"Alrik, please! If you don't help me, Vance will be sent to war." Vaida said with tears in her eyes.
"Vaida, you know I love you, but your brother committed a crime. And the punishment for his crimes is being sent to the war camp, you know that. No one else can serve his sentence for him."
"I thought you said you love me, Alrik? How can you say you love me and refuse to fulfill this one request that I ask of you? Just one year of service at the front lines. That's all. You know Vance is sick, and you're stronger than him. One year is nothing to you. I promise, as soon as your service is over, I will marry you. We can finally start our own family." She said to him again.
"You already agreed to marry me, Vaida. And our families are already planning our wedding." Alrik said with a sigh of exasperation.
"Well, If you refuse to go to war in my brother's place, then I will cancel the wedding. Just tell the task force that you were the one driving that day."
"Why should I accept a crime I didn't commit? You're seriously giving me an ultimatum? " He asked incredulously.
"Yes. You say you love me, so prove it." Vaida said and walked out on him.
Alrik sighed and sat down. Francis, his Fiancee's brother, was a spoiled brat, and his family was responsible for always enabling his behaviour and covering up his crimes. This time, he was driving while drunk, and almost killed someone. Due to the fatality of the injuries, Vance should have been given up to five years of military service, but his family pulled strings to reduce it to one year, as long as Alrik was willing to go in Francis' place.
Vaida refused to speak to him for days, and he finally agreed because he truly loved her. One year was nothing. She swore to wait for him, and marry him. He believed their love could survive anything.
On the day he was to leave for the war camp, Vaida came to bid him farewell.
"I will miss you, Alrik. Thank you for showing me how much you love me." She smiled, and that smile made him happy.
He hated seeing her sad or crying.
"I will send you letters as often as I can. From the device predictions, another portal will open in two months. That means we'll be busy with training and preparations to fight the beasts." Alrik said to her.
"Stay safe. Fight for our country valiantly. I will wait for you, my love."
They shared a kiss, and he left.
"Is he finally gone?" Kalen, Alrik's cousin, asked as Vaida stepped into the Zerdon Estate.
She smiled and ran up to kiss him. "Yes. We did it. We finally got rid of him. I hope he dies a brutal death, so your grandfather will have no choice but to hand over the Zerdon family assets to you." She said and he smirked.
"And then we can get married. That fool. I can't believe he truly fell for this plan. How could he believe you could love a loser like him? A man whose parents didn't even want him. His father abandoned him here and left to who knows where." Kalen said with a mocking tone.
"I can't wait to hear news of his death."
ELEVEN MONTHS LATER
"Our plan failed, Kalen! What are we going to do? You promised me Alrik was too weak to survive at war camp. But he's been at the battle front for months, and instead of dying, he has been promoted several times. He has almost served his one year completely."
"Stop yelling, Vaida. I'm trying to think. No one wants Alrik gone more than me. If he returns with war accolades, our grandfather will automatically name him the heir to the Zerdon Estate. I can't let that happen. Everything belongs to me. I will never let that bastard Alrik take it away from me." Kalen swore.
"So what's the new plan?"
"We just need to make sure that Alrik will not return as a war hero. If the beasts from the portal aren't enough to kill him, then we must ruin his reputation."
"How would we do that from over here?" She asked and sat close to him.
"I have an idea. I know the perfect way to ruin Alrik and also make some money. Leave it to me. This time, Alrik won't be able to escape."