Killing Softly ✞ (gxg)

3 | queen

Immortal pupils, the size of needles upon first sight, widened into dark pools of black when they landed on the human looking up at them with an expression unreadable but not blank.

Lily focused on keeping her breaths steady and giving her best poker face, although the mere sight of the woman was making her feel very much human.

She could tell instantly that the woman she was looking at was the Queen. It was evident in the way she stood, with her svelte shoulders kept back in a warrior stance, her arms clasped behind her back, her hardened features that were alluringly beautiful. She looked like the most attractive form of poison, like a snake disguised with angel wings.

Even through the metaphorical angel wings, Lily could practically see the blood of every human and vampire the Queen had killed written across her face. Her cheekbones, lofty and structured, cast shadows down to her sharp jaw, her ample lips shadowed by the angle of the lamplight above her. Her eyes were perfectly clear and predatory, almost glowing in the dark. They were some mixture of yellow-green with flecks of fiery amber, a mix that didn't sound like it would go well together, but in her irises it was the most genius combination, like an artist hand-painted them himself.

She was threateningly tall, her body slender but toned, every muscle ceaselessly flexed as if she was always expecting the need to defend herself to arise at any moment. She wore a skin-tight black turtleneck and even tighter leather pants with black heels to match. Her hair, a chocolate brown, was pinned back and left the holy structure of her face on display to be admired. She was hauntingly pretty even in her masculine nature—androgynous perfection.

Lily understood then why the people at her camp had always told stories about how the Queen had a magical gift of persuasion, that looking into her eyes was the most subtle form of suicide. She was said to be a master of manipulation, that with one look she could command someone to slit their own throat. The blonde understood that now, because everything about her was drawing her in.

But when she spoke—oh, when she spoke—it was then that Lily really understood.

"This is her?" the Queen asked in a hauntingly calm voice, one that sounded like a polished knife sliding through softened butter. It had a posh to it, one of royalty and ancientness. Every syllable drew out an adoration in the girl who could feel herself floating away on the waves of the Queen's voice.

Snapping out of it, Lily blinked, inwardly washing away that dazed feeling. She knew that was the way the Queen was able to kill so many people. She knew that was what defined her entire being—persuasion. She swallowed hard, tensing her body and raising her chin as she resisted the alcoholic elixir that was the Queen's presence.

"Yes, your majesty," the familiar vampire answered, sounding much more inferior than he had when in the woods. "She smells sweeter than anything that has walked this earth, does she not?" He took in a deep, shaky breath, his eyes turning to the girl and appearing much more brighter. It was obvious that he was restraining his thirst because of his ruler's presence.

Those sinister chartreuse eyes locked in on her, their pupils expanding a bit more. The otherworldly woman hummed, taking a slow step forward, her silky voice sounding like the most harmonious of music to Lily's ears. The power of the Queen's inviting aura was a horrific sight. Lily would have admitted this to herself if she wasn't adamant on upholding her pride, because she knew that if she was to ever accept that invitation, whatever it may have meant, she would also be accepting death.

The girl's adrenaline began to rise as the Queen stepped closer to her, her expression unchanging. It was some look of intrigue, although it was masked by her invincible poise. The girl made sure to not change her own visage, to stay completely blank and fearless. She didn't want to tick the Queen off, because she knew she would be dead in an instant, but she also didn't want to cower down even if she instinctively wanted to.