The War's Prophecy

Play-Acting

Juniper scooped up the remains of dinner and fed them to her pet Venus Dragontrap. Jaws was not a picky eater. She wondered where her friends had run off to while she was cleaning up. She walked through the tunnel to the central cave, and then searched for her friends. She checked the study cave, where she found Frostblood barking orders and Equinox arguing that they couldn't start without Juniper. She looked through the sky hole. A starry night sky was more or less visible. "Guys." Juniper said. "I'm right here." They both stopped arguing and looked over at her. "Oh, great." Equinox said. "Now we can start." She shot Frostblood a dirty look at the word 'now', but Frostblood didn't seem to notice. "Everyone quiet!" Frostblood said. "I'm assigning parts."

"We're acting out how the war began." Equinox whispered to Juniper.

Frostblood cleared her throat. "Now, obviously, I'd make the best queen, but Widow, you can be Queen Dragonfly, since you're actually a HiveWing." Juniper wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but Widow almost looked ashamed. "I'm Queen Blizzard of the IceWings and the narrator. Equinox, you're Queen Amber of the SkyWings. Goldfeather, you're Queen Firefly of the SilkWings. Iceseeker, you're Queen Stellar of the NightWings."

"But—" Iceseeker started.

"No buts! Cove, you're Queen Aquamarine of the SeaWings. Lily, you're Queen Iris of the RainWings. CocoaDust, you're Queen Beaver of the MudWings. Scorpio, you're Queen Rattlesnake of the SandWings." Scorpio grunted. "And Juniper is a tree."

Juniper groaned. "Why do I always have to be a tree?" She asked. Frostblood rolled her eyes. "Because you're good at being a tree!" She said. "But fine, you can be General Manchineel of the PoisonWings, the armies, and Queen Acacia of the LeafWings."

Juniper nodded. "Better."

"And a tree.

Alright, places everyone!" Frostblood shouted. "Starting in three... two... one... action!"

Widow cleared her throat. "Aheh-heh-HEM. I'm Queen Dragonfly of the HiveWings. I'm so important and, uh, royal. I have all the power over the entire world. Well, I mean of course, I don't actually have all the power over the entire world, but—Wait. A. Minute. That actually sounds pretty great. Oh, army!" Juniper stepped up to Widow. "Yes, Your Majesty?" She said in the deepest, most authoritative voice she could muster. "I've decided to conquer the world." Widow said. "Let's conquer the SilkWings first. Oh, Queen Firefly!" Goldfeather walked majestically out of the shadows. "Yes, Dragonfly?" She asked in a perfect imitation of the queen voice. Widow grinned. "Why, I've decided to conquer the world. I mean, genius idea, right? Anyway, hand over your throne and pledge your loyalty to me, or I shall unleash my army upon you."

"Let me think." Goldfeather said, pretending to think it over. After a while, she said; "Alright. You have yourself a deal." She bowed. "I pledge my loyalty to you, Great Uniter."

Frostblood cleared her throat. "And that's where she got her stage name." She said. Widow grinned again. Then, out of nowhere, she tackled Goldfeather. "Any last words?" She asked dramatically. Goldfeather pretended to think about it. Then, she said, "I did this for my subjects, not for me." Then Widow pretended to snap her neck. "Oh, Queen Acacia! Oh, Queen Beaver! Oh, all the other Queens!" She called. Juniper, CocoaDust, Equinox, Frostblood, Cove, Lily, Iceseeker, and Scorpio stepped out of the shadows. "What do you want this time?" Frostblood asked.

"Oh, only your thrones. If you don't back down, I will kill you and your subjects." Widow said, much too casually.

"Well?" Equinox asked the others. "What shall we do?"

"I say we back down." CocoaDust said.

"I agree." Juniper agreed.

"Me too." Said Cove.