“If Patience is the ability to waste time, and time is valuable, then why is Patience a virtue?”
Just last week in this very street I was pondering this question given to me by a little girl. Who would have expected such a drastic change in my day-to-day life less than a week after.
The very scene playing before my eyes reminded me of a destructive painting, buildings crumbling, streets demolished, injured civilians everywhere, families panicking. I don’t even want to finish painting this canvas anymore, I need to support the recovery process.
“GUARDS SPEED UP THE VENTILATION PROCESS!” Shouts Ourax.
“Prince, Go check up on your subordinates and the rest of the civilians.”
Shaking me out of my melancholy was Ourax’s voice, he was right it was time for me to focus. I need to check up on my subordinates and assure that they provide relief to those in need.
Thankfully most of the lampposts were still up, meaning it was easy to look around and assess the area. To my right was the bright blue police station, frankly it was extremely busy at the current moment with an influx of staff moving in and out to provide helping hands.
To my left was the residential apartments that were very minimally damaged, it was very noisy around these buildings from resident’s being curious as to what occurred earlier. Though the further you look into the city centre, the epicenter starts to unveil its true damage.
In the middle a large, wide water fountain lacks the usual grace it normally displays, protected by nothing but the wishes given to it everyday. Looking onward you can see the residential buildings to the left continuing to crumble under its lack of foundation.
Wait across the street is the Hospital.
I quickly turn my head to assess the damage done to the hospital.
“Phew.”
No noticeable damage done to the exterior; I can only imagine the Hell that awaits me inside it though.
Now that I’ve checked out the damage done to the City, it’s time for me to provide support at the epicenter.
Ah.
I recognize that blue tracksuit by the hospital! It’s Andrex, I need to reconvene with him.
“Ah, it’s the Prince! How’ve you been?” Boasts Andrex.
“I’ve been good but how’s the situation here? Are the civilians fine?”
“Haha I’ve been good as well! Thanks for asking! The situation here is fine we’re just trying to ventilate this area out for those entering the hospital.”
I don’t remember asking about him…
“That’s nice keep up the good work, meet up with me in front of the police station later on when you’re finished.”
“Haha Aye Aye I’ll see you then sir.”
Well, that calmed me down quite a bit, Andrex has always been an unserious person. Speaking of which isn’t that Xara carrying a little girl on her back. The poor child’s face scrunched in pain reminiscent of a stomach-ache, had a slight blush on her cheeks as if she were out in the cold for too long.
How dare the Avian Kingdom, I feel anger starting to rise within in me but it abruptly simmers down as Xara moves closer.
“Xara. Do you need help?”
“I’ve got everything under control, don’t worry about me Sir.”
“That’s good but what happened here?”
“A poison bomb went off in this area while this poor girl was nearby. Since she’s still quite young we’re planning on taking her to the hospital just to make sure she’s fine. Once thing’s settle down we’ll find her parents to inform them.”
“Great, I’ll leave this to you then.”
“Of course, I’m already carrying her who else woulda took over hihihihi. Just make sure the other 2 actually get their jobs done this time.”
“There you go with your weird laugh again, and don’t worry about the other 2 just finish up here and meet up with me in front of the police station when your done.”
“Yea, Yeah I’ll be right there.”
Dealing with Xara is always so tiring, I truly do wonder where she gets all that energy from. At least I can always count on her to get the job done, for now I need to check out back alleys and overlooked locations.
I guess I should start out near the police station, with all the foot traffic it wouldn’t surprise me if a vital clue got overlooked.
Oh?
It seems I was one step behind. Well compared to him I’ll always be one step behind. Of course, I’m talking about Praxa who could be seen cowering behind the police station but sadly I doubt we’re here for the same reasons.
“Praxa. What’s going on here.”
“Oooh S-Sir umm, there was a poison bomb Sir. Once it went off the police and guards came to handle the situation. I even saw Xara and Andrex helping too.”
“I see but what have You done? Why are you over here and not near the epicentre?”
“Ooooh S-Sir umm, you see I was going to help but it seemed so busy I didn’t want to get in the way. If anything, staying calm and collected in a situation like this should be praised no?”
“Praxa, you’re my subordinate, how you act reflects upon me. The next time I see you cowering away when our precious family is going through peril. I will personally make sure you have something to fear. Once you get your act together come meet up with me.”
“Oh Sir, I’m sorry for my actions, I’ll do my best from here on out!”
I always feel bad being so strict on Praxa considering what he’s been through but I need him to develop his confidence. Especially with the upcoming war, his intellect will be indispensable.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Looking around one more time I notice a doctor near the destroyed residential building, I start making my way towards him.
“Doctor. How are they?”
“Your Highness, don’t be startled most of us are fine. The only one’s a poison of this calibre could affect are younger ones. Since they haven’t developed the same resistance to poison that we have.”
“I see, please make sure to care for them and let me know what you need. I’ll always be nearby to provide help.”
“Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness.”
That’s a relief, it was just as the guards stated earlier there wasn’t any significant damage or loss that occurred from this poison bomb. I’m glad all of my subordinates we’re quick to provide assistance to the situation before I even issued orders, I truly am proud of all of them.
Well it’s time for me to head back towards the police station to meet back up with them. The tallest one amongst the bunch with his unkempt purplish hair, decent beard, and lazy tracksuit outfit was Andrex.
Next in line was Xara with her bright blue, bushy hair shaped like an afro. While wearing a black qipao dress modified for athleticism allowing her to demonstrate her martial arts to any unlucky opponents.
Finally was the shortest member Praxa, his small frame allowed him to go unnoticed. Wearing a normal long sleeve and jeans he wore a normal safe sandwich outfit with shoes and shirt matching colors. His hair style was quite similar to mine being light purple and all, but he had more small braids with beads covering his forehead.
“All of you have finished up I presume?”
“Of Course I have.” States Xara.
“Haha Yea, I’ve finished helping the hospital.” Boasts Andrex.
“Mmph.” Nods Praxa.
“Praxa you didn’t do anything, I saw you standing near the police station looking like a lost child hihihihihi.” Teases Xara.
“HAHAHA he did look like a lost child, Praxa you’ve gotta get more confidence. All that time in the library ain’t helping.” Boasts Andrex.
“I was just keeping an eye on the area for suspicious figures, with all the chaos going on someone had to keep order. What if a kid got separated from their parents or the one’s who set off the bomb were still around?” Defends Praxa.
“Don’t worry. The one’s who set off the bomb aren’t around anymore. If you haven’t heard yet after the meeting with the Avian Kingdom earlier it seems they used the opportunity to activate their poison bombs. They made it clear their goal is our Xavulus supply, so we will be preparing for war to defend our Kingdom.”
“Yessir, I won’t disappoint.” Affirms Xara.
“I shall be at your command.” Affirms Andrex.
“W-w-war? If it can’t be avoided then the only thing left to do is win.” Affirms Praxa.
“Well said Praxa, I will rely on you three, but I also want you three to rely on me. With the time we’ve spent together, the time we will spend together, we will continue to get stronger and defend our home. I want all of you to spend your time improving your skills and getting stronger, when the time comes, I will reach out to all of you.”
“YESSIR!”
“YESSIR! HAHAHA!”
“y-YESSIR!”
For now I’ll spend some more time helping around before I retire to my chambers.
<hr>
The next morning wasn’t any easier on waking up, especially with my sore body from all that heavy lifting.
“Yawn”
While rubbing my eyes I see a familiar face staring me down. Oh no…
“PRINCE! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR ROOM TIDY!”
Even after all these years the Head Maid has never laid off on the complaints.
“I was going to clean it but I was so tired after helping yesterday.”
“No Excuses. Get to cleaning. Now!”
“Yes Ma’am.”
While still feeling groggy from the wake up, I get on both feet and start making my way towards the cleaning supplies. I look through my closet for cleaning supplies, broom, mop, fire core, dust bin. I grab the classic broom + dust bin combo and get to cleaning, until I got the approval from Head Maid to stop.
“Hmph. Well that’s enough for now. Get dressed.”
Finally, I didn’t know how much longer my sore body could handle these early morning chores. I open my closet to return the cleaning supplies, broom, mop, fire core, and dust bin.
Wait.
I grab the Fire Core for closer inspection, its usually used to burn trash in safe manner but now that I think about it. With a bit of modification couldn’t I increase the output to implement this core into my armor/weapons for increased resistance against fire? Hm, I’ll hold onto this for now.
Ah. I can’t keep wasting time here I need to freshen up and get ready before my meeting with Ourax.
<hr>
The training room was strangely quiet today, no clashing sounds, and no grunts. Well, it made sense since today we were using the training room for our meeting with Ourax. I brought my subordinates along since they will each play crucial roles in my army, so I felt it was important to bring them along.
“Prince, this will be an important war. I will be here to guide you through it.”
“Thank you Ourax, I appreciate your assistance.”
“Our plan will rely on your skill and the abilities your subordinates provide. Whether it’s Xara’s martial prowess, Andrex morale boost, or Praxa’s strategic intellect. We will take the battle above ground as we can not have a repeat of the poison incident.”
“I understand Sir Ourax, but if I may ask with this battle we will be fighting on unfamiliar terrain, I assume we will attack during evenings since bright sunlight will be a hinderance on our eyesight.”
“Correct, we will be hosting training expeditions for our soldiers to accumulate experience on above ground warfare. Our scouts will keep watch on Avian movements, whenever they seem to start organizing an army we will retaliate. Until then I want you to explore above ground and become more acclimate with nature.”
“I understand. Thank you again for your wisdom Sir Ourax, I appreciate your continue guidance.”
“Don’t mention it, I’ll start making preparations. Until then, Young Prince.”
As everyone starts leaving the training room, I notice that Xara pulls on my arm.
“What’s up Xara”
“Hey Prince, do you want to spar?”
“Sure, but I’m still a bit sore from yesterday but if it’ll help calm your nerves.”
“Yeah I need to train, I’ve gotta stay prepared for any moment. Last thing I ever wanna see is my family in pain again.”
“Guess that poison attack hurt you more than expected. It was a wake up call seeing the young ones in so much pain, we need to remember that feeling and work towards never feeling it again.”
“Of course, and with my martial arts I’ll never fail to protect anyone again!”
“Xara… I hope you still don’t blame yourself for what happened to your parents.”
“No…no blame isn’t the right word, to blame my younger self for wanting something isn’t right. How would I have known at that how much power words held.”
“Yeah, asking to try beef from above ground for your birthday isn’t a bad thing. Everything that occurred afterwards wasn’t something you deserved. Your father loved you very much which is why he did what he did. Don’t let your mother’s voice still haunt you.”
“As I grow older I understand her point of view, if I wasn’t so greedy and continuously begging my father to try it, he wouldn’t have went above ground and passed away to the wildlife. Mother would have still been smiling, but now all I get from her is pure hatred.”
“Xara as bitter as your mother was at the time, at the end of the day she is still your mother. I didn’t want you to continue this spiral of self-blame and hatred, I wanted you to enjoy life, enjoy the bonds a family shares, even if it isn’t your biological one.”
“…”
“Look at how far you’ve come, look at how strong you’ve gotten, no longer are you a weak little girl who couldn’t protect her family. You’re now my subordinate who protects All of Hypogean.”
“Thanks, it really helps to talk about these things every once in a while. Its hard to look at myself from another point of view but I guess I really did change a lot. Hihihihi I bet father would be proud if he saw how strong I got.”
“Hahaha I bet he would.”
“Enough about that though, its time to spar!”
“Please go easy on me” I say with a faint smile.
<hr>
“It seems your little poison bomb, didn’t do much of anything now did it.”
“No Mr. President, we tried to avoid drastic measures.” Says the Hero.
“Well, due to avoiding those measures we will now be conducting a full scale war. I hope you and your subordinates are ready! I will not be tolerating anymore failures.”
Silence deafens the room, not a single soul dares to make light of those words. In the Avian Kingdom only one person can command such respect, named the President of the Kingdom. He summoned the Hero and his 5 subordinates into the meeting room earlier today.
“I understand Mr. President, to subjugate Hypogean we will be attacking them using the full front of our scientific prowess. WEYARM!”
*SCREECH*
“YESSIR!”
This man was a very big individual with a bald head and broad shoulders, looking into his eyes portrayed a very serious demeanor with a noticeable scar on his right eye.
“Get your army ready. You will be commencing the first raid on Hypogean.”
“I would be honored Sir Hero, I will bring back Xavulus for our kingdom, for our homes, for our families.”
“That’s what I like to hear! You’ve got some great subordinates Hero. I am expecting great results from this raid. I will let you begin your preparations, for now you are all dismissed.”