THE GODDESS OF WAR

"Hah! Hah!" 

Hop! Clip, Clop!

The voice of the princess boomed alongside the sound of the horses' hooves, and the cheers and praises from her people as she rode her horse along the paved road of the busy town towards the castle.

Amid these voices that cheered, the voice of a little girl seemed to rise above all as she yelled immediately after she saw the princess, 

"Mother, look, it's the goddess of war! The princess!" The tiny, angelic voice exclaimed. 

It did not only alert her parents who were busy roasting the crabs they caught for their afternoon meal but also their neighbours who dropped their activities and ran out immediately to hail the princess, bow their heads and worship the saviour of their lives. 

"The princess is very beautiful." One of the onlookers said as the princess approached them.

"Yes, you're right, she's truly beautiful. I knew she would be as beautiful as her kind heart." Another woman nodded in agreement.

"I can't wait for the masquerade ball to come so we can make her the crown princess."

"Exactly, she deserves more than that sister of hers. Huff, I still can't believe her sister is born of the same blood as our goddess of war. I mean she just sits and waits for the goddess to conquer before—"

"Shut up, Zuri! Look the other princess is coming from the other direction. I'm sure you don't want to get your neck cut off because of your loose tongue." Came the reprimanding voice of the third woman who joined the conversation as she shushed the second woman.

"If it had been in the days we still had our powers, I'm sure the second princess would have heard you and killed you immediately." Another man joined to caution Zuri amid the crowd gathered to see the princess.

"Yes you're—shush here she comes. The goddess of war. Let's go and pay our in-depth respect to her." 

The town's men ran out solely to praise Princess Gabriella, the only true princess in their view, as if the other princess, approaching from the opposite end with her full chariot that spoke only of authority, wasn't the daughter of King Tristan or a princess they should also praise.

"Long live the goddess of war!"

"Long live the daughter of our land!"

"Long live the princess!"

"My purple rose, where's my rose? I need to give it to the princess!" The little girl who had announced the presence of the princess shouted anxiously and ran inside their house.

She ran out of their house again and scurried through the crowd with her purple rose held tightly in her hands with determination to give the princess her little gift of appreciation for what she did for her.

Even if her feet didn't get to the princess, she believed her voice would run faster than her feet, and it would get the princess's attention to her, but as she yelled her voice out while calling the princess, it could not compete and conquer the other voices wailing in the air.

"Anna, come back! You can't get to the princess!" The voice of the little girl's mother called out, but the girl was still sprinting towards the princess.

"No, Mother I must give the princess my rose!" She shouted back at her mother, pressing further through the crowd.

"Hah!" Princess Gabriella continued to yell as she struck her horse.

The horses' breath turned into wisps of white smoke as they exhaled, mixing in perfectly with the frantic noise of chatter, applause, and praises that filled the air.

The voices praising her slid into her ears but slowly it began to diminish as she rode away from them.

"Hah! Hah!" 

The backbone of the princess's white horse clenched as the princess struck it, making the horse increase its speed. The drive would take another half an hour before they arrived at the castle. 

She didn't ride with a chariot, it was just her and the two guards ordered by her father to go with her. They were coming back from the house of the great priest, the one who was to shower his blessings on his people in anticipation of the masquerade ball.

"Princess, wait!" The tiny voice kept ringing faintly in her ears from time to time, but she was too occupied with thoughts to answer the call like she did in the days when things were going well in her mind.

These people were the same people she had fought for with the last drop of blood in her veins when she was just 14 years old on the battlefield at the seashore of Demonda, the kingdom of the demons that had held them captive for over a decade.

There at that seashore, she stood by her father and killed thousands of these demons, threw their bodies into the sea where they got their befitting burials, which gave her kingdom not just their freedom but also became conquerors over the great kingdom of Demonda and the great conquerors of many nations.

From that day onwards, her father became the most powerful king of all creatures. A dangerous king whose powers spread rapidly in the world.

His desire for power was voracious, and despite conquering not just one, but several kingdoms, his hunger was unquenchable. Instead, it merely served to stoke his insatiable need for power.

To put an end to her father's avarice and callousness, she simply needed to be made Crown Princess of Horndragon. She was aware that death was not the sole option for survival. Peace must be re-established. But, once again, she had no idea her aspirations would be shattered by her father's choice.

She didn't realize before time, that the king had planned to give her crown to her sister. As she thought about this, a new surge of pain ran through her veins, it made a tear drop from her eyes, but this tear was quickly draped by the sun the moment it fell on the ground of Horndragon.

"Princess Gabriella, please wait!" 

"Anna come back!" These two voice cried out again.

The dust from the feet of the horses rose and sent the call into one ear and out of the other immediately. She was not done with her thoughts to notice this call.

That sad truth she discovered about herself which will alter her position in the kingdom was not yet known by the king and these people, but her position was taken away from her and was given to her sister who only watched the fancies of the castle and painted her hair and nails as if her beauty surpassed the beauty of other maidens in the kingdom.

Today her refinement was radiating from the distance as she saw her coming with her chariot from the other end of the town's square.

"My princess, it seems your competitor is here too! The ride is going to be rough I see." One of the guards riding beside Gabriella fearlessly shouted.

"Give her no attention, we need to get to the palace quickly. I have so many things to do!" Came the authoritative voice of Gabriella to the guard who had spoken.

"Yes, my prin—"

"PRINCESS!!!" The girl shouted, tripped and fell flat on her face.

This tiny voice managed to shake the horse carrying the princess on its back. It made its feet screech, causing the guard to be interrupted and the princess bounced twice on the horse's back as she fought to regain her stance.

"Anna!!" Cried the girl's mother from a far distance as she ran to save her daughter.