Hey everyone, I know its been a long time. I am currently going back to my stories and working on new ones. I have been through a lot of tragedy over the pass few months. I lost my mother ( to cancer), grandmother ( dementia) and my father. This as you can see kind of put my writing to a halt but I am back. Please be patient with me I will get updates out there as soon as possible.
You can also read my story to my other profile here is the link: /works/22983100/chapters/54945928
Thank you faithfully readers!
Ch. 3 Battlefront
Rustling of leaves and the soft footsteps of the human army were the only sounds heard in the clearing. From their hiding spots, the girls closely observed their enemies' movements.
In sections, the battalion separated, moving around watching the area. Their attentive gazes oblivious to the princess and her aides.
"I count 15 humans and 4 apes." Lily signed peaking from the edge of the rocks.
"That is still a large number! Maybe we should turn back." Lake replied seeping deeper into the vines, doing her best to limit her heavy breathing.
Her heart was pounding rapidly from the added stress of the soldiers' presence.
Marahan looked from the army seeing the vines encasing Lake swinging slowly then increasing in speed.
By now, Lily noticed as well and was on alert going from the vines to their enemies.
"Lake please! I know you are frightened, but you must get a hold of yourself! Please for my sake." Marahan begged in sign as she saw Lake begin to calm herself, the vines movement stopping completely.
Lily and Marahan were relieved and turned their attention back to the unwanted visitors.
The girls regarded how the soldiers walked, they were hunched low appearing to try to blend in with their surroundings. Each human was fully armored, painted in black and green markings.
The group held large rifles in their hands and crossbows on their bodies. Their helmets were coated in discriminatory word play targeted at her people.
Giving the army more reasons to eliminate her colony.
The apes who escorted them had the words, "Donkey" shaved into their backs and small symbols on each side of their head.
"How awful!" Lake said her sorrowful demeanor showing compassion onto the apes.
"Do not feel sorry for those apes, Lake. They chose their fate." Marahan replied looking to Lily for confirmation on her statement.
The female gorilla was facing the army, a perplexed look on her face and a quiet gasp escaped her lips as she stared at their enemies.
"I can't believe it. Has he no shame!" Lily fumed watching a red silver back among the ranks.
He was Koba's former right hand.
The gorilla was leaning close to a young soldier, the traitor pointing out his comrades in the trees.
This made Marahan and the girls shift nervously in their spots, but they remained concealed.
Red was a crafty gorilla.
He had a run in with Marahan a few times in their youth.
She never liked him and his strong devotion to Koba only confirmed her feelings.
He was a coward in her eyes just like the other apes who joined Koba.
After their leader had fallen, the apes went to the next power-hungry maniac.
"They are in front of the fort!" Lake said on alert.
"Good. Ready your weapons! Do not attack until the colony has struck first." Marahan ordered.
She stabled herself on the edge of a tree branch, carefully Marahan pulled out her bow and reached for an arrow.
Lily rubbed the dust from the boulders to her face then to her large hands before taking two spears in each.
Lake from within the vines, grabbed for the daggers and waited patiently, praying Marahan's plan didn't get them killed or caught by the army.
As they settled in position, some of the soldiers moved forward aiming their weapons near the colony's fort. Not long after, a scream rang from a member of their colony as the army began shooting.
Marahan bit her lip roughly with her teeth, it took every ounce of restraint she had to not attack their enemies. A look of panic arose from the girls' faces as the fort went up in flames, at that moment, the army charged forward.
Their battle cries leaving an unpleasant sensation in Marahan's ears.
The army burst forth, shooting any apes they saw escaping the flames. The girls watched tearfully as screams of apes that were hit floated on the breeze.
The display only making their anger grow with contempt for the soldiers.
"I can't watch this anymore! We have to do something!" Lake nearly screamed to her companions.
"Not until back up comes. Or else they will point their weapons on us!" Lily replied. She wanted to strike as well, but not at the expense of their lives.
Watching their brothers' fall was heart-wrenching, but they needed to stick to their princess's plan.
As the chaos worsened, a loud hoot rose out, followed by a series of noises the girls' recognized as the other members of their army.
Large coconuts filled with heavy gas coated the area with a thick smoke.
The added cover gave the girls the incentive they needed to ease out of their spots.
The enemies view was blinded by the smoke, they attempted to see what was happening. Their efforts were in vain, as large spears and arrows came from above.
"Now!" Marahan shouted as Lily and Lake attacked the soldiers with no remorse.
Spears, arrows and daggers were being thrown at all sides, trapping the enemies in a pit of death. Even those who hid couldn't escape the firestorm doused by the colony and the princess.
The panicked screams from the troop grew in volume, the attacks preventing any from escaping the forest.
"Alright that is enough. They have learned their lesson." Marahan said signaling Lily and Lake from attacking.
From her view from the trees, there was barely anyone left from the Colonel's ranks. She saw the bodies littering the green of the landscape and climbed from the tree to the boulders where Lily hid.
Lake was already there, a few daggers laid in her hands while Lily had three spears left.
"Pack up! We need to leave before our troops show up." Marahan said as the girls' heard their army approaching.
They gathered what remained of their artillery and prepared to move out. The females shuffled quietly through foliage away from the chaos.
The smoke from the attack faded into the air and Marahan wished it were still present to make it easier to get away. For now, they dove behind trees and slid into bushes if any faces looked in their proximity.
While walking they saw the army capturing a few survivors, it didn't matter as their numbers were less compared to their army.
"I think we have been seen." Lake said as the group moved faster.
"Are you saying that just to scare us?" Lily asked keeping in pace with the other two as they went behind some large bushes.
"You know I would not joke about this!" Lake replied as Marahan hushed the pair.
A small rustling was heard near the bushes, they looked around trying to find where the sound was coming from.
It grew louder and louder toward their location, until the girls found themselves surrounded by five members of their army.
The males hooted in aggression and aimed their spears at the girls but stopped when they recognized the females. Immediately, the males dropped their weapons and held out their hands in forgiveness to their princess.
Their futile gesture was interrupted when Spear moved in front of them. The bonobo looked between the three before his eyes settled on to Marahan.
"Princess Marahan, what are you doing here?"