Chapter 19 She Is Clever Ii

• Princess Aris said Okay. It remains one secret passage I didn’t tell you about”.
• “Which secret passage is that?” asked King Hartley curiously.
• “I am only telling you this because you promise not to punish me. There is also a secret passage that leads outside of Arcadian” said Princess Aris.
• King Hartley was shocked to hear that and asked “where?”.
• “The north great wall and the mountain are very close to each other and they meet each other at a point which is why people don’t use it or travel out of Arcadian using the north great wall gate because they find it dangerous. But, I and my friends dig tunnels that pass through the mountain till it gets outside of the mountain” said Princess Aris.
• King Hartley couldn’t believe his ears upon hearing what his daughter had just said then he asked her “what do you use the tunnels to do?”.
• “We use it to easily travel to other kingdoms secretly and then use it to smuggle goods to be sold which is why Mother was telling you that day that she thinks I have been stealing from the palace treasures room because of the money she always sees with me. You could not believe Mother because it was impossible to steal from the palace treasure room” said Princess Aris.
• Hearing that, King Hartley was shocked but then realized how clever his daughter was and laughed out loud. King Hartley stopped laughing and said to his daughter “now that I have known about all the secret passages, I think I should get you and your friends arrested and block the secret passages”.
• Hearing that, Princess Aris got scared and pleaded with her father to forgive her and her friends but then King Hartley laughed out loud again and said he was just joking and that she was way more clever than he thought.
• Princess Aris saw her father stop laughing and moody then she asked her father “I am sure whatever it is that I met you thinking about when I got her just made you moody again”
• “Yeah. You can make me laugh for a while but that doesn’t change what is on my mind. The little time I spent with you made me realize how much I have missed distancing myself from you. I wish we had had more time” said King Hartley sadly.
• “What is it, Father?” asked Princess Aris curiously.
• “Everything is coming to an end, Aris. The kingdoms might lose everything this time. We might all end up dead. We have an Arkians that can’t be killed at our doorstep and there is no way out of it right now” said King Hartley unhappily.
• “But I thought Mother said that we can all escape when the full moon is thereby deserting Arcadian and leaving our world to another world” asked Princess Aris.
• “Yeah, but how do we survive the Arkians that can’t be killed until the full moon that is in next month? We currently have no resources or force that can help us against the Arkians” said King Hartley.
• “What if there is?” said Princess Aris.
• Upon hearing his daughter, King Hartley looked at Princess Aris and asked “what do you mean, Aris?”.
• “The battle the kingdoms have been fighting against the Arkians has been unfair, and it is all because we don’t have armies like the Arkians. If the kingdoms had had armies like the Arkians that could match the Arkians’ standard then the battle would have been fair. If the kingdoms had had armies exactly like the Arkians then the Arkians would have feared us and they would all have been truly defeated” said Princess Aris.
• “Having an army that is the same as the Arkians and can match their standard?” King Hartley mouthed the words as he thought about what his daughter had just said.
• “I heard from mother that the Arkians are created with dark magic but I don’t think we can create an army of such. Maybe we can have an army similar to the Arkians” said Princess Aris.
• King Hartley thought about the words Princess Aris said for a while without saying anything to her before saying to her “come with me right now”.
• “To where, Father?” Princess Aris asked his father, as King Hartley turned to leave the pavilion.
• King Hartley stopped and said “to the council hall”.
• “Are you sure of what you just said?” Princess Aris asked her father, to know if he wasn’t joking.
• “You just earn yourself a place in the council” said King Hartley with a smile.
• Princess Aris was surprised and happy to hear that then she followed her father to the council hall.
• King Hartley and Princess Aris walked into the council hall with the head guard and many other guards holding their swords. Upon entering the hall, King Hartley and Princess Aris were surprised to see some of the council members now exchanging punches while some still fight with words. Queen Rebeca and priestess Mary were also still present in the hall trying to separate the fight and calm everyone down but no one was listening to them.
• Princess Aris was confused to see them all fighting and wondered what had made them forget their morals that they choose to fight in the council hall which is forbidden. Just then King Hartley ordered the guards to surround the council.
• The council was not aware of the head King, Princess Aris, and the guards' presence in the hall because they were all busy fighting, and then King Hartley said loudly “would you all stop this incivility?”.
• They all heard someone talk but they did not mind knowing whoever did except Queen Rebeca and priestess Mary who saw it was King Hartley who was with Princess Aris. Seeing King Hartley, Princess Aris, and the guards holding their swords, Queen Rebeca and priestess Mary stop trying to separate the fight and move away knowing what King Hartley was going to do.
• Realizing the council chose not to mind him, King Hartley said to the head guard “make them know their place”.
• The guards unsheathed their swords, moved closer to the council, and placed their swords closer to the neck of all the council members including the great general, assistant general, Prince Ranork, and Prince Ragon. Immediately after the guards' swords were placed closer to their necks, the council all stopped fighting to know what was going on.
• All the council members saw that it was the guards who placed their swords closer to their necks at the command of King Hartley. Seeing the head King whose facial expression says he is angry, the council realizes they had committed a grave sin because they let their anger get in the way and disrespect Arcadian and the head King so they all bow their heads shamefully. The council members were also surprised to see Princess Aris next to King Hartley but they could not say anything.
• King Hartley looked at every one of them but they could not raise their heads because they had all realized what they had done, then King Hartley said to the head guard “take them all to the dungeon”.
• Hearing that, the council fell to their knees begging King Hartley to please forgive them and that what happened would never happen again.
• King Hartley said to the council “how can you all call yourself leaders if you can’t even control your emotions? How do you even want us to survive the Arkians if we don’t stay united?”.
• No one could answer King Hartley then he continued “instead of you all to think and find a way out of the cage we have been confined, you are all here fighting with one another whereas they are creatures out there that can't be killed and want us dead. You all disappointed me and acted like children……. I will only let this go because we have more pressing matters at hand. But trust me, If this happens again, you will all spend many years imprisoned”.
• King Hartley forgave the council and told them to get on their feet that they needed to discuss. The head guard and the guards sheathed their swords and walked out of the hall as the council got on their feet and returned to their seats. Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon were more curious about what Princess Aris was doing in the council hall but they could not say anything than to watch.
• Immediately after the council returned to their seats, they all watched King Hartley and Princess Aris walk to the throne. Upon getting to the throne, King Hartley said with a smile to Princess Aris “I am going to make your wish come true today”.
• Princess Aris did not understand what her father meant by that so she asked him “what wish?”.
• King Hartley told Princess Aris to sit on the throne. After hearing King Hartley, everyone in the hall thought it was a joke not until they all saw Princess Aris thanked King Hartley and she sat on the throne proudly with a smile. Everyone in the hall was all shocked to see that and wondered what it was that could be going on that made King Hartley allow Princess Aris who is not even the heir to the throne sit down on the throne.
• Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon were not happy and felt hurt by King Hartley's decision to let Princess Aris sit on the throne in front of everyone and wanted to talk but they couldn’t because they had just been forgiven for a crime while head General Ben and assistant General Suci were confused with King Hartley’s decision to let princess Aris sit on the throne. Queen Rebeca and priestess Mary just smile upon seeing Princess Aris sit on the throne.
• Many in the hall had something to say concerning Princess Aris seated on the throne but they all held back because they had just been forgiven and wouldn’t want to get the head King annoyed again. Since Princess Aris was seated on the throne they all waited to see where King Hartley was going to sit but then he walked to the middle of the hall and said to everyone “you know sometimes, it is not good to distance yourself from someone all because you don’t see them worthy of anything. You might end up finding out you are missing a lot because the person might seem to be more smarter and worthy than you think. That is why you should always show love to everyone especially those who are close to you”.
• Everyone in the hall is confused by King Hartley's words but Princess Aris understands that he is talking about her and that makes her smile happily while Prince Ragon and Prince Ranork look at her hatefully.
• Princess Aris noticed the way Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon were looking at her and she jeered at them saying she is now sitting where Prince Ragon would sit in the future even though their father is still much alive. Prince Ranork wanted to go meet Princess Aris to slap her but Prince Ragon told him to stop because of the head King.
• King Hartley continued “Today, I came to realize I have distanced myself from a person way more clever than I ever thought. I could even say the person is more smart than you all here, and I regretted that I waited for so long to realize this”.
• Everyone was confused and surprised by King Hartley's words and they all wondered who he is that he is talking about. King Hartley continued “this is the first command I would be given”.
• King Hartley called head General Ben and assistant General Suci and they answered him, then he said to them “you will both be welcoming a new general to the army, and that would be Princess Aris”.
• Everyone in the hall was shocked and confused to hear that and they all couldn’t believe their ears because King Hartley was about to make a female a general which had never happened in their history nor had ever been a female soldier not to talk of a female general. While everyone was shocked Queen Rebeca and priestess Mary just smiled.
• Head General who was confused asked King Hartley “With all due respect, I don’t understand, your royal majesty. Why will you make Princess Aris a General?”.
• “They have also not been a female soldier ever before in any kingdom so why would you make her highness a general? With all due respect, I think Your Royal Majesty should withdraw your order” said assistant General Suci to King Hartley.
• King Hartley smiled and said “I know there have never been a female soldier but there is always a first to everything. Princess Aris has proven her worth to me so she deserves the title I am giving her. She is to be a 3rd level General which means she can only answer to me, the great General, and the assistant General”.