Later that day, the celebration of the prince's arrival had begun and everyone in the kingdom was having a great time so far. There were two people in particular that were super close with the king and queen and they got the honor of meeting the baby first.

The first person was a teenage girl with red hair with orange highlights, blue eyes, and was wearing a red hoodie over a blue short sleeved shirt, blue pants, black fingerless gloves, and black boots. Her name is Marsha Karudera but she goes by Mars for short, Nora's cousin.

The second person was a teenage girl with aqua hair with dark blue streaks and purple eyes. Her name is Maya, a close friend of Mars and Nora.

"Where is he? I want to meet him!" Maya said with joy as she could barely control it. "I bet he's the cutest little boy ever!"

"Calm down, Maya. We'll get to meet him soon enough." Mars said with a chuckle. "We just have to wait for a moment until they're ready."

"But we were supposed to be the first to meet him." Maya whined.

"And we will be, trust me. But we have to wait." Mars said trying to sympathize with her friend. "The baby still needs bonding time with his parents. Just be a little more patient, okay?"

Maya took a deep breath to calm down and nodded with a smile. "Okay, I can wait. Thanks Mars."

"Of course, that's what friends are for." Mars smiled before the door suddenly opened and Krel walked out. "Oh, Krel. Are you guys ready?"

"Yep, we're ready for you guys to meet our child." Krel said with a smile as he gestured for his friends to go in the room.

Once they were in there, the girls saw Nora sitting on the edge of the bed and holding the baby. It didn't seem like he noticed them walking in but they noticed she was singing a lullaby.

When she finished singing, Nora looked up and noticed his friends. "Oh, uh, hey guys." She said feeling a little embarrassed. "Are you ready to meet our little prince?"

Maya and Mars nodded in excitement as they walked up to the queen and the baby boy. "Aww." They both said in unison.

"Meet Prince Henry." Makayla said with a smile.

"He's a special boy for sure." Mars smiled. "I can already tell he's going to be a great leader one day."

Little Henry then opened his eyes and smiled as he let out a little laugh. "Yep, that's a boy the kingdom will love for sure." Maya said with a smile as she let the baby hold her finger.

Suddenly, someone burst in the room with a look of urgency. It was a man with white hair and blue eyes shielded by black glasses. His name is Percy.

"You're majesty, I'm so sorry to interrupt this family moment but I have a special letter for Krel." Percy said as he handed Krel the letter. "It's urgent and needed to be responded to immediately."

When he opened his envelope, Krel couldn't help but gasped as he realized what it was. He was being drafted to war against their rival kingdom.

"No, this can't be happening!" Krel said in fear and worry. "I can't leave, not now of all times!"

"I'm sorry, but it's mandatory that the three of you go." Percy said honestly. "Krel, you will be leading a fleet of 600 men to war and that's that."

The king and queen were at a loss for words. He really didn't want to leave his new family especially at a time like this. In fact he didn't really want to leave at all, he couldn't fight he didn't know how to. "No, I. . .I can't do this." He said seriously. "I'm not a fighter."

"Well, someone has to lead the fleet." Percy said as a matter of factly. "You can't just ignore the call to war."

As this was going on, Nora spaced out as she heard a familiar voice in her head. "You know very well he can't fight." The voice said honestly. "Krel's a great guy and all but come on. . . he'll die out there."

"I know, but I don't know what to do." Nora said telepathically. "Maybe. . .I should go instead?"

"That's what I'm talking about!" The voice said proudly. "Why do you think I've trained you for? This is your time to shine, Nora. Go for it!"

"I volunteer as tribute!" Nora suddenly shouted out loud which caught everyone off guard for a moment. Nora blushed in embarrassment before clearing her throat. "Uh, I mean. . .I'll go in place of Krel."

"Well, if Nora's going then I'll go too." Mars said seriously. "I place of Kyoya I volunteer to fight in his place."

"You know what? Me too." Maya said with a determined nod. "In place of Raphael, I Maya, shall fight in this war."

"No, I can't just let you go out there to die!" Krel snapped as tears formed in his eyes. "Maybe. . .I can go trust me."

"And I can't let you go out there to die." Nora said as a matter of factly. "I can do this, I have the power of the gods on my side and my girlfriends of course."

Krel was silent for a moment as he looked at his friends, he could tell by the look on their faces that they were feeling the same way. "Do you really have to be the one to go?" He asked as he hugged his wife.

"Please, Krel, let me do this. . .for you and Henry." Nora asked before giving a sigh and looking into her husband's eyes. "But I have to go and you can stay here. Henry needs a father figure and the kingdom needs their king."

Krel just sighed before giving the black and silver haired girl one last kiss and breaking the embrace. "Just. . .make it home safe, okay."

"I will, I promise." Nora said as she handed the baby to Krel. "And Henry, I will be back for you to see you grow. . .you can count on that."

With that said, Nora and the girls walked away to prepare for the long journey. Though, she was still worried about how her husband would be without her help.

"It's okay, Nora." Mars suddenly said as if she read Nora's mind. "I think Krel is more than capable of running the kingdom himself. He's a badass, and you know that."

Nora couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little at Mars' statement, but she knew it was true. Krel was the kindest, most amazing man she had ever met, besides, the time would fly by and he'd be home before she knew it. Other than the possibility of death, what else could go wrong?

It was at that moment that all the fear and worry suddenly went away. Nora looked at his friends and nodded before he looked back at her husband and son who were watching from the doorway with smiles on their faces.

"I promise, I will make it home." Nora said to herself. "As well all other 600 men under my command."

With that said, Nora and her friends officially headed off to the long journey ahead. The trip to the warzone was smooth sailing and didn't take too long, but what no one expected was that the trip home was going to end up being much longer than anyone anticipated.

To be continued. . .

Hevanora Kurayami and Henry Tarron belongs to me

Marsha Karudera belongs to KyoMarsha10

Maya belongs to MayanTheSerpentine

Tales of Arcadia belongs to DreamWorks

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