To Rule the World | A Zodiac Story

The Sad Tale of a Forgotten Kingdom

"Would you like to know what happened the last time a tyrannous kingdom faced a Solis in battle?" Leo said, stepping up to the alter. She handed Libra a knife, and she started to use it to cut her wedding dress.

Leo continued, "It started many generations before you or me. With the original general Solis and a long forgotten kingdom, called Malum...."

"Hey, dumbass!" A girl with messy brown hair that kept curling out a braid yelled. She had brown eyes and a small stature. "We're at war! Get down from there, you could get killed!"

"Fuck you, Sage, I'll get down if I want to get down!" A boy with a mop of red hair yelled back. His freckles skin was almost pierced with an arrow as he opened his eyes wide. "I think I want to get down."

"Wow, Tony," the girl, Sage, said. "You'd think you'd know better."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm a soldier. I'm dispensable. Remember?"

"You're not dispensable to me," Sage said, grabbing his hands for reassurance. "I don't know what I would do if you died."

"Burn down the kitchen, that's for sure," Tony snickered in response. Sage playfully punched him. That's when another boy came up to the tower.

He was Asian with his hair gelled back. He had more worry than there was gel in his hair. "Have you seen Pacifica? I can't find her, and I'm getting worried."

"What do you care, Lee? You didn't even want to marry her," Tony commented, before getting an aggressive elbow in the gut from his girlfriend.

"Pacifica was still my best friend for so many years," Lee scoffed. "She and I are really close. Now we're just bonded by the church."

"We'll keep a lookout, but be careful," Sage warned. "They say General Solis is coming soon."

"And how do you know this? You're a maid?" Lee asked, well aware of his friends nosiness.

"I was spying," Sage said simply. "If they're going to destroy this place, why should I clean it up?"

"Because we won't be destroyed," Lee promised. "I've got to go find Pacifica."

Sage And Tony watched as he left. Tony put his arm around Sage and brought her close to his chest. Sage could feel he was afraid of what this war would bring Malum. She also knew that it wasn't himself he was afraid for. So she wrapped his arms around his waist and stayed there, delivering silent empty promises of survival.

Pacifica sat on a windowsill. Her white hair was in a bun on top of her head. She stared out the window, lost in thought. Her best friend was a million miles away, it seemed. She missed Ariel. A single voice interrupted her thoughts.

"How's it going?" Asked Lee.

"Could be better," Pacifica replied, looking away from the windowsill. "You?"

"Pretty well. Mom and Dad are just planning a war that will kill us all," Lee said with a shrug. "No biggie."

"It's a good thing Commetes is neutral," Pacifica mentioned. "My brother, Neil, and his wife are expecting."

"That's amazing! I'm so happy for them," Lee said, sitting down next to her.

"As long as they survive," Pacifica muttered.

"They will," Lee said, fearing he was making empty promises. "They will."

Both of them stared out the window. Neither knew what to say. Making empty promises was the only thing they had left.