"What am I doing?" Adrian asked himself. The fighting had ceased, the last of the enemy resistance had fallen, though he had heard that some of the foes had retreated into the mountains. But they weren't important anymore.
They had won.
So why was he still roaming around, nodding at soldiers who passed him by, men who nodded in turn, gazes of awe and approval on their faces, instead of crashing and waking up the next day?
Adrian honestly didn't know. He was dazed, and anxiety still rose inside him from time to time, as if enemies might spring up and ambush him at any moment. He was too mentally exhausted to think clearly, yet too anxious and alert to rest.
Soon, however, a knight of the prince, his yellow cloak now grimy, approached him.
"Lord Harrow, His Grace asks for you…"
"I will follow." Adrian answered dazedly. If the knight noticed his state, the man didn't comment.
He walked out of the enemy camp and toward the docks, which were currently being repaired. Not far off, the prince stood talking with Sir Wymond. His own knight, Sir Cordell, should still be circling with the mounted force, searching for any further enemy movements.
"Your Grace…" Adrian stood before him. He realized his hand was gripping the hilt of his sheathed sword tightly, he let go and bowed.
The prince looked much as he had before, barely a stain on his figure, save for the hem of his cloak where it touched the ground.
"Lord Harrow, victory has come upon us, yet you continue to stay vigilant."
Adrian mustered the strength to respond. "I am simply making sure all is well, Your Grace." As he spoke, he noticed his voice was parched and hoarse.
"All is well, Lord Harrow. You may rest." Then the prince did something unimaginable, he placed a hand on Adrian's shoulder. "You've done well today, Lord Harrow. I have never seen a young lord as fierce and devoted as you. I can practically hear the soldiers praising you!"
"I've done my best."
"And your best is great!" The prince patted his shoulder. "I will make sure to reward such a devoted lord. I could use a man as young and talented as you."
'Talented at what? Killing?' Adrian thought, but he merely nodded. "It is only natural to fight for the crown."
"Now go, young lord, and rest. You've earned it. With the threat of the Laluga clan gone, the sea route will be ours by tomorrow, and there will be plenty to do."
'That's not good' Adrian thought. After thanking the prince, a servant led him to a nearby camp where a bath, water, and food had been prepared.
On the way, he passed through the ranks of soldiers. Most were resting, many of whom he had fought beside at the start of the engagement. Suddenly, his surname was uttered by one man, and the sound spread like wildfire. Adrian watched the ripple of voices until the soldiers began chanting in unison.
"Harrow! Harrow! Harrow!"
Adrian wondered how it had come to this. Then, he spied Dexton and some of his men among the crowd. Dexton smirked at him, exchanging a knowing look, he was likely the one who had started it.
Adrian nodded to the crowd, his face calm, and the chanting of his name continued until he disappeared inside the tent.
--
When Adrian finally slept, he didn't wake until the next day, and only then because his stomach reminded him he needed to eat. The food he had that day tasted sweeter than any meal he could remember. Soon after their victory, the Prince arranged for the captured enemies and prisoners to be transferred to the site of the burgeoning new port city.
Before they departed, the Prince rewarded Adrian with forty men, twenty prisoners, and twenty slaves from the captured islanders.
It is strange to receive humans as a gift, was the only thing Adrian could think when he heard the news, but he accepted the reward, nonetheless. Under the pretext of assisting the Prince, he arranged for the islander prisoners to stay and help build the city, while the slaves would be sent to his own territory.
Later, when they arrived back at the site of the new port city, the lords held a feast and celebration. It was here that several lords were formally commended and rewarded by the Prince.
Adrian, in particular, was named one of the Marshals of the port city, meaning he would be vital to its defense. The other lords were assigned their positions for when the city was completed, everyone benefited, but as Adrian was placed in charge of the primary defense, he gained close to highest rewards among the lords, surpassed only by the Earl and equal to a viscount.
When Adrian first heard the title, he worried he would have to provide even more of his own soldiers.
He breathed a sigh of relief, however, when he learned there would be a standing army for the port city to which all lords would contribute. Moreover, he didn't actually need to be present at all times, a representative would suffice, which was the same arrangement made for the other lords and even the Prince.
The feast was small, considering only the lords and knights were in attendance, but it was sumptuous nonetheless.
When it ended, Adrian did not return to his cabin. Instead, he headed toward the beach. A pair of servants and guards followed behind him. Dexton was still nursing his leg but was otherwise fine, and Sir Cordell had a bruise on his cheek but was also recovered.
With the help of his servants, Adrian managed to settle himself on a log with a plate of food and wine beside him. He looked down at his toes burying themselves in the sand, then out at the waves of the ocean and up at the star-lit sky as he sipped his wine.
"Truly... not bad," Adrian commented. The wine was said to have come from the capital. He had never been there, only heard of it and read about it. Now that the sea route would be more common thanks to the new port, he could visit quite easily, relatively speaking, of course.
The journey would likely still take about two weeks. The territory of the Sunhaven Kingdom was unreasonably large.
Random thoughts continued to flash through his mind, and he welcomed them, the alternative was dwelling on the harrowing battle he had just survived. Though he had come out alive and victorious, it didn't prevent flashes of anxiety and trauma from hitting him from time to time.
He could only hope that a time of peace would follow, or at least, that a conflict as large as this one wouldn't return so soon.
Adrian spent the entire night there, watching the waves and the stars. Two days later, he and his men, along with the twenty slaves, returned to his territory.
He hoped the following months pass peacefully.
-
A ship docked, and a figure stepped off. He stood tall, well over 1.8 meters, yet his face remained noticeably young despite his skin now being weathered by the salt air. Behind him followed a knight, several servants, and a squad of soldiers.
"I think I've had quite enough fish for now. What do you think, Dexton?" Adrian asked the man behind him.
"I could still go for clams and crabs, my lord..."
"I would puke if I saw those things in my plate right now." Adrian said dryly. Dexton chuckled.
The view of the Prince's port city had changed greatly since a year ago. Adrian passed by cabins and wooden structures, eventually reaching a castle still under construction, only a quarter finished.
Still it was a magnificent scene.
'Sunhaven lords and their obsession with castles...' Adrian thought. He passed crowd after crowd, the growing city seemed to hum with life, with laborers working every day to bring the vision to fruition.
Although it had only been a year, the population had already reached more than two thousand, enough to match the size of Whitesand Town.
Building a true city takes time, however, so the Prince's grand vision wouldn't be fully realized anytime soon. But that didn't mean the profits hadn't arrived, with the threat of the Laluga clan and the islander pirates practically gone, ships had begun docking regularly.
Trade from the islands and even the barbarian kingdoms was starting to trickle in. Adrian had watched dozens of gold pounds enter his pockets over the last few months thanks to the new port. It was a modest amount for now, but it would undoubtedly increase as time went by.
Soon, they arrived at the castle wall, which hadn't even reached two meters in height yet, where he spotted his other knight, Sir Cordell. The man was about to mount his horse when he caught sight of them.
"My lord! I apologize for not meeting you at the docks." Sir Cordell said, striding toward him. "We just finished a meeting with the other representatives, you see."
"Don't be sorry. At least it means I didn't have to participate in the meeting myself." Adrian joked. He heard Dexton snort behind him.
Sir Cordell smiled and shook his head. "My lord, a message from the Earl of Highmere has just arrived at your castle and was sent here by your steward."
Adrian's brows knitted. "Does Lord Nash know about this?"
Lord Nash was a cousin of the Earl and had been sent here as his representative. From what Adrian could tell, the man treated the station as a vacation and practically did nothing.
"I believe he received a letter as well." Sir Cordell said, falling into step beside his lord. "Shall I have the servants prepare food?"
"Something that isn't fish, please." Adrian said. Dexton grinned at the request.
When Adrian finally arrived at the room that served as his office, he found the letter waiting for him on the desk.