Snow White with the Red Hair: The Valkyrie

Her Horns

The horned girl sat in a room within the castle, not moving nor speaking as Obi, Zen, Kiki, and Mitsuhide decided what they were to do.

"I've given the Miss that rainbow dragon fruit tonic made by the Chief Herbalist earlier today, but it only gives us an extra hour." Obi explained.

"Are we really going to trust her enough to cure Shirayuki?" Kiki asked. "It seems like a bad idea."

"Oh, it is." The girl spoke up. "I could escape right now." She dropped the rope that once bound her wrists in front of her. Everyone's first reaction was to reach for their weapons, but she only rolled her eyes. "But I am not going to. As much as it pains me to say, you have outwitted me and I gave in to surrender. I must honor that and answer to my captors' demands. It only would have been different if you were taking my life. But you are not, so I shall not take Shirayuki's."

"Alright. But if we're going to let you work around Shirayuki, you are to be guarded at all times. And... I want your entire face visible to us."

"It is forbidden by Madame." They all gave her a stern look, meaning they were very serious. "But if those are the terms, very well."

She undid the small knot in her scarf at the base of her neck, allowing it to drop down and rest along her collarbone. Now they could fully observe her.

The horned girl was rather beautiful. She had a small, narrow, and upturned nose with rose petal lips to compliment it. Her cheekbones were strong and slightly prominent, and the smallest hint of a natural blush highlighted her face. Her hair was the loveliest shade of ebony with small streaks of crimson adding definition to her long tresses. Along her left eye was a patch of paint, which looked as though it dripped down her cheek and dried that way. Her other eye had a simple streak of paint, which started just above her eyelid, slicing down to the edge of her cheek. What looked to be red war paint marked itself across her right cheek and peeking out from her scarf was a black claw mark tattoo. Along the left of her abdomen was a thorny and tribal tattoo.

She certainly was an intriguing dresser.

She had angelic beauty, yet she was fearsome and deadly. It was a contradiction within her personality and appearance. A deception to the naïve. They weren't completely sure what her motives were, but they couldn't have Shirayuki dying on them. So they allowed her to tend to the red haired girl with Obi watching closely.

Immediately after being shown where she would be working, the horned girl sat down and got to work. She began mixing herbs together, which confused the boy.

"I thought you said the poison couldn't be cured by herbs." He remarked.

"It cannot. The herbs need to be laced with magic. I am the only one who possesses and knows how to use magic, so I am the one who must make the tonic work."

"Why did your madame want the Miss so badly anyways?"

"Why have you suddenly become so curious?"

"This curiosity isn't sudden. It began when you kidnapped the Master's Miss."

"It is inappropriate for me to reveal."

"I 'outwitted' you, remember? I deserve to know."

She sighed, drawing a rune and summoning a violet flame to her palm. She used it to heat up the herbs.

"Madame wishes to have her beauty. She is the most beautiful girl in the land. And Madame has used up the beauty in the body she already has. She wishes to swap her soul into another and continue being beautiful."

"So she just wants to steal Miss's body and use it up until she ages. And leave her with an old body which is on the verge of death." He concluded.