Leo put her sword up to Libra's neck. Capricorn did the same to Corona. Sagittarius did the same to Taurus.

"Your choice, your majesty," Leo said, with a sick grin. "Who first?"

"You want me to help choose which of my family dies first? How dare you? This is treason!"  Cepheus cried. 

His eyes had fixated on Taurus. Every limb in Libra's body screamed. She needed to move. If Cepheus has to choose anyone, it would be Taurus. A strangled sound came out of her throat as she tried to reach Taurus. She stuck out her hand. Taurus stuck out here and grabbed it.

Sagittarius was silently crying. Tears slipped from his eyes naturally. He had a sword up to his soon-to-be girlfriend's throat. The girl he loved. He couldn't kill her, could he? If it were to end a war.

"C'mon, Cepheus. You know your choices," Leo snarled. Something new had risen in her complexion. Something terrifying. Like a wild Lion, waiting to pounce. "This is mercy. Surrender, or a member of your family."

Capricorn had only been absolutely terrified three times in his life: when he found out about his sister dying, during the battle of Astri, and right now. He was afraid of Leo. She was wild. She was practically unhinged. He had a feeling that she would not hesitate to slit Libra's throat.

Leo had a plan. She wasn't sure if she could pull through. Murdering an entire royal family is definitely a Solis move. But she was a new generation of Solis. She was girl. Technically, Leo wasn't supposed to be the chosen one of the family. She wasn't meant to be anything special. But here she was. The Solis girl who could. Leo knew she could pull through with it. She knew her partner would too.

"You have five seconds," Leo warned, in a taunting tone.

She hated to admit it, but she loved the violence. She loved the war. She loved the power that came with all of it. But one glance around the room was all it took to melt that. For the first time in her life, Leo had a family. She had Capricorn, who's terrified expression made hopeless. She had Sagittarius; who she knew she could trust. She had Aquarius and Scorpio, who never failed to have her back. She had Gemini and Cancer, who proved that you don't have to be a soldier to be strong.

Leo looked at all of these people, and then some, and thought, What a wonderful world I live in.

Cepheus was not going to surrender. Instead, he uttered a simple word. "Taurus."

Taurus was crying by then. Corona started screeching at the top of her lungs. But before the blade could be properly against Taurus's throat.  A horde of soldiers stormed in. Leo rolled her eyes and blood lust started to grow.

"What are you waiting for? Attack them!" Leo ordered.

Capricorn and Sagittarius disregarded the royals and started to swing their swords around, clashing into the enemies side. Gemini picked up a weapon, and had a vengeful glint in her eye. Cancer grabbed a can of hot sauce and started pouring it into peoples eyes, while Virgo finished the job by tying them up with the same rope he was arrested with. Aries joined the charge by punching people, as he was at a loss for weapons.

Gemini raised her new sword up and stabbed a man. "This is for the kids." Stab. "This is for my boyfriend." Stab. "And this is for women's and LGBTQ+ rights." Stab. "Take that, bitch."

Aquarius tried to pull her back, but Gemini was on a mission. "Gem, What are you doing?"

Gemini turned around and looked at him with an expression filled with sorrow. "I'm doing what needs to be done. I don't like it, but it's my time to stand."

Aquarius picked up the dying soldiers sword. "I'll stand with you. We're a team."

"Let's kick ass and take names," Gemini affirmed, slicing a guys wrist open.

The two of them fought back to back. They sliced and diced at anyone who came their way. In the distance, they could hear Scorpio calling their names. Desperately wishing them into hiding. But this was Gemini's fight, and she couldn't let go of it. Not after everything she'd been through. And Aquarius... after he saw the look on Gemini's face, he knew he needed to fight. So he clashed swords with several men, hitting them in the knees, crippling them. He tried to avoid murder, but his bread-baking girlfriend was a lot less careful.

"Remind me not you get on your bad side," Aquarius shouted over the noise, kicking a man to the ground.

Gemini chuckled, her face covered in drops of blood. "I can be pretty nasty when I want to be."

And then she shoved the sword right through someone's stomach, an image that would haunt Aquarius forever. Later, it would haunt Gemini soon.

On the other side of the room, Taurus and Sagittarius were fighting side by side. Libra tried calling them over, but she had no control over the duo.

Sagittarius was an expert fighter. Perhaps not to Leo's level, but he was astonishing to watch. In one fluid motion, he sliced three men's neck open. He had eyes that lacked souls as he fought, blocking out his emotions. His necessary evil. Taurus, on the other hand, had no experience but a lot of anger. She immediately cut the skirt off of her dress, making it easier to move, but also making it so she flashed men as she murdered them. She had no technique but a lot of anger.

Together they were a force to be reckoned with. In fact, some witnesses say that the only time they saw a flicker of emotion in Sagittarius' eye was when Taurus was nearly stabbed. Sagittarius has spun around and dug a sword into a mans heart faster than ever before.

It was there the two of them truly understood each other. From the first moment they met, they hated each other. At that moment, they realized it was because it's hard to love oneself. And they were so similar in more ways than they knew.

In one corner, Aries and Virgo were protecting Libra and Pisces. Aries was terrified on all accounts. He wanted it to be over. He wanted him and Pisces to grow old in the castle and cuddle. But noooo. There just had to be a war. Well, you know what they say. Politics ruins everything.

Libra cast a weird look at the sky. She held Pisces in her arms, like a scared little boy. She was brave about it too. If the fates said it was her time to go, she would respect their decision. She only wished the fates would give her time to pray and say her goodbyes.

Pisces felt alone. He didn't know where his parents were. Could they handle it? If he died, would they be able to handle the loss of another child? Could Aries handle it? Or Gemini or Jaden? What about Aquarius and Libra, who he knew since they were kids...?  But, on the other hand, he could see Nebula again. He would be able to hug his sister, and laugh, and play with her. He could run right into no mans land and reunite with her.

But one look at Aries' terrified face convinced him otherwise. One glance at Gemini and Aquarius fighting back to back. One squeeze from Libra. And then he heard a voice.

They still need you. Don't leave them alone. Not like I did with you.

Suddenly, Pisces had a million and one reasons to survive.

Virgo was thrashing around ruthlessly. He had no idea how to fight, but he was better at tying people up. Unfortunately, Cancer had run out of hot sauce so he was out of luck. Instead he was stabbing people with wood in hopes it would splinter within them, cause infection, and later death. Needless to say, it was not his best strategy. But he defended his friends and the girl he loved. All he had to do was survive long enough to see Jack again.

Cancer fought with no mercy. Anything around her, she used in either building Scorpio a shelter, or slaying all of her enemies. Cancer was tough, and there was little anyone could do or say to get her to stop at that point. She was dangerous on so many levels. She was going mad. So many of these men spit on her face when she walked in with Scorpio. So many told her that she should be in the kitchen.

Well, guess what, fuckers? She thought as she sprayed one in the eye with pepper spray. You should be in the grave.

Scorpio was suddenly in love with and afraid of her girlfriend. Scorpio knew then and there that she would have to propose to her beloved disease. But she also worried. Could Cancer take all the hatred that would come with it? They received so much hate mail when they made Leo a general. They would receive so many threats if she and Cancer were to marry... but there was something in the back of Scorpio's mind.

What if...? What if we lived in a better world? Where the sun always shines and the trees never stop growing? If there was such a place, Scorpio guaranteed that she and Cancer would settle down there and leave the kingdom to Aquarius.

That would be a bad idea, but she was sure he'd figure it out. Gemini might dump him, which would be a problem. Maybe she could leave the kingdom to Libra instead. Either way, Aquarius was right about wanting to live with common folk. It sounded so peaceful. And as blood splattered Cancer's face, it was exactly what they needed.

Leo And Capricorn fought together in the center of battle. Leo's hair was in a tight ponytail. Her face had blood smeared all over it. What Capricorn found the most disturbing was the blood lust in her eyes and the wicked smile she wore. And that's when he realized. He was right in the beginning. She was scary.

She was absolutely terrifying. Not because of how serious she was, not because of her skills, but because she wasn't afraid to stab someone through the chest. Someone she allied herself with. She was going to make Sagittarius kill Taurus. She would've made him kill Corona. And she would not of hesitated with killing Libra.

Leona Solis was a warrior. It was in her blood. And Capricorn feared she could not control it. Leo had her sights set on the king of the chess board. In Leo's head she was the queen of the white sight. The King of the black side was left wide open. His Queen was out of commission. His pawns were in battle and his rooks and knights had turned against him. Leo was going to kill a man out of spite. And she was going to enjoy it.

Leo slaughtered men as she walked. Kicking them from behind, stabbing them at particular points, like the chest and the neck. She always made sure to take out her sword so that they would bleed out. She walked up behind the king and observed what was going on. Her friends were being overwhelmed by an army.

For a moment, she was back to her self. She left Capricorn in the middle of it. She regretted it and wanted to go back, but something in her knew that this was the only way to win this war. It wasn't worth any more civilian deaths.

Some of you may have read about this next bit on page 199 of your textbook. Some of you may have heard it from family. For some of you, these stories may have passed on into legend rather than facts.

But this is the page of the chapter where Leo decapitated a man, and held his head up by his hair so sport. The room fell silent.

"He made the wrong fucking choice," she said.

———-

Three more chapters + bonus left. Almost there guys. Anyways, this was a wild ride of mostly emotions for once soooo. Anyways, what will happen next? Also, make sure to get your contest entires in soon! Winners will be announced in bonus chapter. If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask! See you on the Flip side!