death. And the threat from the Orient. Also because their Queen is in prison. My country will not be ready for any conflict with your country. Now that Alexis has been found, there's only one thing I need to do.

Xavier turned his gaze to everything before them. To the Wolves, to the Queen's Army, and members of the Red Queen, even to Constanza. Especially to Constanza who is still angry at him. Anna watched him from the side, it was the gaze of a King.

"Before, I will give my first word as King." His voice echoed throughout the forest of rose thorns. "I, the King of Nordhalbinsel, will return Schiereiland to the rightful heir to the throne of Schiereiland and will compensate him for the damage done to the country, the return of prisoners and slaves brought to Nordhalbinsel, the withdrawal of all nobles who occupied the territories of Schiereiland, and the signing of a peace treaty between the two countries. This decision is inviolable, and all of you here will be witnesses."

...****************...