The Wishing Princess - Chapter 9

9. The Princess is Missing

The Queen's soldiers began arriving in numbers in late morning. By early afternoon, the soldiers deployment is complete, yet still, they did not attack. By late afternoon, another group of soldiers arrived at the scene. There was a group of horse riders with all kind of banners. In the center, rode a woman, richly dressed, wearing a helmet with a tall feather on it.

"That's the Queen." said the king of Three Mountains.

"Better send a messenger, quickly, before she decides to attack us." replied the Great King of the Hidden Valley.

So, a messenger rode to the group and talked to the Queen, explaining their desire to parley. After some heated exchanges between the Queen and her advisor, the Queen rode to the middle of the battlefield.

"Let's meet her." said the Great King, as he rode away to meet her.

The Queen, also known as "the old prune", sized up the situation quickly. The enemy was well rested and prepared for battle. Her troops were tired from forced marched. So, a parley was advisable, to let her know the situation and the best action to take.

"Greetings to the Queen," said the King of the Red Sand. "I welcome you to our land. What can we do for you?" He said it as a congenial host may be in greeting his guests.

The Queen replied, "I heard that a prophesied child will be born here. Lead me to him." She was cold and direct, and acted with disdain.

"The child is not yet born. We must wait."

"I don't want to wait. Do you see that my soldiers are already arrayed for battle? I can crush you easily."

The King of the Red Sand became unbalanced. He was not prepared to have a battle on his land. It was the Great King who replied. "Indeed, they are well formed. I can see your skill in battle formation." The Queen narrowed her eyes at this statement. "But I can also see that they are tired. If you engage us today, there will be many casualties, so much that the entire army may cease to exists. Is the Queen's army so large that the loss of the whole troops is inconsequential?"

The Queen immediately raised her appraisal of the Great King. This man, she decided, represented her greatest threat. "And what do you proposed we do?" the Queen sneered, "That we should just stand here staring at each other?"

"I suggest that you make your encampment there. There is no rush. We certainly will not be going anywhere until the child is born. We will still be here tomorrow and the day after that. Why not use the time to relax a bit and have a talk? We may come to an agreement after all."

"I have no desire to possess a pocket of sand." replied the Queen. "I do possess the desire to destroy anyone who oppose me!"

"There is no one here to oppose you. All of us of the various kingdoms of the land met in peace. And we will welcome you to, with open arms. A meeting of the kings and their advisor."

"Is that so?" The Queen was skeptical.

"Indeed, it is so." said the king of the Red Sand. "I have been hosting dinner every night, and it is my pleasure and privilege to serve so many distinguished guests over dinner." He was respectful at all times.

"So, how about you come to our dinner, in a few hours time?" The Great King said, "It will be our pleasure to talk with you. Let's discuss our differences and come to an agreement."

"Why don't you come to me for my dinner?" asked the Queen.

"Ah, but all the preparations have been done, and I cannot move the location of the feast." said the King of Red Sand. "But have no fear, your highness, for I myself guarantee your safety and comfort."

"It is not my nature to have dinner among enemies." said the Queen. "But I can send my regent to at least have a talk with you."

"Then it will be our pleasure to welcome him." said the king of Red Sand. With that, the parley is concluded and the united kingdoms have secured another day of safety.

The dinner went poorly. The Queen's Regent was a boor. Demanding and insulting in every way, he ruined the mood of the dinner. "The Queen will not accept anything less that total surrender." said the Regent.

"What does it mean, 'total surrender'?"

"It means," said the Regent haughtily, "your lands belong to her. Your houses belong to her. Your food belong to her. You will yield and surrender to her everything that you own."

"Why would we want to do that?"

"If you do not do so, you will be killed."

"And if we do so, we will die of starvation." said the king of Red Sand. "Open your eyes and look around! There is nothing but sand! We can barely survive as it is, any less and people will not survive at all."

"That is your problem." said the Regent.

Everybody in the room just shook their heads. There is no reasoning with the Queen. This was obvious. The cost is just too great. There is no question that the Queen meant to destroy them all.

At the end of long discussion, finally the Great King said, "There will be no agreement with the Queen. I'm afraid that I must ask you to inform your Queen that we cannot abide by her terms."

"Then we will crush you like insects!" said the Regent.

"We hope to avoid that, so let us retire to our chambers and rest and resume our discussion tomorrow. However, should you wish for battle, then we are prepared to do so."

"You will be marching to your death!" said the Regent.

"Nevertheless, it will be done that way." said the Great King.

And so, the dinner was concluded. Each went separate way.

The kings of the various kingdoms were preparing for battle the next day. Certainly, the Queen will not let the child be born at all. They must be vigilant and checked all their equipment and horses to prepare for all eventualities.

It was at this moment that the Captain of the Cavalry reported to the Great King in his chamber, that to his eternal regret, he could not find the Princess anywhere. The Great King was non-chalant, though. He quickly figured out that the Princess did not have an accident, nor was she kidnapped. The Princess must have slipped out of camp on her own volition.

"Take 50 horses and search the area. Do not fight for any reason. Avoid making trouble and see if you can find her before long." said the Great King. "There will be battle tomorrow, and I want her safely by my side before the battle commence."

The captain gave a smart salute, and moved toward his men.