𝐌𝐫𝐬. 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲 | Choni

Thirty six

Anton seemed to have made himself at home straight away being introduced to the dog. He was in his element, “you should see them Toni!” He gushed as he sat next to his sister at the camp fire later that evening.

F.P. had been very accommodating to the young trio, giving them the use of a spare lavvu to sleep in tonight, he’d shown them around the current encampment, and even offered to get them some new clothes. This was all before sitting them down at the camp fire with bowls of chicken stew and a huge chunk of bread each.

Cheryl hadn’t gotten the chance to speak to the woman who claimed to be her great-aunt, her mind still reeling from the apparent revelation about her mother. How could a native Serpent be the Queen of Riverdale where her people were enslaved? How could her mother stand to watch it happen? Did her father know; he can’t have?

“Everything okay?” Toni’s voice pulled her from her thinking.

The Princess turned to her with a reassuring smile. She knew the brunette was worried that Cheryl coming here for her was making her unhappy, “just thinking.”

“Good things I hope?” Toni watched her for any signs of discomfort.

“About my mother.” Cheryl admitted.

The Serpent woman nodded in understanding, “while we’re here we can try and find out as much as we can about it all?”

Cheryl nodded enthusiastically; Toni always knew the right thing to say.

The opportunity to start their investigation arrived a lot sooner than they’d thought when the woman Cheryl had been thinking about moments ago came and sat next to her.

“Hello again.” The redhead greeted the woman.

She gave her a kind smile before talking, “I apologise if what I said earlier was new to you. My name is Alice.”

“I’m Cheryl.” The women smiled to one another before the redhead continued, “my mother has never spoken to me about her heritage. It’s very complicated in Riverdale for her.” Cheryl had to give her mother the benefit of the doubt; she must have kept the truth from her for a reason.

“When the King attacked us on that day I thought I’d lost everyone. My sister, Rose had died birthing your mother. Her father, Charles, tried his best to raise Penelope, but he struggled. I was never fortunate enough to marry and have any children of my own; so I took her in. On that day, my parents were both slaughtered, Charles' body was found days later downstream. When your mother never showed up again we began to presume the worst; that she had been taken to Riverdale with so many of our people. It was a miracle any of us survived in the first place, and even more so that some of us stayed in the Southside. No one has left and no one has returned since that day, until you three.” Alice looked around Cheryl to see Anton and Toni leaning around to listen to the story too.

“If it offers you any comfort, I believe my mother is happy in Riverdale.” Cheryl offered looking at the sadness in her great-aunt’s eyes.

“Thank you.” She nodded to the redhead. The woman stood, “you must be tired from your travelling; I will leave you to rest.”

Cheryl’s next words stopped her momentarily, “thank you for coming to share that with us.”

Alice nodded and finally walked away leaving the three of them alone again. Neither of them knew what to say after learning the truth about the Queen. Luckily they didn’t have much time to spare as F.P. approached them and showed them to their temporary home for the night.

The three of them thanked him and everyone, now realising just how tired they were. There were three bundles of pelts placed on the floor. Anton spared little thought once they were alone before throwing himself down onto the middle pile still dressed in the clothes they’d left Riverdale in.