THE CROWN AND THE FLAME by ROCHELLE PIETERSE (the little red hen read aloud .txt) 📖

know about it are you, me, Sir Luke and…” her eyes went wide eyed at King Jameel’s words.

“Your sister, Clare. Beautiful woman, but far too trusting. She never even suspected her latest lover was one of my spies.”

“No…” Queen Scathe went pale.

“You monster!” Skyelar grunted.

“She struggled valiantly. But you’d be amazed at the secrets a person spills when you gouge their eyes out.” King Jameel raised his glass to his lips and takes a sip. “Now then. Let’s get this over with.”

The assembled doors flew open. Men in strange, glistening armor charged in, levelling crossbows at all the assembled guests.

“Die!” came a loud cry from one of the soldiers.

“Skyelar, look out!” her mother was screaming to her. She turned to see the soldier aiming for her. Skyelar rolled to the side, just in time. The bolt from the crossbow slammed into the wall right where she was standing.

“That was too close,” she heard herself speak between the screams off the crowd.

“Take cover!” Sir Luke was ordering her.

Arrows zipped through the air, striking the assembled royals. Their shouts echoed in the throne room. Skyelar turns and sees a bolt pierce straight through her mother’s heart, her eyes going wide as she fell to the ground.

“The Queen!” Sir Luke shouted as he tended toward her.

“Mother!” Skyelar cried.

“Skyelar…”

Skyelar crawled across the stone floor to where her mother laid.

Tears streaming down her face, she lifted her mother’s head and whispered,

“Mother. I love you.”

“Be brave, little butterfly… Be brave.”

Skyelars mother tightly grips her hand as she drew her last breath. Tears blurred her vision as Zayden pulls her away from her mother.

“Skyelar, we have to go…” he said gently, pulling her to safety.

“No! I’m not leaving her!”

Skyelar looked up just in time to see Prince Andrew gleefully disarm and cut down another nobleman with a flurry of quick strikes.

That’s it, Skyelar decided wiping her wet cheeks. No more tears.

Prince Andrew was so excited while he declared, “ha! I’ve had better fights against my stable hands! Pathetic!”

Skyelar could see Sir Luke fighting back nearby, impaling n soldier with his sword and dropping another with a gauntlet to the skull.

“Skyelar, I need to get you out of here. Now!” he was pulling her to her feet, trying to make their way to the door. A soldier barred the door to the outside hallway. He hefts a massive axe. King Magnus tries to flee, but the soldier swings his axe at him, beheading him instantly. Then, the soldier spotted her.

“You’re next.” He grinned.

“Not if I can help it,” she grinned back.

“Hah. What’s a princess in a fancy little dress going to do to a soldier?” he asked.

“Just watch.” Skyelar was already looking for something to use against the soldier. She grabs a goblet of wine and flings the goblet contents into the face of the soldier.

“My eyes!” the soldier yelled.

Before she leaves the room, she turns back to see a soldier with gold trim on his armor looting her mother’s body.

“My mothers signet ring,” she proclaimed

“Leave it!” Zayden protested, “There’s no time! Your life is more important...”

“Forgive me, Mother.” Skyelar sighed as she turned away. She took Zayden’s hand and started to run.as she looked back one last time, she sees the soldier take the ring.

“This’ll fetch a fine price,” the soldier choked.

As she flees down the corridor, the skirts of her ball gown tangle up. She crashes to the floor. Zayden reached down and helps her up.

“Thank you,” she said. As she stood, Skyelar could see the blood on her gown. The floor is slick with the blood of slaughtered royals and their children.

“Dead… all of them…” she gasped at the horror. “The entire nobility, wiped out.”

“Not all of them,” Zayden smiled trying to make the best of this dreary situation.

Wounded and leaning against a column, Prince Anlon tries to fight off a soldier.

“Die, Ravenshire scum!” the soldier groaned.

“Not without a fight…” was the only answer Prince Anlon gave before He brandished a torch at the soldier.

“We’ve got to help him,” Skyelar insisted.

“It’s too risky,” Sir Luke was trying to explain. “My duty is to protect you, not a Ravenshire Prince. You are the Queen of Dragonstead now. You must live.”

“I know,” Skyelar protested. “But what kind of queen am I if I leave him behind?”

We can take Prince Anlon with us. He could be valuable. But it’s up to you, Skyelar.” Zayden insisted.

With her mind made up she sternly said, “I’m not leaving him.”

She grabs a massive shield from one of the fallen guards and darts toward Prince Anlon.

“What the…?” the surprised guard choked as Skyelar slams the side of the shield into his helm as hard as she could. He crumples to the ground. She offered her hand to Prince Anlon to help him to his feet.

“Princess Skyelar, you are as fierce a warrior as you claimed.” He stood smiling. And Zayden felt a jolt of jealousy overcome him, but remained stoney faced.

“Looks like you couldn’t charm yourself out of this fight,” Skyelar burst with laughter.

“I tried flirting with the soldiers, but they were shockingly unreceptive.” He bows to her.

“You need to learn to defend yourself,” Skyelar scowled.

“I’ve always believed that my sharpest weapon was my wit…” he explained.

“Well, their sharpest weapons are their swords.”

“Good point. I owe you, Skyelar. My kingdom owes you. I swear on my life, should you ever need me. I’ll be there with 200 of Ravenshires finest soldiers at my back.”

“Good, because after this is over, I have a feeling I’m going to need them.”

Anlon winces. “Is it serious?” Skyelar asked clearly worried.

“My wounds will heal… but my tunic may never recover,” he joked to make the pain disappear. Zayden and Sir Luke rush to your side.

“That was too risky. You should’ve let me do it,” Zayden exclaimed not bothering to give Prince Anlon the least bit attention.

“Scold me later.”

“Quickly, this way,” Sir Luke said.

As they enter the dungeon, Skyelar sees three soldiers rushing by, all carrying weapons wet with blood.

“Wait…” Skyelar breathed. “That one… he’s the one that stole my mother’s ring!”

“Which one?” Zayden inquired.

Looking around, Skyelar spots a crossbow in the hands of a fallen soldier. She pulls it from his grasp. She examines the crossbow learning it only has one bolt.

She aims, “I hope that’s the right one.”

Her bolt catches the soldier where his helmet meets his armor, plunging into the base of his skull.

Skyelar grinned, “That’s what you get.”

The soldier falls dead as the other seeks cover. Skyelar rushes towards the fallen soldier searching quickly.

“Here it is,” Skyelar released a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. “My mother’s signet ring.”

She grabs the ring dodging crossbow bolts as she retreated down the stairs

“All this over a ring?” Zayden asked annoyed.

Anlon proclaimed smiling, “Never underestimate the importance of the right accessory.”

Sir Luke nodded. “The ring commands respect and strengthens Skyelars claim to the throne,” he explained as if to a child. “But she needs to be alive to use it!”

“Where do we go now?” Zayden asked looking furiously around.

“The passage they used to get in… we’ll use it to get out.” Sir Luke breathed heavily through all the running.

He pushes a brick into the wall. Skyelar watched with amazement as she hears the stones shifting and suddenly the rock wall swings open, revealing a secret door. She and her friends dash in. Sir Luke tries to seal the door behind him but to no avail. The soldiers are already closing in.

“They’ll figure out how to get in. We won’t make it out before they catch us,” Sir Luke said matter of factly.

“Then we have no choice but to make our stand and fight,” Skyelar was already raising her sword. As she passed through a metal gate, she sees Zayden hesitate on the other side.

“No,” Zayden revealed as he slams the gate closed, locking himself in.

“Zayden,” Skyelar cried running towards the gate.

“We do have a choice. I’m going to hold them off! At least I can slow them down, buy you some time.”

Skyelar was shaking the gate violently, “Zayden! What are you doing? Don’t do this, please.”

“It’s the only way.” He held her hands, releasing them from the gate. “Go!”

She hears the shouting of the soldiers closing in on them, but she couldn’t find her feet.

“Zayden…” she stilled her hands holding eye contact. “I have only one last thing to say to you.”

Zayden was holding his breath.

“Be careful. Stay alive, and I promise to do the same,” she urged him.

“I won’t let you down. We will see each other again, my friend,” Zayden said as his heart broke into a million pieces, if only she knew. Sir Luke and Anlon was looking at each other in bafflement.

The sound of shouting soldiers interrupts them, and he released her.

“Now go, Skye. Sir Luke, Keep her safe,” was his last words as he started running in the opposite direction when the soldiers saw him.

“I will guard her till my last breath,” Sir Luke said as he grabbed her hand and was half dragging her away, as the three of them fled the tunnel.

 

After leading the soldiers away from Skyelar, Zayden emerged from the passage and finds himself in the kitchen, soldiers’ right behind him!

“You there! Stop!” one of the soldiers exclaimed as Zayden stopped halfway from the kitchen doors. “Ready to fight?”

“Nope. Not even a little,” Zayden spun around and took off running, bolting through the cluttered kitchen.

“Get back here!” the soldier yells running after him.

At the far end of the kitchen, Zayden came to a wide open fire pit. Flames crackling over sizzling coals. He is moving too fast to dodge the flames. He leaps boldly over the fire pit. And strangely, as he crosses through the veil of flames, he doesn’t feel any heat or pain. The flames almost seems to arc, bending away from him, making a path…

“That’s… odd” Zayden said surprised at what was unfolding. He lands smoothly on the other side of the pit. Behind him, the soldier scrambles around… and in front of him, tugging on a locked door, is Sabrina, the castle cook.

“Zayden! What in the blazes…” Sabrina started to ask. They were cornered.

“Please, don’t hurt him,” Sabrina started coming to stand in front of Zayden. “He’s a good man. He’s just a servant, like me.”

“He was running with the Princess and her bodyguard. He has to know where they went,” the soldier scolded.

“I’ll never talk.”

The soldier grabbed Sabrina’s wrist and twisted until she winced with pain, “then I’ll kill the old woman. See if that loosens your tongue.”

“No!”

The soldier slams his fist into Sabrina’s head! She falls. He pulls out a dagger and kneels beside her… Zayden feels something stirring inside him. Rage. Fury. Fire.

Zayden lets his anger explode. The fire burning in the kitchens jumps, the flames lashing out to twist around the soldier.

“Hey!” the soldier shouted. “What the…? Arghhhhhhhh!”

The soldier writhed and screamed as the fire burned him alive, roasting him in his armor.

“What… what the hell did I just do?” Zayden asked himself in a tone that held disbelief. He rushed to Sabrina’s side. He took her hand and she began to stir.

“What… what happened?” she started. “I thought…”

“I took care of the soldier,” he said while helping her up. He good see her looking around and founding the burned body, looked startled. “Don’t ask. Where is everyone?”

“All servants have been ordered to the throne room. So, if we mean to live, we must go there now.” Sabrina has already grabbed his arm and was pulling him along after her. They reached the throne room, where all of the castle servants stood terrified. Two servants ran up to Sabrina.

“Mother! We were so worried about you!” Lucy’s voice was tight with tension.

“What were you doing out there?” Avery made his concern known.

“I was fetching your fool brother Zayden here. He’d gone and gotten himself in trouble,” Sabrina said without preamble.

“Our brother?” Lucy asked while she and Avery were looking at one another in consternation.

“Listen here. Luther is executing anyone who could be a threat. If he finds out that