Sardonic Break: Chapter I
Once upon a time, in the faraway land of the Enchanted Forest, there was a lady knight. The only one in history who had ever made it so far as General. General of the White Queens Guard.
She led every brigade, fighting in the very few skirmishes and power struggles that demanded attention.
Such as force of nature she was, that now, she was the only knight remaining in the horrid war that swept the lands of the Enchanted Forest.
This war was beginning to be penned as 'Neverending'. So far, it had lasted four full moon cycles.
Neverending began by rogue knights of another Kingdom encroaching and demolishing the boarding villages. Not one for her people to be bullied, the White Knight rode many a night to save.
Her trespass and rightful punishment of the village-destroyers brought forth the wrath of The Evil Queen.
Therefore, Neverending became an unrelenting chess game as both, the Dark and the White Kingdoms would not surrender. This battle was such a gruesome play of chess, that only the two Queens, White and Dark, along with the dour Knight, remained. Every player of this sick game had been annihilated, thus sent to the Beyond.
The White Queen became misanthropic as she watched her beloved Kingdom suffer woefully at the hands of The Evil Queen. For the magic she wielded was dreadful and made an already terrible threat, even more ruthlessly deplorable.
The Knight was beyond exhausted. She had used everything she was, all of the strength and magic, to protect the White Queen. Her sworn duty had cost her much. All of her men, all but the small troop remaining at the White Castle protecting it, were gone. It was a steep and grave price to pay. But just how steep, she could not determine. Yet.
Resolves were cracking. Spreading and going deeper with each blow delivered. Almost exactly like glass splintering, before it truly shattered.
Underestimation was not something The Evil Queen was used to, at all. This insipid Knight would not be crushed as seemingly easy as her comrades before her.
So now here they stood, finally facing one another after four long and disastrously bloody moon cycles.
Piercing eyes never left The Evil Queen, as she paced back and forth impatiently. The Knight stood between the two Queens, unwavering.
"Remove the helmet, Ser Knight. I wish to see the light fade from your eyes as I send your wretched soul Beyond."
Long red hair billowed forth from the confines of the helmet along with a shockingly white streak of hair that caught the blazing sun even more than her silver armor. The helmet slamming into the rocky ground seemed to displace the very air around them. Once the sound stopped vibrating, the silence was deafening.
Recognition burned fiercely in The Evil Queen's almost black eyes. The White Queen was struck with a fear so profound, her attempt to pull the Knight away was haphazard. Even her vocal cords seemed to be paralyzed.
The Evil Queen's eyes narrowed dangerously as she hissed out:
"YOU!"
The earth beneath their feet began to warp, guided by the anger that grew exponentially the longer The Evil Queen glared. Stone grinding against stone pierced their ears. Their equilibrium shifted as the earth did.
"My has she made good use of you. Especially after displacing you from your rightful and true Kingdom."
"Regina…"
The White Queen's voice was pleading. It held something that the Knight had never heard before. It unnerved her, yet also angered her.
"I implore you. Do not travel down this disastrous path."
Her voice dropped down to a mere whisper.
"She does not know…"
Tears cascaded down the fair cheeks of The White Queen as she pleaded, beyond desperation, with The Evil Queen. The Knight's stance faltered as the foreign tone clashed with something long since buried deep in the dark recesses of her mind.
"You speak as if I do not stand here before the both of you. Now Witch, please do enlighten me as to how you seem familiar with me."
The Knight seemed to change before their very eyes. Something shifted in her. Though it was truly hard to determine because the multitude of armor made body language almost indistinguishable, it was almost if the Knight was relaxing. And that unnerved The Evil Queen more than she would have ever dared admit aloud.
"That is a term of endearment coming from you, my dear Knight."
Regina felt the air around them ripple with potent, yet contained magic. Her dark eyes fell to the Knight's hands. They were clenching until the knuckles turned white, then they were slowly released.
"I am not your 'dear', Queen Regina. We have taken countless lives to reach this point. We are now in your audience. Speak your piece and be on your way from The White Queen."
The Knight appeared calm, but Regina could see that it was only a façade. A sneer etched its way onto her face as she began taunting the Knight who dared stand in the way of her ultimate conquer.
"I have NO piece to deliver. But I am quite entertained by the face that you do not refer to her as YOUR Queen. So I wonder, is she? Have you felt at home in her Kingdom? Do you even fit in there? Do others possess such power as you? Or are you just her very own personal, powerful yet talented, slave?"
The White Queen tried to step forward, but her Knight's moves mirrored her own. Even though the Knight's footing faltered the very slightest because of what was said to her, she was still trying to protect The White Queen.
"Do not lower yourself to accept her bait, my Knight."
The deep and hidden wound was barely breached. But that was all it seemed to take for Queen Regina to crack the final slivers of resolve on the weary Knight. Even though the White Queen was desperately trying to assuage deeply-rooted fears and calm the blazing anger of her Knight, the line had already been crossed, severely.
"The quarrel is between you and I only, Regina. You will leave her out of this."
Laughter filled the air and Regina finally regarded the White Queen.
"I think not Snow White, Queen of White."
Venom coated every word that came out of Regina's mouth, causing Snow to flinch.
"Does she not deserve the truth? Just how much have you used of her? Just how much have you and that insipid Blue Faery siphoned from her? What serpents tongue did you twist and weave so you could sleep at night, I wonder? Tell me, precious White Knight, you true magic is what color?"
"My Knight, let us go back to the castle now. She cannot harm us there."
She tried to sound commanding. But it sounded childish. Almost like a petulant child ordering the dog to sit. She could tell by her Knight flinching, that petulant was exactly how it sounded.
Snow's heart pounded relentlessly, feeling as though it would burst from her chest any moment. It felt as if it would explode. She knew her hold on the Knight was waning.
Magic seeking magic and that magic found magic. And Regina knew that she could use this to her advantage. She knew how to delve down into the deep dark recesses of one's soul and play the melody that it so longed for.