Come to slay the evil Queen, have you? (Patreon)

You slowly creep forward through the dim, damp cavern. Your armor clinks slightly with each step, buckled boots placed carefully as you navigate the puddled stone floors. Something about this place feels wrong. You fancy yourself a ruthless killer - yet even you can't stop the hairs on your neck from standing on end. A quick glance at the cavern map, created using years of meticulously-gathered intelligence, shows you closing in on the target. A drop of water falls from the stalactites above. The sudden drip echoing from behind makes your heart leap into your throat . You pause to steady your nerves, stashing the map and running your fingers over the mirror and poisoned dagger tucked safely in your cloak. The path curves sharply ahead, forcing you to inch around a giant, slime-covered boulder. 

You take the last, shuffled step around the boulder and stop. You unexpectedly come face to face with a slippery cavern wall. Puzzled, you start to pull out the map again, but notice a faint flickering light reflecting off your boots. Crouching down, you realize there is a large, loose rock blocking the source of the light. Rolling it aside reveals a crawlspace barely big enough for you to enter. Alarm bells are screaming in your head. Someone clearly placed that rock to conceal the entrance - and nothing about your intelligence mentioned this. However, you're a knight. Steadfast in your duty to the mission, you begin crawling.

A few meters later, the crawlspace suddenly opens up into a long, rectangular room. You stand up warily, noting a change in the air. A dingy, water-stained purple carpet is rolled out ahead of you. Candle-lit sconces line the walls. Your eyes adjust, and full-blown panic sets in. This is a throne room! You try to turn around - this isn't how the mission is meant to unfold - but every muscle in your body erupts into flames. Your limbs no longer respond. You can't move at all, save your eyes. Mouth frozen shut, you scream internally. The source of your pain begins to speak, her taunting words echoing through the hall.

"Come to slay me, the Evil Queen have you? Well, don't be shy darling, come closer so I can get a good look at you."  She rests her chin on her hand, lounging on a once-gilded throne. "Oh, how cute! Is that a mirror in your pocket? What, like you thought I was Medusa? That you could thwart my powers if you avoid my gaze?" She throws her head back and cackles, her shiny black corset straining with each screeching guffaw. You feel a new surge of pain as your feet move unbidden, bringing you closer to the Queen with each forced step. 

"I bet you thought you were special. That you, out of all the foolish knights, and assassins, and warriors, and various assorted riff raff that have come to snuff me out...that you would be the one to kill me? How bold." She sneers, flicking a lock of silvery-purple hair over her shoulder. 

"Well, my sweet, misguided knight," She pauses, giving you time to appreciate that your traitorous feet have brought you only a few steps away from the Queen. You mentally shudder - looking into her eyes feels like drowning in an ocean of malice. A wicked grin stretches across her pale face. "You were as good as dead when you decided to come to this place. Despite what the legends may say, all I need to hypnotize you is the power of my mind. Ah, but don't misunderstand me. I'm glad you came. It's been ever so long since I've added a new statue to my lovely collection." She gestures grandly behind her.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of statues stand behind the queen, expressions of fear and pain frozen on their faces. Shock and revulsion run through your body as it dawns on you - these are all of her previous victims. The queen reaches a single finger to your cheek. "Say goodnight," she whispers gleefully.

~~

hope u all enjoy a bit of a darker story (spooky month!!). im still trying to fiddle with the video i filmed with this evil queen character to see if i can make the audio usable :P i really hope i can fix it, since I came up with all this fun backstory! lol. anyways, hope y'all are havin a good weekend. sending love. xx

mel