Hello again! I hope you've all been having a great week! Here's the next chapter. I had a blast writing this one, and thank you to my beta-readers once again. I literally can't thank you enough lol. Thanks to all of you who are sticking with me in this story and I would love to hear what you like about it in a review if you feel so lead. If not, I hope you enjoy reading the chapter! Oh, and the last line of dialogue in this chapter is an acronym for something just so you know haha.
See you next weekend! Enjoy!
Chapter 26: Berserk
*Ulecus- pronounced oo-leh-coos
The platoon had just begun circling the massive castle when they saw a large wave of golden light emanate from within the castle.
"Lieutenant, what is—" Private Forrest didn't even have time to finish his sentence as every soldier and pegasus was propelled violently away from the castle. Private Forrest struggled to right himself as he and his horse hurtled through the air. His stomach felt like it was in his throat as flashes of the grassy landscape and clear blue sky sped across his vision. Wait, was that right? When did the fog clear? His horse neighed and flapped his wings wildly as he tried to right himself. Forrest breathed deeply, remembering his training, and pulled hard up on the reins. The large, brown pegasus splayed out his wings just in time and the pair came to a long, skidding halt just before they were about to hit a towering pine tree.
"Whew! That was a close one, Gump!" Forrest hooted as he wiped his brow and then patted his horse's dark brown and white speckled neck. The horse neighed and whinnied in response as he hovered inches away from the tree. "Well, don't blame me! I'm not the one who sent a giant magic blast from the castle!"
Gump chortled and hoofed the air, obviously agitated. The rider patted his horse's neck again and then sat up on his saddle. "Well, seein' as we're all right, we should probably see if everyone else made it okay like we did," remarked Forrest, giving his horse a light kick with his heels. After Gump had ascended a few meters into the now-clandestine sky, his rider saw a few of his other comrades, including the Lieutenant, struggling to get out of the trees as well. They hadn't been blown out of formation, but they had been blown back about half a kilometer from the castle.
"Hey, Buford! You okay?" Private Forrest shouted to the soldier who was trying to wrestle his way out of a tree a ways away from him. The man looked nearly identical to Sergeant Benjamin, and if not for the contrast in the color of their horses, none of the soldiers would be able to tell them apart from a distance.
Once the large, dark-skinned man got himself and his horse out of the tree, he turned his attention to man who had just shouted. "Yeah, Forrest!" Buford gave the grey horse a slight kick in the sides and flew closer to the other private. "I'm all right, but Blue is a bit shaken up."
"Rightfully so, I reckon. Any idea what that blast was?" asked Forrest.
Buford shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "You're asking the wrong man."
"More than likely, she knew we were coming," came the voice of Lieutenant Daniel as he flew up to the two Privates.
"What do you mean?" asked Forrest as the three slowly flew to an area where a small group of nearby troops was beginning to gather.
"Either we walked into a trap the witch had previously set, or that witch knew we were coming and sent out that magic blast. Either way we expected something like this to happen. Everyone knows to put on their nullification powder and continue with the plan," Lt. Daniel reasoned, looking straight ahead at the castle.
"Aye, sir," Private Buford nodded.
"Sergeant Benjamin, we should move quickly," commanded the Lieutenant, glancing over to the twin of the Private.
Sgt. Benjamin nodded in agreement from atop his salmon-peach colored pegasus. "Everyone was briefed, so they should be re-grouping as we speak."
Lt. Daniel, Sgt. Benjamin, Privates Buford and Forrest, and the other soldiers who had been scattered around the castle all began to fly towards the large building again as each soldier pulled out a small vial with a white, shimmering powder and poured it out on himself and his horse.
The platoon returned to the castle, staying in their original formation, and began circling the castle just outside the walls. Lt. Daniel took a large, conical contraption from his steed's side; it had a handle on the bottom and a smaller square box that was connected with tightly-coiled wires. He had received it from Gwen a while back, and she mentioned it was called an ampliphone. The Lieutenant held up the smaller box to his mouth and pressed a round button on the side as he positioned the large cone in the air. "Your Royal Highness and Grand Sorceress Vasilia of Ledstrana: we, by order of King Roland II and Queen Miranda of Enchancia, request that you free Princess Sofia. If you do so, we will leave you in peace."
Vasilia raised her eyebrow at the harsh sound coming from outside. "Well, that sure was a speedy recovery," she scoffed derisively. "But they certainly know how to speak to a Royal Sorceress, I'll give them that." She turned her attention to the large man standing by her bedside. "Thank you for helping me dress, Vlad. You're dismissed."
The man merely blinked at her before unfolding his hands and walking out of her room in only two heavy steps.
Vasilia's upper lip twitched into a slight snarl as she let out a sigh through her pointed nose and a cloud of purple smoke engulfed her body. A second later, she appeared on the highest and southernmost spire of the castle. It was an old guard lookout and provided an excellent view of the entirety of her castle grounds, as well as the surrounding landscape. She lowered her hands and held them open in front of her with her fingers slightly bent, relaxed but not limp. Lavender-grey smoke billowed around the tower before coalescing into a giant cloud that displayed her visage in the sky above the tall tower.
The soldiers watched in frightened awe as the giant face in the sky began to speak, its booming voice resonating in their chests. "Soldiers of Enchancia. While I appreciate your kind diplomacy, I cannot acquiesce your request. I suggest, for your own well-being, that you return to your kingdom. Your Princess will return safely, I assure you, as long as you stay out of my affairs."
Lt. Daniel pressed a button on the ampliphone again. "Surrender the Princess, or we will use force."
"Ha!" Vasilia couldn't contain her laugh. "You think your tiny group of, oh, how many was it? Sixty-five men, if I remember correctly, think you can take me on?"
"How do you know that's not all of us?" the Lieutenant retorted, furrowing his eyebrows in discomfort at her knowledge of the exact number they had sent to the castle.
Vasilia laughed again. "It matters not if you have more troops. I could obliterate a thousand men before you could even blink! Really sir, I do not think you are in a place to make demands or threats, so you best retreat while you still can."
Lt. Daniel lowered the ampliphone, gripping the handle tighter as he considered her words.
"Lieutenant?" questioned Sgt. Benjamin, regarding the man with concern.
Lt. Daniel stayed quiet, thinning his lips. The damned witch was right. They had just seen a taste of how powerful she was. He wasn't a sorcerer or anything, but he had studied a small bit of magic, mainly healing magic, and some defensive to counteract offensive spells before he decided to go full soldier. It was clear that the two spells she had just demonstrated were very powerful; even if they did decide to take her on, they probably wouldn't even serve as a warm up for the sorceress. Queen Miranda did say that they were only supposed to serve as a distraction and then retreat. With that being the case, perhaps he had the sorceress in the exact place where he wanted her.
"Sergeant. That thing Cedric gave us. Private Taylor has it, doesn't he?" the Lieutenant asked.
"I believe so, sir," Sgt. Benjamin confirmed.
"Good. Tell him to have it ready. We know where Vasilia is, and I'm sure you are thinking the same thing I am."
"Aye, Sir." The Sergeant gave an affirmative nod and departed, seeking out Private Taylor.
Lt. Daniel raised the small box to his mouth again and chose his words carefully. "We see that we clearly have the disadvantage here, which is why we do not wish to engage you in battle. Simply release the Princess and we will be on our way."
The massive head furrowed its eyebrows slightly in mild annoyance. "I've already told you, I will release the Princess in due time; you do not get to negotiate the terms of her release."
"Forgive me if I sound brazen, but Ledstrana and Enchancia have no qualms, nor any real ties of which to speak. So tell me, what is it you want with the princess?" Lt. Daniel challenged, keeping his voice steady over the loud, electronic machine.
A menacing smile spread over the clouded visage in the sky. "It is a puzzler, isn't it? Why on earth would the most powerful Sorceress in this world have need of a child? I swear, the lack of magical knowledge you people have is alarming. Even the worst student at that poor excuse for the Enchancian magic school, Hexley Hall, would have an inkling of the value of what Princess Sofia wears around her neck. It's a surprise no other mage has yet to obtain it."
Around the West side of the castle, Sgt. Benjamin whispered into Private Taylor's ear. The boy nodded and with one flap of his pegasus's powerful wings, he sped off.
Lt. Daniel allowed a little smirk to tug at the corner of his lips. It's a good thing powerful mages liked to talk about themselves and their plans. If Vasilia was anything like other wizards, things were going according to plan, and if he could keep this up for a few minutes, then it would buy Taylor some time. "You speak of the Amulet of Avalor, yes? Enlighten us. What could the most powerful sorceress in the world need with an enchanted trinket?"
Private Taylor rounded the North corner of the castle while the giant head still hovered in the sky. It was an eerie sight as he flew around the castle; no matter which way he looked at the ghostly head, it was always facing him. It would be difficult to find an opening, but if he knew anything about security magic, he knew that every spell had a blind spot, no matter how small.
Vasilia's lip twitched in displeasure. "Of course a mudblood like yourself couldn't even begin to understand the power that's held inside the Amulet, and your arrogance is even greater if you think I will divulge its secrets to the likes of you and your puny brigade."
Private Taylor flew high in the sky and looked at the giant head from above. As he hoped, there was no face on top and since that was the case, it was safe to assume the same held true for the bottom. The young man dove straight down, hurtling silently towards the top of the clouded figure. It was times like these that he realized just how vital his steed, Volo, was to the military. He considered it an honor to ride such a rare and priceless creature. As an Ulecus Pegasus, his wings had a fluffy, velvety texture and were much thicker at the rotating joint than most other breeds; the soft feathers also grew along his chest and forelegs. Instead of a mane, feathers grew out of the top of his head and ears, making little horn-like feather structures on his head; and his tail—instead of hair—contained the same kind of velvety feathers as his wings that fanned out like a great horned owl's tail. All of these characteristics made him much faster and also allowed him the ability of silent flight.
Lt. Daniel scowled. Perhaps he had spoken too soon; it seemed Vasilia was smarter than most power-obsessed mages and wouldn't spend hours explaining her plans. He had to buy more time. If this kept up, she'd kill him and all his men faster than he could utter a single word. "Excuse me, Your Majesty, I meant no disrespect. The only reason we are here is to retrieve Princess Sofia, nothing else. If you release her to us, we will be on our way."
Taylor dove through the clouded head and landed on the flat roof of the tower with hardly a sound. The young man slowly climbed down from the large mammalian bird and motioned for him to come near the edge. Volo obeyed, stepping lightly with his large hooves. The young man breathed an inward sigh of relief, remembering he had requested for the pegasus's shoes to be specially made to have padding on the outside, making it so that his partner was specially suited for stealth operations such as this one. Taylor grabbed a rope from his pack and put the end up to Volo's mouth. The horse took the rope in his teeth while his rider tied the other end around his waist and motioned for his steed to back up. Volo obeyed again, stepping quietly backwards as the slack in the rope tightened and Taylor lowered himself so that his torso dangled over the edge of the roof. With a wave of his hand, Volo allowed some slack in the rope and the rider let his body slip just enough over the edge to where he could see the sorceress in the middle of the watchtower. To his pleasant surprise, Vasilia was facing away from him and seemed to have no inkling of their presence. Taylor tapped the rope twice, and Volo pulled him up from the ledge. Wrapping the rope up, the boy nodded at his pegasus, who bobbed his head in understanding as his rider mounted him once again.
"You are starting to sound like a broken record, General, assuming that is your rank," she spat. "I despise repeating myself, but I will say it one more time to get it through your thick skull. You will see your Princess again, provided you leave my kingdom. If you do not, I will not hesitate to end you and all of your men's miserable little lives! Have I made myself clear?"
Behind the sorceress, a silent pegasus hovered as Private Taylor touched a bamboo shoot to his mouth and aimed it at the woman who was clearly getting agitated. With a strong gust of breath from his lungs, Taylor launched a tiny dart right at the witch's neck. The tiny feathers dissipated, making the needle completely undetectable as it flew.
"I'm flattered, Your Majesty, but I am the Lieutenant."
Vasilia smacked a hand to her neck and winced in pain. "What in the Seven Realms?" she mumbled. "Must have been one of those damned hornets."
Taylor clenched his fist in victory, then gave a kicked to Volo's side, and pulled up on the reins. The avian horse immediately followed directions and took off straight up through the clouded visage once again.
"What was that, Your Majesty?" Lt. Daniel asked over the loud speaker.
"Nothing of your concern. Now leave before I annihilate you and all your forces!" the witch spat. She closed her eyes and slowly wagged her head from side to side.
"Please accept our apology, Your Majesty, we did not mean any offense. We will leave you alone, but we are not leaving your kingdom until the Princess is returned," demanded the Lieutenant.
Vasilia stepped up to the railing and rested a hand on it, trying to steady herself. She felt as if her magic was being drained from her and it was becoming more difficult to maintain her visage in the sky. "That was no hornet! What did you do to me?" she fumed as the cloud began to dissipate.
"I beg your pardon? You think that a mudblood like me would be able to somehow assault an illustrious magician like yourself? You give me too much credit, your Royal Sorcery." Lt. Daniel couldn't help but smirk.
Vasilia growled angrily, the face in the sky twisting in horrid distortion as it came apart. "You've made a grave mistake, you filthy, dog faced, rotorhead! Get out of my kingdom before I end every one of your miserable lives!"
"That's the third time you've threatened us, and you still haven't done anything. It's starting to lose its effect, don't you think?" Lt. Daniel smirked, not able to hold back a small chuckle as he glanced at Sgt. Benjamin to his right. The dark-skinned man stifled a chuckle and put a fist to his mouth.
Vasilia roared in anger and the cloud dissipated in a puff of smoke, her bloodcurdling scream resonating throughout all the castle grounds. She stood up straight and electricity crackled around her arms as she charged them with magical energy. She leapt from the watchtower, flying towards the Lieutenant, her golden green eyes flashing with rage.
"Retreat!" Shouted Sgt. Benjamin.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Vasilia's voice thundered. She clapped her hands together and sent out a massive, blue charge of magic energy that engulfed the entire surrounding area around the castle like a huge dome before disappearing.
Private Forrest was only feet away from the blue glow before it disappeared and he crashed hard into the invisible wall. "Lieutenant! It's a barrier!" he cried as Gump shook himself from his stupor.
"There's no escape, filthy vermin!" Vasilia panted as she hovered in the sky, her pristine hair now slightly tussled and a crazed look in her glowing green eyes. "Now, DIE!" Blue lightning bolts shot from her hands and hurdled towards the Lieutenant.
Daniel's eyes went wide as he took off, weaving around the bursts of magic. "Come and get me!" he yelled, drawing his sword and thrusting his right arm straight out to the side. As Vasilia charged Lt. Daniel, the other troops flew closer to the sorceress, closing in on her from all sides as they each pulled out a small vial of red powder from their pouches. The Lieutenant also reached for his vial while still dodging the barrage of blue bolts. "NOW!" shouted Lt. Daniel, throwing his vial at the raging sorceress.
At the same time, all the soldiers threw their vials, and a cloud of red smoke engulfed Vasilia. A moment of silence passed as the soldiers waited for the result of their attack. Lt. Daniel panted as he watched carefully, searching for any signs of movement. Suddenly, the red cloud exploded outward as Vasilia let out a shriek, outstretching her arms and legs like a five-pointed star. Wildly, she started waving her arms in all directions, swooping her hands in long diagonal strokes in front of her body. With each swipe of her hand, waves of blade-like, green wind sliced through the air. The soldiers all scattered, attempting to avoid the deadly volley. Private Forrest nearly got hit, but Buford swooped in and gave him a wing blast from behind, letting only a few hairs of Gump's tail get sliced off.
"Whew! Thanks, Buf!" Forrest called, wiping his brow.
"Thank me by not gettin' killed!" Buford shouted back.
Forrest smirked and let out a yelp as he dodged another aero blade.
"Quit yappin' and help us get this crazy witch sedated!" Sgt. Benjamin commanded from above to the two privates. They nodded and took off after the Sergeant.
The more that soldiers pelted her with all sorts of powders and potions, the angrier she got. Blasts of all sorts emanated from her arms and coursed through her body as she released them wildly, shooting haphazardly in all directions. Bright bolts of blue lightning streaked through the air while blades of wind grazed the tails of pegasi; huge, white-hot flamethrowers shot out from her mouth, and shards of razor-sharp ice rained from the sky. It seemed she had no regard for what she hit, as magic penetrated her castle walls, crumbled spires, and left gaping holes in the ceiling.
Private Taylor watched in horror from high above, having escaped the invisible barrier just before it formed. If this were the sorceress when she was severely weakened, he'd hate to see what she looked like at full strength. There had to be something he could do, but he just wasn't sure what. Some time ago, Volo had landed on the top of the barrier and was resting his wings from hovering. Taylor furrowed his brow and steeled himself as he started rummaging through his pouch of magic potions, salves, and spells. There had to be something that could help him put a hole in the barrier.
After a few moments of rummaging, he had two vials and one small flask in his hand. "Okay, Volo. I think I've got something. If I'm right, the ground dragon teeth in this nullification powder, the garlic and frost salts in this potion, mixed with the lavender in this salve, we should be able to break through that barrier." Taylor breathed a sigh, uncorking the potion flask and adding half the nullification powder into it. After swirling it around for thirty seconds, he put a glob of the salve onto his gloved hand, and let two drops of potion fall into it. It burned cold for a second, like peppermint oil on a scrape, even with the protection of his leather gloves, and he quickly emptied the rest of the nullification powder into his hand. As he rubbed his palms together, mixing the ingredients, a small golf-ball sized glob formed. He then took the glob and shaped it into a sphere before smashing it three times and reshaping the sphere again. After the third time he held up the little glob, which was now a dull teal color filled with white specks of dust and about as firm as a rubber ball. He gently squeezed the ball between his index finger and thumb, checking to see if it would hold its shape. It did not cave in to his touch and Taylor smiled to himself and patted his pegasus's neck. "Well, boy, let's see if this works."
With a flick of the reins, the chocolate brown and tan speckled ulecus took off into the sky and hovered at least four hundred feet above the top of the force field. Taylor took one last look at the chaos that was ensuing below. His comrades were falling to the ground, obviously injured. If they didn't get medical help soon, they would be in big trouble. The young man breathed a sigh and steeled himself. "All right, Volo. Let's GO!" He gave the pegasus a swift kick to the sides and they entered a nosedive. Hurdling toward the ground, the barrier could be seen glowing faintly as magic blasts bombarded it.
Three. Two. One. Taylor threw the ball as hard as he could straight down at the barrier and then pulled up hard on the reins. Volo skidded to a stop, his outstretched wings serving as their breaks. The rider looked down and watched as the ball smacked against the magical barrier in a flash of red and yellow light. "Uh oh."
Volo was a smart horse, so he didn't need the command of his rider since they had practiced maneuvers like this hundreds of times. He gave a mighty flap of his wings and ascended at least thirty feet higher. He continued beating his huge wings for a few short seconds before they were a safe distance away from the blast and watched as the explosion danced with deep reds that turned yellow, faded into blue, and eventually flashed white. Taylor shielded his face from the heat while his pegasus turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut.
After the light faded, rider and pegasus looked down at the product of their efforts. The shining energy of the barrier was crumbling away like broken glass as the hole grew larger by the second. "Ha! It worked! Come on, boy!" Private Taylor shouted excitedly.
Lt. Daniel, Sgt. Benjamin, Privates Buford and Forrest, along with about thirty other soldiers were all trying to get close to Vasilia. They were throwing nullification, magic ravage, and impede magic regeneration poisons at her from all directions, slowly but surely weakening the crazed sorceress. Private Taylor saw an opening in all the commotion and drew out his cross bow. He took aim at the woman; her hair was completely disheveled, and he thought he saw her foaming at the mouth as her eyes seemed to glow like yellow tinged emeralds. What exactly was in that poison Cedric made? Whatever it was, it was working as her blasts were visibly smaller than before, and even more misguided. Taylor flew a little lower to get a better angle on the woman and aimed his crossbow at her. As he waited for an opening to appear again, he analyzed her movements and after a few seconds, he started to see a pattern to her madness. He tightened his grip on the trigger, ready to pull it when the time was right.
Lightning from her right hand, 45 degrees southeast. Three. Aero blades from her left, 90 degrees, Northwest. Two. 360 degree turn while breathing fire. One. Between her fire breath and the next lightning bolt, there was a split second where she was not casting magic, and Taylor unleashed the bolt from his crossbow. Vasilia doubled over and lost some altitude as the projectile smashed into her chest. Slowly, she sunk closer to the ground, clutching her heart.
The troops all exchanged glances before looking up in the sky, seeing Private Taylor with his crossbow. Lt. Daniel gave him an appreciative nod and then turned his attention back to the dangerous woman.
Silence ensued as they all descended, watching with bated breath what would become of the sorceress. Those who had fallen could do nothing but watch, gap-mouthed and wide eyed in their exhaustion. The seconds that ticked by seemed like minutes as the sorceress finally landed on the ground and fell to her knees. A group of soldiers, including Lt. Daniel and Private Forrest, landed on the ground while the others stayed in the air, ready to attack if necessary.
Her shoulder twitched. Lt. Daniel tightened his grip on his sword and dismounted his horse. Taking his shield with him he walked slowly to the crouched woman. He touched the tip of his sword to her exposed neck. "Surrender yet?" he asked, his voice a low grumble.
A quiet chuckle emanated from Vasilia's throat as her chest convulsed slightly from the small spasm. She reached up her right hand and grabbed his sword by the blade, allowing the hardened steel to slice into her hand. Daniel tried to wrench his sword away, but he couldn't. "Foolish man," she growled.
She wrenched her left hand up and two huge, thick, black vipers broke out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Lt. Daniel's legs. "Ah!" The man shouted in alarm.
A distorted, demonic hissing sound came out of Vasilia's mouth as she spoke. "Ezutishe fe estehaiux, ohevastadeca."
The Lieutenant screamed in agony as the two snakes wrapped themselves tightly around his legs until loud cracks sounded from the breaking bones. He would have fallen straight to the ground if not for the strangling grip the snakes had on his legs, keeping him in place. The snakes reared their fat heads and displayed long, razor sharp fangs dripping with gold sap-like venom. Daniel cried out in agony as the snakes sank their fangs deep into the soft tissue of his thighs.
"Lieutenant Dan!" Private Forrest yelled, jumping off his horse.
"No, Private! Stay away, save yourself!" the Lieutenant wheezed as he fell to the ground, the snakes receding back into the soil. His legs seared with pain and hot tears burned in his eyes.
Private Forrest completely ignored his orders, ran to the Lieutenant, and picked up the man by his armpits, dragging him away from the devilish woman. "Lieutenant Dan, don't worry! You'll be ok!" Private Forrest gasped.
"Damn it, Forrest, how many times do I have to tell you? It's Daniel!" snapped the Lieutenant before crying out in pain again.
Vasilia finally began to move as she slithered her body up to a standing position, rolling up her spine until she finally brought up her head with a disgusted smile on her face. She breathed deeply through her nose, stretched her arms, grasping the bolt that had hit her and rotated her wrists, making little popping noises sound from each one. She dropped the bolt on the ground, revealing a small dent that the arrow made in her armored top. She tilted her head down to her left shoulder, then to the right as deep cracks emanated from the vertebrae. The soldiers gripped their weapons tighter, collectively swallowing the lump that formed in their throats as the Sorceress now seemed completely unharmed.
"Thank you for the warm up, boys. Now, if you excuse me, I have more pressing matters to attend to." With a flourish of her hand, a cloud of purple smoke quickly enveloped her and she disappeared into thin air.
The troops stood in the ruins of the palace grounds, too stunned to say anything for a moment. Sgt. Benjamin was the first one to speak. "Well, don't just stand there! Those of you who are able, tend to the wounded, and someone find me a way out of this forsaken pit and get our soldiers back to camp, NOW!"
Private Taylor, as well as a few other soldiers, immediately went and administered restorative potions to both men and pegasi alike, while Sgt. Benjamin, Private Buford, and four other soldiers gathered the injured who could be moved and put them each on a horse.
As Forrest was trying to move the Lieutenant, a short soldier with the face of a pre-pubescent boy ran up to the pair. "Damn it, Lieutenant. You weren't supposed to go and get yourself hurt like this!"
Lt. Daniel looked up at the soldier and furrowed his eyebrows. "Jenny!? What in the hell are you doing here? You were supposed to stay with the rest of the medics at camp!" he shouted before clenching his teeth in pain.
The soldier removed her cap to reveal long, flowing blonde hair. "And leave all you boys alone to die with no one on-call? No way!"
Lt. Daniel breathed out a frustrated sigh through his teeth. "You know I'm the one that's supposed to head into the thick of battle, right? I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
The woman touched his face gently. "Then you know the reason I had to come," she said with a sad smile.
Tears formed in Daniel's eyes as he nodded and looked up at the woman, taking hold of her hand. "At least it's me who got hurt and not you."
Jenny gave him a smile and then turned her attention to Private Forrest. "Forrest, would you help me get him onto Bubba?"
"O' course, Jenny," replied Forrest, who then whistled for the Lieutenant's flying horse. While the Private placed his arms underneath Lt. Daniel's armpits, Jenny grabbed hold of his hips. "This might sting a little... Well, okay, it'll burn like fire under cannibal koalas," she admitted with a shrug.
"You promise?" the Lieutenant managed to laugh.
"Oh, yeah. It'll burn way worse than a mother on fire under cannibal koalas eating relatives."
