The King's Deadly, Shapeshifting Falcon [Ch. 2]

Garrison

Desert Biome, OverWorld

A brown falcon was swooshing down towards a tower. The tower was constructed of polished sandstone. At the base of the tower was cobblestone. The cobblestone made the tower stand out from its surroundings. Stationed at the Garrison were several soldiers from King Miraz's army. All throughout the OverWorld, there were Garrisons. Those Garrisons signified that the real leader of these lands was King Miraz. His reign wouldn't be possible if it weren't for his wife Mileena. Without her, there'd be no kingdom and no corrupt ruler. It was all thanks to Milenna.

Once the falcon had landed on the tower, a sudden purple smoke engulfed the falcon. A loud poofing sound was heard. When the smoke had cleared, Queen Milenna was sitting. Her hand was lying flat on the sandstone. She had one leg crossed over her other leg. Her hair was long. The color of her hair was a dark, dark brown. Almost black. Her eyes were purple. Mileena was wearing a dark, and a navy blue dress. It spanned the entire length of her body. From head to toe, from shoulder to hand. The dress fit her perfectly.

When the guards had realized she was present, they immediately bowed down before her, signifying their loyalty and respect for her. After all, that's what they needed to do. If they so cherished their lives, showing their respect and loyalty was the only thing that would keep them from being punished in many, many brutal, and unforgettable ways.

"My Queen," one soldier said as he stood back up from bowing to her, "we weren't expecting you so early."

Milenna slowly turned her head to her right, looking directly over at the guards. They were all standing close to each other. Every one of them was curious to know why she had come. In the past, the only reason she'd visit was to deliver the news and updates to them. Milenna was feared by everyone, including the soldiers. She's known for doing horrible things to other blockheads in the past.

"I've come bearing some recent developments with the War," Mileena mentioned as she continued to explain what was going on now. "Last night, a small band of Resistance members had attacked the Jungle biome Garrison, kidnapping one of us and slaughtering the rest."

"Another attack?" one blockhead said, "it seems as if they're picking up the pace."

Milenna nodded her head subtly.

"Indeed they are," she responded, "and the King is growing more worried as each day passes. To counter their attacks, the King has asked me to begin relocating our forces elsewhere."

The OverWorld has been at War for quite some time now. The Resistance and King Miraz's army were the forces actively involved in the War. There's been nothing but chaos since King Miraz had arrived. At first, many villagers and blockheads alike all seemed to think he wasn't a bad guy once so ever. But boy did they misjudge him. It didn't take too long to realize that King Miraz didn't mean any good once so ever. Quite the opposite actually. The Resistance was formed by three blockheads who finally had enough of King Miraz's troublemaking. They demanded change. And the only way they'd get that is if they fought back. And so the Resistance was founded.

"There!" A soldier shouted as he pointed down at the sandy ground. Milenna jumped off from sitting down. She walked over to the soldier and snatched the telescope out of his hand. She held the telescope up to her eye and aimed it down at the area where the soldier had pointed.

"Attack!" Mileena shouted as she dropped the telescope onto the cobblestone floor. She turned around and watched as the soldiers ran over to the left side of the garrison tower. "Leave no one!"

"My Queen, we're--," the commander said as he turned around. But right when he turned around, all he saw were feathers fluttering down onto the floor. He looked up into the sky to see her in her falcon form. As she flew in front of the sun, her shadow zipped across the ground.

"You heard the Queen," the Commander shouted as he grabbed his bow out of his inventory. He turned around, grabbing an arrow out of the quiver strapped on his back. He loaded the arrow onto the bow and pulled his arm back.

"Light the arrow," the Commander shouted at another soldier. The soldier ran over to him with a torch in his hand. He held the torch right under the unlit arrow. The tip of the arrow burst into flames. It was now burning. The commander turned and lifted his fingers off of the arrow. He fired the arrow, it flying down towards the desert below.

The incoming resistance forces were riding on eight dark brown horses. The horse's legs were black, but their bodies were brown with black spots here and there. The group of fighters was being led by a woman. Long blonde hair, a brown vest, and black pants. She was also holding a bow in her hand.

"Incoming!" She shouted as an arrow went flying right by her face, striking the ground only a couple of blocks behind her. A small explosion rocked the ground behind her.

"Kill the falcon! Don't let her escape!" Philipe, a member of the resistance since King Miraz first arrived, shouted as he reached behind his back to grab an arrow out of his quiver.

As the horses galloped forward towards the Garrison, Mileena began a steep dive down towards the incoming resistance fighters. She was flying down fast. But as she neared the ground, she spread her wings once more. This time, opening her mouth as she flew towards the resistance fighters.

A bright purple glow appeared in her mouth. Gweneth, the leader of the fighters attacking the Garrison, saw this and announced it to the others.

"Incoming! Move out of the way!" She shouted as a big purple orb flew out of Mileena's mouth. It went flying through the air. As it neared the fighters, their horses ran out of the way neighing and galloping as fast as they could. The orb suddenly and unexpectedly then began expanding and growing bigger.

BOOOOOM!

Somewhere far west of the desert, Stanley continued trekking through a dense Dark Oak Forest. The trees towered over him, their leaves creating a sort of roof, blocking out any sun from shining down towards the ground.

The ground shook and rumbled. He yelped as he stopped walking. He looked over his right shoulder and behind him, and then to his right and then to his left. Nothing. Whatever caused the ground to rumble like that, it must've been close by.

"Wow, your head is bigger up close," an echoing female voice whispered.

Stanley saw bright white particles shining out of the corner of his eye to his left. He quickly turned his head over to the left. What he saw was no pigs, no sheep, or chickens. What he did see was a hooded blockhead wearing a purple hood over her head. It was covering her upper face, but her lower face was visible.

"I beg your pardon?" Stanley questioned as he continued to stare over at the hooded blockhead. As she stood in place, staring back at him, the white particles continued to float around her body. In her left hand, she was holding a tall curly wooden staff. At the top of her staff was a bright green emerald. It wasn't glowing, but he wondered what it did. Was that the source of her magic? Her long blonde hair was resting on both of her shoulders.

"I was just joking, that's all," the mysterious hooded lady said.

Stanley scoffed and sighed a big sigh of relief. He had thought that this lady was one of the people fighting on King Miraz's side. Someone he was warned about before leaving home. But it turns out, she didn't mean any harm at all. From what he could tell, she meant good. Nothing less, nothing more.

"You're the lady I saw earlier, aren't you?" Stanley asked.

"I am, yes," she responded as she lifted her right hand up. She grabbed her hood and pulled it back off of her head. Once her hood was off, Stanley was finally able to see her entire face. She was beautiful. Her beauty amazed him. "For someone like yourself, you shouldn't be traversing through these parts alone. It's risky and it's dangerous."

"I'm well aware of the danger of traveling alone," Stanley mentioned, "I can protect myself."

"That stick you're holding won't do you much justice," she responded. He looked down at his right hand and then back over at the lady. He then slowly put his right hand behind his back.

"What stick? I don't have a stick," he said.

The lady approached him. When she was only a few blocks away from him, she lifted both of her hands up to her head. She grabbed her hood and pulled it back. Her head was down when she did this. When she raised her head, Stanley finally was able to see her face. Green eyes, and a perfect smile she had.

"I'm Amelia," she said as she held her hand out. Stanley, in return, held his hand out. The two of them smiled and shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Stanley. Now, you must answer me this. You're in search of answers are you not?"

Stanley nodded his head. "How--how'd you know?"

"I know everything, see everything," Amelia responded, "I know more about this World than anyone else, even the King himself. You're seeking answers about your grandfather. That much I know. But the answers you seek don't lie out here in the middle of the forest. Come with me. Everything you want to know about him will be back at my house in the Mountains."

"You knew him? What was he like? Why'd he disappear?" Stanley asked.

Amelia stopped walking away from him and turned around to face him. She smiled at him as she set her staff down on the ground. Another loud boom was heard in the near distance, followed by the ground shaking and rumbling. Amelia held out her hand.

"Take my hand and come with me," she said.

Stanley smiled as he hesitantly walked over to where she was standing. He held his hand out and grabbed her hand. Amelia, with her left hand, lifted her staff up off the ground slightly and then slammed it back down onto the ground. With doing that, both of their bodies began to glow a bright white. When Stanley looked down at his hand he noticed that his body was starting to fade away. As their bodies began to dissipate and turn into small white particles, the gentle wind from the south began blowing them away.

"What's happening to us?" Stanley asked as he quickly turned his head over to his left to look at Amelia. She turned her head over to her right to look at him, smiling brightly.

"This is a quicker way back to my home, and a much safer way too," Amelia responded.

Immediately thereafter, they suddenly vanished into thin air. Bright light and a sudden gust of wind blew through the forest. As for Stanley and Amelia, they had simply vanished without a trace. Destination: Amelia's home in the mountains.

In the nearby Woodlands Forest biome, a small group of four or five villagers was traversing through the forest. Their wagon, made of tan-colored cloth and mostly wood was being pulled by two donkeys. The donkeys had saddles with storage satchels on each side of their stomachs. There were children in the wagon. Some of them were sound asleep, while others whispered to each other and giggled.

As they continued on their way through the forest and down the dirt road, one of the Villagers raised his right arm up into the air above his head. The wagon suddenly came to a stop. The donkeys huffed and puffed and lowered their heads to sniff around on the ground.

"Shush," the man said as he raised his crossbow to eye level. He slowly turned around in a full circle to try and locate where the sound that he heard came from.

The trees creaked and the leaves rustled. The man suddenly stopped and aimed his crossbow at the spot where the sound had come from.

"Come out now, or suffer the consequences that will follow," the man announced so that whoever was hiding behind the small oak tree could hear him. He, and his friend, exchanged quick glances at each other as they slowly began creeping towards the tree.

"We're armed and will not hesitate to shoot," the man announced.

A woman came stumbling out from behind the oak tree. She was wearing a brown leather vest, with a white undershirt. The pants she was wearing were khaki pants. Her shoes were made of leather but were dyed black. Wrapped around her head was a red bandana. Her long brown hair was in a single french braid.

John and Theodore were the names of the men aiming their crossbows at this mysterious, odd-acting lady. They've never seen someone like her before and definitely haven't seen her around these biomes before. Who was she anyway?

She raised her hands up into the air above her head. She looked back over her left shoulder at the oak tree behind her. John tilted his head in curiosity, wondering what she was looking back at. But that thought didn't stay in his mind very long. He was more focused on finding out who this lady was, and why she randomly appeared out of nowhere. She took a step forward towards them. John and Theodore both took one step forward, adjusting their aim at her. Their crossbows were loaded and ready to fire upon pressing the trigger.

She got down onto her knees and put her hands together in front of her, beginning to beg for them to allow her to go with them. Her cheeks were a bright rosy red, and her entire face was sweaty.

"Please, I beg you," she said, "grant me passage and I will forever be in your debt. Don't leave me here. Please."

From the wagon behind them, two-woman peeked their heads out of the front of the wagon. They were both looking over at the cause of all this commotion.

"John? Theodore? What's going on out here? You've awoken the children," one of the women mentioned to them. When John and Theodore turned around to look back at their beautiful wives, the woman on her knees looked over at them as well.

Miranda and Lucile were the names of John and Theodore's wives. They both decided to get out of the wagon, jumping down onto the dirt road. After they did that, they made their way over to John and Theodore.

"Please tell them I mean no harm," the woman said as she began quivering her lips, "please. She's going to turn me to stone if we don't leave right now."

John and Theodore both slowly turned their heads back around so that they were now looking down at the panicking and distressed woman. But immediately after she said that, she began screaming and crying out in pain. As the four of them all looked down at the woman.

"What's happening? Why is she--," Miranda said as she suddenly realized what it was that was causing this female blockhead pain. Miranda and Lucile both gasped in shock and awe. They both pointed down at the female blockhead's legs and hands. It was true after all. She wasn't lying about being turned into stone.

"Go back to the wagon. Now! You'll be safe in there than out here. Now go!" John demanded. Without hesitating and not asking questions, they both quickly turned around and ran back over to the wagon. Once they were back in the wagon, they turned around to look the opposite way from the wagon.

"It's a shame, really," a sinister-sounding female voice said, "I don't take pride in doing this, but it must be done. The King wants full cooperation. This is the only way."

The female blockhead slowly emerged out from behind the tree. John and Theodore both fixed their aim, pointing their crossbows right at her. She was wearing a long blue dress, had long black hair, purple eyes, and a sinister whispery sounding voice. A very scary voice she had. John and Theodore held their ground, not daring to take a step backward or forwards.

"Those won't do you any good, I'm certain," Queen Mileena said as she glanced down at the panicking blockhead. Her legs, arms, and stomach had all turned to stone, leaving only her head unturned. When Queen Mileena looked down at her she turned her head and glanced up at her.

"You're a ruthless mon--," The woman said as her head suddenly turned to stone.

Mileena sighed and lowered her head. She rested her hand on her forehead as she began to slowly shake her head. After doing that, she sighed heavily.

"It's a shame really," Mileena repeated again, "a simple request, yet no one wants to give in and treat the King as their ruler. Why is that so hard?"

"He's not our King, and you're not our Queen," John said. "You're a monster."

Mileena stopped shaking her head and rubbing her forehead. She opened her eyes and raised her head to look over at them. Melinda and Lucile had run back over to the wagon, hopping back up into it to hide from the Queen, Queen Mileena herself.

"I'm not a monster or a Queen," Mileena said with a sinister-looking smile. She slowly raised her right hand. It was glowing a bright purple. As she looked at it, she chuckled. After turning her head to look back over at John and Theodore, she smiled yet again. "I'm the King's deadly shapeshifting falcon!"

John pulled the trigger to his crossbow, firing the arrow. The arrow went flying over towards Mileena's head. But before it could make contact with her, she caught it with her left hand. She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"Now that, was a mistake," Mileena said as she dropped the arrow onto the ground.

Theodore pulled the trigger on his crossbow, but his arrow didn't even release from it. It was jammed. Mileena jumped into the air and twirled her body around. Feathers suddenly began fluttering down to the ground. She had shapeshifted into the deadly falcon, flying down at Theodore. Theodore raised his crossbow yet again, pulling the trigger many times. But he wasn't having any luck.

Mileena flew right into him, picking him up by his shoulders with her pointy claws. She flapped her wings vigorously as she ascended into the air. Down on the ground, John went running back for the wagon. As he ran towards the wagon, Mileena looked down at him. She suddenly released her claws, making Theodore begin to freefall back down towards the ground. As he was falling back down, Mileena dove down towards John and the wagon.

John hopped up onto his seat at the front of the wagon, throwing his crossbow into the wagon. It banged and clinked on the oak wooden floor inside the wagon. As she dove down through the air towards the wagon, she squealed and cawed as she went falling down to the ground so suddenly.

John grabbed onto the leads to his two donkeys. His two donkeys neighed as they began running and pulling the wagon. There was a violent shudder as the wagon suddenly began picking up pace. Theodore miraculously fell into the wagon, tearing a big hole in the canvas cover over the wagon. He slammed down onto the floor inside the wagon, startling the three young boys.

As for Mileena, she slammed into the side of the cliff, screeching out in pain as she fell down towards the ground. A green glowing arrow was lodged in her upper right wing. Before she could hit the ground, a small hole appeared in the ground beneath her. She fell right through it, with the portal closing right after she fell through it.

John yanked on the ropes to bring the wagon to a complete stop once more. The donkeys were distressed and scared from all of the commotion that had just happened. Just like that, the deadly shapeshifting Queen vanished. Leaving no trace of her being here behind. The only thing that she did leave behind that indicated she was here, was the woman she had turned to stone.

"John," Melinda said from inside the wagon, "he's hurt. Really bad."

John turned around to look back into the wagon. When he did, he saw his longtime friend Theodore unconscious on the floor. Melinda and Lucile were both holding one of his hands as they stared down at him. He let go of the ropes to his donkeys and jumped back down onto the ground. As he began making his way to the back of the wagon, he saw a darkened figure standing under the trees, staring right over at him.

"Who's there?" John asked as the figure suddenly emerged out from under the trees. In this blockhead's right hand, he was holding a bow. He had two brown leather straps over his shoulders, with a leather quiver behind his back that was full of enchanted arrows. Some were glowing yellow, green, and blue. While a few others were glowing a bright red.

"Do not fear, I come in peace. I mean no harm to any of you," the male blockhead said, "how's your friend? Is he okay?"

This male blockhead was black and bald. He had goggles on over his eyes. Wearing black tight pants, a brown vest, and black shoes. His eyes were a dark green. There was something about him that made John be suspicious of him. Not in a bad way though.

"I've been hunting down that crooked witch for a while now," he said, "but every time I get close to making my move, she escapes."

"Talk about bad luck," John said as he held his hand out to shake the male blockhead's hand. John's feelings about this blockhead quickly changed when he realized that he didn't mean any harm. He didn't mean any harm after all. Phew, right? There don't seem to be many good blockheads around these days.

"The Resistance Base isn't too much further ahead," the man said as he then introduced himself to John. He shook John's hand and then told him his name. "The name's Merlin."

John smiled faintly at Merlin, nodding his head once at him.

"I'm John. My wife Melinda and her friend Lucile are in the wagon," he said.

"Your friend is still alive thankfully," Merlin said, "but I'm afraid he won't be much longer if we don't get him help. What were all of you doing roaming in these biomes all by yourself anyway? You know how dangerous it is, right?"

"We were just traveling to safety. Our home was invaded by the King's forces earlier this morning. We fled to avoid being captured."

"I see, I see," Merlin said, "do you mind if I tag along? I'll keep you all safe until we arrive at the Resistance Base."

John hesitated to answer Merlin's question. Before he could answer his question, he had to mentally think to himself momentarily. He had just met Merlin. He didn't know anything about Merlin once so ever. Not where he's from, how he managed to cripple and scare the Queen, and so on. What if he was a bad blockhead? John wouldn't know. But because Merlin had saved them from being turned to stone, John found it difficult to say no. So he didn't. He said yes instead.

"As long as you don't turn me into a frog, yes," John mentioned as he smiled and giggled. He was just joking around with Merlin.

"You have my word," Merlin said, "no turning into frogs. Noted. What about a bunny? Or a mouse?"

John scoffed and smiled as he shook his head slowly.

"As much as I'd like to see that, we must first head to the Resistance Base," John mentioned, "so hop on in to the wagon if you want to come with us then," John continued on to say.

After he had said that, Merlin smiled at him as he walked over to the back of the wagon. By keeping a tight grip on the small wooden gate door, he hoisted himself up into the wagon. He grunted as he did so. Once Merlin was in the wagon, John proceeded back up towards the front of the wagon.

"Onward friend," Merlin shouted from behind in the wagon, "take us home. Away we go."

John scoffed and smiled faintly as he grabbed the ropes to his two donkeys. Whipping the ropes only once, made the donkeys begin walking and pulling the wagon once more.

"Hang in there Theo," John mumbled quietly mumbled to himself, "we'll get you the help you need, I promise."

As the wagon continued on its merry way, the woman who had been turned to stone began crumbling. Semi-loud cracking sounds were heard, followed by faint groaning sounds. Small stone pebbles and chunks of stone began breaking away from her body, falling to the ground. Her head was the first to break free from the stone. Once her face was entirely uncovered, she could now turn her head.

From front to back, and side to side, she looked all around her. No wagon, no blockheads, or the Queen herself were present anymore. It's like they weren't even here. What happened while she was frozen in place? That was nothing short of a mystery she wanted to find out more about.

Her arms were now freed, as well as her stomach and legs too. No longer was she frozen from head to toe. She was now fully mobile once more. She quickly got back up onto her feet. When she did that she stretched her arms and legs out.

"What? Huh? What happened to me?" she asked herself, "how was that possible? How did I turn back into my normal self anyways?" She continued on to say as she questioned everything that had just happened.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Where'd you guys all go?"

But there was no response. Only complete silence was all that came about after she asked herself these questions. The eerie silence gave her the chills. For all she knew, she could still be in a significant amount of danger. Better stop procrastinating. Because her suspicions were correct. She may be out of the way of danger now, but that doesn't mean she's off the hook quite yet.