The Carcino troops broke as soon as the Veroña and Navíste knights crashed into them from both sides. Even the professional core could not stand against the might of professional heavy cavalry. The soldiers either threw down their weapons and surrendered, or ran. Those who surrendered were taken prisoner.

Those who ran were cut down.

Lord Estevan and his brothers continued to fight even as their troops melted away before them. Salvador saw Benedict charge at Lord Estevan, his serpent green enameled armor represented his house colors. Salvador had to deal with two of Lord Estevan's brothers.

The taller of the brothers charged at Salvador, war lance aimed for his heart. Salvador rode straight at him, but at the last second he leaned over the side of his mount and tripped the steed of his enemy with the flat of his blade.

He could hear the sound of Estevan's brother's neck snapping.

The other brother screamed in rage and charged at Salvador. He parried the blow with his shield and flicked his sabre at his foe's armored back. The Sidhe steel sliced right through the armor.

Salvador wheeled his horse back around and charged at his foe. The lance of his enemy was shaking and Salvador seized upon this chance. He easily deflected the blow and slashed at his foe's stomach. The Sidhe blade cut through boiled leather and chainmail as if it were a pie. His foe went flying from his horse before landing on his back with a thud!

He was dead.

Lord Estevan had surrendered to Benedict, and with his surrender melted away the remaining resistance. The battle had lasted less than five minutes; the Carcino troops were utterly outmatched.

Benedict and Salvador turned their united host to face the Lord Herreran and Canova. The knights moved back to the wings and the host moved as one. One thousand men in total marched against six hundred.

The sigils of Florjes and Navíste were held high, side-by-side; a sight that had not been seen in over three decades. The blossom and the serpent marched together.

Their infantry and archers were still fresh and eager for battle. Chants began to fill the air:

"Long live the prince!" the cried. "For Navitium! For Fiorá!"

Swordsman banged their swords against their shields and archers waved their bows wildly in the air. Taunts were shouted back and forth between the armies. The soldiers made all types of vulgar gestures at each other (Salvador joined in a bit), and shouted all types of vulgar phrases.

Finally, The Canova-Herreran knights began to move. Like usual, they charged at the center of the Florjes-Navíste formation. Benedict's captains worked quickly; they moved his pikes to the front of the line to meet the cavalry charge. The pikemen lowered their pikes and braced for impact.

Salvador could stand the stench of blood in battle. He cared naught for the screams of dying men and ignored the smell of bowels and bladders loosening in death. The sight of opened stomachs and spilled intestines bothered him not.

But the screams of horses were something else entirely.

He found himself grimacing.

Men flew from their saddles as the pikes stood firm. The horses of the Canova-Herreran knights tripped over the bodies of their comrades. The remaining knights dismounted to face the pikeman on their feet. The pikeman dropped their pikes and grabbed their short swords and shields that were slung over their backs and fought hand-to-hand.

Salvador decided to dismount and joined the fray; his twin sabres danced to a deadly beat, they whirled through the air like a storm of steel, blood, and gore. He found himself laughing as knight after knight fell to his twin blades.

The battle was a rout.

The remaining knights threw down their weapons and surrendered and without their heavy cavalry, the Canova-Herreran host attempted to retreat, but the Veroña and Navíste knights cut them off. With no other choice, the enemy surrendered.

Lord Canova, Herreran, and Lady Canova were taken prisoner. After word of Salvador and Benedict's victory got out, Houses Canova and Herreran both sent letters that announced their surrender. Benedict (with Salvador's help) sent letters to the corners of the realm that the seat of House Canova, la'Manse delle Simia, the House of the Monkey, was now controlled by him. He demanded that the lords and ladies once sworn to House Canova swear fealty to him.

When these lords and ladies heard Prince Benedict had the backing of House Florjes, they rushed to la'Manse delle Simia, where Salvador and Benedict now resided.

The castle was a strange one: vines climbed up the strong castle walls. The castle was also had the Wilderness of Feroxiel to its back. A dense rainforest that was a home to a variety of animals and insects, claimed to be the favorite place of Feroxiel, angel of the wild and free. It was a much larger castle than Carcino but still dwarfed by Fiorá.

The banners of House Canova had been taken down and replaced by the colors of House Navíste. The four lords and ladies that were sworn to House Canova had sworn their allegiance to House Navíste. News of their victory was heard all throughout Sersalvon.

So it was no surprise when Duchess Lilliana showed up at la'Manse delle Simia.

***

Gerard was riding along with Duchess Florjes as part of her retinue on her way to la'Manse delle Simia. He was unimpressed by the castle, although the vines and chimps were a nice touch.

He had been training Samee Aguino for the past three weeks that Salvador had been gone. The boy was spoiled but he showed some promise. Mayhaps Salvador had judged him too harshly.

Oh, Salvador, Gerard thought, you can never keep yourself out of trouble.

The instructions Duchess Lilliana Florjes had given him were simple. Attempt to negotiate peace between the Lords Herreran and Álavar. Not to kill both of Lord Estevan Álavar's brothers, arrest him and the Lords Herreran and Canova, and aid Prince Benedict in claiming la'Manse delle Simia.

They passed through the Simia gates and entered the castle. They (the duchess, her children, and Sir Gerard) were led up to the great hall of Simia where Prince Benedict sat upon the Monkey Chair and Salvador stood by his side.

Sir Gerard met Salvador's eyes. He saw the twinkle of humor and the light of mischief in his dark eyes. He could not resist walking up to Salvador and giving him a bear hug. Salvador returned the embrace with fervor.

"It's good to see you again, Gerard," Salvador whispered.

"Same to you, Salvador." They pulled back from the embrace.

"Welcome," the prince said by way of greeting, "Duchess Lilliana Florjes of Veroña. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Your Highness," the duchess replied gracefully.

"Please, take a seat." The prince gestured at the chairs.

As they sat down, Gerard noticed Myreia staring at Salvador with burning hatred. The duchess kept a calm demeanor while Inejgo looked as if he were trying to hold back a laugh. Angelica appeared remained silent and expressionless but Gerard could see the slightly uptilted lip.

He could also see the light of fear that shone in Benedict's eyes. He had no doubt the Duchess Florjes could see it as well. He noticed the way Benedict bit his lip as the duchess began to speak:

"I came to congratulate you, Your Highness, on your victory."

Salvador spoke up this time. "Yes, it was quite a crushing victory, if I do say so myself. We lost less than five hundred men and dealt more than twice that number in casualties to our enemy."

"I heard," the duchess replied. "I also heard of how you slayed both of Lord Estevan's brothers."

Salvador grinned. "Fools the both of them. They practically ran onto my sword."

"You killed my husband's brothers!" Myreia screeched.

Gerard could see the way Salvador choked back a witty reply. Instead he said, "Yes, I did."

"My lady," Prince Benedict said in a voice that was probably intended to be soothing. "Your husband was a traitor to the Serpent Crown. It is known that infighting amongst the lords of Sersalvon is against the law."

"Surely you would not wish to be labeled as a rebel sympathizer," Salvador added.

Myreia froze. "N-no, Your Highness."

Benedict shot Salvador a glance, which he ignored.

Benedict instead looked at Gerard with awe in his eyes. "So you're the famed Freelancer." His voice sounded like a child meeting his childhood hero.

Gerard nodded. "I am, Your Highness."

A grin began to grow on Benedict's face. "I never thought I would be able to meet you. I am surprised to find you in Duchess Lilliana's retinue. I thought you were a mercenary and sworn to no lord."

Gerard smiled. "I am in debt to Her Grace for everything she has done for me. When she asked that I accompany her to la'Manse delle Simia, I had to accept."

"In debt? Surely you would've paid it off by now."

"Not all debts are that of money, Your Highness," Gerard replied.

Benedict nodded. "I suppose they aren't."

The rest of the exchange was a matter of pretty words filled with empty meanings. Salvador and Gerard took little part in it, leaving it to the royals. After the meeting, the duchess and most of her children retired to their rooms. Angelica followed Gerard to catch Salvador; they found him waiting for them in a hallway that was adjacent to that of where Angelica's rooms were.

Salvador gave his usual grin. "How do you like la'Manse delle Simia?"

Angelica snorted. "It smells like monkey feces."

His grin grew wider. "Yes, my lady." And he gave her an exaggerated and playful bow.

Angelica shoved him before gripping him in a tight hug. Gerard watched the whole exchange from a slight distance.

"I missed you too, Angelica." Salvador said, though he sounded like he was in need of air.

Angelica let go of Salvador and then proceeded to punch him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Salvador rubbed the spot where Angelica had punched him tenderly.

"Do you understand how. . . how outraged my mother is at you?" she whisper-shouted.

"I imagine she is pretty pissed."

"Oh really?" she replied in a sarcastic voice.

Salvador held a hand to stop her. "I'm fine, Angelica. Now tell me, Gerard, what news is there. I haven't been able to catch up here."

Gerard shrugged. "War throughout the Caraíbes Isles. Nothing new except for this one story from Grenaserrat." Grenaserrat was the northernmost island kingdom of the Caraíbes Isles. It was a small and peaceful kingdom that relied mostly on trade with the federations of Nyove Royne.

Salvador, curious, tilted his head. "What about it?"

"Rumor says that Evrúopeans have landed in Grenaserrat and have already conquered the kingdom. The other northern kingdoms call to Barbaruda for help. A few are even trying to appeal to Sersalvon, useless as it is."

Gerard could see the prospect of adventure light up in Salvador's eyes. His grin was wolfish. "Sounds like an opportunity."

Gerard shrugged but he could not keep the smile off his face. "I suppose."

***

The next day a great feast was prepared for the duchess and her companions. Salvador sat next to Gerard and Angelica while the prince sat at the head of the table and the duchess sat at the other end. It was calm yet tense, like the eye of a storm. It was not just the duchess at the feast, there were two other lords that had come to swear fealty to the prince after his takeover of House Canova.

When Salvador came back after relieving himself, he found everyone standing milling about. He tried to find Gerard and Angelica but instead ran into Duchess Lilliana.

"Salvador," the duchess said in a velvety voice by way of greeting.

"Your Grace," Salvador replied.

The duchess tilted her head. "You've had an. . . interesting time here to say the least. I can imagine you must feel very accomplished and proud with yourself. You turned my. . . punishment for you into another way for you to annoy me."

Salvador gave her a malicious smile. "I would not say anything so horrifying, Your Grace. Did you wish me to fight the prince, for he was very adamant on his decision."

Salvador saw all pretense of courtesy leave the duchess's eyes. "Now let's not act like fools, Salvador." She lowered her voice. "We both know what you were trying to do."

Salvador's mouth drew into a firm line. "I don't know what you mean."

The duchess gave a poisonous yet sweet smile. He imagined that's what belladonna would look like if it had a face. "Of course you don't. So I will give you my thanks. Thank you, Salvador Castellano. You've made things a lot easier for me."

And with that, she raised her wine glass into the air and announced in a loud voice. "I would like to address the elephant in the room!" A few chuckles ran about the hall but everyone fell silent. "We all know that Sersalvon has fallen into disarray, with lords and ladies of the lowest rank fighting each other over the most petty of reasons! But I see that the royal house of Sersalvon is finally acting, for here stands Prince Benedict.

I will admit, my daughter's husband was a rebel. He disobeyed the laws of Sersalvon and fought against Prince Benedict, son of King Gallo Navíste, but the prince proved stronger and he defeated my rebel son-in-law along with the Houses Canova and Herreran." Lilliana gave a low curtsy. "So I shall renew my allegiance to House Navíste. Your Highness, do you accept my oath of fealty?"

Salvador didn't understand what the duchess was doing. Why now pledge allegiance to the king and his house? What good will it do?

As soon as he saw Benedict's mouth move to say the words of acceptance, he understood.

"I accept your allegiance to House Navíste, Your Grace," Benedict said, albeit with a slightly nervous voice.

The duchess smiled and the hall broke out into a mass of clapping and cheering as if some great dance had just come to an end.

They were not wrong.

The duchess turned to Salvador and gave him a grin that would rival that of a serpent.