Our Kingdom Come | KingdomCraft

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ xɪ - ɢʀᴇᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴠɪᴄᴛᴏʀɪᴇs

THE CORRUPTED KINGDOM

"Three cheers for our Queen Lauren. Three cheers for the Corrupted Queen!" The hall burst into applause and shouts of admiration. The Corrupted flag, donning the royal crest, a fox on a purple banner, was hung at every corner of the room. Her garments were dyed royal purple with flecks of gold and black.

Lauren was seated at the throne, a large grin plastered to her face. Victory was hers and her kingdom had not suffered. Truly, a remarkable moment in their history.

There was a celebration at the palace. Citizens of noble status were invited to a grand feast. High ranking army members were in attendance as well. All was going well and it was a wonderful time.

Until the doors opened, a small and fragile old woman crossed the threshold and made her way through the chamber. She approached Lauren. Her trembling body was pitiful and every move she made was slow and fatigued.

When she got closer Lauren could see her eyes, or lack thereof. Her eyes were a cloudy grey with no distinction between her pupil and iris.

"Queen Lauren," the woman bowed. "I have a message for you."

Lauren knew better than to question old hags. She moved her finger over her arm, where her grandaunt had stabbed her nails into her skin. She knew better.

"I am a seer from the far north region of the kingdom and came as soon as I can when I saw-" she paused as the room silenced, "-a vision. And I am here now to deliver a prophecy."

Lauren sat at the edge of her seat. All eyes in the room were to her. Her face made no reaction. A reaction let's people see your feelings. Feelings are not fit for a Queen.

The seer's eyes went gold, glowing like the sun above. Eyes piercing right through her. She waved her hands around, gesturing a blessing.

She placed both her hands over Lauren's head. "The Phoenix will defeat the Fox on a field of gold."

There were silent murmurs all around. Whispers of the seer's prophecy surged through the room, fast as lightning. Lauren reclined, her fingers rubbed her chin.

"Phoenix." She sneered. "The Volcano Kingdom! That's the creature on their flags."

Would the Volcano ruler be her undoing?

She rose from the throne, head held high. Her grandaunt would know what to do. And, although she didn't trust her grandaunt any longer, she trusted her more than any outsider, any foreigner.

"I don't want to die." Lauren stated under her breath.

THE TAIGA KINGDOM

Joel stared at Lizzie. He wasn't sure why, but he constantly caught himself glancing at her. They were close to the village. A few more days of riding and they'd find themselves what they were looking for. Well, what she was looking for. He wasn't really doing this for anything.

He watched strands of her bubblegum hair dance in the wind. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Why was he absorbed in the way her hair moved in the wind? Something was definitely wrong with him, maybe he was coming down with a cold.

"Hey, Lizzie." Joel called.

She turned her head to face him.

"What do you call a fish without eyes?"

Lizzie raised her eyebrow. "I don't know, blind?"

Joel leaned forward, ready to deliver his punchline. "No, it's fsh."

Lizzie chuckled. Her laugh was mesmerizing and Joel could listen to it all day. She was probably sick and tired of hearing his silly jokes. They continued for a while in silence.