Chapter 4 - A Smile Before the Kill

"In a world where loyalty slithers like a snake,

trust no smile that shows too many teeth."

-Nest Of Serpests

by E.S.Mare

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When we entered the palace through the hidden passages, Vilas was back at my side. Of course, those concealed paths led only to certain rooms—one of them being the King and Queen’s chambers. We had never used this route before, nor had we come through our usual path today. The soldiers chasing us were following the route known to the King. But the one we had taken—he didn’t even know it existed. Only Vilas and I did.

When we finally emerged into Alissa’s room, she was gone. The King had once given that room to my brother Drassa, but Drassa had turned it down. I thought he had done it for Alissa’s sake, to give her a chance to escape should things go wrong. I loved Alissa more than any of my other siblings. I think… she may have been the only one I truly loved. Alissa was gentle, kind, and breathtakingly beautiful. Though she was two years younger than me, her body was more curvaceous, more mature. The scales on her skin shimmered brighter than those of any of my siblings, as though the divine itself had touched her. Her long white hair was always delicately arranged. She wore only red dresses, making her pale skin stand out like snow against flame. Whenever Alissa entered a room, every head turned. But it wasn’t just her appearance—it was something inside her, a warmth most Snakes did not possess.

I used to think she would have made a far lovelier queen than I ever could. But my mother disagreed. She showed it often. Alissa was the one she treated with the coldest cruelty. When King Siles offered to marry her to the heir of the Black Snakes, my mother supported it without hesitation. King Siles was trying to heal his fractured ties with the Black Snakes, and Alissa—obedient, tender Alissa—was the perfect tool for that. A loyal White Snake princess would be quite useful to him once she became the Queen of the Black Snakes. My mother, however, despised the Black Snakes—especially their crown prince, whose cruelty was notorious. Perhaps my father didn’t care that Alissa’s delicate heart would break under such weight. My mother certainly didn’t.

She was a ruthless woman. And she had been ruthless to me in ways no one else had ever dared.

The door opened, and Alissa startled when she saw us. Her hand flew to her chest as she gasped, “Great Lesster!”

I raised my hand, wiggling my fingers. “No, it’s just me. Assra Marian.”

“Marian!” she breathed, bowing her head and peeking down the hallway. Once she was sure no one was there, she came inside and closed the door behind her. Gathering the crimson hem of her dress, she hurried over to me. She’d gained a little weight recently—she looked even lovelier for it. “You reckless fool! Where have you been? I was terrified!”

I didn’t like how tightly she hugged me. My wounds screamed beneath her touch, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from groaning aloud. I couldn’t wrap my arms around her. But she was too relieved to notice. When she pulled back and saw my face, her expression shifted to horror. Her fingers tried in vain to wipe the dark stains from my skin. “Did someone set you on fire? What are these marks?”

She turned to Vilas, who stood silently beside me, waiting. Her already wide eyes grew even larger as they swept over him—then she quickly turned her head away. “By the Great Lesster! You’re naked!”

Vilas looked down at himself, realizing only then that he had given me his shirt. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he muttered, “I need to check on the soldiers,” and fled the room before anyone could stop him.

I grinned at Alissa, her cheeks now as red as apples. “Well, starting your day with a glimpse of Vilas like that does set high expectations, doesn’t it?”

She glared at me, trying to mask her embarrassment with irritation. “What mess have you dragged yourself into this time, Marian?”

“First,” I said, throwing myself into a nearby chair. The impact made my back throb, and I winced. “I’m your elder sister. You’re not allowed to question me.”

She waited. When I said nothing more, she narrowed her eyes. “And second?”

“There is no second. No one promised there’d be a second.”

She scrunched her nose at me, and even that was endearing. “Then why start with ‘first’?”

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“Because I like it,” I said, plucking a grape from the plate beside me and popping it into my mouth. And that was the moment I realized just how hungry I was. I grabbed the whole bunch and devoured them with no grace whatsoever.

Alissa scolded me under her breath, but I was too busy watching her. My smile faltered. Today was her wedding day. She had spent the last few days in tears, her misery unbearable to witness. Even though I had been furious with her for refusing to escape with me, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her. I wished she weren’t so fragile… or maybe so afraid. Then perhaps I wouldn’t have had to fight so hard to save her.

But now… now she seemed almost cheerful. Her eyes weren’t red. Her face was painted with care—though the paint wasn’t fresh, it hadn’t smudged or faded. She hadn’t cried today. Not even once.

“Did something happen?” I asked, still chewing.

“What do you mean?”

“Uh…” I hesitated, then muttered, “You look… good?”

She blinked, clearly caught off guard. Alissa had never been good at hiding her feelings. She wore them on her face, raw and real. Even my mother’s cruel attempts to mold her had failed in that regard. She’d walked in looking calm, but now she looked even more relaxed. Yet as she stood in front of me, clutching her skirt, there was a nervous tension in her posture.

“Alissa,” I said softly. She turned to me. “Is there something you haven’t told me—?”

I didn’t get to finish. The door burst open.

Queen Kalissia stood tall in the doorway, resplendent and terrifying. I rose at once, my entire body stiffening down to the roots of my hair. I had to force myself not to swallow.

Her eyes—icy blue, nearly colorless—swept over me slowly, painfully. Every second dragged like a blade across my skin. Then, with a look of sheer disdain, she turned away from me and fixed her gaze on Alissa. I didn’t have to see her to know Alissa flinched.

“Out,” Queen Kalissia said. Her voice didn’t belong to a mother speaking to her daughter. It belonged to a queen addressing a servant.

Alissa glanced at me for just a moment before heading straight for the door. She bowed slightly to the Queen and slipped outside. The doors closed behind her with a quiet thud. Now, two pairs of ice-blue eyes were locked onto each other.

The Queen walked toward me, her steps heavy, her thin heels echoing hollowly against the gleaming white marble. Her dress was white as snow, the bodice winding upward in spirals of sequins, ending in a daringly low neckline. Her silver-grey hair was braided into an elegant bun, revealing a face that had defied time. Though she was in her forties, she looked younger—radiant, even. And I felt like nothing but a filthy slave standing in her presence.

She halted right at the tips of my boots, still crusted with dirt and mud. But even if she were to step on them barefoot, I had no doubt—not a speck would cling to her. I didn’t speak. I simply looked up at her face, though I felt a crushing weight urging me to avert my gaze. I shouldn’t have looked away. But I did.

"Look at me!" she snapped, using the very same tone she’d used with Alissa. She rarely spoke to me like that.

My eyes rose to meet hers without my consent, as though I had no right to resist. My body had already yielded to her command. And when our eyes locked again, she struck me—hard. The slap exploded across my cheek, fierce enough to match the mark Vilas had left earlier. My eyes squeezed shut from the sting, then opened just as swiftly.

It hurt more than the King’s whip. Far more.

“Don’t you dare…” she hissed. “Don’t you dare do that again! Do you hear me, Assra Marian?”

“As you command, Your Majesty,” I answered, forcing my trembling lips to move.

Then, just as suddenly, she pulled me into a violent embrace. I felt the stiff boning of her corset pressing into my ribs. The wounds on my back flared in protest, but unlike with Alissa, I couldn’t bring myself to return her hug. I remained still.

“You frightened me,” she murmured, her voice now soft—familiar. “Stop doing this to me, my daughter.”

I stayed silent. When she stepped back, her eyes searched mine again. Her hands found my face; her thumb brushed the blood on my lips. But no apology came. Not even a word of remorse. The sorrow was in her touch, but it remained unspoken.

“Do you know how much my head would ache if your father had found you?”

I nearly smiled. “Then I beg your grand forgiveness.”

“Marian,” she said, trying not to raise her voice, “I stand before you not just as your Queen—but as your mother.”

And though I knew better, I said it anyway. “Which one struck me, then? The Queen… or my mother?”

“Are you testing me?” Her tone hardened. “I didn’t raise you for this.” Her eyes scanned me with disgust. “Look at you! Filthier than a lion, and you reek like one too! You are a princess, Marian! One day, you will be Queen! Start acting like it!”

She lived in a fantasy. She clung to some imaginary version of me that I could never become. I was a broken princess. One day, my father’s hatred would kill me—and I would be a dead princess. Or I’d kill him and be executed. Either way, I was already dead.

Why should I play the part of a princess?

And for whom?

My brothers rarely even looked at me. I wasn’t free to walk the halls of my own palace. Living as though death waited around every corner was my right—and she owed me that. She owed me much more.

Most of all, she owed me freedom.

But she was a Queen. And Queens owe nothing—not even to their daughters.

Of course, I didn’t speak any of this aloud. I had no wish to earn another blow. I stepped back and bowed slightly. “With your permission, I would like to wash and rest, Your Majesty.”

She looked like she was about to respond, but her lips pressed into a firm line. “Clean yourself. I’ll send food to your chambers. Rest. You have until evening.”

My brows furrowed. “Until evening? Why?”

The corners of her lips curled faintly. “Will you not attend your brother’s wedding, my daughter?”

I blinked, surprised. The Queen chuckled dryly and took my arm, leading me to the door with a faint grimace. At least her grip didn’t hurt.

“I’ll send maids to assist you. Bathe, rest. You will attend that wedding in your military uniform. I won’t have you missing it.”

She opened the door and turned once more to face me. This time, she kissed my forehead without disdain.

“I love you, my beautiful princess. One day, you will be a magnificent queen.”

I didn’t understand a word she said. I simply stepped past the threshold and left—without so much as a curtsy.