Chapter 2-Purge of the Roost
The meeting was soon adjourned, to which Marco sighed with releif as he made his way down the halls of Mewni's castle towards his office. Ever since Queen Moon had appointed him Representative of the Knights of Mewni to the Magical High Comission it had been a ridiculous amount of work. He enjoyed the job alot and was proud to gained such a prestigious title, but it did occasionally mean less time to relax and less time with Star. He sighed as he came to the door of his office, once these orders were sent out he pretty much could relax the rest of the day.
He stepped through the door into his rarther lavish office, it was adorned with flags of the armies of Mewni as well as a large Mewnian flag hanging at the back, his desk was solid marble and on its surface displayed a grand map of the kingdoms of Mewni, he mostly used this to map troop movements and know where the knights were at all times to keep track of their duties. His desk also had a laptop because it was certainly more efficient than keeping everything on scrolls, not to mention he could sneak a game or two on it from time to time when he got some peace.
Marco collapsed into his chair, the meetings were strangely draining despite him not having to do much besides outline what the knights were doing and if there were any potential threats to Mewni. Marco took a few moments to relax and think about the meeting, chuckling to himself when he remembered that Star and Eclipsa had attempted to spy on it. He himself had no idea how Queen Moon knew they were doing that but he still wished he could've seen their reaction to being caught.
Marco then hauled himself up and walked towards his mirror phone mounted onto the wall, standing in front of it he announced clearly "Call Sir Joffery of the 2nd Scouts Order" the mirror made the noise of a dial tone before eventually showing the image of a young boy, no older than 14, in an ill fitting set of chainmail and worn leather singlet.
Upon seeing Marco the boy immediately gave the Mewnian salute, albiet rarther nervously clearly quite concious of making a mistake, Marco smiled lightly and returned the salute before talking. "Ah, you must be Squire Potemkin, I've been told some good things about you" Marco said cheerfully with a gentle smile on his face, the boy seemed to relax slightly but maintained his nervous disposition.
"errm thank you sir Marco, how might I be of assistance to you sir?" the boy nervously stuttered. Marco held out his hand towards the screen and spoke calmly so as to cool the Squire's nerves.
"Relax kid, I just have orders for Sir Joffery, can you hand the mirror to him please?", The young squire nodded and passed the mirror to a slightly taller but much larger man who was standing proud with a great, red beard covering his most of his face, a shining steel chestpiece which had clearly been newly polished and sporting a red, tartan pattern kilt which came down to just above his knees.
Upon seeing Marco the Knight also performed the Mewnian salute, albiet with much more confidance and pride in his movements and posture, which Marco returned before speaking. "Ah Sir Joffery, how are you this morning?" Marco asked pleasently, it was always good for him to be friendly towards his troops, aside from keeping them happy it also ment they were much more likely to be accepting of orders without complaint.
"Very fine this morning Sir Marco, very fine indeed, I see you have made aquaintence with my new squire Potemkin" The knight ruffled the young lads hair as he spoke about him "A good lad with a loyal heart, all he needs now is the muscles and skills to match I'd say" he laughed heartily as he said this. Marco chuckled, he did enjoy Sir Joffery's company, he was a jolly soul and was one of the few knights who never looked down upon his squires.
"Excellent, good to see you've aquired a good squire, he should make a fine knight one day, but back to the matter at hand, I have new orders for you" Marco said turning official as he prepared to give the orders he had arranged with Queen Moon.
"Ah excellent!" celebrated Sir Joffery as he heard this "We've been sat around on guard duty too long, a real assignment should give me a chance to give the boy real training in the field". Marco nodded and opened up a scroll containing his notes from the meeting.
"Well, I don't know how exciting it will be, but at any rate your orders are to move towards the Rich Pigeon Kingdom and investigate reports of strange sightings of men in the southern hills" Sir Joffery looked concerned as Marco gave him his orders and Marco could instantly tell what was on his mind "Rations will be provided by the castle during this assignment, as Rich pigeon doesn't seem to have gotten the message about Mewnian food as of yet" Marco said, sounding a little annoyed at the last part as they had told Rich pigeon around a hundred times to provide some sort of actual food for Mewnian knights.
"We suspect they're just a small band of highwaymen or a few hunters that got a little too close, you know what that kingdom is like they get spooked at most things, come back to Mewni once you're satisfied their lands are secure, Understood?" Marco rolled up the scroll and looked back towards the mirror. The knight saluted and said "Yes sir, we will travel post-haste, farewell sir!" Marco returned the salute and then ended the call before once again slumping into his chair and moving a figurine, representing Sir Joffery, across to the Rich Pigeon Kingdom.
Nightfall-Rich Pigeon Kingdom
Sir Joffery had arrived at the Rich Pigeon Kingdom a few hours after Marco had ordered him to set off, since then they had inspected the grounds and settled at their accomodation. They were stationed in a small watchtower to the south of the castle with views of the hills. The tower had fortunately been cleaned, under orders from Mewni after the last knights took ill from all the pigeon droppings, and was now probably the last pleasent area in the kingdom.
The Knight has settled down at the top of the watchtower and had just finished his ration of corn sent over by Mewni. His squire Potemkin was nearby polishing his boots and contentedly humming Star's princess song, which despite the protests of Star herself had actually become the most popular piece of music in Mewni.
The night was calm, aside from the near constant cooing of the pigeons. Both knight and squire had set up their sleeping quarters and were about to enter into a watch. Sir Joffery sighed and turned towards his young squire. "You'd best be getting some shut eye m'lad" He said as his squire directed his head up to look at him "They'll be plenty of time for polishing when your watch comes up". The squire nodded before saluting the knight, who promptly returned the salute, the squire then headed downstairs and hopped into one of two small beds that the tower had.
Before too long, Joffery heard the light snoring of his squire and chuckled to himself lightly "Lad needs to learn to relax a little" he mutters to himself before taking a small block of wood and his dagger. He then began to whittle, as he did so he looked up on a regular basis to check the hills. As the hours passed the moon rose higher into the sky and not long before the squire's watch was due to start, Sir Joffery saw shadows moving in the treeline on the hill.
He took out a set of binoculars, studying where he thought the shadows were coming from, but they didn't stay out in the open long and the night had made things difficult to see. The moon was only half and it's light was dim, barely revealing that there was even a forest at all. But before too long he began to see lights that came from behind the hills, they vanished as quickly as they came. Sir Joffery became nervous and went down to wake his squire and prepare him for anything.
Joffery walked down to the sleeping quarters to see his squire still sleeping peacefully in his bunk, he walked over and lightly shook the boy awake. "Potemkin, Potemkin, wake up my lad!" he said as he shook the boys shoulders to wake him. The boy awoke and stared groggily at the knight who stood tall before his bed.
"Sorry m'lad but we might have trouble brewing out there, get yourself ready" Joffery said as he handed the boy a sword and started to head back up to the observation platfom of the tower. As he reached the top he looked towards the hills and the sight that greeted him stopped him dead in his tracks.
There must've been hundreds of them, possibly thousands, the night made it hard to tell. What Joffery could be sure of however was that this was not a mere band of highwaymen, it was an invasion force. Through the darkness he saw only the sillouettes of the forces before him as well as their flags flying in the darkness, though he couldn't see the design.
Most forces known to Mewni wear unique armour that can be easily distinguished from one to the other. This army however was unrecognised by the knight, a disturbing sight in itself, but as he watched the army simultaneously raise their hands towards the castle. As their hands raised small lights appeared in all of them as they summoned small balls of fire to them. Joffery threw up a shield spell around the small tower to protect himself and his squire from the impending attack.
As he did so heard a single word yelled from across the distance, "Engage" and within an instant the soldiers on the hill began launching beams of fire towards the Rich Pigeon Kingdom. The fire immediately claimed the roofs of smaller buildings and the Pigeons droppings immediately acted like explosives as they came into contact with the flames, bringing the higher traffic areas of the castle crashing down.
The Pigeons of the kingdom attempted to flee in all directions in a mass panic, most quickly dropped dead by the flames that now engulfed their bodies, others were hit by stray shots raining down from the hilltop. Sir Joffery looked towards his squire standing behind him, his sword drawn and a look of fear plastered across his face. The first time he had seen such devestation.
"You must go boy!" Joffery yelled to his squire with urgency in his voice "I will hold them off, you must go and inform Mewni of this attack!" The squire looked uneasy and managed to yell "I won't leave you sir, even you can't fight them alone!" With that Joffery grabbed his squire by the collar with a single hand and held him up. "Do as I say boy!" He yelled before throwing his squire towards the exit to the tower "Inform Sir Marco that Rich Pigeon Kingdom is under attack and need immediate reinforcements!".
The boys eyes welled with tears, but he nodded and ran out of the tower, speeding as fast as he could towards Mewni on foot. Sir Joffery smiled lightly "Good lad, I hope you'll be a great knight some day laddie" he said to himself. Joffery then drew his sword and charged towards the hill.
On the hill itself, a young messenger from the front line was running to the rear of the line towards a small position adorned with flags towards the rear of the advancing forces. In it stood a small number of men who were dressed with prestigious uniforms laced with gold and glinting medals upon their chests.
The messenger shouted aloud as he approached the men "General Kahchi, I have urgent news from the front!". The officer turned to the young man and had a dissapproving look on his face.
"What possible news could there be boy!?" He yelled as the young man came to a standstill and saluted the general. "We're fighting a bunch of pigeons for gods sake!" The general returned the salute but still retained his disapproving scowl.
"Sir, thats just it" The boy yelled over the sounds of battle "Theres a Mewnian knight stationed in a tower on the front lines, the pigeons are retreating but he's managing to maintain his position" The general's look soon turned to one of annoyance, he thanked the boy and dismissed him before consulting his map.
"Damn, we weren't supposed to encounter the Mewmans this early, if that knight manages to get away we'll lose the element of surprise". General Kahchi pondered his options, there was nothing for it. He'd have to ensure that the knight does not manage an escape. As he took up his sword and prepared to do battle with the knight a portal opened behind him.
Turning to look at the portal, he immediately stopped and saluted the figure emerging from it. "Good evening your majesty, I hadn't expected to see you here" Kahchi said as the figure returned the salute and walked towards him.
"Well I couldn't resist witnessing how the first stage of our brilliant conquest is going, although it has come to my attention that simply exterminating some birds shouldn't have taken this long general." The king said as he darted an eye towards Kahchi who gulped nervously.
"Well you see your majesty I've just had troubling news from the front, I was about to go deal with it personally as a matter of fact" The king raised an eyebrow and directed his gaze towards the battle. "Oh?" He said in a calm, sinister tone "and might I enquire as to the nature of this troubling news?" he said again as he turned to once again face the now very nervous general.
"Well you see your majesty, while the vermin of this kingdom are being rapidly sent into the abyss, there is a Mewnian knight stationed here as well, he is obviously much stronger than the pigeons and so his own defence is holding" The general said as he took up his sword in preparation for the duel with Joffery. "I was just about to take care of him myself your majesty".
The king paused for a second and then held up his hand to halt Kahchi. "No, that will not be nessesary general" he said with a sinister smile on his lips. The general protested "But your majesty if he gets away we will lose the element of surprise and our war will become harder to win!" but to this the king once again gestured for his general to silence himself.
"What I mean general is that you will not have to face him" The king said as his eyes began to glow lightly "It has been so long since I've had a decent fight, and this knight might well be a good warm-up for events to come". The king now had a large grin on his lips as he strolled down to the front lines, soldiers making way for him as he passed them.
Sir Joffery spotted this lone figure approaching his position and noted that many of the men had stopped firing at his position, instead focusing on the pigeons attempting to flee the now burning kingdom. He grunted "This must be their champion, well lets see what you've got lad" he muttered to himself as he marched down to meet the figure on the open field.
"That's close enough!" Yelled Sir Joffery as he could now see the face of the man through the light of the flames engulfing the kingdom. The figure stopped and raised and eyebrow towards the knight as he looked him up and down.
"So this is what passes for a knight in Mewni?" he said in a sarcastic tone "well this whole thing is going to be easier than I thought" The king chuckled to himself as he said this, much to Sir Joffery's disgust.
"Silence yourself cur!" Shouted Joffery as he drew his sword. "Tell me who you are before put you out of your misery". The king chuckled once again.
"Goodness, Mewni has fallen a long way from the days of old, I remember when your knights knew their place when it came to dealing with your betters" he said in a rarther condescending voice. "Well peasent I will grace you with knowlege of my name, seeing as how it might be the last thing you'll ever learn". The king brushed a lock of hair away from his eye, revealing the scar that still marred his otherwise handsome face. "I am Emperor Helvete, grand sovereign of the Imperial Kingdom of Helios and soon to be liberator of Mewni from the scourge that is the butterfly family". As he finished this a great cry from his army behind him filled the air, thousands of voices exhaulting in one singular phrase "Praise Helios!" they cried as Helvete smiled approvingly.
"Now good sir knight, you must in turn grace me with your title, after all its only polite" Helvete said as he gestured towards the shocked Sir Joffery. Joffery cleared his throat before thrusting his chest out in pride and speaking aloud in a patriotic and heroic tone.
"I am Sir Joffery the Red, Knight of the 2nd Scouts order of the Kingdom of Mewni, Defender of the kingdom and her sovereign lady Queen Moon the Undaunted, and I will have your head mounted on my wall before I let you destroy my kingdom or her allies" as he spoke he raised his sword and prepared to engage Helvete in combat.
"Queen Moon huh? So Eclipsa's time has passed" Helvete said with a tinge of dissapointment in his voice "Such a shame, I had hoped to extract revenge on her, but I suppose her heirs will have to do" he said before his eyes glowed a bright red and the marks on his cheeks, shaped like the sun on his flag, glowed equally bright as the epression on his face changed to one that could only be described as pure evil.
Helvete extended his arm out and a small red ball appeared at his fingertip, aiming for Joffery he simply spoke "It's been a pleasure, knight of Mewni" and with that a red beam shot from his finger and straight through Sir Joffery's heart . Joffery stopped in his tracks and looked down at the now, bottlecap sized hole, through his body. He looked back up as his breathing became laboured and he coughed, showing blood over himself as it erupted from his mouth.
Sir Joffery collapsed face down on the floor and Helvete scoffed at the corpse laying before him "eugh, such an anti-climax, if this is what the Mewnian armies have come to this will be all too simple" he then looked up to the burining castle before him, extended his hand once more and fired a colossal beam of fire which engufled the entire building. After he was sure the castle was naught but ash, he turned and opened a portal. Dissapearing through it, leaving only Joffery's body, amongst a mountain of ash and charcoal.
A/N: Such is the death of the Rich Pigeon Kingdom, and the re-emergance of the now Emperor Helvete. Who'll be next to fall to his dreams of Mewnian conquest? Only time will tell, hope you enjoyed guys, until next time :)