CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"This can't be possible" Shane said, coming down from his horse as he stared at the lifeless bodies at the entrance of the kingdom.
"We're too late" Brenda said dejectedly,coming from her horse also.
Tears welled up her eyes.
"After everything we did" She said.
Bryan moved closer to the bodies.
"Your highness" He called after he noticed something
Shane moved closer to him.
"Their uniforms"Bryan said "These are the bodies of Griffin Empire's soldiers not the bodies of our people"
Just then,they saw a group of people walk towards them.
Derek was the one leading them.
"Derek" Shane muttered
"You won the fight"Derek said happily, hugging Shane.
"It was a tough job but we did it"Derek grinned as he wrapped his arm around Shane's shoulders and stared down at the bodies of Griffin Empire's soldiers.
"What are you talking about?"Brenda asked, moving closer to them
"Well,after you all left for Griffin Empire,I saw a huge number of soldiers pass through the jungle, heading here - To Cyan Haven" He said "I told the others and we decided to follow them and find out what they were up to. To cut the long story short, we found out they were Griffin Empire's soldiers and were trying to bring Cyan Haven down to ruins so we joined hands with the few Cyan Haven's soldiers that were left behind and we defeated them"
"Thank you" Shane said happily, hugging Derek "Thank you everyone"He said again
"Thank you,all of you"Brenda said with a bright smile, bowing.
"Wait, where's our mother?" She said when she noticed Queen Eleanor was not among the people.
She turned to face Derek.
"I'm sorry, she's..."Derek couldn't finish his statement when Brenda moved close to him and grabbed his cloth.
"What?!" She glared at him.
"She's not here right now"
"I told you to take care of her"
"I did. She's not here right now because she's at the palace" Brenda heaved a sigh of relief and released Derek.
"You scared me" She said.
"What are we waiting for. Let's go to the palace and celebrate"Derek said excitedly.
"Our soldiers are still at Griffin Empire"Bryan said.
"We have to join them"Shane said. "Come on" He said, mounting on his horse. "Brenda,you and Derek should stay here. Take care of the people and make sure none of Griffin Empire's soldiers attacks the kingdom again" He said and left with Bryan following behind.
<SUNSET>
Shane,Bryan and the rest of the soldiers returned to Cyan Haven after bringing Griffin Empire down to their knees.
The wounded soldiers were brought back to be treated while the ones who died during the war were brought back and buried.
The innocent people who lived in Griffin Empire were spared and brought to Cyan Haven.
Shane got an endless visits from Kings who came to thank him for putting an end to Griffin Empire's nefarious reign but that didn't stop him from having the time to go round the kingdom to console the families of soldiers who lost their lives during the war.
Derek found his parents and his parents couldn't contain their happiness when they saw him.
In less than a month, everything went back to normal.
Everything that was destroyed during the war was restored, reunions took place and Shane finally stopped being over protective of Brenda and allowed her leave the palace whenever she wanted.
That,and being with Queen Eleanor again made her really happy but not seeing Bryan for almost a month stopped her from being as happy as she ought to be.
The Royal Cabinet's meeting was put on a hold with during those periods and when it was finally held,one of the members suggested they held a royal party to celebrate Cyan Haven's achievements.
Shane welcomed the idea.
They elaborated more on it and talked a while about some other things before finally ending the meeting.
Shane headed to his room immediately.
He sighed when he met Brenda seated in his room.
"You know you don't have to stay in my room anymore,right?"He asked.
"I know"She nodded.
"Then would you stop coming into my room everytime, it's getting really annoying" He said
"I don't know,I kind of like your room better than my own" She smiled.
He groaned frustratedly.
She giggled.
"Don't you have friends you can hang out with now?You no longer stay in the palace all day"
"A few but it doesn't stop me from wanting to spend some time with my twin brother" She grinned.
"Spend time with Bryan instead"
"That's not funny" She frowned "You know it's been a while since I last saw him. He's busy now that he is one of the three leaders of Cyan Haven's army"
"I'm sorry" He apologized, seeing his words really hurt her.
"It's okay" She faked a smile.
He sat beside her.
"I really miss him" She muttered.
"I'm sure he'll come to see you once he gets the chance" He assured her.
She managed to smile.
"That reminds me, there's going to be a royal party in the palace"
"When?"
"Two days from now. You might get to see Bryan at the party"
"Really?" She smiled for real this time.
He nodded.
<BRYAN'S HOME> ~NIGHT
Bryan entered his room and exhaled as he sat on his bed.
He just got back from the army.
He's been really busy with the army since the day the war ended owing to the fact that he was now one of the army's leaders but he finally got some days off.
He was going to see Brenda again.
He smiled at the thought of that.
He had missed her so much.
"Bryan" He suddenly heard his name.
He looked up and saw his mother come into his room.
She smiled at him.
"Your father wants to speak with you" She said.
He stood and followed her out of his room and went to where his father was.
His father smiled at him and gestured at him to sit down.
"So... Your mother and I have been thinking..."
"About?" He asked,staring at his father
"Your marriage" His father answered
"My marriage?What -"
"You're now of the of the leaders of Cyan Haven's army and you've accomplished a lot so your mother and I had a talk and concluded that it's time for you to get married" His father said.
His mother nodded with a smile.
"I found the perfect woman for you but -"
"I thought it would be best to ask you first" His mother interrupted his father's sentence.
"So,do you perhaps have a woman you're I love with already or you'll go with your father's choice"
"Of course he doesn't have a woman he's in love with" His father said.
"Actually,I do" Bryan said
"Who?" His mother asked.
TBC