The Red Dragon – A Short Story

Posted bySuzette BenjaminPosted inShort Stories
Image credit; tumblr.com

In a far country on the dark side of Coombe, Queen Optera rose before dawn in her lavishly appointed chamber. She could smell the fresh air as her kingdom’s flag —a red dragon flying home to Valhalla fluttered in the breeze atop her hill.

“Are you awake my Queen?” whispered her armor-bearer, and closest ally, Invicta.

“It is time.”

Queen Optera stood in her chain mail undergarments deep in thought while her ruddy complexioned ally, Invicta readied her for battle.

The armor, made by a thousand anvil antennae over thirty years weighed more than the Queen. Its crafting began on the day she was born, to be worn on this dreaded day—a day her terrestrial colony hoped would never come. But, come it had.

Queen Optera had trained all her life to bear her armor’s weight with ease. She was ready to lead her people on the lawn of battle.

A small voice called from outside her chamber, “Are you ready, my Queen? Permission to enter?” asked Antimony, the Queen’s Captain At Arms and Wing Commander.

“Enter!” replied Optera, now in full armor, hoisting herself on her throne, its shield—a replica of her kingdom’s red dragon.

“What is it, Captain?”

“They are already here! Advance scouts have reported that from the thunder of their hooves, the marauders appear to be less than one hour away from our position. What are your orders?”

“I thought we had more time!”

“Yes, my Queen. So did I.”

“How soon until our allies join us?”

“Three hours, my Queen. They are traveling on foot.”

“They will not get here in time. We have no choice but to make our stand on the hill.”

“Assemble all the Captains and Wing Commanders, immediately. I wish to speak with them.”

“Yes, my Queen.”

As the Captains and Wing Commanders encircled her throne, The Queen stood. She spoke—uttering the greatest speech of her life:

“My fellow warriors, the enemy is advancing fast. We shall thwart them with our stings. Clog their chariots’ wheels with packed earth from our hill. We shall shower them with its dust, and stall their engines. Those marauding lawnmowers will not destroy this anthill. And, by your valiant efforts today, our cherished home will live on in the annals of anthill history forever! Assemble your legions. Onwards, to victory!”

***The End***

Published by Suzette Benjamin

Positive thinker, inspirational, writer, faith

49 thoughts on “The Red Dragon – A Short Story”

  5. Oh my lord…what a build up to battle
    How wonderfully you entered the mind of the Queen and her army
    Oh goodness what shall i do about my lawnmower now…
    I can’t do without him.
    Coombe Queen Optera Valhalla Invicta Antimony
    Fantastic names and characters.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. So delighted that you enjoyed the suspense. Thank you for your support.
      Re your lawnmower- perhaps avoid any anthills, if you can😊

      The names are of course “ant” related:
      *Optera is short for the scientific family name for ants…Hymenoptera.

      *Coombe is the location of one of the largest ant hills in the world.

      *Invicta is the scientific name of the tiny red ant family (Solenopsis invicta)

      *Antimony has nothing to do with ants as far as its meaning…but it sounds like it does…hehehe 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Lol, well i should heed your word then.

        Oh yay!!!…that’s craft for you. Through research we got a great anthill story and it wouldn’t be complete without Antimony 😉

        Sweet Red Dragon story. Loved it.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. I love that the Queen was being readied into battle. Strong women performing typical “man” roles, yes, please!!
    I did question the chain mail’s heaviness, since it weighed more than her. However, made perfect sense at the reveal.
    Super awesome!

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: