Chapter 9 - Gathering Storms
As summer slowly drew to a close, the seasons began to turn.
The rain that had fallen for days only grew heavier.
Before long, it became a deluge.
Across the mountainous kingdom of Imresia, landslides struck one region after another.
Roads collapsed.
Bridges were swept away.
Supply lines were severed.
Towns and villages found themselves cut off from the rest of the kingdom.
Every knightly companies stationed throughout Imresia was mobilized.
The Nikēphoroi Knights were no exception.
Knights, trainees, and servants alike were pressed into service.
Not a single hand could be spared.
There was more work than anyone could possibly finish.
Rescuing survivors.
Stacking sandbags.
Clearing debris.
Repairing roads.
Rebuilding bridges.
Antonius worked alongside Theodoros until both were covered in mud from head to toe.
Battered by relentless rain, they carried the wounded, hauled sandbags, moved earth, and transported timber.
Among them all, however, one worker stood out.
Andri.
Barely five years old.
He lifted logs that ordinarily required two grown knights to carry.
He shoved mud-trapped wagons free with a single effort.
"What in the blazes is that boy?"
"A monster, isn't it obvious?"
Antonius found himself wondering the same thing.
It was absurd.
No human child should have been capable of such feats.
Yet wherever Andri was assigned, work seemed to move twice as fast.
Even so, the scale of the disaster was overwhelming.
The order focused on the areas in greatest need first.
Naturally, other regions were forced to wait.
Frustration began to build.
Food grew scarce.
Medicine ran low.
People who had survived the landslides themselves gradually succumbed to hunger, sickness, and exposure.
Before long, reports of theft and looting began arriving from across the kingdom.
Law and order deteriorated rapidly.
Before long, new orders arrived from the capital.
The Nikēphoroi Knights were to dispatch forces for security operations.
Commander Ioanis spread a map across the table.
The situation was grim.
The unrest was not confined to a single region.
It stretched across a vast area.
There were nowhere near enough men to handle everything.
"We'll divide the order."
His finger moved across the map.
"One force will continue restoration efforts. The other will be deployed to maintain order."
The knights nodded in agreement.
Antonius attended the meeting as well.
Whichever assignment he received, he intended to carry it out to the best of his ability.
Then he noticed something unsettling.
Both Ioanis and Theodoros were looking down at him.
A bad feeling settled in his stomach.
The next words confirmed it.
"You will return to the capital, Your Highness."
Antonius blinked.
"...What?"
Theodoros continued.
"The royal palace has issued a direct recall order. It is no longer possible for us to keep Your Highness here."
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Antonius slammed both hands onto the table.
"I'm working just as hard as everyone else! You said yourselves that we're short-handed!"
"We are, Your Highness."
Theodoros remained calm.
"But this order comes directly from His Majesty."
Antonius shot to his feet.
"I am the Crown Prince!"
His voice rang through the room.
"If I am to inherit this kingdom, then I should share in the hardships of its people!"
Unlike everyone else in the room, Theodoros showed no hesitation.
Ioanis and the assembled knights watched nervously as the argument unfolded.
"That will be your duty when you become king."
Antonius bit down on his lip.
In the end, the recall order stood.
Nothing he said changed it.
No one said it aloud.
They didn't need to.
He knew exactly what they thought.
It had been the same when Mother was executed.
Back then, too—
No one had listened.
No one had cared what he wanted.
And now, once again, he was powerless to change anything.
(Am I still nothing more than a helpless child...?)
Nothing around him offered any reason to believe otherwise.
