The Poison Princess

by J. Stone

  Before Scarlett set off, however, she noted that something just felt off. She didn’t feel quite right. Weighed down maybe. She rolled her shoulders trying to put her finger on it. The fabric of her dress scratched softly at her skin but enough to cause her irritation. The demon was aware of the human’s custom for wearing clothes, but she found herself not caring for it. She wanted to be naked. Ruby had dreamed her up an incredibly sexy form, and she wanted everyone possible to see it. She was a bit dismayed that no one would be around to witness its magnificence. Slipping the little, black dress over her head, Scarlett tossed the bit of cloth to the ground beside Sniggle and kicked off her heeled boots. He seemed not to care for her nakedness, rolling over and going back to sleep.

  Properly prepared now, the horned demon left Ruby there to overcome her drug-induced fever, as she searched the cave for the poisons. Her first stop would be the serpent’s body, where it had laid since the princess killed it with her toxins. Scarlett walked back along the stream towards where the path diverged. Crawling through the narrow slit along the bottom of the pathway, she slipped back in an area that hadn’t been traversed in quite some time. The poison left behind by Ruby was long since gone, but luckily, Scarlett remembered the exact set of turns needed to take her to Sythys’ old sleeping area.

  The whole trip took about three hours, and when the horned woman finally did arrive, she saw what was left of the long since dead serpent. Despite the enormous nature of the beast, very little had survived the ravages of time. A skeleton remained, but Scarlett held little hope that there was any poison remaining in its fangs. The glands, she was sure, had long since deteriorated. The demon had come all that way though, so she had to check.

  Approaching the serpent’s head, Scarlett knelt down and looked into its mouth. Reaching in, she felt the long fang, feeling for any remains of liquid, despite her expectation that there would be none. She was therefore not surprised when she did not recover any. That didn’t mean she was happy about it. Irritated, Scarlett grabbed the fang with both hands and wrenched it from the serpent’s skull. The tooth snapped and broke off, as the demon fell back, landing on the ground. Looking down inside it, she discovered that it was hollow. There was no poison inside, but at least she could use it as a cup for when she found whatever venom she could from the frogs living in the cave.

  Looking up from the fang, Scarlett saw a deteriorated shoe inside the serpent’s skeleton. Ruby had lost that very shoe upon escaping from the beast’s corpse. Further away was the other that the princess had willingly disposed of. Things hadn’t changed in the depths in such a long time. Scarlett realized how much had transpired above though. She was not eager to tell Ruby how long it had truly been.

  Scarlett stood up with the serpent’s tooth in hand and set back toward the stream. She tried to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to scare off any of the frogs that might be wandering about in the cave. The demon skulked through the tunnels, holding the fang like a dagger, watching for any movement, and listening for the faintest of sounds to bring her closer to her quarry. She made it back to the stream without incident, but rather than going with the water, as Ruby had done, she decided to go against it. The pond that the princess had stayed near during her time under the illusion of the toxic blissroot had never really recovered from the poison she’d washed downstream, and there was very little life there. Perhaps she would have better luck upstream, she thought.

  After following the stream for about a half hour, Scarlett heard it. A ribbit. She stopped, her eyes wide open and cocking her head to the side, trying to point her ear toward the origin of the sound. There was another croak, and the demon knew the call had come from a side channel, away from the water. Silencing her steps, Scarlett proceeded in that direction, hoping to find and capture one.

  Slowly peeking around a corner, the horned woman spotted a bright yellow frog no bigger than the size of her palm. The frog spit out its tongue, capturing a small insect, and it proceeded to gobble the bug down its throat. Scarlett wasn’t certain that this particular specimen was poisonous, but she suspected that the bright color was a good indicator. As it swallowed the bug, she crept out from around the corner, trying to sneak up on the frog. Its mouth stopped, as if it were listening or observing her in some way, and Scarlett mimicked, pausing her movements. Her efforts were in vain; as it was proved that the small creature had taken notice of her.

  The frog quickly hopped away from her, and the demon hurried forward, hoping to catch it before it made its escape. Either she was too slow or it had been too fast, as the frog found a sliver of a hole in the rocky wall and disappeared into it.

  “Rats!” the horned woman cursed.

  She dropped the fang on the ground and slid toward the hole, shoving her hand in after the frog. She clawed around inside it, but her fingers met nothing but slimy rocks. Pulling her hand back out, her palm was covered in grime, and she wiped it off on a flat edged stone, disgusted by it. Scarlett stood back up wiping similar muck off her knees, arms, and midsection.

  “Certainly disgusting,” she told herself. “But not what I’m looking for.”

  Scarlett looked around, trying to find a clue as to any nearby places the frogs might be congregating. She couldn’t hear any additional croaking, as the frog that escaped had gone quiet. Picking up the fang, she skulked back toward the water, her hunt continuing. She walked along the water, worrying about Ruby’s condition. Though she now had form in Nabiria and had escaped the nether realm, Scarlett was still tied inescapably to her princess. Her fate was the demon’s fate, and so the horned woman was determined to save her from the effects of the toxic blissroot. Given what she was, Scarlett certainly approved of Ruby living a life full of elation and pleasure, but the demon wanted to be the one to make her happy, not some fruit. Besides, she knew how much Ruby wanted to help her sister, and as much as the horned woman thought that to be a dangerous path to walk, she was determined to assist her princess in that endeavor.

  Walking along the stream’s edge, Scarlett saw something in the slow moving water ahead. Strange ripples slithered at the very top of the calm stream. Squinting her red eyes into narrow slits, she focused on the pattern and soon realized that it was in fact a snake of some sort. The serpent blended in with the water, so it was hard for her to make out the details, but this seemed an even better opportunity than a poisonous frog. The snake was coming toward her, so she sat Sythys’ fang on the ground, approached the edge of the water, and waited for the smaller serpent to pass by her. When it was within reach, she snatched it out from the stream.

  Scarlett discovered that she hadn’t grabbed it in the best spot, as its head coiled around and bit the fleshy chunk of her hand between her thumb and index finger. The pain of the bite made her nearly release her grip, but she held steady and so did the beast. She could feel the poison oozing out from its fangs and into her skin in small, but powerful amounts. Because of her connection to Ruby, Scarlett was somewhat immune to the toxic effect. However, due to their weak bond, she could still feel a slight burning sensation at its touch. Still, the serpent did not let go, so the demon pried the fangs out from her skin. Blood and venom dripped from the wounds, as the snake was removed.

  With a better grip on the beast’s head, Scarlett reached over and grabbed Sythys’ fang. Aiming the snake’s head over the brim of the hollow tooth, she forced it to open its mouth and expose its fangs on the inside of her makeshift bottle. The opal colored venom leaked down the side of the tooth, pooling in the bottom. It started to seep out the bottom of the fang though, so Scarlett resituated her hands so that she could plug the sharp hole with her finger.

  Having acquired exactly what she needed, the horned demon hurried back to where she’d left Ruby. A new source of poison was exactly what would help her get over the addictive effects of the toxin from the blissroot. Holding the snake in the tooth, while simultaneously plugging the hole was rather awkward and by the time she got back, Scarlett had pierced all of her fingers with
the large tooth, mixing some of her own blood with the snake’s venom. That wouldn’t matter much, she hoped, as she sat down beside Ruby who was tossing and turning in her sleep and sweating in a great abundance.

  Nudging Sniggle with her knee, Scarlett woke him up. “Hold this,” she told the little imp, pointing her head toward the snake.

  Sniggle shook his head and waved his hands in protest in front of his face.

  “Do it,” she ordered him, unwilling to listen to his complaints.

  Scarlett removed the snake from the tooth and held his neck to the ground near Sniggle. The purple imp then reluctantly straddled the serpent and held it down, similarly, but using his full weight to accomplish the same goal. With one hand free, the horned demon turned to Ruby. She climbed on top of her, straddling her not unlike Sniggle and the snake. Scarlett scooted up, placed her legs over the princess’ arms, and pushed her shackled hands up over Ruby’s head to keep them out of her way.

  The princess was still rather delirious. Her eyes seemed not to have taken notice of the woman sitting over her, and that lack of awareness worried Scarlett. There was still a long way yet to go before Ruby recovered. Opening the princess’ mouth, the demon slid the fang gently inside and let her finger off the tip, so the snake’s venom could pour out. The toxin mixed in with Ruby’s own, but it looked like the substance was going down as it needed to. Scarlett patiently waited until all of the venom had seeped out of the bottom of the fang.

  When it was empty, the demon stood up, staring down over Ruby’s body. She looked no different. Her condition hadn’t improved, but Scarlett knew they were now on the right track. Brushing Sniggle to the side, she picked up the snake and walked some distance away. She set the serpent down on a soft patch of earth, and raising and slamming down the fang, skewered it to the ground, causing an angry hiss to come from the snake. They would need its venom again, and she couldn’t let it slip away.

  Returning to Ruby, Scarlett laid down next to her. She slid her head through her princess’ shackled arms, wrapping them around her, rested her head on her princess’ shoulder, and wrapped her own arms and one leg over her body as well, getting the poison all over herself. The horned demon would make certain that Ruby recovered, and she would be there every step of the way.

  Chapter 11. Wake in Filth

  Ruby awoke in a haze. She couldn’t remember much at that moment. Looking down at herself, she was completely naked except for the poison she exuded from her mouth that now covered nearly all of her skin, forming its own kind of clothing. Her wrists were sealed inside manacles that were chained into a rocky wall. Beneath her was the once yellow dress that she recalled having worn sometime prior. Also laying on the dress was a little purple blob that she knew called itself Sniggle. Beside the dress, several feet away, was a pile of dead and discarded snakes next to a giant fang. Of everything she saw, that made the least sense.

  A barrage of dissenting memories filled her head, each in conflict with another. She felt as though she had lived two lives, and had to choose which one to continue with. For whatever reason, Ruby had picked this one, where she was covered in poison and filth, alone and trapped in the depths of a dark cavern. As the moments passed, she came to realize everything that had happened to her. She remembered eating the toxic blissroot, and it leading to the false dream world that she had just woken up from. Those memories began to fade, and the princess struggled to recall how she had escaped from that place.

  She was too tired to think about it anymore though. Whatever else had happened since she ate the fruit, she was chained to a wall. That meant that someone else was there, even though she had no memory of such a person joining her. She couldn’t even imagine how anyone else had gotten down into the depths with her. The princess had seen no way out in all her time searching other than the collapsed tunnel leading up to the Abyss.

  Whoever it was, she felt she needed to get free before they came back. Gripping the chain leading into the wall with both hands and propping her bare feet against the rocks, Ruby pulled back with all her might. No good. The metal was wedged into the rocks too well. She fell back with an exhausted sigh, still weak after waking from her slumber. The princess looked over to the sleeping imp, and she wondered if it might be able to help set her free.

  Nudging at the little blob, she whispered, “Sniggle.”

  The purple imp rolled over out of her reach and continued sleeping.

  “Useless,” she remarked to herself.

  She looked down to the manacles where she had been inadvertently dribbling her poison. Perhaps, she thought, she could use it as lubrication and squeeze her hands out. Spitting out more of the ooze, she let it get in between the flesh on her wrists and the metal of her restraints. Ruby placed her knee on the chain and held it to the ground, while she attempted to pull her hands through the iron hoops. No good. The metal was on too tight. The restraints jutted into bone and scraped away flesh, as she pulled. There was no way she was getting out like that without severely injuring herself.

  The princess wasn’t ready to give up though. She had one more idea. Her experience with the giant serpent had shown her in part what she was capable of. The poison that flowed ceaselessly from her mouth could be controlled and changed at her whim. What if then, she thought, she were to alter the poisons property so that it would melt through metal itself. Focusing her mind on the task, Ruby thought about something with extreme heat. She’d seen the blacksmiths of her kingdom create works of metal with the heat of a burning fire, bending it and shaping it to their will. The princess focused her every thought on the idea of there being some poison, some acid that could tear through the restraints.

  There was no change. Her failure angered her, and she once again ripped at the chain attached to the wall. She screamed at herself under her breath through gritted teeth. She had to be stronger.

  Closing her eyes and trying again, her mind found what she was in need of. Opening her eyes once more, Ruby saw that her mouth was dribbling forth an orange colored poison with a very thick consistency. It almost looked like the metal in the forges when it was malleable and tender enough to be shaped.

  The orange poison dripped slowly toward her manacles, and as it touched the metal, a steam emitted along with an angry hissing sound. Ruby wrenched her head to the side, as the steam floated up to her face and penetrated her eyes. When she looked back down at her wrists, the metal restraints had been completely destroyed by the poison, but her wrists were absolutely fine. Even the wounds from pulling at the metal healed. The new poison, however, had eaten away at the dress underneath her. She realized it didn’t matter. There were a plethora of holes, cuts, and disgusting fluids covering it. The dress had long since been ruined.

  At that point, she heard someone coming, and not knowing who it could be, Ruby stood and rushed to hide behind a nearby outcropping of rocks.

  “Where is she?” a familiar deep and raspy voice soon asked.

  From where Ruby was, she saw a woman come into view. It was the horned demon, Scarlett, who was, of course, completely naked, but the princess couldn’t imagine what she was seeing was real. The demon said that she needed Ruby to free her from the nether realm. She hadn’t done such a thing, or at least, she didn’t recall doing it. Frozen in confusion, she stayed there and watched as Scarlett pushed Sniggle with her bare foot, rousing him from his sleep.

  “Some help you were,” she told the little thing.

  It merely shrugged its shoulders, having not seen where the princess had disappeared to.

  Ruby walked out from her hiding spot and asked, “Scarlett?”

  Sniggle uselessly pointed her out for the horned demon, as Scarlett turned around.

  “You’re up!” she cheered.

  “You’re… here… and you’re… naked,” Ruby said, staring quite intently at her demon’s body.

  “I absolutely am. Come here. Let’s celebrate.”

  The princess backed up and replied, “No, don’t touch me! I’ll hurt yo
u!”

  Scarlett ignored Ruby’s warning, and stuck her hand, unharmed, under the poison dripping from the princess’ mouth. “You can’t hurt me, my poison princess. I’m a part of you. Remember, we’re bonded, Ruby.”

  That word from that mouth continued to be like a drug to the princess. The sound of it turned her stomach into a quivering mass of knots and the demon seemed to know it. Despite what she thought was proper and right, Ruby wanted Scarlett more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. She needed her. The power the horned woman had over her was even stronger now that she was standing before her and was quite tantalizingly tangible. The nudity didn’t hurt either. Ruby’s eyes traced over every curve of the demon she had somehow summoned to be her servant.

  Ruby, however, resisted her baser desires, backed up, and simply said, “You need to put your clothes back on.”

  “Are you absolutely sure?”

  “Uh…” One more look at her perfect body. She forced her eyes away and shook her head. “Yes. Clothes. Now.”

  “Rats.” The horned demon walked back to the pile of clothes, slipped her little black dress over her head, and squeezed her feet back into her heeled boots.

  Confused by her surroundings and company, the princess began to quickly pace back and forth in that dim cave. “How did you get here?” Ruby asked, while Scarlett was still dressing.

  “You. You finally realized how much you need me.”

  “Did I? I don’t remember that.”

  “I’m surprised you remember anything, my sweet princess. You’ve been eating the blissroot for far too long. It eats away at your memory.”

  Ruby began to worry about the relationship she had apparently forged with Scarlett. Demons were not an unknown quantity in the world, but she herself was relatively ignorant to them. They were not exactly among the top concerns a princess faced. What little she did know involved a metaphysical tether between the human and demon, forming a symbiotic partnership. What this truly meant she had no idea. She would worry about that later.