Okay, technically it's august first here in Sweden when I actually upload this chapter but I'm guessing that most of you who reads this are somewhere westward so the time difference is about 6-7 hours max... so for you it's still the end of July hehe... win.

Okay, so now stuff actually happens. Well, it's one of the stuffs, there'll be more in future chapters. A lot more.

Enjoy!

Chapter 11

He could hear screams from the thousands of burning man-eating flowers on the other side of the fortress' walls. Smoke blotted out the sun and sky over the whole field, making it hard to see what was going on around him. He heard a battle cry from behind; raising his sword right on time to counter the one that was about to cut his head off. The enemy attacked again but was once again thwarted by his sword, another counter and then he attacked – cutting his head off. Scoffing, Kanda walked away from the body towards a group of enemies. The earl's men were many but unskilled, they fought like mere bandits instead of soldiers – compared to Allen's soldiers... well now his soldier's too, the enemy were no match against them.

Then how in the name of the stupid gods above did they manage to blow the goddamn walls down? Not to mention that so many managed to get past the damn flesh-eating monsters outside?

He killed the first without anyone noticing, the second made a feeble attempt to block but was cut down in an instant. The other three attacked simultaneously. Kanda side-stepped the first one to block the second's attack, he then within a second slid his sword down to the other's hilt and hit the enemy hard on his side – effectively making him loose his balance. He then continued forward to the third one who was carrying a rifle. Kanda did not underestimate the power of that weapon; he'd seen first-handedly what it did to a man at close-range. The burnt whole on the soldier's armor, the bullet had pierced it and then went straight through the man's chest, but it did not kill him instantly rather his last minute of among the living must have been agonizing, feeling the burn from the inside. That was why Kanda went to him first – killing him would be easy as he had no way of defending himself and he would have to fear being hit by one of those bullets. It's such a destructive weapon, a weapon that put the user at a distance from the target. A distance that could make anyone into a killer – by just pulling the trigger. It was a cold weapon, Kanda thought, a weapon that was not supposed to be in the hand of a man in war. He saw the man squeezing the trigger and without a moment's hesitation, Kanda dodge to the right, the shot ringed in his ears but he heard a scream as one of the other soldier, who'd come from behind Kanda, had been shot straight through the chest. Confused and shocked the soldier with the rifle didn't notice Kanda using this opportunity to strike.

The man gurgled as the sword pierced his lungs, blood welled up his throat and then ran down his chin. Kanda pulled his sword out and the man fell face first into the paved ground. He turned around and saw the last one a few steps from him. He charged and the sheer speed and strength of his sword thrust overwhelmed the red armored soldier and blood gushed out of the deep cut on his side. Kanda looked around for more enemies but saw none. He turned on his heels and left to find more enemies to fight.

Three days earlier.

"Count, how are you to expect me to accept that a force of two hundred and fifty soldiers tops will be enough to withstand an army of possible thousands?" Allen asked Krory. When he was notified of the number of soldiers stationed here he immediately regretted not bringing more himself. When Cross had said that bringing more would be "superfluous" Allen, and Kanda too for that matter, had expected the fortress to be loaded to the brim with soldiers. But what met them were more gardeners than soldiers, wherever they turned there would be gardeners. The casualties would be enormous.

Krory just smiled and asked them to come with him to the balcony connected to his war-counsel room they were in at the moment. Not knowing what the count was up to the two followed.

"Look at this wonderful land that I'm overseeing!" Krory spread his arms wide to show the magnitude of the area.

"It's a dirt field", Kanda commented irritated, Allen could nothing but agree.

"My friends, you see but you do not see. Sure it's a field of just dirt, but what's important is what's below the dirt..." Krory's voice turned just slightly darker when saying the last few words. Kanda frowned and walked up to the stone railing. The field stretched far and wide in all four directions, he could see to the west and part of the north and south border. It was at least five hundred meters from the most southern most wall to the end of the dirt field and probably the same distance to the north. It went farther in the west but how long Kanda couldn't estimate.

"Those mon... I mean flowers are below all of this dirt...?" Allen couldn't comprehend how many it must be if that was the case. He'd seen seven or so when they'd made the mistake to carelessly traverse on the dirt but that they were everywhere!

"I planted many of them myself", Krory announced proudly. "His Majesty told me to make the northern borders impregnable..."

"You certainly have..." Allen said interrupting the tall count. Krory smiled at the praise.

"Come, we have much to discuss", the count said and led the two inside again.

It was about dawn when the first look-out announced the presence of the enemy army. They all gathered on the northern wall. Archers and catapult men, captains and the two princes and the count flocked around the northern wall. The army seemed immense. Rows after rows of soldiers; cavalry, infantry, archers and riflemen. Five siege towers they counted among the earl's army. The army stopped before the field began, like Allen and Kanda's had, trying to discern whether it was a trap or not.

"Do they know about the flowers?" Allen asked, Krory shook his head.

"The earl has never tried to attack from the north before, so probably don't."

"Kanda, how many do you think they are?" Allen asked the other dark haired man.

"I'd say up to one thousand soldiers." Worried Allen glanced at the count who smiled reassuringly. Still not convinced Allen kept watching the army.

Hesitantly at first a mix of cavalry and infantry crossed the line onto the field. Nothing happened for what seemed like hours and when the army had reach about a hundred meters in, both Allen and Kanda glanced at Krory questionably.

"Just watch", the count said calmly without wavering his gaze over the enemy trudging on, in his mind, beautiful land. The army, clearly thinking that there was nothing wrong, issued for more soldiers to go out but it was when the second group started to move when all hell broke loose. The gigantic flowers suddenly emerged from the ground, taking horses and man alike down below. They could hear the agonized screams as the enemy was picked one after another into the terrifying jaws of the flowers. As they desperately tried to retreat to safety of the grassy ground more and more was eaten or taken underground.

One hour later there was no sign that hundreds of men had died on that field. There was no blood and the bodies were all gone.

"So, what will their next move be?" Krory asked out loudly in amusement at his flowers victory.

The rest of the morning consisted of them on and off watching the army fruitlessly trying to get past the flowers. It was apparent that the soldiers were hesitant to thread on the field knowing what waiting below. They never got as far as they had the first time.

"They're smart", Krory told the two, Allen's first thought was the soldiers but Krory continued: "my flowers that is. They must have felt the ground shaking from the many soldiers and they must have realized that if they wait they'll get more to feed on."

"So their aim is to eat and not protect the fortress?" Allen asked.

"They protect us by eating, idiot", Kanda answered harshly. They were eating lunch in the count's dining hall. Since the enemy had yet cross the border they felt comfortable enough to eat in peace.

"I wouldn't think it too impossible that their morale has sunk to the bottom by now", Krory said."

"Tch, if it weren't for the earl's orders they would probably piss their pants and run away."

"I bet they already have - as you put it - 'pissed their pants'", Allen said while smiling from the thought, but then his face change to a more serious one, his smile gone. "But I don't think that the earl is there himself. He's always let someone else lead the army."

"Who?"

"They are called 'The clan of Noah'", Allen answered and continued before he was interrupted: "A clan made up of thirteen members including the earl. From the report on the attacks two and three years ago from the west and south there have always been at least one from the clan there, leading the attack."

"Do you know the names and faces of them?" Kanda asked but was let down when Allen shook his head.

"No, we only know of the ones that are already dead."

"They died during the attacks?"

"They tried to sail up the river to Aed Sorh but our artillery stopped them good. The whole fleet gone."

"So easily?" Krory asked.

"According to my uncle it was like – and bear in mind these are his words – 'it was as easy destroying that fleet as it is bedding a more than willing woman'", Allen felt slightly embarrassed from saying that, but he was not the only one. Krory's face was turning redder that a red apple, trying to fend it off he swept a glass of water but of course it didn't help.

"Are they stupid or something?" Kanda had not paid the quote any mind, instead trying to think up a reason for why the enemy would be so idiotic.

"I think it's more a matter of being ignorant of our country's geography than idiocy", Allen answered. Kanda noticed the use of 'our' in that sentence. Meaning that Allen had probably accepted him as a member of the Aederian royal family – though it wouldn't matter since they are married after all – but Kanda didn't know what to think of it. Ever since coming here he'd known that he had arrived into a situation he wouldn't be able to break out of. Meeting a long lost childhood friend he'd thought to be a woman for twelve years to suddenly facing the reality of him marrying that friend who'd turn out to be a man. He thought that it would be a constant fight between them. friendship turning to hatred. He never would have imagined him sitting here with this "friend" civilly except for a few bickerings.

When had he changed? Was it when he saw Beansprout trying to sneak out of the city before the wedding? Or later that day when he'd said that he would go through with it for the Aederian people? Perhaps it was later, when he had to take care of Allen during his extreme seasickness? No matter when. The fact was that it hadn't turned out as Kanda had expected it to. He just didn't know if it was good or bad yet.

"Did they even have a plan? A strategy? At all?" Krory asked somewhat confused.

"I don't know, I figured that the earl had instructed them to attack from the west and that's it. The fleet had sailed around the whole country of Zenwia to then arrive to destruction in Aed Sorh."

"And when they attacked from the south, what happened then?" Krory continued to ask.

"I think that either they had divided their fleet or a new one was sent out, but even so the army disembarked somewhere in the Golden beaches during summer and just a few survived the heat to only be met by the forces your father had deployed to the Ligounian border", Allen nodded toward Kanda.

"I think I remember when he was told of that. They later became prisoners to your uncle, right?"

"That was the first time we came in contact to a Noah. Two of them actually. They'd been driven mad from the heat and being without food and water. That's where we got the information about the family and them being thirteen in total", Allen thought back to that incident, "the one we could get information from told us he's name was Fiddler and that the other was Toraido or something and that the one staging the attack from the west had been a Noah called Mightra", he continued.

"Are they dead?" Kanda asked coldly.

"Yes", Allen answered just as coldly, Krory was a bit scared by this sudden change in the atmosphere; he tried to think up of something to break it but was saved when a messenger ran into the room.

"Your Grace, Your Hignesses, the enemy is making their move!"

So, to make the most out of this summer, and being a good uploader ., I'll try for ch 12 to be up around the 15th, and ch 13 around the 30th. Though I can't say what'll happen when school starts again in september.

Bear with me okay? (-.-')

Seya next time!