Z12

Defenders of the Earth: This Is Their Story

By Marzena

Plot: Season 3, Episode 6

Chapter 12: Death of a Princess

The icy corridors of the royal palace in Mongo weren't exactly the most comfy place to be, especially not down here in the lower levels, where the lack of wall decorations and furniture clearly showed that nobody really lived around here. The servants quarters were just around the corner, but Ming didn't care much about them, and every place in the place that wasn't frequently visited by his guests or used by him and his family was pretty much just cold and abandoned. Ming had never been much into decoration and style. He was more into power and world domination.

Her royal gown sizzled as she made her way further down the icy, barely lit corridors, her blonde hair piled up on top of her head in an heavy arrangement which surely would lead to an headache later. If she'd live that long, that is.

Finding the right spot, she paused, seemingly studying an old forgotten statue in the dusty corner. Then, suddenly, she turned.

"You can show yourself now, Krotan."

Stepping out of the shadows, her younger brother didn't even bother to hide that he'd been following her. He walked towards her with the confidence of someone who'd win anyway, and she didn't feel like putting an end to this. She'd reached the point where she'd no options anyway. So whatever Krotan wanted to do, she'd go along with it. There was no future for her, neither here on Mongo, nor down on Earth.

"You knew I've been following you", he stated correctly, obviously somewhat disappointed. He hated it when someone stole his glorious moments away from him.

"I did", she agreed. "In fact, I've led you here."

Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows. "Well, I've been wondering whatever you'd want down here."

"Father asked you to do this, didn't he?" she asked, pushing back a strand of blonde hair out of her face.

"Do what?"

"Whatever you're following me for. Maybe spying on me. But my guess is, you're send to finalize something. Aren't you?"

She sounded tired. He'd tried to kill her once, back then, when she'd been a prisoner of the Defenders, locked up in a cell at Monitor. Back then, the Phantom had saved her. This time, nobody would save her. And truth be told, she wasn't sure she wanted to be saved. It was tiring having to prove yourself to the same people over and over and over. Maybe it just wasn't worth the trouble.

"Yes ... he ordered me to kill you," Krotan reluctantly admitted.

"Hmmmh. Thought so."

He stared at her. "Doesn't that bother you at all? Hey, I'm all ready for another fight. Although there's nothing much to throw about down here."

"No, I don't want to fight. I'm tired of fighting. And I'm tired of proving myself. I tried to show the Defenders that I'm worthy of their trust, that I'm able to put my past and my family behind me. It didn't matter. In the end, I was still 'that bloody traitor'. Or just 'that bitch'. I came back here because I thought maybe everyone is right, maybe my true place in life is here with my father and my siblings. But playing the dutiful princess day by day didn't help either. In fact, the more I played nice, the more suspicious father got. So what's the point, Krotan? I belong neither here nor there."

"You're giving up?"

He almost sounded disappointed. Of course he was. That wasn't a glorious moment for him, either. He wouldn't defeat the traitorous sister in a battle for life or death in honor of the Royal Family of Mongo. The princess already had been defeated by her own decisions. Krotan just had to deliver the final blow.

"I'm giving up," she stated, loosening the seal ring with the royal insignia of Mongo from her finger and holding it up for Krotan to see. "I'm sure father will want this back."

"This is a trick! You'd never ..."

"Will you just get on with it?"

"He ordered me to kill you, Sheila. You cannot return from death."

"Last time, you didn't try to talk to me. You were to busy trying to actually follow your orders."

"Last time, you'd betrayed us. And I was pissed. And you kept fighting back, which pissed me off all the more. This time ... I don't know. I've been watching you. You didn't do anything except being the perfect daughter. I get where father's distrust comes from, but ..."

"You wouldn't have killed me back then, you know," she said, smiling. "You thought you were, and you did injure me quite a bit. But even if the Phantom hadn't put a stop to it, I doubt you would have been able to kill me."

"Unfortunately, you're my sister. And although I don't particularly like you, it better be you at father's side than Castra."

She stared at him, and he shrugged.

"He wants to put Castra in your place."

"He can't do that!" she exclaimed, thinking of her youngest sister, so young, so innocent, still a baby in her eyes. He wouldn't dare to put such a young and pure girl like Castra in that position! Aura, yes, Aura could handle anything anyone dared to throw at her. But Castra, having lived a sheltered life in the palace – no way!

"He will, Sheila."

"Over my dead body!" she said through gritted teeth. Suddenly, death wasn't an option anymore. There was something worth fighting for again – Castra, her younger sister!

"Exactly," Krotan smirked. Then he turned serious again. "Sheila, if I don't kill you, he'll just send someone else. Now, obviously, we've already tried that. Back then, the Phantom got in the way. I guess today, it's Castra I'm trying to protect. If he puts her in your place, he'll break her."

"You're not helping, Krotan." Pacing along the wall, she nervously played with her hair. "I can't protect Castra. Father will just send another assassin after me."

"Not if he thinks you're really dead," Krotan suggested. "Look, I've got some people working for me. We could deceive father, making him believe you're dead. I'll try to suggest Aura as your replacement, but if that doesn't work, both Aura and I will protect Castra."

A natural reaction, she thought. Castra had always been the link between them, the one thing to keep them all together. They fought and disagreed a lot with each other, but none of them ever had a quarrel with Castra. Castra was just too nice to quarrel with, and she loved all her siblings equally, despite their many faults and despite the bad things they'd done over the years.

"Fine. Protecting Castra is priority number one. And I will …"

He cut her off. "Don't tell me. I don't want to know, and I can't know. Wherever you go, you're not to return here. Ever. If this goes wrong, we're all doomed."

She wanted to say something, but he grabbed the seal ring from her, closing his long green fingers around it. "I'll give this to father as a proof. If he wants to see your body, one of my friends might be able to use a magic trick. But let's hope it won't come to that."

"Krotan ..."

"Have a nice life, traitor," he interrupted, then turned and walked back the way he came without a second glance.

She let five minutes pass, then she went over to the dusty old statue. Another five minutes later, the statue moved and Barin stepped out, giving her a dubious glance.

"Were you able to deceive him, Your Highness?"

"I think so. I'm officially dead now and he'll protect Castra. If he knows about my affiliation with the rebels, he didn't mention it."

"Let's hope he really can make the emperor believe you're dead. If Ming will come looking for you, there won't be a corner of this planet that his troops won't tear apart. They will discover us then. It's a big risk we're taking here."

Barin looked worried, and she walked over to him and shook her head.

"It was you who suggested this in the first place, Barin. And now it's a done deal. Besides, I know my dear brother. He can be a scheming, manipulative brat. If anyone will be able to deceive my father, it will be him."

"I can only trust your judgment, Your Highness," Barin nodded.

"It's just Sheila now," she answered, smiling. "I've just buried the princess part with my seal ring. Anyway, there's work to do, isn't there?"

"There is indeed."

Both of them disappeared into the secret passageway behind the statue, and only seconds later the floor was as cold, dark and empty as it had been before.

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Article

Author

Chapters

1: Death

April and the other Gordons face a tragedy.

2: Beautiful

Mandrake is reunited with a romantic interest.

3: Peace and Quiet

Flash is thrown into an unexpected struggle.

4: Nightfall

Sheila and Flash continue to bond.