Technology. Destruction. Family. These three words ping-pong across Rosemary's thoughts, increasing her panic. She has just witnessed the impossible. Instead of solely projecting solid 3-D figures, the solido-projectors have literally brought film characters to life. Unfortunately, it is a Nazgul from The Lord of the Rings who has been solidified.
After Rosemary Ellesmere noticed the hoofs of the Nazgul's horse clattering on the solido-projectors, the Nazgul beheaded a hobbit and kept riding to the stage's glass barrier. Sadly, he wasn't alone. Close to the theatre's ceiling flew a dragon from the second Lord Of The Rings film. It released a bone-chilling shriek.
The Nazgul and his horse and dragon crashed through the glass barrier, which separated the stage from the audience. The barrier shattered and the monsters were free. The horse and its rider jumped into the crowd, still baffled from the shattering of glass. Without mercy, the Nazgul started slashing at the politicians and their families.
Blood spattered the interior of the Royal Theatre and the people screamed as they tried to escape. The dragon dove into the seats ripping people and chair cushions to shreds. It shrieked once more and in this moment, Rosemary realised she might die today.
She faintly heard Mr. Edwards' voice: "Your Majesties, we must get you to safety! Follow me!" Afterwards, Rosemary was informed that Edwards had been shouting.
As much as she wanted to move, she was petrified. Panic and shock had conquered her mind and she wouldn't budge. She felt a firm grip trying to pull her away, but she kept standing there like a statue, as if Medusa herself had turned her to stone.
Nicolas' voice reached her: "Rose, we need to run! Please, move!" Then she realised it was his firm grip holding on to her.
"Rose, snap out of it!" Thomas shouted. Nothing helped.
Below, the room was almost empty, aside from the dead bodies and the three monsters. The Nazgul with his faceless helmet looked upward and Rosemary met his black hole of a face. She couldn't tell why, but she had a feeling he was smirking. He pointed to the balcony, to Rosemary, and his dragon lifted off the ground.
The chaos seemed to last for hours and everything appeared to happen in slow motion. The Nazgul pointing, his dragon lifting off, its shriek, the flapping of its massive, gruesome wings, the baring of its many sharp teeth, the incline towards her. All the while, Rosemary stood still and stared with dead eyes.
With a dramatic stagnation, the dragon hovered before Rosemary, slowly flapping its wings and baring sword-like teeth. This Apocalyptic image brought her back to reality. Time seemed to pass normally again and only now did the cacophony of screams reach her.
"Rose!" Victoria cries.
Rosemary turns around and sees her sister, whose make-up has run out. Tears of anxiety. She turns back and the large hovering dragon startles her. Finally, Nicolas yanks her away and they bolt for the balcony door. Victoria and Thomas are already waiting on the other side of it.
Just as they reach it, the dragon opens its mouth and spews fire. The blaze scorches the Royal Box and the flames burst onward to the door. Nicolas and Rosemary are through and right before the fire hits them, Mr. Edwards slams the door shut. They are safe, for now.
Rosemary looks around her. Thomas is clinging to Victoria like a child in a haunted house. Victoria, on the other hand, stares at Rosemary and manages a smile, which she quickly swallows away. Beside her, Nicolas is heaving. Behind her siblings, two guardsmen with their laser-charged lances await their orders. Mr. Edwards comes up next to her.
"Your Majesty, we must leave immediately! It is crucial that we get you safe and wait for help to arrive," he advises her. She nods and the company runs through the theatre's hallways. They exit the building through the fire escape and can see the surviving guests running towards the palace.
There is no sign of the Nazgul, or his horse, or his dragon. A new wave of panic captivates Rosemary. Those monsters can't be long and she still doesn't know how this could have happened.
"Your Majesty, I suggest heading for the bomb shelters beneath the palace. Those fiends can't harm you there," one of the guardsmen interrupts her train of thought.
"I trust your…" her sentence is cut off by a load crack from the solido-projector theatre. Everyone turns around to face the building.
On the roof, the dragon clings itself to the structure with the Nazgul on its back. They broke through the rooftop as if it were merely a hurdle in a race. Around them, the rim of the gap where they broke through is smouldering. Smoke is circling up from below in the theatre. The Nazgul raises his sword and he and his dragon shriek as one.
"Run!" Nicolas yells. The raw male tone of his order surprises Rosemary.
At once, they all dart through the palace gardens. The guardsman who suggested the bomb shelters leads the way, while his colleague protects the rear. The Ellesmere siblings stick close together and Mr. Edwards keeps up despite his age. Soon, they reach the palace. Rosemary looks around for a sign of their guests, or the Nazgul. There is no one in sight.
"Where is everyone?" Victoria whispers. She noticed it too.
Out of nowhere, a fleet of Star Destroyers from Star Wars materialises in the air. Immediately, they rain bombs, fire and lasers upon the Grand Palace and its surrounding gardens. Rosemary hears the cries of guests who survived the theatre, but who are now being annihilated by the spaceships.
Debris and rubble crashes all around the Ellesmeres' group, but the guardsmen shoot most of it out of the air. Then they aim their lances at the Star Destroyers and shoot their laser beams, but it is a waste. The guardsmen are like mosquitoes trying to find a weak spot in a rhinoceros' armoured body.
"Quickly, to the shelters!" the first guardsman shouts. He pushes the royals and Mr. Edwards into the palace and urges his colleague to follow. He is still trying to shoot the spaceships when suddenly the Nazgul's dragon lands behind him and bites his head off.
Enraged, the first guardsman shoots his lance's laser beam, but the Nazgul fends it off with his sword. Reluctantly, he turns around and pursuits the royals in the palace. When he joins them, they are halfway down the stairs to the bomb shelters. He skips ahead and leads them further down.
"How much further to the shelters?" Thomas asks anxiously.
"Not much now, Your Majesty. Don't worry, we will be safe there," the guardsman reassures him.
"This wasn't an accident," Rosemary mutters out of the blue.
"Your Majesty?" Mr. Edwards asks confused.
"The Nazgul and that dragon, those Star Destroyers…this wasn't a malfunctioning of the solido-projectors. This is an attack!"
"Rose, don't be silly! Why would…" Victoria is cut off by the guardsman.
"She is right. The Lord of the Rings getting out of hand was one thing, but Star Destroyers from Star Wars is another."
"Coincidence?" Victoria shrugs.
They have reached the bottom level of the subterranean stairs. A wide corridor leads up to an armoured vault door. The guardsman crosses the distance to the bomb shelter while the Ellesmeres and Mr. Edwards remain at the stairs.
"Let's come up with theories when we are safe," the guardsman types in a code on the wall next to the vault door and tries to pull it open, "We can worry about an attack after…"
The bomb shelter explodes from the inside out just as the guardsman opens it a crack. The heavy, armoured, metal door blows from its reinforced hinges and squashes the guardsman against the wall opposite. His blood spatters the Ellesmeres.
"O my god!" Victoria screams covered with warm, liquid, red dots.
"What just happened?" Nicolas yells angrily.
"The attack has just been confirmed," Rosemary says coldly, "It is even worse than I expected. This is a conspiracy!"
"What do we do now?" Thomas cries.
"The maid, of course!", Rosemary nods without paying attention to her siblings' panic, "She suggested The Lord of the Rings and it is standard training for all staff to learn about the bomb shelter."
"Rose, stop your crazy talk and think of a way out of this!" Nicolas grumbles.
"Your Majesties, we need to get out of here or this will be your grave," Mr. Edwards says calmly.
He starts walking up the stairs again and the Ellesmere siblings follow for lack of a better plan. As they enter the palace's ground level, they are halted. A squadron of stormtroopers from Star Wars has them surrounded. Their laser guns are locked and loaded, and aimed at the royals.
"We surrender," Rosemary whispers, barely able to make a peep. Next thing she knows, the grip of a gun knocks her out cold.