A Short Story

The kingdom was in chaos. The Left Army had invaded the kingdom and there was no option but to attack. The soldiers of the kingdom prepared themselves for war. They put on their armor and bid their loved ones goodbye with the hope that they would see them again. The kingdom was gloomy with tears in the eyes of the women and children. A blanket of dark grey clouds spread over the sky almost as if they knew the fate of the kingdom. 

The Prince was frantically pacing back and forth in front of The Queen. The Queen was distressed too. A war only meant death and destruction for the kingdom. They had avoided wars at all cost but The Left Army, with its need for dominance, had rejected their requests to maintain peace. They had asked the Queen to either surrender or face them on the battle ground. The Queen rejected their proposal to surrender. One must only surrender to the inevitable. 

“We are no match to The Left Army. Their soldiers have been on their feet for 90 days and they still have challenged us for a war. You should’ve surrendered.” said the Prince.

“You never surrender to your enemies! You either fight or perish.” shouted the Queen.

“What about the children that will lose their fathers and women that would be widowed? Have you ever thought about them?”

“Son, I care about this kingdom more than my life. I would never do anything that I haven’t thought through. I have a plan.”

. . .

The Leader of The Left Army was satisfied. The Queen was given several chances to surrender but she wanted to put up a fight, so be it. As if she had a chance against them? He smiled at the thought of her defeat.

He got out of his tent and went towards the kitchen. A spicy delicacy made of rice and vegetables was being prepared. One of the cooks came forward and saluted the Leader and went on to tell him that they are running out of ration. They have food only to last two days. 

The Leader thought about it and then ordered the cook to look out for food supplies in the region outside the kingdom. The cook, with four soldiers, left the camp and went off in search of food. They rode off on their horses to the neighbouring kingdom which they had already captured and requested to meet the King. 

The King welcomed them in his court with a smile. 

“The Left Army needs ration. The Leader has ordered to send whatever produce that has grown.”

“But sir, we have a problem”

The King took the five men to the warehouse and ushered them inside. The sight astonished them. Bags of wheat, rice and pulses were soaked in water and a putrid smell hung over the warehouse.

“The river flooded and entered the village. The water seeped into the warehouse and all grains and pulses were destroyed!” exclaimed the King.

Disheartened, the five men headed to the next village which they reached the next day. They requested to meet the head of the village and ordered him to provide them with food supplies.

“Sir, we are a small village spanning only five kilometers. We don’t grow our own crops because the land here is infertile. But we do have two bags of fruits that we plucked.” said the head of the village.

“What will an entire army do with only two bags of fruits? We have a war to win. Will we win a war by eating apples and grapes, you dumb moron?” replied one of the soldiers angrily.

. . .

A servant came with a letter and handed it to The Queen. The Queen opened it and read it aloud for The Prince to hear it.

“My Majesty,

I did as you told me. The men of The Left Army came to me in search of ration and I showed them the spoilt grains that you sent to me. They have headed towards the North but I doubt they will find anything there. 

I am always with you and your Kingdom to defeat The Left Army but I also have my own selfish reasons. They disrupted the lives of my people and I want revenge.

I will forever be in your service if you help me get my kingdom back.

Thank you”

“Men can last without food for days. Besides, what if they wage a war today? They will finish off our army in no time,” replied The Princ

. . .

Huge vessels painted in white stood near the kitchen. The vessels were filled with fresh water to the brim. After the day’s exercise, some soldiers stood in line to drink water. They headed towards their tents after quenching their thirst. After a while, they started complaining about an aching stomach and they all started to puke. Their skins became pale and they fell unconscious.

The other soldiers were perplexed. The Leader inspected the situation and thought about it. It had to be something in what they ate. But they all had eaten the same delicacy of rice so why had only some soldiers fallen sick? He immediately knew the answer.

The five men returned to the camp and told the leader about their failure to find food. He dismissed them and thought about it.

“It’s strange. First we don’t find food and now the water is adulterated. I think this is some strategy to weaken us. The Queen thinks she is so smart? I’ll show her the cost of messing with me.” he thought. 

. . .

A man knocked on the door and The Queen called him inside.

“The soldiers have fallen sick. I have adulterated the vessels of water. It was their only source of water as I checked the whole camp and found no other vessels.”

“Good job. I am sure The Leader will have come to know about it.”

“Yes Queen. He figured out that the water was adulterated so I escaped from there before anyone noticed me.”

. . .

The Leader announced to the Army that they were going to attack The Kingdom the next day. He said that they are not going to wait for The Kingdom to be prepared. He instructed the soldiers to not exhaust themselves by exercising and not to drink water. That day, their dinner consisted of lettuce, watermelons and cucumber. 

. . .

A servant went about the palace looking for The Queen. He found her in the arsenal, weighing the swords in her hands and testing their sharpness. 

“Your Majesty, I think you should take a look outside”

The Queen went towards the window. A black flag was raised high up in the sky instead of a red one. It meant that they were coming, finally. She had waited for this moment. She fetched for The Prince.

“Are they all in place?” she asked.

“Yes, they are prepared and ready for the war.”

The next day, The Kingdom raised their black flag. The Leader shouted, “Attack” and The Left Army ran forward, some on their horses and the others on foot with their sharpened swords and shining shields.

But the sight in front of them made them stop in their tracks and left their mouths hanging. Dust flew in the air, barely anything visible. The earth shook and the cries sent a chill down the spine of the soldiers of The Left Army.

On the frontline of The Kingdom’s army were huge, wild elephants that ran towards The Left Army as if possessed. Their trunks could flunk a man and break his spine. Their legs could squish them like a banana in no time. Their cries were a warning that no one would be spared. 

The Left Army wasn’t prepared for this. They had thought The Kingdom to be weak but they had underestimated The Queen. The war had to stop or else The Left Army would squish to death. 

The Leader mounted on his horse and frantically raised the white flag. He didn’t even know if The Queen could see the flag because of the dust but he was desperate. At last, the elephants slowed down and a beautiful white stallion appeared. On it was The Queen, dressed in white like an angel. Her red hair fluttered in the air like feathers of a phoenix. She wore a helmet that only revealed her honey brown eyes and she held a sword in her hand that glistened in the sun. 

“The Left Army always chose violence. It disrupted lives, families and whole kingdoms to satisfy their hunger for dominance. But the day you challenged me and stepped foot in my territory, I decided to teach you a lesson. You thought we didn’t have resources? That you outnumbered us? I was just buying time to get these beasts ready,” said The Queen.

” I accept my defeat against your Kingdom. These beasts made me realise one thing. Life does not go according to your plans. It is full of surprises,” spoke The Leader and smiled.