The Basilisk Queen

by Rozie Marshall

  “Can you portal straight to Cobra and Viper, or will I need to find them?” I asked, as he assessed Maisie’s mom. “And what should I tell Maisie if I see her.”

  “I’ll make the portal to your room and you can bring Cobra, Viper and Maisie. she will need to be here,” I heard a soft moan, as Sic spoke. He looked down and spoke softly. “She’s coming, Clara. we are getting help, just hold on.” He made a portal behind me in the bathroom and I rose. “Hurry.” He turned back to Clara as I stepped through.

  Once back in my room I noticed the clock on the wall, and it was late. I opened my door and got an eye full, as Maisie was sandwiched between Emot and Kai. I stood frozen for a moment and then Kai saw me standing there. “Fuck, man, you look like you saw a banshee.” He stopped and Maisie looked over at me. Her cheeks were flushed, and I knew I looked like an idiot staring at her naked body.

  “Zugo, are you alright?” she said as she climbed off Emot, and then my brain snapped back into motion.

  “I need to get Cobra and Viper, and we need to go back,” I said, and she paled.

  Kai picked Maisie up and set her on the floor. “Get dressed.” She ran to the closet and I began walking to the doors. I flung them open and saw Cobra and Viper standing there, patiently waiting with bags in hand.

  “Hurry up, Maisie!” Viper yelled, as Kai and Emot scrambled into their clothes.

  Maisie ran out of the closet still pulling a shirt over her head, then we were all walking to my room. The portal still glowed as Cobra and Viper held hands and stepped through, followed by Kai. Emot went next as Maisie hesitated. “Tell me Zugo, is she… is she dead?”

  I couldn’t help it, I pulled her in for a tight hug as I spoke, “No, but I don’t think she has long.” She forced herself to take a deep breath and stepped through.

  As soon as I followed her, the portal closed, and Kai was holding Maisie upright as she took in the scene in the bathroom. Cobra and Viper were swiftly working to save Clara while Maisie watched, Kai holding her upright. Sic had been pushed back out of the way and he stood with Emot. “Mais…” Clara’s voice was barely audible, and Maisie instantly crawled into the closet with Cobra and Viper.

  Maisie grabbed Clara’s hand and whispered, “I’m here Mom, we’re gonna get you fixed up.”

  “Maisie, be happy,” Clara tried to speak, but only mumbles came out. Sic whispered to Emot and Kai and they left the room, I began to hear what sounded like large objects being moved. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw that they were packing Clara’s things into a tiny bag much like Cobra had when she moved the cabin.

  I watched as Cobra tried to heal Clara, but it didn’t do any good. “She’s too far gone Maisie. I can’t heal her.” Maisie sobbed and Clara’s hand reached up to cup her cheek.

  “Mom, you can’t leave, you have to fight,” Maisie pleaded, as tears ran down her face. I knew the pain she was going through, and as much as I wanted to take it away, I couldn’t.

  “Be a… kind ruler, a smart… ruler, a just… ruler, and a… loving ruler. I am so… proud of you… Maisie. I love you,” Clara’s words were broken and hushed, but she eventually got them out making Maisie cry harder.

  Maisie put her head on Clara’s chest as Clara stroked her hair, and then her hand slid off Maisie’s head, and I knew she was gone. Maisie bawled as she held her mother’s body, and I felt my own tears trailing down my cheeks. Cobra tried to pull Maisie away, but she wouldn’t budge, so she and Viper left the closet.

  “Give her a few minutes, we will go pack the rest of the house, and then we need to take her back. We can bury Clara in Lasina,” Viper whispered to Sic, and he nodded his understanding.

  Several minutes passed before Sic helped Maisie stand, picking her up when her legs gave way beneath her. He cradled her to his chest, as the others returned. “Kai, please bring Clara so we can give her a proper burial back home.” Kai handed his bag to Emot, and gingerly lifted Clara’s body.

  Sic created a portal to the castle, and we filed through, Kai last. The great hall was silent as Kai laid Clara on the table, and a servant brought out a white sheet. They covered all but her face and Cobra placed a hand on Clara’s forehead. “We shall stay with her tonight, and get her cleaned up before we let the people know.”

  “Thank you, we will make arrangements for the people to be able to see her and say goodbyes,” Sic said, Maisie still crying in his arms.

  He carried her up the stairs and when I went to follow, Kai placed a hand on my arm. “Give them some time.” I watched as they disappeared out of sight, and then Emot and Kai pulled me towards the outer yard, and towards an outbuilding. Two older men stood out front, tears in their eyes as they gazed towards the castle.

  Sic carried me into our sitting room and sat by the fire on the floor, he didn’t say anything just let me cry out my grief on his shoulder. His hand rubbed my back soothingly until my tears slowed and eventually stopped. When I lifted my head, his shirt was soaked. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, pulling the shirt off his skin.

  “Don’t apologize, you just lost your mother, and a wet shirt won’t kill me.” He continued to rub my back as I laid my head back on a dry spot.

  He slid back from the fire, so his back rested on the couch, and shifted me into a more comfortable position. “We need to plan a ceremony for your mother. If you don’t feel up to it, the guys and I can take care of it,” His words were gentle, as he cradled me in his lap.

  “What needs to happen?” I asked, not knowing all that needed to be done.

  “We will plan a day for the people to pay tribute to your mother. She will be in the great hall. Then, there will be burial, and a monument erected in her honor. We will see if the Nymphs will allow us to bury her in their valley, so she is nearby. Kai will be able to help plan, his mother passed last year, and the service was beautiful. My dad died a few years back, but it’s a bit different for born Kings. There is more pomp and ceremony involved in a King’s death. But we can do anything you want,” He explained, trying not to overwhelm me, but the idea of planning was so foreign to me that I didn’t think I could do it.

  “I don’t know, maybe I’ll just let you guys take care of it,” My whisper was soft, and he hugged me tighter as the tear threatened again. “Please talk about something else. I don’t want to cry anymore.”

  “Kai’s a pain in the ass,” He said, and a watery laugh crossed my lips. “He was making cum puns earlier.”

  “He was also making jokes about sex when Emot’s parents were here,” I sighed, as I remembered the embarrassment.

  “I do need to discuss something with you, but I hesitate to bring it up right now,” Sic’s words seemed ominous, and his face was pained when I looked up at him.

  “Just rip the band aid off, and tell me,” I said, sitting up more so I could see him fully.

  Sic cupped my cheek and wiped his thumb across it. “I know I’m not the easiest person to get along with, and I need to remember that I’ve had a lot longer to get used to this than you have. I’ve been thinking a lot about it and I’m more than willing to step down, and let my brother take my place, if that’s what you want,” His words were a shock, and I scrambled off his lap. My basilisk hissed her anger at his words, and I had to seriously focus on not shifting.

  I could see the scales pressing to the surface of my skin mirrored by Sic’s own. “How could you say that? Even after everything I don’t want someone else.” He stood up towering over me, and I looked up at his face. He seemed relieved, and yet still torn.

  “You know that it doesn’t have to be me, I have a brother who is about Zugo’s age,” He pressed on, and I pulled him closer, my hands fisted in his shirt.

  “Hear my words and truly listen. I. DON’T. WANT. ANYONE. ELSE. Excluding Kai, Emot and Zugo. I don’t want your brother. my basilisk doesn’t want anyone else. So, get that idea out of your head.” I loosened my grip on his clothes as he stepped closer. “No one can replace you Sic, despite the work we need to do to get t
o a point of understanding. You just pulled away when I didn’t choose you first, and I don’t see what the big deal is with the order. So, you weren’t the first, that doesn’t mean you’re a never.” He stopped whatever else I might have said when his lips pressed mine.

  He pulled me against his chest tightly and I opened for him to deepen the kiss. I wrapped my hands around his neck as he picked me back up and cradled me in his arms once more. Sitting on the couch, he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to mine. “I have loved you for a while now, and it never occurred to me that you might not feel the same way. I just wanted you to have options if this wasn’t what you wanted.”

  “None of this is what I wanted, but I realized, it might just be what I needed, and I want it now. I want you just as much as them.” I laid my hand over his heart feeling its stead beat, my head, I rested back on his shoulder. We sat in silence like that, just enjoying the peace. I knew things would be rocky and we would need to work together to succeed, but I was willing to try if he was.

  A soft knock on the door had Sic turning his head. “Can I come in?” Zugo’s head peeked around the doorway.

  “Sure,” Sic said, and I watched Emot and Kai sneak by and head into the bedroom, while Zugo came and sat by the fire. He didn’t say anything at first, and we just sat in a peaceful silence for a while. My eyes zoned out as I watched the flames dance in the fireplace. Sic rose and I clung to his shirt, worried that he would leave, as he placed me on the couch. “I’m going to shower and change.” He slid his thumb across my lower lip before standing upright. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

  He walked to the bedroom, leaving Zugo and I alone. Zugo stood and sat on the couch next to me. “I’m sorry about your mother. is there anything I can do? Kill someone, maim someone, fuck someone?” He laughed at the last part and so did I.

  “Kai is rubbing off on you,” I chided softly.

  “Is that such a bad thing?” He asked as he slid close, nervously putting an arm around me.

  “Not necessarily, but I like you the way you are.” I cuddled closer letting him know without words that he could hold me.

  “You like a bitter virgin who has been locked up most of his life and just wants to kill the man who locked him up? Somehow, I doubt that,” He said seriously, but with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

  “I understand the desire you have to get revenge, but I think you are better than that. And if it comes down to it, you wouldn’t kill for revenge but to save innocent people,” I spoke, and he shrugged.

  “You’re probably right, but can I still let Kai corrupt me? he’s fun to hang with,” He asked, and I laughed.

  “I guess, just don’t let him rub off on you too much,” I giggled at my slight joke, and he smiled until we noticed Viper standing in the doorway.

  “Do you think you could get the others and come down to the great hall, we found something you all need to see,” Her words made me forget about the teasing between Zugo and I. Rising, I nodded and walked into the bedroom.

  Kai’s door was open and Emot was standing shirtless in the doorway, talking with Kai. Sic’s door was closed, so I walked to Kai’s room first, Emot pulling me in for a hug as I stopped next to him. “Viper found something and needs us in the great hall.” Kai rose from his bed as I turned to go get Sic.

  Emot and Kai walked past me into the sitting area as I knocked on Sic’s bedroom door. There wasn’t an answer, so I slowly opened the door. The sound of the shower could be heard from the door, so I walked to the bathroom entry way. Sic stood in the water facing the wall, I could see his full back and ass. A thin scar ran around the side of his hip and spider webbed up his back, and I wondered how I hadn’t noticed it before.

  He lifted his head up and caught sight of me in the mirror before turning around. His hand reached for the handle to turn the water off as he grabbed his towel off the hook with the other. Stepping out of the shower, he wrapped it around his hips and then asked. “What’s wrong?”

  I wet my, suddenly dry, lips with a quick dart of my tongue and answered his question, “Viper said they found something and need to see us.”

  “I’ll be right there.” He pulled the towel off his hips and began drying off, and I tried my damnedest not to drool. The sight of his muscles flexing had me suddenly wanting to forget this whole night and just explore his body.

  He noticed me still standing there and smiled. Then he walked towards me, dropping the towel. His hand snaked out and grabbed my wrist, and then he pulled me to his room. “Go, I’ll be right behind you.” He slapped my ass playfully and then began to dress as I walked out.

  Viper was standing by the bedroom door tapping her foot impatiently. “Hurry up, this isn’t the time to be ogling the goodies.” I blushed as she pushed me towards the sitting room doors. “Sic, get your ass out here!” She yelled, as I neared the others. Once Sic walked out of the room, Viper pushed us all out of the room and down stairs to the great hall.

  When we entered the great hall, all the tables had been removed and the walls were draped in a dark green cloth. My mom’s body was still laid on a table, but she looked peaceful, like she was sleeping. She was dressed in a dark green dress that made her blond hair look even lighter, and her lips looked redder. Cobra stepped forward and pulled two bags off a small side table and handed them to me. “This is everything that was in your home back on Earth, if you ever want to go through it.” I smiled softly as she patted my hand.

  “We found two things that shouldn’t have been there, they have no trace of Clara on them. This was gripped in her fist,” Viper said, and held up a small necklace that had an ouroboros pendant with and yellow gem for its eye.

  “Why would she have a Jörmungandr pendant?” Kai asked, as if the necklace was one he had never seen before. “Clara never wore anything reminiscent of Lasina, in fact, she made sure not to, in case someone noticed.”

  “Why does it look so familiar?” Sic asked Cobra, and she looked at him sharply.

  I watched his face for a moment, but it didn’t seem to register. Viper held up a shirt next, it was soaked in blood and torn in several places. “This was also near Clara when we cleaned up the closet.”

  “That’s my shirt, but it was ruined when Kai was injured. Sic and I used it to slow his bleeding until Salima was able to get here. Why would my mother have it?” I took the stiff fabric and noticed that it had been shredded in spots.

  Emot looked at the shirt and sniffed. “It smells like bird.”

  “That’s what I though as well, and wasn’t the man who broke into the castle a bird shifter?” Viper asked, as Emot took the shirt from me.

  “What if someone went back to my house after Vago got back here, and killed her?” I asked, and Cobra nodded once.

  “That is my suspicion, she would not have survived that long with the injuries she had. The damage to Clara was done within a day or two. Someone went back to finish the job. I found several healing bruises that were most likely from when Vago attacked her, but he left her alive,” Viper spoke to the guys, and then looked at me. “I think he may even still love your mother on some level. Because all she had were bruises. The injuries that killed her were different, precise and very thin. My guess is, a woman did it, and one that Clara knew.”

  “What should we do?” Kai asked them, as Emot handed the shirt back to Viper.

  “Unfortunately, I can’t see who did this. Something is blocking my vision, and for that to happen, they have to be very powerful. My suggestion would be to trust no one, until we know who has that power,” Cobra spoke softly to the guys, then looked at me. “Trust your gut Maisie, it just might save your life,” With that said, they said their goodbyes to us and to my mother then walked towards the main doors. “Oh, and Maisie.” I turned to see that Cobra had paused. “Everything will work out, I promise, just give it time.”

  Her words were cryptic as always, and I wondered what she was talking about. As they left, I walked over to my mother and picked up her lifeless ha
nd. I heard Sic tell the others to give me a minute, and I heard them walk off as I said my own goodbyes to my mother. She looked so peaceful it was hard to imagine that her last moments were so terrible. I could feel Sic’s presence behind me, and softly whispered, “I just can’t believe she is gone. I know she is, but it doesn’t feel real.”

  “I know, some days it doesn’t feel real that my dad is gone, and he died a few years ago, just after my mom had my baby brother,” Sic’s voice was right behind me, and he wrapped his arms around me giving some comfort. “You should get some sleep. Tomorrow, we will plan her funeral and everything. Cobra put her in a frozen state until after the funeral, so people could say goodbye.” He loosened his grip and I bent forward to kiss my mom’s head, then we walked back up the stairs together.

  Once we were back in the room, I noticed the other’s doors were open as Sic helped me get ready for bed. He tucked me in and then sat on the edge. “We will leave the doors open if that’s okay with you, just in case you need something.” I nodded, and he rose kissing my forehead before walking to his own room, hitting the light switch as he went. The room darkened further as they turned their lights off and then I laid in the dark, strangely numb.

  Two Days Later

  The morning of the viewing arrived, and Sage came early to help me dress. I was required to wear a dark green dress which, she explained, was the mourning color here, and the tiara I wore the other day. She did my hair more formally than the other night, and whispered., “I am very sorry, Your Majesty, the whole of Lasina is. People have arrived from all over to pay their respects, and Thuzo has upped the guards ten-fold to protect you, and the new village.”

  I grabbed her hand and squeezed softly. “Thank you, Sage. I am so grateful to have you here.”

  “I am grateful you let me move in. Thuzo and I have set a date, but it is still a ways off.” She smiled as I stood.