Drums echoed from the forest and became louder and louder. Villagers closed their doors and windows to hide under their beds or anything worth to hide in.
Stone Emperor rode his horse in the middle of five thousand armies he had brought. The soldiers on front line danced on the beats of drums and sang ancient songs. Emperor touched the scar on his chin.
Your father gave this to me, Queen. He thought.
Emperor could see the larger-than-life castle. He couldn’t bar himself from admiring its beauty. The walls were hundred meters tall, made of the strongest stones in earth and shined bright in moonlight because of its smoothness. The Keep itself was about three hundred meters high.
He saw everything. Except Queen’s army.
“Where are their soldiers?” Emperor asked his Commander after spotting bows and arrows on battlements with nobody near them.
“What happened here?” Commander looked at Emperor from his horse.
“They even left the door open.” Emperor pointed out.
“This might be their strategy.”
“Or their surrender?” Emperor questioned him back.
Roderick was holding a sword in his hand. He walked across the bloodied corridor. Underestimating cursed women was their terrible mistake.
If I hadn’t come here, then I would have avoided this massacre. Roderick lamented. He gazed out of a window and saw soldiers surrounding the castle.
Queen’s soldiers were still in the stadium, waiting for their defeat and mourning for the soldiers killed by cursed women. Roderick couldn’t stop getting scared after hearing the screams of women who somehow were confined in Throne Chamber.
“Don’t get scared, Roderick.” Queen said.
Roderick flinched like someone had poked a nail in his foot.
“I shouldn’t get scared? Haven’t you seen Emperor’s army outside?” Roderick panted, “And your soldiers are hiding in the damn stadium.”
“You are mistaken, Roderick.” She said and clapped.
Roderick heard insects flapping their wings. Soon he realized it was the sound of dragonflies flying in air.
A huge cloud of dragonflies flew towards them. Roderick ducked and watched those insects fly out of the corridor without touching Queen. He found some cuts on his arms.
They are holding weapons. He realized.
“They will fight Emperor’s army after turning into humans. It won’t take them long.” She gave a wicked laughter.
Cassandra came there when every insect was ejected out. She was holding a glass filled with a liquid which was changing its color. One second it was blue and other second it was green. Colors changed even more in the glowing liquid.
“This is for you, Roderick.” Cassandra handed him the glass over.
“You want me to drink this liquid Popsicle?”
“For the Queen.” She gave a smirk.
“For the Queen.” Roderick whispered, “For the damn queen.” Then he gulped the glowing mess.
After few gulps, Roderick saw Cassandra shrinking. Soon he realized he was the one growing taller. He felt a deep scar on his chin when he stopped growing.
“What did you do to me?” Roderick dropped the glass.
“I made you look like Emperor. Oh! Did you want to be a dragonfly?” said Cassandra.
“Why this?”
“Go and dismantle Emperor’s army.” Queen ordered him, “She did sorcery. Now you do some trickery.”
Roderick got delighted and ran outside.
“Oh God!” Cassandra flinched.
“What happened?” Queen asked.
“He didn’t drink full glass of it.” Cassandra pointed at the liquid coming out of glass on floor.
