The Black Queen

(Pages added from the Royal Archive of the Black Kingdom)

I remember when I got the call, it was the call no mother should have to get. "My Queen, the Prince... has been kidnapped." my heart broke. My mind went blank. Thoughts about how we got to this terrible point in our time, race through my mind and what I will do to anyone who hurts my son.

War spreads from the Wastelands, to the Pangean Continent, to my own lands in the Black Kingdom, I knew there would be countless casualties. That is why I align myself with the Cross Kingdom, why I maintained a strong voice in the United Kingdom Federation, and why I hired Poncho Del Tako and his Tako Bandits. A ruthless band of killers from the Kadesh Stronghold by the Island Nation of Thar to help.

I tried to end the war fast before hatred of the beasts could spread to world wide racism and hate. However, the more we fought the stronger Apollyon became and the harder he attacked my kingdom.

My kingdom held the greatest threat to his power, for you see Apollyon only ruled Dark City because his twin brother, the other heir, was not present to wrestle control from him. As long as Haptism was alive he was a constant threat to Apollyon's rule and the people of the Wastes held out hope for the true King to take the Seat of Power, one raised outside the Hellstorm Family. A family that worships selfishness and power.

Thirteen years ago, I found out that Dark City had built a colony hidden in the Mountain Territory before it was lost to the Originals, at the time the former Beast King Ur tried to lay claim to the Farmlands and cut into my kingdom's profits. The food we send out goes to our allies and most of the world.

When my Praetorian Guard did a surprise raid we killed everyone and burned the place down to the ground to show all the world we will not suffer illegal aliens and unwelcomed outside forces in our lands.

I was in one of the buildings when I was about to exit. I walked over the dirty and stained rug and I heard a creak. I found a hidden staircase under a carpet rug, there I found a woman's ash covered by the flames of the burning building. I did not have long before I would become a victim of my own plan.

To her I must have looked like a devil with my long midnight blue hair that covered all but my nose and mouth area of my face, pale skin, at the time I wore a skin tight black tank top, a black leather jacket, black pants with my knee high gothic boots. I wore a matte black studded belt and just below another belt, called a sword belt that allowed me to wear my sword and its scabbard sideways across my lower back and hip area so I can easily just reach around with my right hand and unsheathe it quickly.

I was covered in the blood of my victims, hence my age old nickname bloody Id. I do not remember the woman much other then she looked like a colonial peasant girl wearing a blue dress. What I do remember was seeing that young boy passed out in her arms. He was in dirty black rags and his curly wavy hair was messy and all over the place. I started to cough and so did the woman, she looked up at me pleading, not for her life but for his.

"Please my lady do what you will but spare this boy, he must live." she coughed. I pointed my short sword at her throat.

"Why? You are unwanted in my land."

"He is King Ur's twin son." She replied coughing more. When I heard that I lowered

my sword looking at her curiously. The flames spread. We did not have much time and I had to make a choice.

Ur Hellstorm was a truly evil king and in those days no one ventured into The Wastes and those who did brought word of a barbaric heathen nation full of dark and perverse customs and traditions. Now this woman stood before me with the King's son in rags.

This was a dangerous political situation, one I needed more information before I made my choice. Every fiber in my being told me to let them burn but I looked at this boy and I knew the burden of being a royal with a sibling rivalry, and the pain of being in someone else's shadow.

"Is he the younger or older twin?" she stared at me pleading knowing her time was short so

she confessed.

"He is Haptism Hellstorm, the younger twin; his brother Apollyon Hellstorm is older. He tried to devour Haptism in the womb and on the night they were born. Apollyon tore through their Mother's stomach and killed her. Haptism barely survived the trauma."

I made a choice. I sheathed my sword and grabbed the unconscious boy in my arms. I looked at the woman. She bowed almost crying saying thank you but I did not care. I kicked her in the face rendering her unconscious. I went up the stairs and out the burning building.

My men came to me as I handed the boy off to one of my men. We got away from the house as it went up in flames. I glanced back at the burning house. There was still time as one of my men approached me.

"Any other survivors in there my lady that you wish us to save?" I stared at the flames as they consumed the house and I looked back.

"No, get the boy back to OUR holding facility and not a word of the boy reaches Alexander or his men, it's bad enough we are at civil unrest fighting for the throne of our late father." he nods. The medical specialist approaches as they put the boy on the gurney and tend to his wounds.