The Tomboy Princess.
Location: Acorn Palace, Mobtropolis, Western Continent
Date: 0545 hours, 13th April 2876 (What would come to be called Zero Day, Year Zero.)
It was the first explosion which woke the princess, a distant rumble that shook her from sleep, so minor that at first the squirrel had assumed it was a vivid dream or distant thunder. However, a second explosion that followed a couple seconds later, dissuaded her of that notion. This blast was much closer, the whole room shook violently and bits of masonry and plaster fell from the ceiling around her bed.
What in Chaos's name was that! She wondered; eyes wide and all traces of sleep shaken from her. Without another thought, the squirrel's fight or flight reflexes kicked in, she sprang from the bed and quickly began to dress, pulling on a blue jacket and a pair of blue combat boots over her night clothes.
There were other sounds in the palace now, all sounds she was used to from drills and exercises of the palatine guards; the roaring of orders, the sound of footsteps racing from hither and thither, even the odd crack of a rifle-shot. But there was also an unfamiliar whooshing of jet engines and a quick glance out of the window revealed a strange craft flying dangerously low over the palace grounds. Large metallic shapes appeared to be descending from it on ropes. She could also detect the faintest whiff of smoke; something somewhere inside the palace was on fire. Sally automatically came to the conclusion that the palace was under attack and she was determined to discover exactly what she could do to help save her home.
Suddenly her door was flung open and a brown coloured hare hurtled inside wearing little more than a nightgown. The newcomer took one look at the room chalked in plaster dust and seemed relieved that the princess was unhurt.
"Oh mah stars Sally-Girl, ah'm so glad you're ok," she said in a soft southern drawl.
"Thanks Bunnie," the princess replied to her friend and official lady in waiting, "do you have any idea what's going on out there?"
"Not a clue girl, sorry, ah came to your room the second ah heard the bang," the Rabbit replied as another explosion rocked somewhere nearby causing both girls to flinch as the glass shattered in a nearby room. "With all that commotion, it sounds like a war's started out there."
Sally thought for a moment, "I think it has Bunnie, we should find out exactly what we can do to help." A slightly mischievous smile crossed her lips, "fancy an adventure Miss Rabbot?"
Bunnie chuckled, "Ya nevah change do ya Sally-Girl."
The squirrel meant it, despite the explosions, the smell of smoke and the frantic shouting, she actually felt more excited than scared. She'd always been something of a tomboy and hyper-competitive to boot. As a child, much to her mother's irritation, she'd repeatedly spurned 'girly' things in favour of getting into competitive scraps with her older brother, Elias. Whatever he did, she had to be better at; be it swimming, climbing, sports etc. and she'd always given her brother of three years her senior a run for his money every time.
Now the second in line to the throne was fifteen and her brother was away in the United Federation, training with G.U.N, she'd been able to turn her competitiveness to the cadets training within the palace. Soon she'd become known to many of them at both martial arts and fitness exercises where she had proudly bested even the more senior cadets. This chaos gave her the opportunity to test her metal and prove herself. She turned and with the rabbit at her heels ran out of the door and down the hall.
They were halfway along the landing approaching the spiral stairs when she was stopped by a shout.
"Princess!"
Three figures were running down the corridor towards them, two canid rankers in combat fatigues with a coyote in a Palatine officer-cadet's dress uniform.
"Cadet…" she said trying to remember his name, "D'Coolette," the priggish one, she thought. She'd met the coyote a couple of times before. He was a senior cadet of eighteen years and the son of a royal exile from one of the smaller Mercian states across the Western Ocean. From what Sally had seen of him, he was arrogant and far too proud of his linage. She'd seen him fence and had never been particularly impressed, she'd also discovered he always had an excuses for not facing the princess himself in any martial arts exercises they practised together.
The troopers looked flustered, their fatigues disorderly; one's jacket was hung loosely open showing that they'd obviously dressed in a hurry. In comparison the Coyote wore an almost pristine dress uniform, how he had put it on so quickly or why he'd decided to wear it at all in a combat situation was a mystery to the princess but she assumed it was all about showing off.
Stopping in front of the squirrel, Cadet D'Coolette offered one of the most rigid salutes she'd ever seen, "Your 'ighness, ze palace eez under attack, me and zees men 'ave been ordered to keep you safe."
"Good, you can escort us to the hall."
This took the coyote by surprise, "Mon Dieu, eet eez not safe zere your 'ighness, zat way is ze fighting!" he said obviously not understanding the squirrel's intentions. "Non, I will take you out of ze palace quickly by ze 'idden ways."
The princess had no intention of making an ignominious retreat, she wanted to help. She just glared at the cadet, "no, I will help defend my home and you will escort me to the hall so I can find out exactly what is going on."
"But ze orders…"
"Are still in force cadet," Sally interrupted, "you and these two brave men will keep me safe."
For a second the cadet did not reply, he had expected the honour of escorting the princess to be a safe job. Now he had had the more gruelling task of protecting the princess while she walked into a warzone. He was unable to refuse the princess' order but didn't want to cave in either. It was then that he set eyes on the brown hare at the princess' side, still in her night gown. "But, what about mademoiselle?" he said gesturing towards Bunnie. "She should not be forced into a battle dressed in zat."
Sally rolled her eyes, "Cadet D'Coolette, the palace is being attacked, we do not have time to go back and…"
"But eet eez an assault on her 'onour, ma princess, a lady must have her dignity protected at all times."
Very well, the princess thought, I'll call your bluff, "Please hand Miss Rabbot your jacket Cadet?"
"Comment!" the coyote replied, his eyes wide in surprise as he realised he was being asked to give up the finely embroidered jacket he wore proudly to display his rank. The two troopers almost burst out laughing at the expression but a glance from the princess forced them to smother it.
For a couple of seconds the coyote looked angry enough to resist, but in one swift movement he began to unfasten the coat. "D'accord," he said, refusing to look the princess in the eye and instead smiling a wide smile at Bunnie, "an officer should always protect a lady's 'onour, mademoiselle," he added rather pompously.
To Sally's surprise the hare seemed rather touched by the gesture, "Thanks mr…?"
"Antoine"
Bunnie smiled, "where ah'm from a girl is very appreciative when a man offers to defend her honour." she said in such a tone which Sally could not work out whether was humouring the coyote or deadly serious.
"Une pleasure mademoiselle. Now princess, if you'd like to follow me." He turned around and led them down the stairs towards the sound of fighting.
The entrance hall was an even more manic place then the rest of the palace, with more soldiers running backwards and forwards then Sally had thought possible to fit in such a tight space. A great cacophony of shouting filled the air as officer and non-coms barked out orders. Along the left hand wall a group of soldiers were hastily constructing an improvised barricade of palace furniture, bookcases and even pots and pans from the kitchens. At the base of the spiral staircase a wall of sandbags had been thrown down and a heavy machine guns had been set up facing the doorway. There was the constant crack of rifle shots as troopers fired across the courtyard from the windows whilst others tried to drill loopholes into the walls with their bayonets or took up firing positions on the stairway.
Suddenly another explosion rocked the hall and in the shockwave one of the palace's windows was blown out, raining of glass shards over the hall and forcing the princess and her escort to dive for cover behind a hastily erected pile of sandbags next to a skunk in the royal blue uniform of a Palatine guard Captain.
The officer was rather surprised at their arrival. "Antoine, you drongo! You were supposed to get her out of the castle not bring her to the barney," he called out in a rough Downunderian accent.
"He was only following my orders St John," Sally explained to the familiar officer who regularly led her and the cadet's combat exercises, "I want to know what I can do to help?"
"Well love, I've always said that you've got more stones than most of the cadets. Not bad for a fifteen year old girl!"
The skunk's overly familiar tone made the princess smile as she imagined what her mother would have said if she'd heard a soldier use that kind of language to her.
"Honestly, there's not much any of us can do. These things," he said gesturing towards the window, "aren't human. No matter what you shoot at them they just keep coming, rounds just bounce off. It's like they're invincible."
Sally bit her lip, that wasn't the news she wanted to hear, "But where are they coming from?"
"They all burst out of the Dominion embassy fifteen minutes ago and started attacking the palace. Others started dropping from those aircraft. I'd love to know what the airforce was doing to miss'em. Apparently a number of troops have been attacked along the frontier as well."
"So daddy was wrong, it wasn't bluster, Robotnik really wanted a war."
The skunk nodded, "and it seems he really did have a secret weapon."
At that there was the sound of more shouting and a handful of troopers came scrambling into the hall, their uniforms bloody and they were covered in minor burns and bandages.
"Bloody hell, that's not good."
"What's not good Geoffrey?" a new voice asked with distinctly wheezy tones which caused both the captain and the princess to turn and the skunk to salute when he realised it was the king.
King Maximillian did not look well or particularly regal. To Sally, her father appeared much older than he really was. He looked exhausted; his eyes bloodshot and rheumy. He seemed to be reliant on the banister's handrail and Sally's mother, Queen Alicia, who stood at his side, to keep him upright. He was not wearing a military uniform; instead he wore an elaborate purple bed robe which was finely embroidered with exquisite gold lace; hardly the most inspiring attire for the king to wear in front of his troops seemingly facing a last stand.
"Those men, my lord, were defending the Eastern Wing of the palace. The machines are obviously inside and they've been forced to retreat."
"I see," the king frowned, "What's the situation in the rest of the palace Geoffrey?"
"The machines are shelling the palace and the grounds are chocka with the mechanical buggers. The Eastern wing's fallen and large parts of the west are on fire. All those things have to do is break open those doors and it'll be over."
"Isn't there hope we could be relieved?" Sally asked hopefully.
"Unlikely," the captain flinched as another blast thudded against the door. "For starters, I doubt the door can hold against that for very long and even if it did I'm not sure if our soldiers could beat those metal things to break through."
The king shook his head, "no, they can't. I've just come from the radio room. Our troops are simply outclassed everywhere and I've ordered them to fall back on the hidden sanctuary of Knothole." There was silence as everyone took this in.
The princess looked anxious, "so, we've lost?" she said not quite able to believe what she was hearing.
"No, not entirely, there is still a chance…" the king started but he was cut off by a shout from one of the soldiers near the window.
The shooting had ceased and a short, balding, weaselly faced man in a green jacket walked directly in front of the palace beneath a white flag of truce.
"King Maximillian," the tiny man shouted in an extremely slimy, nasally voice, "you have had the privilege to witnessed first-hand my uncles' great revolution, the SWATbot. These robots have destroyed your armies faster than anything in the history of Mobius. Your situation is hopeless, you are outmatched and outgunned. Your kingdom has become the first conquests of the Robotnik Empire and if you lay down your weapons and come quietly, you will be spared. If not, you and all your soldiers will be slaughtered. Will you surrender?"
The hall was silent, all eyes on the old king who patted his daughter on the shoulder and walked forward towards the window.
"And what about my people?" he shouted back. "We all know that Robotnik hates mobians, what will he do to his new subjects?"
The short man gave an evil smile, "They will become part of his revolution. Your people will be 'improved' to serve the Empire."
"You mean to make them slaves?"
"They will have the privilege to serve my uncle and become greater than they are."
The king shook his head and turned around to view the troopers in the hallway, they were grim and determined, none of them wanted to surrender. Suddenly the aged king drew himself to his full height. "Mobians will never be slaves." He shouted back in a deeply authoritative tone Sally had not heard from him for years. "We are stubborn little creatures who would never surrender the freedoms, which we have fought your kind for centuries to keep, to a two-bit dictator such as your uncle. We will always resist you, fighting from the hills and the forests if we must. Remember, Mobian's aren't easily frightened, we're not scared of Overlanders and we won't be cowered by your threats. We remember the last time you people tried to subjugate us and we know you failed. So even if your uncle marches his metal toys into the palace we still won't bloody listen to him. So the answer to your question is no, we will never surrender!"
As the king finished the troops gave a deafening roar in approval, Sally beamed and couldn't help notice her mother was actually smiling.
The short speech however seemed to have taken it out of the old man, he looked more exhausted then ever so she ran forward to steady him as he wobbled slightly. As she took his arm the old man looked at her, "I'm so sorry darling, I lost my temper."
Sally almost burst out laughing, "Why daddy? You were brilliant!"
The king looked into his daughters eyes and sighed, "No, I was wrong" he lamented softly, "I failed to pay attention to what that madman was ranting about and so I let this happen. Now that horrible little creature is right; we're outclassed, outgunned and all I can do is bluster and play for time."
"Why are you playing for time?"
The king took another deep breath before explaining, a look of anguish on his face. "You're getting out of here. Flee south with the servants and most of the guard, the crown and my seal of office."
Sally couldn't believe what she was hearing, "No daddy…" but, he ignored her and continued to give instructions.
"Captain St John," the king shouted summoning the skunk forward, "I require thirty volunteers who don't mind staying with me but I want you to lead the rest and escort my daughter, everyone else in the palace and the symbols of my house to safety." He gripped the skunk's shoulder tightly as the captain turned to leave, "You will keep my daughter safe at all times St John!"
Sally was indignant and as her father turned she gripped his arm, "you can't make me."
The king gave his daughter a sad smile, "My little bean, you were always so wilful," he said shaking his head, "I love you dearly, but please do as I ask, Elias is safe and you must be too. I am too old to flee but can buy you time."
She looked at her mother who was walking towards the pair with tears in her eyes, "Mother, you can't let him do this." Sally pleaded.
"It's for the best dear, you must get to safety."
It was then that it struck the squirrel and she started to weep softly, "You're staying too aren't you?"
"I will stand by my husband's side as I have done for 20 years, remember, that is a queen's duty dear. You are young, strong and determined; a much better figurehead for resistance then your aging father could ever be," her mother explained as she hugged her daughter tightly. "Now go before it's too late." But Sally refused to budge, tears in her eyes, she gripped first her mother and then her father tightly.
She seemed unable to let go until a hand gripped her shoulder and pulled her firmly but not violently away, "I'm sorry," St John's voice said as he manhandled the princess down one of the castle's service tunnels, "we have to go!"
At first Sally struggled and fought the man who pulled her away from her parents. But, as the skunk carried her further into the lower areas of the palace she eventually stopped.
"Sorry about that," Geoffrey said as he let her go, "I had my orders."
"I understand captain," the squirrel replied sombrely, refusing to look him in the eye. "We have to get out of here," she sighed, "It's just…" she was interrupted as the sounds shooting broke out again from the floor above. Robotnik's robots were assaulting the palace for the final time.
Sally glanced at the ragtag band assembled before her, they were servants not soldiers; maids like Bunnie or the kitchen staff. Their soldier escort was little better; a few were injured, some barely able to stand, the rest were completely exhausted or, like Antoine, appeared scared out of their wits. She suddenly realised her father had made the right call on getting as many out as possible and now as the royal princess, they were looking to her as the figure of authority.
"Captain, we need to move," she said, surprised at the calmness in her own voice, "please organise those soldiers who can fight to the front and rear of the column to protect the refugees. I'll lead us out through the kitchens."
Sally led the party from the front with a number of soldiers at her shoulder. She took the refugees deeper into the palace, passing through kitchens and servant's areas; leading them to a secret tunnel few knew about beneath one of the kitchen's larders which led out of the palace grounds. She'd known about the route since childhood, constantly using it to escape her finishing school etiquette classes which her mother had forced her to attend.
As they reached the kitchens, they found the hidden metal door tightly locked against them.
"Bugger," the skunk swore as he violently pulled on the metal door, "trapped like rats."
"We're not Captain," the princess replied as she removed a bobby pin from her auburn hair letting it fall to her shoulders, "I've had to crack this lock dozens of times," the skunk raised an eyebrow causing the princess and her rabbit maid servant to chuckle. "It's the only reason I ever let mother tie my hair back," she added with a smile on her face as she unfolded the hairpin and inserted it into lock.
"Come on let me here the click you b-" she muttered in very non-lady-like language as she fiddled with the lock, an intense look of concentration on her face.
After thirty seconds or so of struggling the coyote pushed his way to the front he looked increasingly nervous at the delay, "Princess eet eez no good, ze robots will be 'ere soon, we should try another way."
"Antoine" the squirrel muttered through gritted teeth, "give me some time. It's nearly…" she was interrupted by a soft click as the lock cracked. "There we are," she said with a triumphant smile as the refugees began to pour past her down the tunnel, "I told you I could do it."
The sound of shooting from the palace remained clearly audible to the evacuees until they were long out of the grounds. As they got further away it began to slacken until it suddenly ceased completely, leaving nothing but a haunting, gaunt silence hanging over the party. They all understood what it meant; the palace had finally fallen.
For an hour or so the party continued on in a mournful silence, it seemed nobody wanted to mention what had happened in the palace. Sally tried her hardest not to think about what could have happened to her parents and instead concentrated on her escape.
Eventually they came to a stop along the bank of a small stream a couple of miles south of Mobtropolis. The refugees were exhausted, some of the men and women threw themselves on the ground to rest, others sat, some took the opportunity to refill canteens in the river, while the remainder just stared vacantly into space too tired and sorry to do anything.
The princess was one of these; she watched the group in a daze. It was all so strange, this morning she'd been a fifteen year old princess at home in her beautiful palace protected by a loving family. Now it was all in flux, she was leading a group of refugees and everything was gone; her mother and father were most likely dead and the home she'd known destroyed. Her older brother was somewhere far away in a strange land and she doubted if she'd ever see him again. Why had this happened? All she wanted to do was weep, to sob, scream, shout, rant and rave at the injustice of it all. But she knew she couldn't, she was leading these people now and she had to stay strong and dignified for their sake.
The evacuees all looked shocked and exhausted. Morale appeared almost non-existent. The coyote, for example, appeared on the verge of tears until Bunnie, sat close to him and whispered something in his ear. After that he suddenly looked much more proud of himself.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the skunk who plonked himself down next to her, "where to ma'am?" he said, with considerably more respect in his voice then Sally had ever heard him use before.
"You're in command Geoffrey," she answered without taking her eyes off the evacuees.
The officer shook his head, "only of the soldiers, you're the one leading us and everyone needs to be reminded we've not lost least any remaining morale collapses."
Sally thought for a second, "In that case then we do what daddy said," she said, slowly increasing the volume so the soldiers could hear her. "We go south to hidden stronghold and we'll carry on this war from the woods and valleys. We will not let these machines beat us and my parent's sacrifice goes to waste!"
The skunk gave her a smile and squeezed her affectionately on the shoulder, "Just what they needed to hear." He stood up and addressed the evacuees, "Come on, get moving you lazy sods, we're not going to bludge around here all day," he shouted making many of them jump to their feet, "you all heard the princess, we're not retreating we're just advancing in the opposite direction!"
The Acorn kingdom was just one of many regimes to fall in quick succession, in just a couple of days the SWATbots had conquered huge swath of the planet, enslaving mobian and human alike. All countries were impacted, although some like the Federation were able to just about able to hang on. Robotnik's conquest reached every corner of Mobius, but the war was never over and groups of mobians soon came together to resist. In the far east on the remote Emerald Archipelago, one group found they possessed extra-ordinary skills. They began to halt and turn back Robotnik's empire.
AN: Hello thanks for reading. As I said at the top of the prologue most characters were being re-written in some way. St John's role has been changed to a sort of senior soldier type figure who will play a minor role later on. In regard to Antoine I wanted to write his as more pompous but keep the some of the cowardly aspect and when the main story kicks off he'll be fleshed out. (oh and I struggle to write Bunnie's accent so this was something of a practice inclusion.) The main goal of this chapter was introducing Sally and the coup.
Next time we meet the heroes and the story begins in earnest.
Please R&R and thank you to my reviews Archaon and Haylee and the story followers, Ashe Tye and the Blazer Twins.