Traitor [Ch. 5]

Resistance Base

Mountains Biome, OverWorld

The Resistance. A fierce, noble organization that opposes the rule of King Miraz, is based in the Mountains Biome, deep within the Northern Mountain. At an elevation of 145 blocks high sea level, the Resistance base is home to over 500 blockheads. Blockheads that want to change the future and bring King Miraz's reign over the OverWorld to an end.

The history of the Resistance isn't that well known. In fact, no one even knows who founded the Resistance in the first place. Rumor has it that a female blockhead was the founder. Other rumors suggest that the Gods of the OverWorld founded the Resistance. Blockheads have been divided on whether or not to believe the first rumor or the second rumor. Trying to decide what rumor to believe has divided many over the years.

For the past eleven years, the Resistance and King Miraz have been at war with one another. Many battles have been fought, many lives were lost. Both sides have lost a significant amount of lives, with King Miraz's death toll climbing just past 2,000. While his count was high, the Resistance has only lost 300-400 fighters.

As the years go on, and the War continues to rage, it's becoming more apparent that the War is entering its final year. King Miraz's army is weakening by the day as he struggles to keep a grasp on the Resistance. Conquered land is being reclaimed, with Garrisons in almost every biome falling to the vicious surprise attacks from the opposition. But with great advantages, comes significant disadvantages.

"John, they've found us!" Rosalyn said as she barged into his private chambers. He was sitting in a chair in the corner of his room reading a book. Not just any book though. It was a book written by the famous author Franklin. You know, the author that lives in the Kingdom of the Woodlands. The father of the blockhead who'll become known as the demi-god HeroBrine.

John lowered the book he was reading so he could look over at Rosalyn. She was standing in the doorway with one hand on the doorknob, while the other one was resting on the corner of the wall. The expression she had on her face expressed immense fear and looming panic. Without even asking any questions, John closed his book and set it down on the table next to the chair. He leaped up out of the chair and ran over to his armor stand that was in the other corner. On it, was his prized and cherished armor: Netherite Armor. His sword, however, was made from ruby's. Sharp as glass, deadly as an arrow.

"How did they find us?" John asked.

John was the acting leader of the Resistance. Coordinating and planning complicated attacks on Miraz's army and Garrisons throughout the OverWorld. He was the man behind the entire operation. But one question still lingered somewhere in his mind: who is the founder? Is it a male or female blockhead? Uncertain he remained.

"What do you mean they found us?" John asked as he put his helmet on and adjusted his chest plate. He then grabbed his sword from the armor stand and held it in his hand. "That's not possible—unless—." He froze as he suddenly realized one possible scenario at play.

Rosalyn frowned and tilted her head slightly to her right, scratching it with her left hand. "I'm afraid I don't follow. Unless what?" She questioned.

John looked over at her. "Moles."

"Moles? You mean we've been compromised?" Rosalyn asked. John nodded his head in response.

He looked away from her and began pacing back and forth, growing more weary and concerned. Not because the entire organization was in danger, but because of his failure to realize the Resistance has been compromised for quite some time.

"Come. We need to defend the entrance. They can't get in here. The intel we have, the battle plans we possess could devastate us and turn in their favor if we fail," John explained.

Rosalyn remained where she stood. He didn't realize it at first, but when he looked back over his left shoulder he noticed that she wasn't following him. She stared at him as she shook her head. She put both hands behind her back. John took one step back into his room.

"This is where our time together must end," Rosalyn said.

John tilted his head slightly. He couldn't figure out what Rosalyn was doing. If the base was really being attacked, wouldn't she want to help defend it at all costs? For all he knew, she could be a traitor. A spy for the King perhaps? Many possibilities, yes. But he could only speculate. Could he even dare to ask?

"Rosalyn? What are you doing? C'mon!" John said.

"I'm sorry, John. Truly," Rosalyn said sympathetically as she reached behind her back with her right hand. What she pulled out from behind her back would shock you.

Outside the Resistance Base

Afternoon

Mileena was perched on a tall spruce tree branch watching and waiting for her husband, King Miraz, to arrive. Watching and waiting, waiting and watching. Still being in her falcon form, her sense of hearing was amplified. For a small distance from where she was, she'd be able to hear the slightest squeak from a mouse, or a loud neigh from a horse, or even an oink from a pig.

The Kingdom wasn't significantly far from the Resistance Base surprisingly. To her curiosity, she wondered why the base was so close to the Kingdom. Why haven't they attacked the Kingdom sooner? This entire War could've been avoided if they had done something to that extent.

Being her husband's deadly shapeshifting falcon had its perks. She would always be by his side fighting alongside him. But those days ceased just two months after he plunged the OverWorld into an all-out savage warzone. Still being loyal to her husband's cause, she started taking matters into her own hands. Flying to Garrisons around the OverWorld in different biomes to check-in, and coordinating complicated attacks on the Resistance. Her number one advantage was her powers. Not being limited to only shapeshifting into a falcon, but many other animals too; deadly ones may I add.

First discovering her powers only fifteen years ago, she's been thankful to wield them. The Gods and Goddesses of the OverWorld only give these types of abilities to those who show they're worthy of them. And worthy of them she was, indeed. More on that later.

Suddenly, she heard and felt the faint vibrations of something strange. Something big. She was also hearing the sounds of in sync marching. Looking to her left, and then to her right. When glancing down at the ground, she discovered the culprit behind the in sync marching and armor clattering and clinking. Those sounds grew louder as they approached the front gate to the base.

Mileena tilted her head while stalking her husband and the soldiers. She was able to hear everything they were saying and everything they were doing. As they came out from under tree cover, she saw that they had brought a catapult. It was ready to launch its first, of many, blows to the front gates of the base.

Without thinking or making any sounds, she spread her wings and jumped off of the tree branch. She flew down towards the ground almost vertically. She flew so fast directly in front of her husband and the soldiers that she managed to startle them all.

King Miraz stopped walking, as did his soldiers. He looked up into the sky and began following Mileena in her falcon form, flying around in a big circle pattern. Miraz immediately recognized who the bird was.

"Mileena?" King Miraz mumbled to himself, "my Queen? What are you doing here, my darling?"

As she came swooshing back down towards him and the soldiers, he took off white glove and raised his hand. With that, his hand started glowing a bright purple. As it did that, purple particles began being sucked into his hand.

RASP! KNACK! KNACK!

As Mileena flew down closer to her husband, she realized that he was about to do something he didn't even know he was capable of doing. She saw his hand glowing a bright purple. Instead of backing out of performing her next move, she did this instead. Right before she was due to fly into her husband's chest, she turned back into her normal self and kicked him in the chest. He fell backwards onto the ground back first. He briefly fell unconscious from having the wind knocked out of him; literally.

The soldiers all withdrew their bows and arrows. All loading the bows up with arrows as quickly as they could. They all then began aiming up into the sky waiting for Mileena to appear once more. When one of them saw her fly out from behind a tree, that soldier fired his first arrow. But because she was so fast, the arrow missed. How embarrassing for him.

Embarrassing because every soldier wanted to prove to their King that they were able and willing to do anything to protect him and the Kingdom; and to prolong his rule. No soldier wanted to mess up, but nobody's perfect.

"Hold your fire!" King Miraz shouted in a pleading, begging tone of voice. His soldiers immediately ceased fire and lowered their bows. They were confused as to why he didn't want them to fire and take down his wife. "That's your Queen, you bloody idiots! She may be doing traitorous actions right now, but for pete's sake show your Queen some respect!"

He then looked away and up at Mileena as she continued to fly around in the air above them. He was somewhat upset and angry with what she was doing. Why was she doing this? Why was she helping protect the Resistance Base? Then it hit him. He suddenly realized something.

"Here, drink this darling," Mileena's voice echoed in his head as he began recollecting times when Mileena was overly nice to him. "It's a potion that'll stop the disease from spreading to your heart."

When King Miraz first became sick, Mileena was the one to take care of him and help him get better. But one morning as he was waking up from a long night's rest, she was sitting at his bedside holding a potion bottle in her hand. Once he was awake, she pulled the cork out of the bottle and got up. She walked over to him as he was still lying down.

The memory of that day was playing back in his head almost like a movie. He remembered that day like it had just happened yesterday.

"Sit up dear," Mileena said as Miraz sat up and scooted back to where his back was resting up against the wall. "Drink this. This'll help. Here."

King Miraz took the bottle and held it up to his mouth. Before taking a drink, he looked up at Mileena and smiled faintly. He was so grateful to have someone like her by his side in times like these. To him, she was the only blockhead he cared for deeply besides his son Quintin.

"Thank you," Miraz thanked her as he tilted his head back to take a drink of the potion. As he was in the middle of taking a drink of the potion, Mileena looked down at the cork which had a small written label wrapped around it. The label read: Potion of Ender. What did that mean? Only she knew what it would do to him.

Ahh!

Miraz finished taking a drink of the potion, giving the bottle back to Mileena. She smiled down at him. She put the cork back into the bottle and put it back into her inventory.

"That tasted surprisingly delicious. What was that?" Miraz asked as Mileena took a seat on the side of their bed next to him. She grabbed his hand and held it tight.

"Just something I've been working on for some time," Mileena said, "I only want you to get better. This'll help. You won't feel the effects for a while, but when you do you will no longer suffer. I love you."

Miraz smiled faintly as he picked up his right hand. He pulled her hand closer to him so he could kiss it. Mileena began blushing when he did.

"You're such a charmer, you know that?" Mileena said.

"To you," Miraz began to say, "always. You're the rock in my river."

When Miraz recollected that memory of Mileena giving him the potion, he looked down at his right hand and arm. The potion, as he recollected, was purple. And so was his hand and arm. That potion was not what Mileena had told him it'd be. It was something far more threatening to his health. As he continued to examine his hand and arm, Mileena landed on the ground, turning back into her normal form. The soldiers all raised their bows once more, keeping them locked firmly on her.

"Why?" Miraz asked as he hoisted himself back up onto his feet. He glanced over at her and tilted his head while holding up his left arm. With his right hand, he pointed at his left arm. "What did you do to me?"

Mileena smiled mischievously at him. Without even looking over at the soldiers, she raised her left hand. Right as she did that, his army of soldiers all instantly turned to stone.

"Now that they're not a problem, we can talk one-on-one," Mileena said. "That potion I gave you some time ago, was a potion I had conjured up with two other witches. This was all done in secret. No one else knew, and that's how I wanted it to be."

"What did you give me?" Miraz shouted angrily at Mileena.

"It wasn't easy getting the necessary ingredients to make that potion, you know. I had to travel alone to the End Dimension to get one key ingredient: an Ender Dragon egg. After I came into possession of that, the potion could finally be made. Tedious, yes. Worth it? Absolutely. In time, you will not only transform into someone different, but you will no longer be the person you are now."

"You're a traitor. To our marriage, to your son. To me! Why?" Miraz asked.

"Payback," Mileena said, "you'll figure it out, I'm sure."

She then swiped her left hand once to the right, which in turn made the catapult and King Miraz instantly disappear. Where they went was not of any concern to her. As long as the Resistance base was safe, that was all that mattered.

As for King Miraz, he had returned to his Kingdom empty handed and extremely angry and outraged. His soldiers were turned to stone, and his catapult was destroyed. The only thing he could think of right now was how he was going to deal with his wife; his traitorous Queen.

"Witch!" King Miraz mumbled to himself, "you're going to pay for what you've done. Just wait. You'll see."

Quintin came running into his father's private chambers in the Castle. He barged through the door to find his father sitting on the floor.

"Father?" Quintin said, "are you alright? Did you stop the Resistance?"

Miraz glanced up at Quintin, slowly shaking his head from side to side. He glanced down at the floor, not keeping eye contact with his son.

"No, thanks to your mother," he responded.

"I thought she was–," Quintin said as he was rudely interrupted by his father.

"It was just for show. She was never really hurt," Miraz explained, "she's been working with the Resistance this entire time. How I didn't realize it sooner is beyond me. But one thing's for sure: she's a traitor. She betrayed me, you, and our Kingdom."

"What's the plan then?" Quintin asked.

Miraz raised his head and looked up into his son's eyes. He stared silently at him for a brief moment.

"Simple," he said, "we're going to kill her and the Resistance. Anyone who stands in our way going forward will be sentenced to death."

"I'll prepare the troops," Quintin said.

"No, not yet," Miraz said, "we need to choreograph how this next attack will look like. I'm sure they're doing the same. This war is going to end with only one side rising to victory. I'm not going to lose this war. Not to them. I will remain in power no matter what."