The Rose That Blooms In North
Chapter 5: La Pluie et Le Tonnerre

After agreeing to fight the Nordhalbinsel army and help free the slaves, Anna informed the villagers of her plan.

"Those who can use weapons will come with Leon to fight the soldiers. I don't want any casualties and bloodshed. So I hope you only fight back if they put your lives at risk. I trust Leon." Anna turned to Leon who had just been standing quietly beside her, listening seriously. "Leon, you lead them."

Leon nodded. If they had not been hiding Anna's identity, Leon would have knelt before her and said 'I am ready to do my duty, Your Majesty'. In reality, Leon was almost on his knees. She immediately restrained herself as soon as she remembered that Anna's identity as Princess Schiereiland had to remain a secret.

Some of the villagers who were there also listened to Anna's instructions carefully. Some of them were whispering curious about who Anna really was to mention the General just by his name.

After making sure the villagers understood his direction, he continued his words, "The women will come with me to save the slaves and treat them. They're all pretty badly hurt from being whipped and tortured." Anna was silent for a moment. Recalling what he saw earlier, seeing his subjects being tortured by the other kingdom's soldiers actually left him injured. The feeling was similar to that of a mother who saw her child being hurt by someone else. More than anything else, Anna wanted to avenge the deeds of those who had dared to harm her people. But if they want to retaliate, they first need an army. And not just an army of villagers, but a troop of trained soldiers. They are not ready for a real war.

Anna looked around her. In front of him was a group of untrained people holding weapons. Perhaps some were indeed war veterans, perhaps some had been and are still active as soldiers, but many of them were just ordinary civilians who only knew how to farm and trade.

"Does anyone here understand about medicinal plants?" Ask Anna then.

"I can treat them." Louis who was standing not far from him raised his tag. The boy was filled with a twinkle of fighting spirit, making Anna smile.

They may not be trained soldiers. But they can do something. Whatever it is. And it only takes a fighting spirit to be able to move them all.

"All right, Louis." He said, "You're in charge of preparing medicine for them. The other children will help you in gathering medicinal plants. You can lead them and tell the medicinal plants what you need, right?"

Louis was enthusiastic.

"Then what about the dam. How can we destroy the dam?" The village leader finally spoke up.

Anna thought for a moment. Such a huge dam could not be destroyed easily. Their energy will not be enough.

"We need explosives whose explosion is strong enough to destroy a concrete wall, but not big enough that the explosion will not hit the houses of the people." Anna said, her gaze half-shuttered as she was thinking hard. "Is anyone here able to make explosives?"

"I can make it." Said one of the young men who was a former soldier of Schiereiland's army. "I know the right ingredients. But Duke Francis seized the explosives because they were thought to be dangerous."

Anna nodded. "The residence of Duke Francis is not far from this village. If we ride now, I think tonight we can get to his residence. I'll go there and get it. I'm sorry, may I know what your name is, sir?" Ask Anna.

"Bernard, Miss. Bernard Blanc's. I'm Louis's brother."

"Well, Bernard, I hope you can come with me because I don't understand what ingredients are needed."

"Good, Miss."

Leon, who had still not moved from Anna's side, seemed troubled upon hearing that they were about to part. Moreover, Anna would go to Duke Francis' residence without him. Something could have happened to him on the way.

"That Mul—Anna, are you sure?"

"I'm sure." replied Anna directly, full of earnestness.

"I'll go with you."

"No, Leon." Push it gently. "You'll be here protecting them. And you all need to be ready when Bernard and I come with the explosives. You must warn everyone to vacate the village, just in case something bad happens. And as much as possible evacuate the slaves so that they are not hit by an explosion. Then, regarding the additional flow that I had been thinking about since..."

Anna looked around. The livelihood of most of the villagers are farmers. That means they are used to making water flow for their farmland. But what he was planning was something almost impossible.

But nothing is impossible as long as they work together.

"I hope the farmers can create an additional stream of water to prevent the river from flooding the village after the dam has been destroyed. It would be like making a stream of water for your farmland, but make it ten, no, twenty times bigger."

"We're probably gonna need more energy and more time, miss. Most of us are too old." A farmer's friend.

Anna nodded in understanding. "alright. I will seek help from another village during the journey towards the Duke's residence. And for anyone who can help, I ask that you all join in making this additional river flow. It won't be easy, but I believe we can do this together."

Anna brandished her sword forward, "For Schiereiland. For all of us."

Leon did the same with his sword, brandishing it over Anna's sword, "For Schiereiland."

Then one by one they all held various weapons that they held. The veterans of war with their swords. Merchants with knives, batons, and spears. The craftsmen with their hammers. And the farmers with their hoes. Everyone exclaimed loudly,

"For Schiereiland!"

***

After handing out the tasks and making sure everyone was ready and understood, Anna and Bernard went on a horse loaned by Mr. Blanc to Duke Francis' residence downtown.

The residence of Duke Francis, Anna's former fiancee, is located in the nearby Town of Kleinesdorf Village, Grotestadt City. Located about eighty kilometers from Kleinesdorf Village, it is part of the Duchy of Francis that has been ruled by the Francis family for generations since the founding of Schiereiland. Anna had been to the city several times when she was a child to meet Duke Francis before. But after the debutante party, Anna never went there again. Especially after his engagement to Duke Nicholas Francis, he never went to his residence again because the Duke himself was the one who always visited him in the Palace.

"How do you know the address of Duke Francis's residence, Miss?" Bernard asked as they were resting for a moment under a shady tree after riding for two hours nonstop.

Anna downed the drinking water from her container that she took from the Scheine river that morning before going to the market. His breath that was gasping from exhaustion had returned to normal. But sweat sweat was still wetting her dress which was already dirty and shabby.

"I used to go there when I was a kid." Anna answered, then realized that the common people would not go to the Duke's residence. He hurriedly added, "One of my relatives works there as a waiter."

Bernard nodded, understanding.

"Are you close enough to Leon?" Anna asked Bernard.

"No." He smiled faintly, "The general has hundreds of people as his troops. He can't be close to me being just the son of a commoner."

"Oh, so it seems. Doesn't he have many friends in the warrior camp?"

"He was an excellent and skilled General. Too wise for his age. But he is in a difficult position. You can imagine, if he was close to one of the commoners, his peers from among the nobility would talk about it. Especially because he was the king's adopted son. And if he's close to the nobles..."

Anna nodded in understanding without needing to continue. Leon is not from either group, he is among them. His existence will open up political affairs. The general who led the army of Schiereiland, the King's adopted son, but also unknown who his biological parents were. The sons of the nobility have always tried to get close to him. Being close to Leon was tantamount to being close to the King's Son, so they thought.

Bernard continued, "So in order to avoid any possible internal conflicts, he prefers not to be friends with anyone. But I heard he was quite familiar with the Princess and the Prince in the Palace. And I think he's pretty close to you too." Bernard paused for a moment, cleared his throat, seeming hesitant to continue his words. But finally he asked, "If you may know, is it true that you are his wife?"

Anna choked on the drinking water as soon as she heard it. "Who said such a strange thing?"

Despite saying that, his face that was blushing red and his heart that was suddenly pounding could not help but lie to anyone. He was glad that someone thought of him that way.

"All the mothers in our village said so." Answer Bernard as he is.

"I'm sorry?"

"Do we look like that?" Anna bit her lips, holding a smile, "Do we look like a couple?"

"Of course." Answer directly. "General Leon is not easily close to anyone other than the royal family. So if he is close to a woman, there are only two possibilities. That woman is the woman he loves, or that woman is Princess Anastasia."

That last sentence changed the red hue on Anna's face to deathly pale. His originally pounding heart was now almost completely stopped. Too shocked at the remark, Anna was unable to say anything. Though he had to say something, laugh or something so that Bernard would not suspect him.

Bernard also noticed Anna having trouble answering, so he hurriedly continued, "Of course you don't have to tell me everything. I'm not polite anymore. I'm sorry."

***

Leon stood at the doorstep of the house of the village chief of Kleinesdorf, their temporary headquarters. His forehead wrinkled, his eyes fixated on the furthest point he could see. A few hours ago, a group of young men from other villages not far from Kleinesdorf Village came to help them create an additional stream. They said they had met Anna who claimed to be the envoy of General Leon, so they hurriedly came to Kleinesdorf Village to confirm it. Once they met Leon, they all immediately took up positions with other farmers to create additional streams. As the night wore on, more and more people came to help. Some even came from the Baron family and some were former soldiers of Schiereiland. But until late at night, there was still no sign of Anna and Bernard returning.

"It's so late, why haven't they come back yet?"

"They'll be right back, sir." Louis answered, who had been watching Leon walking back and forth in and out of the house.

"What if something happens?"

"My brother will definitely do anything to protect Her Highness the Princess." Louis tried to calm Leon down. To lower her tone because she still kept the Princess' identity a secret.

"I must be crazy. Why would I agree to let him go late into the night with the person we just met?" Leon let out a long sigh, massaging his temples, "Can't be like this. I have to catch up with him right now. Louis, prepare horse—“

"There are no horses left. We only have two horses." Louis handed Leon a glass of drinking water, which he immediately downed. "You must calm down, sir. My brother is a reliable person. He's a soldier of Schiereiland."

Leon tried to remember Bernard Blanc's name on his list of hundreds of troops. Blanc's surname wasn't too familiar to him. He didn't even know if there really was a Blanc among his troops.

Leon was very worried, but at the same time he had to focus on the task given by Anna. He should not be off guard and should always be on the lookout if suddenly the Nordhalbinsel army knew of their plan and attacked first. He also still had to direct his small army to attack later. Anna entrusted this task to him and he wanted to do well. Leading a single army of villagers turned out to be much more difficult than leading a trained army.

Maybe not because of that. Maybe it's more difficult for Leon because at the same time he keeps worrying about Anna. Usually during the war, though she had to go away from Anna for months or maybe for years, she said, he could focus more on the war in plain sight knowing that the Princess was in the safest place, in her beautiful room in the Palace guarded by hundreds of Palace Guards.

Bad thoughts come back to haunt him. What if they get caught? What if Duke Francis finds out about their plans? Anna's relationship with her ex-fiance is not very good. Although the Duke was not a bad person, but he was also not a trustworthy person. Duke Francis is indeed very clever, but from what Leon knows, he can do sneaky things to bring down people he does not like. What if something bad happens to them? What if Bernard did something bad to Anna? What if it turns out that this is all planned and Blanc turns out to be Nordhalbinsel's spy?

"Sir, there's something I haven't told you yet." Louis ripped those negative thoughts out of Leon's mind.

Leon hurriedly looked at her. "Whatis that? Tell me quickly." His feelings are getting worse.

"Actually, my sister already knew that Anna was Her Highness Princess Anastasia."

That's not a bad thing. But he was still surprised to hear it. "How come? You told her?"

"T-No, Mister." Answer Louis. He stuttered solely because Leon was staring intently at him like he was suspecting him. "Actually while in the market, my brother was the first to see the symbol on the sword carried by Her Majesty the Princess and he told me. Therefore, Master need not worry too much. My sister would definitely sacrifice her life first if something happened to Her Highness the Princess."

Louis's explanation did not at all ease Leon's concerns. That only made him more nervous. As more of them knew Anna's identity, the greater the danger she faced.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this in the first place, sir" said Louis, who now feels increasingly guilty.

"It's okay, Louis." He patted Louis on the shoulder, calming him down. "It's late. You can go to sleep first." Leon said while watching the other villagers sleeping. Some of them are awake and will alternate each other to sleep if the others are awake.

"You'd better get some sleep, too, sir."

"I can't sleep." He said, "Not until the Princess returns."

Suddenly there was a thunderous roar. The rain is falling.

The two things alone immediately made Leon remember how Anna was so traumatized by the sound of lightning until a few days ago. The death of the King occurred during rain and lightning. So every time it rained with thunder, Anna would come back to her mind. Without a second thought, Leon immediately picked up the lantern hanging in front of the village chief's house and ran through the rain towards the dark forest in front of him.

***

It was very late that night and it rained all over Duchy Francis. Duke Francis was in his study drinking tea while listening to classical music from a black disc. Pile the paper of work before him like endless. Especially after the takeover of the kingdom of Schiereiland by King Vlad of Nordhalbinsel, his work became more and more. But he still felt far more fortunate than the other dukes who had taken up his peerage, been kicked out of the house, and dismissed from his political duties. Duke Francis knows that befriending a Crown Prince from another country will definitely be of some benefit someday. Although the guilt of him as if he was betraying his own country still can not be lost from the burden of his mind.

The atmosphere was so soothing with the sound of rain and classical music that finally there was a noise from behind the door of his study.

“Ta-but, Duke says no one should bother him—“ said the butler from outside his study door.

The door was forcefully opened and displayed a tall youth figure with perfect body proportions. Although dressed like ordinary people, it did not cover even the slightest bit of noble aura it possessed. His dark black hair contrasted with his pale skin which was a hallmark of the Northern people. Overall, the young man looked like a masterpiece perfectly sculpted by Gods. His emerald-coloured eyes stared intently at the Duke sitting before him. He smiled sinisterly at the Duke. And without being invited to sit down, the young man was already sitting on the sofa first.

“What are you doing at my workplace, Your Highness Crown Prince Xavier?” The Duke asked, after hinting the butler to leave them and close the door.

“I heard you just got robbed." He said with a typical northern accent. "Which man dares to rob the residence of a Duke?”

The Duke looked surprised that the news had already reached the Crown Prince's ear from Nordhalbinsel. Though only about five hours ago he left the gate wide open when he saw the figure of the red-haired woman who used to be his fiancee.

Duke carefully chose his words before replying, “No men are robbing in my residence.” Duke Francis replied, not entirely lying but also not telling the truth as a whole. He did see a young man with the Princess. But she knew it was the Princess who took all the explosives she seized from markets throughout Duchy Francis.

“Then, women? A woman robbed an armory at the Duke's residence that was under the protection of the Crown Prince?” Xavier chuckles. Shake in disbelief. “Interesting once. Who's the lady? You know him?”

“You put a spy in my residence to watch my movements? Is that what you call protection?” Duke looked angry. But he did not dare to show his anger directly at the young man before him.

“You have no intention of answering my question? Then I'll find out for myself. Our conversation is very interesting, but I'm in a hurry.” Crown Prince Xavier stepped up from his seat and prepared to leave the room before the Duke reopened his voice.

“Don't look for it! I'm warning you not to dare you touch her!” his tone of voice is rising.

Crown Prince Xavier stopped his steps and looked back. He tilted his head, as if in disbelief that someone had just raised his tone. “Or what? You want to threaten me?”

“No.” The Duke replied directly, realizing that he was currently not in the right position to threaten the Crown Prince. Not only his own life is at stake, but the lives of all the citizens of Duchy Francis. Duke looked at Xavier who was still standing in the doorway, waiting for an explanation from him, “This is a plea from your friend, Xavier. Please don't do anything to him.”

But it was not a nod of approval, but rather a mysterious smile that adorned his face. It made the Duke himself afraid that his words just now might even put his former fiancee in danger.

“I will consider your application, friend.”

The Crown Prince walked out of the room, with thunder and the sound of the door slamming shut.

***