Divide And Conquer,Part 1
Chapter 1-Introduction
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its character and content.
In Earthland ,there is a kingdom. Known as Fiore.
Ruled by a monarch,Fiore was a great kingdom. It was suitable for crops and planting. The people prospered. With it's port cities to the west and it's thriving new capital in the east,Fiore was the heart of trading in the entire continent. Every kind of material was shipped out from Fiore's and the world's greatest port,Hargeon.
Fiore established a neutral alliance with Sin,Caelum,Enca and other great countries. Assuring peace and establishing trading rights.
All were going great for this prosperous kingdom until the worst possible thing one can imagine happened.
War.
About twenty years ago,the neighboring country,The Empire of Seven was going bankrupt. The Emperor had signed onto too much debt in the name of his country.
He was known for his interest in sculpture and art. He had ordered a 40-feet tall solid gold statue of himself. The cost of it was great. With that and other expenses that the royal treasury couldn't possibly pay,The Emperor asked for a loan.
At first,allies of Seven gave the Emperor the loan he requested. But the amount he received wasn't nearly enough to make his dream come true.
He wanted to become immortal in the eyes of his people. For him,the way to do that was through art. He summoned the great painters and artist's of his time from all over the country and even the continent. He ordered paintings,drawings and giant statues of himself and his wife.
But after two years of constructing,both the treasury and the loaned money dried up.
The Emperor went on a rage. He beheaded a senator on the spot in front of the council,because he suggested that they should cancel the art project. Fearing the safety for their own lives,the other senators and council members stayed silent and obeyed the Emperor.
After two years of despair and poverty in Seven,two men requested an audience with the Emperor.
They claimed they were from the new established banking clan which was located in one of the neutral islands to the north.
They brought along four large ships,filled with paper money. The two men said that The Emperor could broke these and use it as insurance and that the bank would pay it for them. They made him sign papers,which The Emperor chose to neglect and signed them almost immediately.
With the amount of money he brokered,The Emperor finally finished his art project. After a year of enjoying immortality,the bank requested the payment of the brokered money. Of course,The Emperor couldn't pay so he neglected the request.
A month later,the two bankers appeared again,along with an army of mercenaries behind them. They had an another audience with the Emperor.
They gave out an ultimatum. They requested an immediate reimbursement of the loan,along with an interest rate. If the Emperor were to decline,they would take the statues and the other artistic assets. The Emperor thought about beheading the bankers and ordering his army to kill the mercenaries. But he was stopped by his wife,who saw the outcome of the possible battle and decided it would be their loss. The Emperor requested another month to pay off the debt.
But the debt was too big and the Empire had nearly zero money. The Emperor finally went mad. And where madness thrives,bad things will follow.
He spent almost fifteen days locked in his chambers. He couldn't possibly find a way to escape from this crisis. But one afternoon his wife entered the chambers. They didn't came out for another day.
The Emperor gathered the Council the day after.
He declared that he had found a way to pay off their debt. After the senators asked what it was,he slowly walked to the balcony and showed the crowd of people gathered at the front gate.
He explained his intention to sell the poor and the weak to Bosco,to be slaves.
Slavery was forbidden in Seven,so the council rejected the idea immediately. He ordered the execution of the two senators who rejected the idea first,to set an example.
But one of the senators decided that he couldn't possibly live with this and at the risk of his own life,he made this situation known to the public.
Of course,the inevitable happened.
A civil war broke out in the middle of the country. The war spread like wildfire,causing destruction and slaughter as it spread.
After two years of fierce struggle,the people finally won against the Empire. They beheaded their Emperor after the day of victory and demanded the beheading of his wife and his son. But the wife had already left the night before. And the Captain of the Guards smuggled the infant boy from the country.
The people,led by aristocrats reformed the country again. This time as a kingdom. A man of humble birth was selected to be the King,along with a senate that would have the authority to judge him.
Believing the infant child to be sheltered by Fiore,the newly reformed Kingdom Of Seven demanded the boy's head. In which Fiore denied of sheltering him.
Knowing that The Late Emperor was friends with the King of Fiore Igneel,the new King feared a coup d'etat through the influence of the boy. He ordered the attack to a Fiore village,after being misinformed that the boy was hiding there. The King at the time,Igneel was outraged by this. So he declared open war with Seven.
The fighting lasted for ten years. Both countries were inflicted with so much damage and loss that both their economies went into recession.
After losing his younger brother in an ambush,Igneel finally realized the outcome of a pointless fight. He demanded an audience with the King Of Seven on a neutral island. They finally came to terms and declared the war over. But the economic loss was so great,that both sides transformed into paper money. Now being produced and used by most of the world.
Everything in Fiore started to go back to the way it was.
But the peaceful times ended quickly.
Two years ago,an embassy from the Pergrande Kingdom arrived to the capital,Crocus. They demanded an audience with the king. After their discussion,the king ordered a feast.
But the wine Igneel drank was poisoned. He collapsed and fell to the ground in front of his guests and his court. The King's youngest brother suspected that the ambassador's were the culprit. So he killed them on sight,with his own hands.
After that The Pergrande Kingdom declared war to Fiore and denied the accusations of poisoning the king.
The position of ruler went into the hands of Laxus,the king's eldest son. But believing him to be not experienced enough to lead in such a crisis,the council of senators demanded an emergency power to be held by The Late King's younger brother,Jiemma. Making him King Regent until the crisis was over.
He offered to make Laxus The King's Hand,The Prime Minister until the crisis was over.
But for the last three years the Prime Minister was his brother,the Second Prince Jellal. He was chosen to be The Hand by his father because of his intelligence and the ability to come on top in difficult situations.
Respecting his father's judgement and having faith in his younger brother,Laxus declined the offer. He instead chose to become the Commander of a Legion to experience war.
For the last two years,the battle has been going on. It didn't fade away,but only got bigger and more fierce. Another countries joined and it has turned into a multi-national all-out war between two different alliances.
And on a cold,rainy night in the capital of Fiore,our story begins.
-The Royal Palace,Crocus-
"I have to run!" The old man thought as he was hastily running away from his pursuers.
"You there! Stop!" One of the pursuers yelled,four more were running behind him.
The old man turned around in a corner.
But as he was turning,he caught a glimpse of his pursuers.
They were soldiers.
"The army,huh?" The old man thought in despair as he turned towards the stairs.
The castle was enormous,and these floors were empty during this time of night. So the old man knew if he was killed right now,it wouldn't even woke anybody up.
He ran as fast as he could. But he was too old for running. His legs were tired and he was limping,his back hurting in every step.
He reached the floor he intended to come to after being chased for three flights of stairs.
He turned and realized the long hall before him. He started running again,but the men soon caught up with him.
After running in the straight hall for a few seconds the old man felt a burning sensation on his back. He yelled but didn't stop.
The wound was deep,he could feel it. The arrow had hit the back of his lungs and the blood was spilling everywhere.
"I don't have much time." He realized. But the importance of what he was carrying was so great that it was keeping him alive.
He turned around in a corner and hid himself in a big shadow,right under the stairs to the upper floor.
He held his breath as the soldiers walk passed him.
He sighed. And slowly started to walk towards the Royal Family Chambers.
There were four doors. The chambers of the four princes.
The 3rd Prince Gray,The 4th Natsu,The Fifth Sting and The Sixth Rogue.
The place was heavily guarded but the old man knew a way to get pass them.
He rang the emergency bell after covering it with his hands,making it seem like another floor's bell. The guards walked away from the doors,the old man acted quickly. He knew they would realize it was a fake.
He opened the door of the 3rd Prince's chambers and walked in. He shut the door slowly.
He approached the bed where the prince was sleeping.
He slowly shook the prince awake.
"Huh? Who is it?" The Third Prince Gray yelled in surprise.
"Shhh. Please be quiet my Prince." The old man said.
"Huh? Yajima-san,is that you?" Gray asked in surprise.
He continued before Yajima could respond.
"What are you doing in my chambers in the middle of the night?" Gray asked again.
"I-I have come because I have nobody else I can trust." Yajima spoke silently before he coughed.
After lighting a candle,Gray realized the old man's shape.
"Yajima-san,what happened? Why are you covered in blood?"Gray asked,his voice filled with concern.
"Listen,Gray. I don't have much time." Yajima said,sadness in his voice.
Gray was shocked,he didn't respond.
"Listen to everything that I'm about to tell you. And listen carefully." Yajima said,his voice is getting shaky and weaker.
"You are in danger. You and your brothers!" Yajima said before he dropped to his knees in pain.
A/N: Review and Favorite and Follow guys! The next chapter I will introduce the entire royal Family!
NEXT TIME ON DIVIDE&CONQUER,CHAPTER 2: The Escape
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