The Wicked House of Caroline

When she was young, one of the reasons she loved Snowflake was because he acted as a deterrent. Maids, servants, and even two of her instructors were hesitant to approach when she paraded around followed by a white snake with a body as thick as her arm and two and a half times long as she was tall.

The Second Prince used to walk around with Melon Cake, his dog, and no one batted an eye. Some even thought it was regal and fitting of a young prince. However, it was ‘strange’ and ‘scary’ when she walked around the palace grounds with Snowflake. What was so strange and scary about a little girl and her pet snake?

They vastly underestimated how cute Snowflake was with his big red eyes and soft, smooth scales.

“I don’t know if you’re really Snowflake, because I don’t know if Snowflake was a horned serpent,” Beks said aloud as she balanced a chunk of deer meat wrapped in large, broad leaves over her left shoulder and carried one bread fruit under her right arm. “Which is what you are, by the way. I guess you already know that with your horns, but you look like my Snowflake, so I will call you Snowflake.”

She heard the slight, breathy response of air pushed through nostrils behind her as the creature followed behind while carrying the remaining deer leg in his mouth. As much as Beks tried, she could barely drag the deer leg after she squeezed out of the crevice. It had taken some time for her to work up the nerve to leave, as Snowflake the Second remained sprawled out just outside, with his head so close to the opening.

The soft, smooth scales were cool to the touch and while they appeared white, upon closer inspection, they were almost luminescent. The tips of the original Snowflake’s scales had the same effect and this only lowered her guard more. Beks had given the massive serpent gentle scratches under its chin.

His body language was relaxed and he seemed happy, so Beks took a deep breath and came out. She had frozen in place, readying herself for an attack and to be swallowed whole, but Snowflake moved back, as if to give her more space.

Beks had tried to make a run for it, but the massive tail slid around her, blocking her way. There was a moment where she cursed herself for being too soft and nostalgic, not even brandishing her dagger. She’d fallen for the horned serpent’s trick.

The deer leg was pushed towards her.

Snowflake had pushed it forward with his head, and every time Beks took a step away, he would push it closer. Finally, Beks asked him if the meat was for her. Snowflake’s tongue had flickered out and he pushed the leg closer until it nudged her.

The deer leg had been ripped off and had a sizable chunk of meat, not to mention bone. Unfortunately, that also made it heavy.

“I can’t carry it,” she said, after she tried to drag it. She frowned and took out her dagger. “I can take a piece. I don’t think I can eat the whole thing right now.” She looked around, muttering about getting some leaves to wrap it in so it wouldn’t get dirty.

Snowflake’s tale slid away and the creature turned. Beks thought he was satisfied that she agreed to take the deer leg, or at least part of it, so he would leave. Instead, Snowflake extended his body upward, a strange sight considering the massive bulge of his last meal in the middle of him, and plucked a few large leaves from the trees. He then carried them to her and placed them next to her.

Beks did what came naturally to her and praised him excessively with chin scratches. It brought them to where they were now, walking back to the ruins where Beks had spent the night. Just a twenty-three-year-old woman and her possibly reunited pet horned serpent.

“Snowflake, you’ll have to go around the ruins. You just ate, so you might not fit through the alleys between the buildings,” Beks said as they reached a cluster of stone and overgrown vegetation.

Snowflake let out another little huff and turned into the forest. According to what Beks read, snakes could smell very well, therefore, a horned serpent, should as well, right? She wasn’t too worried about Snowflaking losing her.

As expected, just as she began piling on some dried leaves for a fire, Snowflake emerged from the shadows of the forest and placed the deer leg against the outside wall of the chamber.

“Thank you, Snowflake. I’ll cook my meat. You can take a nap.” She prepared her cooking area as the serpent curled his tail closer, but couldn’t coil up because of his meal. Beks held back a laugh. Small Snowflake was also awkward after he ate and would be lethargic for a day and a half or more.

Perhaps the larger the meal, the more lethargic he’d get.

She found a flat rock she’d rinsed from the river and used it as a place to grill thin slices of venison. Her back was to her chamber and she faced the jungle in front of her. With a massive serpent guarding her door, she didn’t think other predators would approach, even while she cooked meat.

After roasting some more bread fruit and adding the venison, Beks put out the fire and mumbled she was taking a nap. Some of the heaviness she’d woken up with that morning had subsided a bit, and she figured it was because she was moving around and then dealt with the excitement of the deer herd and Snowflake.

Now that she had a moment to rest, the heaviness returned and she laid down for a nap with the hope that it would be enough rest to dispel her discomfort.

She didn’t expect to wake up at dawn. Only the faint light coming through the low cloud cover from one direction signaled that the sun was rising. Beks frowned at once. This meant she’d been sleeping since midafternoon. Then again, the heart pounding events of that day must’ve made her more tired than she thought.

She tried to sit up and her eyes went wide, regretting her decision at once. The heaviness had not dispelled as hoped and as she moved, a flash of heat shot through her. She grit her teeth and let out a low hiss as she laid back down and relaxed. Beks shut her eyes and ran through all possible reasons she could think of why she felt so heavy, hot, and almost suffocated.

Was it the food?

Her eyes opened and she stared at the tree branch that functioned as a roof above her. Now that she thought about it, she started feeling the heaviness and felt warmer than normal the day before, after she’d eaten food from the island.

But if it were poisonous, shouldn’t there be some numbness or muscle cramping? Could it be that I’m allergic? Beks shook her head. One of her maids was allergic to a kind of berry and when exposed, she would get hives and start scratching. One of the royal guards also once told her that his little brother almost died from eating a specific nut, as his throat swelled up and he couldn't breathe.

She lifted her hand to her throat and took a deep breath. Her breathing passages were clear. She didn’t choke and there was no itchiness.

I won’t eat bread fruit today. Perhaps that’s what’s making me feel like this. She had no choice but to assess what food she could’ve eaten that affected her. Unfortunately, her current situation left her choices on food limited. She was fairly certain the meat was acceptable. Maybe she’d try to find the troop of monkeys for more edible suggestions. She brought her hand over her stomach at the thought of going hungry.

As a matter of fact, now that she had woken up, she was hungry. She shut her eyes again and let out a quiet swear. She really couldn’t win.

The position she prepared for twenty years was gone, and she and her family were forced to take blame for something they didn’t do and were exiled.

Then she was nearly assassinated.

She survived the assassination, but nearly died at sea.

She washed up on an island, but had little survival skills to depend on.

She managed to find a food source, but for all she knew, that food source was slowly killing her.

And despite knowing that he was too ignorant to be the mastermind behind her current suffering, Beks still blamed her troubles on Luther.

If Luther weren’t so easily manipulated, then maybe he could stand up to his father.

If Luther had more will power, then maybe he wouldn’t have slept with the new oracle and somehow gotten temple paladins to try to kill her and her family.

If Luther were competent, then maybe she wouldn’t have forced herself to stay in Kadmium longer than necessary out of concern for the kingdom.

Deo was right. I should’ve beaten him when I could. She pursed her lips and stared at the branches. Then again, maybe it’s my fault that I was stubborn and didn’t try to leave when I should’ve. Beks took another deep breath and forced herself to get up. Her body was sluggish and her chest a little tight, but she was able to get up. She wandered out and found Snowflake sleeping with his eyes open where she’d left him.

Her shuffling around must’ve woken Snowflake. He didn’t have eyelids and thus slept with his big red eyes open. If he didn’t move his head and flicker his tongue, Beks would’ve thought that he remained sleeping.

“Good morning, Snowflake,” she said as she came out and twisted her body in an effort to stretch out her muscles. “I think the last few days have caught up with me. Granted, having bruises and aching is better than having died tumbling down a cliff, but this is going to stay with me for a while.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, shouldn’t the pain lessen with time?”

She didn’t know if Snowflake understood her, but the serpent slid closer and nudged the side of her leg. Beks knelt down and stroked the soft, smooth scales of his head. She rested her own head against the side of Snowflake’s and let out a tired sigh.

“All right...I should find something to eat. I can’t live on bread fruit.” She pushed herself up and took a step down the stone steps, only to feel some resistance from her skirt. She looked back and saw Snowflake with part of her tattered dress in his mouth. She gave him a disapproving look. “Snowflake, this is the only pair of clothing-”

She was cut off as the serpent tugged her back. Beks’ eyes widened as she watched her feet slide backwards and she stumbled back up the steps. Snowflake was cute and gentle when nudging her, but how could she forget so soon that he’d suffocated a massive deer yesterday.

The horned serpent was almost all muscle.

“Snowflake, wait. Snowflake!” The serpent released her skirt once she was close enough and then opened his mouth. Her heart dropped and before she realized what was happening, Snowflake had a gentle grip around her butt and lower back and lifted her off her feet. “Snowflake, you just ate! I’m not tasty!”

He carried her in his mouth and twisted his body, lowering her on top of the bulge that was a deer carcass in his stomach. As soon as she was released, Beks let out a cry as she slid forward. She shut her eyes and tried to hold on, but there was nothing to hold on to when the creature was covered with smooth scales.

She slowed down and came to a stop. Beks opened one eye and found herself an arm’s length from his lowest set of protruding horns. Snowflake flickered his tongue and began to move. Her legs clamped down around Snowflake in an effort to keep her grip, and despite herself, she grabbed onto the ‘handles’ that were Snowflake’s gold horns.

Beks grimaced and readied herself for the serpent to retaliate for touching his horns, but he didn’t seem bothered. He continued to slither forward on the jungle floor, weaving through the trees and over piles of fallen leaves.

“Did you want me to ride on your back because I don’t feel well?” Beks asked as the realization hit her. Snowflake’s tongue flickered and even though it wasn’t really an affirmative answer, Beks’ eyes watered. She released Snowflake’s horns and hugged him. “You’re a good baby! Good baby! I’m so glad I found you again, Snowflake!”

Her Snowflake was always the most affectionate of her short-lived pets. If she was tired, or sad, or rubbing ointment on her bruises because the instructors were displeased with the speed of her learning and punished her, Snowflake had been the one who curled up next to her and even draped himself over her chubby little legs. Even then, he seemed to have some sort of consciousness even though everyone told her she was just imagining it.

Snakes weren’t affectionate, the palace servants told her. However, Snowflake was special. The Third Prince sent him and he said that he was a special snake. Beks had believed him without question. Snowflake being so smart, and seemingly sensitive to her emotions to the point of coming to her when she was low, proved it in her mind.

She loved him so much; it gutted her when he went ‘missing’.

“Snowflake, did you know that my foster mother was the one who had you taken from me?” Beks complained, as if a child. “I cried for weeks and everyone told me you were lost. I searched the entire palace grounds for you. The Queen said that you were dangerous and would hurt me, but you were such a good baby. You must’ve suffered being sent away. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

Sitting up with one hand on Snowflake’s horn to stabilize her, she used the other to stroke the back of his neck to soothe him in apology. They continued through the forest and Beks rambled on, feeling chatty after having no one to speak to for a few days, even if the recipient of her attention couldn’t verbally respond.

“Your horns are very beautiful,” she said. She leaned forward to get a closer look, expecting the horns to be similar to that of a goat, but from the ridges and patterns, the horn looked to be made of scales. They felt quite solid as well. “Why are your horns gold if the rest of you is white? Is that just how it is with horned serpents?”

She didn’t get an answer, but continued to admire her beautiful Snowflake who’d grown up so well. Beks looked around and furrowed her brows.

To her, the jungle looked almost the same everywhere she went, but she didn’t recognize the area where they were . She looked over her shoulder and saw a gentle slope. She turned her head forward. “Are we going uphill?”

The cloud cover was low and she couldn’t see past the canopy of the jungle in most cases. She didn’t think the island was flat, as it seemed that it was relatively large, but she didn’t know if there were small hills or mountains, or even what they looked like because of the clouds.

Beks found herself leaning forward to keep her balance on Snowflake’s back. If she sat up, she’d be leaning too far back and would slide backwards. This meant that wherever they were, they were going up a steep incline. Her hands tightened around Snowflake’s horns.

Around her, the clarity of the island floor began to mist over and her eyes widened. They were passing through the cloud layer.

Excitement bubbled in her as she looked ahead. Her view of the island, even if there was cloud cover, would be better from the top. She’d have a better idea of her location and maybe get the general shape of the island if it weren’t fully covered.

Her hunger forgotten as they moved through the mist, Beks took deep, steady breaths to quell her excitement. The mist began to thin out and Beks looked down. During the thickest portion of the clouds, she couldn’t even see her feet hanging off the snake, but now, not only could she see her stuffed leather shoes on her feet, but a clear dirt path.

She narrowed her eyes and followed the path ahead of her. She’d read that large animals that tended follow the same route to feeding grounds often ended up creating paths due to continued usage, but this path was on a cliffside and it looked as if the side closest to the edge had a barrier.

What was more, the path was more than large enough for a serpent as large as Snowflake to slither up. On the mountain side, there were grooves in the stone every few paces where water was trickling down from above. Beks followed the water up and it seemed to be emerging from holes in the mountainside.

Not cracks or a stream dribbling off the edge, but a hole with a stone piece sticking out like a spout.

“Snowflake, wait. Stop for a moment.” She spoke aloud, but didn’t really expect Snowflake to stop. She patted his head and then slid off his back, landing on the side closest to the mountain. She walked towards the nearest mini waterfall and examined the area around it.

The water seemed to fall into a pool beside the path. Beks rounded Snowflake and went to the other side facing the cliff. Water was streaming through another hole, meaning the water was going under the path. Beks rushed back around and reached out to move aside some dirt and roots from the side of the cliff.

Her eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat. “This is a wall.” Clear, deep grooves were straight and pressed together like a puzzle. Beks used her hand to push aside more dirt on the path and found the same stone with similar straight lines. “This is a road!” She whirled around and faced the serpent. “Snowflake, where are you taking me?”

Snowflake flickered his tongue and Beks rinsed her hand on the running water and climbed back on. Snowflake continued up the road and Beks could hardly contain her excitement. With the ruins down below, she knew that there must’ve been a civilization here at one point, but she didn’t know it extended all the way up the mountain.

Snowflake followed the road up where it curled to the side and Beks looked up to see more jungle wrapping around thick stone walls. Behind it, she could see human-made structures peeking out from between massive, overgrown trees and vines. The stone stood out as pay gray, darkened by the environment and being unkempt for who knew how long.

The road wound to a massive stone gate. If there were doors, they’d long rotted away, but the heavy, thick stone pillars and capstone remained. Beks could still make out some carvings of animals and flowers.

Past the gate were wide open grounds with stone foundations. Most of the complex appeared to be retaken by the forest, but as they went deeper and higher up, old stone buildings became more and more numerous.

They also became more and more elaborate.

A familiar screech was heard and Beks saw a shadow sweep over the ground. She looked up and saw a massive bird flying overhead and immediately tensed.

The rokh circled above them before flapping its wings and landing on top of an old wall. Beks glanced at Snowflake and wondered if he could beat the rokh. Snowflake didn’t seem to pay any attention to the giant bird as he kept going. The rokh stood in place, tilting its head to the side, as if curious as it watched them.

Beks couldn’t bring herself to talk and instead lay flat against Snowflake, hoping to be invisible to the bird.

They passed through several ruins of gates and possible porticos that had toppled over before reaching a large building. Snowflake moved along the side and finally turned his head out, away from the building with the stone pillars they were next to. There were plenty of trees around and with their branches, it would cover them from an aerial attack. At the same time, it provided some much-needed shade from the sun.

Beks tilted her head up and lifted an arm to shade her eyes. She let out a small laugh as her eyes crinkled up.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky after they emerged from the cloud layer, and it was blue as far as she could see.

She lowered her head and looked down from their vantage point.

“You picked quite a spot,” Beks said as she looked down at the island covered with a thick layer of gray clouds. At best, she could see the tops of trees poking out, and to her right, a series of jagged green mountain peaks. They were similar to the cliff faces of the Forbidden Valley and their highest points were above where they were currently.

She figured that the mountain they were on was suitable for building whereas the others were too narrow and dangerous.

Her eyes swept over the area and found that the island seemed to taper and curve to one side. The mountains followed the curve, as did the layer of clouds surrounding them.

She couldn’t tell where the island’s actual shores were, as the clouds covered the shoreline, but from what she could see, there was water all around.

Beks tensed in her seat as she looked out towards the water. Her eyes squinted as she leaned forward. In the distance, she could see the faint uneven horizon. She drew her head back and looked at the sky, then back at the horizon.

“That’s the continent,” she muttered as she slid off Snowflake and walked closer to the edge. “I can see it...it’s closer than I thought.” She didn’t know how long or how far she drifted to get to the island, but she distinctly remembered not seeing anything around her for what felt like hours.

Her eyes dropped back to the layer of gray. She hadn’t seen the fog either. It was as if it suddenly appeared and swallowed her. She lifted her hand and rubbed her temples. Of course, being higher up increased her line of vision. Perhaps she lost sight of the mainland because she was at sea level.

That’s likely the case. Beks convinced herself and turned around. She climbed a set of three steps into a large, open room. It was connected to the main building by a doorway, but it jutted out and was built in a circle with nine pillars holding up a ring of stone. A patio area, perhaps?

In its center was a round pool and as Beks walked towards the edge, she could see water coming from three spouts evenly spaced around it. A narrow channel carved into the floor followed the excess water out into a drain. The stone floor was carved with decorative patterns and the carvings were rather deep.

It was likely groves for excess water to drain into and prevent slipping. Beks nodded in approval. She’d read that the ancient master builders had impressive techniques and that some might’ve been lost to the ages.

The water inside was clear and a few vines hung around the side from the surrounding trees. Beks belt down and touched the cool water. She smiled and stuck her arm in. The cool water felt amazing against her flushed skin and the humid, hot air of the island.

Since it looked rather deep, it didn’t seem to be an ornamental pool, but perhaps a bathing pool? She took off her shoes and sat on the edge, pulling up her skirt and dipping her legs in.

“Ooh...that’s nice....” The cool water seemed to relieve the heaviness for a moment and she leaned back on her arms. She looked out towards the island and took in the commanding view. Snowflake was lazing around just outside, basking in the sun. A sense of relaxation filled her and she closed her eyes.

Her feet brushed against a ledge that seemed to circle the pond. Beks looked around. There wasn’t any sign of another person, and Snowflake was a serpent. She tugged off her clothes, placed them further away so they wouldn't get wet and pinned her hair into a messy bun with her hair pin.

With some caution, she sank into the pool.

A refreshed moan escaped her as she sat down on the ledge with the cool water lapping at her shoulders. The bottom of the pool felt like stone and surprisingly, there wasn’t much debris, nor frogs as in the pool in the ruins below.

Beks stretched out, her arms at her side as she sank deeper to get the water up to her neck. Her legs stretched out and she was pleased to find that they didn’t hit the ledge on the other side of the pool. There was plenty of room for her to soak.

All the hunger and fatigue seemed to melt away. Perhaps it was all in her head, but she felt that she was breathing better too.

“Snowflake, let’s move here,” she said. “It feels safer and I like this pool.”

She didn’t get an answer, but Snowflake did flick his tongue.

The two relaxed there until Beks reluctantly dragged herself out. She wiped the water off and allowed herself to air dry nude, even joining Snowflake to bask in the sun on the steps. She then went to put on her clothes and told the horned serpent she was going to explore the rest of the building.

Snowflake lifted his head lazily, flicked his tongue, and returned to his basking. She figured that if he didn’t stop her, it was safe to wander around. She went through the doorway from the open-air pool and found a wide-open space. There were various stone foundations and items, but anything that would’ve been furniture had likely been made of wood and was long gone.

She walked through the network of halls and rooms, and was excited to find what may have been a storage or kitchen area, as there was a pile of metal utensils and pottery. She managed to find a few that weren’t cracked and whole, and carefully gathered them to bring back to the pool to rinse off.

After placing them on a clean area to dry, she returned to the ‘kitchen’, which was an auxiliary building not far from the main building where the pool was. The counters and stove were built with stone and brick. There were metal tools and metal grills which, if she cleaned them, should be usable.

She gathered what she could and returned to clean the items and left them to dry.

“Snowflake, we need to get something to burn and food to cook,” Beks said as she put her hands on her hips. “Let’s return to the forest and gather them!”

Snowflake seemed to come to life and curled around. He stopped in front of Beks so she could get on and then the two of them backtracked to the jungle. As Beks gathered dried leaves and branches from the jungle food and used a strip of her dress to tie them up, Snowflake plucked fruit from the trees.

“Not too many! I can only hold so much!” Beks said. She really needed to learn how to make baskets.

The two made two trips to the base of the mountain to gather items. Beks ate some fruit that Snowflake got her to tide her over. Snowflake left her to put her things away and when he came back, had brought back the deer leg.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t completely spoiled, and she was able to cut out meat that was still good. She sniffed it and poked it with her hair pin before grilling it.

Grilling was about the extent of her cooking ability if it could be called that. Her days in Kadmium were packed with lessons, study times, and one-on-one guidance with the late Queen and Laurence. When she wasn’t learning, she had sought out play time to relax. Cooking was not something she considered.

After all, she was a noble daughter who had food brought to her. She knew good food when she tasted it. She just couldn’t cook it.

She let out a heavy sigh as she looked at the meat on the grill. If Lady Eleanor hadn’t shown her, she’d probably already starve to death. The sun was starting to set and she wanted to finish cooking before it got dark. There were no torches, candles, or lanterns that she could find.

Stone sconces didn’t have a place to put a light source. Instead, there were round rocks inside and Beks wasn’t sure what they were for.

Taking the piece of grilled meat onto a clean plate, she walked outside and sat down on the steps. Snowflake was basking in the setting sun once more. He followed her around the complex and would sit outside, nearest to where she was.

Beks chewed on the deer meat and stared out towards the mountains. There were two sides of the island and she’d arrived on the northernmost side. The southern side of the island appeared to have less flat land, as the steeper side of the mountains faced south.

She had yet to set foot on the southern side.

She opened her mouth for another bite and narrowed her eyes. With her gaze still fixed on the southern side of the island, she could make out the low cloud cover, but she noticed something she hadn’t noticed before.

A thin trail of smoke was coming from beneath the clouds. Beks drew her head back as her chest tightened for just a moment. The ruins seemed untouched for centuries, perhaps even thousands of years. There was no sign of human life at all.

But an animal couldn’t make fire.

She took a deep breath and lowered the meat from her mouth. “Snowflake...I’m not the only person on this island, am I?”

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She decided that for the time being, she would not be exploring the southern side of the island. In fact, she had become more hesitant to go down to the jungle floor on the northern side. Thank goodness for Snowflake. As if sensing her hesitation, he left at night and would return in the morning with some fruit skewered to one of his horns and a bird or some sort of large rodent hanging from his mouth.

Thanks to him, Beks was able to eat for a week without leaving the top of the mountain complex, though she knew she had to eventually.

During the evenings, she would look out towards the southern side, looking for a pillar of smoke.

It was strange, but while the smoke came from the same place each time she saw it, making it appear as if there was some sort of campsite there, it didn’t appear every night.

She sat down on the steps, her eyes fixed on the gray cloud blanket below. “Every two nights,” she told Snowflake, whose meal bulge had finally begun to be less conspicuous. “Tonight, the fire should appear again.”

She nibbled on bread fruit as she waited.

After two days of avoiding breadfruit, the heaviness she felt as well as the hot flashes didn’t cease. In fact, every time she woke up, she felt as if the symptoms grew worse each day. That morning, she’d almost rolled out of her sleeping area to get to the pool.

The cool pool waters were the only thing that relieved her, though she knew it was temporary. The relief lasted half a day at most, and by the afternoon, she’d take another dip. The way her body was reacting was still a mystery, though the large bruises she had were almost gone.

She didn’t know if it was because time healed them or if the pool had some sort of healing effect.

Her eyes widened as she sat up straight. “There it is!” Her excited and triumphant voice filled the area and Snowflake looked towards the southern side, but continued to rest with his head curled on top of his coiled body.

Beks narrowed her eyes. “It has to be a person, but why every two nights? Where are they for the other two nights?”

Snowflake couldn’t answer. Beks finished her food, cleaned her plate, and put out the fire on the stove before walking to the pool chamber. Against the wall that connected to the building, there was a stone ledge that she treated as a large bench and daybed. She’d piled leaves and her attempt at a woven mat on top of one for her to sleep on.

Before she went to sleep, she took another soak in the pool.

On the opposite ledge, she’d laid out a large leaf where she’d smeared the remaining pill paste and made them into little balls in hopes that they'd dry out. The leaf was held down by two rocks on either side.

She didn’t have the tools to fix the chain of her medicine canister necklace, so she usually kept it tucked into her dress. Now that it was empty, she put it in a bowl with her urapearl by her sleeping area.

She heard the now familiar movement of Snowflake coming around the building to get to where he slept just outside. Beks finished wiping herself off and put her dress on before going to pet him goodnight. It was her now bedtime routine before falling asleep, her mind trying to figure out how to get off the island.

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The fire crackled and he turned the wooden spit propped up on two branches on either side of a fire. To one side of him, an empty stone lined pit had been turned into a bonfire in order to illuminate the stone foundations of the ruins he used as a place to gather and cook food, as well as warn off any predators. His blue eyes watched the skin of the game fowl glisten and crisp under the heat.

He hoped that the salt he’d boiled off from the sea would make the game fowl taste better. He also was getting quite annoyed with the critique from his brother.

“Oh, you burnt it...it’s too dry...you didn’t cook it through all the way...why are you so terrible at this?”

He narrowed his eyes and had never wanted to hit the face that looked identical to his more in his life. If his brother weren’t recuperating at the mouth of the tunnel, unable to climb out on his own, he would make him hunt his own food.

Lucian let out a tired breath and squatted down by the fire. It was hot even in the evenings on the island, so he’d stripped down to the base layer of clothes. His white outer robe remained with his brother while his gray secondary layers, already tattered and dirty, were folded nearby. The heat from the fire only added to the hot air, and sweat glistened on his sunburnt brows.

Unlike his brother, who had tanned nicely from being outdoors most of his life, he had remained quite fair due to his occupation. At least, until he was hunted down and forced to flee. Now, his cheeks were peeling from the sunburn and he had an ugly tan line on his forearms.

Lazarus had laughed at him and his two soldiers had to plead with Lucian not to maim the injured man.

Lucian’s eyes drifted to the basket he’d woven out of tree leaves. There were some bread fruit and eggs he’d found, but he’d only managed one game bird. It was the first piece of meat he’d caught on his own. Lazarus had complained, but his two soldiers were also injured and at most, they could pick fruit near the mouth of the tunnel.

It was much easier to get meat when Snowflake was there.

Lucian frowned. “Where did he go?”

Since he ran into the horned serpent months ago, Snowflake hadn’t strayed too far from him and would hunt meat for them. As a horned serpent with a light biha affinity, Snowflake was easy to identify when he first saw him again, though he was surprised to find him here of all places. He never told Beks that Snowflake was a baby horned serpent when he sent him. All he knew was that she loved the creature so much, it lived in her room.

Laurence had told him that their mother worried that the snake would strangle Beks in her sleep, so she had him released in the south. How Snowflake ended up on the island was a mystery, but Lucian suspected that he swam or was adrift somehow.

Or Snowflake arrived the same way he and his brother and his brother’s men did: through an underground cave system that connected the Forbidden Valley to the island.

It took over two days to get to the island and when they reached the opening, it was only Lucian who could climb out, as he wasn’t injured.

He had hoped that his brother would be able to be lifted out soon and that the two soldiers who escaped with Lazarus would, as well. They’d healed well enough to crawl out, but wanted to remain with Lazarus to protect him. This left the bulk of gathering food to Lucian.

He was the last of the four people to be capable of gathering food, let alone cooking it under such limitations.

He’d only seen the attendants preparing food when on the road. The only experience had cooking was when he had just joined the Temple and was assigned to busy work in one of the kitchens of the Great Temple.

Lazarus was the one who enjoyed good food and enjoyed making it. Even when they were children, Lazarus ran to the kitchen to watch the cooks. He’d even made them some snacks a few times. Beks’ favorite egg tarts were a recipe from Langshe that Lazarus learned to make for her.

“As soon as he’s out of that cave, it’s his turn to cook, the ungrateful little....” Lucian muttered with irritation.

He heard a rustle behind him and immediately shot up to his feet and unsheathed the sword he took from his brother. He turned around, towards the direction the sound came from and narrowed his eyes.

Something was moving through the trees and the light from the fire reflected off of scales. His shoulders relaxed as he lowered his guard and let out a low breath.

“Snowflake, is that you? Where have you been this last week?” He sheathed his sword as the white head of the red-eyed serpent emerged from the forest. Lucian smiled and raised his hand to pet his head. Snowflake nudged his hand, as if to say he missed him. “Oh, I see....” Lucian noticed the large lump on his body. “You went to feed. You didn’t abandon us.”

Snowflake nudged his head against Lucian’s shoulder as Lucian turned around.

“What is it? Don’t tell me you’re judging me. I’ll have you know I managed to hunt his game fowl by myself.” He omitted the part about it already being injured when he found it.

Snowflake nudged him again and Lucian turned back to look at him. He opened his mouth to ask why he was so affectionate, when Snowflake lifted his head to reveal something metal dangling from his mouth.

Lucian furrowed his brows and took a step forward as the glimmering item caught his eye. He took a step forward and raised his hand. The cool metal canister rested against his palm as his fingers wrapped around it. The chain was broken and was tied together to keep it on the metal canister, though it was too short to be worn.

Lucian turned towards the fire and opened his hand. His eyes dilated in an instant as he recognized the metal canister, where the familiar engraved character initials for ‘Rebecca Anastacia of Caroline’ were worn down, but still visible on one side. His fingers tightened around it.

His father had given her the canister to keep her emergency medicine close to her.

He whirled around and looked at Snowflake, bringing the canister to his chest.

“Where did you get this?” he said in a firm voice. “This is Beks’ medicinal.... He trailed off and quickly twisted off the cap. He should’ve expected as much, but his stomach dropped. It was empty. “Is she here?”

Snowflake turned his head and seemed to look up into the distance from where he came. Lucian’s breathing became uneven. “She has no more pills....Is she all right?”

Snowflake let out a puff of air from his nostrils and flickered his tongue. Lucian was sure it was some sort of confirmation, but that didn’t quell the fear that shot through him.

Beks was supposed to be in Kadmium. While he knew his mother prohibited her from leaving the palace grounds, he also knew that Laurence would give her freedom. Beks wouldn’t run away; she was far too responsible to abandon the duties expected of her.

But even if Laurence allowed her to leave the palace, to Kadmium, what would she be doing there?

His body went cold and a shiver went through him. “What happened in Kadmium....” His voice trailed off as he looked back at the roasting game fowl. He gritted his teeth and lifted the canister for Snowflake to take. “Go back and protect her,” he told the serpent in a low, authoritative voice. “Don’t let anything happen to her! As soon as I bring food back to Laz, I’ll come back here. It’ll take me another two days, so meet me in two nights and take me to her.” Snowflake flicked his tongue and took the canister back into his mouth. He then turned and began to slither back into the forest. Lucian continued to shout after him. “Until then, keep her safe!”

╔═════════════════ ∘◦ ♔ ◦∘ ═════════════════╗

“Snowflake!” Beks called out as she pulled herself out of the pool. She frowned as she climbed out. The heaviness in her body was now lingering even after soaking three times a day. Each day, it only grew worse the last few days. “What is going on....” She frowned and wiped the excess water off her. “Snowflake!” She called out again.

She hadn’t seen the massive serpent since the night before and wondered if he’d gone off to hunt. However, there was still a bit of a lump from the deer in him. She supposed horned serpents had their own things to deal with.

Beks put on her clothes and stretched out her arms.

She felt a little better now, but by lunch time, she’d feel heavy and feverish again. Her eyes drifted back to the pool. She couldn’t just sit in the pool every waking hour. She also needed to go and collect dried leaves to burn and the best ones were at the base of the mountain.

However, the walk down would take some time without Snowflake, not to mention if she got too tired or her body began to overheat and ache, she didn’t know if she could make it back up fast enough to cool herself in the pool. She drew her lips inward and frowned. She supposed she’d have to wander around the complex to gather what she could.

Beks began her way down by walking around the side of the pool, following the route that Snowflake first took her up. The complex was built on tiers with some bigger than others, but at each tier, Beks would stop to come areas beneath trees with overhanging branches to find leaves that were dry enough to burn well.

She gathered them in her arms, using a strip of cloth to tie them together before going back to bring them to the kitchen.

I’ve been spoiled by Snowflake, she thought to herself as she trudged back down, sweat coming down the sides of her face as she tugged on the bodice of her dress to get some air. Two tiers below the highest one, Beks decided that after she brought the latest bundle to the kitchen, she’d take another soak in the pool.

It wasn’t lunch time yet, but she was very active, causing the overheating and heaviness to return sooner. She knelt down to tie a bundle when a shadow swept over the tier. At once, she tensed and stared at the ground. Her eyes rose and swept over grounds where she was. There weren’t as many trees lining the area as there were in the ruins below, or even on the lower tiers of the mountain top complex.

A familiar screech was heard and she sucked in a sharp breath. The shadow swept over her once more, fast, and dark. Her chest tightened as she raised her head and saw the massive bird coming around.

Beks dropped the bundle and ran towards the stairs that led up to the upper tiers, where there were stone walls that she could hide against. The screech of the rokh sounded behind her and Beks felt a rush of air as she reached the top of the steps and dove into the nearest ruins.

The next screech was closer and Beks pushed herself up. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she looked around. The roofs of the buildings had toppled in, but with the stone walls so close together, the rokh couldn’t sweep down and pluck her from the ground.

A shadow fell over the doorway and Beks turned around. Blood drained from her face as she saw a giant bird nearly filling the massive doorway. He lowered its head to duck underneath the center stone and then cocked it, keeping its dark eyes on her. Its clawed feed dug into the debris that lined the entrance as it shuffled forward awkwardly.

“You are a raptor!” Beks said as she stumbled back and clutched her chest. “You don’t follow prey into their hiding place, like some sort of weasel!” She wheezed. She couldn’t help but look at the massive bird with anger that it wasn’t playing its part as it should’ve.

As if to answer her, it let out another shriek and Beks ran into the hall. The buildings on the upper tier still had their roofs and the doors to the inner rooms were smaller. If she could go inside, the bird couldn’t get her from the sky or follow her in.

She dashed forward and grimaced as her breathing grew more uneven. Despite her attempts to calm herself, it was impossible to do so when she was running from a giant predatory bird. As her hand brushed her chest, panic began to swell inside of her.

Her legs were shaking and her skin was hot to the touch.

The remnants of her pills that had been turned into paste, and were then re-rolled and dried were still by the pool.

Her trajectory changed and she scrambled to stay close to the tree line while making her way to the pool. She could see it up ahead, but before she could reach the steps, her legs gave way. Her lungs were burning, as if she couldn't get enough air despite panting.

Sweat came down her face as she looked up and saw the world around her move from side to side. Her hands pushed her up, clawing her way up the steps as her chest burned and pressure squeezed her head.

Never mind the rokh or where it was, all she wanted was the pool.

Her body was on fire and with each movement, she wasn’t sure if she was going left or right, up or down. Beks squinted, trying to focus on the water. She grit her teeth as pain shot through her head, as if an axe were cutting through the space between her brows.

She let out a pained half-growl, half-cry as her arms gave way, and she collapsed onto the floor.

It was so hot, as if her skin were being roasted.

Tears slid down her eyes. The pool was so close. So close.

Gathering whatever strength she had left, she tore at her clothes and rolled into the pool. Her entire body was submerged and she welcomed the cold water against her burning skin. Beks didn’t want to come up for air; the water was such a relief.

But it was short lived. Her eyes flew open and she shot up, breaking the surface and scrambling for the edge. She grabbed on to one of the vines hanging beside the pool as she clawed at her chest and stomach.

It still burned, like there was fire inside her and it was cooking her from within.

Her wide eyes nearly bulged from her sockets as she let out scream after scream. Her body twisted from side to side against her will, as if trying to fight off the constricting feeling that seemed to close around her and make her body boil.

It hurts! It burns!

Was this how it felt like to cry tears of blood?

The sharp pain between her brows seemed to spread and cleave her skull in two.

Her body began to convulse. Water splashed up from the sides, spreading all over the floor outside the pool.

Her screaming filled the complex as the pain culminated. She couldn’t breathe.

Something inside of her seemed to rupture and her vision went white.

No! Not yet! Her wrist caught as her body went limp and her mind shut down.