Page 16 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“...Who won?” Tievin asked with a dull tone.
The Prince didn’t answer. Well, if both the Prince and dragon were still alive, one would have thought it was even, but in Tievin’s opinion, being able to survive a dragon’s murderous intent was a victory for the Prince. Seeing that the dragon wasn’t in the area anymore, the Prince had probably dealt enough damage to that beast to convince it not to come back too soon for another round.
“I see.” He sighed. “Well, it might take a while to repair the damages, so I hope it won’t be back anytime soon.”
As always, the Prince didn’t bother to answer him. In fact, he had closed his eyes, looking exhausted. Tievin didn’t really blame him, and simply stood still by his side, watching the injuries get reabsorbed and his breathing calming down. Soon enough, some soldiers finally came to the training ground.
“Sir, shall we call a doctor?” one newcomer asked, horrified by the amount of blood.
“No need,” said Tievin. “Stay away, just take care of the area. Quietly.”
Although a bit surprised, the men nodded and started sorting out the debris, piling it up, and noting the damages, silently as asked. Tievin tightened his coat around him, internally protesting against the biting cold. The Prince had most likely fallen asleep to recuperate, and he would stay by his side all through that nap. Unlike common mortals, those with Dragon Blood didn’t fear the cold, so sleeping on a mattress of snow was probably as good as any other for him. He wouldn’t allow anyone to touch him, let alone move him, so he might as well nap here until his injuries were healed... For some reason, standing by the Prince’s side while he was like this was one task Tievin always took on. Making sure no one disturbed the Imperial Prince’s rest and that the soldiers would carry on their tasks was his duty, even if he had to stand and shiver in the cold for hours...
Tievin was reading the list, only his arm out of the thick fur coat to hold the parchment. He was back in his tent, in a chair put as close as possible to the fire without the risk of burning anything. He was still shivering a bit, but his expression was stern.
“Good job,” he said once he was done reading, turning to the General standing there. “Is that all?”
“Yes. Luckily, no one sustained life-threatening injuries, and the newcomers learned a good lesson about getting too close to a dragon...”
“Morons,” Tievin grunted. “Anything else?”
“A rough first estimate is that the damages will take about a week to be repaired. Naturally, the defense wall is our top priority, but the construction units are quite hopeful. We have enough wood stored and as per your recommendation, we hadplanned a few more extra panels in case such a thing happened, so it shouldn’t take too long to replace the damaged parts.”
“I see. Make sure to establish twice the usual number of night patrols to compensate, and put some men on surveillance duty as well. It will be bothersome if the barbarians notice our defenses are down... No, they most likely already noticed. Just make sure they don’t get the wrong idea and use it to attack us.”
“Yes, sir. The other generals and I have already begun working on a defense strategy.”
Tievin nodded and flicked his eyes to the next piece of parchment. The estimated cost of the damages was about what he had anticipated. Thankfully, the camp was already used to this. It would mostly cost them in manual labor to replace everything that was broken, as most supplies could be found in the area, except for the new tents they would have to order. And they had no shortage of men with free time on their hands.
“Once you’ve confirmed the list, send it back to me for approval and have some men ready to go to the nearby villages to purchase what is needed,” said Tievin, handing one piece of parchment back, “and have the medical unit give you a list of their own needs as well; we might as well replenish everything that ought to be... Any news of that bothersome dragon?”
“No, sir. The last reports are that it flew north after the fight with the Commander in Chief.”
“Good. That crazy beast might go annoy the barbarians and make them stay hidden for a while, that would save us some time. And the Commander?”
“He’s still in his tent, sir.”
“Alright. Don’t be stupid and send anyone to him yet, I’ll bring him dinner...”
“Understood, sir.”
Despite being one of the five men with the most power in the camp, the experienced soldier knew that the wholecamp wouldn’t be functioning if it wasn’t for Tievin, the Grand Intendant. While they could handle training the men and organizing the daily schedule of the camp, it took someone highly educated like Tievin to do all the paperwork, take care of the finances, anticipate any needs, and watch over the supplies. Tievin and Prince Kassein had arrived together at the North Camp, and the whole army had seen drastic changes applied ever since. What was a simple outpost of defense against the occasional barbarian attacks before had now turned into a fully functioning army camp. They had conquered as much ground as possible in a matter of months, and made it so that the army camp that was previously relying on the nearby villages could now survive in the cold north by itself. Instead of focusing on battle, they had turned some of the units into construction units, supply surveillance units, supply management units, catering units, hunting units, and so on, everything the camp needed to function like a whole village without any exterior help.
This wasn’t so much by necessity as it was the Prince hating to request any help from the Capital. The less he had to ask anything of his Emperor brother, the better his mood. Thus, every single soldier understood that there was no task too small to be undertaken for the well-being of the camp. If it had been a different Commander from a different era, perhaps this would have almost been perceived as the first signs of a rebellion; the Prince’s army was growing to be self-sufficient and independent from the Empire, and strong enough that it could probably take a small city in a matter of hours. Luckily, it was common knowledge that the Wild Prince had no such ambition. This was a man with no desire for conquest; he had even abandoned the once-legendary Onyx Castle to live in the bitter cold of the most northern part of that region instead. He was acting more like a man who had exiled himself than a prince looking for rebellion.
Tievin was an essential part of the North Army precisely because the Prince had little to no desire to lead anyone. Both of them had been sent here against their wishes, and both were doing what was expected of them: the Commander in Chief led the North Army, the Grand Intendant managed it. As long as he wasn’t required to lift a sword, Tievin could be content with that, and Kassein only gave the bare minimum of attention to the paperwork that did require his approval. The only reason the duo had taken the army this far with this little ambition was because they both effortlessly excelled in their own occupations.
“You may go now,” Tievin dismissed the General with a movement of his hand. “I’ll finish reading the report and go for an inspection tomorrow morning.”
The General left, leaving him alone. It was getting too cold for him to put a toe out, except when he’d bring food to the Prince. In normal circumstances, he’d have put his tent close to the Commander in Chief for convenience, but convenience didn’t weigh much in the prospect of being close to a potential dragon attack. Thus, Tievin had put his tent as far as possible from all the places the Prince visited daily, in a quiet corner near the forest. Quiet and safety were the best, especially as it kept him not far from the camp’s kitchens.
He finished reading the parchment, taking notes about this and that, and when he was done, he put it on the pile of priorities. His tent smelled like parchment paper because of the numerous piles sitting in every corner. Even his bed was only taking a small corner of it, while his desk sat in the middle, facing the fire and surrounded by more columns of paperwork. The only other furniture was the two chairs, one behind the desk and one in front of the fire, and the shelves that held more paperwork, ink bottles, and spare feathers. He didn’t have room for any guests to stay, and his precious bottle of wine was saved for his personal use, hidden on top of a shelf with a little box ofbiscuits for the days when the paperwork got too overwhelming. As he stood up, changing coats for the fifth time today, his eyes went to the one letter that had remained unopened. The one with the Imperial Seal. He sighed. Not even he dared to open it, but he also didn’t have the guts to burn it. Thus, he took it and put it in a box by the chimney that contained two dozens of similar letters with the same seal. The Prince strictly and stubbornly refused any contact from his family. The Emperor was using a different type of letter and seal for Imperial Orders, so those had to be a family matter. They could have come from one of the Prince’s siblings or his parents, yet they were all the same to him. Since his exile to the north by the order of the Emperor, he had never opened any of them. Even Tievin, who was perhaps the one closest to the Prince, couldn’t tell if it was out of anger, resentment, or shame. Prince Kassein was a difficult man to understand, and no one was daring enough to push him for answers.
Gathering all his willpower, Tievin walked out of the tent, immediately slapped by gusts of frosty wind. He grumbled and began walking in the snow, keeping his precious coat tight around him. It was cold enough already by day, but the temperatures fell even lower during the night. Windy nights were the worst, and they were always cautious to never put the soldiers on evening rounds two nights in a row as it was hard to endure for anybody. Even with his boots, scarf, hat, and thick coat, Tievin found himself shivering all the way to the kitchen and then to the Prince’s tent. Many times, he’d considered having a soldier do this instead of him, but there was no way. Especially after a brawl with his dragon, the Prince was unapproachable by almost anyone but Tievin. Most soldiers were replaceable, after all. He wasn’t.
“D-dinner,” he announced between his chattering teeth as he stepped inside.
As always, this place was in the dark and not lit by any fire, but it was still better than being exposed to the cold outside, and after taking a faint sniff, Tievin noted that it had indeed been cleaned earlier that day. Despite the lack of response, he put the tray down by a table near the never-lit fireplace and walked to the darkest corner of the tent. He could only locate the Prince by his faint breathing and once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he spotted him on his bed, an arm over his eyes. He glanced down. He smelled like blood, but the scales were mostly done healing him. They hadn’t worked their magic fast enough for the sheets to be saved, however. He’d have to send someone to change them whenever Kassein left his tent the next day...
