The Poison Princess by J. Stone

escaped had
gone quiet. Picking up the fang, she skulked back toward the water,
her hunt continuing. She walked along the water, worrying about
Ruby’s condition. Though she now had form in Nabiria and had
escaped the nether realm, Scarlett was still tied inescapably to
her princess. Her fate was the demon’s fate, and so the horned
woman was determined to save her from the effects of the toxic
blissroot. Given what she was, Scarlett certainly approved of Ruby
living a life full of elation and pleasure, but the demon wanted to
be the one to make her happy, not some fruit. Besides, she knew how
much Ruby wanted to help her sister, and as much as the horned
woman thought that to be a dangerous path to walk, she was
determined to assist her princess in that endeavor.
    Walking along the stream’s edge, Scarlett saw
something in the slow moving water ahead. Strange ripples slithered
at the very top of the calm stream. Squinting her red eyes into
narrow slits, she focused on the pattern and soon realized that it
was in fact a snake of some sort. The serpent blended in with the
water, so it was hard for her to make out the details, but this
seemed an even better opportunity than a poisonous frog. The snake
was coming toward her, so she sat Sythys’ fang on the ground,
approached the edge of the water, and waited for the smaller
serpent to pass by her. When it was within reach, she snatched it
out from the stream.
    Scarlett discovered that she hadn’t grabbed
it in the best spot, as its head coiled around and bit the fleshy
chunk of her hand between her thumb and index finger. The pain of
the bite made her nearly release her grip, but she held steady and
so did the beast. She could feel the poison oozing out from its
fangs and into her skin in small, but powerful amounts. Because of
her connection to Ruby, Scarlett was somewhat immune to the toxic
effect. However, due to their weak bond, she could still feel a
slight burning sensation at its touch. Still, the serpent did not
let go, so the demon pried the fangs out from her skin. Blood and
venom dripped from the wounds, as the snake was removed.
    With a better grip on the beast’s head,
Scarlett reached over and grabbed Sythys’ fang. Aiming the snake’s
head over the brim of the hollow tooth, she forced it to open its
mouth and expose its fangs on the inside of her makeshift bottle.
The opal colored venom leaked down the side of the tooth, pooling
in the bottom. It started to seep out the bottom of the fang
though, so Scarlett resituated her hands so that she could plug the
sharp hole with her finger.
    Having acquired exactly what she needed, the
horned demon hurried back to where she’d left Ruby. A new source of
poison was exactly what would help her get over the addictive
effects of the toxin from the blissroot. Holding the snake in the
tooth, while simultaneously plugging the hole was rather awkward
and by the time she got back, Scarlett had pierced all of her
fingers with the large tooth, mixing some of her own blood with the
snake’s venom. That wouldn’t matter much, she hoped, as she sat
down beside Ruby who was tossing and turning in her sleep and
sweating in a great abundance.
    Nudging Sniggle with her knee, Scarlett woke
him up. “Hold this,” she told the little imp, pointing her head
toward the snake.
    Sniggle shook his head and waved his hands in
protest in front of his face.
    “Do it,” she ordered him, unwilling to listen
to his complaints.
    Scarlett removed the snake from the tooth and
held his neck to the ground near Sniggle. The purple imp then
reluctantly straddled the serpent and held it down, similarly, but
using his full weight to accomplish the same goal. With one hand
free, the horned demon turned to Ruby. She climbed on top of her,
straddling her not unlike Sniggle and the snake. Scarlett scooted
up, placed her legs over the princess’ arms, and pushed her
shackled hands up over Ruby’s head to keep them out of her way.
    The princess was