Queen of Serpents

The pine trees became more and more sparse as the seashore came closer, soon disappearing into dry bushes and sharp weeds, before evening out into a vast beach. The sea was calm, waves lapping gently at the sand, the sun making the green waters sparkle with drops of quicksilver. Three girls were running through the thinning forest, their footsteps disappearing on the soft moss as they chased each other, before abruptly stopping at the last pine. Young woman slammed her body into the tree, wrapping her arms around the slim trunk to secure her spot.

"I'm first!" she shouted, her chest heaving from extorsion.

Seconds later, another girl darted past the tree, nothing but a gust of warm wind left after her, before she hugged the tree from the opposite side and rested her forehead on the rough bark. The first girl chuckled and turned her head to look at the forest behind her. A stick cracked loudly as the third girl stepped on it, before bending down and bracing her palms on her knees.

"Damn it!" she hissed, trying to catch her breath. "May thunder strike me."

The second girl chuckled. "Shouldn't have eating all that bread- it always slows you down."

The third girl straightened out and rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't speak like that to the gods," the first girl said, looking serious all of sudden. "What if he actually strikes you down?"

"No, he won't," the third girl said dismissively.

"You're spoiled, Spruce. Gods won't coddle you like we do."

The second girl watched the other two bicker for a moment, then sighed and grabbed the third one by her arm and pulled her into the weeds, closer to the sea.

"Let's have fun, alright sisters? It's just a stupid race, forget it, Spruce. Don't get worked up over every little thing, Lindens is right."

Spruce pulled her hand from the girl's grasp sharply. Her face soured and she turned her nose up, making her long blond hair undulate down her back.

"It's Lindens who's worked up. I don't want to see her anymore," said Spruce and stepped away, then began to undress. The other two sisters didn't reply, already used to these tantrums, and began undressing as well. They knew they were safe here- the beach was far from the village, and people rarely came here.

Playing in the cool water worked wonders to calm down the bickering girls: they were laughing together as they stepped from the water and walked back to the patch of grass to pick up their clothes. Spruce had to walk a little further, as she had left her clothes separate from her sisters' while she was frustrated. The girl bent down to pick up her shirt, but jumped back screeching as if burned.

"Spruce?" Lindens ran up to her sister. "What's wr-"

"A snake! There's a snake in my shirt!" Spruce kept shouting, frantically pointing at the pile of white fabric, and jumped to hide behind the second sisters, who had also come rushing.

Lindens, being the oldest of sisters, quickly grabbed a long branch and carefully moved the shirt, and sure enough, a black snake reared its head. The three sisters stood froze in fear as the snake rose higher and turned its head to study see girls better. There were two yellow spots on snake's cheeks.

"It's not venomous," said Lindens, now somewhat calm, and aimed the branch at the snake.

"Don't kill it, it's a grass snake," said the second sister as she gripped Linden's shoulder.

"I won't, I'm not stupid. I'll just chase it away."

"I won't leave," a man's voice came, making the girls still once again as their eyes landed on the snake again. They watched the animal in disbelief, as it opened its mouth, and spoke once more, his voice soft, almost soothing. "Unless Spruce promises to marry me."