"Reunited..." - Chapter Sixty-Nine

Reunited...

Chapter Sixty-Nine

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Princess Angelina sat in the tent waiting for her father. She knew he would be angry, so she thought of what she would do and say when he arrived. She thought she knew what was going on, but sometimes it was difficult to tell with her father. After several minutes, the King stormed into the tent.

"Listen young lady!" he shouted while pointing his finger at her.

"King Jonathan," she interrupted as she rose and bowed. "Please have a seat."

"I came here to negotiate in good faith. What do you do? Do you call me? Do you send for me? No! you speak to one of my men!"

"You were not present sire, so protocol dictates..."

"Protocol? Young lady, I should take you over my knee."

"That would be seen as an act of war," the Princess replied calmly. "As an act of war, you would likely not leave this tent alive."

"Why -- I -- could..." he said as he attempted to gain control. He finally took his seat and added, "Yes -- sire."

"That is better. I informed your man of the situation. I assume he is a good man and that he passed that information on to you. I hope you are satisfactorily informed of the situation."

"Yes," King Jonathan replied curtly.

"Good. How do you respond?"

"Thank you. As you know, there was an agreement between the Calmondak Kingdom and the Nunu Kingdom."

"However," interupted the Princess. "I contend that the treaty was rendered moot when Nunu attacked Lakeland and was soundly defeated."

"The treaty does not mention anything about under what circumstance the king was removed from power."

"I would also contend that Nunu ceased to exist when the former king surrendered to Lakeland forces. Nunu then became a part of the Kingdom of Lakeland and this would also negate the treaty."

"I disagree."

"Which is why we arranged this meeting rather than going to war with you."

"Listen young lady, I am your father, and you will listen."

"I am the sovereign ruler over Lakeland, and you will listen. While I do have familial ties with you, I must do what is best for my subjects. Allowing you to claim land that my people fought for is something we will not tolerate. Simply put, it will not be passed on to you in any fashion. We will not let your treaty stand."

"Are you willing to go to war over it?"

"Sire, we already have."

"Would you be willing to fight a much superior fighting force for it?"

"If you wish us to show our strength against you, we would be willing to oblige. However, we do have pressing matters that we would rather attend."

"Like what?"

"The Maritime Kingdom was also a part of this alliance. We are still at war with them."

"Oh yes. I would also like to state that we have a similar treaty with their king."

"You will take their land should their current king fall?"

"Yes."

"And the former Kingdom of Kaanfed?"

"Their king was far less willing to participate."

"When we are victorious over the Maritime Kingdom, will we need to have a similar discussion?"

"I suspect the results of this discussion will suffice."

"Then I will restate our position. You have no claim here. Go home."

"I disagree."

"Let me put it another way. If you control Nunu and Maritime from your position, your kingdom will not be contiguous. This will cause issues for you. Whereas, it would be easily absorbed into Lakeland."

"Our plan was for it to retain some of its sovereignty and instill a loyal subject as its new king."

"Perhaps one of your children?"

"You know, that would be you or Prince James."

"Hence, would it not be logical to renounce your claim and let us take control?"

"Calmondak cannot lose face."

"Stop being silly father."

"In what way am I being silly?"

"You have made your show of force. Anything further will reflect poorly upon you."

"How do you mean?"

"If you attack -- me -- you will appear to be a bully. You would be beating up your own daughter -- a little girl."

"If I do not attack, I will appear weak."

"You know that is not true."

"Do I?"

"Yes. You know that no one will look down upon you for not attacking your daughter's forces."

"Is that right?"

"Of course. Everyone knows that this show of force is just a demonstration. It was nothing more than an excuse to see me and tell me how proud of me you are."

"Everyone knows that do they?"

"Of course they do. No one will think any less of you if you pack up and go home."

"Now you are being silly."

"Perhaps a bit."

"I am proud of you."

"I know father."

"We really do have a claim."

"You can explain it as I have to anyone who doubts you."

"What about your war with the Maritime Kingdom?"

"We gave them a sound thrashing here. They should be greatly weakened. However, if we do not continue soon, they will have time to regroup."

"We could aid you in the fight."

"Your people would be fighting for Lakeland and get little in return."

"They would follow you."

"Also, this may void your treaty with them."

"That is the spirit!"

"I will call my generals and we will start a plan."

"Agreed!"

The Princess now knew that her father's march was just a pretext to join her forces. In that way, the King of the Maritime Kingdom would not automatically assume that the Calmondak forces were joining the Lakeland forces. Thus, he would have less time to adjust his strategy. King Jonathan knew that with the treaty for both kingdoms, the Maritime Kingdom would not suspect if he marched to make some sort of claim. Thus, the show of force was for them.

With the agreement between King Jonathan and Princess Angelina complete, the Calmondak forces would join the fight against the Maritime Kingdom. The Princess insisted that the Calmondak forces be the reserves for the Lakeland troops.

With the armies ready to go, all of the equipment was packed up for the journey north. The Lakeland army was once again on the march.