“We have time Clara, he only arrived yesssterday. From what Sssalima sssaid he landed in New York. It will take him at leassst two daysss to get here,” the hissed S’s suggested that Emot was speaking.
“I don’t want her here if he’s coming for her,” mom’s voice ratcheted up a notch, and I could tell she was worried.
I rose from the pillows and wiped my nose. “Why would he bother coming after me?”
Sic, looked sadly at me. “You became the Queen of all Lasina on your eighteenth birthday. We signed a Treaty with your mother on your eighth birthday, that makes us your Kings. It is not uncommon for females to have multiple mates as there aren’t as many females as males. Your birth was the first royal female birth in six hundred years. Your father didn’t want to lose his own throne just to unite the Kingdoms, so he tried to kill your mother when he found out you were a girl. We’ve been looking after you and protecting you since our families signed the Treaty. You were eight, and you used to like us monsters.”
I stared in shock; pretty sure I could catch flies in my mouth at the moment. “I’m what… I can’t be a Queen… and we aren’t married, how can you three be my kings?”
Kai rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Actually, we technically are married. The Treaty was binding in not only the Kingdoms’ fate but also all of ours. It basically married us, and to break it would cause a war for all of Lasina.”
I gawked at my mother. “Were you ever going to tell me this?” I was yelling by the time the question left my mouth.
“I tried to Maisie, really I did; but how do you tell your daughter she’s basically been married since she was eight?” she sounded defeated, lost, and scared.
“Where are we going? Where are we supposed to go to live and what… makes baby basilisks?” I realized my hurt was fading to the background as anger filled me. Anger was so much better than the pain of betrayal… first Sam… and now my mom.
“We have a nest set up back in Lasina… We think you will be pleased with our efforts,” Kai spoke up, this time he sounded pleased, as if I would just fall in love with them because of a nest.
“Great, so I’m supposed to live in a nest… like a god damned bird. If you haven’t noticed I don’t have fucking feathers.” I was yelling by the time I was done, and Kai flinched slightly at my tone.
“No, Sugar you don’t have feathers… but you do have scales… and our nests aren’t like birds’ nests. They are not much different than this house, only a lot bigger to accommodate a basilisk’s size,” Kai’s sarcasm was loud and clear as he spoke.
Mom was about to say something when a crash sounded from downstairs. “He’s here.” She shifted into her basilisk and blocked the door with her massive body, poised to strike at a moment’s notice. The guys shifted into formation behind her when she hissed.
Kai’s massive bulk dwarfed my mother’s form as he slithered his way past her. “Get her packed… We need to leave now… I’ll ssstall him.” Sic and Emot shifted back to human form, albeit now naked.
I couldn’t help but stare at their bodies as they grabbed items and shoved them into a bag. They kept shoving more and more into the bag, until all that was left in my room was the bed. How in the hell had they fit my dresser into a bag no bigger than my backpack? Mom darted forward and shifted, hugging me tight. “You will always be safe… I promise. I love you, my sweet Maisie.” She yelled for Kai and then shifted back into her Basilisk just as Kai came running.
His hair was messy, and he had blood running down his chest. I gasped when I saw the huge bite on his shoulder. “Let’s go.” I watched in horror as a massive green basilisk slammed into my mom. She fought back swiftly wrapping her body around his and biting everywhere. The green Basilisk roared in pain as she kept up her assault. I stood frozen as he threw her across the room. Kai shifted again and wrapped his large scaly body around mine. Sic and Emot flipped my bed out of the way and Kai darted through a portal I never knew was there. We hurdled towards the ground and I looked up just in time to see the portal close behind Sic and Emot. My scream never stopped as we free fell over thirteen thousand feet without a parachute.
I’m gonna die, this is the end, I’ll be crushed. I noticed Sic and Emot shifting in midair and then Emot was speeding towards us. He had wings unlike Sic and Kai, small bat like wings. Kai unwrapped himself from my body and dropped like a stone as Emot’s tail wrapped around my waist. I felt our descent slow as the others slammed into the ground.
We floated closer to the ground just as Kai and Sic shifted back to human form. Sic’s shoulder looked jacked up and Kai was still bleeding. Emot lowered me gently to the ground and then dropped to shift himself. “Fuck that was close… Can you please relocate this…? I hit a bit wrong this time,” Sic asked Emot as he walked closer.
“How are you still alive?” I couldn’t believe they had survived such a fall.
Emot jerked Sic’s shoulder back into place with a loud pop, and Sic hissed through his teeth. “Normally we open it at ground level, but just like common Earth snakes, we have the ability to fall large distances without injury… most times. Emot has wings, so he could survive a fall twice that distance,” as Sic trailed off I realized they were all still naked. Mom always shifted with her clothes on, so why hadn’t they?
Kai must have noticed my gaze and he laughed, his cocks rising slightly as if begging for my attention. “We shifted too fast and didn’t bother with keeping our clothes on.”
I drew my eyes towards the sky and then asked what was upmost in my mind, “Where are we?”
Emot looked around before pointing towards the trees to our east… how I knew it was, was anyone’s guess, something about basilisk senses. “That’s the eastern border of the Central Lands of Lasina... They were created as a middle ground. Neutral Zone… if you will… but it’s all yours. We are about a day from the nest… if we had had more time, we would have opened the portal to the nest itself.”
“How do you open portals anyway? Like, can you all do it?” I was curious, and hopeful I would be able to get back home soon… I had no intention of staying here in Lasina.
“Only Sic can open portals… each of our breeds has a different trait. The East Kingdom is known for their magical abilities, while in the West Kingdom we can glide on air and are super-fast. The South Kingdom are the strongest of the races… While the North is the most venomous.” I looked at the bite marks on Kai’s shoulder and noticed beneath the blood, black vein like tendrils spreading across his skin.
He shifted under my gaze and then Emot handed me the small bag that had my stuff in it. “If we hurry, we might make it to the nest before sunrise… I’ll shift and carry everyone, that way we can make good time.” Sic pulled me back from Emot as he shifted swiftly. Once shifted I admired his form. He wasn’t the first basilisk I had seen but definitely bigger than my mother, or me, for that matter.
His body was one large mass of muscle, encased in beautifully silky scales. The dying rays of the sun caught the colors and made them sparkle. When he moved, he looked like a living sunset, with golds and oranges all painted on a grey background. The random diamond pattern adding to the overall beauty of his form. He tucked his wings close to his body and slithered closer. I stroked his scales softly and his body rippled under my hand. Sic lifted me up onto Emot’s back and hopped up behind me… Kai climbed up in front of me. Once we were settled, Emot took off like a bullet, and the wind tugged at my hair.
The feel of a snake body between my thighs was a new feeling and yet not wholly unpleasant. His muscles flexed and relaxed as he slithered across the open plains towards a massive mountain to the North West… snake senses. We sped through the tall grass nearing the base of the mountain. Emot slowed as we reached the rocky terrain, and began working himself over large rocks carefully, trying not to dislodge us. Kai was slumped forward in between Emot’s wings, his breathing shallow.
I screamed as he slowly slid off of Emot’s back, Sic jumping after him. Emot stoppe
d and coiled around me, while scoping the terrain. I was wearing a snake like a Snuggie, while watching Sic checking Kai over. Sic looked grimly at Emot. “Go get Salima… Quickly.” Emot uncoiled from me and took off into the air like a bullet being fired from a gun, up the mountain. Sic pulled me close to his and Kai’s side, placing my hands over Kai’s wound to slow the bleeding. “The blood loss is weakening him… the venom he can survive without aide.” I had a feeling he was talking to himself as much as me.
“Do you have any bandages?” I was trying to think back to my high school CPR class.
“No but you might have something we can use in the bag.” Sic set my bag on the ground and jumped in feet first, disappearing from view. Night was setting in and a chill filled the air as I put pressure in Kai’s bite wound. Sic climbed back out with what looked like a shirt and handed it over. I took the shirt and placed it under my hands not caring which shirt I just ruined. I pressed down and heard Kai hiss in pain, as I pressed harder using my body weight for all it was worth.
I was beginning to think Kai would die while we waited for Emot to return. The sky turned dark as we waited, and Kai had passed out completely, when I finally heard the sound of wings. Emot and several other winged basilisks landed next to our spot. A tall slender woman jumped off Emot's back and rushed over to Kai, pushing me out of the way in the process. Sic pulled me away as the woman began using magic to seal Kai's wounds. The other four basilisk stood guard around us as she worked her magic. Once Kai’s wounds were sealed a guard scooped him up and took off flying towards the top of the mountain.
A second and third guard scooped up Sic and Salima taking off as well. The last guard stood watching as Emot shifted just the top half of his body into human form and picked me up behind the knees. I was cradled close to his chest; his heart beat loud in my ear. “Hold on tight,” he commanded, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. We took off from the ground and were flying high in seconds. The last guard swiftly falling behind.
“Why didn’t we just fly to the nest if you’re so fast,” I had to yell over the wind rushing by.
We caught up to the other guards and even Kai before he answered. “I can’t fly while carrying three people. One yesss, three no. My wings can only handle so much extra weight.” I felt stupid for asking, I should have realized.
Within moments, I began to see the silhouette of a large castle. The lights from several rooms gave it a fairytale quality, and I couldn’t help but be impressed by the sheer size. Emot slowed as we approached, dropping gracefully in a large courtyard filling with guards in both human and basilisk form. Emot set me down gently and shifted back to his fully human form, a guard rushed over with a robe for him. I watched as he wrapped himself in the silk robe and tied the belt.
He pulled me towards the door just as the rest of the guards arrived with the others. A stretcher was brought out and Kai was laid on it before being rushed in through the main doors, and deeper into the castle. Salima rushed after him just as her feet touched the ground. Sic was handed a robe similar to Emot’s and then the guards went back to their posts. Sic held out an arm for me and escorted me through the massive front entry.
“Welcome to our nest, Margaret,” his words were proud and yet I could hear a tinge of worry, like he truly cared what I thought of this place.
“It’s beautiful…” It truly was a beautiful sight, but I had no intention of staying here in Lasina, so I don’t know why he cared about my opinion. “Is Kai going to be alright?” I was feeling guilty because I was the reason he was hurt.
“I’ll take you to see him after you get settled into your room.” Sic pulled me up a grand staircase, that curved up the left side of the hall. The castle was reminiscent of the Salzburg High Fortress from the sixteenth century, only much larger and with nicer finishes inside. The history geek in me loved the idea of living in here. The rest of me wanted to be fully human and living on Earth, and to be invisible.
We stopped at a grand pair of double doors at the top of the stairs and Emot threw them wide open. Sic escorted me into the massive sitting room with a cheery fire in a massive grate. There was a TV above the fireplace and Sic pointed to it. “We don’t get cable or anything, but we have Blu-ray and video games from our trips to Earth.” I walked around looking over the furnishings, comfy couches and chairs were spread everywhere. A bookshelf filled with books sat by a bay window.
Across the room stood another set of large doors. Sic opened them when he noticed me looking at them. The largest bed I had ever seen, stood directly in the center of a massive bedroom. “Holy shit, how many people can that bed fit?” I couldn’t help but gawk at the massive thing.
Emot chuckled behind me and I jumped at his closeness. “I would sssay in human form a dozen, but in basssilisssk form… Maybe five, if they are all tangled together,” he whispered the last part into my ear suggestively, painting a picture of sin in my brain.
“Those doors lead to the bathroom,” Sic pointed, as he pulled me farther into the room.
“And what about those doors?” I pointed to four doors that sat opposite the bathroom.
“Those are our rooms,” just as he spoke, Salima walked out of the second door down and towards us.
I watched Salima walk towards us and prayed to Jörmungandr, the Norse snake we all descended from; I prayed he would be alright. Salima was covered in Kai’s blood and she looked exhausted.
“He will live. I gave him an elixir to stop the poison, and his wounds are healed but he will be weak for several days, from blood loss. I got him cleaned up so you can see him.” She kissed Sic on the cheek and began to walk away.
“Thank you, Sssalima,” I called before she exited. She nodded to me but kept walking.
Maisie arched a questioning brow at Sic and he blushed some. “She’s my mom,” was all he replied, causing her eyebrows to raise higher.
I left them to do whatever and rushed into Kai’s room. He was lying in bed covered in nothing but a sheet. His eyes looked heavy, but he was awake. “Man, you look like ssshit,” I commented, as I sat next to him on the bed.
He grunted a laugh and then groaned, “I feel like shit.”
“Can I get you anything?” His hand lifted to point at the nightstand.
“Water would be nice, or maybe a bottle of vodka to wash the foul taste of Salima’s elixir out of my mouth.” I couldn’t help but laugh at his comment as I reached for the glass. I helped him sit up some so he could drink, and then replaced the glass on the nightstand. “So, does she like the place?” his question was soft.
“I think ssshe does, ssshe sssaid it was beautiful… but I don’t think ssshe plans on ssstaying if you want my honessst opinion.” Kai and I told each other everything, he was my best friend, and more.
“What makes you say that?” he asked scooting over slowly to give me more room.
I laid down next to him and stared off at the ceiling. “Just a feeling, I guesss. Ssshe wassn’t happy when we pulled her through the portal… I don’t think ssshe ever planned on coming home.”
I felt his hand grasp mine and squeeze softly. “We will just have to convince her to stay.”
A knock sounded on the door before it opened, and Sic walked in. “Maisie’s in the shower. How are you feeling?”
“Like I got run over by a herd of centaurs, and that fucking sucks. I should know.” He did know… last year he was run over by a herd while visiting the Jotnar on the continent of Manden. I didn’t know much about our world but Sic did, and I was fairly sure he would be rhapsodic in telling Maisie all about the home she came from and likely didn’t know.
“Emot doesn’t think Maisie will stay,” Kai mentioned as Sic leaned against the bedpost.
“Why do you think that?” Sic asked, seemingly not worried in the slightest.
I looked over at him. “Ssshe fully intended to run away with that guy… she wasssn’t planning on coming here. Now that ssshe’sss here, I just have a feeling ssshe will leave at the first chance
.”
Sic ran his hand through his hair like he always did when thinking. “Maybe she just needs to be shown the benefits of living here. Show her around the Kingdoms. She just found out she’s a Queen and is for all intents and purposes, married to us. Adjusting is going to take time.” He stood up. “Come on Emot, let’s let Kai get some rest… we can talk about this in the morning.”
I watched him walk out the door leaving it open for me. I scooted towards the edge of the bed when Kai groaned. “What? No good night kiss for the invalid, first Sic now you… damn cold man.”
I leaned over and pecked him on the mouth swiftly. “Better? Don’t let the humansss under the bed get you,” I couldn’t help but tease, as I walked towards the door.
“Hardly asshole. Have a good night,” Kai already sounded like he was drifting off. I closed the door softly and walked to the living room. Sic was sitting at the window looking out into the dark.
I flopped down on the far side and waited. I knew he would start talking eventually, if I just waited quietly. I didn’t have to wait long. “Do you really think she will run?”
“I think all of thisss is a big change for her… We also don’t know if Clara survived. Ssshe might want to know if her mother isss alive or dead. I jussst think we need to be prepared for the eventuality, that ssshe could run,” I couldn’t help but point out the facts. Maisie was in a new world for fuck sake, she would need time to adjust and realistically speaking, she might never adjust.
I heard the door open and Maisie walked into the sitting room. Her wet hair dripping down her back. I had been watching her during the nights for ten years now, but this view was thousand times better. Her heart shaped face was creamy in completion, her nose perfectly straight, her lips full and utterly kissable. She was small compared to us, maybe five foot five. We had all watched her grow from a gangly child to a curvaceous beauty. I had to adjust myself as I noticed her hardened nipples peeking through her shirt, her long hair wetting the fabric, making it almost transparent.
The Basilisk Princess Page 2