The Gift of War [bxb]

For my homeland

Troye Sivan is the cutest, most handsome, most perfect, single handedly the most gorgeous twink ever and I'm ready to fight anyone who disagrees.

Now, enjoy the first chapter my loves ~

...

"We are losing the war, my lord."

The voice of the soldier was burdened with grief, as was everyone in the courtroom. Their future seemed dark, with no hope for light to ever shine through. The beautiful kingdom they had built from sticks and mud, that they had put all their blood, sweat and tears into, that they had brought to such glory, was crumbling right before their very eyes. And they were helpless, the most helpless they had ever been since the first battle broke out.

"We were only fighting for a lost cause." King Edward Frost looked down at his battle-worn hands, a miserable expression plastered on his aged face. "Our defeat had been decided the moment those wretched Perions attacked us."

"Every single one of them has unbelievable strength. They are breaking our swords into pieces with their bare hands!" A minister exclaimed in disbelief. He could have never imagined that one day their glorious nation would be overrun by beasts from the East. 

The King took off his crown tiredly and put it on the mahogany table. Reaching into the inner pocket of his robe, he took out a small emerald gemstone. In the faint sunlight coming from the huge glass windows, the stone glowed with numerous specks of gold in it. He looked at it with teary eyes, a agonised smile on his lips.

It was his last gift from his late wife.

"At times like this, I wish you were still beside me, Kayla." His hunched back trembled and his hands shook, the gemstone threatening to fall from them. A tear hit the beautiful stone and dripped to the floor. All his strength had left him.

The minister hung his head, looking out the window. He wondered if this was the end to the land of Sythia.

...

Unbeknownst to anyone else, just outside the room, the eighteen year old Sythian Prince sank to his knees after witnessing his father break down.

His father. The powerful, great and just ruler. The man who had taught him everything he knew. His loving father. His only branch of life after his mother passed away when he was ten. The man who had strived to provide him the love of two parents alone, protective like a father and tender like a mother. The strongest person he has ever known. The one who had founded the land of Sythia with his bare hands and brute.

Now reduced to watching his own people perish before his eyes, and relying on the soldiers to protect the castle because he had grown too old for battle and had no mature sons to send out to fight. Or no remaining mature sons, since two of Ryan's older brothers had died of the same sickness that had overcome his mother, and one last brother, older to him by ten years, who had been compelled to move to an unknown location for his own safety, his father being the only secret-keeper. Only Ryan was left, defenseless, and forced to watch his family and kingdom fall apart, piece by piece.

It was a painful sight.

In the dark hallway, it would be hard to notice his low form. A tear slipped down Ryan's face as he brought his knees close to his chest. Fire burned in his heart as he thought of losing his land, his home. Everything he loved being taken away from him.