The Lonely Warrior Queen

{Chapter 67}

Xander's POV:

It had been three months since.

Winter had already arrived, bringing cold and harsh winds. The cool white sheet had already settled on everywhere. Small white drops of frozen water fell from the sky, even at night.

The braziers have been lit at every corner of the castle. No place was left out in the cold. And somehow, every living thing in the castle was dull.

"Reports say a blizzard can come by," I said calmly, looking at the quiet man before me. "Are you sure you want to leave today, Uncle?"

Julius Sierre looked up from his deep thoughts. He was a man in his mid-forties and yet, he looked as fit and fine as ever. He did resemble her so much. He shared the deep blue eyes with her that I inherited from her.

"It had been long enough since I stayed here, nephew," he let out a small smile. "I must return to my kingdom soon,"

"It was nice to have you here," I let myself smile, shifting in my stance.

We were in one of the meeting chambers, where the furnace was burning brightly with red and orange flames. Even if the room was more than warm, I could not ignore the cold I felt.

"Last time I saw you, you were such a quiet child. Standing before your parent's graves, confused and dazed," My uncle spoke, looking away.

I stayed silent and I reminisced about that day. There was not much that came back to my mind. It was all a blur.

"You look a lot like your father. I seem to not have noticed a single trait of my sister in you, except the eyes," my uncle went on, making my lips curl upwards.

"You are too quick to judge," I told him, placing my hands on my thighs. "I am nothing like them,"

My uncle studied me for a while before averting his gaze away. It had been a week since he arrived and he was to leave on the morrow. We were supposed to talk about the war and all the details required. But as soon as we met, we fell into talks about my mother.

He had initially refused to marry his sister off to my father. If it was not for her threatening him to agree, he would have never agreed.

I was surprised to find that he blames himself for their death to this day. After all, my parents were killed on their way to her kingdom. He told me that he would have never invited them if he knew what was going to happen.

"My army is yours, Xander," He said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I will send my sons to command it. The real reason that I had not sent you any letters with my answer was that I wanted to talk to you in person,"

I shook my head and cleared my throat. "I am grateful for your help, Uncle. And I will be more than glad to meet my cousins,"

He shook his head and looked out the window. Snow was falling rapidly, too fast for my eyes to see properly.

"You need more advisors who are experienced in the ways of war," my uncle announced.

I looked at him and agreed with him quietly. He was right. Ever since Darwin Esther's death, my council consisted of only young individuals. The only one who had any experience in battles was Marwin Sunster, who fought outside Anthreal. But it was not enough.

"I shall send some men to guide you," My uncle told me kindly. "And no worries, they both are the ones who truly dotted on my sister. They will do anything to aid in killing the man who caused her and her unborn child's death,"