chapter 19

Then the deadly sword contest began. Different sword clashing and clinking. Sparks flow freely between them.

Off the battlement, the warriors of Black Dust spread out into the surface of Golden Hill city like dust on the earth.

Eleanor was still on the battlement doing what she knew best. She was butchering the warriors of Black Dust like rams.

The thought of lord Zane never left her. She expected him to be here and to fight beside her or he should have been out there in the midst of her enemies crushing them like briskly bone. Making her proud.

No! He was neither here nor there. Only general Frederick and her knights were fighting beside her.

When she turned around, the warriors of Black Dust were gradually penetrating into her city. Her bones were rotten in her flesh.

They outmatched them, killing her knights without mercy. She loosed focus. She was bemused seeing more and more warriors entered into her city which ended up causing the untimely death of more of her knights.

Princess Eleanor wept. She couldn't fight again. She think herself a failure for failing to defend her city. She couldn't protect her people either.

lord Zane failed her. He promised and not fulfilled. "You are evil" she cursed

Black Dust Empire warriors cuts almost all the knights of Golden Hill up into meats.

One of the Black Dust Empire warrior sighted her unprotected. He walked up to princess Eleanor. He was threatening with a killer grimace. The princess stepped backward.

"Run... Run princess.... Run" the general was shouting. His sword was out of his hand when his opponent gave him a cut on his shoulder. He drew himself up and took cover by leaning against the merlon.

But the comfort was only for a short while because their knights were almost exhausted. Soon he shall faced his fears.

The warrior caught up with the princess next to the wall. The Black Dust Empire warrior then giggled at his luck. The honoured of killing the one and only princess of Golden Hill. He took his time. He took a few steps backward to gain more space to smite her according.

The princess was too tensed to make a move. She was too heart broken to act. She stood there blank. Like a monument. Only her blue eyes showed that there was still life in her.

As the Black Dust warrior flung his sword at her. One of her knight entered and his neck was separated from his body.

The general panicked. " Princess..." he called and it echoed all round. Every other action ceased. The air was red.

It was too late for her to moved even if she had gotten back her limbs. She was already surrounded by angry looking warriors who wished to feasts on her delicate skin.

Her face was red and pink and purple. Her breath ceased completely. She was dead before they even attempted to raised their weapons again against her.

She closed her eyes and gathered her breathed back slowly. They Black Dust Empire warriors screeched as they lifted their weapons to sliced her.

General Frederick went on his knees and covered his face with his hands. He wept for the young princess. He didn't want to see this abomination.

Princess Eleanor Ephraim Alexander Wilson, the first and only heir to the throne was about to be murdered under his watched yet he did nothing about it.

The knights who were injured but still alive were weak and scared. They threw their weapons away. They surrendered to their defeat. All hope was lost. They only one who gave them the courage was about to be the lamb for the feast.

Princess Eleanor raised her hands and screamed. It was the seconds of life and death. The air was heavier than the clattering of swords and the heart of king Ephraim who came running to his daughter.

"Princess!.... My Eleanor…" king Ephraim called

Every thing else stood still. Death was in the air. Most of Golden Hill knights and potential knights breath it and die. Able men of Golden Hill who stood their ground to defend their city, all breath in and died.

Crying was heard in distance like the howl in the lonely night. King Ephraim was about to breathed it too. Eleanor was the reason he still lived he would die if she is gone.

Eleanor's hands was still in the air. Covering her face as she screamed. She could think of nothing else. Other than her wished to save her people. Her kingdom and most especially her aged father, king Ephraim which she was about to leave behind.

She was going to used her hands to block their weapon. She rather died fighting than to died as a frightened little kitten.

Her hands was raised above her head and her eyes bond in darkness.

She was sweating. She was panting. She felt nothing again. For some good minutes she stood still. When she heard nothing she let her eyes unbind the shackles of darkness that was holding it captive. She open them to see the light.

Black Dust Empire warriors were on the floor. Princess Eleanor possessed a different aura.

She stretched her hands to the east and west of her kingdom. The men of Black Dust were burned to ashes.

At the edges of the walls were the hung like fleas to a tree about to drop into her kingdom. She outstretched her arms to them too.

They crumbled on themselves and rolled into their multitude. She splayed her hands to the ones outside her city walls and they started fighting with themselves.

General Frederick was slowly regaining himself at the sight of this wonder.

"The princess possesses some strange powers. Magical powers". He said to himself.

As he walked towards her. He saw that her eyes was glistening with yellow burning light and her body was godly. Her dark hair was fuller than normal with an uncommon glow. Her hands released fire. She pose with elegance as she destroyed the remnants of their enemies.

"My daughter!" the king called with a faint voice. The knights were holding him in place. His heart beats was raging. He put forth his hands as he kept whispering her name. When the general saw the king, he ran to him.

Emperor Cassius on the other end saw the light burning through the princess eye. The flames of fire burning his men to nothing. He noted the magic she performed with her hands.

He fell into position to go into a contest with her. See wonders on the battlefield.

He sent trillions of tiny burning daggers at the princess. She immediately held them in place. Moulded it in the air with her hands and turned into a massive fireball and sent to yonder where emperor Cassius blocked with all his will.

The other warriors around the emperor sent their plague against the princess. It was like sand sprinkled in the high sea.

It made no effect on her. She dismissed them without lifting a fly.

While the emperor was trying to oppose the very killer daggers he sent out which was resend back to him, the ground suffered.

His men perished, his horses scattered. The air heated up.

The force was too much on him. His two wrists were crossed in his attempt to block this balls that he started drifting backward no matter how hard he tried to stop.

The princess launched another attacked at him. She rain hails on him and his men. The died in thousands. The emperor fell flat on his back.

He did his enchantment, all the magically tidings he knew but the princess was too powerful for him to suppressed.

Some of his warriors ran away when the saw the princess overpowering him. Others who were unlucky were still burning, some injured and most death.

Emperor Cassius left with the few knight who still had their senses and legs intact.

When all was done she fell to the floor. The guards ran to her. In less than few seconds she was awake and weak.

"What happened!" she asked but no one could explained. No one knew even if they wanted to tell her.

"The king" one of the guard told her and pointed to his direction.

"Father!".

She ran to him but the king already passed out before she got to him.

Golden hill victory was turned to mourning. Mourning for their king and the fallen knights.

***

Emperor Cassius and his warriors combed the woods in a whirled, kicking and falling. Blisters plastered across their bodies. Bruises and deep wound. They were red and swollen and pained.

Their chain mail was melted away and their leather clothing ingrained to some part of their skin. Their hair gave a burn sweet aroma like roasted meat.

Their hands became fluffy and useless only that it stirred their balance. Their legs became a coward the moment they escaped the war. It was too weak to bear their burden.

Their horses were tired. They filed for a divorce halfway in the woods. It's neighed more fiercely than 'death' in Golden Hill. Their neighs was rather scoffing for carrying the ones vibrant emperor and warriors like some log of wood.

Even more loudly when it smashed their back on the ground and ran north in searched of a better life. Every one of the horses that choose to escaped with them ran north. They were abandoned in the middle of nowhere but were never neglected.

The silly old boat which sat comfortably on the waters under the dim moonlight offered to help. They wished to run to it and accept it offer with a bow before it changes it mind. Sadly their legs were on suspension, so they trudged, stumbled and careen along.

What a boat! It was not just large enough to contained them, it drifted with the current. They could never sailed to the shore if it didn't. They were numb.

Inside the capital of their empire, the people were at feast. Usually when their emperor and warriors go to war, they keep vigil for nights depending on when they shall returned.

This became a ritual celebration. Often done in advanced of their victory over the kingdom they fought against.

This night they were all dining and wining. They were in small groups. Groups of peers and group of those of status.

They sat round the flaming fire. Some groups were drunk and blabbing. Drooling at the beauty who was prowling about.

When she discovered they were too many eyes attacking her endowment, she withdrew into her group.

Some other groups were at the edge of naughtiness. A middle age man was darting about the fire. He left his trousers hanging on his ankles and his tunic, he folded it to his waist.

His shabby pant which was too small for his fleshy buttock had three eyes on it. He points this towards the fire. The fire got aroused and flickers uncontrollably while he bend and jump round it excitedly. The people were used to such silliness, they chuckled and moved on.

Another group were singing and dancing and screaming. Yet another cracking naughty jokes and giggling like imbeciles.

They were so many of them, almost half of the capital except the stricken aged ones who took pleasure in their sleep. Their voices echoed in the air with a loud emptiness. Giving an unorganized sounds from afar.

When the watched man at the tower sights the staggering fellows from afar. He break loose from his slumbers and took a closer look. When his glare was satisfied and he was convinced in his spirit that it was his emperor, he ran to the gate.

On his way he stumbled on this young lad who was trying to forced himself on the previous endowed handmaid. He snapped him to the floor and the girl ran away thankfully.

When he finally got to the gate he tried to get the gate keepers to think straight and opened the gate for their emperor who sleeps on the sand outside the city gate as though it was his soft and silky bed. They were drunk with wine. All of them behaving like an arse.

At long last they were able to open the city gate for their emperor. Emperor Cassius and their warriors. The survivors.

They looked like slaves who just got freed from prison. They returned drained and defeated.

The people ran to called others. A daughter calls her mother. A wife, her husband. A servants, master. A master, friend. Soon the whole kingdom gathered this returnee.

Their laughter turned into cries and their merriments, sorrow. Mother's and wives and daughters seeks for their fathers, their brothers, husbands, friends, cousins and who have you.

The fire was quenched because each person withdrew his or her torch to find their beloved among the warriors that returned.

Their presence almost suffocated the dying victims that the guards had to dispersed them and take the emperor to his palace.

They were too many for the guards, That they had to used force. Even in force, they couldn't dispersed them.

There was chaos and stampeding. The guards resolved into guarding only the emperor out of their midst. Only a few found their persons. The once light and cool air turned into a scorching mess.

"He went with thousands but came back with tenths" the people chorus as they grieved.

"He has never been defeated in his entire life, so he thinks of himself as a god.

He was defiant as a son and still is as an emperor. The title! so he claims. He refused to take counsel or hearken to the warnings of the divine.

He drinks with the cup of his greed and forced us to drink with him. Now we pay with our sons, our husbands, our fathers, our brothers, our friends.

Cassius George you are not the son of your father. You are not our emperor you forced yourself on us".

The people of Black Dust Empire turned this into a song to soothe their broken heart but it couldn't mend it. They trailed behind the guards guarding the emperor. Grieving, singing and ranting but none of this could revived the death.

"I shall killed all of you when I gained my feet. Emperor Cassius sworn in his heart. Even though his entire body was miserable, his ears were sound.