A few days later, Ingrid learned of a special festival held in Adehane once every year: the summer festival. For three days, the townsfolk sold their own special food and delicacies in the local market, different events and games were held, and servants were given a pay bonus and half the day off. It was the best day of the year, second to the Winter festival, and the air was filled with energy and hype. Even the rising temperature couldn't get anyone down.

A special event was called the "Tag of War", a game played by two big teams, where the goal was to capture the flag of the second team. As a visiting princess, Ingrid was invited to be the leader of one team against Isaac. 

"A piece of cake," she said confidently as soon as she learned the rules. "That weakling won't know what hit him." Soon enough, the day of the event arrived and bandanas were put around the heads of members of the two teams: Ingrid got red and Isaac got blue. 

Isaac looked serious as he talked to his soldiers, while Ingrid, having picked big muscular soldiers, simply told her men :"just get all the bandanas of the other team and leave the flag to me." Her grin was confident and with the way she walked and talked, it was clear to anyone that she felt she was going to win. Her soldiers, boosted by her confidence and energy, cheered each other on.

The event was being held in a large, oval-shaped arena where the grass was stripped and only the earth remained. This arena was used for jousting tournaments and many other games during the festival. Surrounding the arena were wooden benchers with five levels, and on that hot summer day the benches were filled with townsfolk, young and old, eager to see the battle between Prince Isaac and the famed Princess Ingrid.

Isaac and his team waited in one side of the arena while Ingrid and her team waited for another. Isaac called his men for a huddle, and quickly began to give his command. 

"Men, split to 3 groups with 8 members each. Team A will capture the flag from the enemy team, Team B will protect me, and Team C will charge directly against all other members of the opposing team," he said in a loud, commanding voice, making sure that Ingrid would be able to hear enough of it to see how serious he was.

Ingrid watched Isaac huddle with his team, her arms crossed. She rolled her eyes. "Look at him, trying to sound so leader-like. Wait til he loses within a few minutes," she scoffed. 

Finally, the game marshall announces the start of the game. Isaac stands ready with his 3 groups while Ingrid was followed by her large undivided group, all with one goal to remove the bandanas on the enemy team. Ingrid eyed the flag on isaac's team. "You're mine," she muttered.

With a quick blow on a horn, the game started. Team B quickly circled Isaac as Isaac hid something underneath his shirt. As this happened, Team A rushed with a loud battlecry towards Ingrid's team, and they fought and shoved one another, each person standing their ground, not letting anyone get too close to the flag. 

As Team A pushed and shoved, Team C quickly went into action and removed bandanas from each member of Ingrid's team before they could even notice it. They were all fast on their feet, but one person was going faster than anyone else: Ingrid.

 As her men were too focused on pushing and shoving the other team, she ran as fast as a rabbit, taking off bandanas from Isaac's team at the blink of an eye, so fast the man wearing it didn't even feel it was off his head until it was too late. She dodged every enemy that tried to grab her, and also removed bandanas with a slight of hand. Finally, she saw Isaac's flag, and reached out to grab it.

Because of her speed, his men quickly dwindled, until Team B's members were all taken out. Soon enough, Isaac ran from Ingrid as she chased after him. "Not bad, princess," Isaac managed to say as they ran from one another. Around them, the cheers of the townsfolk grew louder and louder as they could tell the game was about to announce its winner. 

Quickly, Ingrid tackled him from behind, and both were pushing, shoving, and grabbing at one another, searching for the flag. Isaac grabbed both her wrists just as he did that day they went to the forest, holding her arms up with a strength one wouldn't expect from his lanky frame. Though this time, Ingrid still had a mischievous glare in her eyes. "Knock knock," Ingrid said, smirking. "What?" Isaac replied as he continued to hold her back. 

"Wrong answer, cause..." Ingrid quickly pulled her left arm away from Isaac's grip and in a split second reached into his shirt. With a triumphant grin, she pulled up the hidden item...only for it to be revealed to be another bandana. 

"W-what?" Ingrid stared at the bandana in shock. Isaac smirked as behind them his team cheered, holding up Ingrid's flag. He let go of her wrists and stepped back, calmly patting the dust away from his clothes. Ingrid stared at the bandana in her hands, her mind swirling with questions. "H-how did you..." she began.

"It's simple math, really," Isaac answered, his arms crossed, as he circled around her. "I divided my team into 3, and each has 8, that's 24 in total. Including me makes it 25, but where's the other 5? As you went straight on, we moved towards the right side, and we created a diversion leaving five of my men unnoticed. They just happen to be the least physically intimidating, so you wouldn't think they had it amongst themselves after all," he finished, the smug smile of a winner filling his face.

"Physical strength isn't everything. Good game, though," he added condescendingly, patting her on the shoulder.

"i...can't believe it. for once you actually made sense," she said, looking at the bandana in her hand. "If you weren't my enemy, I would have been impressed," she looked at him, nodding her head, surprisingly not appearing mad. Isaac raised an eyebrow, looking slightly caught off guard with her reply.

Ingrid's face changed quickly, the supposed surprise in her eyes turning to anger. She clenched the bandana. "This isn't over, Adehane scum," she growled, throwing the bandana on the ground. She raised a knee and kicked isaac once again on his private area, before storming off.

"Ugh...she's the worst..." Isaac groaned in pain, clutching his groin as he fell on the ground. 

Not far away, from a viewing perch meant for nobles and royalty, King Nicolas and King George watched the match. Both held goblets of wine, as well-dressed servants awaited their command. King George had a large, proud grin on his face, laughing as he took another sip of wine. King Nicolas forced a grin as he slowly turned his goblet in his hand. 

"Good game, huh?" King George said proudly. "Your son is quite impressive," King Nicolas replied back with a tight-lipped smile. "Hut did you see my daughter? how she just charged right in? I wonder where she got that bravery from," he added, thinking rather sadly on his absent wife.

"It's almost like a familiar memory unfolding once more, isn't it, brother?" King George asked, his tone serious. Scenes of a land on fire with the air rank with death filled every corner of his mind. "Nerea winning, yet on the last stand, a surprise attack was made," he continued. King Nicolas nodded slowly, seeing the same shared memory, except now from the opposing side. 

His smile disappeared as he remembered his almost victory against his younger brother. He cleared his throat and focused on watching his daughter storm off. He then focused on Isaac who was clearly struggling to walk. 

"They're quite a match aren't they? The stubborn girl and the clever boy," he said to change the subject. "I wonder what else queen Amelia could say about this."

"Queen Amelia? She may be powerful, but if we fired back at her at once, we can defeat her," King George replied to him. King Nicolas was silent, and for a moment no one spoke, the only sound heard being the cheers of the Adehane people and the loud cicadas in the trees. The bright sunlight reflected on their goblets. The sky had never been a clearer blue.

"We could've won, Nicolas, if we just built an alliance a long time before Amelia became this powerful. Do you ever think of that?" George turned to his brother. 

"It does make you think, doesn't it?" Nicolas turned to face him. "What we would have been like if it was anyone else but...my wife," Nicolas said wistfully, pausing at the mention of the woman that tore them apart. The memories of their younger selves fighting over the affections of a foreign princess, causing war to start, filled his mind. Their faces, just for a second, lit up with the memory of happier times, and then darkened just as quickly when they recalled the day it all ended.

"Hows is Louisa?" George continued on with a bitter smile on his face."Ingrid has the same exact face as Louisa when she was her age," he continued sadly, turning away to look back at the arena so Nicolas wouldn't see the hurt in his eyes. 

"She is...." he paused to think of the words. "Happy, I believe. I assume she is. I...i don't quite know," his voice was tinged with bitterness, and he turned away as well, taking a quick swig of wine to get rid of the lump in his throat. After a sigh, he continued, "It makes me wonder if Ingrid would have been any different if Louisa was around more," he said sadly. "I fear for her at times."

For a second, George felt a flash of guilt fill him, knowing what he has planning against Nicolas. Could his brother really just need peace and happiness, not war? George blinked hard to get rid of the thought, and instead placed a hand on Nicolas's shoulder. "She grew up well, that I can see. You still did well as a...single parent, in a sense," he spoke as cheerfully as he could, though his eyes were still sad.

"May we find peace with this arrangement," George added, putting down his hand. 

Nicolas looked at his little brother, knowing full well what his and his daughter's plans really were. He remembered when he would taunt him on the battlefield, how he won over him, how he boasted about his perfect wife. He forced a smile and raised a goblet towards him. "To peace," he said, appearing cheerful.

"To peace," George replied. Their goblets touched, and both smiled and nodded to one another. The air was full of promise, the grass was greener than ever, and no one could tell how fast everything will change...