21 All according to plan?

Elderwood Forest:

“The wind is changing…” The woman stood in front of the cave- her body completely bare. Hair, flowing with the wind.

In front of her, was a massive forest and a large tree that covered half of her vision. Behind her, a cave and perhaps-

“Who cares about that!” The man complained. “Come and calm my winds!” He too was bare. A cloth was beneath his body as bedding. But the hard rock was definitely digging deep into his body.

And he was getting more than just impatient.

The woman rolled her eyes, her ever-so-blue eyes. “There’s a war going on. And it won’t stop until one side is decimated. And that war would eventually get here….” Her ears were tall and they were picking up things.

The man let out an audible sigh. “Who cares about some war that’s going on thousands of miles away? And we were in a war of our own. Come! Drive my soldiers through your battlefield and let us reach the heavens!” His tone was almost comical.

The woman again rolled her eyes, and smiled faintly. ‘Why did I fall for a cringy idiot like you?’ She’d been asking the very same question for the last two hundred years.

She gently climbed on top of the man, her bottom touching his precious. “Well-” She licked his long ears. “Your soldiers don’t seem to be so eager.” Her silky ivory hair got in the way of his vision.

They were alone.

No one- at least living beings weren’t anywhere near them.

“Give me a moment! They’re just a tad shy.” He grabbed her bottom with one hand and secured her back with the other. All the while kissing her like there was no tomorrow.

He proceeded to grab her bosom, mouths still connected…

Things were rising up.

“AH!”

The two united.

*** Demon Castle (Nasth):

“I’ve wounded the hero and made the situation perfect, my queen.” A man bowed before the throne. He was large- half of his face covered under a skull mask. “But was leaving him alive-”

“Good work.” The queen dismissed him. “Gather up the army. We shall strike past dawn.” She didn’t even bother letting him finish.

The sun was rising.

“As you command!” The man- or rather, the last prince left. A bit dissatisfied but he didn’t let it show. He was the new ruler of his kind- he had to suck up to everything to ensure his kind didn’t perish. Even if it meant bowing to this monster.

The undead queen silently smiled- her ever-so-red eyes glistened in the ever-so-flowy darkness.

All was according to plan?

***

An army was raised.

An army of forty thousand demons. Some of them were injured and yet, they volunteered for this war. Some of them were just random civilians, farmers, workers, and yet, they too volunteered.

Here they were- standing just in the royal grounds.

They were fighting for their family, for their land. Most wouldn’t return. And. Yet, they had no regret standing in line. They had no hesitation.

And in that army, a young girl by the name Remi, felt out of place. She’d almost died just the other day but somehow made it out alive. Somehow arrows of fire saved her.

And she didn’t even know her savior. But she’d heard great things about her. How she’d come from another world and was really strong and all that…

‘I must thank her someday…’ And for that, she had to survive today’s war.

“Today-”

Remi’s attention was caught up ahead. The queen was starting her speech.

The sun had risen and the rays were merely just falling on the army. They were coming from the same direction of the queen, so it was a little hard to see her.

“Today!” The queen began. Her voice carried far and wide. “We shall mangle those heathens, we shall dismantle their dead bodies, sending them back to haunt their own. We shall make their dead devour their living! TODAY, WE SHALL BE VICTORIOUS! MARCH WE MUST!” And then she smiled, voice going low. “Onward, my soldiers…” And though it was a whisper- everyone heard it.

Everyone felt it.

The tingling of the back, the sweating of the forehead, the shivering of the legs…

Terror.

Remi didn’t know why, but she felt a jolt of fear running up her spine. ‘The hell was that? Dead eating the living?’ Her feet started shaking.

And the people around her, were sharing her sentiments too. At least that’s what their uneasiness suggested.

She’d heard a lot of speeches in the past, but this was the most ominous thing ever.

But this was it. No matter what, there was no turning back. She had nothing left.

Her parents had died in this war, and her little sister was poisoned by those monsters. She had to fight those monsters and get her revenge for her sister and parents.

After all, this was all she had.

And for that- she was not afraid to die.

***

The undead queen marched with over forty thousand soldiers. She was in front of them- on an invisible podium surrounded by invisible barriers. To ordinary eyes, she seemed to be nothing but just floating in the air.

All the soldiers were among the living.

So many questioned- didn’t the name ‘undead’ mean anything or was it just a title as the queen was immortal?

***

The army moved fast and they arrived at the battlefield sooner than later. The allied forces were just a kilometer away- marching this way.

And then- the queen just looked above- whispered things. “Come.” And serpents along with dragons started descending to the ground. And the queen smiled- looked at the ground and, “Rise my children.” She spoke like a mother- calling her children- ever so kindly.

Thousands- no hundreds of thousands of soldiers rose up. This was a battlefield and on this battlefield, many had perished.

Their souls still lingered here- as no priest was stupid enough to come purify them in the midst of a war.

Which meant- dead soldiers rising up.

Undead.

The few who doubted her title were now laughing like fools, rejoicing.

They were acting as though they’d already won. Actually, the demons cheered, applauded, and started celebrating.

But the queen hadn’t yet given the order to attack.

The allied forces were coming this way- yet, even the undead or even the dragons and serpents weren’t taking up offensive stances. They were just there.

“My queen?” The prince asked.

The queen got down from her invisible podium and towered over them; the darkness surrounding her blazed like open flames. “I guess we’ll have to settle for a treaty for now.”

“What!” The prince ejaculated. He glared. “We have the advantage. We have thousand, no hundreds of thousands, and even the serpents! We can’t possibly-”

“Are you blind? Look who’s leading the troops.”

“What?” He, slightly flabbergasted, looked at the incoming army. “She betrayed us?” he spoke softly.

“I wonder.” The queen smiled.

“Wait-” The prince stared at the queen. “This was your plan all along.” His teeth rattled, seething with anger. “You never planned on destroying them from the start!”

Frustrated.

He was frustrated.

His whole family was gone- his people were barely living and he’d sacrificed so much for this. And yet- at the end of the day, he trusted this monster too blindly.

‘Damn!’ His large body slumped to the ground, knees touching the barren lands. Even if he was dissatisfied, even if he was frustrated, enraged even, there was nothing he could do. There was nothing he could do about it.

After all, this monster- the undead queen- was far, far beyond his league.

She didn’t say anything but just smiled for a good thirty seconds.

“Come prince, let us go and see what do the leaders of those heathens have to say for themselves.”

The prince just stared at the queen’s face. ‘Is she really the same person?’ Even just an hour ago- that speech and now-

He started questioning reality. And would the queen of the dead- really be keen on meeting and dealing with humans and such?

Something just didn’t make sense.

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[A/N]

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