꧁𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝑦𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑙꧂

Chapter One: The War

In the woods far away, a man was in the trees. How long he was perched on the branch was only known by the Lord Almighty. He was aching from having to be up there for so long, but his heart was pounding out of his chest. He knew he had to wait. He knew that they were coming.
Then, all of a sudden, a thunderous boom exploded around the woods, almost making the man fall out of the tree. As he regained his balance, he squinted at a small light far away. The light grew and grew until it was large enough to show something: a group of men riding on horses with arrows and guns armed.
The man finally climbed down the tree and retreated to a large wooden building. He ran in the room and told the startled people inside, "They're coming."
Soon, a militia formed and darted at the opposition, knowing that they must protect the kingdom at all cost.
A tall man with a long chestnut beard led the way for the militia. As his horses sprinted, he thought of all of the people in the kingdom.
His kingdom.
The most important person of all was his new wife. She was the world to him and was pregnant with their child. The thought of her being slain or tortured was unacceptable in his mind. He whipped his horse, making the poor steed go beyond its ability.
Finally, the two militias collided and began fighting. The sounds of yells and screams pierced through the crisp cool night. The King was obviously not a force to be reckoned with. He decapitated more men than any of the others and threw the bodies at the opposing men.
"Where is he?" demanded the King. "Where is Thomas?!"
"I'm right here, old friend..."
Slowly turning around, the King found a dark figure standing with an air of danger. The moonlight exposed the man features: he was pale, tall, thin, and had hair as black as ebony. There was a smile on his face that made him somewhat like a nightmare.
The King jumped off of his steed and made a beeline towards Thomas. But before he could reach him, a force field appeared, preventing the King to get closer to Thomas.
"What do you want?" asked the King. "What do you desire? You have been storming my kingdom for weeks now, clearly seeking something. What is it, you cowardly snake?"
"Oh, nothing important," said Thomas, giving a dark chuckle. "I just want something sweet and pure...like Francesca."
The King's eyes widen as his hands curled into fists. He yelled, "No! By the graces of God, you are not going a mile near my wife! You are a cruel man, if you can even call yourself a man! Hear me, go back to your foul kingdom and leave mine alone!"
The King then tried to break the force field with his sword but was flung back into the air and landed hard on the ground.
"Silly old Jeremiah," laughed Thomas, walking closer towards the King. "You were always one with words. But, you should know that words and actions can be the same thing. If you insist of hitting me with words, then I must hit you with the powers of Hell."
Thomas snapped his fingers and then a monstrous fire was brought to life, engulfing the trees and the men. The King looked around at the sight of his men dropping and became so furious that he grabbed his sword and swung at Thomas. However, when the blade touched Thomas it shattered into pieces. The King watched in horror as his beloved weapon flung into the air in small fragments.
Thomas flicked his wrist at the King and shot him up fifty feet into the air. With a loud thud, the King hit the ground and was motionless. He tried to crawl away but was stopped by an invisible force. He was turned onto his back and was face to face with Thomas, his maniacal laugh ringing in his ears.
"You bastard," croaked the King. "You evil, vile son of a bitch. You will never touch Francesca..."
"Oh no," Thomas grabbed the King's jaw and brought him closer. "No, there is something that I want even more..."
"What?"
"I want to take the purest civilian in your kingdom and corrupt them. I want to rip that innocence away and claim them my property."
There was a moment's pause. Then, the King looked directly into Thomas's cold wine red eyes and said softly, "You will never find that person. Even if that person existed, I will have the strictest protection for them."
Thomas chuckled again, sending shivers down the Kong's spine.
"Stupid, stupid Jeremiah. Don't you realize that you can't run away from sin. It's like a shadow that follows you for life and becomes your crimes for all of eternity."
Thomas then slowly grabbed the sword that was beside him. He raised it up and said, "Farewell, old friend."
With a swift motion, he cut clean through the King's neck. There were shouts and screams as Thomas rose up and took the head of his rival and held it up as if it was a trophy.
"Let it be known, foolish mortals," he spoke in a chilling voice. "There will always be evil. I am the bringer of destruction and death. I will keep my promise and I will find the purest person in your pathetic kingdom and corrupt them and make them my property."
~*~
The news of King Jeremiah's demise reached the kingdom within minutes. The Queen, Francesca, was devastated to the point of temporary insanity. She was put in a small room by herself to get the "demons" out. Finally, she calmed down enough to be released and brought to the study room where the council members were at, talking and mumbling. Once the Queen arrived, the talking and mumbling ended and a silence so massive filled the entire room.
An older gentleman cleared his throat and said, "We must take the precautions we made for this scenario at once."
"But, how can we?" demanded a porky man with a long honey blond beard. "The military is shattered from the battle with Thomas! We have no men to defend us!"
"Dear Rufus," the older gentleman said calmly. "That was only a portion of the military that was battling Thomas and his men. The remaining soldiers are coming right now to help prepare the kingdom for the hard times that are coming."
Rufus opened his mouth to retaliate, but stopped when the Queen gave him a cold look.
There was no sleep that night in the kingdom. The sounds of military artillery being moved and the constant yelling kept everyone awake.
Months went by with no sign of Thomas anywhere. Finally, after nine months of being on watch, everyone relaxed. But then a new situation came: The Queen was giving birth to the royal baby.
After hours and hours, the royal baby was born. But as the doctor turned to give the baby to the Queen, he knew right then that the Queen was dead.
The people of the Kingdom Lunarstone mourned the death of a young Queen and panic rose. Who will rule until the royal baby is old enough to rule? Finally, the older gentleman Abraham was left in charge.
As Abraham was sorting through the business that needed to be completed, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in," Abraham's voice mumbled.
The door opened and came in the nanny for the baby. She was holding her in her arms and had a look that was unreadable.
"Um...your majesty?"
"Yes, Gladys?"
"I was just nursing the baby when I realized that we had never given her a name."
Abraham slowly rose from his chair and held out his arms so he could hold the child. Gladys gave him the sleeping little girl and stared at her in awe.
The baby had tufts of strawberry blond hair and had skin that was soft and glittering. When the baby had her eyes opened, everyone could see that she had eyes of emeralds. She was rumored to be an angel sent from Heaven.
"What should we name her, sir?" whispered Gladys.
Abraham stared out at the gorgeous sunset outside and walked over to the window.
There was a moment's pause before Abraham said, "Abigail."
"E-Excuse me, sir?" stuttered Gladys.
"The Princess shall be called Abigail Grace," Abraham turned around to face Gladys.
And it was known throughout the kingdom that the princess was named Abigail.