Miranda's Adventure Ch. 25

-Chapter 25-
The Real Story

Queen Isabella began to celebrate, as she heard a loud knock on the door.
"Enter, Magna!" She called, "You have served me well, General. Now comes the time we take over Argos once and for all!"
The doors open, revealing Miranda and her friends.
"Guess again, Isabella!" Miranda called.
"NO! This can't be!" Isabella screamed.
Meiko stood in disbelief, "So much for Magna being victorious."
"Oh, I believe Magna told us well," Erika said, "In fact, she sang like a canary."
Isabella stood up from her throne, and said, "So, at last we meet!"
"You're Queen Isabella, are you not?" Miranda asked.
"Yes, I am," Isabella answered, "You have defeated Magna, and now you've come to destroy me, right?"
"No, there's more than that," Erika said, "We know exactly what you did, and we don't like it one bit."
"You cannot stop me, you little wretches!" Isabella cried.
"Then explain why Magna told you about a, what was it, Master Plan'?" Erika asked.
Isabella stood puzzled, as Meiko was nervous a bit.
Isabella then asked the girls, "What are you saying? I don't know any 'Master Plan' you speak of."
Miranda then said, "Oh, yes you do. Please tell us all about it… Meiko!"
Meiko stood in shock, as Isabella stepped closer to her.
"Meiko, daughter, explain yourself!" Isabella asked her, "What are they talking about?"
"Mother, I…" Meiko said nervously.
"Don't play dumb, Meiko!" Miranda said, "We knew you planned this from the start!"
"LIAR!" Meiko shouted.
Miranda said, "Oh, really?"
"You! Who are you?" Isabella shouted.
"I am Kandy Potter! The granddaughter of Fairbanks Potter!"
"I am the Archer of Norris, Erika Avery! Daughter of Jacob Avery!"
"I am Miranda Maynard! Daughter of Hanemore, sister of Sara!"
"No way! Maynard and Avery?!" Isabella cried.
Meiko thought, "Impossible! She's a Maynard like Sara?!"
"How touching, yet delightful. I never knew Sara was your sister," Isabella said, "I can see why she was killed by Magna 10 years ago."
"She didn't kill my sister. Your daughter did!"
Isabella was in shock, seeing her own daughter responsible for many killings. Meiko stood by scared to death.
"Meiko!" Isabella shouted, "I specifically said not to interfere in my business!"
"Mother, you don't understand!!!" Meiko cried, "There just messing with you!"
"Messing with me... what dare you say that?"
"It's obvious that they are lying!"
"I'm not lying! Magna told me all about it!" Miranda said.
"Magna?" Meiko gulped, "I don't know any Magna..."
"Oh, yes you did!" Isabella said, "Didn't you sent her to do the killing of Sara Maynard?"
Meiko stammered, "Uh... well... I, uh, it's... well..."
"Magna, you short stuffed idiot!" She thought.
"Tell the truth," Isabella proclaimed, "Or you will suffer your fate by me."
Kandy then said, "I hope Isabella might ground her."
"I'm afraid it's much worse," Erika said.
"Mother… I can explain!"
"Explain nothing! You've deceived me for the last time! I have had it with you! Until you tell me the truth, it is the dungeon for you!"
Meiko then sneered at Isabella, "And then what? You gonna banish me to the 'Realm of No Return'?"
Just then, a stab was from inside Isabella's body.
Meiko grinned and said, "Right on schedule."
Isabella grabbed her heart and said in a weak voice, "What's happening to me?"
"Foolish mother," she said, "What are you gonna do now?"
"How did you…" Isabella cried, "WAIT! The Drink! You poisoned the goblet! OF COURSE!!!"
Isabella fell down to the ground, as Meiko stepped towards her fallen mother.
"Sorry, mother. Your reign has ended already," she said, "And do you know what the worst part is? I get to take over Argos, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."
Isabella let out a yell, "You… TRAITOR!!!"
Miranda & her friends were shocked.
Isabella's body was reduced to a skeletal remain. Meiko laughed so evilly, she threw the skeleton body of her own mother to the throne.
"Mother, rest in peace," she said, "And as your final wish, I will do away with these 3 interloping urchins."
Miranda was so frightened by the way Meiko killed Isabella, she asked, "How could you? How could you do this to her?"
"Why?" she answered, "Because Mother forbids it! She always tells me not to be a killer. She always told to stay home and help map out a plan of attack for Argos! She wanted to take over Argos, and not me! It makes me sick! When she died, I was all alone; and it was Jacob Avery's fault! Now this Isabella is not worthy of my clone!"
"Clone?!" All 3 of them cried.
"Yes!" Meiko replied, "She was a mere puppet to me."
She stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs, "I AM QUEEN ISABELLA!"
Erika then said, "No way! You can't be her!"
Meiko then said, "It's true. When mom died, I had to be happy again. So I created a copy of my mother. All I needed was the right ingredients to bring her back, but it was missing one important item: My blood! Ever heard of the quote, 'Own flesh and blood'?"
Miranda said, "Now that you mention it... no."
Meiko continued, "When my clone was produced, it was all a mere husk. So, I used the Ring of Pharos to give her Eternal Life. But in the end, my Mother, NO, my clone had a mind of her own. In the process, she was like my mother again, and I was but a slave to her. But…"
"I never knew that," Miranda said, in such concern.
"But in the process," Meiko continued, "The ring gave my mother eternal life; it gave me eternal youth & beauty in the process."
"That's madness!" Erika shouted, "But I don't understand why you killed my father!"
"I killed him," Meiko replied, "Because he was a bad man. He killed my mother! So, I posed as my mother, I handed him my revenge, and killed him swiftly. And I would've finished him of, if you haven't stepped in."
"But why?" Erika asked, "Why didn't you kill me? I pleaded to you to kill me, just so you can let father live!"
Meiko answered, "I was gonna kill you, but then I remembered you were his daughter. So I decided that the best way to get to you was to let you suffer you dad's death, just like I suffered when he killed my mother! Jacob was a fool! And he took everything away from me!"
"No…" Erika said, as she collapsed on her knees.
Miranda then stepped forward and asked, "Then, how did you kill Sara?"
"I didn't know she was your sister," Meiko said, "And you wanted revenge against me?!"
"Answer me!!!" Miranda shouted.
"If you want to know why I killed her," she offered, "Then dare kill me, young heroine."
Miranda clutched her sword, and said, "You will pay, Sorceress. You still didn't answer me..."
"HAH! Fool! You & Sara would love to be together again... when you sleep side-by-side in a dirtnap!" Meiko laughed evilly.
She then socked her in the face, when caused her lip to bleed a little.
"YOU!!!" Meiko screamed, "What did I ever do to you?"
Miranda then cried, "Nothing. It's what you did to her! You killed my sister, Sara Maynard! And for that, you'll pay!"
Meiko growled a bit and said, "Oh, pooh... You ruined my mascara with that round fist... You must be that strong."
She then glowed a powerful dark aura, "But not as strong as me!!!"
Erika stepped towards Miranda and said, "Please, Miranda! Let me battle her alone! She killed my father, all because he killed her mother! And the way I see it, darkness runs in the family."
Miranda smiled, but refused, "No way! If you fight alone, you'll die. We take her out… as a team!"
Erika nodded and asked, "Why do you always be so serious about it?"
Miranda answered, "That's because I'm a Maynard! And you are an Avery! We come from a powerful family bloodline of warriors! And we never give up to creeps like her!"
Kandy then added, "And we are all friends. We always stick together no matter what danger we're in."
Meiko acted disgusted and asked, "Is your pity party over already? I grow bored."
The girls prepared their stance, as Meiko started to jump down from the throne stand.
"This time, you will pay for the innocent lives you've killed!" Miranda shouted, "And also, taking revenge for your own sick deeds!"
Meiko then said, "Ooh, I'm so scared."
Miranda shouted, "I will stop you if I HAVE TO, YOU MURDERING MONSTER!!!"

To be continued...