Eric remained in the library long after night had settled over the estate, the quiet broken only by the soft scratching of his pen across parchnt. The idea he had stumbled upon while watching the muddy scuffle earlier in the day had refused to leave his mind, and now lines, arrows, and notes spread across the pages before him as he tried to turn that spark into an actual plan.
It had been five days since he had co to Casterre and it had taken him three days just to diagnose the problem and search for a solution. But he was still pushing against ti since he had to do this one last thing.
He knew the misunderstandings and hostility that had grown over months would not disappear with a temporary solution. What these people needed was sothing to release that tension- a place where they could let their frustrations out. A place where these people could be open and once their angst was out it would give them so space for healing their bonds.
He was so absorbed in his work that he failed to notice when two small figures slipped into the room.
Nico and Leo climbed onto the chairs beside him, standing on their knees so they could peer over the table. The twins leaned forward, staring intently at the papers.
"What’s this?" Nico asked curiously.
Eric blinked, finally noticing them. "Ah- Nico, Leo."
He gasped, looking between the two brunettes. "When did you get here?"
The twins bead at him.
"And shouldn’t the two of you be in bed right now?" Eric added, glancing toward the dark windows. "It’s quite late."
Leo shrugged, "If Big Sister stays up late, then we can too."
Eric tilted his head slightly. "Your sister?"
The twins nodded quickly.
"We saw her when we went to get cookies," Nico started.
Leo imdiately shot him a sharp glare making him cover his mouth with his hands.
Eric’s eyes narrowed in amusent. "So you were sneaking late-night snacks?"
"Sh–She went to the training grounds!" Leo hurried to add, trying to redirect the conversation. "And we saw Big Brother Drac too!"
That caught Eric’s attention.
"You saw Drac with her?" He asked, leaning forward.
The twins shook their heads.
"Big Brother Drac was already practicing," Nico explained. "Big Sister went there after."
Eric humd thoughtfully before walking toward the window. The twins scrambled after him.
From the tall window, the training grounds were only partially visible, but under the dim burning torchlight he could just make out two figures moving, blades flashing as Drac and Lysanne sparred.
Nico and Leo climbed up beside him, each grabbing one of his shoulders so they could see better.
"They’re fighting again..." Nico sighed.
"That’s not fighting," Leo corrected seriously. "It’s sparring."
Eric let out a soft chuckle, the corner of his mouth lifting. After a mont, he glanced sideways at the boys perched on his shoulders.
"Say, Nico. Leo."
The twins looked at him imdiately.
"Would you two like to help with sothing?"
At the words help and plan, their faces lit up as if soone had lit lanterns behind their eyes.
"What do we do?" they asked eagerly.
Eric’s smile turned a little playful.
"Co here," he said, leading them back toward the table. "I’ll explain."
The next morning, Eric stood at the bend of the river with the two twins beside him, both of them looking half-asleep as they tried to stay upright.
Work had continued for three straight days. The dredging had finally cleared enough silt that the river flowed freely again, the water now rushing steadily toward the nearly parched lands of Lowre.
It wasn’t a miracle, but it was a start.
Farrs from both Hillford and Lowre had gathered along the banks, watching the current with visible relief.
And, as expected, relief quickly turned into argunt.
"Hah! That’s what happens when we take matters into our own hands!" A young man from Hillford declared proudly.
"We did more of the work here," a Lowre youth shot back. "Don’t make it sound like you did everything."
"Hah? If you lot hadn’t been slacking, your side of the river wouldn’t have dried up in the first place!"
"Says the one whose section was buried in silt!" An old Lowre farr barked.
"That’s right! If you had done your part properly, we wouldn’t have suffered!"
"We could say the sa about you!" A Hillford elder snapped.
"You people act like nobles," another young man from Hillford scoffed. "Maybe now you’ll learn what it’s like to suffer like commoners."
"We are commoners!" A young boy from Lowre protested loudly.
Eric rubbed his temple as the two villages edged closer to turning the riverbank into a battlefield.
Just as expected, he thought.
Fortunately, this was exactly what he had planned for.
He cleared his throat and glanced down at his two small assistants.
The twins straightened imdiately.
Eric gave them a small nod.
Nico and Leo puffed out their chests and stepped forward dramatically.
"Hear ye! Hear ye!" The twins shouted in perfect unison.
The sudden proclamation startled everyone into silence.
"His Highness has sothing to say!"
Murmurs rippled through the gathered crowd as the farrs and villagers turned toward Eric.
Eric stepped forward, smiling calmly as dozens of eyes fixed on him.
Eric clasped his hands behind his back, looking between the two groups.
"It seems," he said lightly, "that both Hillford and Lowre have worked very hard these past few days."
A few people nodded while others crossed their arms stubbornly.
"And yet," Eric continued, "instead of celebrating this progress, you are arguing about who worked harder."
Several farrs looked slightly embarrassed.
Eric gestured toward the flowing river.
"Since last year, Casterre has been struggling with drought. Because of that, many of you have not had the chance to celebrate the Spring Festival properly."
At the ntion of the festival, a wave of quiet murmurs spread through the crowd.
Eric smiled faintly.
"But watching you all these past few days, I realized sothing."
He paused just long enough to build curiosity.
"You are all very energetic people."
A few chuckles broke out.
"And very competitive."
More laughter.
"So I thought... why not celebrate the Spring Festival a little differently at Casterre this year?"
Now everyone was listening.
"As you continue restoring the farmlands," Eric said, "we will hold a festival tournant."
The crowd stirred with surprise.
"Both Hillford and Lowre will compete. Farming contests. Strength contests. Archery."
The younger villagers lit up imdiately.
"And at the end of it," Eric finished, "the winning village will earn the honor of hosting next year’s Spring Festival."
Now the murmurs grew excited.
Eric spread his hands calmly.
"That way, instead of arguing about who works harder..."
He smiled.
"You can prove it."
"I’m naming this tournant Spring Revival Festival." Eric announced it with a grin. "And if you like it, you can hold it annually, I’ll make sure to visit when I have ti."
The people were a mixture of anticipation and competitive spirit which add more lightness to the crowd.
The supervising panel who were making a silent report over Eric’s day were taken aback by his sudden announcent of a tournant for Spring Festival.
One of them who was from the knights panel walked closer to his side.
"Your Highness." He spoke in a low voice and Eric turned to him.
"Yes, Sir Elr?"
Sir Elr glanced once that the villagers and then at Eric, "Isn’t it a little farfetched to suggest the tournant?"
Eric tilted his head a little and smiled, "I know... But the problem I ca here to solve wasn’t exactly the water problem..."
His eyes drifted over to the people who were talking amongst themselves, "The bond between these people has also beco like this river and it needs dredging... I know I don’t have much ti and the Spring Festival is still a few weeks away but, this little tournant can help them."
Sir Elr opened his mouth to retort but Eric added, "I know it might not make much difference but, consider this as a duel between two knights who are at odds. Once they have fought it over, don’t they start to have a sense of comraderie? Even if they fight they still don’t develop hatred for each other."
Sir Elr nodded, pondering over Eric’s words.
"I just want them to have it out at each other in a way that could be fun for them. This is the last thing that I can do for them in my limited ti. Rest all is up to them..."
Eric watched as the people now started teasing each other, there was hostility but it was more of a competitive spirit.
"They were friends at one point, so, this tournant will help them rember of those tis and it will in turn help Casterre in the long run."
"But what if things get out of hands at this tournant?" Hasik, who had been listening quietly to Eric and Sir Elr’s conversation piped in.
Eric humd softly before placing a hand on Drac’s shoulder, making him glance over.
"Then this guy and I will take care of it." Eric said and Drac nodded without a word.
The supervising panel watched Eric’s bright smile and couldn’t help but just put their faith in it. They had seen their King and Prince Carlos making wrong decisions which had led to catastrophic results but while observing Prince Eric they got a fresh perspective which made them for once content and they all were anticipating the reign of the considerate and caring ruler.
They knew for a fact that Prince Carlos would not have made any progress as Prince Eric and just like the whole kingdom they were sure that Eric would win.
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