Book 12: All's fair in love and war- finale part 2
Sofia slowly strapped on the purple tinted armor that appeared in her room last night. Three weeks had passed since the failed power combination attempt and only one week had passed since word reached the Kingdom of Enchantia that Ruby was on the march. Her fingers threaded the strap through the buckle as if she had done it her whole life. The armor was absolutely breathtaking. There were interact designs on the breastplate. The armor seemed to be fitted and made…. for her.
She supposed that Sapphire received the same type of armor last night. They had both having vivid dreams about a life they never had. A throne room with a golden throne, a council chamber with a large oak tree carved on the surface, a sea of faces that had an otherworldly glow to them and a stately woman with salt and pepper hair, a kind yet stern face and a dress and crown made out of flowers and leaves. The woman sat on the throne, with Sapphire, Sofia, Jade, Argenta and Ruby bowing before her.
"My sweet daughters," The woman whispered. She stood and walked towards them, a trail of flowers blooming in her wake. When the woman knelt down and lifted Sofia's face to look up at her. "Fight for what is right Iolite. For me. For your world and for your friend's."
When the woman's soft lips connected with Sofia's forehead that is when she jerks awake drenched in cold sweat. Sofia refused to let her thoughts drift over to the dreams during the day. Her heart would twist in pain whenever she thought about the woman, her true mother. Miranda and the twins were gone, leading the villagers to safety. The castle was vacant, all the staff and servants gone away from the battlefield.
The only people that remained were the King and the mortal army of Enchantia, the two goddesses and their army, Cedric the Sensational, Sapphire Starlight and Sofia the First.
The young brunette princess stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was shocked at the dullness of her usually bright eyes. Spring was in full swing but that also brought heaviness to her. Sofia just prayed that this battle would be over quickly and cleanly. But for some reason, Sofia felt that the gods were going to ignore her pray. The clock on the mantle chimed nine in the morning, ordering the young princess to leave and meet the others on the parapets. After strapping Lame de l'Amitié to her back, Sofia pulled back her shoulders and fearlessly walked towards the parapets. And ultimately towards death.
As it turns out, she was late. Everyone was scrambling to get the rest of the defenses ready as Sofia strode over to the goddesses. Cedric and Sapphire, both dressed in light blue and black armor respectively, listened intently to what the goddesses were saying. The group was hunched over a map, one that looked almost like a model. King Roland the Second was listening as well.
"Here is where Sapphire will lead a squadron of soldiers to attack first." Argenta pointed to a place on the map. The air goddess was dressed in wedding dress type gown but it seemed to be outfitted for battle. Over the gown, she wore silver armor that gleamed in the blood red sky. Under both the goddesses arm, there was a green and silver helmet with feathers flying out. Sapphire nodded in agreement with the goddess but her brow was furrowed.
"I see what you're saying but wouldn't it be better if I attacked right on the border?"
Jade shook her head and spoke up. "By the time you are in position Ruby would've already gotten pass you. So we set up here."
"What about me?" Cedric asked.
"You will be placed here," Jade pointed to the parapets on the model. "You will command the soldiers here and make sure Ruby does not take this castle." There was a pause. "If Ruby takes this castle then we will have a horrible problem. King Roland, you and Cedric will keep Ruby back as long as you can until Argenta and I can call for reinforcements."
"We will have reinforcements?" Sofia asked with slight hope in her voice.
"I have called in a favor from Ares, one of the gods of war," Argenta answered. "He responded last night. He said that he will try and gather his forces and rally them to our aid."
"Excellent." Sapphire exclaimed. The group and the soldiers went silent when blood red thunder streaked across the sky and thunder boomed. Jade and Argenta gathered along the edges of the parapets, looking out towards the horizon.
"What is it?" Sofia whispered. Her, Sapphire's and the goddess' jewels started to pulse. She grabbed in to keep it from becoming a beacon for the army that the princess could see approaching. Sofia heard the stories of Ruby's demon army from the villagers that took refuge in the castle. None of the stories even compared to what lay before the palace walls. There were demons that had skin that ranged in different colors from dark red to chilling blue. The demons' eyes were all red with no pupils and they all wore pitch-black armor. Some had large broad swords; others had large double bladed axes. The scariest thing that Sofia saw amongst the demons was Ruby herself. Sofia remembered the nightmares she had after the two goddesses arrived of how beautiful the goddess of fire was before she let the evil take over. But now she was a nightmare.
Her pitch-black hair was done up in a braid with her bangs over her eyes. She wore a crown on top of her hair. From on top of the parapets, Sofia could see the Firestone glowing bright against the darkness. The stone around her neck was glowing too, but a darker shade of red than anything Sofia had ever seen. The woman wore a black dress with black armor with flame designs etched on it. The demon goddess held the reins to a war chariot, pulled by two evil looking horses with flaming red manes. Sofia felt a whimper when the goddess smiled and the princess caught sight of finely sharp teeth.
"It's her," Jade growled. She turned to the soldiers who snapped to attention. "Alright! Man your battle stations now! You group there, load the catapults. You over there, get the crossbows ready now! This is not a drill people! Move, move, move!"
Everyone scattered and made their way towards their stations. Sapphire turned and planted a kiss on Cedric's lips before mounting her Pegasus and taking off into the sky with her squadron mounted their Pegasus and took to the sky. Sofia and Jade mounted Minimus and Coco before shooting up in the sky with about a dozen or so soldiers behind them. They flew out to meet the first wave of demon soldiers head on. Roland watched his stepdaughter fly off into the sky and become lost in the chaos that erupted when the immortal and demon soldiers clashed. Argenta placed a comforting hand on Roland's shoulder.
"Don't worry your majesty," the air goddess soothed. "Your daughter is protected by fate."
"Lady Argenta we need to go," Cedric urged.
"Very well," The goddess removed her hand and walked away. The two mounted their horses and rode off.
Up above the sky, Sapphire urged Midnight Moon to fly as fast as she could. She knew her destiny. Knew it because of the dreams that haunted her for a week since the power combination failure. She saw the battle between her that would ultimately bring everything that has been happening for a thousand years full circle. No matter what the consequences, no matter what the outcome…. it could change the future.
Sapphire and her squadron of warriors landed in the ashy forest. There was nothing growing in the once green forest thanks to the destruction of the demons. Slowly they made their way around the army that stood in the clearing. Sapphire scanned the group in front of her, trying to come up with the best plan to give her the maximum success. Her amulet glowed around her neck. The ice sorceress smiled slyly to herself. She had a plan.
The woman turned to the soldiers behind her. She signaled to them back up and wait for her signal. The commander nodded and pushed the others behind him back. Sapphire rose silently, pulling Servo Ís out its sheath. The sword of ice pulsed as Sapphire plunged the blade into the ground. The ground below her groaned before a thin layer of ice spread out from the blade like veins. Sapphire's amulet gave a powerful burst of magic. The ice sorceress took a deep breath before closing her eyes and allowing herself to tunnel deep within that new well of magic she had discovered. When she opened her eyes, they were pure white with no pupils. Her face twisted into a scowl of concentration before letting loose a battle cry.
A small hurricane of ice suddenly appeared. It went outwards, freezing the demons that were in its path. It happened so suddenly that the demons were frozen with a look of pure and utter shock. Most of them didn't have time to cry out in surprise. Once the power blast had died down, about half of the squadron of demons that they were charged with stopping were completely frozen as statues. Opening her eyes once more, Sapphire stood slowly.
"It's her," one of the demons whimpered in fear. He took in the image of the woman with pure white hair, light violet bangs, pale eyes, and pure white wings that unfurled from her back. A crown of ice formed around her brow as she hefted her sword. Those that had rushed to their comrades' aids started to retreat. But they didn't get far. Sapphire thrust out her hand, the signal. The soldiers under her command roared forward and decimated the remaining demons.
Sapphire raised her hands, the statues doing the same. With a crushing motion, those entrapped in ice became nothing but shards.
"General Sapphire," a commander strode up to her. "There are reinforcements coming."
"How many?" She asked, her voice containing an echo.
"Enough to keep us busy for days, My Lady," the commander answered respectfully.
Sapphire nodded. "Very well. Prepare your men. It is here that was shall dig in our heels and make our stand."
The commander bowed. "Yes My Lady."
When he ran off, Midnight Moon slowly approached her rider. Dressed in armor, the dark blue Pegasus followed Sapphire's gaze where another horde of demons waited. The horde was large. It was almost like a gigantic wave that almost blocked out the sun.
"Are you sure about this?" Midnight Moon asked. Sapphire ignored the hesitant and the doubt in the flying horse's voice.
"Yes." Sapphire answered confidently. She glowered at the wave of demons that towered over the little mortal army that was prepared to fight for their kingdom. In her hand the sword started to glow as well as the amulet around her neck. With a grunt, Sapphire shot a burst of magic out. Both the sword and amulet let their magic cut through the horde that hung above them. Many of the demons fell with in minutes. The rest of the demons converged onto Sapphire, who once again plunged the Sword of Ice into the ground. The magic formed a dome over the army of mortals. As soon as the demons slammed into it, they fell dead and frozen on the ground. Sapphire growled before letting a large roar echo through the sky.
Sofia was having a slightly more difficult time with her horde of demons. She didn't know how tap into Iolite's power just yet but she did tap into her memories. It was easier to wield a sword and use the shield that was given to her. She hacked away at the demons, the black blood spilling onto her armor. Her amulet gave another blast of magic, turning the nearest demon to stone.
"Princess Sofia!" a soldier shouted. Sofia turned to see one of the soldiers getting his butt handed to him. The young princess finished the demon she was fighting before rushing to the soldier's aid. The demon was about to stab the soldier before Sofia drove her sword through the demon's chest. With a grunt Sofia yanked the blade out and let the demon fall.
"Thank you My Lady," The soldier said as the princess helped him up.
"No problem." The princess assured. Her gaze turned to the bright light that suddenly took down a dozen or so demons from a giant wave of monsters. The light emanated from Sapphire's quadrant. A dome suddenly was erected, one made out of pure ice. Sofia watched as the demons pounded the dome but then turned to ice. The young warrior felt her amulet give a pulse of power. She gasped in shock when she started to dig down deep into herself like the goddesses told her. There was a very deep well of power that suddenly appeared. Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, Sofia opened her sparkling blue eyes, brown wings suddenly unfurling. The princess smiled at her new wings.
"Princess," A golden armored warrior appeared. "The Lady Jade is need of your assistance."
"Where is she?"
"Over across the creek." The warrior pointed over past the trees. Sofia stretched her wings to get a better look at them. She doubted they were strong enough to take her over to the other side of the forest. Maybe….
Sofia took a deep breath like she was instructed to. She felt her form start to change. Her body became small and frail yet powerful at the same time. Her snout became long and she sprouted ears. Sofia's dark brown hair fell out, instead coating her body in a fine layer of fur. Her fingers and toes vanished, being replaced by hooves. A little tail formed as her clothes, armor, and sword vanished. The only thing that remained normal was her amulet; a silver collar replaced the chain with the jewel in the middle.
The little fawn that once stood in Sofia's place gave a little a bawl of happiness. The immortal warrior bowed at the little deer before shifting as well into a bear. They both took off towards the direction of Lady Jade. The warrior clawed and mauled all of the demons that tired to stop them. Sofia was having a blast as a deer. She could run faster in this form as well as hear and see better.
They stopped at the river to get a drink. Since the warrior didn't shift back to his form, Sofia didn't either. She found it rather difficult to drink in animal form but she did get enough to drink. Once they had their fill, they continued on their path before they came to the earth goddess's tent. General Jade was instructing soldiers to create another barrier around the castle. She turned but stopped when she spotted a full-grown grizzly bear and a tiny fawn staring at her.
"Well," She said slowly. "This is a surprise."
In a blink of an eye, the grizzly bear transformed to the immortal warrior. Jade smiled slyly at the warrior as he took his place by his general. Her green eyebrows turned to the little fawn that sat down with her head cocked.
"Sofia?" The goddess asked. The little fawn bobbed its head. Jade knelt down and stroked the little creature's head. "You can change back now princess."
"Baa!" was the little creature's reply.
Jade, very verse in the language of the forest, furrowed her eyebrow. "Calm down princess. Just concentrate on your human form and you should return."
The little fawn closed her eyes. Her amulet glowed around her neck sent small shimmers of magic out. The shimmers engulfed the little fawn and in a bright light Sofia was returned to normal, wings and all.
"I see you earned your wings, princess." Jade noticed. With a shimmer of her amulet, large dark brown wings appeared.
"How did I get these?" Sofia asked turning every way to look at her wings.
"You opened up to Iolite." Jade explained, her wings vanishing. "You two are two sides of the same coin, something Corundum and Sapphire are as well. We all have wings that help us just like our familiar forms. And I am glad that you got the chance to try out your animal form."
"It was so strange being another animal," Sofia giddily exclaimed. Her smile suddenly dropped and she gained a strange, yet sullen expression. "You called for me?"
Jade noticed her tone and nodded. "There is a horde on its way to where I am. We were a fool to split up."
"What are you talking about?"
"Divide and Conquer," Jade explained. "It is a tactic that Ruby and Argenta thought of long ago. Dividing your forces makes it easer to conquer them. A simple enough tactic that is brutal when used. I am such a fool. I should've recognized it being used on us the minute it was deployed."
"What do we do?" Sofia asked.
"We get back to the palace." Jade answered gathering her weapons. Her wings returned to their place. "We rally all our forces and head back to the palace. Maybe we can make it before Ruby gets there."
Sofia gasped, her eyes going wide. Mr. Cedric and her dad were at the castle!
Flapping her wings nervously, Sofia exclaimed, "We need to get back to the castle!"
"I agree." Jade turned to the soldier next to her. "Reginald, go and tell Lady Sapphire to head to retreat on back to the castle."
"Yes ma'am," the soldier replied. There was a flash of light before a crow that came out of nowhere flew off.
"You ready for a quick lesson on flying?" Jade asked. Sofia gulped before nodding. Oh boy….
-Line break-
Cedric the Sensational was bored out of his mind. Absolutely nothing was going on at the castle. Sure he didn't want to see all those lives lost on the front lines but he didn't want to be sitting on his butt when they won. King Roland was getting antsy just watching the light show from across the battlefield. The two watched as waves and waves of demons fell from different blasts but it didn't seem to be enough. The demons kept coming and coming.
"Do you think they're alright Cedric?" King Roland asked worriedly as he stood watching on the parapets. There was a rather powerful roar coming from Sapphire's quadrant. One that could rival the power of a dragon.
"I think there isn't anything to worry about sire," Cedric assured. He took a deep breath before hesitantly patting the king's shoulder. "Sapphire will protect Sofia no matter what."
There was a moment of silence that was broken by the sound of a warning trumpet. Both mortals froze and gazed out beyond the parapets. There was a large army approaching, lead by the demon queen herself. She smiled evilly when she spotted the two mortals. The demon queen that had struck fear into the hearts of kingdoms all around the world threw her head back and took a long, deep breath.
"I can smell your delicious fear from here mortals!" her voice boomed even across the field of battle. "I can almost imagine sucking every last drop of power from you."
"You won't take this kingdom," Roland shouted back. His promise was answered with shouts of agreement from his men. "You are nothing more than a snake in our garden!"
All Ruby did was laugh. "Oh your majesty. Innocent, trusting Majesty. You already have a snake in your Eden."
Cedric paled and his eyes went wide. The words of Lady Argenta started to ring through his head like a bell.
Too often our demons often find us when we are most vulnerable,
Too often our demons often find us when we are most vulnerable
"What are you talking about?"
Too often our demons often find us when we are most vulnerable.
Ruby chuckled. "Why, King Roland are you so naïve that you do not see the most vile of creatures is standing right next to you?"
Our demons….
"Cedric the Sensational, you're bid for the throne has been a very successful one though I do admit, what kind of hostile takeover is stopped by love?"
Find us…..
Cedric slowly back away when King Roland turned to him, the king's face was furious. "What is she talking about Cedric?"
"Your Majesty please!" Cedric begged. The guards had crossed their spears to keep him from escaping. Ruby was cackling by now, watching the chaos unfold in front of her. A smile was starting to spread on her lips as she ordered her army to march on the castle.
"I take no prisoners," she whispered to her demon general. The demon nodded before roaring. The king and sorcerer both looked out to the battlefield right as the demon army started to advance. Roland the second growled before returning to the situation at hand.
"We'll talk about this later," he growled. Cedric gulped in fear and nervousness. "Archers fire on my mark!"
The human warriors took their places at the crossbows and aimed down towards the army. Some took aim towards Ruby's heart. Cedric shouted an enchantment, one to help the arrows hit their mark better. King Roland brought his arm down, signaling the archers to fire. The arrows rained down on the army. Many of the demons fell but the arrows that were targeted at the demon queen were deflected with a wave of her hand. They froze before turning around and shooting straight towards the castle. Everyone ducked down beneath the walls right as the arrows flew over the wall. There were a few slow and unlucky ones.
Once the arrows had passed, Cedric stood and pointed his wand towards the army. "Spiritibus caeli Exaudi orationem meam, ad ostium percutiat castra!"
A blast of air that originated from Cedric's was enough to push Ruby back several inches. But all that did was enrage her. She growled, her eyes glowing a sickly yellow.
"So you want to play with fire," she asked. Her clenched hands erupted in fire and grew bigger as she scowled. "Then allow me to help you."
Right as she was about to fire down upon them, her hands became engulfed in ice. Cedric and King Roland looked up and saw large birds coming in from the East, North and West. But as they got closer, Cedric saw that it wasn't birds. It was the others. Sapphire and Sofia had this glow around them, almost like a halo of protection. His betrothed made sure that she was right over Ruby before dropping down, her sword poised. Ruby brought out her sword, a piece of black metal that gleamed in the blood red setting sun, and used it to block Sapphire's attack. The two fought with such ferocity, lightning as dark as the approaching night flashed every time their swords came together.
"We need to get a wall of protection up," Jade ordered as she, Argenta and Princess Sofia landed. Roland ran up to his stepdaughter and hugged her.
"Oh Sofia! I'm glad you're alright"
"We can save the reunion for later," Argenta rushed. She looked over the side of the wall to where Sapphire and Ruby were doing battle. The goddess blinked, her eyes becoming pure white. She began to mutter under her breath the words of a powerful and ancient spell that even Cedric didn't know about. The wind picked up and her eyes become brighter in the darkening sky. There was a glow of bright light behind the group. When Cedric blinked, Sapphire was standing right there her sword poised.
"We need to put up a wall," Jade informed.
"But I had her," Sapphire growled.
"You were about to be overwhelmed." Argenta growled back. "Sapphire, Ruby doesn't hold back. Usually your connection to Corundum will grow stronger when the moon rises, but I predict that the cloud cover will be massive. Unfortunately with you being surrounded by demons and Corundum's power failing. You're welcome."
"What about the wall?" Sapphire asked, the glow around her fading. The wings were starting to fade in and out of sight.
"With the fading connection to our combined power, we can raise a wall out of our elements. Ruby will not be able to destroy it, since we are equally matched in power."
"So we can sleep safely knowing that she won't be able to kill us in our sleep." Sapphire summed out.
"And tomorrow when we are back at our full strength we can finish Ruby off." Jade added. Sapphire nodded in agreement.
"Sofia," the Ice sorceress turned to the now battle hardened princess. "Shall we?"
The brunette princess nodded and held her hand out. Sapphire, Jade and Argenta grabbed each other's hand, their power intertwining with each other. It was almost addicting to feel that strong, ancient power course through their mortal veins but Sofia and Sapphire knew that they would eventually turn out like Ruby which is something they never wanted to put their families through. Together, the spell came to mind to raise a dome over their heads.
Together the chanted, "By the powers of the earth, air, water, and friendship, we hereby call upon the spirits to raise a wall of protection from the first light of the moon to the dawn of the next day."
The parapets started to shake as the ground in front of the castle started to crack. There was a swirl of power that engulfed the four powerful beings. Their eyes were pure white and glowing and crowns of different materials appearing on their head. For Sapphire a circlet of icicles slowly appeared on her brow. For Jade a tiara of tree branches and sticks formed with a fat, emerald leaf as the jewel. Argenta's crown was slightly different. Hers was made out of clouds that were light and fluffy. A lightning bolt suddenly took the place of the middle jewel and storm clouds took the place of the jewels on the crown. Sofia's was the most beautiful of all. Hers was made out of the most beautiful metal Cedric had ever seen with purple jewels on the top.
They all narrowed their eyes in concentration as a wall appeared. It appeared to made of a combination of ice, dirt, air pockets and the metal that appeared on Sofia's crown. Everyone stood shocked as the wall engulfed the castle of Enchantia, blocking off his or her view of the fading sun and Ruby's army. When it finally made a dome, the four powerful beings collapsed tired and drained of energy. Roland rushed forward and aided the soldiers in helping the other immortal beings up. Including his stepdaughter.
"I'm fine," Sapphire and Sofia assured. Cedric started to back up but the soldiers started to block his escape. Once Roland made sure his stepdaughter was okay, he rounded on his royal sorcerer.
"What did that demon goddess mean that you have been after my throne?" He demanded.
Sapphire blinked in confusion. "What is he talking about Cedric?"
Cedric hung his head in shame, avoiding the hurt look of Sofia and Sapphire and the pure raging face of King Roland. "I…. I was looking for ultimate power to find you Sapphire. I was…. blinded by grief and I just wanted to find you. Please forgive me."
When he looked up, his heart broke when he saw the broken and disbelieving look on his fiancée's face. Tears were running down her dirt stained face and Sofia was hiding behind her father. Roland ordered the guards to seize him and take him down to the dungeons. Cedric became fearful and started to plead for the King to hear him out, but the blonde haired king just turned his back and ignored him. The goddesses looked resigned as they gazed out toward the wall.
"Please! Sapphire, Roland pleas I beg you! Hear me out!" He shouted and begged as the guards dragged him deeper into the castle. Tears were streaming down his face as Sapphire's face disappeared from sight.
The guards threw him roughly into the cell, chuckling at how the wimpy the guy was without his wand. Cedric decided fighting was futile and buried his face into his knees, resigned just like the goddesses were. Whatever fate had in store for him, he could only hope that Sapphire and Sofia stayed safe. He prayed to whatever deity was left would listen.
"My mistress has the power to keep them safe," a sultry voice interrupted. Cedric jerked his eye up to see a rather lustrous woman standing right in front of him. The guards seemed to be oblivious to this…. prostitute was the only way to describe how the woman looked. Her dress was rather low and revealing, with her black hair pooling over her shoulders. The woman's eyes were a crimson red with no pupils and when she smiled, Cedric caught sight of razor sharp teeth. She had small horns poking out from her scalp.
In other words she was a demon.
"My, how the mighty have fallen." She whispered. She walked straight through the iron bars and knelt down next to Cedric. "You pray to the wrong gods Mr. Sensational. My mistress, Queen Ruby, is the only one who can grant your wish…. if you do one thing."
"What's that?"
The woman smiled, evilly. "Your full loyalty to the demon goddess will suffice. You will be taken from this prison and once Queen Ruby wins this battle, you, your fiancée and little friend will be spared. All you have to do is shake my hand."
The woman held out her clawed hand, waiting.
Cedric raised his hand, towards hers….