Author's Notes:
1. Thank you again to all the readers of this story. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to come with me on this journey. Thank you also for all the reviews and feedback.
2. I respect all writers and their stories, regardless of who they ship. I wished to be accorded the same respect. I can only write stories about situations which inspire me and of characters which I feel strongly about.
Leader
It has been a few days since Captain Gabriel Nuñez arrived in Cariza. He first met with the Avaloran commanding officer for the turnover of duties. Then he went to King Joaquin to pay his respects and also to talk about the current situation. Gabe went over the offensive and defensive plans and carefully studied them well into the night. He was dead tired when he finally decided to go to bed. As the commanding officer, he had his own tent in the camp outside the last fortress that King Joaquin held. He purposely did that, tire himself out. Elena filled all of his waking moments. However, the reason he was here was still not lost on him.
He had already forgiven Elena for the lie she told him. He had already made peace with the fact that yes, he was hurt and felt betrayed but at the end of the day, it was still Elena's decision as ruler to do what she thought was right. It didn't mean that he would not try and stop her though if he felt that it was too dangerous. But he still firmly believed that he made the right decision. He was needed here; he was supposed to be here. He had also told his heart to let her go but it just wouldn't listen. God, he missed her so much! Gabe fell asleep with the image of Elena's beautiful face etched in his mind.
Gabe woke up the next day and got ready to go to work. It would be an uphill battle if they were to win this war. He wanted to know the Allied Forces' positions as well as that of the enemy's. They had a lot of work to do. Their current situation was dire to say the least. Cariza and its allies had lost most of their strongholds throughout the country. King Joaquin was left with only the fortress nearest to the Avaloran border. The rest, including the royal palace, fell under the enemy's hands. It would be the understatement of century to say that the king was taken by surprise by the sudden attack which started this whole war.
King Joaquin was a good-natured man. Gabe had the chance to meet him during the Peace Festival where they played Olaball against each other. He had one flaw though, which Gabe learned from Elena. He was too good-natured. He did not even want to confront King Hector when he was bullying the other monarchs until Elena stood up for herself. Gabe was betting on the fact that King Joaquin honestly didn't believe that his ministers were planning an uprising and hence was taken by surprise.
Gabe thought of their positions as he walked towards the war room in the fortress. He knew it was still early and there would be no other officers there yet. The officers took shifts to make sure that there was at least one commander at all times. Soldiers too were on rotating shifts. As of the moment, there seemed to be a lull in the fighting. It was as if the opposing sides were locked in a deadly staring match and the one who blinked first would definitely lose. Gabe knew they needed to take advantage of this situation and map out a more aggressive offense.
He arrived at the war room and immediately went to work. Gabe laid out the Carizan map. Using information relayed to him and from the research he did the night before, he marked spots in the map held by the enemies and also the areas where the Allies had their victories and defeats. He also did that for the enemy. Gabe studied the terrain in and around the kingdom.
Gabe studied and cross referenced every information available to him. He was in his elements. He made notes of the points he wanted to raise to the other commanders and also he already had a game plan in mind. Well, it was more of a war plan. They would have to take advantage of this break in the fighting to regroup. Gabe was very certain that whatever the rebels were doing would not be good for the allied cause. The enemies were definitely not sitting by the beach sipping margarita as if on vacation.
"Very impressive," King Joaquin told him. The king had been watching the young captain work for at least 15 minutes but Gabe was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't notice.
"Your majesty!" Gabe said, starting to bow a little.
"Oh stop that Captain. We are all equals here. And as of the moment, I don't have my kingdom." King Joaquin said with a small smile, eyes filled with sadness.
"I can't help but think that this is all my fault." The king continued. "For a king, I was naïve. I counted on diplomacy too much, on appealing to the ministers' better judgments. Looking back, I should have anticipated this and quashed it at the first instance."
Gabe couldn't help but agree with him, but he was not going to say that out loud. He only nodded.
"We cannot go back to the past now. We just have to deal with this as best as we can. We will take back Cariza. You will be reunited with your family," Gabe told the king with conviction.
"Thank you Captain."
The meeting with the commanders and King Joaquin was in full swing. Each had given their reports on the activities of the night before. They also relayed what they heard from their scouts. It seemed that the rebels were waiting it out too. The enemies suffered a major defeat before Gabe arrived a few days back. Cariza had gained a little ground into enemy territory. They were probably low on ammunition or were also trying to regroup. They might also be waiting for reinforcements.
Gabe asked for a full inventory of how many soldiers the allies currently have. His heart sank when he saw that they were clearly outnumbered. What troubled him further was the fact that not all of Cariza's allies were helping the kingdom in their time of need. International politics and personal gain were always foremost on these politicians' minds.
"How did the rebels managed to gather so many soldiers?" Gabe asked the group.
"About half of the Carizan army defected and joined the rebellion. I have no idea what the ministers promised them or what the soldiers were told but they joined the uprising. King Hector is also supporting the rebellion so he sent his own soldiers to aid my enemies. The rest are mercenary fighters," King Joaquin explained.
"What about your other allies? I can only see Cariza, Avalor and Enchancia here," Gabe said, wondering where the rest of the world was.
"We already sent out appeals to the others for help but I think they are still in the wait-and-see phase. Or some of them are probably on the what's-in-it-for-me phase." King Joaquin sighed heavily. He may be a good-natured man but he understood politics.
The meeting progressed. Gabe laid out his plans for attack and if it came to that, a counter-attack. He was so brilliant, so eloquent, and so natural that it was clear to everyone that he was born for moments like this. King Joaquin and the commanding officers liked Gabe's plans and they fully supported him. Now what they needed to do while they still had time was to appeal to their allies once again for more help and hoped that they will be heard.
By the end of the meeting, it was clear that Captain Gabriel Nuñez just became the de facto Leader of the Allied Forces.
