Author's Notes:

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! I told you I'd give you a chapter per day until Christmas, but I decided it would be more 'present-like' to give you two on Christmas day. Admittedly, I started writing this a little late in the day (12:45 pm), so I had to work non stop to get it done. Hopefully it turns out well. Enjoy!

Chapter 39: War Continues

Saito brought a large sack of meat inside of his tent. Inside, waiting with a great amount of anticipation, was Hayai, Saito's new 'pet' ground dragon. By now, it had been two weeks since he found the dragon in the depths of a cave, and he had constantly had to bring it meat, as it had not eaten at all because of its injured throat.

"God, you eat a lot." Saito said as it wolfed down the meat he brought for it. "But it seems like you're feeling happy, so I guess it's okay."

"You're such a softy." Derf said.

"No, I'm just human." Saito replied.

"A lot of humans wouldn't do this, you know." Derf said. "Besides, having a soft heart is a good thing. It allows you to care for others. When you care for others, you have more to live for when the fighting begins."

"I guess so…" Saito said staring at Louise, who was taking a nap on their bed.

At this time, Alex burst into the tent and hugged Saito from behind.

"Why don't you come to visit?!" He said, acting like a child.

"You're older than me, act your age." Saito said, squinting in agitation.

"Come on! We're friends! It's oka-" Alex began.

He stopped short when he noticed the black furred creature staring directly at him. Experiencing immense fear, he hid behind Saito, shivering.

"What the hell is that?!" He said, quietly.

"Oh, that's Hayai. My companion. He's some kind of ground dragon, but I don't know which kind yet." Saito replied.

"Does he bite?" Alex asked.

"Why don't you go find out." Saito replied.

Alex gulped and slowly walked closer. He reached his hand out, trying to touch the dragon's head. Much to his surprise, it moved its head towards him, allowing him to rub its fur. No longer fearful, Alex petted the dragon's fur more openly, even going so far as to hug its head.

"He's so nice! How'd you find him?" Alex asked.

"I found him in a cave a few weeks ago." Saito replied. "He was hurt by some kind of strange magic, so I healed him and he decided to stick with me. I'd say he's my friend, not my pet."

"So cool…" Alex said. "Why does he have six tails?"

"Like I said, I don't know what kind of ground dragon he is." Saito said. "So what did you come here for?"

"Oh, right." Alex said, remembering why he came to see Saito. "Our meeting with Germania has been moved forward. We're to meet tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Saito said. "But that's so soon!"

"Albrecht refuses to meet any later. From what I hear, his health is compromised, so he wants to bring Germania out of war in case he dies."

"What is he up to?" Saito said to himself.

He sat on the bed that Louise slept on and stroked her hair.

"Don't even think about leaving for the meeting without me." She suddenly said, revealing that she was awake.

"Uhhh, don't worry, I wasn't." Saito said, trying his best to lie.

"You're a poor liar." She said, sitting up to face him.

They stared at each other for a few moments, but their somewhat romantic moment was interrupted as Alex jumped to hug Louise, holding her in his arms.

"Louise! It's been too long!" He said, rubbing his cheek on hers.

"It's been two weeks…" She replied, feeling quite irritated.

Seeing that Alex was at risk of taking an explosion at point blank range, he lifted him away with his tail.

"Where is Shion?" Louise asked.

"She's taking our list of surrender conditions to Wales." Alex replied. "You guys should take yours too."

"Right. Thanks for telling us." Saito said.

Alex nodded and left the tent. Saito and Louise hurried to gather their draft of their demands. Because they had to think of themselves as leaders, they demanded quite a large portion of western Germania, as well as a large amount of monetary compensation, a significant portion of their armed forces, and detailed records of the Germanian government's actions before the war.

They left their tent riding on Hayai and quickly made their way to Wales's tent. Because of the short distance, the dragon chose to simply run there, although even like this, it was much faster than Saito or Louise. When they arrived, they walked inside without making their presence known beforehand.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the best time for them to walk in unannounced, as Wales was having an "intimate moment" with Henrietta. Saito and Louise froze in place with their eyes wide open. When Wales noticed the two bright red faces that were behind Henrietta, who was on top of him, he ket out a shout and covered himself and his partner with a blanket.

Saito and Louise quickly left the tent and waited outside, with their faces bright red with embarrassment. After a few minutes, Wales's head poked out of the tent, flushed bright red.

"What do you want?" He said, trying his best to sound official.

"Ahem! We just wanted to drop off our demands for the treaty." Saito said, refusing to look Wales in the eye.

"Thank you. Good day to you." Wales said quickly, taking the rolled up paper from Saito's hand.

Saito and Louise got back on their dragon and rode away into the woods. They needed time to process what they had seen, so they went to a secluded area and got off of Hayai. The laid their heads on the soft fur of his belly and did their best to rid their minds of what they had seen.

"So tomorrow's the big day, huh?" Saito finally said.

"The war could end tomorrow. It all depends on what Germania's conditions are." Louise replied.

"Germania will try to do something to us, so we need to be careful." Saito said. "You have to be careful."

"No need to worry." Louise said. "I won't eat any food there and I'll know the location of any hidden weapons. And with your eyes, you'll know the location of the Germanian army before we even arrive. We have nothing to worry about."

"I guess you're right." Saito said. "It's getting dark. We should go to bed."

She nodded and gave him a kiss, making his cheeks turn red. He put his hand on her cheek and gave her a long, warm kiss in return. She smiled and jumped onto Hayai, with Saito following suit. When they arrived back at their tent, they laid on the dragon's belly rather than their bed and soon, fell asleep.

In Vindobona

The increasingly unstable Albrecht of Germania prepared for his meeting with the allied powers. The treaties that he ordered to be printed were laying on his table, waiting to be signed by each of the opposing leaders. As he looked at his mirror, making sure his clothing was in order, one of his guards entered his room.

"Sir, it is time to depart." He said.

"Very well." Albrecht replied. "Make sure I arrive before the enemy leaders."

"Yes, my lord." The guard said.

"And be careful with those documents." Albrecht said as he walked out of his room. "They are, of course, very important."

"Yes, my lord." The guard replied. "How shall the military be stationed?"

"What is the range of our heavy artillery, in the event that we need to use it?" Albrecht asked.

"Approximately ten kilometers." The guard replied.

"Station them at five kilometers. Make sure they're hidden." Albrecht said.

"Very well, sir." The guard replied.

They made their way outside, where a carriage was waiting to take Albrecht to the meeting location, a valley in a valley that was located on the Tristain-Germanian border, where a Germanian mountain range split the two countries apart. As he sat in his carriage and prepared for the long trip south, the various possibilities of what could happen ran through his head.

In a matter of hours, he arrived at his destination, a large, circular, wooden gazeebo at the bottom of a valley. He had his guards inspect the area and prepare it for the enemy's arrival. As he ordered, a large battalion was stationed 5 kilometers away above the valley. They had strict orders not to fire unless given authorization.

"Everything is in order." His guards said.

"Good. Wait outside and inform me of their arrival." Albrecht replied.

The guards bowed and stood outside the gate to the building. During this time, Albrecht took the chance to get some sleep for the first time in weeks. However, unfortunately for him, his sleep was not restful. Because of the stress of the war, his mental health took a turn for the worse. When he was awake, he suffered from hallucinations and migraines, but when he slept, he was haunted by nightmares.

Despite all of this, he was determined to win the war, no matter what he had to do to succeed.

In Tristania

In the early morning, Saito and Louise prepared to depart for the meeting. Saito chose to wear a long dark blue coat that nearly touched the ground beneath him. It was short sleeved with the word 'Gandalfr' stitched in Japanese on its back with white thread. It was closed around his chest and abdomen. Inside, he wore a long sleeved, bronze colored chainmail vest, underneath which was a black, short sleeved shirt. To match, he wore long white pants with two black belts, one used to fasten them while the other was fastened at an angle for styling purposes. He also wore dark blue suede shoes. Like he always did when going to official events, he wore a pair of white gloves and made sure his crown was positioned perfectly on his head.

Louise wore a matching long dark blue dress which was fastened around her chest. It had no sleeves and was extremely simple, with the only decoration on it being a white flower fastened onto the left side of her waist. On her arms, she wore a pair of long white gloves which nearly reached her shoulders. On her ring finger, she wore the engagement ring that Saito gave her. On her head, she tied her hair with a single band and, of course, wore her crown.

"You didn't have to match your clothes to mine." Saito said to her, holding her waist.

"We're a couple." She replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Does it bother you?"

"Not at all." Saito said. "You look beautiful."

"Don't say that…" She replied, looking away from him trying to hide her embarrassment. "You're very handsome, you know."

"Don't make fun of me." He said.

He softly gave her a kiss, mostly to calm his nerves about the next few hours. For several minutes, they stood in their room, repeatedly kissing each other. Soon, however, they were interrupted by Hayai, who stuck his head in between them, seemingly wanting the same amount of affection.

"We love you too, buddy." Saito said, rubbing the dragon's head. "Louise, we should probably get going. Wales will be waiting for us."

He and Louise jumped on the dragon's back, then road outside the tent to find Wales. The military was gathered outside the east gate of the city, waiting for the leader's arrival.

"General Hiraga, what are our orders?" One of the Gallian soldiers asked.

"Remain at the top of the valley behind us. If anything happens, you have authorization to attack." Saito said.

"Understood." The soldier said. "Good luck, sir."

A few minutes afterwards, Wales and the rest of the leaders arrived. All of them except for Alex stayed quite far away from Saito and Louise out of fear of the dragon they rode on. As soon as everyone was confirmed to have arrived, they began to make their way to the meeting location.

Because they were closer to the location than Albrecht was, they would be able to arrive before noon that day. Everyone was completely silent, nervous about the possibility of ending the war that afternoon. Eventually, after many silent hours, they reached the valley where they would have their peace conference.

"Our armies will stay at the top of this hill while we have our meeting." Wales said to his fellow leaders. "Let's go."

They all nodded and walked down towards the large gazeebo in the valley. When they reached the gate to the building, two Germanian guards confronted them.

"Lord Albrecht awaits you inside." They said.

Saito and Louise got off of Hayai and walked inside, with the dragon closely following behind them. Inside, there was a round table with ten seats positioned around it, in one of which sat Albrecht, who was wearing a somewhat uncomfortable smile.

Saito and Louise sat down, with their dragon sitting directly behind them. The other leaders took their positions around the table. When everyone was settled, they waited for Albrecht to begin speaking.

"How marvelous it is for Halkeginia's leaders, young or old, to meet under one roof and talk peacefully." He finally said. "I know that as of now, we are advisories, but they may change in a few hours if everything goes well."

"What are the conditions of your surrender?" Wales asked.

"I wish to know yours, first." Albrecht said.

"Very well." Wales said, pulling a rolled up paper from under his jacket.

It was the treaty that Wales put together, named the Treaty of das Hochgebirge after the Germanian mountain range that they were meeting in. Josette and Charlotte demanded a significant amount of south east Germania's land, as well as monetary compensation and reparations to help rebuild eastern Gallia. Vittorio, because Romalia did not suffer much from the war, had no demands from the country.

Wales demanded a large amount of Albion military bases to be constructed throughout what was left of Germania after the war, as well as blueprints of all weapons Germania used during the war.

Henrietta wanted heavy reparations to be paid to Tristain until it was entirely rebuilt and every family that suffered from the war was monetarily compensated. She also wanted a small(ish?) part of Germanian land as well as knowledge of the weapons they used during the war.

Alex and Shion wanted twenty percent of Germania's remaining weaponry, a significant portion of their southern lands, and knowledge of not only the weapons used in the war, but any secret weapons programs as well.

Saito and Louise wanted a vast amount of money and land, control over Germania's ports, the right to have bases in their country, a large amount of their remaining weaponry, and knowledge of all weapons programs before, during, or after the war. Their demands were quite harsh mostly because of Saito, who was furious that his family and countless others was put in danger because of the war.

"Your demands are quite harsh. Perhaps you should view mine as well, and we may come to a compromise." Albrecht said.

"Let us see your conditions." Saito said, rather impatiently.

Albrecht gave each of his opposing leaders rolled up papers with a list of surrender conditions. In essence, he wanted Germania to retain its military power, at least 70% of its current landmass, and rights to perform any action deemed necessary to protect its citizens and keep them happy.

"What you basically want is for Germania to be unaffected by the war." Charlotte said. "Unacceptable."

"Agreed." Alex said. "You would suffer no punishments from the war if we were to accept this."

"The Germanian people are already suffering and discouraged. Your demands would not only worsen their situation, but would cripple the country." Albrecht said. "We would be economically worthless and militarily weak."

"Perhaps you should have thought of this possibility before starting the war." Henrietta said. "Regardless, if this is not signed, more Germanian citizens will be killed for no reason, only to achieve the same result. Germania will be defeated whether you sign this treaty or not. It's up to you to decide how to take it. Keep in mind that should the war continue, us allied leaders will be within our rights to completely destroy and assimilate all Germanian assets. Your country may be destroyed."

Albrecht was silent for several minutes as he seemingly considered his options. Saito watched his movements carefully, making sure to keep an eye out for any special signals or abnormal movements. Eventually, Albrecht took in a deep breath and pulled a pen from his jacket, signing their treaty. He handed the treaty and his pen to each of the leaders, letting each of them sign it.

"Thank you for helping to end this war." Albrecht said, when they all finished signing the treaty.

Almost as soon as he finished his sentence, Henrietta, Wales, Josette, Charlotte, Alex, Shion, and Vittorio all began to collapse. They coughed as if they were suffocating and their mouths began to foam. Saito immediately knew that they were poisoned, so to save them, he would have to use all of his magic to remove the poison from their systems. Using this moment of shock, Albrecht's guards arrived on a dragon and flew away from the location with him.

"Louise! Go after them! Kill them!" Saito yelled, trying his best to keep his friends conscious.

She immediately got up and ran after them. However, she stopped when she heard the sound of explosions firing in the distance. Only a few seconds afterwards, the building in which they met in exploded in flames.

Louise's heart broke as she saw the building being inundated with a barrage of explosives. There was no way anyone could survive such an onslaught. Even Saito.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys! That's the first chapter you're getting today, so the second might be a little late. I do apologize for that. Regardless, send me your thoughts. Tell me if you liked it or not. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!