The Ugly Prince

To Defend and Protect ~ Part 1

Chapter 26

To Defend and Protect

"Traitor!" she seethed. She should have known better that that Captain would have decided to take this chance to rebel against her, as she glared at his defiant eyes. Looking from the corner of her eye she spotted a motionless guard that was not far from her, she pointed at him before almost shouting at him making him jump from her sharp tone "you there, guard! Seize that insolent fool" she commanded pointing now at the traitorous Captain.

The startled guard looked back and forth between his Queen and Captain not knowing what to do, as he stuttered with fright "but you're Majesty."

Turning her head towards him in disgust that he would answer her back, she looked at him accusingly "are you defying me?" she asked watching the guard flinch back in terror. "I said seize him. Unless you wish for your family to cease to exist" she threatened.

"You no longer have claim over us," Humphrey declared at his stepped forward before looking at the terrified guard gesturing with his head to move far away from her. "Your rein has ended. You mercifulness wicked torture ends here! For the rightful King stands before you, his Royal Highness Prince Drake!" he roared.

The villagers once quiet began to murmur, and the murmur turned into whispers, and the whispers turned into loud conversations that were loud enough for Zella to hear. "The Prince?" one would say. "Prince Drake is alive?" said another. "Our Prince has come back to us" another said full of hope.

Hearing them talk around her their words echoing loudly in her ears with their talk full of hope, as if the mere mention of the masked man before them, was truly their prince, give them the strength to pull themselves from the sea of fear and terror that she had created. She could feel her control slipping through her fingers as she spun around on her horse looking at the villagers and soldiers whose eyes now glisten with hope. The thought of losing the control she had over them filled her with rage like never before as she screamed at them all pointing at them all. "Silence all of you!" she hissed loudly like the threatened snake she was.

"I think not" said Drake as he stepped in front of Humphrey, his sword still unsheathed at his side.

"And what do you think you're going to do, little Prince?" she asked sarcastically "Fight me and win your kingdom back? With what army?" she looked at the powerless people around them still glued where they stood in fear.

Without her noticing Drake peered behind her noticing a small group of red squirrels silently closing the distance behind her. Silently climbing up the horse's leg; crawling under her cloak. Looking back into her cold eyes as she stared down at him from her horse he announced in all calmness, "I never said I needed an army. But doesn't mean I'm alone either."

In this moment in time the guards that held Juliana, felt something being thrown hard at the back of their heads, bouncing off their helmets making them turn round expecting someone to be behind them but found no- one insight. They turned their heads again until the same thing happened, they looked down behind them finding the acorns near their feet, one nodded to the other before one abandoned their post and hold over Juliana to investigate the bushes behind them. While the other guard tightened his hold over her, until he heard a loud gasp and rustle in the bushes and found his comrade had disappeared. Now suspicious to what had happened to his fellow guard he let go of her and slowly approached the bushes where his comrade had disappeared. Approaching the offending bush he found nothing behind it except the empty woods, with a sigh he started to question where the other guard had disappeared to.

He stepped into the bush and jumped out of his skin as a stray white rabbit sprinted out all of a sudden from the bush, between his legs. Frantically heading behind Zella's horses startling it as it rouse up on its hind legs; neighing in panic as its powerful jolts threw Zella off its back, plummeting to the ground as her mighty black horse galloped away into the woods abandoning its master.

Without a moment to process what had just happened as she stood up on her two feet, she felt something move and wiggle around on her person inside of her cloak. She shrieked and screamed in alarm twisting her body like a woman who had gone truly mad, as she harshly patted herself from where she felt the foreign creature on her, missing it entirely before it moved again. Unable to concentrate and take off her cloak as she continued to scream in a violent frenzy, while hearing the snickering and muffled laughter of all who were around her finding her predicament amusing making her temper and panic worsen.

Feeling the tight hold of the guards gone from her arms, she watched in bewilderment as the Queen screamed and move around frantically. She heard a familiar hushed voice demand her attention from behind her, a voice she had forgotten about since last night, "what are you standing there for? Come over here."

Immediately turning her head she was shocked and greeted with the sight of Winnie who had that famous scrawl on her face, as she ushered her over to her quickly. Not moving quickly enough for her liking; as if her mortal friend didn't know the true danger she was in. Winnie quickly took hold of her wrist pulling her away further from the evil witch, trying to distance themselves from danger around them. Heading towards the comforts and safety of the woods, with a scared look on her pale face she muttered to herself, "I didn't know friendship could be this much trouble" she complained. With her scrawl back on her face to hide her fear she looked directly at Juliana and asked "what did you do?" as she was truly unaware as what was happening around them.

Her voice was raw from screaming, her body aching from her hands slamming and pounding against her body; to rid herself from the filthy rodents that scurried around and across her body. A lone squirrel latched itself still on the lower part of her hip; nibbling away at the dark leather strap that held the accurse book close to her person. Biting through the last strand of leather while its brothers continued to distract her, the book finally fell with a thud from her waist; as she tripped on herself. Landing again on the ground she heaved from exhaustion trying to catch her breath, not noticing the book now lying beside her, she had gone deadly quiet and the look on her face darkened into something more sinister. The squirrels left her body; and scampered back into the woods in fright sensing the danger of her magic dangerously fester beneath her skin.

Silently panting she once again pulled herself up from the ground, the boil in her veins bubbling hot, she looked at the people around her imagining what she would do to them later with a promising look on her face. She then noticed the peasant girl gone along with the guards, and saw her running away with another girl in tow, heading towards the sanctuary of the woods. "Enough!" she shouted as she were tired of their games. If they wanted to mock her, they will now learn to understand why they should fear her. She brought her hand up, her palm outstretched as she faced the girls who attempted to escape; she muttered a foreign ancient word; that brought forth a dark spell as a great ball of purple flame flew quickly from her hand towards them.