The General of the Shatoo army stood a hundred meters in front of his troops, demonstrating that he was not only in command, but that he was an extraordinarily brave and fierce warrior. He would face the enemy first, even if it meant he’d be the first to die. However, he did not expect to die at all, for his incredible strength was equally matched with his pride, and there was no way under the heavens that he would fall in this encounter.
The General wore a leather jacket of sorts, that didn’t manage to keep the bulk of his muscles covered. In fact, his skin was darker than the leather, and the deep ripples in his chest and abdomen as he hefted his sword drew so much attention that you forget he was wearing anything at all. His arms were equally chiseled like the limbs seen only on huge, marble statues. Of course, this perfect warrior was topped off with long, thick black hair that half hung down his back, and half fell over the front of his massive shoulders.
“I am here with two thousand of the strongest warriors of Shatoo, and we will defeat you, once and for all!” the General shouted as introduction. “We have traveled far, and our journey will not have been in vain, for as sure as I’m standing here, your reign of terror has come to an end!”
The enemy to whom the General was shouting sat quietly in the grass of the battlefield, picking small white clover blooms and poking them into the frizzy curls of her brown hair. She was attempting to hum a lullaby that she vaguely remembered from her infancy. Behind her there was only more grass, and more clovers, and a meandering butterfly or two.
She stopped humming long enough to grumble, “You sure know how to ruin a perfectly lovely morning.”
“I promise you, this morning is the last you’ll ever see, as lovely as it may be!” And with that, the General raised his oversized sword high above his head and screamed, “For the good of all the land, you will now be vanquished!”
“Hey, that’s gross! You’re spitting all over me,” the little girl snapped as she dropped a little, white flower to brush off her arm. “Not a cloud in the sky, and it’s practically raining here.”
“For all of Shatoo! Yiiiiaaaah!” The huge man screamed up to the sky, each muscle in his body flexed to maximum size, with veins practically popping from his forehead. Then, as he was about to swing his massive sword, a dragonfly buzzed from the sky right into the man’s mouth. The terrible battle-cry turned into a loud gagging sound and the man released his sword to grab at his throat in surprise. The large blade swung around as it tumbled until the sharp tip embedded itself through the General’s sandaled foot into the ground. He tried to shout in pain, but was still choking on the large insect lodged in his throat.
“Oh! Yuck! What a mess! You better take care of that,” the little girl exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, covering her eyes with her delicate fingers. She turned and jogged away from the man who finally coughed out the dragonfly as he fell onto his backside.
He didn’t pursue her as she left. Instead he cried, “Why? Why do you torture us so? You’ll pay for this! You can’t always win!” He yanked the sword from his foot with a grunt, stood, and turned around to face the long rows of armed men behind him. He shouted as loudly as he could muster, “Charge!”
Maybe we should back up and look at the strange events that lead to this scene. Why would the wrath of Shatoo’s army be focused on this charming little girl who’s name is Gracie? Another even odder question, yet just as important, is why she was thus saved by her older brother who was not only willing, but able to fly into the General’s mouth as a dragonfly? Hayden not only intended to shut the man up-- certainly not a pleasant thing to do as the man was not only loud, but had horrible breath-- but he’d truly feared that the massive sword would find its way into his sister. There was little Hayden wouldn’t do for his sister, even cramming himself into the worst of mouths. After all, since their adventure had begun, they had grown more and more dependent on one another.