Chapter 5- War
The next day, in the Kingdom of Pines, King Stephen and his children were watching Goofy cartoons on the Disney Channel. As Goofy was goofing off with the gymnastics equipment, everyone was laughing.
Suddenly, King Stephen heard someone pounding on the door. The old king approached the door and saw Prince Gideon, who looked mad as a hornet, and screamed, "King Stephen of Pines, I rebuke thee! I rebuke thee! Your entire family has invoked my fury! You will all pay recompense for your transgressions!"
"So you're saying there will be war?" Stephen asked.
Gideon's father King Robert approached King Stephen and said, "Well, uh, I see that he's taking to one of his rages again, so I have to side with Gideon on this one. This means war."
King Stephen then glared at his mortal enemy and said, "Bring it on."
The next day, the armies of King Stephen faced opposite the armies of King Robert. As Soos handed Stephen his sword, the old king cried out, "For honor! For country! For family!"
On the other end, Deuce was handing King Robert his sword as the latter cried out, "For Prince Gideon to win the hand of the Princess Mabel!"
And with that, both kings and their armies charged at each other. Many swordfights ensued, and the two kings would insult each other.
"How can you win?" asked Robert to Stephen. "Not only are you old, but you have a rather girly horse too."
King Stephen responded by saying, "So you think I'm girly, huh?" And Stephen's men continued to fight Robert's men as their respective families watched.
And the war raged on, for six months, and many men were killed.
Finally, one snowy winter's night, King Robert and Prince Gideon had King Stephen and Prince Alexander cornered. When Princess Mabel saw this, she was horrified! She became even more so when she heard Prince Gideon shout these chilling words, "Prepare to meet your Maker, King Stephen of Pines!"
King Stephen, seeing that there was no way out for either himself or his son, decided to face his incoming demise with dignity, and he said to Alexander, "My son, stand up straight. After I have gone, you too must be brave even in death."
King Robert then threw his sword at his old rival, and King Stephen stood up straight and tall so as to prepare for death. But then, Princess Mabel rushed towards her father, and there was a blinding flash from the sword that obscured everything.
As soon as the light faded, King Stephen was shown to clutch his chest. Gasping, he told Prince Alexander, "Now…remember what I told you…my son…Stand up straight…and do not run from death…"
But Prince Alexander said to his father, "Father, you're not even bleeding."
It wasn't long before the old king let go of his chest and saw no blood on his clothes. "Wait," he thought. "If I'm not bleeding, and my son is still alive, then, who took the sword?"
He then turned his head, and discovered to his horror that the person who had taken the sword was his own daughter, and she was dying in the snow, for the sword had pierced her heart.
"Mabel!" gasped Stephen as he took his daughter in his arms. "You took the sword for me? But how could you? You're only twelve years old. You've got a whole life ahead of you."
Mabel then said as she took labored breathing, "Father…I care for you so much…I didn't want you to die. It is better that I die by the sword than marry Prince Gideon."
As he saw his daughter close her eyes and take her final breath, the poor old king began to weep and cried out, "Oh, but Mabel, please! Please don't die! Oh, Mabel!" As he bent over in grief, it continued to snow.
When Prince Gideon saw this, he believed that the old king had been permanently weakened, and so he raised his sword to try to kill him. But imagine his surprise when King Stephen grabbed the young prince's arm and took the sword from his hand. The old king had become so enraged at the loss of his daughter that he now wanted to avenge her.
Prince Gideon crumbled and ran to his parents screaming, "Mother! Father! That evil old man wants to kill me!"
King Robert then stepped up to King Stephen and said to him, "Hey, now, what's the idea?"
In a voice choked with rage, Stephen spat out, "Don't you see? You have killed my daughter and thus forfeited your own prize if you win! What do you have to say for yourselves!?"
Prince Gideon was so shocked he glared at his father, King Robert. "Uh-oh!" Robert thought as his old enemy thrust his sword towards him. But King Robert was not so willing to give up without a fight and, as he took another sword, he shouted, "You can't make me give up so easily!"
King Stephen and King Robert fought for at least an hour, until at last, Robert lost his sword. As Stephen raised his sword over him, King Robert had no choice but to say these simple words, "I surrender."
King Stephen then ordered his captain of the guard to arrest the royal family of Gleeful and lock them in the dungeon. Prince Gideon was so furious he fumed, "No! No! Watch the hair! You can't do this to me! We'll be back! You'll see!"