Bab 4: Queendom Come
Somewhere inside one of the numerous caverns belonging to the Underdark, a sinister act was in play.
The flesh of her victim offered little resistance as she easily impaled her stomach with her sword.
Her gaze was resolute, in contrast to the one she just stabbed whose facial expression was filled with confusion.
The dark elf that got ran through looked like she wanted to cry in disbelief. A pity because this option was not available for her as her life will soon fade away. Before death claimed her there was one question she needed to ask, even though she won't get any answers.
"Sister, why?"
Her lifeless body fell to the ground.
She looked at her bloodstained hands, she remembered how this dream would haunt her every night. But now, Queen Zorla felt…nothing.
A sinister cackle reverberated throughout the entire cavern.
From the shadows it emerged.
A gargantuan spider crawled towards her, where its head should be rests the upper body of a woman.
It was Lolth. The Spider Goddess.
The queen was dwarfed in size, as if she was nothing but an insect caught in her web. Knowing Lolth's true nature, she wouldn't be surprised if that was how she viewed her.
The Goddess could only be described as malice incarnate. Corrupting the minds of her dark elf followers, thriving in bloodshed and deceit.
Her cackling stopped but the devious grin on her lips never faded as she spoke to the queen.
"Oh how I've missed the days when you would break down crying from this dream."
Lolth showed her the same dream every night without fail until it got to her, broke her, it was the last push needed for her to finally claim her beloved sister's life.
But the torture didn't stop there, Lolth continued playing the same thing on repeat, over and over until even the remorse she felt from killing her sister was stripped from her. Just like Lolth had planned.
"Spit it, what business do you have with me?"
Zorla said with derision.
If it was anyone else that took that tone with her, Lolth would have devoured her on the spot. Zorla was her chosen, she molded her to not fear no one - not even her.
"Not you personally, but your daughters. I mean, we don't want anything bad to happen to you. Not at all. But just in case, you should have already decided who's going to inherit the throne."
"No one. They're both unfit to rule. Maesha is a sentimental fool while Ellamir is an idiot." Zorla's bluntness made Lolth cackle once again.
"Maesha, I can't influence her. In a way, she's similar to your younger sister. Ellamir on the other hand, she reminds me of you when you were younger. I'm sure she'll make a fine queen like yourself. Say, why don't I give her a little nudge to set her on the right path?"
There was no need for Lolth to even consult with her. Zorla knew why she did, it was to make her feel powerless, knowing that the malevolent goddess would make her daughter go through the same thing she went through.
"Do whatever the fuck you want."
"Don't you worry Zorla, we'll make a fine queen out of Ellamir!"
Lolth's laughter started to fade as she returned back to the shadows.
Zorla opened her eyes, rising from her massive bed filled with slaves that are still sleeping, tired from the orgy they just pulled from the night before.
Making her way through her wine rack, she knows drinking alcohol isn't the wisest thing to do after waking up, she only wanted to wind down after that unpleasant encounter with Lolth.
Sipping wine, her thoughts drifted to Ellamir, Lolth's latest obsession. She could only pity the girl, she can't really do anything to stop their patron goddess. Especially since they are in the Underdark where she reigns supreme.
What could her daughter be up to right now? Probably tormenting that Amazon slave of hers.
+++
"Is this what you would consider a date?"
Up to her usual antics of riling up her master, Antani asked the dark elf who was sitting in front of her.
"I am merely making sure that you look presentable, no slave of mine is going to accompany me to my mother's birthday celebration wearing rags."
"Uh huh, then why don't you tell me the reason why we are eating in this tavern right now?" Antani questioned as she took a spoonful of the meal that Ellamir ordered for her.
"You do nothing all day but lose yourself in swinging your sword. I'm not going to tend after you if you end up collapsing from hunger."
"I don't know. You took me out to buy me clothes then you took me someplace where we would eat. Sounds an awful lot like the definition of a date to me, master."
"If you don't shut up I'm going to murder you."
Satisfied with how peeved her master had become, Antani resumed the meal in front of her with a smile.
"Your sister, she is very pretty."
For a split second Antani saw Ellamir staring daggers at her before the dark elf rolled her eye away.
"What? It was a compliment. So, if I recall correctly, the way you guys select your next queen is very similar to ours. The strongest out of all the siblings shall inherit the throne. Oooh, are you going to end up fighting your sister? Think you can take her on?"
"Take her on?" Ellamir released a haughty laugh, "I'm a lot stronger than Maesha. For a while I was out of the royal selection, since I've booted your people out of your land and acquired you as my war trophy, you could say that I'm on my path to becoming queen again."
Antani's upbeat demeanor suddenly plummeted as soon as Ellamir mentioned her tribe.
Ellamir saw it as the perfect opportunity to get at the Amazon, strike at her pained heart.
But somehow, for her to see Antani downtrodden like that felt….wrong.
"Do you regret your decision? After all, our circumstances rhymed, you could have been the next queen of your people."
"Me? The next queen? Heavens no, I had no trouble sacrificing myself since I wasn't the one next in line." Antani's statement confused Ellamir.
"Like hell you aren't. You're the strongest Amazon I know. Strong enough to give up her freedom for the sake of her people."
Whether she consciously meant it or not, Ellamir's words uplifted Antani's spirits, returning the Amazon to her jovial self once more.
"I'm sure I'm the only Amazon you know. There's still my mother but she's the queen so it's a given, and then there's my older sister. Alara. It took me years of training to get where I am right now with the skills I possess, my sister is different. She is the combination of talent and hard work. She's a true monster when it comes to battle."
"If she's that strong, how come the rest of you allowed you to sacrifice yourself to me just like that?"
"Alara was actually planning to stage a last stand, swaying everyone to fight until their last breath. Then I proposed my plan to my mother. It was foolproof, there was no way you'd be able to resist me."
"You flatter yourself."
"Do I?" Antani flashed her companion a grin.
Ellamir just sighed, Antani was correct after all.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone