Chapter Five
The Accursed Snake

                   “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the daughter of Her Majesty the Queen Lana, Arkina,” said Reoka wearing a serpent’s smile. Arkina arched a brow. Acen teleported onstage wearing a piercing glare. “Arkina do not listen to her!” the drow king commanded. The princess however ignored his last comment and snapped, “No I want to know more about this.”  Reoka chuckled. “Oh you poor child your parents never told you that you were given up seventeen years ago? Very interesting.”
                   Arkina turned to King Acen her eyes gleaming in deep rage. “Tell me why you kept this secret from me all this time.” Arkina demanded. King Acen sighed heavily seeing as he had no other choice but to spill the truth. He told the story of how she was found in their royal suite with a pleading note from her blood related mother to care for her daughter. “I am sorry Arkina but Oceanus and I didn’t know if you could handle the truth,” the king finished. She could only give her stepfather a look of deep disgust. “I am not a little girl anymore, I do believe that I am old enough to know that I was taken in as a young child,” Arkina exploded.
                  Reoka watched the two go at it back and fourth for a few minutes until she politely cleared her throat. “WHAT?” Acen and Arkina shouted out in unison. The sorceress giggled covering her mouth with one hand. “You must be wondering how I escaped are you not?” Reoka said. “Actually yes I do wish to know,” Acen declared inviting the change in conversation happily in his mind. “Start explaining.” Oceanus ordered appearing beside her husband in a splash of water.
                 “Very well I shall enlighten your puny minds,” the sorceress yawned lazily. “After I was banished to the dark reaches of outer space I attempted to destroy my shackles. Sadly my powers were not strong enough. I hung my head finally accepting defeat and holding back tears of hate. Then suddenly something amazing occurred; Nefareon the Dark King appeared before me. We made a deal that if he set me free and enhanced my powers I was to annihilate HER!”  With her golden staff she pointed it dead at Arkina.
                     Gasps of horror and tension arose from those left in the audience. “B-b-but I have done nothing wrong,” Arkina stuttered. “Nothing personal my dear but a deal is a deal.” Reoka didn’t seem at all regretful for the horrible curse she was about to put on Arkina. She began speaking in the language of the snakes, which has been a dead tongue for nearly 500 years.  Her pet asp coiled loosely about her body joined in. It could make one’s hair stand on end. Louder and louder their voices swelled like an eerie pipe organ. Without warning a violet serpent spirit launched from the scepter’s gaping mouth. It hurled itself into Arkina’s chest with such a force it sent her flying into the remnants of the back wall. She held back a scream of agony as the curse constricted her lungs and heart.
                   The princess collapsed on the floor gasping for air like a victim of emphysema lacking his respirator would. Corret hurried to her side, and laid her head on his lap in order to give her some support to breathe. Acen knelt before Arkina, placed both hands over where the curse had been injected and the spot glowed with a silvery light. “It is futile to waste your magic, for the curse will only cause the wounds inflicted to worsen. So you cannot be healed by white magic,” Reoka scorned triumphantly.
                     Miracously Arkina struggled to her feet, even though the anguish overwhelmed her. Reoka’s expression instantly changed from victorious to fear. “Impossible!” she said. “No normal being can survive the Accursed Snake unless …” Her eyes fell to Arkina’s star pendant; from the night she arrived into the care of King Acen Arkina never parted from the necklace. It was glowing with the power of light as if warding off the immediate death the curse contained. “You have the holy nova around your neck.” Reoka finished. “No matter I will destroy ye the way I killed your uncle.”
                  At that moment the drawing of a sword and the swirling tides of angry sea were heard. King Acen had drawn his blade the Icestorm while Oceanus had summoned a tidal wave that was under her control. “We will protect Arkina even if it means sacrificing our own lives,” the drow king stated. “Yes we swore to defend the Queen’s daughter no matter how harsh the consequence may be,” Oceanus said. “Even if that consequence was death,” Reoka retorted. Both the sea-nymph and the drow king nodded. “Then so be it,” the sorceress said lifting her staff towards the darkness filled sky.
                  She suddenly became enveloped in a cloud of blackness that spouted from the staff’s mouth. Emerald colored bolts struck the shady column of smoke raising Reoka’s aura to a higher level that she ever achieved in her life. The bolts blinded everyone in the ruined theatre so no eyes could peek at the new form Reoka and her pet asp had taken. All they were able to hear was the crashing of the roof or what was left of it. Once the transformation was complete a terrible sight met the spectators’ gaze.
                     A gigantic king cobra as tall as the Petronas Towers loomed over the two retired guardians. Thick scales of a poisonous green covered her body. Acid venom, strong enough to eat away through steel, dripped from two saber-tooth fangs. Resting atop of the cobra’s hood was the shiny black head of the asp. Since king cobras are blind he would act as Reoka’s eyes during the battle. “Behold! You pathetic scums stand before the almighty Queen Kia!” the snake monster cried in a demonic tone.
                     Oceanus and Acen joined hands knowing that this day had come at last. “I feel ten years younger,” the king chuckled excitedly. “How bout you honey?” he asked. Oceanus only replied: “I don’t feel so well.” Acen squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry we’ll get through this no matter what.” Oceanus smiled to her husband then turned her attention towards the serpent. Together they rose into the air preparing for the battle Wintra would never forget.
                 The Queen Kia lunged at the two her jaws wide open to devour them in one gulp. However both separated before she could even come close enough to grab one with her forked tongue. While the Queen Kia was distracted for a split second Acen summoned chains of ice and quickly lassoed them around her. “Now Oceanus attack!” Acen shouted struggling to hold Reoka down. Oceanus used her connections to the sea to bring forth a terrifying creature from the deep, a great white shark. Seizing the oversized fish by the tailfin with both hands she spun it wildly in the air and launched it like a hammer throw in the Olympic games. The great white sank its teeth into Reoka’s chest inflicting a major wound on her.
               She immediately shook off the enormous fish and sent it hurling out of a nearby window. Once the brute was out of the game Reoka finally managed to break free from her icy shackles. The asp’s dark eyes fell to Acen and hissed as a sign for his master to strike. Reoka snatched the drow king into her bulky coils pinning his sword hand at his side. The Icestorm slipped from his grasp and landed near Arkina.
            This whole time Arkina could only watch helplessly as her stepparents dueled the Queen Kia. She wanted to do anything she could to aid them and now that chance had come. Springing to her feet Arkina rushed towards the blade, lifted it by the hilt, and chucked it at the asp like a shrukein. It landed square between his eyes. The pain he endured also affected Reoka. Both roared in extreme agony causing the constriction on Acen to cease. He hastily retrieved his weapon. “Well done Arkina!” he called to her. “No problem,” she remarked breathlessly. Reoka growled menacingly. “You fools will pay for the death of my pet!”
            Activating her heat seeking vision she scanned the area for any signs of Oceanus or Acen. Once she found the sea-nymph preparing another watery assault Reoka locked on her target. The king cobra opened her jaws and sucked up as much energy into one gigantic power sphere filled with a force of dark electricity. “Farewell Oceanus,” Reoka spoke telepathically to the sea-nymph. Oceanus glanced up a moment too late seeing the huge black orb coming dead at her. She could not dodge the attack in time either and was instantly obliterated when it came in contact with her body.
            “NOOOO!! OCEANUS!” King Acen shouted falling to his knees. Arkina also witnessed the death of Acen’s beloved wife and had had enough of Reoka’s slaughtering of the innocent. The princess looked dead at the Queen Kia anger surgering through her body. Her aura level rose to a higher rate than Reoka’s and she began to glow with a golden light. “You’ll pay for this Reoka!” Arkina exclaimed. She let out a cry of rage therefore unleashing a wave of holy force towards the serpent. Acen attempted to drive the Icestorm into the tail but Reoka saw him at the last minute and knocked him unconscious. The serpent was unable to prevent Arkina’s holy wave from striking with a full force.
                Reoka roared in defeat as she began to materialize into thin air. Arkina glanced around the ruined concert hall hardly believing that she released that type of power. She panted heavily noting that the other spectators had fled in fear. Corret was nowhere to be seen either. King Acen lay lifeless on his stomach not too far away. Finally Arkina couldn’t stand on her legs any longer and blacked out.