Cinderella vs. Happily Ever After

Chapter 42

            They stood and stared at each other, the army and the gate guards, for a long moment. The only movement came from a slight breeze that lifted plumes, flags, and any loose bit of fabric up and made them flutter. Valerie waved Eneric up, hoping he would have a plan to deal with the archers.

            He wasn’t more than halfway to her when a sudden roar made everyone riding grab their reins to keep their mounts where they were. Fighting to keep her horse from bolting, Valerie looked up at the gate to see what the soldiers were doing. She found herself staring as Rish and Faal dove past her, a stream of flame ahead and just slightly below them.

            Fire poured off the pink stone walkway over the doors, looking like a waterfall of yellow and orange. The guards didn’t even have time to scream before all that was left of them was melted metal and blowing ash. The door crackled as fire bit into it, turning the polished gold of the wood black as hungry flames worked frantically to consume it.

            With the dragons gone back to circling high above the palace, looking like little wheeling kites, the horses finally stopped trying to run though the whites of their eyes let everyone know they were still nervous. Val patted her mount in what she hoped was a reassuring manner, and frowned up at the dragon specks.

            Isaac brought his horse forward, ignoring its attempts to turn back towards the city. “Well, looks like the boys won’t get to play with the door.”

            She nodded without looking at him. “I’m not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand they saved a lot of lives and made things easier. On the other hand, I told them to accept surrenders. They weren’t happy about it but they agreed.”

            Isaac laughed. “I bet that’s the reason. They promised to accept surrenders. But they can hardly accept something they don’t hear. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make sure no one they face has the opportunity to surrender. And before you complain, remember that these are the people who are hunting you, have hurt our friends, and have started a war here. And I’m thinking there’s a high likelihood it was one of them that killed all of their eggs in which case a little revenge is justified.”

            She dropped her eyes until they met his and sighed. “I suppose I should be thankful. And it is a war. I just…it’s hard to adjust my thinking.”

            He nodded. “I know, Val. But we need to do this. Now, you’re going to turn around, smile, and say something inspiring cause I’m pretty sure more than half of our troops are ready to run. I don’t think they realized how terrifying dragons could be, even if they are on your side.”

            She rolled her eyes but turned her horse. Over a thousand pairs of eyes watched her, many of them anxious. She felt fear lick its way up her spine at the thought of being responsible for that many lives but she managed to glue a smile on her face anyway. “Our allies have cleared the way for us!” she called, rising up in her stirrups. “Let’s not waste the chance to go in there and show those invading bastards what happens when you attack us!”

            Silence swept behind the whispered repetition of her words, and for a moment Valerie thought they were all going to desert her. Then a ragged cheer burst from their throats as fists and weapons were thrust into the air. A grin replaced her fake smile and she turned her horse around, for once it did what she asked the first time, and lightly touched her heels to its sides.

            Four soldiers armed with pikes ran ahead of them, giving the horses a wide berth. Once in front of the smoking remains of the door, they used their weapons to shove the scorching remains out of the way, leaving only black ash and smoke where once a door had stood. Valerie nodded her thanks at them as they trotted past, her eyes flicking around the grounds for any sign of enemy or ally.

            There was nothing much there, just the gardens, as overgrown as their cousins outside the palace walls, and the palace. With the exception of the people being missing, it looked almost the same as it had when she’d first ridden in with Darren. With a thin wisp of smoke, twining around her horses hooves, she moved another two steps forward.

            That’s when the squad of soldiers came racing around the side of the palace, weapons out as they ran full tilt towards them. She drew her sword, part of her worrying about how one was supposed to fight on horseback, when she noticed they kept looking behind. Then she saw the paleness of their faces and their wide, wide eyes. She snapped her head up and saw why.

            Faal was diving down over them, mouth open and flames spilling out. The men dove for cover but a bush is no match for dragonfire. Again, Valerie watched as men burned alive in an instant, little left of them but the image etched into her mind. She stared at the burned spot that had once been three people and a bush.

            Finishing with the last two, one who’d gone down his throat much to the horror of their army, Faal noticed Valerie. He hop-glided over, settling his wings as the flaps behind his head spread half out. “You arre herre. It isss good. We will keep thiss way open forr you. Do not worrry about the grroundss. We arre alrready taking carre of it. I will rremain aloft until you have enterred the palace. You may have furrtherr need of me.”

            Before she had a chance to reply, Faal took off, wings raising a cloud of dust and ash around them. Coughing, Val dismounted, keeping her poor horse from rearing by using her full weight on the reins. When the dust settled, she could see that most of the other riders had done the same and were looking at their horses with identical expressions.

            Thankfully, Eneric was ahead of them. In minutes, the message runners among their troops ran forward and took their horses, leading them towards the stables. The six men standing outside the building let her know it had already been checked for hiding enemies.

            After stretching her legs out, she led the way towards the huge, iron bound front doors she’d never actually walked through. Looking at them now, she’d seen the other side often enough, she thought they looked wrong. Standing directly in front of them, she felt her stomach sink. They didn’t look wrong, they were wrong. The doors could be seen, barely, wide open. But what filled the opening was several solid feet of ice.