Rosalind rubbed her eyes when she woke, still tired from the stress of the day before. After the magical procedure, she'd had Raven carry her to her room to let her sleep. She didn't want to have to think about what she'd done until the next day.

Of course, now that it was the next day, she still didn't want to think about it. At first, she forgot that she was even disabled. She could sit up perfectly fine in her bed. However, when she tried to stand her ankle gave in under her and she narrowly caught herself on her nightstand before she could go tumbling down.

"This is going to take some getting used to," she whispered to herself.

There was a gentle knock on the door. "Rosalind?" She recognized the voice as belonging to Jasper. "I assume from the noise that you are awake?"

"Yeah, come in," she called, setting herself back on the bed. She examined the ankle in question. There was a thin white scar over the back of her heel where the sever must have been. She sighed. The skin was closed. There was no going back from this.

Jasper entered quietly and stood at the foot of the bed. Rosalind didn't look up to face him. "I brought you something."

Rosalind forced a smile for him. If he didn't see how scared she was by this, maybe he wouldn't be so scared either. "For little old me? Why, you shouldn't have."

He gave her a weak grin. "Yeah, it's, uh..." he held up the leather device in his left hand. Rosalind recognized the shape instantly as an ankle brace. "Kimera and I worked on it last night. I just want to make sure it works."

Her heart dropped in her chest. If she wore that, she would be accepting this. She would be accepting that she'd never be the same again.

But she'd already accepted that, hadn't she? She'd accepted it the minute she'd agreed to do the spell. "Alright, bring it over, show me how it goes on."

Jasper sat on the bed next to her and walked her through the complicated laces and buckles that would hold her upright. The brace went over the bridge of her foot and halfway up her shin. It would be obvious no matter what she wore over or around it. So much for keeping this discreet. The whole court would know something was wrong with her.

He helped her tie it on. It was heavy, and chafed against her skin. Nevertheless, she patted him on the back and said gratefully, "Thank you so much, Jasper. It's great."

He stood first and held his hands out to her. She took them carefully and he pulled her to her feet. She was wobbly at first. The brace kept her ankle from collapsing under her, but walking felt stiff and artificial. It was like her leg was made of wood.

"Rosalind, I'm sorry," Jasper said. "I know it's not the same. Gosh, what was I thinking, I should never have let you-"

"I did the spell because I wanted to," Rosalind insisted. "And because it was my responsibility. There was nothing you could have let me or not let me do. I appreciate everything you've done, and I bet you were probably up all night making this thing." The bags under his eyes proved her point. "But this isn't your fault and you aren't allowed to feel bad about it. It's none of your concern. Okay?"

"But it is my concern," Jasper said. "Because we're going to have to fight, and now it's going to be decidedly unfair."

Rosalind shook her head. "Jasper, we don't have to think of the arena fight right now-"

"It's only a few days away. How are we not supposed to think about it?" Jasper asked.

"We'll figure something out-"

"I'll just lay down my weapons," Jasper decided. "That will be fine. I won't fight, so it'll be easy to beat me-" Rosalind slapped him across the face. He put a palm to his red cheek with a betrayed expression. "What was that for?"

"I'm not killing you," Rosalind said firmly. "And you're not killing me. We are going to find a solution, and we will both live. Okay?"

Jasper nodded solemnly. "Okay..."

"Good. Glad we cleared that up," Rosalind said. "Now, I need breakfast before I keel over from hunger instead of my foot." She started limping towards the door.

Jasper laughed quietly to himself at his sister's determination. But as far as he was concerned, he'd made up his mind. "Okay. You go eat. I want to go see someone."

❂

Jasper had thrown a cloak over his shoulders and was climbing over the palace walls, despite the fact that it was broad daylight. At this point, he was confident enough that no one would be looking for him.

He wandered the streets for a bit, not knowing how to find Alkemena but knowing that she would find him. His theory proved true; after a few minutes a hooded figure on the rooftops waved at him to catch his attention, and motioned towards a back alley they could meet in.

Narrow streets like this one were perfect places for Alkemena to brace an arm against each wall to slowly slide down to street level. He would never get tired of watching her do that. It always looked like she was landing after a flight. If she'd had wings this whole time he wouldn't be surprised.

"Hey, hey, hey," she said fondly, giving him a quick hug before he could say a word. "I wanted to see you again. I have to apologize for the other night."

"What?" Jasper asked. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I shouldn't have kissed you without your permission," Alkemena explained, tugging off her hood. "It was a little too bold of me, and even if it was okay, I shouldn't have just run off."

"Hey, it is okay," Jasper said, blushing a bit. "If it, uh, makes you feel better... I liked the kiss."

Alkemena smiled at him. "Oh, phew, that is such a relief. I've been thinking about it for the past day and a half, wondering if I'd overstepped my boundaries and scared you away. Thank the desert I didn't."

"Yeah, you, didn't," Jasper concurred.

"Well, then hopefully it's okay if I do this," Alkemena said, and leaned forward to give him another kiss. He leaned into it, accepting it gratefully. When she pulled away he made a small hum of protest, but obliged and pulled back as well.

"Definitely okay," Jasper said. "You may do that whenever you want."

"Good to know." Alkemena pulled a small vial out of one of her pockets. "This is also for you," she said, holding it out to him. It was full of water. "You, and only you," she specified. "I know you tend to give away the water I give you. I don't think I've ever seen you actually drink anything. So, you must drink this whole thing right now, so I can make sure you don't die of thirst."

Jasper took it hesitantly, thinking. Alkemena had such care and concern in her eyes. She genuinely thought that he needed this water to live. The fact was, he'd already had a drink of water that day. To drink this would be to waste it; it could save someone else's life, but all it would do for him was add to an already quenched thirst.

Of course, it wasn't like he could reject it. Then he'd have to explain why. He couldn't do that. The entire time he'd known Alkemena, he'd resolved that one day he'd tell her his identity. When he was ready, and when she'd gotten to know and trust him, he could be honest with her. However, now that they had reached that point, he was afraid. What if when he told her, she changed her mind about him? What if she hated him? She'd have every right to. She'd have every right to tell him to stay the hell away from her, to never see her again. He was terrified of going through life without her.

A line of Kimera's prophecy echoed in his head. A king whose people love in fear. Was that line directed at him? He had no doubt that he loved Alkemena. But to do so was to invite fear. Not only that she might find him out, but that they both might be found out. It had already happened once.

True to his promise, Sendar had kept the secret. Jasper had kept an eye on him for a while after that, but he hadn't told a soul, hadn't even talked to himself about it. He hadn't tried to talk to Jasper, either. In fact, Sendar hardly talked to anybody. Jasper supposed his life must be rather lonely.

He could tell Alkemena right now; about who he was, about how he'd been lying to her this whole time. But at the same time, he couldn't. He couldn't lose her.

Not now.

Not days before his death.

And he'd already resolved to it. He knew there was no way both he and Rosalind were going to survive the arena fight. She may have been doing an excellent job of avoiding or denying the truth, but Jasper knew that even if they decided upon a solution, their father and the rest of the gentry would never go with it. The best outcome would be their father executing one of them, likely Rosalind. The worst outcome would be a coup, in which he and his whole family were killed and another family placed upon the throne. No, it was better if he died and Rosalind were made queen. It would be better for everyone.

But if he was going to make the ultimate sacrifice, he could afford to be selfish with his last days. He could afford to spend them with the woman he loved.

He opened the vial and poured the water down his throat, trying to bury his guilt. "Happy?" he asked her.

"Very," she replied.

❂

Ecthelion was at the well again. Unlike last time, he had been assigned to an actual patrol instead of stealing one. Like last time, Emlin was keeping him company for some unfathomable reason.

"I don't understand," she said, playing with the laces of her shoes. She sat right on the edge of the well. If Ecthelion didn't know how nimble she was, he might be scared she'd fall backwards and down the hole. "Why was Lylie even around snakes? She hates them. How in the desert's name did she get bit by one?"

Ecthelion sighed. He'd wanted to avoid telling Emlin any sensitive information (because she didn't need to know, NOT because he was protecting her from the king, that would be ridiculous) but it looked like she wasn't going to stop asking questions until she was in the loop.

"Rosalind asked her for help," he said. It was somewhat of a lie; the asking was really more like blackmailing. But Emlin didn't need to know that part. "We needed snake venom, which meant we needed snakes. Lylie was the only one who could get them without getting bit- well, obviously, that part of the plan didn't work out, but she did get the snakes. Raven and Kiara are working on getting their venom now."

"I'm just as talented as Lylie," Emlin muttered bitterly. "But why do you need snake venom at all? Are you trying to poison someone?" Her eyes widened in excitement at a sudden idea. "Are you trying to poison the king?"

"We- no, we're not poisoning anyone," Ecthelion said quickly. "And of course not the king. That would be treason and murder, and that's wrong on so many levels. As a guard of the palace, I would never do such a thing." He looked to the left and the right, then whispered, "But, off the record, if the opportunity were to arise, I would not report anyone who attempted said murdering of the king."

Emlin covered his mouth in a faux gasp. "Ecthelion, the treasonous guard? First stealing water, then blackmail, now this? Shameful." She shook her head. "But seriously, if you're not poisoning someone, what are you doing with the venom?"

Ecthelion pursed his lips, before deciding To hell with it and saying, "The seer delivered a prophecy recently."

Emlin's eyes narrowed at him, her face scrunching in suspicion and curiosity. "Tell me."

❂

Raven held the bag at arm's length, having gained a new appreciation and fear of the snakes inside it. Now that he had seen the effects of the venom firsthand, he was not eager to be anywhere near the reptiles.

He was bringing them up the stairs to Balthazar's tower, which they had all decided was the best place to extract the venom. None of the original people who heard about the prophecy actually knew how to do it without killing the snakes and simply taking the venom glands, which made the idea of getting them rather daunting, but thankfully Raven had remembered Kiara making a passing comment about her vast knowledge of snakes, and asked her if she could do it.

Kiara had been very curious about why Raven needed snake venom, and when he'd told her about the prophecy she'd been more than happy to help. Honestly, he suspected that she would have helped anyways. The way she talked about snakes was a little too affectionate not to be suspect at least.

Balthazar, Aslan, and Kiara were already in the tower when he arrived. Kiara had brought a glass case and a fabric-covered jar with her, and Raven did not fail to notice the snake poker that Aslan had brought leaning against the bed. They were all thoroughly frightened by what had happened to Lylie. They weren't taking any chances.

"You brought the snakes?" Kiara asked eagerly.

Raven delicately placed the bag on the stone table. He backed away as soon as it was out of his hand. The snakes inside were wriggling and hissing softly, probably wondering why they were waking up in a sack. "Someone else can bring them back out to the desert when we're done. I think I've had enough of snakes for the rest of my life."

Kiara pulled on a pair of thick leather gloves and reached for the knot on the rope that tied the bag shut. Everyone else took a few steps back.

"You guys don't have to be here," Kiara said to them. "I can take it from here."

"I think it's a bad idea to leave you alone with the snakes," Aslan said. "Besides, it's not like we have anywhere else to be."

"You have chores," Balthazar pointed out.

"It's not like we have anywhere else to be," Aslan repeated more firmly, elbowing the conjuror in the side. Zar shrugged and accepted it. He probably understood that Aslan would rather do anything than his chores.

Kiara reached an arm into the sack and everyone sucked in a breath. To their surprise, she seemed very comfortable with it. She didn't even flinch or shake as she hauled the first snake out, holding it behind its eyes with hands around the top of its neck. It wiggled indignantly, but settled after a few seconds and let her maneuver it.

"How do you even know how to do this?" Aslan asked as she forced its mouth open and sank its fangs into the fabric over the jar.

"It was a potential career choice before the whole, you know, criminal thing," Kiara explained. She massaged a part of the snake's jaw gently, and black, oily venom began to squirt from its hollow fangs. Raven imagined she was pressing its venom glands. "Don't worry, the little babies are probably sleepy from the sun. They won't be any trouble." Raven decided to ignore that she had called the snakes 'little babies'. He preferred to think of them as 'killing machines'. "Ooh, this is fun. Honestly, I would have loved to do this all the time, or at least practiced a little."

Everyone took another step back. They were almost pressed against the wall.

"You mean you haven't practiced this?" Balthazar asked hesitantly.

"Nope," Kiara said cheerfully. She detached the snake from the jar once the dripping stopped, and lowered it into her glass case. "This is my first time."

She moved on to the second snake.

"Well- Can they still bite us?" Zar asked, examining the snake in the case from a distance.

"Oh, absolutely," Kiara said, nodding. "Their venom regenerates like saliva. Right after they're milked they probably aren't venomous enough to kill anyone, but it would still probably be hard to breathe and it would hurt like a bitch. I would advise against it." She moved on to the third snake. Raven held his breath as she handled it expertly.

"You guys are so touchy," she said as she brought out the fourth. "I can hear your heartbeats from over here. Calm down a little, maybe?"

"I do not see any possible way for me to be calm right now," Raven said.

"You're not even handling the snakes."

"I'm within fifty feet of them. That's enough reason to panic for me."

Kiara put the fourth snake into the case. "You know, if you guys decide no one wants to bring these snakes back, I can just keep them."

"Let's not do that," Raven said.

Kiara began to milk the fifth snake. "Alright, if you say so. Hold on, we're almost done." The jar had about two inches of snake venom inside, which probably would have been enough anyway. Raven was tempted to tell Kiara to leave the sixth snake be, but he knew that the more venom the better.

She reached into the bag and pulled the last snake out. It was larger and longer than all the other ones. However, though this one emerged without struggling, as soon as its tail was out of the bag, it began to squirm and thrash madly.

"Hey, hey!" Kiara shouted as she tried to grab its tail with her other hand. Raven's panic was quickly growing. "What the hell?"

The snake whipped around so wildly that its large tail whacked the glass case with the other snakes. It went flying off the table and smashed on the ground. Kiara, staggering backwards to avoid flying glass shards, dropped the last snake. It went slithering wildly across the room, hissing angrily.

"Shit, shit, SHIT," Raven said, backing up quickly until his hip bumped into the edge of a wooden table in the corner. One Neckbreaker's tail brushed against his boot and he leapt up, hopping onto the table and hoping that would protect him. His heart was beating so fast and his breathing was so wild, he could hardly hear the others' shouting.

Balthazar and Kiara copied Raven and hopped onto the stone table, eyes scanning the floor for potential threats. Aslan, on the other hand, decided to take the heroic route and stayed on the floor, sidestepping a few snakes to make his way to the door.

"Aslan, what are you doing?" Zar roared. "Get on a table, fool!"

Aslan ignored him and took another step forward, putting his hand on the door handle. He thrust it forward and the door slammed loudly, shaking on its hinges. The snake nearest to Aslan turned and reared its head at the noise, and opened its mouth to bite the young servant.

Balthazar, thinking fast, jabbed two fingers at the snake and whispered something under his breath. The snake burst into flames at the last second, hissing agonizingly before its scales blackened and crumbled. Aslan didn't waste the opportunity, and he hopped from a stool to the stone table.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Zar demanded, pulling Aslan into his arms. "That was a stupid, stupid risk."

"I couldn't risk the snakes going down the stairs and into the rest of the castle," Aslan gasped, as if he couldn't believe he was alive. "We'd never find them."

"Well, now we might never get out of here," Raven pointed out, gesturing to their current situation.

It was like they were all on little islands, though the other three were on the large stone table in the center of the room and Raven was on his small wooden one in the corner. Kiara still held the jar of venom, and she put it down next to her on the table lest she drop it by accident, like she had with the snake. There were six snakes slithering about the room, all of them having been shaken fully awake by the shattering of the glass case. Only one of them was poisonous enough to kill them, but they had no idea which one it was.

"I thought you said the snakes would be asleep in the daytime!" Zar shouted at Kiara.

"Neckbreakers are," she protested. "Did you see that last one? It was bigger and longer, and the black spots on its scales had white in the middle."

"What does that mean?" Aslan asked.

"It means it's not a Neckbreaker," Kiara said. "It's a Basnae snake from Mobi Zan. They're rare, and I don't know what one was doing in a Neckbreaker den in the Ailican desert, but that's definitely what it was."

"Are you saying Lylie got the wrong snake?"

"It's an easy mistake to make," Kiara said. "They look extremely similar, especially when they're half-buried in the sand. Anyone who wasn't versed in snake species wouldn't have known."

"Okay, so it's a Basnae, then," Raven said. "What does that mean?"

"Well, Basnae snakes are just as deadly," Kiara said. "They carry much less venom, but it's more potent and fast-working. If that thing bites you in a main vein or close to your heart, you'll be dead in seconds. The venom causes the heart rate to increase, meaning it spreads through the bloodstream faster. It's neurotoxic, which means it attacks the brain. Unconsciousness strikes first, then braindeath."

"Lovely," Balthazar said sarcastically. "So what do we do?"

"Well, obviously, we have to get the snakes under control," Raven said.

"Great, you can do that," Balthazar said.

"What?" Raven cried. "What makes you think I can do that?"

"You talk to animals, don't you?"

"It doesn't work that way!" Raven protested. "I can imitate their sounds for a good laugh or whatever! I can't tell a snake that I've never heard of before, 'oh, sorry we removed you from your home and stuck you in a sack and tried to steal your bodily fluids, please don't bite us'."

"Well, that's inconvenient," Balthazar said. He scanned the floor for the snakes, which had all crawled underneath various items of furniture, probably waiting to strike whatever limb they saw first. "I can try burning more of them."

"And risk setting the whole castle on fire if you miss?" Kiara challenged.

"Do you have a better idea?"

Raven held up a hand to silence them. He pointed to the snake poker, which still rested against the wall by the bed. "I think I can reach it."

He leaned forward and braced one of his arms on a chair while keeping his knees on the table. He reached his other arm forward and held his breath. The tips of his fingers brushed against the iron rod. It started to fall over, but he caught it just before it could crash to the floor.

"Okay, what do I do now?" he asked, waving the poker in the air. The hooked end scraped against the wall, leaving a small scratch in the paint.

"Give it here," Kiara said, holding out her hand. "I think I can get them into that basket over there." She pointed to an empty straw basket a few feet away from her.

Raven held the poker out and she grabbed the hooked end, pulling it over onto their table. Raven's table wobbled a little as his weight shifted, and he realized the legs were uneven. One wrong move and he might tumble over. He resolved not to move too much from there on. He settled for a crouching position in the middle of it.

Kiara poked around under the bed with the rod for a minute, and when she pulled it out again there was a snake trapped in the hook. It wriggled a little bit but ultimately went without struggle. It disappeared into the basket. Everyone let out a breath.

She nabbed another one from under Raven's table, which nearly gave him a heart attack. For that one, she had to reach so far that Balthazar had to hold on to her other hand and use his weight to keep her from falling forward. She carefully lowered it into the basket.

The third snake she got from under Zar's dresser. It wriggled a bit more than the other two, and hissed madly, but she was able to wrangle it into the basket. All the snakes she had gotten so far were Neckbreakers, as far as Kiara could tell; the Basnae was nowhere to be found.

The fourth one was actually crawling around on the floor, prowling. Raven tried to look hard at the black spots, but they were so minute that he couldn't tell whether they had white centers or not. However, it was small enough he didn't think it was the Basnae.

"Please be careful," he told her.

"I don't know what you mean," Kiara said, her eyes still focused on the moving snake. "I'm always careful. Perpetually careful. It's my middle name."

"I don't think it is," Aslan whispered.

Kiara managed to hook the snake and pull it off the ground. However, it was thin and managed to wriggle its way out and back to the floor. It slunk under the stone table. Kiara tried to follow it with the poker, but Aslan held a hand out to stop her.

"You can't see under there," he pointed out. "The Basnae could be waiting. You don't know."

"Raven, can you take a look underneath us?" Kiara asked.

Raven tried to lean forward, but he felt the table tilt under him. He held his arms out to steady him but the table was still shaking.

"I don't think I can move," he said quietly, not daring to drop his arms lest the table break underneath his weight.

Kiara let out a breath. "Okay. What can you see from there?"

Raven's eyes darted to the darkness under the stone table. Part of it was blocked by a chair, but the rest was partially visible. He could see the snake curled into a tight circle. "It looks clear. The snake is right underneath you guys."

Kiara nodded and leaned down with her arm outstretched. "I've got this." The poker slid under the snake and as she lifted it the reptile began to unravel itself.

The Basnae darted out from behind the chair and leapt up, sinking its teeth into Kiara's bicep.

She screamed and fell off the table, landing on her back and dropping the poker. Her mouth opened in a desperate attempt for breath, but all that she could do was gasp in shock. Her eyes went wide. Her spine arched and her legs spasmed in pain.

"Kiara!" Raven called, reaching a hand out to help her but drawing back when the table underneath him gave a violent lurch. "Someone help her, get her off the floor!"

The snake had not detached itself from her arm, and was still biting down hard. Balthazar rubbed his hands together and jabbed two fingers at the snake. It burst into flames and gave a terrifying hiss, lurching at Balthazar in its final moments. It burned before it could reach him. The spell had left a large burn on Kiara's arm, and the skin around the bite mark was beginning to turn blue. She had stopped breathing.

Aslan did not risk getting on the floor, but he reached down with his arms and hooked under her armpits, heaving her into a sitting position. Balthazar helped pull her onto the table.

"How's her pulse?" Raven demanded.

"It's weak," Balthazar said, his hand on the side of her neck. Her eyes had slid shut. "I don't know if she has much time left."

"She has to," Raven protested. "We have to get her to Kimera."

"The last snake can't kill us," Aslan said. He reached down for the poker, which was still hooked around the last Neckbreaker. He hauled it up and dropped the whole poker into the basket, not willing to take the chance that the snake might escape again.

As soon as it was in the basket, Raven hopped off the table and over to Kiara. Balthazar was muttering a spell and he held his hand over her eyes, but they both knew he wasn't a healer.

"How is she?" he asked, pressing his fingers to the pulse point on her wrist. He didn't feel a thing.

"She's not breathing," Zar said, removing his hand from her face. It was pale and emotionless.

"She has to live," Raven insisted. "Zar, you have to do something. No, wait, I have to do something. I have to take her to the healers."

He tried to lift her up, but Zar stopped him.

"Raven," the conjuror said gently, "She's gone."

Raven shook his head. He tried to bury his growing fear and tried to lift her again. "She's not. They saved Lylie, they can save her too."

Aslan scooted over and put his hand on her wrist. "Raven, I'm so sorry," he said after a pause.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Raven argued, wondering who he was trying to convince. "She's not going to die." He tried a third time to lift her up. Tears were beginning to pool behind his eyes and a sharpness in his throat made it hard to breathe. "I won't let h-"

"Raven!" Balthazar shouted, slamming his hands on the table, "She's dead! Leave her be!"

Raven stumbled backwards, startled by the volume and conviction of his words, and the tears began to spill over his cheeks. "She can't be gone..." he continued to say.

Aslan hopped off the table and took Raven's hand. "Raven, there was nothing-"

"She can't be gone!" Raven screamed. He slammed his fist on the wooden table, and it finally broke apart, splinters joining the broken glass on the floor. "She can't!"

But even as he tried to tell himself that there was some way to save her, Kiara's spirit was making its way into the sky. 

Word Count: 5125

Character Appearances:

Rosalind Vastatio by sofififlowers

Jasper Vastatio by EstelElfstone

Alkemena Irving by  TheShortBosmer

Ecthelion Finweson by  WingedWarrior1731

Raven Blackthorn by ghostofwolves

Balthazar Evander by Cynarr

Aslan by dr0wning_in_w0rds

Lylie Jasmal by eli-z-le (mentioned)

Kimera Relicem by me (mentioned)

Also Featuring Appearances From:

Emlin "The Cat" by dobblewolf

Kiara Altaica by TheExplosiveCyborg

A/N: *deep inhale* I am so, so sorry.

Updates are coming quickly, as I'm sure you've noticed, because I will take any opportunity to not do my homework, it seems. I can't promise they will continue to come quickly, but we'll see. (Sorry for publishing this at the beginning of the week when everyone's busy...)

Big thank you to Cyra TheExplosiveCyborg for submitting her character, Kiara Altaica, the first of us to perish. Hope you enjoyed reading! My question is, what was your favorite thing about Kiara?