Tarquinta sat down on the gnarled branch of a large oak for a meal of bread.
She clasped her teeth around the loaf and jerked off a large piece with her
mouth and took a slurped from her flask. She was far west from Herongedy.
Tarquinta decided with good judgment that she should set up shelter high up
in this tree. There were no nests or signs of life, so she took out the dagger
and climbed to the third highest branch of the tree with it in her mouth. It
was a broad tree and she attempted to hollow out a hole. Her burrow was becoming
large and she thought that she was doing well enough that she’d be done by that
night.
She kept at work, her bag hanging from a branch above her.
Anger_Fire sat in his study, chewing on his quill. In front of him was an
almost blank scroll; he had written, “Come two in twenty-nine”.
His first theory was that half of twenty-nine would be significant, but the
equation emerged, proving him wrong. Nothing he thought of was right. Then,
as the idea struck him like a direct bolt of lightning, he burst through the
door of his house and ran over to the Palace.
“Ma’am!” He cried. “Ma’am!”
Suddenly, Anger_Fire slipped upon the newly mopped floor and slid to where
a Maid Kau was mopping. She looked slightly cross, though the Maid Kaus would
never let their exteriors show if they were feeling anything but pure joy.
“Bessinia, where’s the queen?” He panted, slipping to his feet.
“Now, now,” the Kau said tenderly. “I’m not Bessinia. And how’d you get past
a guard, young one? The queen is busy.”
“Please! It’s important!” Anger_Fire pleaded. “She may not have told you but
I’m helping her on a special project and I need to tell her that–”
“I’m sorry, darling, but the queen is occupied. Would you like me to give
her a message for you, young one?”
“Yeah,” the Shoyru dropped his paws to his sides. “Tell her it’s the second
month, twenty-ninth day; February twenty-ninth. A leap year.”
“Oh, my, that’s not right, sweetums.” The Kau laughed slightly. “It’s January
thirteenth. No snow though. Mighta thrown you off.”
“No!” Anger_Fire cried. “The answer is a leap year! Queen! Queen! The answer
is – ”
The feisty Shoyru fought as he was pulled out of the castle by two Techos.
“Queen! Queen! It’s Anger_Fire! I have the answer! Leap year! Leap year!”
“All right,” Episcal barked at his army. “Get your weapons, now! We’re under
attack and we’re going to prove that we are strong! Don’t let Your Majesty down!”
There was a burst of commotion as the Corporal’s army prepared themselves.
Episcal’s orders were more than clear and they all obeyed. Then as Episcal,
wearing his fine battle gear, marched his horde out of their base, a chant rose
up above the pounding steps of soldiers.
As murmur to another at first, the message grew as every Wocky yelled, “Kyyoro,
Kyyoro, Her Majesty’s service – we prevail over all – Kyyoro, Kyyoro…”
The chant died as they faced their enemies, well prepared. There were so many
warriors – double the citizens of Herongedy. They wore battle helmets of steel
and blood red capes. Those who left their eyes visible had them slanted inwards
menacingly and everyone had an angry face. Episcal roared in the silence.
“Who leads you to our land?” He demanded.
A tough looking Kyrii stepped forward. “I do,” he said in a sinister way.
“Have you come to surrender to me, Wocky?”
“Corporal Episcal and his army never surrender," Episcal growled.
The yellow Kyrii snarled. “Well, then, what are we waiting for?” He raised
a paw and his colossal instantly raised their weapons; steel crossbows with
jagged points on each arrow.
Episcal signaled to Kyyoro’s army by nodding. “Um, General,” he tilted his
head to one side, his face still tough looking. “Battling on our field is a
handicap for us. I suggest we move to an area away from our towns.”
“No,” the Kyrii grinned evilly. His army aimed their weapons at Episcal. “You
know, Episcal, we never were friends. We could never agree or compromise. Maybe
it was because you had everything. I had nothing. Now, I have the advantage
and this is pay back.”
“Listen, Karyji,” Episcal bared his teeth. “Just because you can’t win without
us being weakened first, you don’t have to babble on like a fool.”
“I have a good mind to destroy you right here and now!” Karyji jumped at Episcal
and his army pulled back their arrows. “Put your weapons down you morons!” he
ordered so loudly Episcal pitied the Herongedy army. “Who do you think you are
to insult my military? We could easily crush you any time.”
“Then why don’t we see if you can defeat us on your ground,” Episcal held
back a grin.
Karyji cringed in shame, being beaten in a mind game.
“We’ll battle equal distance from our Kingdom and your…” he smiled, evilly
content, “pitiful excuse for a land.”
The armies slowly walked beside each other. They were under strict orders not
to fire, demise as a penalty. Uneasy glances were sent, but each soldier managed
to maintain a tough exterior.
Episcal and Karyji walked with a fair distance between each other. They went
way back to when they were allies in the war Herongedy foolishly brought upon
themselves. They had been assigned the positions of leaders for the combined
armies. That is where the friction started. But, both being good leaders, they
waited until they were appointed leaders of their own armies to fight each other.
Finally, everyone halted. The limitless field they had chosen was perfect.
They stood on opposite sides of the field and glared at each other. Karyji raised
a blue paw to the sky.
Episcal turned his head and nodded to his army. Then, screaming, they raged
forward at each other. Metal struck both skin and shield, and the armies still
fought.
Episcal stood on a knoll that broke the plain and rose out of the ground, staring
at Karyji. The Kyrii snarled. His assistant, a small Messenger Korbat, Kvlar,
hovered beside him, his fangs peering out of his mouth. He licked his lips.
Karyji took a deep breath. “Revenge.”
“What, Master?” The Korbat was focused on a Kyyoro soldier.
Karyji glowered at Episcal. “Sweet, deadly revenge.”
Queen Kyyoro, knocked out cold by the blow to the ground, lay on a gold bed
with royal blue padding with a wet rag on her forehead. The guard conversed
with Depridama angrily about the attack.
“They all herded over here with steel crossbows, Miss. They were all dressed
for battle, Karyji in the lead.”
“Karyji?” Depridama suddenly look flustered. “The, uh, Kyrii? Blue in color?”
“Precisely, Miss.” The guard nodded. “He lead our army with Episcal in – ”
Inscorrade nervously sat beside the queen’s bed. He shook slightly as Bessinia
applied herbs to their ruler’s head. “This should help,” she said extra softly.
A knock on the door was Depridama’s excuse to leave her conversation with
the guard that had turned for the worst.
She opened it a crack. “Bessinia, it’s one of your Maid Kaus.”
Bessinia left Inscorrade with the queen. “Just watch her and cover her with
a blanket if she gets cold.”
Inscorrade nodded slightly.
“Yes, Furuka?” Bessinia asked her Maid Kau.
“Miss, is the queen all right? A red Shoyru came in here looking for her. I
didn’t know if I should let him in," Furuka told Bessinia.
“He apparently had an answer for the queen. Something about a leap year…”
Depridama jumped. “The scroll!” She cried. “Inscorrade! Where’s the scroll?
Where’d the queen put the scroll?” She dug through papers and pulled books off
the shelves.
“Er, she may have put it, um…” Inscorrade stammered.
“If you don’t have an answer than help me look!” Depridama shouted.
Bessinia galloped to the safe that was in the corner of the Meeting Room.
She batted at the lock. “I can’t put in the combination with my hooves. Depridama,
I’ll tell you,” the Kau whispered in the Senator’s ear.
Depridama frantically struggled with the lock until it opened. She threw out
the contents and stuck her head inside. “The scroll! The scroll!” She pulled
it out. “Must two come in twenty-nine? Yes! A leap year! That genius! Bessinia,
go find out of the upcoming February with have twenty-nine days.”
Bessinia ran out of the room, her hooves clanking against the tiled floors.
“But, Miss…” Inscorrade stuttered. “If…er, um, if…”
“…If you can’t finish your own sentences don’t talk at all!” Depridama yelled.
“Um, Miss?” The guard asked Depridama. “Who’s this beside you in this photo
I found? He looks a lot like--”
“Give me that!” The Senator scowled, snatching the picture.
“It resembles Karyji a lot, Miss,” the guard said.
“There are many blue Kyrii in this land, fool! Just because he’s the same species
as the one in the photo it doesn’t mean squat but the fact that there are many
blue Kyrii!”
Depridama stormed out of the room.
“Touchy!” The guard cocked an eyebrow.
To be continued... | 
