General Dietrich felt like he accidentally learned something that he shouldn't have. He had no idea that the Junior Commander had that side in her. He splashed cold water on his face and patted his cheeks a couple of times to make sure that he was sober. He had been drinking two hours before the arrival of Zenia and Vaughn, but he was certain that he was not drunk. But after hearing the exchange between Zenia and Vaughn, he was not certain anymore.
Vaughn and Zenia talked about the things that must be done first while waiting for General Dietrich's return.
"We still need to confirm that the Left Minister's secret army has not arrived yet. We must do everything to stop them from landing on Tissuria's soil. We already won half the battle when we do that. The Left Minister will surely expect the arrival of his troop." Vaughn explained to Zenia.
He was not certain whether the secret army had arrived in Tissuria, but he hoped that it was not too late for them to prevent possible civil war. He looked at Zenia, who seemed to be busy about the next move that they should take.
"I will tell General Dietrich to gather the private army that Big Brother and Father had trained in Ishelon."
She turned her head from left to right as if looking for something. Vaughn gave his wife a puzzled look. He could not see anything valuable in the room. He wanted to ask what she was looking for when she suddenly stood up and pulled out a stack of papers from the shelf.
"Found it!"
Zenia went back to her seat with a big smile on her lips. Vaughn was mesmerized by it and decided to turn his head away from her face. He had no idea what he might do if he continued staring at her.
Zenia put the stack of papers on the table and began to unfurl them. She did so one by one as if she was handling age-old doc.u.ments that could turn into dust with one wrong move of her fingers.
She aligned the papers accordingly, and Vaughn was surprised when Zenia finished what she was doing – it was a gigantic puzzle of the map of Tissuria. To be precise, it is the military topographic map of Tissuria. It was rich in detail. Vaughn had never seen anything like it before. They were more advanced than Ishelon, but they were not able to create that kind of map. He wondered how the men from Ishelon did it.
When General Dietrich returned, he was surprised to see the map on the table. The stack of papers had been with him for quite a long time, but he couldn't put the pieces together. He assigned different men to draw the different sections of the map. They agreed on the scale to use so it would be easy to piece the papers together. However, General Dietrich could not put them together. He believed that he would be able to do it when he got the free time.
The General was too prideful to admit that he could not piece the puzzle together. He put the stack of papers to the shelf and forgot all about it as time went by. He was almost teary-eyed when he saw that the map was assembled…finally.
"General, what are you doing there? Come here and let's discuss our plan," Zenia ordered using the tone that General Dietrich was used to hearing.
General Dietrich smiled and felt like they were back to that day once more.
"Yes, Junior Commander."
Zenia pointed out the locations where the men should be stationed as well as the things that each of them should watch out for. She also told Vaughn that they need to pay Mr. Smith a visit. They should prepare more effective weapons like the ones that the military men of Ishelon had been using.
Vaughn told them the hidden conditions of the different places in Tissuria. There were locations where a quicksand was quietly waiting for its prey to come. They were not sure what was in the quicksand, and they did not dare find out. Everyone who fell to the quicksand did not make it out alive.
They would sometimes find corpses with limbs completely cut off. It was clear to them that the people who got trapped in the quicksand tried their best to climb out, but something already devoured their lower extremities.
Zenia flashed a meaningful, sinister smile when she heard Vaughn's explanation about the quicksand.
"Do you know all the locations where that quicksand can be found?"
Vaughn was surprised that Zenia asked him that and knew that his wife was thinking something evil. He shuddered at the very thought of it but still replied calmly.
"Yes, I know all of them," he did not ask why because he was afraid to hear something outrageous and malevolent.
"Does Damien know it too?"
"I don't think so."
"What about the Left Minister?"
"He is a pampered official who only relies on the information that his men have gathered. His men lack the ability to explore deeply. My men and I have combed the unknown, dangerous territories in Tissuria. We know the things that we need to be wary of."
Zenia turned her attention to the General, "General Dietrich, you know what to do."
"Yes, Junior Commander," the General replied politely and turned his head to Vaughn and continued, "Sir, can you please mark the locations of the quicksand on the map as well as the things that we need to be wary of."
Vaughn looked at General Dietrich, and then to Zenia. He saw her nodded her head and even gave him a sweet smile. He sighed and began adding more markings on the map.
It took him two full hours to finish. The sun was about to rise, and they did not have any proper rest yet. General Dietrich saw Zenia dozing off. He had a good guess that the couple could use a comfortable bed to get some sleep. He immediately ordered his men to prepare a room where Zenia and Vaughn could stay for a while.
"Junior Commander, it is best for you and sir to sleep first. Let us take care of everything. We will try our best to deter the Left Minister and the Ninth Prince until you're properly energized to carry out your plan."
"Thank you, General."
Zenia held Vaughn's hand and pulled him gently to her side as they went out of General Dietrich's office. The general sighed and just hoped that the Junior Commander's plan of luring the enemies to the quicksand would be enough to ensure their victory.
General Dietrich knew that Zenia was worried about their number. They had no idea if the soldiers, including the ones loyal to Vaughn in Tissuria, were enough to fight the enemies. They were expecting some soldiers of Tissuria to side with the Left Minister or the Ninth Prince. There were the Left Minister's secret army and the Ninth Prince's own men. General Dietrich sighed and just hoped that Commander Zander would send additional troops soon.
* * * * *
"Vaughn!" Queen Mina rushed to King Tarendino's side when he suddenly shouted his son's name.
Queen Mina shook him a bit to wake him up. The King was sweating a lot and having difficulties breathing. He suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.
King Tarendino looked at Queen Mina with a panic-stricken face, "Where's Vaughn? I saw him being dragged away and it seems so real. Mina, we need to send troops to look for our son. He could be in danger!"
Queen Mina hugged her husband and tried to calm him down, "Hush now. Nothing will happen to our son, his wife is with him."
King Tarendino could not believe that the Queen would spout something like that when he was already worrying too much.
"My Queen, what do you mean by that? Ovid's daughter is a good-for-nothing. Now, I'm even more worried than ever. After this, we need to find a way to separate them and give the Anisens the compensation they deserve for all the trouble."
Queen Mina chuckled, "The Anisens don't lack money, and it is a blessing that we have Zenzen for a daughter-in-law."
King Tarendino was even more confused by the Queen's remarks.
"What do you mean?"
Queen Mina leaned on her husband and whispered into his ears, "Zenzen is the Junior Commander of the Ishelon Military Unit."
King Tarendino gasped, "The Junior Commander who designed their battle plan?"
"The one and only."
The King looked at his wife with a wide grin on his lips. He did not know that he had such a formidable daughter-in-law. He wondered why the Anisens hid her from the world and made everyone believed that she was a good-for-nothing. He just hoped that she was not as ugly as the rumors said. In the end, King Tarendino was so glad that no one knew about the real Zenia Anisen. Otherwise, someone must have snatched her a long time ago.
* * * * *
Everything looked peaceful in the outside. Tissuria was proud of her glorious sunrise that always seemed to say that it was going to be another great day. But, deep within the shadows where the sun failed to reach, some men were lying in wait for the signal to appear. They had been waiting patiently for quite a long time, and they were willing to sacrifice everything to meet their goal.
The whole Tissuria may greet the new day with a smile not knowing that it could be the start of their endless nightmare.