Chapter 334: Axbridge Arrives
When the first airship to land started to disembark, an entire unit of Axbridge Royal Guards, Dominic began to fear that he had jinxed himself with his wayward thoughts.
However, the Royal who followed them out, already mounted on a mechanical horse in gold-plated barding, was a young man, likely no older than Dominic himself.
For a moment, the two men stared at each other in an impasse.
The lower ranked should introduce themselves to the higher, but neither was exactly clear on whom the other man was.
"Greetings, Highness. I am Dominic Wavemates, Duke of Wistover, and husband of the Royal Princess, Alexis Cygnus." Dominic began.
The Prince sighed in relief, then nodded politely. "Duke Wistover, I am Prince Fahad, heir apparent to the throne of Axbridge. My congratulations on your recent nuptials. I do hope that we are not too early, though I see at least one force has arrived ahead of us."
Dominic nodded. "Prince George of Mitfield and his men arrived in advance, so the Prince could spend some social time with Princess Alexis. They are long-time friends, you see."
Prince Fahad nodded. "I am aware of their bond. Tell me, is it true that the Princess maintained her position within the Royal Paladins even after marriage?"
Dominic nodded. "The order doesn’t ban matrimony, so there was no reason to dissolve the appointment."
No reason except a husband who might be rightfully fearful of a heavily armed and violent wife. Most Noblemen were not in love partnerships, but political marriages.
It was safer for them if their wife was not encouraged to carry weapons.
Prince Fahad smiled, approving of Dominic’s attitude toward marriage and the Princess. While he wasn’t too familiar with Princess Alexis, he was in full support of Royal daughters being allowed to choose their partners wherever possible.
"So tell me, Duke Wistover, what holding did you originate from? I see that you have kept the Wavemates surname in honour of the fallen Dragon King." Fahad asked.
"I’m actually from right here in Wistover, the inheritor of this land by birthright. Kin to the former Earl Wistover and the Royal Consort." Dominic replied easily, but the words froze the Prince in his saddle.
"From Wistover? But..."
"There was only one survivor? Yes, I am told that the Dagos Army made me somewhat infamous. However, the King of Cygnia didn’t object when I came to work in his capital. Did you know, I actually spent many years in Axbridge? You have a lovely nation, your Highness." Dominic agreed.
Prince Fahad bowed politely, then shook his head in dismay. "Do you know how many times Dagos came to the Palace, insisting that you had escaped into our nation, and demanding that we send teams to apprehend you during the years after Wavemates fell?"
"Eight?" Dominic guessed.
"They sent thirty-two different military officers with the same petition the first season alone."
"That’s a bit excessive.
If they considered me a renegade foreign General, asking a mere four times a year would be considered overbearing. Even if they had only come during the years that I was actually in Axbridge," Dominic replied with mock sincerity.
"I like you, Dragon Prince. But now that I know who you are, there are some issues at the lower level that we should discuss. Do you have a private space?"
Dominic tilted his head toward the Manor. "We have soundproofed sitting rooms. If you need to discuss something personal there, we can do so without being overheard.
I suspect that I already have a good idea what the issue is, and there are some other matters to discuss as well.
However, we should get your men settled. This region isn’t being worked yet, so it’s fine to leave the airships here if they’re grounded for the duration of your visit. However, the men would be better accommodated another kilometre out.
That puts them directly across from the Mitfield troops, with the town in the centre. But it also puts them a bit further above the river, so their tents won’t get as wet.
The rainy season is about to start, and unfortunately, we are not well-designed to accommodate so many.
However, our food production has been quite outstanding, and I will have carts sent every morning to fill any orders that your chefs might have for fresh produce and grains."
Prince Fahad nodded. "I appreciate it, as will my men. Is there an officer’s lounge in town? By the end of the week, the men will be getting restless."
"They’re building it now. A convention centre with officers’ barracks above it. Give us a few days and we will have it all sorted. The men are quite skilled, and Cygnia sent us a whole Infrastructure team to assist.
They were not expecting such an early arrival of the envoys, though." Dominic hinted.
Prince Fahad shrugged. "We saw that others had mobilized, so we did as well. Father doesn’t believe in letting anyone get a head start on negotiations."
So, everyone was here because Prince George brought an entire army to come see his favourite Cygnia Princess.
That sounded like about the level of political headache that Dominic should have seen coming.
"Shall we see your men to their campsite? I notice you still have ships waiting in formation." Dominic commented casually.
"Of course. The airships will all land here if you have no objections. Is the ground solid enough for anchoring?"
Dominic nodded. "It should be. I haven’t specifically tested it, but most of the ground here is heavy clay, so airship anchors should screw in easily enough to keep them tethered."
The farmers were going to have fits now that there were twenty thousand soldiers camped outside of town. But they had been concerned a few days ago about how much food they could ship or can for long-term storage.
That would no longer be a problem.
Once they had set aside all that they needed, they could easily sell all the rest to the visiting armies.
They were going to need more Garden Witches, though. A five-person Coven might be enough for medicine, but the fields would need more help to keep a city worth of soldiers happy.
One Millie wasn’t going to cut it.