Chapter 10.

Still standing in front of the invisible wall, Annabella took a deep breath, caressed her sword, and regained her might. She was ready to head towards the blue castle. She walked in that direction with a steady and firm disposition. Along the way, she witnessed horrific scenes of workers performing forced manual and outdoor work in the freezing cold with limited clothing under the orders of mongrols, mongrols screaming words of hatred into the ears of passbyers, military soldiers polluting what should have been a beautiful sky with huge bombs, uncivilized people threatening birds and squirrels with their bows and arrows, and more. The old Annabella would have trembled in fear, but the improved Annabella held her brave composure.

Eventually, Annabella had made her way to the front entrance of the castle. Two militant dressed mongrols guarded the large bronze doors. They briefly placed at Annabella, and then looked back into the middle of nowhere. Their eyes were empty and blank. Annabella directly spoke to them, “I am Annabella, a royal sovereign from a neighboring land. I am here to see King Henry.” The mongrols glanced back at Annabella, checking her embroidered lavish garments and seeing the beautiful soul in her eyes. They stared at her for quite a while, until they finally budged. They slowly and dramatically opened the doors. Annabella kept her bold disposition, and walked forward.

A manly-beast with a raw beard, thick wolf-like claws, and husky fur lounged comfortably on his throne as he screamed orders with his foul breath to mongrols dressed like poor servants. They served him countless plates of expensive, fine meals. He yanked a huge gravy turkey leg from one of the plates, and chowed down on the meat and spit out the bones on the floor. They servants cleaned the floor with their bare hand. They fastened the buttons on his embroidered royal suit jacket over, and over, and over again, as his stomach grew larger, and larger, and larger. They stacked rows of beautiful, lavish garments around him. They piled mounds of sparkling gold coins under his musty feet. Nothing seemed to satisfy his greedy and overindulgent tastes. For the first time, Annabella had seen her father for the Cruel, hateful, and inconsiderate beast he was. It had finally been confirmed that he really was heartless.

Annabella walked closer, approached the front of King Henry, and looked him in the face. She saw his evil eyes. 

“Who are you?” the king firmly and aggressively spoke. Why are you here? And what do you want?

Annabella replied, “My name is Annabella. I am a royal sovereign from a neighboring land. I am here to see King Henry, and make thing right for my land and your land.”

“That's doesn't tell me anything!,” King Henry growled in anger and frustration.

“What is your last name?”

Annabella replied, “My name is Princess Annabella Doloreese Pomper the First. I am the daughter of Queen Tracy Daniela Pomper and King Henry Yuletide Pomper the 17th. I am here to reclaim what belongs to our people, our community, my mother, and myself, the kingdom of Destiny Nation and all town's under its rein, including the Eastern Region and Rose Village.

King Henry sat up straight and growled, “You will not stand here and waste my time.”

“Look, beast. I know you threw Mother and I out, before I was even born, but I won't live another day of hatred. I refuse to allow my people and I to starve of hunger one more day. I refuse to allow my people and I to dress in torn rags. I refuse to allow my people and I to roam the streets penniless. Life is meant to be better than this. Life is meant to be enriching and fulfilling.” A tear fell down Annabella's face, as she continued speaking, “...and I refuse to allow myself to run away from monsters like you, ever again.”

“Only cowards do a lot of yapping,” King Henry replied. “If you were really smart, then you would have not come her,” he spoke as he used his fingers to signal for a group of militant mongrols to approach Annabella. King Henry speaks again, “remove her from premises, forever.”

Annabella puffed out her chest and stood her ground. “No,” Annabella said. “This is my land. I am heir to the throne. It is illegal to throw away born children that rightfully belong to a kingdom. I won't hide. I won't scream. I won't leave!”

As the militant mongrols continued stomping in her direction, King Henry jumped out of his seat, banged his chest with his fists, and growled like the beast he was.

“Stop! Don't do this the hard way,” Annabella said.

King Henry continued beating on his chest and growling as he moved closed to Annabella, attempting to frighten her away.

“Stop!”

Annabella pulled out her sword, and held it firmly in place. King Henry's growl got louder. His chest banging got louder. His mongrol soldiers got closer. King Henry leaped like a dog, and clawed like a wolf towards Annabella.

“I SAID STOP!!!” She screamed, as he ran right into her sword. His fur fumed with blood, and he fell to the ground on his hind legs. He jerked and tilted back and forth, as he breathed deeply. Annabella snatched the crown from his head, placed it on her head, and calmly spoke, “You are not just a father. You are not just a beast. You are a prisoner for life.”

As Annabella said those last words, the mongrol military had finally reached her, Mother flung through the front door with the cooking pan in her hand and shouting Annabella's name, and Jack and the rally of townspeople from Rose Village broke through all entrances of the castle. Mother, Jack, and the townspeople mercilessly fought the mongrol military, until they fell to the ground screeching in pain and weeping in terror. The townspeople handcuffed the used-to-be King Henry and his mongrol military, and dragged them to their underground prison cells, where they would live for the rest of their lives.