Vicious Serpents & Deceitful Poisons

Chapter Five

No, no, no, no, no. This couldn't happen.

She crawled away from the edge before peeking cautiously into the creeks glassy waters once more.

Only a golden scaled snake was there, flicking its forked tongue out and tasted the scents of the forest around her.

Not now, not when she was so close to finally, finally, reaching her goals. Of course, she had heard stories of witches and sorcerers cursing both unlucky and deserving souls. Though there were only a few sorcerers in the kingdom so it wasn't as common or as big of a problem that it may have seemed to her when she was younger. And anyway, the Priestess handled those matters so it rarely had reason to cross Kauvara's mind.

Until now.

That bastard must have used a sorcerer to turn me into this, she seethed. She had to admit thought, it was a good plan. Xermis and Kasmis were already at each other's throats and would probably kill themselves before the trials. And now she, being turned into a snake was also out of the running. As she had said before, it was common for siblings to take out the competition before and in between trials. When they noticed she was gone, no one would be looking for her. It was cruel but it was the way things have worked in Keeves for a long time.

That left Neehamide, Memphis, Svenrus, and the devil himself, Daemious. Neehamide was good in high tempered situations where debate and discourse prevailed, and was surprisingly clever when it came to battle strategies. But in practice, he knew only a bit more than the average person when he himself was in combat. Memphis and Svenrus would be the only ones who would provide an actual challenge to him with Memphis holding slightly more advantages in her opinion. He had made the Crowning lean completely in his favor.

I don't intend to stay as a snake for long though, she thought her cold blood pumping at the thought of him being crowned. No, she did not intend to stay as a snake for long. And as soon as she was able to turn back, she was coming for the crown. As well as her brother. For now, she thought, twisting her neck-or rather body, to glance at her golden scales, the just rising sun setting them aglow, I know just the person that can help me.

It took Kauvara all morning to slither her way to the small cottage that would have normally taken a few minutes. Her body still ached from the transformation and she was unused to the way it had to slide side to side to move forward. Nevertheless, she had made it to her destination.

In a clearing a ways into the forest behind the palace, in a small thatch roofed cottage, lived Ohmiwa, the royal sorcerer.

Kauvara remembered one of her visits to the witch, when she had brought her some of the dough pastries the royal chef had made for her. They had been setting up the table when Kauvara decided to ask a question.

Why do you live out here Ohmiwa, I'm sure the king would be willing to provide accommodations in the palace?

Ohmiwa had looked at her with her pale, unseeing eyes and had cackled.

The wild animals here are more welcoming than the beasts that live in that palace. I would rather not worry about poison in my cup or being suffocated in my sleep.

She wasn't entirely wrong.

She tasted the air around the edge of the cottage until she found the small hole in the corner of one side, the one she kept forgetting to tell Ohmiwa to patch up.

Crawling inside, she tried to fight the urge to sneeze -or whatever snakes did- from the spiders webs and dust she could feel coating every inch of her body.

And the lingering scent of mice. Ohmiwa really need to patch up this hole.

She squeezed out from behind the cupboard and slithered into a modest kitchen filled with a wood stove, a small table, pots and pans that hung from the walls, cupboards, and an assortment of ingredients, Ohmiwa uses in her potions.