It wasn't as quiet in the central square as she had expected. As she passed through, she watched as several small skirmishes broke out between white pieces that had obviously had enough of the stress, fear and anger for the day. They fought over war, over peace... she even heard one group fighting over her, and if the circumstances had been better, would have found it funny.
The huge stone gate of the King's Keep loomed across town in the distance, and she started across the main square, joining in with the jostling crowds, making sure to keep the gate in sight. The square was fairly crowded, and pieces were jostling others and her in their efforts to get where they were going quickly.
Then the drums sounded, and everybody froze. Faith shrank into the shadows, confused. Those sounded like the Red Queen's dru-oh. Several red pieces jumped into the middle of the square, scattering the whites. These were women and children! Though she found it rather pathetic that the women weren't fighting, she felt furious that the red soldiers were stooping so low as to attack them.
"Hey!" she yelled.
Some of the reds turned away from their fun. "Leave them alone!" So they picked her as their target instead. Faith counted them and took out her jackbomb. "Shite!" she muttered when she noticed others creeping up behind. She threw the jackbomb at the larger group, and whirled around to face the other group with the knife in her left hand and mallet in the right. The red pieces advanced, grinning evilly. She watched them as they advanced, and moved the mallet behind her to gain momentum for the swing. She raised the knife slowly. They came closer, and when they were close enough, the fighting began.
The knife thrust forwards, connecting with the nearest castle's face. The mallet swung in an upward arc, catching an incoming knight in the jaw and knocking him back several feet. Then there was chaos. The other group recovered and came at her rapidly from behind. Faith leapt onto a fruit cart and threw the jackbomb into their midst and jumped down as they pummelled the stand. The jackbomb popped up, spinning and belching fire, and she dived behind a knight as the flames reached them. It neighed shrilly and collapsed, and she rolled away.
The knife and the mallet were ready again when she remembered the ice wand. She grabbed it and prepared to fire but a castle's fist bashed into her arm and the wand clattered to the ground. She felt the bones crack and a long, high scream come out of her mouth. She dived for the wand, narrowly missing a bishop's blast. She returned with an icy jet at the entire group.
She took out the knife and threw it, again and again. Again and again it collided with something. But it was slow going and the constant repetition hurt her shoulder, so she drew out the mallet. This was more effective, especially when she fired a ball directly into a pawn and it died immediately. The other pieces tried to run from her, but she wasn't going to let them escape. A few blasts with the ice wand were all she needed to permanently halt their progress.
When they were all dead, Faith clutched her arm and fell to her knees. It felt as though the bone itself had been splintered and it hurt so bad... A few of the white pieces approached her, gingerly taking her arm and peeling back the sleeve of her sweater. A female bishop that would not have been out of place on the battlefield examined it carefully.
"Why aren't you all fighting?" Faith asked.
"This group? We are needed for our healing skills, rather than our prowess on the battleground," the lady bishop chuckled. She was surprisingly gentle when she slipped Faith's sweater off and set the bone. It soon vanished in the mass of white pieces that had come to help her.
"Will I still be able to use this arm?" Faith asked worriedly.
"Yes, although I wish that I had some herbs for your other wounds," the bishop fretted.
"I have some," Faith remembered suddenly. She felt for the bag at her neck, slipped the cord over her head, handing it to the healers. "I'm amazed they're still here, actually."
"Been through much?" the lady bishop asked. Faith nodded wearily. "Where are you headed?"
"The Pale King's Keep," she replied, leaning her head back. A castle of indeterminate gender began wrapping a cast around her arm, and she winced.
"Thank you," a male knight said suddenly, hopping up. " There was no warning at all, no chance to try and defend ourselves. There almost never is."
"Except for the drums," a lady castle said darkly, glancing up from one of Faith's other wounds. "Can I have some of the red herbs?" Faith was suddenly aware of the fact that her boots were gone, too.
"Certainly," the lady bishop said, handing them over. "Eat some of these," she said, sprinkling a few purple herbs into Faith's hand. "The tiniest amount can keep even a full-grown castle strong for weeks. You must know some powerful people to have got your hands on these."
Faith thought back to Morag. The town's former medicine woman... that could certainly be thought of as a powerful position, she thought. Especially if they lived in the circumstances that the denizens of the Village of the Damned had: little food, little water; raids almost every night. Then she realised that it was almost no different in Looking-Glass Land. "There aren't very many places that the Red Queen hasn't shattered, are there?" she asked despondently.
"There are none. And the closer you get to her realm, the worse it gets. To go into Queensland at all is suicide."
"That's where I'm trying to go," Faith said quietly.
The lady bishop stared at her, long and hard. "Why?"
"I've come here to kill the Red Queen. And I will."
"Why are you so confident?" The lady bishop was a little confused, and appeared rather doubtful of her sanity on top of that.
"I'm Wonderland's last hope, I think. I have to do this, and if I'm not sure about my abilities, then who in their right mind can be?" That felt like a lie. In truth, she wasn't nearly as confident as she was making herself out to be.
"I think you're insane," the bishop shook her head.
"I must be, if I'm stuck in this place," Faith replied, gesturing all round. She forgot that the bullet wound was there, however, and winced. The bishop saw it and gasped, pulling Faith's dress down enough to get to it. A rook threaded two needles, handing one to the bishop. Faith tried not to look.
"Oh my... Where are the red herbs?"
A female knight tossed them over. "There. Why is she here?" It was evident that she had only just arrived a few minutes ago, and seemed to think that Faith had fainted.
"She says that she's here to kill the Red Queen," the lady bishop said pensively, stitching the wound together, sprinkling the red herbs into it as she stitched.
"And all power to her," the female knight said, surprisingly pleased. "It's about time that someone's actually concentrating on her rather than on her forces."
"Why are you here?" The lady bishop asked the knight, irked.
"The White King sent me. He knows that Faith is here and wants to see her as soon as you're done."
"Well, she won't be done for a few minutes..."
"Wait!" Faith said quickly. The knight jumped and whinnied in surprise. "What more needs to be done?"
"The herbs need to take effect," the lady bishop said. Impatiently Faith stood. "I really am fine," she protested. "The bulk of this I don't need." She pulled the shoulder of her dress up and began searching for the rest of her clothes.
"These could get infected, and then where would you be?"
Faith grimaced. "I'll be right there," she told the knight. To the lady bishop: "Really, I'm fine. The herbs are taking great effect."
The bishop gave her a dubious frown. "Wait a moment. I'm experienced with these herbs. You may want to sit down."
Faith sighed and sat down. Then she felt a burning sensation in her arms and cheeks and everywhere else there were bandages. She started fidgeting and desperately trying to keep herself from tearing the herbs off. Who knew what the bloody things were doing to her? The bishop, meanwhile, was gazing at her, satisfied.
"Now they're working, friend," she said simply.
"Is there anything to do?" Faith asked, hoping that the damn chess piece would catch the drift that her whole body, especially her shoulder, was killing her.
"Just wait it out. And keep the cast on for a few hours."
"...Hours?"
"Is that too much?"
"No," Faith said, baffled. "In my world, they need to be kept on for weeks."
"This is Wonderland, and you had those herbs. Speaking of which, here they are. Rather depleted in some areas, but plenty left."
"Thank you," Faith sighed. There was no arguing with bloody bishops.
She stood, and a few shorter pieces began unwinding the bandages, save the cast. As they dropped off one by one, she saw that the cuts had become little more than small, thin scabs. The bullet wound would leave a scar when it finished healing, but she could move her arm fine. She wondered if she would still have them when she returned to the real world.
Abruptly, Faith realised that the chess pieces had suddenly gone eerily quiet. The sky darkened, the same mysterious darkness that she had encountered in the Fortress. Rabbit had said that it was clouds. But clouds hadn't explained the strange fear then, and it didn't explain the sudden, choking panic now. When she glanced over at the healers, they were all staring up into the sky, terrified. She looked up too, and saw a creature circling very high above them, silhouetted against the chequered sky. She could make out very little of the shape, only a long tail and a serpentine head. Bright, flashing eyes.
"What the hell is that thing?" she asked, but the chess pieces practically tackled her.
"Quiet!" one of them hissed.
A spurt of flame spilled from its mouth and the chess pieces recoiled, though there was no chance in hell of the flames reaching even the tallest tower in the Pale Realm. A long, low roar echoed through the marble of the city, growing louder as the sound travelled through the corridors and courtyards. Faith felt her heart beating wildly, and she quickly wiped away cold sweat from her face.
Then, as quickly as it had come, it left. "What WAS that?" Faith hissed.
"The... the..." one of them startled, but he was shaking so badly that he couldn't force the words out.
"Jab-Jab... was the Jab..."
"Jab?" Faith asked incredulously.
"Jabberwock," the bishop finally strangled out. Her normally composed face was suddenly haggard.
"But... what was it doing here?" she asked, confused.
"Loo... Oh, hell," one of the knights said angrily. "Ask-Ask the K-King."
Then the bishop gave a signal and all of the pieces swiftly dispersed, save for three uneasy pawns bearing her sweater and her boots. Faith barely noticed as they tugged them on without speaking, and sped away for all they were worth.
Finally, she was on her way. Gazing up at the rapidly dimming stars, she wondered if she had remained there too long. This time, the clouds covered the sky, and she remembered Rabbit's uneasiness in the fort. When it began to rain, she started running. "How the bloody hell did this happen?" she muttered, glaring up at the suddenly red sky. Maybe the Red Queen? No, that was ridiculous. Even the Red Queen couldn't control the weather. But if she couldn't, then why was the rain red? All around her white pieces were taking cover, and Faith wondered if she should maybe do the same.
She ran up to an archway and sat in it for a little, mostly sheltered, and wondering why the white pieces seemed to run from everything. Then again, these were healers, not soldiers. But still. They said that they could fight, so why didn't they? Abruptly she remembered that the King was waiting for her, and decided to brave the rain and get moving. The rain stopped very soon.
She dashed around a corner, and was greeted by a group of red pieces and card guards. "Oh, you again," she muttered disgustedly on seeing the latter. They stared at her, their faces an alarming mixture of malice and stupidity. She drew out the knife. A diamond card guard stepped forwards.
"Surrender now and throw down your weapons, or we will be forced to kill you. You are to be brought to trial before the Red Queen for treason and rebellion, for conspiracy to overthrow the Queen, for instigating and assisting in the escape of a dangerous terrorist, for terrorism, for murder of the Queen's officers and guards, and for malicious mischief directed against the government."
Faith raised an eyebrow. "The mantis couldn't make me believe that. Nor could he kill me. What makes you so sure I'll go with you?"
"We received direct orders from General Samien that you are not to be harmed. Merely brought to face trial before the Queen."
"Yeah, right," Faith muttered. "Sorry, but I'd rather fight than go on trial in chains." She started to bring down the knife, but a hand caught her arm. She turned and saw a handsome, though sinister face. "Who are you?" she asked. It was with unease that she noticed the card guards' suddenly attentive stances.
"I am General Samien of her Majesty the Queen's army," he replied, pronouncing his name like 'Damien', but with an 'S'. His voice was a smooth baritone, pleasant, but chilling. "I suppose I don't need to guess who you are, Faith."
"I've been told that I must surrender," she said derisively. He nodded, and let go of her wrist.
"Make it easy for us, Faith. If you don't, it will be nothing but a game of cat-and-mouse... and you know who the mouse will be."
"Yes," she said, running a finger down the knife's blade and glancing at the card guards. "Any unfortunate soldier of the Queen's that happens to get in my way." They shifted uncomfortably.
He sighed, shaking his head. "Then I have no choice but to order them to attack."
"Go ahead," she said coldly. "Watch them die, one by one. And then, you." He chuckled.
"I don't think so, Faith."
He turned towards his unit. Then they heard the noises. Thundering, scraping, and the card guards and red pieces were clearly alarmed. Then the whites came. Row upon row of them, some wounded, some not, but all coming at them with a single purpose in mind: to kill the Queen's forces. Faith saw with some nervousness the idiot knights that she had met at the Challenge door. "Oh, shite," she muttered. Samien smirked at her.
"Sorry that your position is so compromising... friend."
"Don't call me that," she warned, bringing the knife up to his throat. It was both a smart and a dumb move: dumb because the red pieces immediately attacked her, but smart in that the whites jumped to her defence immediately. Then there was chaos when the whites and the reds clashed, with Faith and Samien caught dead in the middle. Samien started shouting orders, but Faith countered them, yelling out to the knights, pawns, bishops, and castles on her side and throwing her knife at the card guards. Steadily, they fell. Samien's forces were overwhelmed.
"Retreat!" he shouted. The few remaining red pieces straggled back, but the whites had already surrounded them and were rapidly moving in for the kill. Samien shot a venomous glance at Faith and snapped his fingers. A portal appeared, and he let himself be pulled into it, leaving his remaining pieces to be killed.
She turned to the army in shock. "How did you get here in time?" she asked, confused.
"In time for what?" a loud voice in the back inquired.
"In time to save me quite a bit of work," she said, relieved. The two knights hopped forwards.
"Through us," the female said smugly. Faith inclined her head.
"Thank you," she murmured. The male laughed.
"Now, what was all that nonsense about an army of one?"
"I could have killed them," Faith shrugged. "But when help is given, especially such help as this, who could possibly refuse?"
"An excellent question, my lady," said a -very- tall bishop that was standing nearby. "I am to take you to the King now."
Finally, she would get answers!
The huge stone gate of the King's Keep loomed across town in the distance, and she started across the main square, joining in with the jostling crowds, making sure to keep the gate in sight. The square was fairly crowded, and pieces were jostling others and her in their efforts to get where they were going quickly.
Then the drums sounded, and everybody froze. Faith shrank into the shadows, confused. Those sounded like the Red Queen's dru-oh. Several red pieces jumped into the middle of the square, scattering the whites. These were women and children! Though she found it rather pathetic that the women weren't fighting, she felt furious that the red soldiers were stooping so low as to attack them.
"Hey!" she yelled.
Some of the reds turned away from their fun. "Leave them alone!" So they picked her as their target instead. Faith counted them and took out her jackbomb. "Shite!" she muttered when she noticed others creeping up behind. She threw the jackbomb at the larger group, and whirled around to face the other group with the knife in her left hand and mallet in the right. The red pieces advanced, grinning evilly. She watched them as they advanced, and moved the mallet behind her to gain momentum for the swing. She raised the knife slowly. They came closer, and when they were close enough, the fighting began.
The knife thrust forwards, connecting with the nearest castle's face. The mallet swung in an upward arc, catching an incoming knight in the jaw and knocking him back several feet. Then there was chaos. The other group recovered and came at her rapidly from behind. Faith leapt onto a fruit cart and threw the jackbomb into their midst and jumped down as they pummelled the stand. The jackbomb popped up, spinning and belching fire, and she dived behind a knight as the flames reached them. It neighed shrilly and collapsed, and she rolled away.
The knife and the mallet were ready again when she remembered the ice wand. She grabbed it and prepared to fire but a castle's fist bashed into her arm and the wand clattered to the ground. She felt the bones crack and a long, high scream come out of her mouth. She dived for the wand, narrowly missing a bishop's blast. She returned with an icy jet at the entire group.
She took out the knife and threw it, again and again. Again and again it collided with something. But it was slow going and the constant repetition hurt her shoulder, so she drew out the mallet. This was more effective, especially when she fired a ball directly into a pawn and it died immediately. The other pieces tried to run from her, but she wasn't going to let them escape. A few blasts with the ice wand were all she needed to permanently halt their progress.
When they were all dead, Faith clutched her arm and fell to her knees. It felt as though the bone itself had been splintered and it hurt so bad... A few of the white pieces approached her, gingerly taking her arm and peeling back the sleeve of her sweater. A female bishop that would not have been out of place on the battlefield examined it carefully.
"Why aren't you all fighting?" Faith asked.
"This group? We are needed for our healing skills, rather than our prowess on the battleground," the lady bishop chuckled. She was surprisingly gentle when she slipped Faith's sweater off and set the bone. It soon vanished in the mass of white pieces that had come to help her.
"Will I still be able to use this arm?" Faith asked worriedly.
"Yes, although I wish that I had some herbs for your other wounds," the bishop fretted.
"I have some," Faith remembered suddenly. She felt for the bag at her neck, slipped the cord over her head, handing it to the healers. "I'm amazed they're still here, actually."
"Been through much?" the lady bishop asked. Faith nodded wearily. "Where are you headed?"
"The Pale King's Keep," she replied, leaning her head back. A castle of indeterminate gender began wrapping a cast around her arm, and she winced.
"Thank you," a male knight said suddenly, hopping up. " There was no warning at all, no chance to try and defend ourselves. There almost never is."
"Except for the drums," a lady castle said darkly, glancing up from one of Faith's other wounds. "Can I have some of the red herbs?" Faith was suddenly aware of the fact that her boots were gone, too.
"Certainly," the lady bishop said, handing them over. "Eat some of these," she said, sprinkling a few purple herbs into Faith's hand. "The tiniest amount can keep even a full-grown castle strong for weeks. You must know some powerful people to have got your hands on these."
Faith thought back to Morag. The town's former medicine woman... that could certainly be thought of as a powerful position, she thought. Especially if they lived in the circumstances that the denizens of the Village of the Damned had: little food, little water; raids almost every night. Then she realised that it was almost no different in Looking-Glass Land. "There aren't very many places that the Red Queen hasn't shattered, are there?" she asked despondently.
"There are none. And the closer you get to her realm, the worse it gets. To go into Queensland at all is suicide."
"That's where I'm trying to go," Faith said quietly.
The lady bishop stared at her, long and hard. "Why?"
"I've come here to kill the Red Queen. And I will."
"Why are you so confident?" The lady bishop was a little confused, and appeared rather doubtful of her sanity on top of that.
"I'm Wonderland's last hope, I think. I have to do this, and if I'm not sure about my abilities, then who in their right mind can be?" That felt like a lie. In truth, she wasn't nearly as confident as she was making herself out to be.
"I think you're insane," the bishop shook her head.
"I must be, if I'm stuck in this place," Faith replied, gesturing all round. She forgot that the bullet wound was there, however, and winced. The bishop saw it and gasped, pulling Faith's dress down enough to get to it. A rook threaded two needles, handing one to the bishop. Faith tried not to look.
"Oh my... Where are the red herbs?"
A female knight tossed them over. "There. Why is she here?" It was evident that she had only just arrived a few minutes ago, and seemed to think that Faith had fainted.
"She says that she's here to kill the Red Queen," the lady bishop said pensively, stitching the wound together, sprinkling the red herbs into it as she stitched.
"And all power to her," the female knight said, surprisingly pleased. "It's about time that someone's actually concentrating on her rather than on her forces."
"Why are you here?" The lady bishop asked the knight, irked.
"The White King sent me. He knows that Faith is here and wants to see her as soon as you're done."
"Well, she won't be done for a few minutes..."
"Wait!" Faith said quickly. The knight jumped and whinnied in surprise. "What more needs to be done?"
"The herbs need to take effect," the lady bishop said. Impatiently Faith stood. "I really am fine," she protested. "The bulk of this I don't need." She pulled the shoulder of her dress up and began searching for the rest of her clothes.
"These could get infected, and then where would you be?"
Faith grimaced. "I'll be right there," she told the knight. To the lady bishop: "Really, I'm fine. The herbs are taking great effect."
The bishop gave her a dubious frown. "Wait a moment. I'm experienced with these herbs. You may want to sit down."
Faith sighed and sat down. Then she felt a burning sensation in her arms and cheeks and everywhere else there were bandages. She started fidgeting and desperately trying to keep herself from tearing the herbs off. Who knew what the bloody things were doing to her? The bishop, meanwhile, was gazing at her, satisfied.
"Now they're working, friend," she said simply.
"Is there anything to do?" Faith asked, hoping that the damn chess piece would catch the drift that her whole body, especially her shoulder, was killing her.
"Just wait it out. And keep the cast on for a few hours."
"...Hours?"
"Is that too much?"
"No," Faith said, baffled. "In my world, they need to be kept on for weeks."
"This is Wonderland, and you had those herbs. Speaking of which, here they are. Rather depleted in some areas, but plenty left."
"Thank you," Faith sighed. There was no arguing with bloody bishops.
She stood, and a few shorter pieces began unwinding the bandages, save the cast. As they dropped off one by one, she saw that the cuts had become little more than small, thin scabs. The bullet wound would leave a scar when it finished healing, but she could move her arm fine. She wondered if she would still have them when she returned to the real world.
Abruptly, Faith realised that the chess pieces had suddenly gone eerily quiet. The sky darkened, the same mysterious darkness that she had encountered in the Fortress. Rabbit had said that it was clouds. But clouds hadn't explained the strange fear then, and it didn't explain the sudden, choking panic now. When she glanced over at the healers, they were all staring up into the sky, terrified. She looked up too, and saw a creature circling very high above them, silhouetted against the chequered sky. She could make out very little of the shape, only a long tail and a serpentine head. Bright, flashing eyes.
"What the hell is that thing?" she asked, but the chess pieces practically tackled her.
"Quiet!" one of them hissed.
A spurt of flame spilled from its mouth and the chess pieces recoiled, though there was no chance in hell of the flames reaching even the tallest tower in the Pale Realm. A long, low roar echoed through the marble of the city, growing louder as the sound travelled through the corridors and courtyards. Faith felt her heart beating wildly, and she quickly wiped away cold sweat from her face.
Then, as quickly as it had come, it left. "What WAS that?" Faith hissed.
"The... the..." one of them startled, but he was shaking so badly that he couldn't force the words out.
"Jab-Jab... was the Jab..."
"Jab?" Faith asked incredulously.
"Jabberwock," the bishop finally strangled out. Her normally composed face was suddenly haggard.
"But... what was it doing here?" she asked, confused.
"Loo... Oh, hell," one of the knights said angrily. "Ask-Ask the K-King."
Then the bishop gave a signal and all of the pieces swiftly dispersed, save for three uneasy pawns bearing her sweater and her boots. Faith barely noticed as they tugged them on without speaking, and sped away for all they were worth.
Finally, she was on her way. Gazing up at the rapidly dimming stars, she wondered if she had remained there too long. This time, the clouds covered the sky, and she remembered Rabbit's uneasiness in the fort. When it began to rain, she started running. "How the bloody hell did this happen?" she muttered, glaring up at the suddenly red sky. Maybe the Red Queen? No, that was ridiculous. Even the Red Queen couldn't control the weather. But if she couldn't, then why was the rain red? All around her white pieces were taking cover, and Faith wondered if she should maybe do the same.
She ran up to an archway and sat in it for a little, mostly sheltered, and wondering why the white pieces seemed to run from everything. Then again, these were healers, not soldiers. But still. They said that they could fight, so why didn't they? Abruptly she remembered that the King was waiting for her, and decided to brave the rain and get moving. The rain stopped very soon.
She dashed around a corner, and was greeted by a group of red pieces and card guards. "Oh, you again," she muttered disgustedly on seeing the latter. They stared at her, their faces an alarming mixture of malice and stupidity. She drew out the knife. A diamond card guard stepped forwards.
"Surrender now and throw down your weapons, or we will be forced to kill you. You are to be brought to trial before the Red Queen for treason and rebellion, for conspiracy to overthrow the Queen, for instigating and assisting in the escape of a dangerous terrorist, for terrorism, for murder of the Queen's officers and guards, and for malicious mischief directed against the government."
Faith raised an eyebrow. "The mantis couldn't make me believe that. Nor could he kill me. What makes you so sure I'll go with you?"
"We received direct orders from General Samien that you are not to be harmed. Merely brought to face trial before the Queen."
"Yeah, right," Faith muttered. "Sorry, but I'd rather fight than go on trial in chains." She started to bring down the knife, but a hand caught her arm. She turned and saw a handsome, though sinister face. "Who are you?" she asked. It was with unease that she noticed the card guards' suddenly attentive stances.
"I am General Samien of her Majesty the Queen's army," he replied, pronouncing his name like 'Damien', but with an 'S'. His voice was a smooth baritone, pleasant, but chilling. "I suppose I don't need to guess who you are, Faith."
"I've been told that I must surrender," she said derisively. He nodded, and let go of her wrist.
"Make it easy for us, Faith. If you don't, it will be nothing but a game of cat-and-mouse... and you know who the mouse will be."
"Yes," she said, running a finger down the knife's blade and glancing at the card guards. "Any unfortunate soldier of the Queen's that happens to get in my way." They shifted uncomfortably.
He sighed, shaking his head. "Then I have no choice but to order them to attack."
"Go ahead," she said coldly. "Watch them die, one by one. And then, you." He chuckled.
"I don't think so, Faith."
He turned towards his unit. Then they heard the noises. Thundering, scraping, and the card guards and red pieces were clearly alarmed. Then the whites came. Row upon row of them, some wounded, some not, but all coming at them with a single purpose in mind: to kill the Queen's forces. Faith saw with some nervousness the idiot knights that she had met at the Challenge door. "Oh, shite," she muttered. Samien smirked at her.
"Sorry that your position is so compromising... friend."
"Don't call me that," she warned, bringing the knife up to his throat. It was both a smart and a dumb move: dumb because the red pieces immediately attacked her, but smart in that the whites jumped to her defence immediately. Then there was chaos when the whites and the reds clashed, with Faith and Samien caught dead in the middle. Samien started shouting orders, but Faith countered them, yelling out to the knights, pawns, bishops, and castles on her side and throwing her knife at the card guards. Steadily, they fell. Samien's forces were overwhelmed.
"Retreat!" he shouted. The few remaining red pieces straggled back, but the whites had already surrounded them and were rapidly moving in for the kill. Samien shot a venomous glance at Faith and snapped his fingers. A portal appeared, and he let himself be pulled into it, leaving his remaining pieces to be killed.
She turned to the army in shock. "How did you get here in time?" she asked, confused.
"In time for what?" a loud voice in the back inquired.
"In time to save me quite a bit of work," she said, relieved. The two knights hopped forwards.
"Through us," the female said smugly. Faith inclined her head.
"Thank you," she murmured. The male laughed.
"Now, what was all that nonsense about an army of one?"
"I could have killed them," Faith shrugged. "But when help is given, especially such help as this, who could possibly refuse?"
"An excellent question, my lady," said a -very- tall bishop that was standing nearby. "I am to take you to the King now."
Finally, she would get answers!