I hoped you all enjoyed Chapter II. Chapter III will take a small break from the action, and give some more background information besides the information from the present. Enjoy, and please, Read and Review! I enjoy constructive criticism and other thoughts about the story.

Chapter III

Two years ago, several weeks after the war.

Roy woke abruptly as the wagon hit a depression in the road, causing his head to jerk violently. The young prince rubbed his head and ignored the "Sorry" that came from the driver. He was extremely tired: after so much fighting, he finally had a little time to rest and think things over. During the war, he barely slept, yet he never felt tired. He came to the conclusion that he was on a sort of continuous adrenaline rush. Yawning out of sheer tiredness, he tried to regress into his sleep, but the screeching of the wood and metal wheels about their axes kept him up. He sat up and looked over his papers that lay at the foot of the small makeshift mattress.

Roy had been invited to a post war council that included all belligerents in the war. Zephiel's sister, Guinevere, was the new leader of Bern, to the delight of its people. Even though the war had finished not too long ago, she began reconstruction of every part of the country that was affected, using the soldiers of the Bern Army as the work force. In turn, she began to rebuild the army itself, promoting leaders with good reputations and drafting peasant men into the organization. To the delight of the people, many affected areas began to reestablish themselves and the country seemed to be returning to its former glory. It even set up its World Fair, the large attractions not seen since the leaderships of Desmond and Zephiel. The other nations also though that the country was going in the right direction under her leadership

But the war still occurred, which was the topic of discussion in the weeks following.

Roy read over the unsent letters. During the course of the war, he came in contact with another lord in a country on the other continent by way of a friend of Merlinus. The man brought valuable goods and also brought Roy back the usual return letter from the young nobleman. Roy would then give the trader his letter, and the process would repeat. On the trader's last voyage, several days ago, he was stopped by a wyvern scouting party. The group searched the ship, and found the letter intended for Ephraim, the other lord. Intensely angered, the knights seized the merchant's ship and arrested him, pilfering his goods for themselves and taking him the capitol of Bern. Roy had promised himself that he would get the merchant freed and take the responsibilities of his "sly" actions. As Roy replaced the letters, he had one unanswered question, Who exactly detained the merchant? I know Guinevere personally, and I know she wouldn't do such a thing as capture and seize a merchant and his goods. Is there someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes? He had heard rumors of a new Prime Minister in Bern since the war was beginning to end, but he didn't think much of it, since Guinevere was quite independent and able all by her lonesome. Is something wrong with Guinevere? Has something happened behind closed doors at Castle Bern? Roy exhaled as ominous grey clouds cluttered the blue sky yonder.

After several days of bad weather, Roy had finally arrived in Ostia, the meeting place. He was glad to take a step out of the carriage onto the soaked ground. Ostia was grand; its architecture rivaled that of the long forgotten city of Arcadia, with its almost mystical buildings with a beautifully carved blanched stone. Roy wondered how much time it took to carve just one of the meticulously ornate stones of the thousands upon thousands that made up the magnanimous parthenon-like structure located in the city of Ostia, the centre of the government. On the horizon was Castle Ostia, still not yet renovated from the assault by Bern early on in the war. As Roy proceeded up the innumerous steps, the cries of the metropolitan population began to grow louder and louder.

"Master Roy, can you slow down a little? I'm not as fast as I used to be,"

Roy turned around at hearing the familiar voice. It was none other than Marcus, his personal bodyguard since his birth. Marcus was extolled by the knights of Phareae for being radically loyal to the Kingdom. His knighthood started when Eliwood was a young child, spanning three decades that lead to the protection of Eliwood's son. Most of the knights in his class were dead or retired, serving as figureheads and landlords in the feudalist society. But Marcus remained dedicated, driven by his infatuation for his country and his leader.

Roy smiled and stopped on the stairs.

"Sir Marcus! I hadn't realized that you followed me here! I told you I was going to be fine, but yet you still insisted on coming! What charisma and dedication!" Roy said admiringly.

"Yes, indeed. This is your first meeting with the all the other leaders, is it not? Crazy things could happen, so I want to be within moment's notice in case you were threatened."

They continued up the stairs together, where the two doorkeepers opened the door. Roy froze, mouth agape. The building was stunning; the artwork painted in extreme detail at the enormous proportions made it seem as if they were painted on a canvas. A long row of marble pillars gave the building support, stretching from entrance to over four hundred meters down the long hall. Walking by, Roy noticed little tedious looking carvings on the pillars, surreptitious to a distant observer. They were an artistic manifestation of the history of Ostia, from its creation by Roland, to Lord Hector and his role during the previous Great War, to the gravesite where he rested with his brother, Uther. Roy tried to take in every minute detail as he walked down the grand corridor leading into the meeting chambers beyond.

Compared to the rest of the building, the meeting room was quite monotonous, but compared with other meeting rooms Roy had been in, this was a definite step above. In the center of the large round room was a table made from granite; its insipid black coloring seemed to absorb all traces of light. Roy looked around at the nobles already there. He saw the two representatives from Etruria, the blonde men chatting amongst themselves. He then turned his attention to the representative of the Western Isles, another blonde man with unkempt hair, who Roy figured was of Etrurian descent. Roy gazed over at a woman wearing the armor of a Pegasus knight. He had short silver hair cut into a bob, and the color of her armor matched her hair. Her eyes were a sky blue, a colorful anomaly to her otherwise colorless self. But she seemed to have a positive aura about her that made Roy feel like he had known her for years. I have to talk to her when I get the chance. There's something about her I just can't seem to put my finger on. As he took his seat, he noticed a short woman with long blue hair frolicking about, making sure that everything was ready. As she turned around to face Roy, she gasped and dashed over in his direction. It was none other than Lilina. She immediately embraced him, her grip as tight as ever.

"Roy! It's so good to see you here! It's only been a few weeks, but I miss you so much! How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Tired, but fine. Are you representing Ostia today in the meeting?"

"Yeah I am. I'm so nervous since this is my first time, and a post war meeting isn't exactly the easiest thing to start off with,"

"I understand Lilina, but you'll do fine."

As Roy finished his sentence, an trumpeter blew a majestic call through his horn.

"Her Majesty approaches! All rise for the Queen of Bern, Queen Guinevere!"

Roy stared in bewilderment as Guinevere walked towards the room, her dress rumpled up into her hands at the hips. Roy had always seen her while she was travelling with the group, but never noticed her striking beauty. The dress she wore was apple red, covering the delicate white skin of the woman. She walked with a graceful swagger, nose angled slightly upward. Roy could read her face and tell she was troubled. He squeaked an awkward smile as she walked by. She passed by, eyeing Roy and smiling at him. She even gave a slight wave.

"Hm. She seems like she has a lot on her mind," Lilina whispered. As the Queen took her seat, the trumpeter blasted yet another call, different from the preceding.

"His Excellency approaches! All rise for the Prime Minister, Rorak!"

Roy and Lilina swiveled their heads back towards the entrance to see a man walking into the room. He was a tall yet stout man with a beard shadow running across his face. He wore a black cape and a black and white nobleman's dress shirt. At his hip was a rapier, a weapon uniform to noble male apparel. His slicked hair was black as the granite, as was his eyes. He took dark, light footsteps, gliding towards his seat. The clandestine man looked Roy straight in the eyes, sending shivers down his spine. Seeing that all the guests had arrived, Lilina made her way back to her seat, clearing her throat to make an announcement.

"Good afternoon. The Post War Council of the Bern-Lycia War is now underway. Before we begin our conversations, please sign this here record sheet,"

The sheet began moving around the table, the rustling paper the only noise at the moment. A representative from Etruria stood.

"Ah, thank you Marques Lilina for inviting us. This place is quite splendid indeed. On to the subject of debate, we have many questions for you, Queen Guinevere," The man said, his fox-like face matching his sly personality. Guinevere looked at the man with a calm sense, her red dress fading away.

"There are many confirmed reports that you are rebuilding your own country. What about the countries that defeated you empire? I do believe that you owe them some gold and goods. Have you taken into consideration the people of Ostia for example? How they were ravaged by your army, and yet they were forgiving enough to let you enter their country. Explanation, Your Highness?"

Guinevere looked the man in the face.

"I have intentions to pay tribute to the countries affected by our belligerent actions, but my concern is caring for my own people, my citizens. Instead of chastising me, you and your friend over there should worry about ridding the corrupt officials in the Western Isles. The money will come eventually, but right now my primary concern, like I said, is caring for my citizens. What about all the fatherless families now? Your men killed them,"

"As did yours, Your Highness,"

"Aye, but at least my local government leaders didn't order mercenaries to attack their own villages in search of only three people. How shameful."

The man sneered, his brow furrowed out of anger. He sighed and gazed downward for a moment, thinking of something, anything to stump the Queen.

"What about that army? We've received intelligence from multiple sources stating that you are rebuilding you army. Are you trying to invade again? Do you want to pillage and destroy even more?"

The Queen continued to look into his eyes.

"I have no intention of invading. My country is defenseless right now, so we do need a sort of army to defend our people from invasion or masses of bandits seizing the opportunity to pillage towns,"

"But I heard that someone was requesting aid for you're the protection of your army while rebuilding, am I right, Roy?"

Roy stared blankly at the man. He didn't remember telling anyone else about the letters except Marcus, Merlinus, his father and the merchant. Did that merchant betray me? Was one of his apprentices a spy for Etruria? Why would they be spying on me anyway?

"No, you're not right. I was simply, uh, in contact with the other lord. I wasn't requesting any aid from him at all! We were just communicating, that's all!"

The man snickered as he removed a sheet of paper from a leather satchel. He slid the paper over to Roy.

"What do you call this then, Roy?"

Roy studied the sheet of paper. It was a letter, clearly addressed to Ephraim of Renais. Roy skimmed through the letter, stopping at a particular sentence: 'I know this is quite a big favor, but could you lend troops the Bern army? They are in need of protection…' Roy slammed the paper down on the table in anger.

"I didn't write this letter! This is not my penmanship!"

"I don't care about how you write. Look at the bottom of the letter,"

Roy gazed at the bottom of the letter. At the very bottom was Roy's signature and the Seal of Pherae. Roy's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What!? There's only one seal in the castle, and it's locked in my chambers! I'm the only who knows where the key is! This has to be forged! There's no way another has been made!"

The blonde man snickered.

"Good job, young noble. You just admitted your wrongdoings, boy! Everything you said was true: The only seal, its hiding spot in your chambers, the only key in possession by you! The three tumble lock system! This evidence is…!"

"How did you find out all this information?"

Everyone at the table turned in the direction of the suave voice. It came from Rorak.

"What do you mean? He just admitted it!"

"I'm afraid you're wrong. Can you please restate the things you consider definite evidence?"

The blonde man hesitated.

"The sole seal, the hiding spot—"

"According to Marques Roy, he never mentioned a hiding spot, but simply said it was locked up. Continue."

The man began to shake.

"The only key is in possession of him, and there is a three tumble lock system guarding the seal,"

Rorak smiled. Roy studied the smile, Rorak's perfect teeth showing. The wrinkles on his face were too even, almost too perfect.

"Marques Roy, you did say that you were the only person that knew where the key was, correct?" Roy nodded in reply.

"And you, I believe it is Arthur from your papers, said that Roy was in possession of the key at all times, correct?"

Arthur gulped and nodded. Rorak's smile grew larger.

"If you know that Roy has the key, and there is a three tumble lock system guarding the seal, then there is only one solution to this minor mystery: someone had to open it. Arthur, I do believe you sent a spy to spy on the young Marques. While he was off fighting in the war, your spy found the key, since he wasn't writing from his chambers. This comes back to the fact that Roy didn't use the seal at all, but instead used the crest of the Lycian Army in his sent letters. This is the letter that Bern obtained from the merchant, look at the seal."

Both Roy and Arthur observed the seal. Rorak was correct: the seal used in his letters were in fact from one of the many seals of the Lycian Army. Roy knew that thieves would be about and carrying the seal would not be a great idea. Arthur could only tremble in silence. Lilina called three knights to the room.

"I want you all to confine him and his friend too! They have committed three illegal acts in spying in vacancy, forging a document, and lying. You will be detained,"

The knights proceeded to cuff Arthur and the other mute blonde man. They walked out the room, Arthur gazing at Rorak with a death stare. Roy sighed and looked over at Rorak who wore a friendly smile on his face.

"Sir Rorak, I would like to inquire about the release of the merchant—"

"It is done. We will also resupply his goods and give you the letter back. It was a total misunderstanding. Please forgive us,"

The council continued peacefully, each nation, save Etruria, speaking out about atrocities and other wrongdoings during the War. Sacae representatives did not show up the meeting, but sent a letter in writing stating that they would not lend warriors to either side for the next one hundred years. Within Lycia itself, Thria, Laus, Worde, Khathelet, Araphen, Ryerde, Santaruz, Tuscana, Tania, and Badon were to withdraw troops for the next five years to help rebuild their respective kingdoms. Pherae and Ostia were the only two states providing men in the active army, but Ostian soldiers were called back home to help rebuild, leaving the men of Pherae in the active army, defending all of Lycia.

As the meeting concluded, Roy walked over to the woman with the silver hair. She greeted him with a warm smile.

"Hello. I haven't formally introduced myself. My name is Lana. I'm pleased to meet you,"

Roy smiled.

"I'm Roy. The pleasure is mine."
The two chatted, albeit for a short while since Marcus urged Roy to leave Ostia before the crowd got too rowdy. The trip back was much different from the trip there. Roy had a lot of things on his mind, including the accusations from the Etrurian representative Arthur. I wonder why he would say such things. Was Rorak really telling the truth about the Etrurian spy scenario. How did he figure it out so quickly; is he really as smart as people make him out to be? Roy dozed off in the midst of a pink evening sky.

That's the end of Chapter III! Sorry if I got too carried away with the descriptions in the middle sections. I know a lot of adjectives and I get like that whenever I want to put emphasis on something. The Ostian building is supposed to be really pretty, so I used a lot of different adjectives to describe it. Anyway, read and review and look forward to Chapter IV sometimes toward the end of next week (probably around nest Friday or Saturday).