Chapter 30

Dawn of Glory [the half-breed]

Chapter thirty

Theme: A Spooky Encounter, Two

As Mrs Sandra finished performing the devil's torture chamber trick, everyone clapped for her, not excluding Lord Darius.

She was behind a cloak on the geometrically shaped stage. The stage was decorated with cardstock cutouts, Spandex, corrugated plastic, and foam boards. There were also green plants inside and outside the stage, which provided warmth.

Despite all the tricks she had been performing, none of them made sense to her. She would steal a glance at Lord Darius and Edgar Allan, who was sitting on the front seat, then survey the hall for any sign of Ariana at the same time.

Just like she had predicted earlier, Lord Darius made it, and that complicated her mission. She knew very well that Dan and Joy wouldn't be able to stop him, but she didn't expect Lord Darius to arrive anytime soon.

This is the eighth trick she will be doing within a few minutes. Yet there's no sign or message from Ariana. Mrs Sandra activated her scarlet vision and examined the crowds, intending to see Ariana. Even if she was lurking in an intersection, she would see her. Still, she wasn't amidst them.

Just when Mrs Sandra thought of finding her way out, she saw Princess Violet holding the teddy which she gave Ariana, and her heart skipped a beat. The first thing that comes to her mind is that Ariana has been caught.

Instead of acting in haste, Mrs Sandra kept calm and allowed her brain to process everything. If Ariana Myers had been seized, the purple dragon queen would have left the show and attended to the situation. That means she's still somewhere around the palace.

Then something struck her mind. She remembers Princess Violet's warning that Ariana would be sleeping outside the palace. When she also touched the girl's forehead, she saw all the routes in and out of the palace. She had seen the garden tunnel exit. If Ariana wanted to exit the palace without being caught, Mrs Sandra was sure that she would be taking the tunnel exit that was built in the garden.

Not wanting to take any risks, she decided to amplify her game. Mrs Sandra drew a somatic pattern and then whispered some words inaudibly. Instantly, every light that was illuminating the stage went off. The people screamed in delight, thinking that it was another trick from Mrs Sandra.

A scarlet smoke filled the dark hall, and Mrs Sandra emerged from the smoke. She scrutinised the hall with her scarlet eyes for any sign of the patrol guards. Seeing that everything was clear, she made her way out of the dark passage and headed straight toward the lawn.

Mrs Sandra is halfway out of the palace when she hears the blaring of a trumpet. The trumpet blared again, and that made Mrs Sandra suspect that something wasn't right. The first thing that comes to her mind is that Ariana has been arrested.

No way! She thought again. If Ariana had been caught, the purple dragon queen wouldn't have blown the urgent trumpet. She put herself in the purple dragon queen's position while her mind started thinking wild.

If she was the queen, she wouldn't blow the urgent trumpet just because a rebel was caught.

What would she do? Mrs Sandra thought as she started slinking toward the garden gate.

Besides, the rebel is her daughter's nanny. And from what she had heard, the queen doesn't joke with her daughter. She won't want to do anything that would tarnish her name, her daughter's birthday or make her look fragile in front of Lord Darius.

That means she would order the royal guards to lock her in the dungeon and torture her until she confessed the name of the being that sent her on the mission. If her guess was right, Mrs Sandra was sure that Ariana wasn't caught.

"If I'm the purple dragon queen, what could have happened that could have made me ring the urgent trumpet?" Mrs Sandra mumbled inwardly as she exited the palace to the outside at twilight.

She walked past the training field and the forging trench, and she turned to the route that led to the garden.

Mrs Sandra was a few metres from reaching the garden gate when the purple dragon queen's voice boomed throughout the dark knight. "Surround the garden, and don't let her escape."

At the hearing of that, her heart skipped a beat. Without being told, Mrs Sandra knew her identity had been burst. She was expecting that, but she didn't think it would be so soon. That's when she was able to decipher the meaning of the urgent trumpet sound that blared earlier. It was used to assemble the royal guards.

Her eyes caught the different fast approaching footsteps, and Mrs Sandra quickly ducked behind a statue that was placed near the garden gate. Thank goodness it was opaque, and that made it impossible for them to see her as they walked past her.

"Ariel Maka Rachel, stop lurking in the shadows." Mrs Sandra heard the voice of the queen, and she could feel the cold shudder that ran down her ridge.

Different thoughts raced across her mind at once. How had the purple dragon queen known her full name? Had Lord Darius captured the half-breed? Perhaps Edgar Allan had sold her out.

No! Sandra thought again. Edgar Allan didn't know her full name, nor her identity. Except for Mrs Claire, Joy, and Dan, whom she told. She was sure that nobody else knew it or could even guess. Now that the purple dragon queen knew her name, Mrs Sandra knew instantly that her identity wasn't safe again.

"You want us to do this by using force, isn't it, Ariel Maka Rachel, the first and last ancient scarlet witch?" Mrs Sandra heard the purple dragon queen's voice again." She is hiding behind royal status. Get her." Mrs Sandra heard her barfing her location.

Knowing fully well that her identity had been revealed, Mrs Sandra decided to step out of her hiding spot.

"Quiero mi verdadero poder Antiguo," she chanted in the ancient language.

Mrs Sandra's old tattered clothes vanished in an instant, replaced by a war armour that shone in the night with the help of the moon. Her hair turned scarlet. The same went for her eyes and hands.

Mrs Sandra's old worn-out look was now gone, and it was replaced with a middle-aged face. The old Mrs Sandra was gone. It has now been replaced by the ancient Ariel. The slayer of Medusa Gorgon, and the King Cassius of Giants in Mordor.

Fury washed over her face as she emerged from her hiding spot. As the first royal guard attacked her with a trident, Ariel simply stepped aside, grabbed the guard by the neck, and burnt him to ashes. Seeing this, the remaining royal guard moved back in panic.

Ariel could see the fear in their eyes. The fear of being killed by her, or the fear of being consumed by her scarlet flame. From the look in their eyes, Ariel was sure that they knew the damage she could cause. That boosted her strength, and she started to inch toward the guards.

"Kill her!" the purple dragon queen screamed from the top of the palace balcony. "Anybody that brings me her head will be my commander, and also be rewarded handsomely by Lord Darius."

Hearing this, the people swung into action. Little did they know that Ariel was already a step ahead of them.

Like an angry lion who had just lost his only offspring, Ariel descended on them. She was fast with skills, speed, and killing. Before any of the royal guards could think of raising their weapons to strike her, Ariel would have killed three.

Despite the odds against her, none of them could match her skills. It was like all the Olympian gods were supporting her. She would grab a guard, burn him, and use the remaining ashes to burn other soldiers. Her mastery is well sharpened, and she can't be reckoned with.

Ariel went low to evade an attack on instinct. Before she could swivel back to face the guard that attacked her from behind, a scarlet fire lashes out of her body, which burns the guard and a few unlucky soldiers. Like a volcano erupting from the abysm of the realm, Ariel turned the royal guards to ashes, and none of them had the chance to touch her.

Seeing that none of them could land a blow on her, the remaining soldiers moved back in fear. They dropped their weapons, turned back, and ran to the palace for protection.

"I will kill you all!" The purple dragon queen shouted from the top of the balcony. Yet, none of the soldiers heeded her threat.

"I love your bravery, ancient scarlet witch." An unknown deep voice complimented Ariel from behind. Without turning back, Ariel knew it belonged to Lord Darius.

"A spooky encounter," says Ariel, as she finally turns to give Lord Darius her attention.

He was wearing his normal red long royal robe. From the look of the robe, Ariel was sure that it was unique because it consisted of frills, souvenirs, and a red flower on the chest. It also had a red zip at the waist which contained throwing knives.

"A spooky encounter indeed," Edgar Allan said as he stepped out of the dark shadow with the two escorts. "Sandra, so this is your true identity," Edgar said, in disbelief. He stared directly into Ariel's scarlet eyes, and he let out an exasperated sigh.

"When my daughter told me about the sorceress that could make a teddy talk, I knew instantly that it must be someone from ancient times." The purple dragon queen said. She was now descending from the sky in slow motion. She was flying because she had purple smoke in her hand.

"I never knew it was you until Princess Violet finally showed me the teddy itself in the hall. How dare you show your face in my villa?" Says the purple dragon queen, with an angry stare. " The purple smoke in her hand became thicker with each step she took toward Ariel.

"If I knew that you were here for the terror ring, I would have exposed you earlier when you were performing on the stage. Ariel, tell me where you hid the ring, and I would consider sparing you. " She seethed in rage.

"Despite your prowess, you are so blind to recognise your enemy." With confidence, Ariel said, and a triumphant smile was plastered on her face. From what the purple dragon said, Ariel was sure that Ariana had escaped with the ring.

That boosted her enthusiasm and made her want to fight. She knew that the palace would be in disarray now. Ariana could use the opportunity to find her way out.

"You won't leave here alive," The purple dragon queen yelled and directed the purple flame at Ariel. In the last seconds, Ariel ducked out of the way.

"Let's see how you will beat the great purple dragon." She directed another thick haze at Ariel, and she barely ducked aside to escape it.

Ariel slid down as another purple flame came at her, and she rolled out of the way to escape being burned alive. On instinct, Ariel leapt up, but just then a claw whooshed past her face. Without being told, she knew the two escorts with Lord Darius had joined the fight.

She did a double backflip and escaped another purple flame from the queen. As she landed on her feet, she performed a wall flip, then spun her body and directed a scarlet flame at her. It was too sudden, too fast, and the purple dragon couldn't escape it.

The flame hit her in the chest, threw her several feet back before slamming her back against the palace's huge pillar, and the purple dragon queen split out blood. Ariel conjured a thick flame in her hand and threw it at the purple dragon queen who was lying on the floor.

As she waited for the flame to reach her, Lord Darius stepped forward and absorbed the flame. The purple dragon used the opportunity to throw a purple Hado Hans ball at Ariel. In the last seconds, she bent down, and the ball collided with one of the D'arcy Lycans instead.

Before Ariel could stand up, Lord Darius appeared in front of her and kicked her in the chest. The force of the blow made her collide with the garden statue, and she groaned out in pain. She quickly rolled out of the way as she felt a flame coming in her direction.

She stood up and made a battle pose. She filled her hand with thick flame and then directed it at all of them at once. Letting out a shrieking sound, the purple dragon queen released a wave of purple flame that collided with that of Ariel.

Edgar Allan raised his palm and absorbed the flame while Lord Darius mysteriously vanished out of sight. The last escort was unlucky. The flame collided with him and burned him to ashes.

Lord Darius emerged behind Ariel, yanked her up with one hand, and slammed her body to the ground. Still holding her by the neck, he transformed his hand into a long claw and slashed her on the ribs before tossing her away like a piece of paper.

"Now tell me, where is the terror ring?" Lord Darius asked in a rage. His eyes glinted red and yellow at the same time.

"Even if you kill me, I won't tell you where to find the ring," Ariel said without shaking. She managed to drag her body up while the wound on her rib was healing slowly.

"I'm ready to sacrifice my life for the true half-breed, Lord Darius. If you kill me, the Saviour and the last descendants of the moon goddess will come for your head. Your time is outnumbered, Lord Darius." Ariel yelled and charged toward Lord Darius.

A few inches for Ariel to collide with Lord Darius, thunderstruck in the sky and knocked her. The force from the light threw her several feet away, and Ariel could feel her body burning badly.

She managed to drag her body up again, her gaze wandering around looking for who hit her with the thunderbolt. She knew it wasn't from Lord Darius. Neither Edgar nor the purple dragon queen could wield such power. Instantly, Ariel knew it was Alexander or any of his sons.

Another thunderbolt strikes the sky, followed by a shining portal. Emerging out of the portal is a young man whose eyes are blazing with fury. Even though his retina and pupil are white, the urge to kill could still be seen in them. He was clad in a white, long ancient robe, and he was holding a staff.

"Alexander," Ariel gasped in shock. She dragged her body back while trying to stand on her feet at the same time.

"What are you doing here, Alexander?" The purple dragon queen asked in surprise. It was clear that they feared Alexander, and she wasn't expecting his presence.

"I'm everywhere with Lord Darius. It's just that I don't like showing myself. At least, not until everything is complicated." Alexander said with a deadly smirk.

"What gives you the guts to sabotage Lord Darius, Ariel Maka Rachel?" Alexander asked in a rage.

He moved past Lord Darius and Edgar Allan and then made his way toward Ariel.

Snorting in pain, Ariel said. "You and your Lord stand no chance against the true half-breed. Just wait till she comes for you."

"After I inflicted pain on you, I will fry your brain, then cut your body into pieces and send it to the half-breed."

Alexander became enraged by what Ariel said, and he began conjuring a massive thunderbolt from the sky.

Everywhere turned dark, followed by a whirlwind that started to blow around the palace. Seeing this, Ariel started dragging her wounded body toward the inner part of the garden.

"Don't tell me you are going to fry my guardian with that thunderbolt," A voice broke the thick tension. Emerging out of the main garden were Joy and Dan, while Ariana was leading them.

"I'm sure you want to heal her with..." Joy came to a halt in the middle of her sentence when she noticed the person in front of her. It was none other than Joel.

"Don't tell me you are the Alexander that they are talking about." She asked in shock, and Joel nodded his head to confirm her suspicions.