"It's almost over in the afternoon." Lord Lexa said, "We're going to Dubrovnik tomorrow, and it's best to meet McCrandell the day after tomorrow." ”

"Yes." The maester bowed, and the captain of the guard stepped aside to let him pass, listening to his footsteps fade away.

"Captain?" Lord Lexa's voice was faint.

The captain of the guard stepped forward with his axe in hand, Cen Mu felt as smooth as a woman's skin in the palm of his hand, he walked over to the wheelchair and stomped the handle of the axe to the ground, but the Lexa Lord only had the children in his eyes. "Do you have any siblings, Captain?" He asked, "When you were young?" Is there any? ”

"Both," said the captain, "two brothers, three sisters." I'm the youngest. "The smallest, the least popular, means another mouth to be fed, another boy who eats too much, and the clothes are soon out of place.

"I'm the biggest." Lord Lexa said, "Now I'm the only one left, and after my brothers and sisters died in infancy, I gave up wanting my brothers, and the other dead childhood companions, and it felt as if I had grown up when they were playing in this pool, and I still sit here today, but they are gone." ”

The captain didn't know what to say, he was just a captain of the guard, and even after all these years, he was still a stranger to the land and its gods, loyal to him. Obey. Guard. At the age of sixteen he made an oath, and on the very day he was with the tomahawk, a simple oath, a simple man, no one trained him how to comfort the grieving lord.

Just as he was pondering what to say, another orange "snapped" and fell, landing less than a few meters away from the lord, and he was stunned when he heard the sound, as if it had been smashed painfully. "That's enough," he sighed, "that's enough." Leave me alone, Captain, and let me watch the kids play for a few more hours. ”

The sun went down and the air cooled, and the children went indoors for dinner, and Lord Lexa remained under the orange tree, facing the calm pool and the sea in the distance, and the servant brought him a bowl of purple olives, and light bread, cheese, and bean paste, and he ate a little, and drank a glass of sweet and strong fruit wine, which he loved, and when he had drunk it, he filled it again. Sometimes, in the pre-dawn darkness, he would fall asleep in a wheelchair, and only then would the captain of the guard push him down the moonlit Langfang, past a row of carved beams and columns, through elegant arches, to a room by the sea, with a large bed covered with crisp linen sheets......

The captain of the guard, whose bedroom was adjacent to that of the Lord of Lexa, sat on the narrow bed, took a grinding stone and oilcloth from the corner, and began to get to work, keeping the axe sharp and branding him as he had been on the day.

As he sharpened his axe, he thought of the upper city on the hill and the lower city by the river, and he still remembered the chiming of the bell somewhere, the low roar that shook every bone of his bones, and the sound was haughty and majestic, and sometimes it was like a crisp laugh.

Dawn came too quickly, outside the stables, the carriage was ready, the cedar sedan chair, the red silk curtains, the captain of the guard selected twenty men from the thirty spearmen stationed in the Flowing Water Garden to accompany them, and the rest remained to guard the palace and the children, many of whom were the children of nobles and wealthy merchants.

It was past noon when they were on the road, and the lord of Lexa rode in a carriage, the bachelor rode on a donkey, and the rest of the men walked on foot, with five spearmen in front, five in the back, and five on each side.

On the way to Dubrovnik, the young lady stopped them.

She appeared here suddenly, today she rode a golden war horse, the mane was like delicate white silk, she rode on the horse, she was dressed in a glittering lilac robe, a large silk cloak of cream and brass color fluttered with every wisp of wind, she looked as if she was about to take off, a dozen spearmen on horseback followed her, round shields glittering in the sun.

The Lord of Lexa had rolled up the curtain in order to enjoy the breeze blowing from the sea, and the young lady came to him and let the beautiful golden mare slow down and keep pace with the carriage.

"Good luck." She said aloud, as if she had met Lord Lexa by chance, "Can we go to Dubrovnik together?" The captain of the guard walked on the other side of the carriage, across from the young lady, but he could hear every word she said.

"I was surprised that you would show up and be glad to do so." Lord Lexa replied, but to the captain of the guard, he didn't seem pleased.

"Pain and grief are bad travel companions." The captain of the guard knew that every pebble would prick his swollen joints like a pinprick.

"I can't help with the pain." "But my father doesn't need to grieve, the strength is more to his taste, and it will be more powerful to walk with me," she said. ”

"Looks like you're running out of patience." Lord Lexa confirmed that her daughter was not willing to wait for a moment, "I'm going to see Prime Minister McCrandell, not King Ronnie Sheehan. ”

"All the same, now the Dubrovnik palace is run by the former Prime Minister, who exercises power in place of the younger king, and it seems to me that there is no difference." "Besides, I have no patience to wait!" ”

Lord Lexa snorted, whether it was because of the pain in his joints or because of his daughter's words, the captain of the guard couldn't tell. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps? I said yes. ”

"Do you want to declare war now?"

The young lady smiled, "Do we have any other choice?" Actually, you know all about it, right? It's just that I let him happen ahead of time. ”

"Whatever you say, when the time comes to meet the former Prime Minister McCrandell, you must not show impatience, impatience will be used by those with ulterior motives, if we send the best strong men of the Lexa family to Dubrovnik and send the battlefield of Chris's territory, I hope we can achieve glory, and I don't want them to just send back a bag of bones."

"I don't doubt that."

"You should not doubt that if Prime Minister McClandell agrees, I will entrust you with the most important army!" Lord Lexa leaned back on the pillow cushion and closed his eyes, the captain knew that he hadn't slept, he was in pain, and for a moment, he considered calling the bachelor to the carriage, but if Lord Lexa needed it, he would call it himself.

The shadows of the afternoon were long and dim, and the sun was as red and large as the swollen joints of the Lexar Lords, and they faintly saw towers in the east, first the slender spear tower with an iron spike at the top, then the sturdy Sun Tower, with its golden vault, and finally the dark sand castle, which seemed to be a galleon that had been washed ashore and turned to stone.

Only a few kilometers of road separates the Lexa family territory from the surrounding ones, but they are two different worlds, in the lord's quarters, children play naked in the sun, music plays in the tiled courtyard, the air is full of lemons and blood oranges, in the city, dust, sweat and smoke, and there is chatter at night, the gardens are made of pale red marble, the city is built of tan mud and straw, and the ancient fortress stands at the easternmost point of a small sandy peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the sea, And to the west, in the shadow of the city's great walls, adobe shops and windowless houses clinging to the city, like barnacles attached to the hulls of ships, many of which have their own walls, but the small dilapidated houses for people are basically close to the walls, and the city is just a small town, where they go to rest.....

As soon as the spear tower came into view, Lexa immediately closed the curtain of the carriage, but the civilians suddenly appeared and shouted at him unrelentingly, they had been stirred up in a stirred mood, and the captain of the guard thought uneasily as they passed through the filthy outer city and entered the second gate. The wind inside the door, with the smell of asphalt, salt water, and rotten seaweed, became denser with each step.

"Lord Lexa get out of the way!" The captain of the guard shouted as he struck the brick floor with the hilt of his longaxe, "Make way for Lord Lexa!" ”

"Lord Lexa has fallen to his death!" A woman screamed behind him, "He's not our Lord Lexa anymore!" ”

"Pick up the spear!" A man roared on a stone platform.

"Lexar!" A nobleman shouted, "Pick up the spear!" What about your strength? ”

The captain of the guard gave up his efforts to find speakers, and there were so many people who were incited, and a third of them were shouting.

"Pick up the spear! For the Lexar Territory! "When they reached the third gate, the guards had to push the crowd to clear the way for the Lexa carriage, and the people began to throw things, and a boy in rags rushed through the barricados of the spearmen, holding a half-rotten persimmon in his hand, but seeing that the captain of the guard was blocking the way, and the long axe was in a position, he let go of his hand and let the persimmon fall to the ground, and fled in a hurry, and in the distance, the others threw lemons, limes, and oranges, shouting, "Go to war!" War! Pick up the spear! ”

One of the guards was hit in the eye with a lemon, and an orange smashed into the foot of the captain himself.

There was no response from the carriage, and Lord Lexa hid within the silk curtain until the thick walls of the castle completely submerged them, and the iron gates creaked down behind them, and the shouts gradually subsided.

The Lexar Lord inserted the long axe diagonally into the lanyard behind his back and picked up the Lexar Lord with both arms, his movements were gentle so as not to irritate the Lexar Lord's swollen joints, and even then, the Lexar Lord had to force a painful gasp.

"I've ordered the cook to prepare the dinner," said the captain of the guard, "including all your favorite foods." ”

"I'm afraid I'm not blessed." Lord Lexa slowly looked around the courtyard. "I didn't see Miss."

"The young lady is full of energy and has already taken the lead to Dubrovnik, where she is waiting for us ......"

Lord Lexa sighed, "Good. Captain, can I bother you again? The sooner things are over, the sooner I can rest. ”

The captain of the guard carried him up the long stone steps of the Tower of the Sun to the great circular hall under the vault, where the last rays of the afternoon sun slanted through the thick stained glass, casting mottled diamonds on the pale marble.

"Does it hurt?" A maid's voice was soft, and she looked as lovely as a summer strawberry, with an innocence that was almost unearthly. "What can I do to ease your pain?"

"Say what you want to say and then give me a rest, I'm tired right now."

"This is what I embroidered for you, my lord." Unfold the female red she was embroidering just now, on which is the Lord of Lexa riding on a war horse, with red armor all over his body, smiling slightly. "I'll give it to you when I'm done."

"Thanks!" Lord Lexa sighed again and asked, "Miss is calling for war, and what about you?" ”

"War ......," said the maid, "but not as Miss hopes, the Lexa family can only exert its strength by fighting in their own homeland, so let's sharpen our spears and wait for the enemy to attack." When the enemy in the shadows pounces on us, we will let them bleed in the mountain passes, burying them under the billowing sand, as we have done a hundred times before. ”

"Does this sound like the words of a maid?" Lord Lexa exclaimed.

"But will they attack?" The maid asked.

"Oh, of course they will, those incitements, those commotions, those demagogues, those gossips, are all our enemies secretly attacking our family, we are never afraid of the enemies in the open, but the most hurtful are often those secret arrows....."

The dimple bloomed on the maid's cheek, "It would be nice if I could have a chance to see who the enemies of the shadows really are......"

Lord Lexa said, "The greatest enemies of the shadows are power and lust! ”

"But......" the maid was trying to get closer.

The captain of the guard hurriedly stomped his axe onto the marble floor. "Wait, don't forget your identity, please stay away from the high platform, thank you."

"I have no ill will, Captain. I love Lord Lexar as much as he loves my father, I know. "The maid knelt down on one knee before Lord Lexa." I beg your pardon if I offend, I just want to say things that I shouldn't normally say. ”

"Don't be nervous." Lord Lexa waved his hand, when they were afraid of even a maid, then their family would be completely finished!

"My lord, pray for you!"

As soon as she took her leave, the bachelor immediately ran to the high platform.

The sun had set outside, the light inside the vault had turned dimly blue, the diamond shape on the floor had faded, Lord Lexa's face had turned pale from pain, and after a long silence, he turned to the captain of the guard, "Captain," he said, "how loyal are my guards?" ”

"Absolute loyalty." The captain of the guard didn't know what else to say.

"All of them? Or is it part of it? ”

"They are the best, good knights, and they will do what I command." He stomped his axe to the ground. "Any traitor, whoever it is, I will bring his head."

"I don't want heads, I want to obey."

"Everyone obeys you." Allegiance, obedience, protection, simple oath, simple man.

"I want to try to deal with it as quickly and calmly as possible, without bloodshed, and without any surprises before arriving in Dubrovnik tomorrow."

"Swiftly, calmly, without bloodshed, okay, what is your order?"

"Spread the news of the war, and arrest the sources of incitement in the shadows, and seize them all."

"Yes." He was uneasy in his heart, and those who were the source of the incitement were probably from those who went deeper.

"Captain, remember one thing, you must not shoot when you shouldn't, not at all, when it's time to strike, you must hit the enemy, don't leave them any respite!"