A/N: Hi hi hi! This is my submission for Round 3, Part 2 of the Multigenre Mashup SmackDown! This time, we had to write a story using only dialogue, no dialogue tags. And we had to make it a historical fiction story, containing a mythical creature. 

I love history, so I decided to explore a new part of history for this story. The part I settled on was the war between the Persian Empire (known back then as the Achaemenid Empire) and the Massagetae, ancient Iranian peoples who lived in Central Asia. This took place in about 530 B.C.E. My mythical creatures are beings called jinn; they come from Persian mythology, and they are frightful, shapeshifting creatures who can influence human thought and actions. They exist in a parallel world, that is both shared by humans and transcends time and space, and are hidden from human eyes. 

I won't tell you the ruler this story is centered around, not yet; perhaps, if you know history well enough, you know of this tale already. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

Word count: 494

"My Queen!"

"Yes, Abragos?"

"The Achaemenid forces are retreating! King Cyrus has heeded your warning!"

"Excellent. Sound the alarm and gather all the warriors - we cross the river at sundown."

"As you wish, my Queen."

* * * * *

"Achaemenid forces approaching!"

"What?! You said they had retreated!"

"It was a trap, my Queen! They managed to ally themselves with the wild jinn living here, and the jinn have infiltrated the warrior's minds! They encouraged them to drink the grape juice the Achaemenids left behind! Now all the warriors have gone mad!"

"Oh, damn that tricky King! Are we in any condition to repel this attack, Abragos?"

"I'm afraid not, my Queen."

"Very well. We will fight for as long as we can, then retreat back to our territory once we can't."

"M-My Queen?"

"It pains me to do this, Abragos, but we must protect our home. If that means retreating to avoid capture, so be it."

* * * * *

"How many casualties?"

"Over half of the troops were captured, my Queen. And your son..."

"My son? What happened to Spargapises?"

"He- He is dead, my Queen."

"Dead?! How is this possible?!"

"He killed himself, my Queen. The scouts just received the message from King Cyrus - the shame of being captured was too much for him."

"Oh, that bastard of a King! Get me some paper, Abragos, right away. His poison killed my son - he killed my son. My son did not die in a fair, open fight, and the bloodthirsty Cyrus will pay for that."

"My Queen?"

"Cyrus will give my son back to me. And if he dares refuse, I will give him his fill of blood. He will die soon - by my hand."

* * * * *

"My Queen!"

"Has he been found yet, Abragos?"

"Yes, my Queen. King Cyrus was felled on the southern side of the battlefield, but he still breathes. He is being brought to you this very instant."

"Good. Is the vat ready?"

"Filled to the brim with human blood, my Queen."

"Excellent. Make sure all the remaining troops gather around the vat. And make sure somebody is there to remove the body - I shall only need his head."

"It will be done, my Queen."

* * * * *

"We have gathered here today to celebrate! For our greatest enemy, the Achaemenid Empire, has been vanquished!

"And we have with us today the leader of the enemy forces, King Cyrus the Great. He has committed many crimes against our people - he has tried to take our homelands, slaughtered our fathers, our mothers, our brothers, sisters, daughters, sons. He has stolen my own dear son away from me. He should pay for those crimes, should he not?!

"Bring him to me, Abragos!"

"Here you go, my Queen."

"Excellent. It is your time to face justice, Cyrus the Bloodthirsty.

"I live and have conquered you in fight, and yet by you am I ruined, for you took my son with guile.

"Thus I make good my threat, and give you your fill of blood." 

A/N: How was it?

If you didn't know, or guess, the ruler that this story centered around was the warrior Queen Tomyris, one of the fiercest women in history, who managed to defeat the odds and behead King Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire (Yes, this story actually happened, with the exclusion of the part about the jinn!), avenging her son's death at King Cyrus' hands. 

To clear some stuff up: I made up Abragos as Queen Tomyris' right-hand man, of sorts. Most of the conversations are between him and Queen Tomyris. And the "grape juice" being referred to in one of these segments is wine; in a clever trap, the Persians pretended to retreat, leaving it behind in their camp, and when Tomyris' forces advanced on the camp, they found it and drank it, not knowing what it was. Then, when all the warriors were drunk, the Persians struck. 

Oh, and the last part: I think it was a little unclear, but what Tomyris did after Cyrus was brought to her was cut off his head and dip it in a vat of human blood. Brutal, but I can't say it wasn't deserved.

I hope you learned something today! I certainly did - writing this story was a fascinating journey into a part of history previously unknown to me. I really enjoyed it!

Thank you for reading!