The Last Dahlia

034

After Hwa's royal banquet, things across the kingdoms returned to a semblance of normalcy. Crown Prince Baixun and his wife left the borders of Hwa, as did the king of Feng and his new heir. Out on the streets, the common folk carried on with their day to day bustle, oblivious to the looming winds of change that were about to sweep across the lands.

Back in the Gi royal court, the ministers and officials had been on pins and needles for weeks because the crown prince had locked himself in his quarters and refused to grant an audience to anyone ever since he returned. The union between the soon-to-be crown prince of Feng and the regent of Hwa was making them lose sleep at night, in fear that this alliance could imply the formation of a new faction that might well be strong enough to fend off their own. The military prowess of Hwa was something that all the other kingdoms were wary of, yet the irony was that none of them could actually remember what the army of Hwa was like—it had been a long time since the sleeping giant had been awoken. They had been petitioning the king to consolidate the armies of Gi, Jin and Dahai to launch an offensive on Feng before the latter had time to assemble its defences, but the elderly king had long deferred all major decisions to his heir and would not give them an answer.

"We cannot keep waiting! The longer we wait, the more time Feng and Hwa have to build their forces. If Gi is to emerge as the victor out of all the kingdoms, then we need to act now!" one anxious voice cried out.

"The prince must have his own plans. Perhaps we should be patient and wait?" another official ventured hesitantly.

There a loud sigh in response, and many others began shaking their heads. "The prince has refused to see anyone except Adviser Park ever since he returned from Hwa. What is the matter? We need to know what the plans are or else we'll be caught in limbo, just waiting for the enemy to launch themselves at our borders!"

All eyes in the room shifted towards Maroo, who had been trying his best to blend in with the wall. Seeing that he could no longer camouflage himself, the prince's trusted advisor started breaking out in cold sweat.

Clearing his throat, he said, "The prince needs time to think through the plans before we decide on our next move. Please be patient and trust that—"

"We have already been patient! It's been weeks!" an irate minister with snowy white hair bellowed. "Already our spies have reported that both Hwa and Feng have begun increasing the number of troops stationed at their borders. This is an obvious sign that they are getting ready to take action! If we don't seize the opportunity it will be impossible to defeat their alliance."

"The increase in troops has been minimal and has always been expected. It is unlikely that they will go on the offensive," Maroo explained. "We just need to—"

"For years we have rallied behind Prince Baixun and respected him as our future king, but if he continues delaying the campaign then he isn't doing justice to all the men that have sacrificed their lives for our cause. Adviser Park, what exactly is the prince waiting for? We need to hear it for ourselves so that we can be assured that there indeed is a plan!"

"Excuse me, I-I-I forgot that there is somewhere else I need to be," Maroo mumbled, hurriedly backing out of the room before he was mobbed by the angry ministers.

He walked briskly towards the prince's quarters, taking a detour when he almost came face to face with another group of officials who were looking for an audience with the prince to lobby their cause. When he finally stepped into the prince's study, he heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"What's the matter, Maroo? You're looking a little pale," Baixun remarked. He was sitting on his chair, staring intently at a map of the kingdoms that he had laid out on the table.