by J. Stone
When the guards got close enough to clearly see what was happening to Ruby, their faces turned from violence to fear. Though she had not seen her reflection since the poison began to pour forth from her, she was certain that she must have looked ghastly. Perhaps, she could use their fear in her favor.
Ruby stopped in the middle of the narrow hallway, and the horrified guards reactively followed her lead. The princess raised her poison-coated dagger and prepared to issue some threat.
“Lay down your weapons,” she ordered them. As she spoke, the poison spat from her mouth, coating every syllable in the toxic substance.
Being intimidating, however, was not something that came easily to her and the guards must have seen through her false bravado, as neither did what she’d demanded of them. Instead, their resolve only strengthened, and they continued to cautiously approach her. Instinctively, the flow of the poison inside of her ratcheted up. The steady drizzle had become a deluge, and the purplish goop exploded out from her. Opening her mouth wide, the poison flooded the hallway in front of her, showering the two guards in the sticky substance.
Both men screamed as the poison wrapped them in its dark embrace. The noxious liquid was stronger than it had been against the former guard. The venom devoured the men’s flesh and ripped through their clothing and armor. Amidst the onslaught of dark purple, Ruby could see the men dissolved beneath the endless waves billowing forth from her mouth. She felt like she might drown against the rushing stream of poison flowing out from her, but she somehow continued to breathe through her nose. Again, the smell of the men being ripped apart by the poison seemed sweet as the scent wafted into her nostrils. Something about it just appealed to her on an aesthetic level. This concerned Ruby, as she feared she was beginning to have a taste for the murder of these men. The darkness growing inside of her was wrapping her mind in its warmth the same as the poison had the guards. It felt good.
Ruby fought against the gleeful sensation. Leina needed her. The poison slowed its pace back to what it had been before the gusher, and the princess walked forward, stepping over and through what remained of the guards. Their bodies had been broken down until almost nothing was left. The bottom of her dress dragged through the poison and their remains, further discoloring the now soggy cloth. She continued through the hallways toward Leina’s room, her trail of excreted poison slopped out behind her.
The chaos and the screams throughout the castle endured, and Ruby wondered if there was anyone who remained safe following the treasonous act. Before she made it to her sister’s room, Ruby had to pass by the throne room. From there, she could hear a great deal of commotion, as the room seemed to be a focal point of what was transpiring in the castle. Halting at the corner before the room, Ruby saw a pair of guards rush into the chamber. No one else was in sight, so she moved forward. Her initial intent was to move past the throne room and hurry to Leina’s chamber. As she passed by, however, she turned her head to inspect it. The sight was one she could not ignore.
Bodies of important members of her father’s court were scattered throughout the room. Trails of blood and bloody footprints connected the corpses together in a grim pattern. A series of guards with red blades stood over the bodies, while her father kneeled next to the throne. Her mother’s body already lay crumpled and discarded to his side. A bloodied dagger was at the king’s throat, held by Leina. In her other hand was a stuffed dog that she often slept with at night. She was dressed in a night robe splattered in blood, and her eyes were malevolent and full of malice. She smiled a wicked little grin that didn’t suit her innocent nature. The scene made no sense to Ruby’s mind. Her thoughts demanded answers as to what could have possibly driven her nine-year-old sister to ever hold a blade to her father’s neck.
Leina looked up to meet her sister’s eyes, but she was not overly concerned with her presence, as the young girl moved her gaze back down to her father at the tip of her blade. Ruby realized what was about to happen, even though it made no sense to her.
“No!” the princess shouted, stepping forward into the throne room.
Her word held no power over her younger sister. Leina plunged the dagger into the king’s throat, ripping it to the side. Blood seemed to explode from the wound, mimicking the flow of poison from Ruby’s mouth. Her father fell to the floor, gurgling on blood and gasping for air through the crimson fluid.
Ruby started to make her way across the room toward her sister and dying father, but several guards moved between her and her goal. She watched from a distance, unable to change the course of events, as her father slowly succumbed to the wound.
“What have you done, Leina?” Ruby asked, dark, oily tears streaking from the corners of her eyes and meeting the poison from her mouth.
Her sister ignored the question, impudently replying with her own. “Why aren’t you dead?” she pouted.
Ruby did not answer, still staring in disbelief at her dead mother and father lying in front of their throne. From behind a pillar crept another figure, clothed in a long, dark robe with an overhanging hood and a simple white mask disguising his face. He had his hands folded behind his back, but as he approached Leina, joining her at her side, he raised a hand and placed it on her shoulder. The hand was craggy, dusty red and ended with thick, cracked fingers filed into sharp tips.
At his touch, Leina looked up to him with a gleeful smile and asked, “Have I done well, my master?”
“Very well, my little flower,” he replied in a deep, booming voice. “But you have one left to dispose of.”
“Yes, my master” she said with a nod. Looking to the guards between her and Ruby, she ordered them, “Kill her! My sister has been ever so wicked!”
Ruby’s mind had been growing darker with each passing moment since the poison had infected her. With the catalytic event of her father’s death at the hands of her sister, the princess felt everything drift away. Before any of the guards could react, Ruby lunged forward with her poisoned dagger in hand. The blade penetrated one of the men’s gut, infecting him with the noxious fluid. He fell back with her on top of him, and Ruby’s momentum carried her forward. She performed a somersault, as he landed on the stone floor, and the princess sprinted toward the robed man, knowing him to be responsible for all the foul deeds that had been perpetrated that day. Her vengeance was not fated to be fulfilled for some time, however, as the robed man raised his craggy hand, palm toward her, and Ruby disappeared in a cloud of ash and smoke.
Chapter 2. A Hands on Experience
“You’re not dead,” a deep, raspy but somehow altogether alluring woman’s voice informed her. The sound seemed to echo and reverberate from some perfect adjustment of acoustics, making the voice even more interesting. She felt like in a dream, but she was aware enough to know that wasn’t true.
Ruby jolted back into consciousness, opening her eyes and raising herself up from a lying position. She was full of that sensation you have when you think you’ve woken late and missed something - her whole body was tingling with energy. Looking around, she saw that the entire area was a completely unfiltered bright white and was blinding. In every direction, she could see nothing but white. She squinted her eyes and covered them with the inside nook of her elbow, attempting to allow them to adjust to the intense luminance. She managed to stand and then tried to find the source of the voice, ultimately turning around and finding the fuzzy outline of the feet and legs of the woman who had spoken.
“I suppose it is a bit bright in here,” she went on. “You’ll adjust in a moment.”
“Who are you?” the princess asked, still struggling to see who she was talking to.
“That doesn’t matter,” the woman replied.
“Doesn’t matter? What do you mean?”
“Names are so fleeting, my sweet.”
“But I must know who I am talking to.”
After a light sigh, the woman said, “Very well then, if you must have a name, how about this? If you are Ruby, I’ll be Scarlett.”
> “You know my name?”
“I know much about you, princess.”
Ruby’s eyes finally began to adjust to the bright white of the place she found herself in, and she got her first glimpse of the woman who declared herself to be Scarlett. Without a doubt, Ruby had never seen a woman more beautiful than the one standing before her. She had long orange hair that ended in curled ringlets at her chest and shoulders. Her face was much younger than her voice would have indicated - smooth, delicate, and instantly appealing to the young princess. Her eyes were an unnatural red color, and orange eye shadow was heavily layered above them. Covering her beautiful, full lips was a deep crimson color, only somewhat more vibrant than the warm flush of her cheeks. Protruding out from her hair was a pair of horns not unlike that of a ram, but somehow they didn’t detract from her beauty and actually made her more appealing to Ruby in an enigmatic sort of way.
The young princess, due to the sheer amount of skin that was uncovered and lay bare, could only describe Scarlett’s dress as unconventional. She had seen nothing like it before, and this woman was certainly cut from a whole different cloth. The black dress she wore was form fitted to Scarlett’s every voluptuous curve. The neckline dropped down to between her breasts exposing an ample amount of cleavage, and the bottom of the skirt ended abruptly just below her hips, showing her long, slender legs. Petals like that of a flower sprouted out from the midsection of the dress, falling down, but adding no more cover to Scarlett’s skin. From the hem of the skirt down to just above her ankles, there was nothing but her soft, pink flesh. Her tall, heeled, black shoes were a combination of lace, leather, and a polished silver metal. A ribbon traced through the metal hoops, lacing up from the pointed toe of the shoe all the way to the top where it was accented with a delicate bow.
Caught off guard by her attraction to this strange woman, Ruby found herself unable to choose any appropriate words to continue the conversation. Scarlett acted as though she were keenly aware of the princess’ attraction, eyeing her up and down ravenously, before moving forward and taking advantage of it. She began to walk around Ruby, tenderly rubbing her fingertips against the exposed skin of the princess’ arm.
“Your next question, Ruby,” Scarlett insisted, making a return to the princess’ front.
“Oh, yes,” she said, awaking from her temporary daze. Her thoughts turned to her location. It hadn’t been a trick of her adjusting eyes. There truly was only white in every direction. “Where am I? What is this place?”
“Two questions,” the horned woman replied with a smile. “But I suppose they lead to the same answer.” Twirling around and extending her arms upright, Scarlett showed Ruby her objectless surroundings. “Think of this as a temporary holding pen. It is a step out of time and space, inconsistent with your world but not quite reaching the next. It is between here and there but nowhere along the path. It is everything and nothing.” She paused and looked back to the princess. “Ignoring all of that utter nonsense though, this is a transition realm that you will not stay in for very long, as you are reallocated to your next location.” Scarlett then approached Ruby and whispered sweetly in her ear, “And in case you’re wondering… we’re completely alone in here.”
“Why would that matter?” Ruby asked, flustered and embarrassed by her attraction to the alluring woman.
Scarlett just smiled. After a pause, she added, “You seem not to have taken notice yet.”
“Of what?”
The horned woman raised an eyebrow. “The poison.”
Scarlett was right. Ruby raised a hand to her lips. No longer was the poison pouring forth from her mouth in uncontrollable amounts.
“What stopped it?” the princess asked.
“This place,” Scarlett told her. Raising her hand to Ruby’s face, the horned woman gently rubbed her chin. The built up muck and grime from the ever-flowing poison was gone. “This cessation is only temporary though, just like your time here.”
The princess raised a hand to inspect the now clean surface. “How did you do that?”
“That doesn’t matter. Find another question that does, my sweet princess.”
Ruby thought for a moment. She was very confused by this place, how exactly she had got there, or what was to come next. “You said I’m not dead.”
“Yes.” Scarlett smiled.
“And that this place is temporary.”
“Yes.” A bigger smile.
“So that means I’m going somewhere after being here.”
“Yes.” There was a keen glint in her eyes.
“Where am I going?”
Scarlett seemed quite pleased by the question and eagerly replied, “The Abyss. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”
Indeed, Ruby knew of it. The Abyss was a region of her kingdom that was desolate, dangerous, and full of death. The air was noxious and carried with it a thick miasma. The water had long since turned to muck and poison. The soil was rotten, and anything that grew out from the earth was toxic. In short, the region was uninhabitable.
“But I’ll die there,” Ruby objected.
Scarlett smiled and once again approached the princess. She put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder and traced around behind her. She then pressed up against Ruby’s back, wrapping her arms around the princess’ midsection and chest, hugging her tightly. Whispering in Ruby’s ear, Scarlett said, “You’re the poison princess. You’re immune to the venom held within that place.”
The horned woman did not release Ruby from her embrace, and the princess realized that she did not want her to either. Her scent was mesmerizing, reminding Ruby of the strawberries she loved so much. Eventually, through the aromatic haze, she managed to find another pair of questions. “How is it that I have come to this place? And why am I going to the Abyss?”
Scarlett nuzzled against Ruby’s cheek and released a soft sort of moan. Her hands began to wander on the princess’ body, caressing her, as she answered. “The craggy hand man. He had to dispose of you. Would have killed you outright if he could, but he doesn’t have enough power yet. He underestimated you when he sent you to the Abyss. You’re stronger than he can imagine, my princess.”
“What is he? What is he doing to my sister?” Ruby asked. She forced herself to lightly remove Scarlett’s hands and turned to face her.
“He is a symbiotic demon of the nether realm,” Scarlett said, taking a step back. Her red eyes changed from alluring to saddened. “He is using her to breach your world and grow in strength.”
“Why? Why would he do that?”
“I’m sorry. That doesn’t matter.”
“How can that not matter? He’s corrupted my sister. Why has he done this?”
“Knowing his motives will not change your actions. Knowing how will.”
“Then how? How has he done this to Leina?”
“Every symbiote works differently. The one infecting your sister approached her as a friend.”
“A friend? What does that mean?”
“When you were a child, did you never dream up an imaginary friend?” Scarlett asked. “Leina did. She dreamt up a man in a mask with a craggy hand. For years, he has been infesting your sister’s mind. Only recently was his strength to a point that he could take a true form.” Scarlett paused for a moment. “You may not be able to save her. He is a necrosis stripping away the layers of her mind and soul. It may be too late.”
“I will save my sister,” Ruby said resolutely.
“Perhaps, but not like this. If you approach him again, he will have the power to destroy you outright.”
“Then how do I stop him? How do I free Leina?”
“You must first understand what you are capable of. You must understand what has happened to you.”
Ruby did not know how long it had been since Scarlett’s last touch, but she felt like she now needed it. She felt addicted to it. Everything seemed to fade away, but her desire for this strange woman’s touched buzzed aggressively in her mind.
“What is it that y
ou have done to me?”
Scarlett approached the princess once again, this time wrapping one arm around to the small of her back and the other at the base of her neck and playing with the strands of hair there. Leaning forward, the horned woman softly nibbled on Ruby’s earlobe. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is - do you like it?”
The princess couldn’t help herself. She moaned softly and then replied, “Yes.”
“Mmm. I know, my sweet. Now… Ask me what the wizard did.”
“What did Durin do to me?”
“The wizard attempted to save you,” Scarlett replied. The horned woman’s hands at Ruby’s back began to untie the string of her dress. The princess did not object.
“But what else? Why am I like this now?” She found her own arms now wrapped around Scarlett and that her fingers were slowly exploring the woman’s body.
“While the wizard was alive and could control the spell, he was focusing it to bring the poison out of you. In death, the effects of the spell became more… chaotic.”
Ruby raised her head upward, closing her eyes. Scarlett continued to untie the string at the princess’ back, but she had also begun to tenderly kiss her neck.
“What is it doing to me?” the princess asked.
“The spell is bringing forth everything dark and hidden from within you. Some of that is certainly physical, but it isn’t just about pulling the poison from your body. Every secret desire, repressed thought, and ill will you’ve ever harbored is being pressed to the forefront of your mind.”
The strings at her back were now undone. Scarlett bent down to the ground, ruffling the hem of Ruby’s skirt in her palms. Standing up, she pulled the dress up with her and over the princess’ eagerly raised and outstretched arms. The beautiful horned woman carelessly tossed aside the dress, and the princess was left standing there in only her simple, thin, white chemise.
“How do I stop it?” Ruby asked, looking into the crimson red eyes of the horned woman.
“You don’t. You embrace it.”
