Interlude Three:

"This isn't fair!" Caroline snapped, "Massa can't make him go!" Caroline glanced at her younger brother, who had been lying on the cot, breathing softly.

"Hush!" THE QUEEN snapped, eyes narrowing. THE QUEEN was standing over the small stove, stoking the fire burning inside. Then, THE QUEEN sighed, shaking her head, "Massa can do whatever he want, sweetie. We're his slaves."

"Johnny is only fourteen!" Caroline hissed, trying to keep her voice down as she spoke. "They already got Daddy. Why they gotta take Johnny too!" Tears burned her brown eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself, sniffing and rubbing at her face.

"I know, baby," THE QUEEN soothed, coming to her side and hugging her around the shoulders. "I know. But, there ain't nothing we can do now." Caroline's lip quivered and she let out a small sob, as THE QUEEN rubbed her back. "Let it out. There ain't nothing we can do. It's okay."

But Caroline knew it wasn't okay. This wasn't okay. She wasn't going to let her brother die to fight a white man's war. She it wasn't fair not to her, or her family.

• ️•

Caroline waited until THE QUEEN was asleep before she stood up and silently shook her brother awake.

"Johnny!" She whispered, "Johnny get up!"

"Hmm?" He murmured, sitting up, but Caroline placed her hand over his mouth, shushing him.

"C'mon," she whispered, pulling him up.

"Where are-"

"Shh!" Caroline hissed and he frowned. They made it outside of the small log cabin before he started to speak again.

"Where are we goin'?"

"Away," Caroline said simply. She glanced around before running into the woods, darting through the trees and away from their Master's plantation.

"What do you mean away, Caroline?" Johnny asked, scared. "We can't leave Ma!"

"We have to!" Caroline snapped. "They gonna take you away to the war, Johnny. Like they did with Daddy and Uncle David."

Johnny stared at his older sister, shocked, "The war? But-"

"We need to hurry," She said, urging him to run. She and her brother ran all through the night, not giving a chance to look back at where they came.

• ️•

THE QUEEN woke up to two empty spots beside her. "Wha-? Caroline? Johnny?" THE QUEEN didn't hear a response. THE QUEEN hurried off of the floor, getting to her feet with a tired grunt. "Babies!? Where are you?!"

Then, THE QUEEN heard a knock at the door, and she felt her blood run icy cold.

• ️•

"I don't know where they are!" THE QUEEN told the overseer, dried tears on her face. "I swear, I-I-"

"Shut it!" He grunted, hitting her across the face. THE QUEEN gasped, falling to her knees, her arms shaking and fear gripping her chest. He grabbed the front of her raggedy dress, raising her to face him. THE QUEEN stared the man in his eyes, her chin held high and she swallowed hard. "You'll tell me where those two went, or you'll hang for it."

"I just told you," THE QUEEN said, grinding her teeth. "I don't know." He hit THE QUEEN again, and she felt blood on her cheek. THE QUEEN swallowed and turned to look back at him.

"Benny!" A man shouted across the field and both THE QUEEN and the overseer turned. A group of men on horses were galloping towards them. "We got 'em! Leave the woman!"

He dropped THE QUEEN and she fell to her knees, rubbing sorely at her face, but struggled to her feet to look past the men's broad shoulders. "Caroline? Johnny!?" THE QUEEN called, taking a few steps toward the group of men. The men barred THE QUEEN from seeing her children, but she could still hear them talk.

"... 'Ey ran as soon as as got to 'em," one of the men spoke with harsh tones, but humour in his voice. "'Ey got to the lake, so we were gonna let 'em drown, like they always do, ya know? But then they started to swim! Ain't never seen a nigger swim before. We let 'em get a bit away, Shawn likes to see 'em run. Then, we shot 'em. Came up to shore 'bout a half hour later."

THE QUEEN gasped, taking a step back, "I... You..." THE QUEEN felt her heart break, and she let out a loud scream. "You... You killed my babies!" THE QUEEN sobbed. THE QUEEN felt a sharp pain in her skull and she fell to the ground assuming that one of the men hit her.

THE QUEEN grabbed her hair as voices began to speak at once. They sounded as if they had been from nowhere else but hell itself. They screamed at THE QUEEN, 'Long live the bloody red queen! Long live the bloody red queen!'

THE QUEEN ran at the men, grabbing the bladed whip off of one of their wastelands. As THE QUEEN held it, it turned a dark red and weaved longer, sharper red blades at the end. "Hey!" One of the men screamed, but THE QUEEN didn't listen. With a simple flick of her wrist, she dragged her blades across his throat.

The man gagged, stumbling back and holding his throat that was pouring buckets of blood. The same red blood that THE QUEEN knew came from her own babies.

The men pulled out their own guns and whips, but THE QUEEN was too fast. THE QUEEN raked her whip across their necks, their chests, their legs. THE QUEEN used her whip to block the bullets the men shot at her.

THE QUEEN wrapped her bladed whip around the ankle of one of the men, yanking him off his feet and using his body to throw into two other men who were trying to get near her.

THE QUEEN ran towards the horses, who looked rightfully spooked. One of them were carrying a small cart and inside were the bodies of THE QUEEN's two small children.

Tears blurred THE QUEEN eyes and she let out a loud wail, reaching inside to hug the bodies of her children.

More guns went off and THE QUEEN looked up, her body trembling with rage. There more men came, all equipped with guns and other lethal weapons. When they saw the carnage of a half a dozen bodies surrounding THE QUEEN, they slowed, staring in shock and horror.

THE QUEEN couldn't stay there, and she knew it. THE QUEEN kissed the heads of her children and sent a prayer to God before grabbing one of the horses and swinging her legs on. THE QUEEN grabbed the reigns and ran far away, tears still dripping down her cheeks.

• ️•

THE QUEEN spent a few days in solitude and mourning, before coming to a decision. THE QUEEN's son and daughter died because she didn't want to see her brother die in a white man's war - the same men who killed her children.

THE QUEEN knew she couldn't bring back her children, but she did know that she could stop other people's children from dying. THE QUEEN called the horse she had stolen to her side and began to ride away, going for the front lines of the war.

No more babies, no more children, would die in this war. Not if THE QUEEN could help it.

• ️•

THE QUEEN ducked behind a pile of crumbled stone as bullets flew past her and the fifteen year old boy beside her. He clutched a gun to his chest and his he was breathing heavily through the thick smog of war.

"Fallback!" THE QUEEN heard the voice of her commander. "Fallback!"

"Ya hear that!?" The boy hissed, grabbing her arm. "We can go back. C'mon."

"It's no use," THE QUEEN scowled. "With no back up, it leaves the 'federates to shoot us full of bullets." THE QUEEN chewed her lip before breathing deeply. "Go. I'll cover you."

"Have you-" he stopped as a bullet whizzed past his head and swallowed. "Have you lost your mind!?"

"Hurry!" THE QUEEN snapped, glaring at him. He stared in THE QUEEN wild eyes and his shoulders began to shake. He nodded obediently and moved, ready to run at THE QUEEN's call.

THE QUEEN waited a beat, watching the bullets fly before the shooter ran out. "Now!" THE QUEEN shouted. THE QUEEN called her whip and the young boy ran, stumbling to his feet.

THE QUEEN ran out, using her whip to move the end of the gun to his comrades. The soldier shot at his own men, and he gave a small shout before letting go, realizing what he had done.

THE QUEEN yanked it away, grabbing the bayonet and pulling it towards her. THE QUEEN snapped the end of the blade on the rock beside her, and used it to launch it back at the soldiers.

The screams of the shoulders fueled THE QUEEN's anger. THE QUEEN continued to fight, slicing and dicing the confederate soldiers single-handedly. THE QUEEN screamed at the men as they began to quickly realize that they were losing this battle.

The men saw the blood of their comrades water the grass of the battlefield, and turned to run, retreating behind lines.

THE QUEEN pushed, forcing the men back and out of sight. THE QUEEN was breathing heavily, the voices in her head pleasures by the sight of so much blood. THE QUEEN saw a man approach her and stood tall, her whip ready in her hands, her eyes fierce.

The man was tall and had a strange top hat. He tipped his hat and gave THE QUEEN a simple smile. "My Queen, we have finally found you."