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Description
“Amity! Amity, dear! Are you ready yet?”
Amity struggled into her tight-fitting crimson gown, her long spotted fur giving her just as many problems as the cursed zipper. The she-leopard tried to brush a tuft of fur out of her eyes, only to have another tuft of the blasted stuff fall right back over her face. She huffed with frustration. “Where did I put that hair tie!?” Amity hissed to herself in a low voice.
From outside Amity’s door, the soft voice came again. “Amity! We’re going to be late!”
Amity stopped just as she had finally gotten her dress above her waist and took a deep breath, trying her best not to panic. “Why did I try to sneak in that battle training session just before the blasted ceremony? Ugh!”
An urgent knock came to the door, and once more the voice sounded, this time much louder as its speaker stood directly outside the room. “Amity! What is the meaning of this delay? Your sisters and I are waiting! Come out here at once!”
Amity tried to hold back a hiss of annoyance. “I’ll be right there, mother!” she called back, then went back to her struggle. The blue-eyed she-leopard was a mess, and panic was ensuing her quickly.
It was the morning of the big ceremony, where Emperor Leo of Africa would be knighting one of his most promising new soldiers, Fergus Melbourne. The air across the entire castle grounds was alight with excitement, and the sun shone down outside as if the day itself had been blessed by the Lord just for the occasion. And rightfully so, Amity found herself thinking, for the she-leopard could think of no one more deserving of such a day than that Fergus Melbourne fellow.
Fergus was a shining young man, one of the strongest leopards Amity had ever met, whom had gained both fame and popularity amongst the Empire and its people as he led the charge against several invasions that had attacked Africa and its people only one month prior, led by that dastardly young Prince of the Fiji Empire: Prince Nathaniel. On this day, the past would be put behind the entire African Empire as the young hero was knighted before his Emperor, and Amity had looked forward to this day for ages.
As it turned out, Fergus Melbourne was Amity’s brother, her elder by two years. He was by far her closest companion, though she had to admit they had drifted apart somewhat over the past few weeks because of all the chaos from the invasion. But she loved him just as much still, and owed much of herself to her brother, whom had been her inspiration and motivation to follow her dreams ever since Amity was small.
Amity actually had quite a secret: behind closed doors, the young she-leopard was actually training in the ways of combat as she aspired to be like her brother, Fergus. It was only a secret now after the young she-leopard had tried to reason her mother when she had found out all those many years ago and forbade her child from ever touching another weapon for as long as she may live, for it was unladylike for a daughter of such a highly respected family. Now, at the age of nineteen, Amity had grown to become one of the greatest female warriors she knew of, though not a soul other than Fergus knew of it. She was highly skilled in the ways of both archery and swordplay, and had mastered the art of karate, which had also become one of her deadliest weapons. The she-leopard knew that, if given the chance, she could join the Emperor’s Royal Guard with no problem, and perhaps rise to be just as strong as her brother.
If only she was not a girl…
“Amity! I want you out here this very instant, young lady! The ceremony is beginning in twenty minutes and it will take nearly half that time just to get through the maze of castle corridors and hallways!”
Amity jumped and nearly yelped with fright as she was jolted back to the present. Looking down, she realized she was still only half-dressed, and with that, she resumed her struggle once more to put on her gown. “I’ll be out in a moment, mother!” she called back.
Finally, with one last shimmy and shake, Amity sucked in her gut and finally got her dress on before scrabbling to get the zipper up, which she eventually did with some teasing of her shoulder blades. Hurrying, the she-leopard turned to the mirror on the other side of her room to examine her appearance.
Amity’s crimson gown spilled over the floor around her, the golden vines and leaves woven carefully into the velvet fabric shimmering in the dazzling sunlight that poured through her window. It was tight-fitting up top to say the least, nearly choking the girl as she tried to adjust the strapless dress. Obviously there had been some sort of mistake with the tailor’s measurements. The fur atop Amity’s head was just as bad. It had been growing longer and longer over the past few months, until it had finally become this six-inch long mess that would not stop covering her eyes. She didn’t usually mind it, for she found it to be a whimsically mysterious look, but during her battle training, and on days like this where it seemed to deliberately get in her way, she wished she could simply rip it out.
“Where is that brush?” the she-leopard asked herself suddenly. Looking away from her reflection in the mirror, she quickly rushed over to her vanity, picking up her skirts as she ran.
A silver brush sat on the chestnut tabletop, shining just as brightly in the sunlight as the gold on Amity’s dress. The she-leopard quickly took it, and at once began frantically brushing her fur as she bent over to look at her reflection in the mirror.
“Oh, bother!” Amity hissed as she suddenly realized the state of her fur was a lost cause.
Doing what she could, the she-leopard just managed to straighten out her fur so it wasn’t so matted, but there was no time to pull it back into a bun. She dropped the brush and got up from the vanity, gathering up the skirts of her long dress as she rushed to the door.

***
“Hurry along now! The ceremony is about to start!” the baroness urged as she led her daughters through the long hallway.
Amity hurried after her mother, her hands beginning to cramp after having to hold up her long skirts for nearly fifteen minutes as she and her family had made their way through the maze of grand hallways and corridors throughout the castle. The baroness had set a hurried pace for herself and her daughters, but kept it no more than a brisk walk for the sake of dignity. Amity was right behind her mother, doing her best not to step on her lovely white silk dress, while her two sisters, Eloise and Belle, hurried behind her. All of the women were dressed in their finest clothes for the occasion, but Amity felt herself being overshadowed as she compared herself to her mother and sisters.
The baroness was wearing a stunning white dress made entirely of silk with a train that made it look more like she was going to Heaven than a knighting ceremony. Behind Amity, her youngest sister, seventeen-year-old Eloise, was wearing an equally beautiful forest-green gown with red roses sewed onto it, while her eldest sister, twenty-year-old Belle, wore a much shorter eggplant-purple gown with skirts that dangled only a mere inch above her feet, due to yet another measurement error on the tailor’s part.
They were now reaching the end of the nearly seventy-five foot long hallway, covered completely from ceiling to floor in exquisite white marble, with tapestries of all kinds of colors and designs, depicting scenes from throughout African history, lining each wall all along the enormous hallway. At the end of the hall stood two enormous, ten feet tall oak doors, stained a dark brown with shining gold hardware. A guard kept post on either side of the huge double doors.
As the ladies approached, the guards—one an enormous Bengal tiger, and the other, a golden-maned lion—bowed to them respectfully and turned wordlessly, each one leaning forward to grab one of the door handles. The baroness brought her daughters to a halt as the guards grunted with effort and opened the huge doors for them.
A rush of air greeted Amity upon the opening of the doors, followed by a tidal wave of sound. There was obviously a huge crowd already behind the doors.
“Thank you,” Amity’s mother quietly responded with a nod to acknowledge each of the guards.
The guards looked quite winded now, and one wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as the ladies passed. The baroness took up her long dress and led her daughters into the room, and Amity hurried after her mother, holding back a gasp of awe as they entered the amazing Hall.
The Great Hall was a true architectural masterpiece. Round like the pavilion of a church, it was lined with white marble pillars reaching up to the top of the thirty foot high ceiling, stopping just before the marble walls gave way to a huge glass dome that topped the Great Hall, allowing golden sunshine to stream into the building as the sun shone directly overhead in the cloudless afternoon sky. The flooring, which was again white marble like in the hallway leading to the room, shone in the sunlight and appeared to be freshly waxed to the point of Amity being able to see her reflection in the floor as if she were looking into a mirror. At the end of the Great Hall, marble steps had been erected, leading up to a small platform with two golden thrones. Upon them sat Emperor Leo and his Empress, Lea, watching the activity of the Great Hall as they waited until it was time to begin the ceremony.
The Great Hall was filled with dozens of lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses, barons and baronesses, princes, princesses, and royalty and commoners alike. Everyone was dressed exquisitely in their best apparel: ladies in long flowing gowns that complimented their various figures, often wearing dresses without straps because of the hot African day, and the men wearing suits and other fine clothes such as tunics tucked into fancy trousers or—such as in Emperor Leo’s case—elaborate trousers with golden cuffs and other things, but shirtless, again because of the hot day.
As the baroness brought her daughters to a halt once again just as the edge of the crowd, Amity took in the scene with wide blue eyes. This was her first formal Empire affair, and certainly not what she had been expecting it to be.
“Baroness Esmeralda!”
Amity looked up, startled by the sudden voice, to find an eccentrically dressed white she-wolf approaching.
“Lady Regina,” Amity’s mother returned, curtsying politely upon the she-wolf’s approach.
Immediately all three of her daughters followed suit, and bowed graciously to the lady, though Amity found her own elegance being distracted from by her loose fur covering her eyes once more.
Lady Regina curtsied to the baroness and her daughters. “It is so wonderful to see you, Esmeralda,” the she-wolf greeted. She looked up at the baroness with excited brown eyes. “I must offer you my most sincere congratulations on your son’s accomplishments. You must be so proud.”
Amity’s mother nodded. “Very,” she responded regally.
“Come, you simply must meet Duke Gallagher and his wife Susan before the ceremony begins. He says Fergus saved their son’s life during one of the battles.”
A proud expression formed upon the baroness’ face. “Why, I’d be delighted,” she said. Turning to look over her shoulder, Amity’s mother nodded to her daughters. “Go on. You may each mingle if you wish, but stay inside the Hall. The ceremony will begin in a moment or two.” With that, the baroness took her leave with Lady Regina, leaving Amity, Eloise, and Belle to themselves.
“Well, I’m off to find that dashing Prince Shamus,” Belle announced with an excited smile as she scanned over the crowd past her sisters. “I must get him to promise me the first dance during the feast tonight.” The she-leopard seemed to perk up as she spotted something, and with a quick wave to her sisters, she hurried and disappeared into the crowd.
“And I suppose I better go find Shamus and warn him that Belle’s trying to track him down again,” Eloise said in a low, humored tone. She acknowledged Amity with a nod and hurried after Belle into the crowd of dignitaries and royals.
Amity watched her sisters go and sighed. Alone again at yet another event, she thought.
It was no surprise to the she-leopard that five seconds after arriving at the Great Hall her family left her to mingle and talk with the other lords and ladies and various dignitaries. It almost made her mad, thinking about how agitated her mother had been that she was making them late that morning, and simply dragged her here only to ditch her upon arrival. But honestly, Amity couldn’t blame them. The baroness had to be present with all of her children for a ceremony as important as this to be properly recognized by the Empire, but other than that, why would any of them care to be seen with Amity? She was simply a mess today, unlike the perfection that was her kin.
Amity huffed and sighed, trying to blow piece of her fur from her eyes while ignoring her agitation. It wasn’t about her today, it was about—
“Hey, there’s my favorite sister!”
“Fergus!” Amity gasped, suddenly startled by the soft voice behind her. She spun around as her exasperation turned to a mixture of relief and excitement as she laid her eyes upon her brother.
Fergus stood before his sister with an intimidating stature, which was quickly overshadowed by his shining, deep green eyes and cheesy grin. “Fraidy cat,” he teased.
Amity rolled her eyes and stepped forward to hug Fergus.
“Hmm, aren’t we in a good mood today?” her brother chuckled, a light joshing in his tone.
Amity laughed under her breath. “Yes, as appose to a normal day where I would draw a sword to your throat,” she joked. As she hugged her brother, she couldn’t help noticing feeling her cheek meeting a silk tunic, and she stepped back to examine her brother’s appearance. “Well, well, well! Aren’t we looking fancy today?”
Amity took notice of the fine silk tunic her brother wore, gleaming in the light of midday like snow. His shirt was tucked into a dashing pair of trousers, held up with a belt that also sheathed the sword he wore on his waist. She also took notice of the leather vest he wore over his shirt, and remembered that, unlike most of the men here today, he was dressed like a guard in a royal palace. And rightfully so. Today they were here to honor a soldier, and Amity beheld her brother as the spitting representation of that very image.
Fergus smiled as Amity observed his appearance, and seemed to do the same as he watched his sister with an unwavering grin. “Let me guess, you were shooting targets this morning, weren’t you?” he asked, his voice a low rumble as he seemed to suppress a chuckle, though his gleaming green eyes gave away his amusement.
Amity felt her shoulders push back and her head tilt upward, trying to own her appearance. “Close,” she returned. “I was meditating in the castle garden before dawn, and then I got in some practice with my broadsword.”
Fergus finally chuckled. “I would’ve guessed. You look like you just rolled out of bed. No offense.”
“None taken,” Amity immediately responded, shaking off the thought of how terrible her fur looked and instead focused upon her brother’s short, straight locks upon his head, imagining them taking the place of her own fur instead. “And what about you? I don’t suppose you, a soon-to-be-knight, could keep away from your own bow and arrows this morning?”
“You supposed right,” Fergus laughed. “However, I did my training by the light of the sun this morning.” He gestured with his hand to the glass dome above as the light of midday streamed into the Great Hall. “Funny thing, Emperor Leo has simply insisted upon me having a personal servant to solely help me with my training. It was quite a sight this morning, having someone else setting up my targets for me. Guess your big brother has come a long way, huh?”
Amity giggled, not at all feeling any sort of resentment towards her brother’s special treatment, or the fact that he did not have to hide his battle training out of fear of being shunned. “And if you keep impressing the socks off of Emperor Leo, soon you’ll have a palace with an entire army of servants, and perhaps even a pretty lady of a high household on your arm, no?”
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll just stick with the one servant,” Fergus joked.
Once more Amity found herself laughing.
Suddenly, all conversation died away as trumpets blared, and the entire Hall hushed as two foxes at the head of the room heralded the start of the ceremony.
Fergus looked to his sister urgently, his gleam of humor dying away. “I better go.”
Amity watched as her brother quickly took his leave, pushing through the crowd rather hastily as he approached the front of the room, where the throng of onlookers stopped short just before the platform on which Emperor Leo and Empress Lea now stood from their thrones. She found herself having no trouble seeing the very beginnings of the ceremony: hushed whispers between Leo and his Empress, Fergus moving into position, and several squires and other knights stepping up onto the platform with them, carrying with them ceremonial flags and the sort.
Still, Amity wished to be closer, distaining her spot near the back of the room. Taking up her skirts, the she-leopard pushed through the crowd as carefully as she could, remembering her place as the daughter of a baroness, and trying not to act like brute and let her size get the better of herself as she found it much easier to simply push aside some of the shorter royals and dignitaries, such as Lord Ebenezer, a rather short hyena.
“People of Africa,” announced a proud tiger suddenly, stepping to the edge of the platform to address the room. “I give you Emperor Leo and Empress Lea.”
The entire room stilled at that moment, and Amity found herself reluctantly stopping her haste to the front of the crowd, leaving her in the very center of the Great Hall, below the dome above. All eyes were cast down, and lords and ladies alike bowed and curtsied as the knight presented the Emperor and Empress, who came to stand in his place now to address the room and begin the ceremony.
As everyone began to rise once more, Amity watched as Emperor Leo cleared his throat. “Friends, today we gather here under the shining face of God to honor a very special young man,” the Emperor began. “It is undeniable that he has been blessed by our Creator with the strength and ferocity to defend this Empire from even the most vicious of foes, as was proven over these past weeks as he helped lead the charge against Prince Nathaniel’s legion when they tried to invade our land.”
From the back of the Great Hall several boos and hisses of fury erupted at the very mention of Prince Nathaniel, while a soft murmur of both hatred and unease erupted from the rest of the room. Though the battle had been over for a few weeks now, Amity could see it had been anything but forgotten.
Emperor Leo raised one hand, silencing the entire Hall with that one mere gesture. “Today we honor this soldier, along with several more, by knighting them in the sight of God on this day, and welcoming them as Knights of Africa.” The Emperor gestured to the front of the platform where, standing together in front of the steps, were Fergus and three more soldiers who Amity didn’t recognized.
The Hall erupted into applause and polite cheers, and then died away as the Emperor’s mere presence gently demanded silence once more. The crowds parted as the giant double doors to the Great Hall were opened, and through them came an exceptionally tall cheetah dressed in some sort of ceremonial robe. He carried a beautiful silk pillow, and on it was a golden sword that glinted brilliantly in the light.
Amity recognized it from some of the books about military protocol in the African Empire. A proper knighting could not be official without the soldiers being honored with a tap on each shoulder from their Emperor with a golden sword. Amity didn’t really understand that part, but she tried not to question the ceremony in her mind. All that mattered was that her brother was knighted and enjoyed his moment of glory.
The cheetah approached the platform and stopped, kneeling down before the first step. Emperor Leo strode forward and took up the golden sword as the cheetah lifted the pillow to offer it to him. Taking it into his firm grasp, Emperor Leo then turned and returned to the top of the platform and stood with his Empress once more. The other knights and squires gathered around him in a ceremonial formation, creating a half circle behind the lion.
The Emperor sheathed the sword onto his belt, resting his hand on the hilt of the sword, and blinked. That one simple gesture was enough to summon the first soldier, a striking young brown bear. He lumbered onto the platform and kneeled before his Emperor.
Amity phased out for a moment, a bit overcome by boredom. She had no interest in the long speech that followed about the bear’s bravery and blah, blah, blah. It was Fergus she was here for.
Looking over to where her brother stood, Amity watched him for a moment. She couldn’t help but notice how his hand fidgeted on the hilt of his sword anxiously. Fergus had never been known for his nerves. Guess he’s a bit more jittery than he was letting on, Amity thought, suppressing a soft chuckle of amusement.
The entire Great Hall erupted into an uproar of applause and cheers as the bear rose. Amity realized she had missed the actual knighting during her moment of pondering. She watched as he stepped forward and shook hands with the Emperor, then turned and did the same with the other knights and squires that were with him before finally taking Empress Lea’s hand and bowing to her respectfully. He then stood amongst the knights and squires, and Emperor Leo gestured for the next soldier to come up, and the applause died away once more.
As the next soldier came up, this one a slightly older-looking boar, he stopped suddenly.
“What the…?” Amity muttered.
The she-leopard looked at him in confusion. Something seemed to be happening with his fur. One moment it was gleaming brown in the sunshine, the next it appeared to be turning black. Was he getting darker? No, the boar seemed to be thinking the same thing as he looked around in equal confusion. Amity turned around. The entire room was suddenly growing dark.
Something was happening.
“Look!” shouted someone near the back of the room.
The electric energy of good cheer that had filled the Great Hall faltered for a moment as everyone suddenly realized the room was growing strangely dark, and a murmur of unease passed through the crowd. From the doorway five servants burst into the Hall, carrying candles and matches with them as they darted to the various candles mounted on the walls all throughout the room.
Then, heeding the cry of the random dignitary from the back of the room, all eyes shifted above.
Amity tilted her head to look up at the glass dome above, confused how such darkness could befall them on such a sunny day. Immediately she saw it: some sort of dark mass was moving across the sky, a mere dot right now, but big enough to block the sun and the daylight streaming into the building. With a sickening feeling she also realized that slowly—but surely—the dark mass was descending.
“What is that?” asked a nobleman beside Amity.
“I have no idea,” concluded another.
Slowly the mass continued its descent, now appearing to be about five hundred feet above the building, but the number was dropping rapidly.
“It’s a bird!” exclaimed a random princess.
“Oh, don’t be silly! That’s a plane!” countered another.
“Is it some sort of superhero or—Wait! No, it is a plane!” shouted a squire.
Amity squinted her eyes, desperate to figure out what it was. “I think it’s a blimp!” she exclaimed with realization.
All conversation stopped then. Everyone could tell now that it indeed was a blimp, painted black as the night sky. All eyes continued to gawk at it as the aircraft continued to descend. Four hundred feet… Three hundred feet… Two hundred feet…
Then it stopped, hovering ominously a mere one hundred feet above the building. Though it was outlined by blue skies and sunshine, it hid the light from the Great Hall, plunging everyone into darkness. It continued to hover there, doing nothing for those brief, confusing twenty seconds.
“What on earth…?” a duke behind Amity seemed to gasp, continuing to stare at the dark mass as if they were watching a UFO.
Suddenly, Amity spotted a hatch open from the aircraft and something falling out before dangling from the blimp. A chain? No. It had no metallic shine. She guessed it was a rope of sorts, but honestly hadn’t the briefest moment to comprehend it as a figure came out of the hatch and down the rope, and then—
“Take cover!”
It happened in an instant. One cry sent the entire Hall into a tizzy. Amity realized that while everyone else was hitting the floor and covering their heads, she was still standing there, in the center of the Great Hall, staring as a dark figure slid down the rope and then let go. At that moment, the entire world seemed to still into slow motion, and Amity watched, ignoring the ear-splitting noise of shattering glass, as the figure jumped from the rope and onto the dome above, smashing through it like it was paper and sending a shower of glass shards raining down.
Finally, Amity found herself. Looking to her left, she grabbed the first two dignitaries she could reach and pushed them in front of herself, then leaned forward to protect them, using her massive size to shield the smaller people. Screams of terror sounded as the shower of glass came down, and for the first time in quite a while Amity found herself thanking God she had let her fur grow so long, for it shielded her exposed head and shoulders from the glass, and prevented any of it from becoming embedded in her skin.
“Knights to arms!”
Amity rose quickly as the heard the cry. The glass had done its damage, but everyone seemed to be okay and was getting up, though on shaky legs. She immediately looked to find the dark figure limp on the floor from where he had fallen from above, an arrow deep in his chest from a split-second reaction by one of the guards. Amity then saw a flurry of activity as Emperor Leo and all of the knights and squires present drew their swords, and the Empress was quickly escorted away by two guards. Fergus was quickly at the Emperor’s side, along with the other soldiers and knights and squires, and the two guards from the door quickly joined them. She realized now that she stood alone at the center of the room, distracted by her gawking. Everyone else who was not armed had retreated to the corners of the Great Hall, taking cover behind the huge pillars that lined the room like kittens huddling together from the rain.
Gathering herself from the shock once more, Amity turned and ran for cover, catching only a momentary glimpse as several more figures began emerging from the blimp’s hatch and were now sliding down the rope. Above, the glass dome of the Great Hall was opened to the sky, with a jagged rim of glass being the only thing that remained of the architectural wonder. Amity ignored the pain of shards of glass piercing her paw pads as she ran to the nearest pillar. She was barefoot, as were everyone else in the entire room, but she was use to stepping on sharp objects. Shoes were just something you didn’t really wear when you lived in the African Empire.
Amity darted behind a pillar as a cry rose from behind her, followed by the thud of pair after pair of heavy boots. She found herself coming face to face with Lady Regina and her mother, whom were huddled behind the pillar along with another duke and duchess and some random prince Amity didn’t know. They were all peering out from behind the stone with frightened expressions, and once safely behind the shield of rock, Amity turned and did the same.
The knights and soldiers had taken up a formation just in front of the platform now, with Emperor Leo at the front barking commands as more guards rushed into the room. Seven dark figures stood before them, each one armed and dressed so darkly that Amity could not tell their species. Some had swords while others had axes and spears, but their sheer sizes seemed to be weapon enough. Were they hornless rhinos or something?
More of these intruders continued to fall into the Great Hall from above, and seven quickly multiplied to twenty-one, then twenty-eight. Emperor Leo and his men were gradually becoming outnumbered, but Amity held her breath as she held on to the slight possibility that there wouldn’t be an altercation. Maybe these guys had just mistaken this place for the wrong airport?
The stream of intruders stopped, and Amity counted the final tally to be thirty-one to nineteen. The intruders had taken up their own formation, creating a tense moment as they just merely stood there, staring down Emperor Leo and his men. Amity could see Fergus had his game face on, his sword drawn and pointed to the nearest intruder’s throat, but though his expression was that of determination, she saw his eyes giving away his fear. If they were about to have to fight off these guys, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
Suddenly, the hatch from the blimp above opened, and down came one final intruder. However, this one was a bit smaller than all of the other rhino-sized ones, and he was not dressed in dark clothing meant to conceal his identity. He let go of the rope and fell to the floor swiftly, then rose at the front of his men to meet Emperor Leo’s burning gaze.
“Prince Nathaniel!” Lady Regina whispered behind Amity, clutching her mother’s shoulder with a terrifying grip.

Description
“Amity! Amity, dear! Are you ready yet?”
Amity struggled into her tight-fitting crimson gown, her long spotted fur giving her just as many problems as the cursed zipper. The she-leopard tried to brush a tuft of fur out of her eyes, only to have another tuft of the blasted stuff fall right back over her face. She huffed with frustration. “Where did I put that hair tie!?” Amity hissed to herself in a low voice.
From outside Amity’s door, the soft voice came again. “Amity! We’re going to be late!”
Amity stopped just as she had finally gotten her dress above her waist and took a deep breath, trying her best not to panic. “Why did I try to sneak in that battle training session just before the blasted ceremony? Ugh!”
An urgent knock came to the door, and once more the voice sounded, this time much louder as its speaker stood directly outside the room. “Amity! What is the meaning of this delay? Your sisters and I are waiting! Come out here at once!”
Amity tried to hold back a hiss of annoyance. “I’ll be right there, mother!” she called back, then went back to her struggle. The blue-eyed she-leopard was a mess, and panic was ensuing her quickly.
It was the morning of the big ceremony, where Emperor Leo of Africa would be knighting one of his most promising new soldiers, Fergus Melbourne. The air across the entire castle grounds was alight with excitement, and the sun shone down outside as if the day itself had been blessed by the Lord just for the occasion. And rightfully so, Amity found herself thinking, for the she-leopard could think of no one more deserving of such a day than that Fergus Melbourne fellow.
Fergus was a shining young man, one of the strongest leopards Amity had ever met, whom had gained both fame and popularity amongst the Empire and its people as he led the charge against several invasions that had attacked Africa and its people only one month prior, led by that dastardly young Prince of the Fiji Empire: Prince Nathaniel. On this day, the past would be put behind the entire African Empire as the young hero was knighted before his Emperor, and Amity had looked forward to this day for ages.
As it turned out, Fergus Melbourne was Amity’s brother, her elder by two years. He was by far her closest companion, though she had to admit they had drifted apart somewhat over the past few weeks because of all the chaos from the invasion. But she loved him just as much still, and owed much of herself to her brother, whom had been her inspiration and motivation to follow her dreams ever since Amity was small.
Amity actually had quite a secret: behind closed doors, the young she-leopard was actually training in the ways of combat as she aspired to be like her brother, Fergus. It was only a secret now after the young she-leopard had tried to reason her mother when she had found out all those many years ago and forbade her child from ever touching another weapon for as long as she may live, for it was unladylike for a daughter of such a highly respected family. Now, at the age of nineteen, Amity had grown to become one of the greatest female warriors she knew of, though not a soul other than Fergus knew of it. She was highly skilled in the ways of both archery and swordplay, and had mastered the art of karate, which had also become one of her deadliest weapons. The she-leopard knew that, if given the chance, she could join the Emperor’s Royal Guard with no problem, and perhaps rise to be just as strong as her brother.
If only she was not a girl…
“Amity! I want you out here this very instant, young lady! The ceremony is beginning in twenty minutes and it will take nearly half that time just to get through the maze of castle corridors and hallways!”
Amity jumped and nearly yelped with fright as she was jolted back to the present. Looking down, she realized she was still only half-dressed, and with that, she resumed her struggle once more to put on her gown. “I’ll be out in a moment, mother!” she called back.
Finally, with one last shimmy and shake, Amity sucked in her gut and finally got her dress on before scrabbling to get the zipper up, which she eventually did with some teasing of her shoulder blades. Hurrying, the she-leopard turned to the mirror on the other side of her room to examine her appearance.
Amity’s crimson gown spilled over the floor around her, the golden vines and leaves woven carefully into the velvet fabric shimmering in the dazzling sunlight that poured through her window. It was tight-fitting up top to say the least, nearly choking the girl as she tried to adjust the strapless dress. Obviously there had been some sort of mistake with the tailor’s measurements. The fur atop Amity’s head was just as bad. It had been growing longer and longer over the past few months, until it had finally become this six-inch long mess that would not stop covering her eyes. She didn’t usually mind it, for she found it to be a whimsically mysterious look, but during her battle training, and on days like this where it seemed to deliberately get in her way, she wished she could simply rip it out.
“Where is that brush?” the she-leopard asked herself suddenly. Looking away from her reflection in the mirror, she quickly rushed over to her vanity, picking up her skirts as she ran.
A silver brush sat on the chestnut tabletop, shining just as brightly in the sunlight as the gold on Amity’s dress. The she-leopard quickly took it, and at once began frantically brushing her fur as she bent over to look at her reflection in the mirror.
“Oh, bother!” Amity hissed as she suddenly realized the state of her fur was a lost cause.
Doing what she could, the she-leopard just managed to straighten out her fur so it wasn’t so matted, but there was no time to pull it back into a bun. She dropped the brush and got up from the vanity, gathering up the skirts of her long dress as she rushed to the door.

***
“Hurry along now! The ceremony is about to start!” the baroness urged as she led her daughters through the long hallway.
Amity hurried after her mother, her hands beginning to cramp after having to hold up her long skirts for nearly fifteen minutes as she and her family had made their way through the maze of grand hallways and corridors throughout the castle. The baroness had set a hurried pace for herself and her daughters, but kept it no more than a brisk walk for the sake of dignity. Amity was right behind her mother, doing her best not to step on her lovely white silk dress, while her two sisters, Eloise and Belle, hurried behind her. All of the women were dressed in their finest clothes for the occasion, but Amity felt herself being overshadowed as she compared herself to her mother and sisters.
The baroness was wearing a stunning white dress made entirely of silk with a train that made it look more like she was going to Heaven than a knighting ceremony. Behind Amity, her youngest sister, seventeen-year-old Eloise, was wearing an equally beautiful forest-green gown with red roses sewed onto it, while her eldest sister, twenty-year-old Belle, wore a much shorter eggplant-purple gown with skirts that dangled only a mere inch above her feet, due to yet another measurement error on the tailor’s part.
They were now reaching the end of the nearly seventy-five foot long hallway, covered completely from ceiling to floor in exquisite white marble, with tapestries of all kinds of colors and designs, depicting scenes from throughout African history, lining each wall all along the enormous hallway. At the end of the hall stood two enormous, ten feet tall oak doors, stained a dark brown with shining gold hardware. A guard kept post on either side of the huge double doors.
As the ladies approached, the guards—one an enormous Bengal tiger, and the other, a golden-maned lion—bowed to them respectfully and turned wordlessly, each one leaning forward to grab one of the door handles. The baroness brought her daughters to a halt as the guards grunted with effort and opened the huge doors for them.
A rush of air greeted Amity upon the opening of the doors, followed by a tidal wave of sound. There was obviously a huge crowd already behind the doors.
“Thank you,” Amity’s mother quietly responded with a nod to acknowledge each of the guards.
The guards looked quite winded now, and one wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as the ladies passed. The baroness took up her long dress and led her daughters into the room, and Amity hurried after her mother, holding back a gasp of awe as they entered the amazing Hall.
The Great Hall was a true architectural masterpiece. Round like the pavilion of a church, it was lined with white marble pillars reaching up to the top of the thirty foot high ceiling, stopping just before the marble walls gave way to a huge glass dome that topped the Great Hall, allowing golden sunshine to stream into the building as the sun shone directly overhead in the cloudless afternoon sky. The flooring, which was again white marble like in the hallway leading to the room, shone in the sunlight and appeared to be freshly waxed to the point of Amity being able to see her reflection in the floor as if she were looking into a mirror. At the end of the Great Hall, marble steps had been erected, leading up to a small platform with two golden thrones. Upon them sat Emperor Leo and his Empress, Lea, watching the activity of the Great Hall as they waited until it was time to begin the ceremony.
The Great Hall was filled with dozens of lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses, barons and baronesses, princes, princesses, and royalty and commoners alike. Everyone was dressed exquisitely in their best apparel: ladies in long flowing gowns that complimented their various figures, often wearing dresses without straps because of the hot African day, and the men wearing suits and other fine clothes such as tunics tucked into fancy trousers or—such as in Emperor Leo’s case—elaborate trousers with golden cuffs and other things, but shirtless, again because of the hot day.
As the baroness brought her daughters to a halt once again just as the edge of the crowd, Amity took in the scene with wide blue eyes. This was her first formal Empire affair, and certainly not what she had been expecting it to be.
“Baroness Esmeralda!”
Amity looked up, startled by the sudden voice, to find an eccentrically dressed white she-wolf approaching.
“Lady Regina,” Amity’s mother returned, curtsying politely upon the she-wolf’s approach.
Immediately all three of her daughters followed suit, and bowed graciously to the lady, though Amity found her own elegance being distracted from by her loose fur covering her eyes once more.
Lady Regina curtsied to the baroness and her daughters. “It is so wonderful to see you, Esmeralda,” the she-wolf greeted. She looked up at the baroness with excited brown eyes. “I must offer you my most sincere congratulations on your son’s accomplishments. You must be so proud.”
Amity’s mother nodded. “Very,” she responded regally.
“Come, you simply must meet Duke Gallagher and his wife Susan before the ceremony begins. He says Fergus saved their son’s life during one of the battles.”
A proud expression formed upon the baroness’ face. “Why, I’d be delighted,” she said. Turning to look over her shoulder, Amity’s mother nodded to her daughters. “Go on. You may each mingle if you wish, but stay inside the Hall. The ceremony will begin in a moment or two.” With that, the baroness took her leave with Lady Regina, leaving Amity, Eloise, and Belle to themselves.
“Well, I’m off to find that dashing Prince Shamus,” Belle announced with an excited smile as she scanned over the crowd past her sisters. “I must get him to promise me the first dance during the feast tonight.” The she-leopard seemed to perk up as she spotted something, and with a quick wave to her sisters, she hurried and disappeared into the crowd.
“And I suppose I better go find Shamus and warn him that Belle’s trying to track him down again,” Eloise said in a low, humored tone. She acknowledged Amity with a nod and hurried after Belle into the crowd of dignitaries and royals.
Amity watched her sisters go and sighed. Alone again at yet another event, she thought.
It was no surprise to the she-leopard that five seconds after arriving at the Great Hall her family left her to mingle and talk with the other lords and ladies and various dignitaries. It almost made her mad, thinking about how agitated her mother had been that she was making them late that morning, and simply dragged her here only to ditch her upon arrival. But honestly, Amity couldn’t blame them. The baroness had to be present with all of her children for a ceremony as important as this to be properly recognized by the Empire, but other than that, why would any of them care to be seen with Amity? She was simply a mess today, unlike the perfection that was her kin.
Amity huffed and sighed, trying to blow piece of her fur from her eyes while ignoring her agitation. It wasn’t about her today, it was about—
“Hey, there’s my favorite sister!”
“Fergus!” Amity gasped, suddenly startled by the soft voice behind her. She spun around as her exasperation turned to a mixture of relief and excitement as she laid her eyes upon her brother.
Fergus stood before his sister with an intimidating stature, which was quickly overshadowed by his shining, deep green eyes and cheesy grin. “Fraidy cat,” he teased.
Amity rolled her eyes and stepped forward to hug Fergus.
“Hmm, aren’t we in a good mood today?” her brother chuckled, a light joshing in his tone.
Amity laughed under her breath. “Yes, as appose to a normal day where I would draw a sword to your throat,” she joked. As she hugged her brother, she couldn’t help noticing feeling her cheek meeting a silk tunic, and she stepped back to examine her brother’s appearance. “Well, well, well! Aren’t we looking fancy today?”
Amity took notice of the fine silk tunic her brother wore, gleaming in the light of midday like snow. His shirt was tucked into a dashing pair of trousers, held up with a belt that also sheathed the sword he wore on his waist. She also took notice of the leather vest he wore over his shirt, and remembered that, unlike most of the men here today, he was dressed like a guard in a royal palace. And rightfully so. Today they were here to honor a soldier, and Amity beheld her brother as the spitting representation of that very image.
Fergus smiled as Amity observed his appearance, and seemed to do the same as he watched his sister with an unwavering grin. “Let me guess, you were shooting targets this morning, weren’t you?” he asked, his voice a low rumble as he seemed to suppress a chuckle, though his gleaming green eyes gave away his amusement.
Amity felt her shoulders push back and her head tilt upward, trying to own her appearance. “Close,” she returned. “I was meditating in the castle garden before dawn, and then I got in some practice with my broadsword.”
Fergus finally chuckled. “I would’ve guessed. You look like you just rolled out of bed. No offense.”
“None taken,” Amity immediately responded, shaking off the thought of how terrible her fur looked and instead focused upon her brother’s short, straight locks upon his head, imagining them taking the place of her own fur instead. “And what about you? I don’t suppose you, a soon-to-be-knight, could keep away from your own bow and arrows this morning?”
“You supposed right,” Fergus laughed. “However, I did my training by the light of the sun this morning.” He gestured with his hand to the glass dome above as the light of midday streamed into the Great Hall. “Funny thing, Emperor Leo has simply insisted upon me having a personal servant to solely help me with my training. It was quite a sight this morning, having someone else setting up my targets for me. Guess your big brother has come a long way, huh?”
Amity giggled, not at all feeling any sort of resentment towards her brother’s special treatment, or the fact that he did not have to hide his battle training out of fear of being shunned. “And if you keep impressing the socks off of Emperor Leo, soon you’ll have a palace with an entire army of servants, and perhaps even a pretty lady of a high household on your arm, no?”
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll just stick with the one servant,” Fergus joked.
Once more Amity found herself laughing.
Suddenly, all conversation died away as trumpets blared, and the entire Hall hushed as two foxes at the head of the room heralded the start of the ceremony.
Fergus looked to his sister urgently, his gleam of humor dying away. “I better go.”
Amity watched as her brother quickly took his leave, pushing through the crowd rather hastily as he approached the front of the room, where the throng of onlookers stopped short just before the platform on which Emperor Leo and Empress Lea now stood from their thrones. She found herself having no trouble seeing the very beginnings of the ceremony: hushed whispers between Leo and his Empress, Fergus moving into position, and several squires and other knights stepping up onto the platform with them, carrying with them ceremonial flags and the sort.
Still, Amity wished to be closer, distaining her spot near the back of the room. Taking up her skirts, the she-leopard pushed through the crowd as carefully as she could, remembering her place as the daughter of a baroness, and trying not to act like brute and let her size get the better of herself as she found it much easier to simply push aside some of the shorter royals and dignitaries, such as Lord Ebenezer, a rather short hyena.
“People of Africa,” announced a proud tiger suddenly, stepping to the edge of the platform to address the room. “I give you Emperor Leo and Empress Lea.”
The entire room stilled at that moment, and Amity found herself reluctantly stopping her haste to the front of the crowd, leaving her in the very center of the Great Hall, below the dome above. All eyes were cast down, and lords and ladies alike bowed and curtsied as the knight presented the Emperor and Empress, who came to stand in his place now to address the room and begin the ceremony.
As everyone began to rise once more, Amity watched as Emperor Leo cleared his throat. “Friends, today we gather here under the shining face of God to honor a very special young man,” the Emperor began. “It is undeniable that he has been blessed by our Creator with the strength and ferocity to defend this Empire from even the most vicious of foes, as was proven over these past weeks as he helped lead the charge against Prince Nathaniel’s legion when they tried to invade our land.”
From the back of the Great Hall several boos and hisses of fury erupted at the very mention of Prince Nathaniel, while a soft murmur of both hatred and unease erupted from the rest of the room. Though the battle had been over for a few weeks now, Amity could see it had been anything but forgotten.
Emperor Leo raised one hand, silencing the entire Hall with that one mere gesture. “Today we honor this soldier, along with several more, by knighting them in the sight of God on this day, and welcoming them as Knights of Africa.” The Emperor gestured to the front of the platform where, standing together in front of the steps, were Fergus and three more soldiers who Amity didn’t recognized.
The Hall erupted into applause and polite cheers, and then died away as the Emperor’s mere presence gently demanded silence once more. The crowds parted as the giant double doors to the Great Hall were opened, and through them came an exceptionally tall cheetah dressed in some sort of ceremonial robe. He carried a beautiful silk pillow, and on it was a golden sword that glinted brilliantly in the light.
Amity recognized it from some of the books about military protocol in the African Empire. A proper knighting could not be official without the soldiers being honored with a tap on each shoulder from their Emperor with a golden sword. Amity didn’t really understand that part, but she tried not to question the ceremony in her mind. All that mattered was that her brother was knighted and enjoyed his moment of glory.
The cheetah approached the platform and stopped, kneeling down before the first step. Emperor Leo strode forward and took up the golden sword as the cheetah lifted the pillow to offer it to him. Taking it into his firm grasp, Emperor Leo then turned and returned to the top of the platform and stood with his Empress once more. The other knights and squires gathered around him in a ceremonial formation, creating a half circle behind the lion.
The Emperor sheathed the sword onto his belt, resting his hand on the hilt of the sword, and blinked. That one simple gesture was enough to summon the first soldier, a striking young brown bear. He lumbered onto the platform and kneeled before his Emperor.
Amity phased out for a moment, a bit overcome by boredom. She had no interest in the long speech that followed about the bear’s bravery and blah, blah, blah. It was Fergus she was here for.
Looking over to where her brother stood, Amity watched him for a moment. She couldn’t help but notice how his hand fidgeted on the hilt of his sword anxiously. Fergus had never been known for his nerves. Guess he’s a bit more jittery than he was letting on, Amity thought, suppressing a soft chuckle of amusement.
The entire Great Hall erupted into an uproar of applause and cheers as the bear rose. Amity realized she had missed the actual knighting during her moment of pondering. She watched as he stepped forward and shook hands with the Emperor, then turned and did the same with the other knights and squires that were with him before finally taking Empress Lea’s hand and bowing to her respectfully. He then stood amongst the knights and squires, and Emperor Leo gestured for the next soldier to come up, and the applause died away once more.
As the next soldier came up, this one a slightly older-looking boar, he stopped suddenly.
“What the…?” Amity muttered.
The she-leopard looked at him in confusion. Something seemed to be happening with his fur. One moment it was gleaming brown in the sunshine, the next it appeared to be turning black. Was he getting darker? No, the boar seemed to be thinking the same thing as he looked around in equal confusion. Amity turned around. The entire room was suddenly growing dark.
Something was happening.
“Look!” shouted someone near the back of the room.
The electric energy of good cheer that had filled the Great Hall faltered for a moment as everyone suddenly realized the room was growing strangely dark, and a murmur of unease passed through the crowd. From the doorway five servants burst into the Hall, carrying candles and matches with them as they darted to the various candles mounted on the walls all throughout the room.
Then, heeding the cry of the random dignitary from the back of the room, all eyes shifted above.
Amity tilted her head to look up at the glass dome above, confused how such darkness could befall them on such a sunny day. Immediately she saw it: some sort of dark mass was moving across the sky, a mere dot right now, but big enough to block the sun and the daylight streaming into the building. With a sickening feeling she also realized that slowly—but surely—the dark mass was descending.
“What is that?” asked a nobleman beside Amity.
“I have no idea,” concluded another.
Slowly the mass continued its descent, now appearing to be about five hundred feet above the building, but the number was dropping rapidly.
“It’s a bird!” exclaimed a random princess.
“Oh, don’t be silly! That’s a plane!” countered another.
“Is it some sort of superhero or—Wait! No, it is a plane!” shouted a squire.
Amity squinted her eyes, desperate to figure out what it was. “I think it’s a blimp!” she exclaimed with realization.
All conversation stopped then. Everyone could tell now that it indeed was a blimp, painted black as the night sky. All eyes continued to gawk at it as the aircraft continued to descend. Four hundred feet… Three hundred feet… Two hundred feet…
Then it stopped, hovering ominously a mere one hundred feet above the building. Though it was outlined by blue skies and sunshine, it hid the light from the Great Hall, plunging everyone into darkness. It continued to hover there, doing nothing for those brief, confusing twenty seconds.
“What on earth…?” a duke behind Amity seemed to gasp, continuing to stare at the dark mass as if they were watching a UFO.
Suddenly, Amity spotted a hatch open from the aircraft and something falling out before dangling from the blimp. A chain? No. It had no metallic shine. She guessed it was a rope of sorts, but honestly hadn’t the briefest moment to comprehend it as a figure came out of the hatch and down the rope, and then—
“Take cover!”
It happened in an instant. One cry sent the entire Hall into a tizzy. Amity realized that while everyone else was hitting the floor and covering their heads, she was still standing there, in the center of the Great Hall, staring as a dark figure slid down the rope and then let go. At that moment, the entire world seemed to still into slow motion, and Amity watched, ignoring the ear-splitting noise of shattering glass, as the figure jumped from the rope and onto the dome above, smashing through it like it was paper and sending a shower of glass shards raining down.
Finally, Amity found herself. Looking to her left, she grabbed the first two dignitaries she could reach and pushed them in front of herself, then leaned forward to protect them, using her massive size to shield the smaller people. Screams of terror sounded as the shower of glass came down, and for the first time in quite a while Amity found herself thanking God she had let her fur grow so long, for it shielded her exposed head and shoulders from the glass, and prevented any of it from becoming embedded in her skin.
“Knights to arms!”
Amity rose quickly as the heard the cry. The glass had done its damage, but everyone seemed to be okay and was getting up, though on shaky legs. She immediately looked to find the dark figure limp on the floor from where he had fallen from above, an arrow deep in his chest from a split-second reaction by one of the guards. Amity then saw a flurry of activity as Emperor Leo and all of the knights and squires present drew their swords, and the Empress was quickly escorted away by two guards. Fergus was quickly at the Emperor’s side, along with the other soldiers and knights and squires, and the two guards from the door quickly joined them. She realized now that she stood alone at the center of the room, distracted by her gawking. Everyone else who was not armed had retreated to the corners of the Great Hall, taking cover behind the huge pillars that lined the room like kittens huddling together from the rain.
Gathering herself from the shock once more, Amity turned and ran for cover, catching only a momentary glimpse as several more figures began emerging from the blimp’s hatch and were now sliding down the rope. Above, the glass dome of the Great Hall was opened to the sky, with a jagged rim of glass being the only thing that remained of the architectural wonder. Amity ignored the pain of shards of glass piercing her paw pads as she ran to the nearest pillar. She was barefoot, as were everyone else in the entire room, but she was use to stepping on sharp objects. Shoes were just something you didn’t really wear when you lived in the African Empire.
Amity darted behind a pillar as a cry rose from behind her, followed by the thud of pair after pair of heavy boots. She found herself coming face to face with Lady Regina and her mother, whom were huddled behind the pillar along with another duke and duchess and some random prince Amity didn’t know. They were all peering out from behind the stone with frightened expressions, and once safely behind the shield of rock, Amity turned and did the same.
The knights and soldiers had taken up a formation just in front of the platform now, with Emperor Leo at the front barking commands as more guards rushed into the room. Seven dark figures stood before them, each one armed and dressed so darkly that Amity could not tell their species. Some had swords while others had axes and spears, but their sheer sizes seemed to be weapon enough. Were they hornless rhinos or something?
More of these intruders continued to fall into the Great Hall from above, and seven quickly multiplied to twenty-one, then twenty-eight. Emperor Leo and his men were gradually becoming outnumbered, but Amity held her breath as she held on to the slight possibility that there wouldn’t be an altercation. Maybe these guys had just mistaken this place for the wrong airport?
The stream of intruders stopped, and Amity counted the final tally to be thirty-one to nineteen. The intruders had taken up their own formation, creating a tense moment as they just merely stood there, staring down Emperor Leo and his men. Amity could see Fergus had his game face on, his sword drawn and pointed to the nearest intruder’s throat, but though his expression was that of determination, she saw his eyes giving away his fear. If they were about to have to fight off these guys, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
Suddenly, the hatch from the blimp above opened, and down came one final intruder. However, this one was a bit smaller than all of the other rhino-sized ones, and he was not dressed in dark clothing meant to conceal his identity. He let go of the rope and fell to the floor swiftly, then rose at the front of his men to meet Emperor Leo’s burning gaze.
“Prince Nathaniel!” Lady Regina whispered behind Amity, clutching her mother’s shoulder with a terrifying grip.