Marix marched confidently into the throne room after being summoned by the king in the early hours of the morning. The sun had barely risen when Jinya had informed him, which made this meeting particularly unusual.

His was in his full General attire, armor and weapon included which clanked as he walked.

Part of him felt a bit uneasy to: One, leave Eilownia on her own back at the house and two, the fact that he was summoned immediately so early.

Had something happened with the war? Had Lord Evans’ complaint about him truly caused some sort of issue?

As he stood before the king, he realized that his heart was pounding hard in his chest. He let out a slow exhale to calm it, but otherwise made no show of his nerves through his body language or facial expression.

The king sat high in his throne, his back straight with a stern look on his face. There was no sense of joy or happiness in the air as he stared directly at Marix, his gaze practically penetrating through his very soul.

"Father." He greeted with a bow.

The throne next to him was sitting empty.

Usually, Arlon was present for these sorts of meetings, and his absence only fueled the sense of unease that was rising within him.

"Son. I know it is your wish to have Miss Eilownia Evans stay by your side."

Marix clenched his fists, "It is no question on whether or not she will stay. I have taken responsibility for her."

He didn’t like where this was going and he had hoped he could just refuse his way out of whatever it was that was coming.

His father pursed his lips and looked down for a moment before raising his gaze to meet Marix’s.

"I understand your feelings on the matter, however, I hope you will understand that my options here are limited. The King of Sola, King Solus, has sent a letter demanding for Miss Eilownia Evans to be returned to her home, the Evans Estate."

Marix dug his nails into his palm as he clenched his fists even harder, his knuckles turning white.

How could this be happening? Lord Evans’ crimes were so clear and his abuse towards Eilownia was completely inhumane.

"No. I refuse." Marix said through gritted teeth.

"Marix. You are not a child, you are a General with an army beneath you. What is this ’I refuse’? Since when have you shown such insubordination? I’m surprised that you would so willingly endanger your entire kingdom over a single woman."

"You’re right, Father. I am a General with an army underneath me. I am not a child. My refusal should be taken seriously. What kind of kingdom are we to allow someone, a woman no less, to undergo such treatment?"

Marix could feel his body heating up with anger to the point he was beginning to shake. He let out a quiet exhale to try and gather control of himself.

"What kind of kingdom are we to allow our citizens safety to be overlooked for someone not of our home?!" The king slammed his hands down on his arm rests, his eyebrows furrowed deeply as he shook his finger at Marix.

"I will not send her back! I’ll find a way to keep her and our people safe. Perhaps we can fake her death, tell them that she succumbed to her injuries inflicted by Lord Evans."

The King sighed, "Your feelings about her are clear, son. As your king I have to tell you to let her go. Even if we were to send a letter saying she were dead and followed your plan, King Solus would still request for her body to be returned to her family. It’s not possible. This is our duty to Viraaz."

Marix went to speak, but his father held his hand up to stop him.

"As your father, I’m sorry that I cannot do more for you in the matters of the heart. This request comes from the King himself. My hands are tied."

Marix shook his head violently.

"No. Absolutely not. She’s not going anywhere!"

His father rubbed his eyebrows, "Son, don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be. I’m giving you an order and you will follow it."

"I would not be the man you raised me to be if I allowed for her to go back. If she returns she will not survive!" The corner of Marix’s nose was pulling upward in a snarl as he glared at his father, like an aggressive dog ready to bite.

"I RAISED YOU," his father slammed his fists on the armrests, harder than he had before and stood up, "TO FOLLOW ORDERS!"

Marix shook his head, "I have not asked ONE thing of you my entire life. You wanted to give the crown to Arlon, I didn’t say a thing, you wanted to send me out to battle, I agreed and risked my life countless times for this country, for you. Every order you have given me I have carried out without question!"

"Yes! As you are meant to! This is your path in life! You have done well until now, carry this order out as you have carried out the others!" His face was turning red, his spittle flying as he shouted.

"Father! This is the one thing I am asking of you! Do not send her back! I have given her my word twice now, I will not fail her this time!"

"Damn you! I have had enough! This is absurd, a General behaving this way towards his king over something small like this. The answer is no! She WILL return!"

Marix drew his sword and pointed it at him, "THEN I WILL TEAR DOWN ANYONE WHO GETS IN MY WAY! YOU WILL NOT RETURN HER WITH MY COOPERATION!"

"You dare raise your sword and your voice against me?! I am your king! Where did you learn such disrespect? This is exactly why I chose Arlon to be the Crown Prince, he puts the people first and knows his place! Marix, I will not take lightly to your threats! At ease at once!"

Marix raised his chin, tilting his head upwards as he continued to hold his sword pointed at his father.

Just then Arlon arrived and took his place on the smaller throne, completely unintimidated by Marix’s drawn weapon.

"Your Majesty, Miss Eilownia Evans has been apprehended without incident and is currently waiting in the carriage for transport."

The King tilted his head a mere inch and stared in Arlon’s direction out of the corner of his eye, not fully facing him, "Good work, son. Please find an escort, it’s clear your brother is not cooperating."

Marix saw red.

Apprehended? Waiting in the carriage?

He knew Eilownia, there was no way she was waiting there prim and proper, sitting there quietly.

No, they must’ve subdued her to get her in there, or she was at the very least sitting there begging to be released.

"You’re treating her like some sort of animal. All of you. Like a cow going off to slaughter. Don’t pretend you’re oblivious to her fate if you send her back."

"Would you rather the cow that is slaughtered to be from someone else’s barn or multiple of your own? We cannot control what happens in the barns of others, brother." Arlon said, his tone ice cold.

"Son, at this point even if we were to ignore King Solus’ demands and allow all hell to break loose, she would be considered a prisoner of war."

"Why a prisoner of war and not a refugee? Is Viraaz so heartless?!" Marix argued, his breathing had become erratic.

"Is Viraaz’s General so heartless to condemn hundreds if not thousands of people to die because he fell in love?!" Arlon snapped.

"I WILL PROTECT BOTH!" Marix lunged at Arlon and was immediately grabbed by the royal guards that lined the back walls of the throne room.

He turned his attention towards the guards that were grabbing him.

"YOU DARE?! UNHAND ME! I AM YOUR GENERAL! THAT IS AN ORDER!" He screamed loud, his voice bounced off the walls.

"F-Forgive us, General. Our priority is to protect the royal family! You know that!" One of them pleaded.

The king stepped back to create a safe distance between him and Marix’s flailing blade.

"THE GENERAL? YES YOU ARE THE GENERAL AND TODAY! I REMOVE YOUR TITLE! SEIZE HIM!" The king yelled, his face a deeper shade of red as a vein popped out in his forehead.

Marix screamed at the top of his lungs as he fought off the royal guards. He was strong, incredibly strong, and his training was proving to be very valuable.

However, the other guards from outside had rushed in after hearing the king’s screaming and Marix was no match for the 20 some men that were tackling him all at once.

He raised his sword when he felt something hard hit the back of his head and suddenly everything went black.