King Cerveras: You! Who are you? You were not present when we established this kingdom!
Disphos: Thatttsss becaussssee you all invaaaded myy home! Thissss area wassss minee, howeverrr you and your inhabitantssss havvvee already destroyed and sssstolen myyy homeee.
King Cerveras: Why kill her, huh, she cared about this kingdom, she had a whole life ahead, why not me then!
King Cerveras glanced at his love, he could not help but hold back tears seeing her dead. Queen Apalla was more than just love for King Cerveras, She was his best friend. He could not understand what he was feeling, it was pain that was not from injuries, rather it was emotion. His heart felt like it had been stabbed from a blade, comparable to the weapons Fortis had made. This was not from a weapon rather this was pain from the sight of seeing his loved one die right in front of him. King Cerveras turned his attention to the serpent as he growled, aside from his grief he felt rage.
Snake: Issss ittt nott obvioussss, sssshe usssed manyyyy resourcesss includinggg myy food, I relieddddd on the insssectssss and plantssss, I knewww thhhat ifff sssshe were too fall, thisss kingdom will too. And myy homeee returned to me and annn enndlesssss feast as wellll.
King Cerveras (Angry): Do you have a name friend?
Disphos: I amm called boomssslanggg by my previoussss ownersssss but I call myself Disphos!
King Cerveras: So, you planned this, to kill her, how did you find out about my proposal?
Dispho: IIII knewww abouttt ittt becausssseee I Spieed onnn youuu and herr ssssspecifically, Iii marked your ssssscent and tracceddd ittt to thissss roockkk. IIIII waittted untillll bothhh off you arriveddd and took my revenge, killing herr.
King Cerveras wanted to hear this; his mind was clouded in anger it was intoxicating. The more he saw Disphos the more he saw Queen Apalla's death play in his mind, he felt betrayal, grief, and finally hatred. King Cerveras wanted to make Disphos pay, he will not take him to the dungeon, he wanted to end this serpent's life. What Disphos said fueled Cerveras' anger, causing him to fall under his rage completely, King Cerveras was not the benevolent king the kingdom grew to love in that moment, instead he was someone new, his behavior changed to that of a feral panther, his eyes transformed from a brown hew to pure yellow, his pupil transformed to that of a normal panther. He was out for blood.
King Cerveras roared and charged at the large snake.
Dispho: Ssssssoooo beeee itttt!
King Cerveras came prepared and unsheathed his sword, he aimed for the head but Dispho was fast, burrowing into the ground. Disphos could catch the scent of the king ready to feast on him and Queen Apalla's corpse, he was ready to feast on his meal. King Cerveras was skilled, with his training from Fortis and his primal rage he was an opponent to be feared of.
Hearing the snake burrow up, King Cerveras quickly dodged the attack jumping backward and pounced still charging at him. However, Disphos had another power, his poison shots. Dispho shot 5 balls of green poison from his mouth, King Cerveras was fast and had night vision, so he dodged all five of them. One by one slicing two more incoming shots his way. Disphos used his tail to cause gusts of dirt to surround his opponent as he burrowed away to get another shoot at killing his prey. King Cerveras felt the ground shake underneath him as he narrowly dodged Disphos in time. Disphos however slightly pierced King Cerveras' head but the monarch did not feel the pierce of Disphos.
Disphos: No matter you will die ssssssoon! Iiiii havvveee waited aa lllongg timeee for thisssss!
King Cerveras: You will have to earn it then!
Disphos shot a large ball of poison at King Cerveras was incapacated as he had narrowly dodged the previous attack and needed to find a way to dodge it in time. In a moment of pure luck, he quickly used his sword to pick himself back up deflect the large ball of poison using the loudest roar possible. This surely got the attention of the kingdom who were either asleep or still awake.
Many of the inhabitants left their homes in pure shock and the knights of Eukaryona quickly realized who it was as each of them all met up at the kingdom's center best known for gatherings and announcements. Titian, Tian, Taos, Fortis, the tiger twins, and Zebrak all met up by the fountain.
Zebrak:It sounds like we are in danger, there was a loud roar, I cannot let Zebron be in danger.
Tian: Don't worry Zebrak. My wife Mei will take care of him. Afterall he is getting older, you should not worry about him too much he is not a little zebra anymore.
Zebrak: Yes and I can't lose him as well, not like his mother, but I will lay my life down for him if there need be.
Taos: We understand Zebrak, I would do the same as well, yet we all have families as well.
Fortis: More or less.
Tian: Sorry Fortis, I should have worded that better. Just know that you have us, you are a valued family member as well.
Tigra: I agree, my mother told me that the stronger our friendship is, the stronger our family becomes (Hugging Fortis), you are like an uncle I never had.
Fortis: Thank you Tigra, I mean that.
Tigra: I know, which is why we need to find our monarchs, they could be in danger, and they are family as well. That roar was our king, I know that roar, we need to save them.
Tyrone: We all should go now, most of us are here!
Fortis: Wise idea Tyrone, except we don't have a lead, you and your sister should sense the noise and we can follow suit.
General Thorren and Sifline: No need!
General Thorren and Sifline joined their fellow knights at the kingdom's center they flew by and saw the location where the king is at.
General Sifline: King Cerveras is at the top of the cliffs fighting a large striped being, no sign of the queen, yet she may have ran to get help I hope.
Tyrone: No time to waste! We should go now!
Titian: I agree, Dolly should be on patrol, I met up with her earlier so I imagine she is still keeping watch. There needs to be one knight here so she should be fine.
Fortis: Everyone has their weapons!
Everyone showed their weapons and Taos had a medical kit, to treat his monarchs in case they were injured.
General Thorren: (welding his falchion up): Knights Assemble.
The knights all ran to the direction of the cliffs so that they may aid their monarchs if in danger.
The knights all ran toward the directions of the cliffs, where King Cerveras held up a grand fight using his acrobatic skills of stealth and agility. King Cerveras had made some attacks on the serpent with slashmarks covering the green snake. In an effort to kill his opponent, King Cerveras threw his sword at a large boulder which caused it to fall and large gust of dust to cover the area.
Disphos: Wheerrree arrre youuuu cat!
King Cerveras went behind Disphos, he waited until he had an opening, he slashed Disphos tail. once he did, Disphos screamed in pain from the result while King Cerveras could feel a primal instinct occur in his mind, the panther kept slashing Dispho slowly torturing him. The snake begged for mercy.
Disphos: Pleeassseee sssstoppp, III beggg off youuuu!
King Cerveras laughed: You think you could beg for mercy; you stole my lover's life!
King Cerveras slashed off Dispho's teeth and venom fangs, Disphos was left vulnerable, until he was beheaded by King Cerveras.
King Cerveras calmed down, his eyes reverted back to his normal brown color and his head grew clear. He processed what had happened until he was horrified by the sight of his actions, Disphos body laid on the ground next to his dismembered head and body. He quickly turned to see his deceased lover blood in her mouth and her body loss of color, her once golden yellow fur and golden smile lost and never to be seen. He cradled her body, checking for a pulse, finding none. He held her close to him, he had failed to save the life of his true love.
King Cerveras: Apalla no….my love…. Not you…we had so much left to do…not enou….
King Cerveras cried heartbreakingly into his hands and with a blood cradled scream which alerted all the citizens of Eukaryona.
The knights arrived to the cliffside, unfortunately they were too late as they reached the king, they saw Disphos' corpse, the king and to their horror, the queen dead on the king's arms.
Tian: By the gods, what has happened here, what is that creature.(looking at Disphos before looking at his Queen). No it can not be…..
Fortis: Noo…don't tell me she….
King Cerveras (heartbroken): Died…
Taos: There has to be a pulse….she taught me… there..
King Cerveras: there is nothing Taos…..nothing…..I checked…..Nothing
The tiger twins began to sob at their queen's death, she felt like another guardian for them and to see her dead. To come to the realization that they would never see her again, they cried hugging each other.
Fortis went to comfort them however one of the knights was devastated from the sight; Sifline.
General Sifline (Crying): NOOOO…..SISTER…..NOOOOOOOO…
General Thorren did his best to restrain his wife who was ballistic
General Thorren: I'm sorry honey… you need to be strong.
General Sifline: WHY SHOULD I! SHE IS DEAD THORREN, LOOK!
General Thorren: I know Sifline, there is nothing we could do. But she wouldn't want you to weep, she would want you to keep going. Especially now that you honor her, you served her as a friend and as a knight.
Sifline calmed down and fell to the ground crying, Thorren comforted her in response.
Sifline: Thank you, I don't want to relive the day Zebrella died, and now I have to relive it again.
Zebrak wanted to comfort Sifline, especially since he knew that the Queen and his wife were best friends with Sifline. Thorren gestured to him to speak to the King. Taos stayed next to his king to treat his injuries, he suffered scrapes on his paws, legs, arms. Though not severe, Taos wanted to treat them so he could heal.
Zebrak: King Cerveras….I wanted to check on you…I'm sorry we couldn't get here faster.
King Cerveras: Thank you Zebrak….. don't blame yourself…someone needed to look after the kingdom….No one knew who this creature was….
Zebrak: Your majesty, please listen to me, you helped in my time of need now I want to help you.
King Cerveras: Zebrak please not now…not…
Taos: Please your majesty, just listen, you have done a great service to all of us, now we want to help you.
King Cerveras: Very well.
Zebrak: Remember that day you came to my house check on me when I could not get past Zebrella's death?
King Cerveras: Yes
Zebrak: One way or another you have inspired many of us to overcome our fears. You helped me at my lowest point. She truly was special to you was she not your majesty.
King Cerveras: She truly was, its hard to believe how one moment we were happy and having a great day. I just wish…She could be here right now…..she showed such dedication and leadership to this kingdom, how am I going to keep going without her help.
Zebrak: Because we are all going to help you and pick up where Queen Apalla left off at. She did her part, now we have to carry on her legacy.
King Cerveras looked at the knights, and they all looked at him. Despite some of them mourning the loss of the king they stayed strong. They knew what needed to be done.
King Cerveras: Let us return to the kingdom, we will begin preparations for the funeral so she may be at peace, she deserves that at the very least.
Sifline: Yes, she would like that, I think we all need to say….our final….goodbyes to her.
Taos: I have cleaned your wounds your majesty (placing a bandage on king Cerveras head.
King Cerveras: Thank you Taos.
King Cerveras carried Apalla to the kingdom as he and the knights walked back towards the kingdom, it was going to be a long day for them. Unbeknownst to him one of the fangs pierced King Cerveras' head, Even though Taos cleaned the head wound, a bit of poison from the fang was immune to the cleaning and made its way to his brain.
The next day, all the citizens of Eukaryona attended the ceremony for Queen Apalla located by the docks, all of them wore red outfits to symbolize her courage and determination she once had for the kingdom. Many of them were sad including Sifline who was best friends with Apalla and she had blessed her new baby Asgaarth years ago.
Queen Apalla was outfitted with the red dress she wanted, her casket was filled with flowers, and the boat was painted white with a red rose. she was indeed the best queen Eukaryona ever had. Several members gathered by the boat, most notably Sifline, Titian, Tigra, Taos, and of course King Cerveras to express their words and fond memories of the Queen.
The kingdom all mourned queen Apalla's death including Mei who was hugging Tian, Lola sheep who designed red cougar head patches for the kingdom to wear at the funeral, and Dolly who was sadden by the death having been informed by Titian.
Sifline: Queen Apalla, my dear best friend, you were always the one to take initiative. You always had the answer and you were always there for me. We may not know our parents and we worked hard to build our families and kingdom….. You will be missed I'll always remember the good times seeing you smile when you help our kingdom, and seeing the children smile…When you go, say hi to Zebrella for me, I'll never forget you and the fun memories we had.
Sifline placed a rose on the casket as Thorren helped her walk away from the casket, that would be the last time she would see her best friend and sister.
Next was Titian he served as a knight and the two had a bond when teaching education and discussed how to make the future brighter for the kingdom. He spoke as he was the wisest yet oldest knight
Titian: Ah Queen Apalla it was a pleasure serving you, I want to thank you for all the support you have given my family, not just my family but all of Eukaryona. You had great kindness and a fierce heart when achieving your goals, may you rest in piece.
Tigra spoke next, she was overcome with grief, her brother, Tyrone came up to her, hugging his older twin as she began her speech.
Tigra: Queen Apalla…. I remember the day we met, the day when my brother and I wanted to become knights. When I met you, I saw a strong yet dedicated queen who would put the kingdom first before herself. I had gained a friend that day as I would begin my journey to become a knight. I will….forever honor you and hope to one day become a general to train the next generation. Go now and rest my queen.
Tigra and Tyrone placed their Tigra's old dagger handles in the boat as they were the very first handles made, it seemed fitting to leave it with the queen. Taos would approach and give his speech, he was an old friend of the queen.
Taos: Queen Apalla was a great friend and a great monarch. If it was not for her, my brother would have died from his disease, and she helped create many cures for many diseases. It was her generosity that my brother and I would work so she could train us to perform cures and treatments. She is irreplaceable and will be missed by all of us dearly. Thank you Queen Apalla for your service, my brother will dedicate your medical school in your memory and discuss how this would not have been possible without you my friend.
Several knights and citizens expressed their sorrows and offered their condolences to king Cerveras and lastly King Cerveras spoke.
King Cerveras: My queen, my beloved, you are leaving me so soon and with a broken heart, I wished I could have been ready to protect you, just maybe I could have saved you. I was a fool to wait to express my feelings for you. Through all our hard work we have achieved all but our love…. (Sobbing). I love you my queen, go on and rest in peace.
The king carried Apalla's casket to the boat as the citizens of Eukaryona filled the boat with flowers, toys, and pieces of trees symbolizing it as memorials. Zebron placed the rose from his magic show on the boat. King Cerveras placed both, his ring and her ring into the boat as he pushed it down stream and lit a match to an arrow. As he shot it into the sky it hit the boat. It burned as it reached the edge of the waterfall, just as his heart did in that moment.
After the funeral, everyone returned home as they mourned the loss of the queen, King Cerveras returned to his castle, he wanted to be alone so he told servants to leave the castle.
The castle felt rather sad in it, there was no queen, no one to provide company, just quiet in the castle. He decided to skip his meal and go to his chambers, his grief would make him fall asleep.
He dreamed of his beloved Apalla, most importantly her accepting his marriage and the wedding ceremony. Suddenly, the sky turned into a black void Apalla and the rest of the Eukaryona inhabitiants were merged into the void as a being came forth.
King Cerveras: What is going on, who are you?
The One Being: Such a simple question with a complicated answer. I'm here to remove your burden of guilt, tell me are you tired of being responsible for everyone's demands.
King Cerveras: As a king it is my duty…it.
The One Being: Yet why, this kingdom clearly did not care to save the queen, you were there you should know.
King Cerveras: It was night how…
The One Being: If the kingdom cared they should have made sure the snake was taken care of, you formed the knights of Eukaryona, they should have tracked down the snake. Most importantly one of the knights should have been on guard.
King Cerveras realized what had happened, every night one knight was supposed to be on guard and watch the kingdom for threats, this time it was Dolly who slacked.
King Cerveras (pondering): True they were supposed to protect this kingdom from all threats… it seems one of my knights choose not to attend their shift.
The One Being: Yes, you should have known better to rely on yourself, you are the strongest member of this kingdom, are you not?
King Cerveras: I…
The One Being: Allow me to enlighten you, all you need to do is show order to this kingdom, eliminate all threats to this realm and others just like it.
King Cerveras: Realms….
The One Being: Take control of this kingdom, let your anger loose, eliminate all that oppose you.
Unbeknownst to all, the poison seemed to have affect King Cerveras' mind rather than killing him, he was corrupted by it. The and all of Eukaryona was about to find out.