chapter 42

All of a sudden they saw Stella tumbling in the air while Beatrice and Martha ran left and right. Observing the best spot to positioned and catch the falling Stella.

They targeted the right spot and Stella lands in their hands. they all crumbled on the floor.

The knights were still on it. They had spread out like fleas on the field. Perching on all they could.

Ken was fighting with three opponent. He poised and avoid a strike from one. Then he thrusts the one by his left in the chest. Immediately! he slew the one trying to pierced his eyes and then slashed the one behind.

Francis was in deep mess. The enemies sword tore his tunic and the flesh of his arms. Another of the emperor's men thrust his spear and it made Francis sword dashed out from his hand to a distance. He was running strategically round the tree and his opponent kept hurting the tree as Francis dodged his sword.

He swiftly brought out two dangers from his holster to defend himself.

The other knights were there too. Fighting for their kingdom and for peace. Timber found himself teetering over a fallen timber.

He lost his balance and fell on the floor with back against the ground.

His opponent slashed his stomach. He held the place and whimper. The sword was still swinging against him. He rolled left and right to evade it. Each time the sword tore the ground. He was helpless. and was crawling on his back.

Arthur saw him. He made his way there and rescued him. Then fell all their opponent who were torturing him.

"To the princess" Ken screamed. The others responded. "To the princess".

Ken and Sea were now backs together clearing the remnants of the emperor's men until there was none standing.

The princess's knights advanced to where they sighted the maids some metre away. At the entrance into the woods.

Kate took Stella to take shelter under the canopy of a large tree not very distance into the woods. Stella was entirely vulnerable.

Meanwhile Beatrice and Martha tried to fight the emperor again. This time from the ground but he was too powerful for them.

Emperor Cassius clenched his fist. He kept rubbing his fingers against his palms even in his tight gripped.

Then he rotated his hand from his wrist, Beatrice and Martha was screaming painfully as their body kept squeezing while the emperor rotates his hand. He did it, very slowly.

Water and blood was coming out of them. From their eyes, mouth, nose, all the opening and from the pores of their skin.

The knights tried to stopped the emperor to set these two free. Emperor Cassius snapped his left fingers and the knights went overboard.

When the trapped queen saw that the two were in between life and death. Beatrice and Martha were slowly perishing.

She used her last will and emits a blue light to smite the emperor. It save them. The emperor was affected as he howled in pains, thereby releasing the two.

The powers came through her eyes and she directed the eyes against the head of the emperor. The light came like thunder on him. Striking and shocking him.

He was gradually going down. Until he placed a knee on the ground. Then he rise again.

Emperor Cassius looked up to where the queen was trapped. He caused the branches of the tree to pinned the queen down more fiercely.

The tree branches swaddled her while the leaves grew on them. She became part of the tree. Jessica was deeply rooted in the tree. She became a human tree. A beautiful human pink tree.

The emperor created a fire barricade between him and the protectors of the princess. He yanked the convulsing princess up and claimed her. Just like in the former position.

He continued from where he stopped. Invoking into her dark powers from his eyes until he became weak and fell to the ground a normal human being. The fire barricade weakens.

Every one around the scene lied tiredly like slaughtered meat. The sun was rising in the sky. It fell on them. They were to exhausted to rise.

Kate who was watching the emperor and couldn't do nothing even though she wanted to ran to the lifeless princess. She was wailing and shaking Eleanor to wake.

but it was not the princess's fault. She slept still. The knights that the emperor threw overboard were scuffing back. They ran to Kate and the princess.

Few of emperor Cassius men struggled to their feet also. Those who were fainted and partially injured. They survived the swords of the Golden Hill knights.

They marched to their now feeble emperor who lay lifeless on the ground. The spot was void of trees. He had uprooted them in his anger.

He was laying on the wounded ground. They marched to protect him from the princess's knights.

Golden Hill knights didn't have their time. Even if they did, they were to exhausted to fight. Instead they were busy with the lifeless body of their princess. Trying to bring it back to life.

Kate had pulled her distance away from the wicked emperor before the knights arrived.

With every seconds that passes by. Beatrice and Martha were recovering themselves. Stella too, she came from her shelter to meet up with the rest of them.

Beatrice was crawling to queen Margaret. A pink queen tree in the middle of nowhere.

She hugged the tree and wept. Her tears crept up the tree but stopped at the beginning of the tree trunk, where the branches borders. Her tears was the colour of her eyes.

Kate could see it crawling up. She was watching her. She screamed to Stella and to Martha who were partially recovered if they could helped.

The foster twin scuffed to the Jessica tree and Beatrice. With an uneasy gaits they finally arrived there but they didn't have the strength to stand upright.

So they crumbled on themselves by the tree. The three of them took their space and hugged the tree simultaneously. They then joined their hands together. Colourful light left their eyes to the tree. It merged to form white light as it crawled up.

The knights forgot about their pains and princess and lust after the fascination of the moment.

Francis was on his knee with the princess in his arms. The other knights hovered around him. But their eyes was fixed on the tree.

The white light ignites with the pink leaves like fireflies. It flickers in billions about the tree. Flying in circles round about it.

It light could be seen from afar. This led the old general and Bernard who was lost in the woods back on track. They now knew where others were and came over.

The light was ever so serene and loving. Suddenly it over shadowed the tree. The grateful spectators protected their eyes from going blind.

When they could no longer experience the excessive brightness through their closed eyelids.

They opened their eyes slowly. Their queen was over there still searching for her self in wonder. Smiles was smeared on her face. Jessica stood on the tree looking down at all of them.

"Sea and Ken… Go and help the queen down" the old general commanded. Both of them hasten on the general's command but Jessica stood right in front of them. They flinched.

The general was awestruck. All of the men.

The emperor opened his eyes to the faint brightness of the morning cloud. His vision was blurred but he sight figures of persons stand round about him. Looking down to him with weapons in theirs hands.

He stick out his tongue. It came out very long like a rope but sharp like a knife. He slew his men with it. when he realized they were for him it was already too late. Four of them was already dead.

His tongue retreated and he became unconscious again.

The queen ordered every one of them to gather together. They all gathered where the Francis was, still carrying the lifeless princess in his arms.

The knights carried the other three who could not moved their fingers after releasing Jessica from the tree.

All of a sudden the emperor opened his eyes again and his tongue stick out metres away to where the princess and her crew where.

Jessica recited some terms in a hurry and they all disappeared into the unknown.

They found themselves on a very high mountain where there was no where down.

"So we shall finally die here" Arthur said. He was still holding unto the injured Timber. With his arms curled round his waist and Timber's hand on his shoulders.

Francis has the princess in his arms. His gaze was buried on her face.

All of them turned to looked at Jessica whose eyes were still closed. "my queen" Arthur bowed. "we are closer to the sky than the ground. If I slipped by chance, I shall be shredded into a paste before I reached the ground. Please my queen". He bowed "take us to where we can place her feet on the ground".

Most of them suppressed their laughter. His words were funny but the didn't want to laugh out. Not when it involved the queen.

"Do you rather preferred the tongue of that emperor shreds you".

"No". They bowed and swallowed their laughter.

Jessica opened her eyes and heaved then took a deep breathe. "I needed to get us out of there. Anywhere. Now!". She looked at them.

"Hold someone, hold something, hold anything. I don't want to leave no one behind".

They hurried and hugged themselves and they found themselves near the rocky water fall.

"Another mountain". Martin said. "This seems better. Green... and black and brown rocks. At least there is water".

He turned the rest whose eyes were still closed, not knowing they were in another place.

"It a shallow water running down the steep slope. Does it mean I can't fished.. to have food. There is a way down also...

Look! This way down... And looked over there is a forest". He chewed his words excitedly making his way down.

They followed him. They settled at one end of the waterfall. Rolland who had been quiet all the while he went with them, offered to dressed Timber's wound.

The rest of them freshen up. They fetched water and drank and fetched also for all the ladies and the old general. Watched their faces and did all that they could with the water.

Sir Rolland led a team to hunt. While Ken gathered firewood for Bernard to make fire.

Shortly after, the hunters came back with their kills. They roasted and ate and make their heart merry for the moment. Even though the princess never woke.

They were so worried and at the same time relieved. They were worried that their princess sleeps but glad that her pulse was still kicking. Relieved that they were no more in Golden Hill kingdom. They were faraway from the deadly emperor.

"Not until yesterday. I never knew my queen and some of our servants practice magic". Sea said.

He had been the loyal personal knight of queen Margaret since she first arrived in Golden Hill where the king assigned him to her.

He looked up to the light shining through the space between the leaves shading them from the sun.

They were silence for the moment. Sea's gaze shifted to looked at Francis and Ken who were having a friendly duel on a big rock.

Timber was made to relaxed on the timber close by. While the rest of them sat on the smaller rocks that scattered round facing the hill opposite them and the shallow water in-between.

Queen Margaret smile. "When Beatrice told her story the other day, I knew it would never be completed if I didn't tell mine".

Ken left Francis and ran along to smashed the bird that towered over the sleeping princess. She slept so calm on the improvise bed. It was a rock and another little rock was kept as a pillow.

"My name is Jessica". Queen Margaret stood up. She put her hand behind her back and pace the small distance she had in between the old general and the sleeping princess. After she gave them a brief introduction of her self. She took a deep breath and became Jessica.

The bruises she sustained from the fight seems to fade away. Her white satin skin pretends to cracked and peeled like she was shading her skin. Gradually it sheen up.

Her eyes was yellow gold. She let down a shimmering long blue hair. Their eyes beam. Ken had returned back to fight. He was teetering on one side of the rock while Francis was on the other end.

They held their hands and remain still. Some of the knights who slept off woke.

It was as though they were seeing her true self for the very first time.

They were all lost in the beauty of their queen. Young and enchanting beauty. Her rosy seductive lips made the knights longed for some thing. But they still needed their heads to be rooted in the bodies till all this was over. So they gulped their desires away.

Jessica turned to Stella and Beatrice and Martha. "They were my servants back in Serpent Land. I came with them.

When the princess was born and her mother die. I saw the hatred and jealousy other queens had against her. I knew she needed protection.

I was willing to let one of my maid to be there for her. I discussed with the king and he accepted. I then gave Beatrice, my favorite to be not just her maid but her guide.

I did this in appreciation of the king for marrying me and preventing me from becoming a serpent for life".

Most of them who were just hearing that for the first time didn't understand, what she meant by becoming a serpent for life. Jessica was not willing to go into details.

A serpent was crawling to them. Arthur and Sea and Martin flinched. Queen Margaret went to it. She grabbed it gently and curled it up round her neck.

Silence tarried for a while before Francis used an axe to break it.

"What did the emperor do to our princess that is making her sleep so still?"

"He poisoned her" Jessica said crouching to her level. The snake crawled from her neck to the sleeping princess. Martin screamed.

Ken, Rolland and Bernard were quick to draw their swords to killed but Stella paused them raising their sword in the air. The snake found it way under Eleanor' dressed.

"It's dark magic that he poisoned her innocent mind with. To suppressed the powers of the….. in her".

She glared at them and shifted her gaze to the general. "My general, do they all know?". "Not all of them" He said facing the shallow water

"You can say it" . He spoke with a blank expression. The silence was pitching a tent. Only the sound from the birds singing for their visitors was heard.

Francis was death worried about the princess. What was a snake doing under her dress. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

The three just got themselves back. They wanted to strangled Martha for doing that to them. Martin told them it was Stella who paused them.

"The princess heart is the kings' stone" Jessica finally spoke. They raised their brow in surprised except the general who was seeing the measures of his worries in the water.

"Now that the power has died down in her completely by this dark magic. She shall have an unusual cravings for sweet tidings".

" Sweet tidings". Arthur repeated.

"what you did that made Victoria gave you a talking daughter". Timber said to him in a pained husky tone. Kate chuckled. They really thought he was sleeping his pains away.

"According to the nature of the dark magic, She must be with a man, any man not married to her for the power to be transferred to emperor Cassius".

"What!" Francis yelled. He couldn't tell if his was louder than Ken or Beatrice.

"You didn't know this too!" Arthur leaned over to Beatrice who was in front of him.

"No!... I mean Yes!" She said confused.

"Men!" Jessica looked at them in the eye. They rose and bowed before her. All of them except the old general and of course the sleeping princess.

"This goes to you all. Our princess may start behaving abnormally when she finally wakes up.

She might seduce you. She might want you. She might need you.

All you need to do to is to avoid her. Ignore her and flee from her when she comes. If any one of give in to her.

You give in to our enemy, emperor Cassius. Not just our enemy but an enemy of the world. If you lay with the princess and he gets the power of the king's stone, the world is doom. And you are to be blamed for it.

The emperor shall make you suffer. Before your very eyes, he shall rape your women. Your children shall be his slaves even to your generation yet unborn.

Resist princess Eleanor like a plague that you may live or you shall incurred my wrath". She said in a commanding angry tone.

Fear threw it cloak on them. The sudden dark aura that filled the air with it stench odour was enough warning that death is a must for whoever dares.

Jessica was clenching her teeth at them. Her once yellow gold eyes became dark. She rekindled a fire in her hand and flashed it before all of them. "Avoid her and live". She warned.

She then turned to Francis who was still kneeling like the rest of them.

"Remember your position... Francis!"

"My lady" he bowed deeper "I must not see you near the princess again. She is married, respect that fact. You should see another maiden as you see her.