Goldest and the Kingdom of Thorns (15 page)

“I guess I have been blinded by love more than I
thought.” Ushi bowed his head to Octagon. “Your pardon, Octagon. A warrior like myself should know better than to question the honor of another honorable warrior.”

“I made sure Savagio was safely let go. You see, I had given him my word,” Octagon said to Ushi.

Ushi understood by Octagon’s words that some of the other Monks wanted Savagio laid to rest.

Pentangle had turned his horse harshly around in a circle at Octagon’s words about setting Savagio free. His anger now showed.

Ushi noticed Pentangle’s reaction and assumed right away that Savagio and he did not fare well together. Ushi smiled at the thought of Savagio having given any of the Monks a very hard time, because he knew Savagio could be very stubborn and nasty – in a nice way. His mind then came back to the present. “You are one of the better ancient Monks, Octagon. Please rethink what you are about to do. Another slaughter of this once beautiful kingdom will permanently destroy her forever.”

“Why should us Monks not suppress a more beauteous kingdom and reign over it? We now have our own army, trained by the best!” Pentangle exclaimed in agitation.

Some of the male villagers were listening to the confrontation taking place and one male shouted out, “We will fight for what belongs to us!”

“You will never take our kingdom!” another male villager cried out.

The other villagers and Willow Warriors stepped forward and agreed and cheered themselves on. Ushi
smiled as he looked at the determined faces of the proud people.

“You heard your answer,” Ushi quietly said to Octagon.

Pentangle, with his face distorted in distaste, grumbled at Ushi.

Octagon stepped his horse closer to Ushi and looked down into his eyes as he said, “You are making a grave mistake, Ushi. You do not know how fierce and deadly our Thorn Warriors are.”

“No, Theo is the one making the mistake. The Monks should know this. One request that I make is that you let us come to you. Do not destroy the castle and its grounds,” Ushi coldly told him.

Octagon sat straight up in his seat on his mount and sighed heavily. “Very well. But I beseech you, Ushi, heed my words. I fear for you all. That is why I chose to come and speak.”

Octagon turned his horse and rode out with the other Monks following. Ushi turned around as he heard the other Willow Warriors and the men in training riding in from the fields behind the castle grounds.

Goldest, the Queen of the Willows, and Augean were looking down below from Goldest’s tower windowsill watching the confrontation. Shadow had his paws placed on the sill gazing down with them. He wanted to be down there with Ushi, but knew his duty was to stay at the side of the little princess at all times, to keep her out of harm’s way.

The Monks rode back to the camp that they had set up. Large billowed tents were mounted up with a fire
made for warming and cooking. Octagon reigned in his horse in front of Theo and the other Monks. He looked over and saw the Thorn Army in rows standing tall, proud and frozen – waiting for their commands to be given to them.
I wonder if the thorns have given any thought or comprehension as to what they are about to do
, Octagon thought to himself with a heavy heart.

Octagon looked down at Theo and told him quietly, “They will come to us.”

Theo smiled, knowing that he, too, did not wish to bring damage and destruction to the newly refurnished castle, and the town and its land. “Very well. Our deed be done against them.” He turned to Pentangle and said, “Instruct our Thorn Warriors to give their all, and to be most brutal with the first attack. It might go well enough that a second attack will not be needed.”

A look of disgust came over Octagon’s face as he turned his horse to go with the others. He wanted to be alone right now to rethink his own strategy and to perform his own rituals in the privacy of his own blanketed tent. He was unnerved at the deplorable event that was about to take place. His past misgivings had come forward and taken hold.

The three ladybugs, Roul, Mespit, Rolade, who had overheard the conversation of the Monks, flew into their Domain of the Ladybugs. Rolade was not feeling very well, and his coat had taken on a greenish hue tinged with gray. His eyelids weighed heavily on him and he was ready to fall over. The flight back home had taken what little strength he had left in him – so ill was he from the wine. Mespit and Roul chuckled at Rolade.

“You got what you deserved, drinking all that wine!” Roul told him.

Mespit laughed at Roul’s remark. They approached the Hall of Colors, where their King and Queen were sitting royally on their leaf thrones with tiny crowns upon their heads. Many other colorful ladybugs were in the hall, visiting and making conversation amongst themselves. The scene was a content and happy scene. Mespit and Roul approached their King and Queen, while Rolade dragged himself in. The hall grew quiet as they watched the confrontation between Roul, Mespit and Rolade. All knew they were on a flight mission for the King and Queen, and all were curious about it. They noticed that Rolade did not look at all well. The congregation of ladybugs felt Rolade’s coloring was probably due to his poor morals.

One purple ladybug with splashes of red polka dots whispered to another regarding Rolade’s condition,
“I’m not the least bit surprised… what with his ladies and wine.”

“Disgusting!” the other ladybug replied.

Another ladybug, overhearing their conversation, could not help but add, “Rolade should be stripped of his superior social position with the King and Queen.”

“Are you kidding? The Queen is quite smitten with him and his escapades. She just loves to gossip about him with her Court,” the purple ladybug with red polka dots responded.

“Makes you wonder what really does go on in her Court!” a yellow and golden ladybug remarked from behind the trio. At those words, the three of them turned around and recognized the yellow and golden ladybug as Dame Orgot, who belonged to the Queen’s Court. The yellow and golden ladybug smiled pleasantly at the trio’s discomfort as they turned a flushed pink in their embarrassment, cleared their throats and turned back around. They were instantly silent again, and continued to remain so – not wanting themselves to be gossiped about inside the Queen’s Court. The trio took comfort in knowing that Dame Orgot usually kept her secrets to herself.

“Welcome back, Roul, Mespit, Rolade,” the King greeted them. He leaned forward and took a closer look at Rolade. “You don’t look so hot, Rolade.”

“I-I-I’ve developed motion sickness while flying, sir,” Roland responded in a weak voice.

The all-knowing King raised an eyebrow at Rolade. “Motion sickness, Rolade? Come, you can do better than that!”

The Queen just shook her head in disgust, knowing
full well that Rolade was curious about everything concerning ladies and wine, and loved to tamper whenever possible, with wine being his biggest temptation. Roul took command. “We approach you with news of our flight, sir.”

“Very well, Roul, speak,” the King ordered him.

“We took refuge one night around a campfire made by the ancient Monks from the Kingdom of Thorns. With them, they had a strange assortment of sticks and thorns,” Roul informed the King and Queen.

“Quite nasty looking,” Mespit added.

Roul looked surprised at Mespit’s comment.

“When you flew over to investigate, I was not far from behind you and only took a peek at the edge of the field. They scared me so. I immediately flew back and left you to further your own investigation of those strange, frightening creatures,” Mespit informed Roul.

The King and Queen leaned forward, intrigued by what they were hearing. Anything to do with those ancient Monks was interesting and fascinating.

“Sounds to me like trouble brewing,” the King remarked with concern.

Mespit took over and continued on, “The Thorn Warriors, sir – that seemed to be the gossip that the winds carry these days. The thorns seem to be their newest harvested army.”

“They were quite spooky looking and horrifying, if you ask me!” Rolade blurted out, trying to be a part of the flight.

“
Your
condition is quite scary looking – but not strange, if you ask me,” the Queen remarked dryly to Rolade.

Rolade cleared his throat and sank back, looking even more ghastly than before.

The King and Queen looked at one another with dread, knowing the worst was yet to come.

“And what kingdom are they going after?” the King finally asked, as he faced reality.

“The Kingdom of the Ladybugs!” Roul exclaimed as a matter of fact.

The Queen gasped, while the King farted unpleasantly in surprise.

“Not our Domain here, sir, but our ancestral kingdom,” Mespit informed them.

“Yes, yes, I know,” the King said grimly. “The Princess Goldest has restored her kingdom to what it once was. Our army of spies has been sent out there to investigate.”

“You mean the Queen, dear,” the Queen corrected the King, as she went on to explain, “Goldest is now the Queen of the ladybugs’ kingdom. All of her ancestors were killed by the great-grandfather and the grandfather of that deceased wizard, Leo.”

The Queen sighed in thought. She adopted a more relaxed conversational tone with her husband, the King, and started to refer to him by his name. “She wants us all to come back home, Spungus.”

The King also took on a more relaxed tone with his wife, the Queen, and started to refer to her by her name. “Liplina, I heard how much she considers us ladybugs her gourmet dessert,” he remarked dryly.

“Oh, come now, Spungus, it was not her fault that she was transformed into a frog so that she could
discreetly escape the ravishment of her kingdom!” the Queen remarked with irritation.

“Her grandfather had blank spaces filled with air in that brain of his! Of everything he could have transformed her into…”

The Queen cut her husband off as she reminded him, “He made a boo-boo, Spungus. He meant to transform her into a ladybug –just like us!”

“Her grandfather made many boo-boos!” the King exclaimed. “It was a shame, since he was born into a family of distinguished wizardry.”

The Queen pouted. “I want to go home, Spungus!”

“We
are
home, dearest,” the King told her bluntly.

The agitated Queen jumped down from her throne and took command. She looked deeply into the King’s eyes.

“Now look, Liplina, don’t go giving me any of that lip of yours, or I’ll—”

The Queen would give her husband no chance of manipulating her in front of her Court filled with guests, and immediately cut him off by saying, “Or you’ll do what, Spungus? My character happens to be just as strong as yours. That is why I am the Queen!”

“I’m warning you, Liplina…”

“Shut up, Spungus!” the Queen shouted at the King. She had now developed an air of haughtiness about her.

The Court and guests in the hall drew back, fearing that the King would vent his wrath on them.

Mespit and Roul were amused at the ardent Queen. Rolade’s condition made him care less about anything except feeling better. He was not a well ladybug.

The forceful Queen took command of the situation and shouted out to the other ladybugs who had gathered in the hall, “Pass the word, ladybugs. We take flight at first light tomorrow to fly back to our ancestral Kingdom of the Ladybugs!”

Clusters of whispers could be heard throughout the hall. The King sat on his throne, his mouth agape, speechless at his wife’s usual strong-mindedness.

The Queen turned to Roul. “You are firm and courageous in character, Roul. So, I appoint you Captain Roul of the Ladybug Warriors. Gather them and prepare them for battle against the Thorn Warriors!”

She turned to Mespit. “Mespit, you are to take flight immediately to the Kingdom of the Gypsies. Find Captain Frangelico and tell him of our plight. The Willow Warriors will need the agility of the Gypsy Warriors.”

She turned to Rolade, ignoring his sickly condition. “And you, Rolade, must warn the King of the Willow Warriors. His Queen and the little Princess Augean are residing in the Ladybug Castle at this present time.”

Rolade moaned in despair, not feeling well enough to handle the Queen’s command.

“And don’t give me those moans, Rolade! It is time you were taught a lesson to accept your own responsibility for your misdeeds!”

The Court and guests in the hall gasped at the Queen’s harsh behavior towards Rolade. They were perplexed and drew back. They had all thought he was a pet of the Court. He had now lost favor with the Queen.

“Too bad for Rolade,” Dame Orgot remarked to the other Court members present around her. “The females of the Queen’s Court will not be so interested in him anymore.”

The haughty Queen turned her attention back to the King. “Well, don’t just sit there on your pompous ass, Spungus! Take command!”

The thunderstruck King jumped up from his throne and shouted to the congregation, “You heard the Queen, ladybugs – start fluttering and prepare! We go back home, tomorrow!”

The excited ladybugs in the hall buzzed as they took their leave and went to inform their friends and neighbors who were not there with them. They would all prepare for the long flight home at first light tomorrow.

As jittery as Rolade was, he obediently flew directly into the Kingdom of the Willows, searching to make contact with the King of the Willows. By pure luck, he found him out riding with an entourage from his Court. He settled in comfort as best he could, wretched as he was, on a branch in the direction they were riding in, and waited for the King to come to him. In the meantime, Rolade vomited up the insects that he had eaten that morning.
Oh, I am s-o-o-o-o sick
, he thought to himself, as his head twirled around him.

A Willow Warrior was painting large black numbers on the red bark of the sweet cherry trees. The King rode up to him with his entourage and other prestigious male and female riders of the Court. The females, flamboyantly dressed, were riding sidesaddle.

“Why is that warrior painting those ugly black
numbers on your beautiful cherry trees?” a striking female of the Court asked the King.

“Because someone dug up and stole one of my cherry trees, that’s why! I think those ugly black numbers will keep the thief away,” the King responded smartly.

“Mmm. Clever, very clever, my King. He would be too obvious a prey if he stole one of your trees now.”

Some of the riders giggled at the cleverness of the King. A few of the men of the Court gave the King strange looks, not understanding why someone would still want to deface such delicate trees. The entourage, tired of the encounter, spurred their horses onwards into a trot. The King let them all ride ahead in front of him. He turned his horse around to take another look at his exquisite cherry trees.
Those large black numbers do look ugly and ridiculous
, he thought to himself. He didn’t give the matter another thought since the deed was done. He was spurring his horse on to join his Court when he heard someone call out to him.

“
Pssst, King
!” Rolade called out to him from a tree branch above.

The King looked around to see who had spoken to him, but could not find anyone around.

“Hey, King, up here!” the meek voice cried out, again.

The King was now agitated and cried out, “Who speaks to me? Come show yourself!”

“I’m right above you – you idiot!” Rolade cried out, again.

The King looked above him in a squint-eyed manner. He spied a sickly looking green ladybug
looking down from a tree branch up above him.

“How dare you call the King an idiot! Who are you, and what do you want?”

“Your pardon, King. I am Rolade. There is something you need to know.”

“What do I need to know from a poorly looking pestilence like yourself who calls the King an idiot!”

“You dare to call me names? You best shut up. I have something in which to inform you of that is of the highest importance!” Rolade bluntly told the King.

“And what might that be, since I already know all!” the agitated King replied back. “I should have you roasted on a spit!”

“Take heed, King. Your Queen and granddaughter are in grave danger.”

The King gasped, and almost fell off his horse. “You insect! What mean you?” he asked hysterically.

“The Ladybug Castle within the Kingdom of the Ladybugs is being attacked by the ancient Monks and their Thorn Warriors at this present time. They may have laid siege to it right now as we speak.”

The King was startled. “Thorn Warriors? How do you know of this?”

“Let’s just say I heard it amongst the flames, whilst the shadows of the thorns lay in the fields next to me.”

The impatient King was greatly incensed at what he had just heard. “No telling what’s going on over there with that frog as Queen!”

As unwell as Rolade was, he could not help but to chuckle at the King’s statement about that frog, Goldest.

The King never took another look at Rolade and
ended the conversation. Time was being wasted holding a conversation with a bug. He spurred his horse into a gallop to collect his entourage and ride back to his castle. He knew he had to act immediately to spare whatever fate was being held for his Queen and granddaughter.
No kingdom should be ruled by a frog or an insect
, he thought to himself.

A short time later, the King rode into his courtyard. Several guards were stationed there with a couple of the Willow Warriors socializing with the guards. A guard came up and took the King’s lathered horse, who was foaming at the mouth from the fast, hard ride back.

“Gather the Willow Warriors! We leave at once. An attack has been made against the Ladybug Castle. We go to save and bring back the Queen and my granddaughter,” the King said to the Willow Warriors present as he dismounted from his horse.

“But what about Queen Goldest?” the Willow Warrior asked.

“My Queen and my Queen alone! Who cares about a frog!” The King looked incredulously at the two Willow Warriors who had come forth and just stood there dumbfounded. “Well, get a move on it! Gather the warriors with their horses and weapons, and tell them to take whatever food they can stash on themselves to feed their gut! Go! We have very little time!”