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Katarina's Calling
By James
Imperial Palace of Mongo — 2:32 pm
She had seen it coming. Literally. The vision appeared right in front of her eyes, in a little cloud only she could view.
In fantasy books, and old folk tales, people saw the future in crystal balls, mystical spheres that responded to touch.
Katarina scoffed when she thought about that. It wasn't so simple in reality — not for a seer who bore the 'gift.' Sometimes, it actually felt like a curse.
She always got a twitch before a vision arrived. A soft one meant something good would be shown. But a harder pull was a sign of bad news.
Viewing the visions was optional. She could decide if she wanted to watch. She never had to see any visions at all, save for the ones that occurred in her sleep. The twitches would fade if she left them be.
Whenever she felt a strong twitch, however, she knew that ignoring it was dangerous. What if the grim future was preventable?
By viewing a catastrophe before it occurred, she could help people. She could save lives.
And she could lead her rebels to victory.
The time had come for her to do just that. A six-year war was about to conclude. They'd taken the palace from her father Ming.
Ming had declared he would take it back.
He and his army were coming here. He'd amassed hundreds of followers.
But Kat was ready. She was prepared. She and her forces were set to defend.
She eased down on the imperial throne, resting her arms along those of the chair. She noticed her reflection in a nearby pane, eyeing her dress and the sparkling crown. She wasn't the ruler of Mongo yet — merely a princess, one of four, all of whom were vying to rule the world. So was her brother, Prince Krotan.
Should she succeed in defeating Ming — who'd lost the support of their commoners — she'd likely be chosen as Mongo's queen. Kat was the interim ruler now, but she could rule for real if she won this fight.
Was she prepared for that kind of duty? Was she equipped to be queen of all?
She'd asked those questions ever since she was 12, when she'd sensed that changes were necessary. After running off to the fields one day, she had met a boy named Calaban, a commoner who'd gone out to sulk by himself. His family couldn't pay the high village tax, which meant that his mother would be given to Ming — a tool he could use for his sexual thrills.
Calaban was set to be Ming's as well, an underage soldier in the Emperor's force, raised to serve Ming as he conquered worlds.
Other families faced the same cruel law, along with even harsher injustices.
When Kat had demanded these practices end, her father refused. She'd left after that.
But not before warning him he'd made a mistake. She would help the rebels to bring him down.
And as she'd declared, the rebels had won. It'd taken six years, but they had prevailed. Now it was time for the final clash. Now she had to stop Ming once and for all — to help her planet, and Flash's too.
"Majesty..." A guard came and knelt before her. "We still haven't managed to locate them. They've given no sign of just how they'll attack. Our men have been watching the skies for an hour."
Katarina rested a hand on her chin, shifting her gaze toward a distant wall. "They won't come by air. They're coming by sea." Her vision relayed this a moment ago. "They plan to attack while they're in disguise. They've stolen trade ships, cargo vessels. They'll try to sneak in once they're on our shores." Katarina stood. This wouldn't be pretty, but it had to be done. The future of Mongo was in her hands. "Send the air squad. Bombard those ships. I want every one of them blown away."
"Yes, Majesty." He rose and left.
Thirty minutes later, she watched the bombardment playing out on a screen. Several of her jets fired down on the ships, launching their missiles, shooting their beams. Numerous explosions ripped over the sea. Splinters flew. Fires rose. Smoke billowed up from the glittering waves.
The enemy soldiers started swimming away. They seemed to be coughing while they tried to escape. Trails of blood swirled amid the burning wood.
Katarina couldn't feel sorry for them. They'd chosen their side, and paid the price.
Then she felt a twitching. Another hard one. She welcomed the vision, answered the call.
A little cloud appeared right in front of her seat. It displayed an image of her sister Aura — being abducted by her father's troops. The sea strike hadn't kept all of them out. Some had crept onto the kingdom's grounds.
Of course, she thought. A backup plan. They were going after a hostage now. They would make their way into Aura's home, then use her to force Katarina's surrender. "Lar!" she called. The cloud disappeared.
One of her advisors came and knelt at her toes, a brown-haired boy, young for the role.
"Rise," she said. She'd told him that he didn't have to kneel every time, but Lar always chose to anyway. It struck her as odd — but kind of sweet. "Alert security at Princess Aura's house. They need to prepare for a sneak attack. Tell me as soon as you hear anything."
"Yes, Majesty!" He hurried away.
She took a deep breath, standing again. She started to pace while awaiting the news.
After several minutes, Lar returned. "Your sister is safe. They caught the intruders."
Kat let another soft huff slip out. "Thank you, Lar. I..."
She twitched. A third dark vision was calling to her.
"Princess?" he said.
She lifted a finger, squinting as she studied the mystical cloud.
Then she stiffened, and straightened herself. Her eyebrows lowered as the cloud disappeared. There was no doubting what she'd seen just now: Ming the Merciless was heading here.
Her father had snuck his way into the place. How he had done it, she didn't quite know, but he would arrive in a moment or two. Ming would attempt to assassinate her.
"Stand aside, Lar," Kat said as she moved, grasping the sword that she kept by her chair. She noted that her tone had grown colder now.
"Majesty?" he murmured.
Kat heard a grunt right outside of the room, followed by a couple of heavy thuds. It sounded like her unseen guards were down.
Lar drew a dagger, facing the doors.
Both swung open. Ming was there, carrying a blood-stained blade of his own. He stared at Kat, catching his breath.
Lar rushed Ming, who knocked him aside, downing the boy with a backhand punch.
Katarina glared. Here he was. The person she detested more than anyone else, the one spreading so much destruction and pain. Years ago, she'd wanted to believe there was light in Ming, and that he'd had a hard time showing it. But there was very little to support that theory. Ming was a tyrant who had to be stopped. That was the reason she'd joined the rebels.
Ming charged forth with a look of rage.
Katarina ducked, slicing his shin, drawing a ribbon of thick red blood.
He bellowed in pain, falling in place.
She poked her blade into his shoulder now, knowing precisely how to place it there, turning it a bit as it pierced his skin, just as the sensei had taught her to.
He wailed once more.
She pulled the sword, then stared at him. Kat had struck two of his sensitive spots. Ming couldn't stand, nor could he fight. "You're finished, Father," she uttered coldly.
A couple of her guards came and rushed in the room.
She shifted her attention onto Ming once more. "Finally, this war is over."
Two days later, Kat addressed a noble who knelt at her throne. She relayed a vision that she'd had recently. "The village chief needs to prepare for the storm. Their crops will be ruined if they aren't protected."
"I'll tell him, Majesty." The woman stood up. "And congratulations on becoming our queen."
Everyone was saying that a little too soon. "I'm not queen yet."
"You will be, though." She nodded and left.
Katarina squirmed. She was excited. Given her heroics in subduing Ming, she could be promoted to ruler today, rather than waiting for the formal election. Instead of competing with her sisters and brother, she could be given the throne right now. It would come down to what the people decided.
Queen Katarina. It had a nice ring.
The captain of the guards turned to Kat with a smile, his gold armor shining underneath black bangs. She sensed she was blushing as she watched him grin. "You're doing so much for our people," he uttered. There was a clear note of pride in his voice. "They would be nuts not to choose you as queen."
She licked her lips. "Thanks, Calaban."
"Listen..." he muttered, looking aside, making that little shy face that she liked. "I wish that I'd been here...when Ming attacked."
He had been visiting his mother and father. Kat shook her head. "No need to feel sorry. I handled that."
Kat's handmaiden stepped into the room, a girl who'd become a close friend as well. "My apologies. I've news to report." Lyn frowned a tad. "I'm afraid you remain our interim ruler. The people have decided that you won't be promoted — not unless you win the upcoming election."
Calaban glared. "That makes no sense!"
"Easy," Kat uttered, touching his arm.
"She does so much for our land and world!" Calaban continued. "There isn't any need for there to be an election. No one can lead us like Princess Kat."
"I agree, Cal," Lyn declared. "But it's not up to me." She bowed to Kat, then stepped outside.
Calaban sighed, touching his hips. "It doesn't make sense." He turned her way. "You are Mongo."
Katarina smiled. "Thank you, Cal." She shrugged a bit. "My siblings are qualified to lead us too. I guess we'll just see how it all plays out." She reached forth and held both his hands in hers. "In the meantime, I'll have other issues that I'll need to resolve, maybe other enemies I'll have to subdue..." She smiled again. "And I'll want you here when those challenges come."
Calaban paused, then grinned at her. "Yes, Majesty. I'll be right here."
Katarina nodded. Don't blush, girl.
Moments later, she faced the pane and eyed the kingdom with pride.
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