PeaceMaker

Hours before the meeting, the sounds of horse hooves could be heard, accompanied by the clattering of carts and muffled yells of people. The aids from the kingdom had arrived.

Desilva's ears perked up at the sounds and looked up from her unfinished piece of clothing, her eyes widening when she noticed a cloud of dust in the distance and shadows of figures. Quickly, she dropped her cloth and reached for the whistle hung around her neck then rose it up to her lips and blew with all her strength. 

'TWEEEEEEEEEEEE' it rang out, a signal to gear up for an approaching group of unidentified figures.

She dropped the whistle and stood up from her seat, grabbing a spear and walking towards the entrance of the camp. It was November 10, the day the supply from the kingdom came in, but you could never be too careful. Approaches made by ambushers also came the same way.

Beside her, multiple men stood up, each of them grabbing a weapon and walking along with her to the entrance of the camp to meet the incoming people. 

'TWEE TWEE' Desilva blew into her whistle and the men behind her formed a line, lifting up their weapons, ready to attack.

This was a strategy formed by Feline and Axel and the whistle made by Desilva. After being educated on the raider's techniques, they immediately formed a way to ward them off and be prepared for attacks. Everyday, the most attentive people on the camp rotated and kept lookout over the camp, ensuring it's safety. Today was Desilva's turn and she was delighted to get to welcome the help from the kingdom.

The shadows became clearer and Desilva spotted a waving flag shooting up from beside one of the horse-riders. Desilva relaxed a bit, recognizing the technique Feline had told her they would use to declare their arrival but she didn't set down her spear. She knew better than to relax only because one thing seems to be pointing to an answer.

Soon the figures became visible, the symbol on the flag, shone bright and clear. Two golden lions fighting over an ornately decorated golden throne with a red, jewel entrusted crown on top. That was the emblem of Dominic's kingdom, Aucacia Empire. One of the biggest kingdoms known worldwide, a name etched into history and memories in Desilva's past.

She turned away from the flags, refusing to look at the bright flag in case of a rekindling of her emotions and instead focused on the parade of approaching people. Large horses raced towards them and attached to them were carts lulling items she couldn't see yet. People rode in the carts too, long whips in their hands, occasionally smacking against the side of the horse to keep it going.

She strained her eyes to see more but unfortunately, she could only see the first few carts as the dust rising from the horse's steps covered the sight behind them. 

"They're here?" A voice behind Desilva asked. 

Desilva jumped a bit and turned around, her shoulders immediately falling. "Ah… your highness!" She greeted bowing her head.

"Stop being so uptight," Dominic chuckled, ruffling her hair, "you'd remind me of Axel."

"I was called?" Axel announced, popping out from behind Dominic.

Desilva and Dominic both jumped at his sudden appearance.

"What are you doing?!" Dominic scolded, his hand rising to his chest to protect his racing heart.

"What are you doing your highness?" Axel retorted, stepping in front of Dominic. "You may be able to walk now but you can only do it for so long before passing out."

"Yes yes, doc, I understand," Dominic rolled his eyes and then shooted a glare at Axel when he realized he had stepped in front of him. "but did you really need to block my view?"

"Your health comes first your highness," Axel nodded his head calmly, a smirk dancing on his lips, "who knows if there will be a sudden attack? I have to stand in front to protect you."

Dominic growled, soon calming down when he saw that Axel had no intention of letting him in front. "Sure, you can take the hit for a flying spear."

"Gladly," Axel bowed, his voice holding a hint of mockingness. 

Dominic rested his head on Axel's shoulder, ignoring the flinch Axel gave. "Do you think they got the letter?" He asked.

"Y-yes," Axel stuttered, fiddling with his fingers when Dominic's hair brushed against his. "It was a good idea to send back a group of people to the kingdom with a list of things for them to bring the next time they came. Seeing the flags, and the carts, the list probably got to them."

"That's good," Dominic mumbled, his words only audible to Axel's pink ears. He looked at the waving flag as it approached, and let out a deep sigh. "It's been a while since I saw that."

"Yea…" Axel muttered, his eyes darting back and forth from the flag and his hand that trembled. He would feel Dominic's breath against his ears and he was barely able to focus on observing the upcoming people due to Dominic's voice.

Dominic sighed, feeling comfort in the gold threads waving on the flag, the animals weaved into them a major part of every bedtime story he had listened to. He missed looking at it. Being approached by the flag of a kingdom he ruled over, being able to watch the flag wave back and forth, gold threads illuminated by the sun. It reminded him of his days at the palace before being sent out into the battlefield and before being forced into the duties of a prince. He missed his kingdom.

Desilva turned to Dominic observing the expression on his face. He had a tired out smile, a gaze of familiarity as his eyes followed the flag as it waved back and forth. 'He's so beautiful…..' Desilva thought to herself as she followed his stare to the crowd of people fastly approaching the camp. 'When was the last time I looked at something so passionately?'