(12)

It was late into the night when I arrived to the gates. I was so dead when I arrived back to Tetop, and could barely speak of the events I witnessed. When I did, though, I immediately told what I had gotten a preview to—-a dangerous, lethal force that was brooding like one of the Great Strikes that the West Wizards would use on their most deplorable subjects. There was really only one thing to do: prepare! And, well, train! So, make that two things. Queen Gabriella was not surprised at all by the news, but the peace-loving Twin Royals were. They had not realized what they had signed up for, but still, with them, they would not send us away on a death march.

We all convened around a large square table, and the room was lit by the invading moonlight. Maps were thrown atop the wooden surface, and Mact paced the floor, no doubt strategizing the perfect attack. It was almost like one of those ancient stories of horror that the ancestors would tell beside a nighttime flame. They all stared at me as I stuttered out all I had known. Gabriella noticeably gulped, and you could see her eyes were certainly apologetic as she glanced about the room, realizing that some of the smiling faces would never make it back home.

Just as I spit out the last of the details, Laurp burst in the door, quickly hissing “Myspace, Facebook, Myspace, Facebook, Twitttterrrrrrr!” And the last word “Twitter” was belted out with a demonic deepness that only the Evil Stars could muster. We all took in the outburst with mirroring expressions: What the Fuck?! She dismissed herself with a quick bow. The eruption made us all laugh, and in that moment, laughter is what we needed most. In a matter of hours, when the morning sun began her shift, we would ready the Tetop forces and ride to our glory.