A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(101)

“How many are there?” Sir Lampton asked Xanthous as he descended to the lawns.

“They outnumber us by a few hundred trolls,” the fairy said. “The stakes are high but it could be much worse.”

“We must signal the other half of our army to come out of hiding,” Sir Lampton said. “If they only outnumber us by trolls, we could win this battle! Not as many of my men will have to lose their lives today.”

“Lampton, we can’t,” Xanthous said. “We have to fight the Armée off with the men we have while we wait for the signal. Trust me, this is only the first battle we’ll face and if we use all our forces now, there may be no one left to fight the horrors of tomorrow.”

Sir Lampton’s face grew serious and he stepped closer to him. “How am I supposed to tell these men they’re about to die in battle while their brothers stay in hiding?”

“We may not win this battle but if we want to win the war we have to follow the plan,” Xanthous said.

Sir Lampton reluctantly nodded. “God, I hope that little girl’s plan works,” he said to himself.

“Me too, sir,” Xanthous said. “I don’t want to think about what the world will look like if we fail.”

Sir Lampton mounted his horse and rode it through the lines of Charming soldiers. “My good men,” he shouted. “The enemy has arrived in our beautiful home sooner than we expected. We may be outnumbered by soldiers and by trolls, but they can never outmatch us in heart, in courage, or in love for our country!” Lampton withdrew his sword and raised it high above his head. “Let’s be the first ones to show these monsters that the Charming Kingdom is not for sale! Let’s give them a taste of the Charming Army so they cower in fear when our brothers return from hiding to finish them off!”

The Charming soldiers all raised their swords with him. They cheered Lampton’s words even though they knew the odds of surviving this battle were against them. Like true soldiers, they turned their fear into bravery and courageously faced the oncoming threat to protect the country they loved.

“But we’re not outnumbered!” a voice called out from behind the soldiers.

Lampton and his soldiers turned toward the voice and they saw it wasn’t alone. Slowly emerging from behind the Charming Palace and from the streets surrounding the capital were hundreds and hundreds of civilians. The men and women carried pots and pans, pitchforks and hoes, rolling pins and knives, scissors and shears, mops and buckets. They were bakers and farmers, locksmiths and seamstresses, teachers and butchers, maids and butlers—and they all had come to stand proudly with the soldiers of their kingdom.

“What’s going on?” Xanthous asked the civilians.

“We’ve come to join the fight!” a farmer declared, and all the men and women of his party cheered.

“This is our home, too!” a seamstress yelled.

“We won’t let our kingdom fall into the hands of anyone else but our king and queen,” a butcher shouted.

Their enthusiasm befuddled the soldiers. In his entire military career, Sir Lampton had never seen anything like this before. The Charming citizens were perhaps more eager to fight the Armée than the soldiers were.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Lampton shouted, gesturing for them to quiet down. “We respect your intentions, but this is a matter for the Charming Army and we morally cannot ask this of you!”

A maid dramatically looked around at her crowd of servants. “Asked? Was anyone here asked to fight for this kingdom?” she said. “I don’t have to be asked—I’m here of my own accord because I want to protect my home and I’m not leaving until the Armée is gone!”

The civilians burst into a thunderous roar. Their enthusiasm was unyielding. Nothing Lampton said or did was going to convince them to leave.

Xanthous looked at Lampton and shrugged. “It won’t hurt to have more numbers,” he said.

Sir Lampton gazed around at the willing crowd. His army had almost doubled right before his eyes. It was a sight that warmed him to the center of his heart. The people he had spent his entire life loyally protecting had come to his aid. They cared about their kingdom’s prosperity as much as he did.

Lampton raised his sword to the bigger and stronger army now surrounding him. “Then let us fight these invaders together and show them what the Charming Army and the Charming Kingdom are made of!” he declared.

The soldiers of the Charming Army raised their swords, their brooms, their rakes, their hammers, their rolling pins, their knitting needles, and whatever other objects they had brought with them for battle. They cheered so loudly together the sound was heard miles away and the soldiers and trolls of the approaching Armée quivered in their boots.





CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE





THE HEALING FLAMES OF HAGETTA’S FIRE


Conner wasn’t expecting to wake up. When Lester crashed into the forest, he figured it was the end. He hoped that the Happily Ever After Assembly could win the war without them, and if they did, he hoped he and his sister would be remembered as war heroes. The last image in his head as he slowly lost consciousness was the statue they would erect in his honor. The statue was much taller and more muscular than he was in real life and the sculptor had added a cleft in his chin—it was exactly how Conner wanted to be remembered.