chapter 41

"Why are you screaming my name like you are nought?".

Eleanor heaved on seeing her. She was glad. She couldn't hide it. Her face beamed. The tears dried.

"What that's on your face". Joyce asked with a frown.

"A smile". Eleanor respond. The room was small and smell stale. It had been neglected for long. Kate did a quick cleaning but it still didn't measure up even to Ms. Monica's room.

Two candles on holders were burning at either side of the room which made Eleanor sight the girl with the golden hair. She was seated on desk.

"why are you admiring me. Do I look like your husband?. And why did you call me here?.

"Hey relaxed". Eleanor said lifting her hands. "you pretty lady". Somehow Joyce stood indifferent of the compliment. "Are you the queen of your kingdom?. I mean none is more deserving of that title. My queen". Eleanor bowed.

Joyce tilted her head up. She couldn't pretend any more. She let smiles curled up her lips.

Eleanor was saying that to tame the anger she came with. She was always angry. Maybe only around Eleanor.

"How is he?". Eleanor asked. "What did they do to him?. Can you please take me to him".

"Hey hey relaxed. I thought you said you can't love a demon. So why are you so concerned about my lord".

"Your lord" Eleanor repeated. "and how did you know about that…? oh forget it you are a demon after all.

"You confused little human". She walked up to Eleanor who was now upstanding.

"You caused him the pains he is going through now. Only if you had gone with him when he asked you to, all this wouldn't have happened.

Now even that crazy husband of yours that you were protecting from him. You do not wished to return to him. Why?. Because he treats you like some piece of trash".

"I would not have you talk to me in such tone". Even though Eleanor invited her. She wanted to asked how lord Zane was faring and if she can take her to him. Not to be insulted.

They were staring into each other's eyes. Angered was expressed in their looks. Eleanor refused to be afraid of this demon girl.

The door on the door disrupted their glares. "my princess I wanted to find out if you needed anything. We shall all retired to sleep already.

"Nothing Kate…. Thank you". Eleanor said.

"good night my princess"

"Please Joyce how is he?". Eleanor said after she waited till the clinking of Kate's shoes against the floor stop. She held Joyce's hands. "What did they do to him?" .

Joyce pulled her hands and moved away from her.

"They stabbed him with a dagger soaked in a dark portion that can nullify his powers and killed him in the process. He is currently in the healing room of his father, Lucifer".

Joyce turned round with force to look at Eleanor. " It was all because of you that, that silly human had the nerves to hurt him. Even in his condition he still plead for mercy. That Mistletoe should not be wipe off".

She gnashed her teeth and clench her fist then released. Joyce eyes were on her fingers as she strangle the air. " I really wish they give us the go ahead. I would have taught that bastard a lesson that dare did that to him". She said more to herself.

"Please can you take me to where he is?". Eleanor plead.

"Don't you ever asked of him again".

"But why?".

" because he is mine".

Joyce disappeared and left Eleanor to her fate. She thought that Joyce, the demon girl would lessen her burdens that was why she called on her. But she was wrong.

Princess Eleanor felt jealous that Joyce was claiming lord Zane. "but you are not interested in him because he is a demon and you…" a small voice said in Eleanor's head. "You are a human and married".

Eleanor threw herself on the bed and slept off.

In the middle of the night when they were all asleep. Smoke crept through the tiny slits of the closed doors and windows into the house.

Slowly it crawled on the floor, on the wall, on furniture and on all the people sleeping inside the small hall.

Then the smoke gathered together to form a figure of a man. Some of the knights were sleeping on the large table, they used to block the door.

Others on dinning table and chairs. On the floor was Martin while General Frederick slept on the couch and Francis on an armchair.

Ken was standing. He leaned on the pillar and slept off. All of them took weird sleeping positions because of yesterday's excitement and drunkenness.

The smoke person moved round the small hall, throwing spoons and forks and water and left over food on them but they slept still.

They slept like death bodies. Then it spinned into a spiral like a whirlwind and tumbled things in the house.

They were still sleeping. All of them. It later crept and ascend the short stairs into the corridor and into the rooms where the women were.

Queen Margaret and princess Eleanor slept in different rooms while all the maids shared a room.

The queen and the princess rooms were opposite their subject. The maids kept their door opened.

When it crawled through the corridor, it turned into an invisible gentle breeze. Its went into the three rooms simultaneously and blew the princess into a deep slumber.

Queen Margaret looked through the window to see what was going on but she saw nothing.

Only a fierce wind that was shaking the trees outside. She perceived something was wrong. So she went to informed the knights.

On the corridor she met with Beatrice and the foster twins looking concerned and disturbed.

"I gave Kate a knocked out slapped on her eye but she wouldn't wake". Martha complained.

"I poured her water" Stella said. "I burned her toes with fire" Beatrice added. " she is not dead, still breathing but she just refused to wake".

"something is wrong". The queen said suggestively.

"The princess" . They all chorus.

They ran to the room she was sleeping in to wake her up. She didn't wake, no matter how they tried.

"Informed the knights and the general". The queen ordered. Stella ran out to the living room but they were all asleep. All of them. They didn't wake no matter how she woke them. She ran back to the room.

"I think we are under an attacked". They turned to her at the door post… alarmed. " They knights nor the general wouldn't wake too" .

"Guard the princess" the queen commanded.

All the candles in the rooms went off. Except the ones in the small hall were the knights were which were fixed on walls.

They let their disguised down. All of them. They became the light through the darkness.

They carried the sleeping beauty and stuff on the chair, then they round the chair. All three of them.

While Jessica walked round to know what was actually going on. The wind became more fierce that things started falling out of place.

The foundation of the house shook. The decorative porcelain fell and smashed on the floor. The statue too. Ken fell to the floor and the shelves crumbled on him.

The candles up above fell and things started catching fire. The foundation of the house was still shaking.

Jessica hurried back to the room.

"Beatrice! ensure that all the men are out of this house. Take them into the woods".

" My queen, but there are dead asleep". Beatrice said in a weary tone

" Beatrice you can do it. Take all of them outside. The is no much time. The house is on fire". She yelled.

" Martha" . " My queen" .

" Get Kate out to safety". "yes my queen". Martha left.

Jessica and Stella placed their hands on either side of Eleanor's shoulders and they were teleported out of the house.

Beatrice went and gathered the men together. She stood in the middle of their lifeless bodies and recite some magical terms.

Then they all disappeared with her and lie in the woods.

The fire burnt with blazing flames tearing down the house bit by bit. She went back into the burning house to gathered their weapons. They house almost collapsed on her but she succeeded in gathering the weapons and disappeared.

Beatrice was alone with the sleeping men. She dropped their weapons there and left them in searched for others.

She appeared where the other women were with the sleeping princess and Kate.

"My queen here is to closer to the burning house. Come to where I left the men". Martha backed the princess and Stella backed Kate. They walked some distance. Jessica and Beatrice led guard.

"Halt!". Jessica screamed. Right in front of them was a creature that caused them fright.

"I see the four of you refused to sleep". Said the Being. His voice sloshed like a great stone dropped in the high sea.

He sat on a suspended beaming throne with viper pillars. His robe was burning with yellow light like Duke William's at Ms. Monica's house.

He had a sceptre in his hand. It head was venomous viper and it body of shining bronze.

His crown was dripping blood which drained into his eyes making his eyes to be as red as the blood.

His mouth like viper sticking and retrieving his tongue. The evening was darker than the ordinary.

Dark and dreaded. The burning house gave the light that shone on them. It made them see clearly this foreign being hovering in the air before them.

"Who are you?" Jessica asked in a commanding tone, unafraid.

"I am emperor Cassius George" he said. This time, his voice was different. It echoed through the emptiness of the night like an ancient sword cut through the air. Empty but deadly.

"You made them slept like fools. Why! Why!" The queen groaned. "I need a peaceful mission". The emperor stated simply.

" I have heard of you before. I saw you declared war against my kingdom. I know you are a human. Why then did you come to us like this. Like a wicked demon.?"

"The emperor laughter tore their courage. Stella who was still backing Kate collapsed on her face. Kate hurried her in the mud.

Martha was unable to condone the princess weight. She dumped her on the muddy floor. Beatrice pulled Kate aside and exhumed Stella from the mud.

She then spread like a bird basked in the sun in front of the princess. She was shading her from the emperor.

"I see you have guts… I am a no demon. I am the greatest sorcerer of all times". He boasted happily". Then ceased his joy at once. "I do not know why the four of you refused to sleep or why you are all looking foreign.

Don't tell me you are the daughters of Serpent Land who had taken Golden Hill to be your homes".

He paused and looked at them.

They position like warriors round about the princess.

"I didn't come to killed any tonight". He said in a calm and peaceful tone. "I am tired of drinking blood. Give the princess to me and I shall let you live". He commanded. The amazing four ignored him.

"Never!". Jessica stood like a warrior ready to defend her own. "Get the princess up, let's take her to safety" the queen instructed.

Before they could make an attempt to lift her to her feet from the muddy ground, a large powerful wings formed behind their shoulders blade.

Black and red. It caused them to fly away with great speed living the princess behind. All of them at once.

The throne lowered. Emperor Cassius descended from it. Majestically he walked past the sleeping Kate and met with the also sleeping princess.

He fasten his hands around the princess neck and jacked her lifeless body up.

He smiled just staring into her beautiful sleeping face.

"Now the king's stone can finally be mine". He laughed. "wake up!. Wake up".

She opened her eyes sluggishly still unaware of what was happening around her.

Emperor Cassius locked eyes with Eleanor. Then his bloody eyes turned dark.

Black and brown smoke gushed out of his eyes into hers. The princess started coughing and jerking vigorously.

Jessica returned. She had made the most out of her new given wings. She now controlled it.

From afar she sighted the emperor invoking dark magic into the princess. She stretched forth her hands to them.

A blue light escaped from her palms and struck emperor Cassius. He was destabilized and let the princess fell. She yanked the princess up immediately and flown away with her.

The emperor staggered. He released legions of burning mini daggers against her from his finger nails.

Jessica was stirring high and low in the air. She kept dodging the arrows.

She flew right and left, then bound and soared.

Emperor Cassius caused the mini daggers to rained like a canopy over the queen. Unfortunately she only dodged the ones she could.

One pierced her side rib. Another her back, neck, arms and parts of her body. She couldn't help herself. She screamed out loud.

The emperor chuckled over his victory. But none of the daggers pierced the princess. If any touches her it melted away.

Jessica couldn't stayed long in the air. No matter how she flapped the broken wings. She came crumbling on a tree branches.

Some troops were approaching, Beatrice saw them while her wings kept her afloat in the air. She went to the sleeping warriors. She unleashed her magic on them and they woke without delayed.

"Rise and fight!. Fight for your lives. Fight for your princess and queen. Fight for your people. Fight for your kingdom. Fight as knights! Fight for peace". They searched for their weapons on themselves but didn't find it.

"it here". Timber said. They reached for them.

"Over there!" Beatrice ordered. They were emperor Cassius men who sneaked in the late hour of the night to killed and to destroyed only to met the always ready for battled handful knights of Golden Hill.

They battle line was red. The fight was evenly distributed. Everyone had a fair share. Though the princess's knights knew not where she nor the queen was. They fought still.

Beatrice flew away before they could asked anything. The old general volunteer to go look for the royalties. Bernard voluntarily went with him

They rest of them formed a circle with back against each other. They fought the enemy in oneness.

The enemies surrounded then but their unity was their greatest defense .

General Frederick and Bernard fell the enemies like trees as they went. Though they knew not where there were or where they were headed. They forged ahead.

Beatrice and the foster twin tagged team against the emperor. He saw them cruising with the wings.

"Thank you Cassius for this pair of wings" Martha bragged. She soared above and glided down flapping and bounding. While she distracted him the other two attacked. They release fire balls on him. He gnashed and crashed.

Jessica was trying to released her self and the princess from the mouth of the tree. Her wings hooked on all the branches of the tree.

The daggers was now buried into her skin but she felt nothing. The various spot was flaming red. All she care about was to safe the convulsing princess in her arms.

Emperor Cassius regained himself and rose again. He shattered the wings of Beatrice and Martha but Stella escaped and took the princess with her.

The emperor screamed. The wave from his mouth fell trees and things around him. He transported himself like rocket into the sky and came back with the princess within a moment.