Its no longer a secret.

The country where Estelle had sent a spy was Lethoris, which was the most dangerous land considered amongst the five of the kingdoms.

Melenmore; My home.

Asteria; The powerhouse and kingdom I was going to marry into. They had strong men, an army, a strong supply of grains, and the brains from that kingdom contributed to a lot of the growth.

Lethoris; The nightmare of any human. No one ever wanted to go there. Selling and purchasing of flesh; no matter what age, slavery, poor economic state, and heavy taxes being levied on people were the most common atrocities happening over there. Fathers would often wed their daughters to another land for their safety.

The northern lands were practically undiscovered by the kingdoms as far as I knew. No one ever returned from there, so we didn't even try. Ungodly activities were said to be taken place there so I didn't even try to hide my displeasure about those.

Now coming back to the weight I felt on my chest, it had worsened after listening to the information my sister had brought me. Lethoris had barbaric ways to get things done and the spies were killed publicly and that was mercy given to them if they revealed themselves, otherwise, the real torture began to make them sing.

I didn't turn around to look at her. She should have known better. A dying kingdom we were, if they were attacking us, what were we supposed to do? Defend ourselves with what resources?

Only highly trained soldiers went there. 

"Who did you send?" Please say it was someone experienced.

Estelle released and a sigh before answering and I could tell that the news was anything but good. "A guard. He was hono-"

"Would he be honored when he is on the verge of dying? When you would deny knowing of his existence to save the kingdom?" Walking towards her I glare her down, how could she not know the consequences of what she had done?

"He has a poison ring!" She cried out, defending herself in desperation. But was it of any use?

I scoffed at her face, and unladylike gesture but to be honest, the dreams we harbored were coming to little, feminine dolls. We had to think before acting.

That was coming later; I had to focus on the bigger problem here.

"What was is it that you talk of?" Estelle looked a little shocked at my change of topic but I couldn't care less. "Answer me!" I raised my voice, my glare had never lessened.

Moisture glistened over to her eyes she opened her mouth to tell. "They know everyone knows that we are struggling. It is no longer a secret. They are planning an attack on us."

The weight on my chest worsened. I was struggling to breathe now. "When?" I could not help myself asking.

"Does it matter?" Estelle threw back at me, just as distraught, maybe even more. "They coming to attack, Asteria might help us but they would not fight a deadly war. We don't have anything." A tear finally slipped her cry. After my mother's death, this was the first time I had seen her cry. She sobbed in front of me and I could not do anything about it.

I silently moved to the balcony and looked over the gardens. Every flower or plant that blossomed in the entire nation was at the public garden so that people of the country could see it, something for the people to have pride over.

My eyes squint at the realization think I might have found the solution to our problem.

"We need to leave for Lethoris. Immediately." I turned to my sister who looked taken aback by my words and sudden suggestion.

"What, in God's name, are you thinking about now?" She looked at me up and down before sighing, "Even if we do agree to go there, they might not give us the permission to enter their Kingdom."

To that, I shake my head. "Going there with the permission was not my intention in the first place because if they are coming to attack us they won't give us permission or even if they do it would be to mock us."

I bridged the distance between us and step closer to her, holding her shoulders firmly, I looked her in the eye to get my point across. "Listen, they are a proud, military country which means they present their arms to the public to win them over. We need to see what they have to act accordingly. If they have the numbers then we can have the brains."

She shook her head, tears forming once again. "It is a long shot, sister, a very, very long shot." She hooks my hands from her shoulders and sat on the bed, shaking her head she said, "It is hope. Hope cannot win the battle."

I tsked in return. "Hope, here, is all we have. Men, no, weaponry none and food and budget for the war.. None of that." I stated the reality to her which she was aware of. "So, hope, sister, is all we have."

I moved back and headed to the balcony, watching the servants and guards walk around, only one thought crossed my mind. What next?