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Ancient Lanamar, long, long ago…

Klahan smiled lazily, watching a hundred thousand sparkles dance atop the jungle river.  The teenager was sprawled across the tree bough, perhaps five feet above the deep water, letting his legs dangle in the cool breeze.  Beneath him, a pair of Mahseer carp rose from the depths, gulping up water insects.  A lonely gibbon monkey called out from the opposite bank.The boy should have been fishing, of course.  He’d promised Sunan that if he could borrow the fishing-string and a knife, he’d return home with an ample supper for all.  But the sun was pleasant, the sound of the water soothing, and Klahan was delighted to be away and on his own.  There were plenty of fish.  He could relax for now.A distant squawking roused the peasant boy’s daydreams.  Far, far up the river, he could see a flock of water birds leaping into the air, frantic to be airborne.  They were little more than specks.  No doubt the birds’ afternoon had been interrupted by a crocodile… or worse.  Upriver were the Dead Forests, that dark jungle where vicious creatures were rumored to prowl.  Klahan had no doubt that from time to time, something horrible liked to slither out from the undergrowth and snatch the first living animal it encountered.The teenager grinned to himself, toying with another daydream.  Someday, he decided, he’d nick the village sword, travel deep into the Dead Forests, and slay the vilest monster he could find.  Then, with the beast’s head as a trophy, he’d return to the village!  He’d dazzle everyone with proof of his glory!Why, he’d be given his choice of brides!  Perhaps he’d take Solada.  Or maybe Kulap?  Solada had nice breasts, but Kulap was a wild tiger.  Both were attractive women.  Not for the last time, Klahan imagined stripping them naked, and then-A rustle of ferns disrupted the teen boy’s fantasy.  Something downstream was approaching the water!  The teenager flattered himself to the tree bough, remaining perfectly still.  His sharp eyes watched the river bank carefully.Chatting voices drifted toward him.  As Klahan watched, a beautiful young woman stepped through the undergrowth.  She wore a white robe of fine linen, which gently billowed like a flag in the river-breeze.Klahan’s breath caught.  Oh, the young woman was an exceptional beauty.  With bright, blue eyes, rich, coffee-colored skin, red lips, and delicate cheekbones, this girl might well have been the most beautiful woman in the world.  Her lovely head rested atop a slender, swan-like neck, visible because her thick, black hair was pinned up in an elaborate design.  Tiny blue flowers had been carefully placed there to make a crown.Remaining completely still, Klahan hardly dared breathe.  He was hidden away in the leaves of the tree… but any sound might give away his presence.This girl had to be from Phechr Palace, just under a league away.  Only a palace lady could afford such a robe or elaborate hair.  Klahan watched her in disbelief.  He’d never seen a noblewoman so close before.Other women’s voices drew nearer.  The young maiden frowned a little, then began wading into the river.  As she moved, she slipped her robe off her narrow shoulders.  She was nude beneath.Klahan felt his pulse quicken.  The woman’s body matched her face for loveliness.  Slender, with graceful hips, round breasts, and shapely legs, the woman was even more sensuous than Klahan’s fantasy versions of Solada or Kulap.  She moved with the grace of an angel.The woman rolled up her robe, tossing it carelessly on the river bank.  She moved deeper into the swimming hole, rubbing water on her body.There was more rustling, and then three more women appeared on the shore.  Older, heavier, and not dressed for swimming, these ladies wore simpler dresses and modest necklaces.  Possibly palace servants, Klahan guessed.The oldest of the three spotted the girl wading into the river.  She frowned.  “Not too far, young lady!” she warned.  “Do you hear me?”In response, the young woman dove into the water, completely submerging under the surface.The servant huffed.  “I do declare,” she muttered crossly to her companions.  “This girl will be the death of me yet.  One bite from a river snake, and her father will take my head, you watch and see!”Klahan nervously eyed the deep water below him.  River snake?  Those beasts wouldn’t wander this far downstream… would they?Out in the river, the young woman splashed, doing a playful flip in the water.  Klahan watched as her powerful legs kick as she re-submerged.The servant groaned.  “She’ll be the death of me,” she repeated, shaking her head.The young woman climbed up onto a flat rock, far out on the river.  Her hair had come undone and now clung to her back, glistening.  The blue flowers were washed away.  Klahan stared at her nude rear as water flowed down her hair and over those two god-crafted buttocks.Lazily, the young woman rolled onto her back, stretching out her arms and legs in the bright afternoon.“Now she is sunbathing!” the servant exclaimed in exasperation.  The older woman’s voice carried over the water; yet the young lady chose to ignore her.Klahan craned his neck, anxious to look closer at the girl’s naked breasts.  They flopped to the opposite sides of her body, softly rising and falling as the young woman drew breath.  The peasant boy inched further out along his bough.The branch in Klahan’s hand snapped off!  Suddenly the peasant teenage was toppling from his perch!“No!” he cried, instinctively flailing his arms and legs.And then he was in the water, submerged completely into the blackness.  Water filled his mouth and nose.  He gagged, reeling.  Where was the surface?!?  He kicked and clawed, absolutely terrified.By amazing luck, his head bobbed above the waves.  Klahan gulped for breath.  But he only sank again, straight back down.  It was as if the river was trying to devour him whole.  He reached for the distant surface.Suddenly, Klahan felt firm hands on his arms.  He was pulled upwards.When his head breached the surface a second time, Klahan heard a woman’s voice.  “Don’t struggle!” she cried firmly.  “I’ll pull you to shore.  Just relax.”The peasant boy nodded, still fighting his fear.The woman kicked with her feet, turning Klahan on his back and letting him look up into the sky.  He went limp, not knowing what else to do.And then, there was warm sand beneath his feet.  Klahan scrambled onto his hands and knees, then weakly crawled up the bank.  He collapsed onto his belly the moment his feet were out of the water.“Well!” the woman’s voice exclaimed.  Then she laughed, relieved.  “Are you alright?  You nearly swallowed half the river!”Klahan rolled over, coughing.  He looked up into the face of his rescuer.It was the beautiful young woman.  Completely naked, she knelt and then leaned over him.  Her big eyes studied his face with concern.  She gently touched his head, then his chest.  Water dripped down her long, black hair, raining on him.Awestruck, Klahan stared.The young woman smiled, the smile radiating from her lips and her eyes.  It was like watching a sunrise.“You’re alright,” she grinned.  “You lucky boy.”And then the servant women were upon them.  The oldest, scowling fiercely, grabbed the young woman, pulling her onto her feet.“Princess!” she cried, her voice shrill.  “Don’t you ever do that again!  Your father-“Princess? Klahan’s mind echoed in wonder.  Princess Anong???Embarrassed by the princess’s nudity, the other servants quickly threw her robe about her shoulders.“Hey,” Anong said, annoyed.But the older servant was having none of it.  “We are returning to the palace this instant!” she insisted, already propelling the princess away by her wrist.As Anong was hauled back up the jungle path, she threw one last glance back at Klahan.  Their eyes met, if only for a heartbeat.And then she was gone.*****That night, Klahan could think of nothing but Princess Anong.  He’d heard of her, of course.  All men in the kingdom had.  Travelers talked endlessly of how King Chakrii liked to entertain suitors for his only daughter’s hand.  But none had won the prize yet.Ah, Anong…For the thousandth time, Klahan rewatched the wonderful memory where the nude princess knelt over him, worry in her eyes.  He was captivated by those sparling blue eyes.  That moment when she first looked directly at him… oh, what would he give to relive that moment, just once.Klahan, ever the dreamer, couldn’t help but imagine sneaking into Phechr Palace, stealing into the princess’s chamber, and then taking the eager girl’s hand.  The two of them would run away, far away.  Klahan smiled at the thought.  They’d flee far beyond the kingdom.  Then, they’d lie in the warm grass, facing one another, their legs intertwined.Nose-to-nose, Anong would gaze deep into Klahan’s eyes.  She’d smile.  She’d caress his cheek.  She’d whisper secrets to him, secrets she’d always held within but never told another soul.  And they’d kiss.  She would promise to never leave him.  And he would vow to always protect and love her.*****A crashing sound roused Klahan from his deepest sleep.He tensed in his straw bed, instantly knowing that something was very, very wrong.Men were shouting, women screaming.  He smelt smoke.  Then, the snorting and braying of horses reached his ears.  That was a bad sign; there were no horses in the village.  Horses now could only mean midnight raiders or bandits.  Villainy!His heart pounding, Klahan scurried out his bed.  Like most orphans, he slept in the common hut.  Was it safe to dash outside?  If he could find a tree branch or stone, something he could use as a weapon, perhaps…Foolishly courageous, Klahan raced from the hut, believing he was ready for anything.  He managed to glimpse men running about and the other huts on fire.  But then, a sharp blow struck him in the back of the head.  There had been a ruffian standing outside the door!Pain raking through his body, Klahan staggered, flailing about, in hopes of warding off his attacker.  As he stumbled, his groping hands closed on a rock, small enough to fill his palm.The peasant boy rolled onto his back, flinging the stone in one savage motion.  The ruffian behind him cried out, momentarily retreating.Klahan didn’t wait.  He shot to his feet and ran.In seconds, he dove into the thick underbrush that dotted the village thicket.  A second person hurried in after him; it was Solada!  Solada, one of the village girls!  She looked as frightened as he felt.“Slavers, Klahan!” Solada wailed, clutching his arm.  “We’ve been attacked by slavers!  What are we to do?”Klahan looked out, back into the village.  Solada was right; the night attackers were slavers, wicked men who were forcing his people into chains.  The few villagers who were fighting back were ruthlessly beaten.  Small children staggered about, tears streaming down their faces.  The slavers ignored them.  Meanwhile, the huts burned.As Klahan watched, Kulap, the wild-spirited girl he’d fantasied about only that afternoon, was struck in the side by a slaver’s club.  The girl kicked and scratched as a slave collar was forced around her neck.Klahan grit his teeth.“Can we get to Phechr Palace?” Solada asked him, frantic.“To alert the king?”“Yes,” whimpered Solada.  “Do you know the fastest way?”“Be quiet,” snapped Klahan, not thinking clearly.  Fury burned within him.  Although he knew it was folly, he wanted attack the slavers.  If he could get to the village sword…“I’m going,” Solada mumbled, half to herself.  “If I can reach the palace, the king’s men can be back here in less than-“There was a war-shout from behind the two village teenagers.  A slaver ruffian, one truly huge man, leapt from behind the trees.  Solada was shoved to the ground before the big man rounded on Klahan.“Leave her alone!” the peasant boy foolishly shouted, then attacked the slaver with his fists.The man swatted aside Klahan’s blows, snarling.  Klahan was knocked down.As the boy hurried to stand, the slaver swung his club in a great arch.  The heavy wood connected with Klahan’s head, and he knew nothing but blackness and pain.*****When the peasant boy slowly reassembled his wits, he was only aware of pain in his hands and wrists and a terrible dryness in his mouth.  He couldn’t move his arms.  His body was being shaken.  His head throbbed.Light stabbed his eyes when Klahan dared to open them.  Where… was he?He was in the deep jungle, looking up into the sky.  His arms were pinned above his head, and his wrists were so tightly bound, they might have been bleeding.  Klahan realized he was lying on a crude board, tied there with three other villagers.  The other three were motionless.  The board was moving, dragged across the ground by a horse he could not see.Klahan looked about.  Behind him, the village adults were trudging along the jungle road, each bound by chains at their wrists and necks.  Everyone was stripped to a single loincloth about their hips, even the women.  There was no sign of the children.  The villagers kept their heads bowed; they were weary.“Well,” a harsh voice grunted.Klahan looked up.  One of the slavers, riding a powerful warhorse, was glaring down at him.“One of the village wretches survived,” he remarked to his companions.  “Halt!”The brutal caravan stopped while Klahan was held at swordpoint.  He was removed from the dragged stretcher and tied into the slave chain like all the others.  By cruel fate, he was placed next to Solada.  She had an ugly bruise under one eye.*****The caravan marched throughout the day.  At midday, the others on the stretcher had not roused.  The slavers ran them through with blades, then tossed the bodies aside to be devoured by jungle scavengers.  Klahan bristled with hatred as he recognized Niet, who had shared his meat during the famine.The slavers marched on.Klahan was fairly certain they were heading upriver, away from the kingdom… and any hope of rescue.  He guessed there was another empire on the other side of the mountains.  Perhaps the slavers would sell his people there?  There was no way to know.*****As night, the slavers located a small thicket suitable for camp.  They removed the long chain that threaded through the villagers’ throat collars, but not the thicker chain that connected everyone’s wrist manacles.  That chain was driven into a thick tree with a great spike.  Now, none of Klahan’s people could escape.Satisfied, the pirates made themselves a fire.  They roasted a boar and the villagers could only watch in bitter envy as the pig was devoured.  No food was offered to Klahan and his ilk.There were only five slavers.  Each were big men, powerful and cruel.  Four were older men, bearing scars and other telltale sign of battle.  The fifth was young, possibly Klahan’s age.  He kept glancing at the prisoners, perhaps with a small measure of guilt?Klahan was surprised that so few ruffians had captured so many villagers.  In the confusion of the raid, he has assumed the village had been overrun by an army of hundreds.Next to him, Solada shivered.  The jungle is hot in the day, but the nights can be chilly, especially if you are wet and naked and exhausted.Klahan looked further down the chain line.  Kulap, the other girl he’d lusted for, was huddled up against an older woman, her eyes closed.  He couldn’t tell if Kulap was sleeping.Not daring to speak, Klahan lifted his arm, and Solada gratefully snuggled against his side.  Their chains constricted their movements, of course, but the two teenagers were able to share the warmth of their bodies.Despite his rage and despair and fatigue, Klahan found himself looking down at Solada’s almost-nude body.  Solada was a well-shaped girl.  Not as luscious as Princess Anong, of course, but attractive and desirable nonetheless.*****A rude kick jostled Klahan’s thoughts.  It was morning!  Wet dew was everywhere, seeping through his loincloth and hair.A slaver loomed before the boy, grunting and barking orders.As the weary and aching villagers lurched to their feet, Klahan saw his own manacles clearly in the fresh light.  They were made of worn iron, rusty and probably ancient.  As he glared at them and flexed his muscles… the manacle latch trembled!  It was ready to give way!The peasant boy stole glances at his captors.  The slavers were beating other villagers and readying the horses.  Two of them were working on pulling the great spike from the tree.  They were preoccupied.But the youngest of the ruffians was moving along the line of captives, re-threading a heavy chain through the ring in everyone’s neck collars.  If that chain reached Klahan, his broken manacles would be meaningless.Throwing caution to the wind, the peasant teenager twisted his wrists in opposite directions, putting the maximum amount of pressure on his bindings.“Hey!” barked a slaver.  “What’s that boy doing-“Klahan’s bonds popped open.  His wrists were free.  He was free!“Run, Klahan!” screamed Kulap.Without hesitation, the teenage boy whipped around and dashed headfirst into the jungle.  He heard shouting behind him, followed by heavy bootfalls, close behind.*****The slavers were well-rested and had eaten the night before.  They were trained soldiers, with many jungle campaigns under their collective belts.  And they were determined killers.Klahan, in contrast, was exhausted.  He had no idea where he was going, nor if escape was possible.  Yet he ran faster and faster, doing all he could to dodge branches and vines and rocks.  They say the most terrified rabbit is the swiftest.A spear shot past the boy’s arm.  He vaulted over a fallen rubber tree.  Luckily, he was slightly faster than his pursuers.  But he lacked their longevity.  They could pursue him for hours; his only hope was to outrace them.  So Klahan ran faster still.He vaulted over another dead tree… which turned out to mark the top of a steep hill.  Before the boy could stop himself, he tumbled down the far side, a near-precipice.  The thick undergrowth scratched his arms and legs.  At the bottom, he crashed into a nest of briars and pines, nearly breaking bones.  His skull rang like a bell.He heard shouting on the crest of the hill, above him.  Three slavers were in pursuit, three!  Klahan cursed his luck.Before another spear could come raining down, the teenager scrambled to his feet.With a jolt, he realized why the slavers were pausing.  The trees here were black, gnarled, twisted at excruciating angles.  The jungle roof was thicker and angrier here, strangling the sunlight.  The stench of rotting wood filled his nostrils.Klahan knew he had crossed over into the Dead Forests.  Here, monsters lay.The boy bit his lip, glaring up at the ruffians.  They were arguing, but he had little doubt they’d continued chasing him.  He had no time to lose.Scrambling to his feet, Klahan pushed through the pines, heading deeper into the evil side of the jungle.  He rushed forward, taking no care to note the path back.The slavers bellowed.  Sure enough, they leapt after him.*****The Dead Forests deserved their name.  Klahan passed by the rotting carcass of a great deer or bear, decaying trees, and many bones, simply littered about.  The cries of the jungle animals were shriller and harsher here.  More than once, the boy was certain something large was watching him from up in the trees.Yet still the slavers pursued.  Just when Klahan thought they would give up, another spear would zip by his head.  The marauders were relentless.  They were determined to kill the boy if only to demonstrate to the other villagers that there was no escape from their clutches.*****Klahan flew up a hill, his chest heaving.  At the little summit, he paused to put his hand on a bounder, if only to rest for a moment.The boulder moved!Klahan jumped, nearly frightened to death.He hadn’t looked closely.  The boulder was actually a great python, an enormous brown snake, coiled up and in slumber.  Without realizing it, Klahan had shoved the beast.  Now, hissing angrily, the serpent rose up.  Furious green eyes glinted coldly at the boy.The creature was enormous!  The head alone was larger than Klahan’s entire chest, and he was certain that he would comfortably fit between the thing’s jaws.  How long the serpent was, he shuddered to think.Crying out in fear, Klahan stumbled backwards.  He toppled over the opposite side of the hill, careening down through the sharp underbrush.At the bottom was a small ravine, a great gash where the earth had been cleaved open.  Perhaps fifteen feet wide, the little canyon was filled, however, with a thick black sludge, evil to the eyes and nose.  There were two dead trees lying across the ravine.Before he could stop himself, Klahan tumbled into the muck, instantly sinking up to his hips.  If he hadn’t managed to grab a tree root, he would have plunged all the way in.At the top of the hill, the slavers appeared.  When they spotted the struggling boy, they smiled cruelly.  They took their time descending the hill.Klahan was hoping the ruffians would be startled – or eaten – by the giant snake.  But either the reptile had retreated or camouflaged itself.Cursing his luck, the village boy forced his straining muscles to pull himself free of the black goo.  The sludge reluctantly gave him up.  Then, when the marauders were mere feet away, the boy leapt on one of the two dead trees and scampered across to the other side.“Foolish brat,” snarled the lead slaver.  “You’ve led us on a grand chase, you have.”  He grinned, horribly, displaying a mouth missing several teeth.  “But I’ll still have your hide.”Klahan turned to run.  His exhausted legs buckled.  He collapsed, gasping for breath.“Finish him,” the lead slaver ordered his men.At this command, all three men climbed onto the dead trees, carefully inching their way across.Klahan struggled to rise again.And then, with the sound like rock splitting open, the larger tree-bridge cracked in two.  Both slavers standing on it plunged feet-first into the ooze.  They disappeared instantly; one moment they were suspended in the air, screaming, waving their arms, then next they were devoured by the black muck.  Not even a bubble of air rose up to announce their demises.The third slaver went pale as his tree groaned.  He leapt for the far shore just as the old wood gave out from underneath him.Most of the man’s body dropped into the sludge, but his arms hit solid ground.  He gripped the hard earth with all his fingers, and it was barely enough to keep his head above the muck.  Raw fear seized the man’s face.Klahan somehow rose to his feet.  He recognized this slaver.  This was the youngest of the bunch, the one who seemed almost sorrowful about his profession.  He and Klahan were not that far apart in age.The peasant boy scooped up a long branch.  He extended it forward.  “Here!” he offered.  “Take it!”Wildly grateful, the man snatched at the offered wood.But Klahan wasn’t offering mercy.  “Fool,” the boy sneered, and then kicked the slaver in the nose.  Hard.The man screamed in pain and betrayal.  He fell back into the pit.  And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.*****

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Klahan wobbled a moment on his exhausted legs before he collapsed again.  He lay there, gazing hopelessly at the black jungle trees stretching high above him, simply gasping for breath.He had no idea where he was, nor how to find his way out of the Dead Forests.  He had no way to feed himself.  He would no doubt encounter more creatures that were stronger and faster than he.  He had no weapon.He was, quite likely, doomed.As if confirming that bleak thought, the underbrush rustled.  Something approached.  Something big.Klahan shrank back, clutching his dry stick.  He hadn’t the strength to fight.  He hoped his end would be swift.The ferns parted, and the gigantic brown python rippled into view.  The enormous snake immediately locked its harsh green eyes on the teenager and approached with deadly purpose.Klahan glared back.“Well now…” a silvery voice murmured.  “What have we here?  A warrior, it ssseems.”The peasant boy wasn’t sure what he’d heard.  Had a woman spoken?  Was the wind sighing?  Was his mind imaging things in the moment of his death?The creature slithered right up to the boy, raising its massive head rose to be level with his own.  The great snout pushed forward, and Klahan could feel its hot, stinking breath on his own skin.  A thin black tongue zipped and out of the thing’s mouth, licking the air between them.Klahan should have been terrified.  But after all he’d been through, he was too exhausted to care if he lived or died.The boy gripped his stick.  “If you’re going to eat me,” he sneered contemptuously, “then do it.”And he shoved the snake away, as hard as he could.  His feeble thrust was barely felt.To Klahan’s amazement, the snake opened it mouth and laughed.  Actual laughter emitted from the hideous maw!  Lilting and feminine, and yet cruel and evil, these chuckles sent chills through the peasant boy’s body.“Definitely a warrior!” the great snake hissed, approvingly.  “And what do they call you, Mighty One?”Klahan had no idea from where his courage came.  “You’re… mocking me?” he glared.“Oh, I would not dream of mocking ssso gallant a man-child,” the serpent assured Klahan.  “In fact, I think we will sssoon have much praissse for one another, eh?”Now that he had a few moments to think, Klahan remembered the stories his elders once told him around a campfire, long ago.  Stories about forest spirits, and of gods and goddesses, flooded back to him now.The snake, Klahan was fairly certain, was a forest spirit.  An evil spirit, to be sure.  Stories where mortals encountered such creatures rarely ended well.“Let me go,” Klahan demanded, still raising his stick.The snake hissed, tensing at even this pitiful threat.  From the deep underbrush, the serpent’s tail lashed out like a whip, striking Klahan’s hand.  He cried out in pain, and the stick went flying.“Do not presssume to order me again, boy,” the creature warned, its cold eyes narrowing.  “You are a guessst in my kingdom.  Remember that.”“Your kingdom smells,” Klahan shot back.The great reptile snorted.  “Your arrogance will be your downfall, Mighty One.  Perhapsss you are not the one I ssseek.”“But then again,” the python mused appreciatively, “you kill with ruthlessssssnessssss.  Perhapsss your haughty ssspirit isss jussst what I need.  It isss sssaid that chanccce encountersss are the hand of dessstiny, eh?”Klahan sat back a little.  Perhaps if he could keep the snake talking long enough, he’d regain enough strength to make a run for it?“Tell me,” the python commanded, pushing her head close to Klahan’s.  “What isss it you desssire mossst in thisss life, eh, Mighty One?”“Freedom,” Klahan retorted.“No, no,” the snake laughed.  “Sssuch sssimple thoughtsss!  You are not being truthful.  What you desssire…”  The snake peered closely.  “…is a woman.  No?”Instantly, Klahan’s back stiffened.  An image of Princess Anong flashed in his mind.“Ah,” hissed the creature, pleased.  “Yesss!  It isss a woman!”The snake rose up, and as it did, its mighty body began to quiver and shrink.  Klahan watched in amazement as snakeskin melted into smooth, perfect flesh.  Arms and legs unfolded from the retreating bulk, and the reptilian face faded into something beautiful.The transforming creature tossed her head, and then she was a woman.  A nude, human woman.  Powerful and impossibly beautiful – even more beautiful than Princess Anong herself – this angelic creature now stood where the snake once rested.  She was tall, graceful, and radiant.Klahan gaped.  He’d always enjoyed women’s bodies, of course, but one glance at this enchanted lady might have made up for a lifetime of blindness.  The woman before him now could not have been made more physically perfect by all the gods.  Her every muscle, every bit of skin, every hair, and every gesture spoke in volumes of beauty.The woman was tall, even taller than most men.  Slender but curvy, her torso made a perfect column of full breasts, stomach, and hips.  Her hair was black and so long that it fell to the ground behind her.  Yet when she moved, it did not drag on the earth, but seemed to float just an inch above the ground.  The woman’s face was magnificent, with red lips and warm, green eyes.  Those eyes looked down on Klahan now with pity and kindness.“You poor boy,” the woman murmured.She knelt before him, and somehow, a bowl of carved wood appeared in her slender hand.“Drink thisss,” she told Klahan firmly, and set the bowl to his lips.The liquid was warm and sweet.  Instantly, Klahan felt a glowing energy deep within his body, stretching out along all his limbs and into his head.  His mind swam.  His strength flowed back.The woman smiled, setting the bowl aside.  As she placed it on the ground, it turned to mist and vanished.  But the woman seemed not to notice.  She gingerly placed both hands on Klahan’s body, and the boy felt another surge of energy course through him.  His bruises healed in the blink of an eye.  The scratches from the brambles disappeared.  Even the ankle he twisted seemed better than new.“There,” the woman said, satisfied.Klahan flexed his fingers and toes, amazed.  He was rejuvenated!  His body felt whole and coursed with youthful energy.  Had he wished, he could have leapt to his feet and run for miles.He was also perfectly clean.  The sweat and muck and dirt which had coated his body was completely gone.As the beautiful woman smiled at him and lovingly brushed a strand of hair from his eyes, Klahan didn’t budge.  He found himself grinning back.“Now then,” the woman whispered, “Let usss talk.  You desssire a woman, no?”Her voice was light and soothing.  Yet when she hissed, Klahan noted her green eyes flickered, momentarily becoming snake-like.  He hesitated.“Oh, you desssire this woman very much,” observed the she-spirit.  She drew closer.  “What would you give to have her, my love?”“I… um…” Klahan mumbled.  The woman’s beauty was making it difficult to think.She smiled, moving forward to straddle Klahan where he sat.  Only now did the youth realize he was fully erect.The snake-woman smiled more as she snuggled closer, wrapping her arms about his neck.“What is it you desire?” Klahan managed to ask as the woman filled his field of vision.“Ah,” the woman nodded, nuzzling his nose with her own.  “A very wissse quessstion.  But mussst you really know, my love?”From long ago in Klahan’s childhood, a memory stirred.  “You’re the snake-queen,” he said suddenly.  “I remember you from-“The woman’s face flickered with anger, but just for a moment.She resumed her seductive expression.  “You remember… what?” she purred.Klahan thought back, to when he was a small boy, sitting around the village bonfire.  The elder storyteller had sung a song, an ancient song: 
      The snake-queen’s reign shall be ended

And across the land that she scars

All evils she’s wrought shall be mended

When a sword shall fall from the stars

One warrior shall rise to defend her

One scholar shall seek to dispel

The battle between guard and contender

Shall save her, or cast her to hell
 “You seek… you seek a warrior,” the peasant boy exclaimed.The woman nuzzled his face, again.  “I do, my love,” she admitted.Klahan glanced down at those rich, red lips, so close to his own.  “I’m no warrior,” he said plainly.  “But if I had a sword-“The woman chuckled.  “You will not need a blade, my love.  You already have the inssstinct of a killer; that isss the only weapon you’ll ever require.”She pressed her naked body closer.“Now tell me about thisss woman you desssire, my love,” the snake-queen whispered, absently running her fingers in Klahan’s hair.  “Is ssshe young?  Is ssshe beautiful?”The queen kissed Klahan softly on the lips, just once.As their lips parted, the peasant boy felt strange, as if a truth-spell had been cast over him.  “I…” he mumbled, collecting his thoughts.“Tell me,” the queen coaxed.  She seemed interested.“She’s… well, she’s Princess Anong,” admitted Klahan.  He grinned, a lopsided smirk.  “She’s so beautiful.”He spoke about the princess, unable to stop his enchanted tongue.  The queen listened, enraptured.“You love thisss woman,” she exclaimed, her green eyes dancing.“Yes,” blurted out Klahan.  “I do.”“Ah,” the queen said sympathetically.  She traced a wandering finger over Klahan’s bare chest.  “But you are a poor farmboy, my love.  How will you win a princessssss’sss heart?”Klahan had no answer.“Join my ssservice,” the queen whispered.  “Join my ssservice, and I will reward you with the power to have any woman you desssire.  Any woman at all.  Your very gaze will place them under your ssspell, and they will happily do or believe anything you command.  Think of it, my love.  Sssimply become my warrior, and the Princessssss Anong will be your lover and ssslave.  Any woman, any woman you desssire at all, will be helplessssss to resssissst your will.”The queen kissed Klahan again.  “Isss that not a fair exchange?” she asked softly.*****And then Klahan was kissing the queen deeply, his lips greedily sucking on hers.  She sighed contentedly, and the peasant boy grew bolder.  He slid his arms up the snake-woman’s back, then around her sides.  Soon, both of her full breasts were in his hands.The queen moaned, an animalistic sound.  She allowed Klahan to push her back and lower her to the earth.  Magically, thick and soft moss sprouted up beneath the two lovers; it perfectly cushioned the hard earth.  The queen’s long, black hair billowed about them like thick smoke.  Somehow, despite its great length, it never caught or snagged.Klahan was now on top of the queen, pressing down on her, kissing her on the mouth and caressing those full breasts.  The queen moaned again.  Her long fingers slid down his lean body, finding his loincloth.  At her touch, the meager fabric simply dissolved into smoke, and then was gone.  Now both Klahan and the queen were nude.The peasant boy had laid with other girls, but none as luscious and beautiful as the queen.  Klahan paused to look down upon her, admiring how her nipples rose with his stimulation.  The queen spread her legs wider, allowing Klahan to press his hips against hers.  His erect penis now pressed against her smooth stomach.The queen smiled coyly, one hand dipping downward to play with Klahan’s tip.  “And now, my love,” she murmured, “you may have me in any way you like.  I am yoursss.”Klahan grinned.  His imagination flashed into the future, when Princess Anong would be under his enchantment.  He’d command the princess to strip naked, then get on her hands and knees.  When he saw her glistening womanhood between her buttocks, he’d enter her from behind.  Oh, he’d command her to love every thrust!Studying Klahan closely, the queen smiled again.  She rose up, and assumed the very position Klahan had pictured in his mind.  On all fours, and facing away from him, Klahan had a perfect view of her round and muscular behind.The boy stared and smirked, unable to believe his luck.  Like barnacles, his hands attached to those buttocks, squeezing and lifting them with loving appreciation.  The queen mumbled something pleasurable and closed her eyes.Klahan inspected his prize.  If he pushed the queen’s buttocks up and over, he could clearly see her anus and vagina.  Gods, even those features on the woman were perfect!  Especially the vagina.  It looked like the bud of a white orchid, soft yet glittering with her sexual excitement.  Perhaps it was Klahan’s imagination, but that vagina seemed to radiate with its own light.The peasant boy could no longer stop himself.  He aligned his hips against the queen’s, then gently pushed his penis forward.  There was no need to aim or guide; his cock simply homed into the queenly vagina, as smoothly as a river boat sliding into a dock.  Klahan and the queen sighed as one as their parts tasted one another.She was warm and wet.  So wet.  The stimulation was more than Klahan could bear.  Before he knew what he was doing, the boy was fucking, fucking as hard as he could.  He couldn’t help himself.  His hips flew faster and faster as he penetrated deeper.  Soon his penis was singing in delight at the wave after wave after wave of pleasure.Under his hands, Klahan felt the queen tremble.  She was crying out, and her buttocks tensed and bucked in his hands.  He held them tighter.  Without realizing it, he had placed one thumb squarely over her anus and pressed it, just slightly.And then, Klahan was cumming.  He squirmed as his penis fired off, and his voice shouted out in meaningless words.  The queen, he was pretty sure, was cumming too.  Her cries were not as loud, but just as delighted.Klahan kept fucking, amazed at how much fluid he seemed to possess.  It seemed as if he could fuck this woman forever, absolutely forever.*****Time passed.  Klahan and the queen lay side-by-side on the rich moss, nude in one another’s arms.  High above the dark jungle trees, the peasant boy could tell that the sun was setting.  How long had he made love to the queen?  Hours, it seemed.Klahan should have been freezing.  But the queen’s body was strangely warm.  And the moss beneath them soft and comfortable.  As the peasant boy nestled into the queen’s black hair, he allowed himself a wistful smile.The queen crossed one muscular leg over his body.  “Are you happy, my love?” she murmured.Klahan grinned.“You have chosen very wisssely,” the queen assured him, patting Klahan’s chest just once.  “Now:  Are you ready to assssssume your powersss?”The peasant teenager hesitated.  Doubt licked his soul.  Suddenly the weight of his bargain frightened him.  Perhaps if he ran-“Here,” the queen said conversationally, and she pressed something into Klahan’s palm.  He numbly looked at his gift.He was holding two small spheres, each perhaps the size of acorns.  Both were light in weight, perfectly round and smooth.  And as Klahan stared, they changed colors.  First rich blue, they faded to purple, then brown, then amber, red, orange, yellow, green, then blue again.  Never remaining on any one hue, the two balls cycled through the rainbow over and over and over again.“What… are these?” Klahan asked, amazed but wary.“Ssswallow them,” urged the queen.Alarmed, Klahan balked.In the blink of an eye, the queen’s legs snapped about Klahan’s hips.  The motion was sudden and violent, like a predator striking at their unsuspecting victim.  Klahan gasped in pain as she exuded crushing force.“Ssswallow them,” demanded the queen, her voice cold.  Her green eyes narrowed.Somehow, the two color-balls were still in Klahan’s palm.  He quickly popped both into his mouth.As if alive, the spheres wormed their way to the back of his throat and then disappeared into his body.“There,” the queen said pleasantly.  She released Klahan and allowed him to roll away.  The boy’s hips still ached.Klahan coughed loudly.  His stomach felt as if it was on fire.  “What was-“ he began.But then ripping, tearing pain shot through his body.  In horror, Klahan felt his eyes heat.  His vision went black as both eyeballs withered and crumbled to dust, right under his desperate fingers.  He screamed in agony and despair.“Calm down, my love,” the queen implored.But Klahan was in no mood to be soothed.  Groping about in his blindness, he swore and yelled in pain.  Raw fear possessed him.And then, deep within his body, he felt two nodules of energy begin to move.  Like creatures burrowing through his very flesh, Klahan sensed these twin objects move up his torso, up through his neck, up into his head.  Soon they were coming to rest in his hollowed-out eye sockets.In amazement, the boy felt these things change in form.  Now he could see again!  He blinked, amazed.  His two new eyes rested exactly where the old ones had once been set.  The two spheres he’d swallowed were now his sight organs.He looked about, astounded.  The world looked entirely different.  Colors were richer, brighter.  Details were sharper.  If he squinted, his vision focused tenfold, allowing him to study distant things as if they were right before his face.  He could see the dust in the air, every speck of dirt beneath the grass, every leaf in the trees above.  As he peered, he could spot the ants up the next hillside and jungle mice scurrying far away in the undergrowth.Somehow… without understanding how… the boy also knew his new eyes were no longer a plain white with hazel pupils.  No, these new eyes regularly changed with every color in the rainbow.  He wasn’t sure he liked that.By now, the pain was gone.  The peasant stood slowly, in wonder of how he now saw the world.He looked down to inspect his hands… and was shocked to see his entire body was also transformed!  Thick, powerful hands flexed at his command.  His arms and legs and chest were massive, rippling with hard muscles.  He was easily a foot taller than before.He turned about, admiring himself.“You sssee?” the queen said, amused.  She was still lying on the moss, observing the boy with wry interest.  “Now you truly are a warrior, with powersss you have yet to dissscover.”“What powers?” the man demanded eagerly.He felt invincible, coursing with raw energy.  Had he wished, he was certain he could rip trees up by the roots with his bare hands.“You will learn all your new powersss in due time,” assured the queen.  “But firssst…  You mussst have a new name, a name worthy of a demigod.”  She thought intently, studying her man-creation.“You ssshall be Chạ̀wrāynạk,” she said at last.  Satisfied, she added, “A name to ssstrike fear in lesssssser men.”Chạ̀wrāynạk nodded.  What had his old name been?  He wasn’t sure.“One more thing, my love,” the queen murmured, rising to her feet.  Now only coming up to Chạ̀wrāynạk’s shoulders, she smiled up into his face.  “Know that thisss body is not your true form.  You may hold the ssshape of a man, but only for perhapsss an hour.”“Not my true form?” echoed the huge warrior, alarmed.Patting Chạ̀wrāynạk’s enormous muscles sympathetically, the queen said, “It may take a little getting usssed to, I know.  But you are better than lowly mortalsss, my love.  You will learn to look down upon them.  As it ssshould be.”*****Chạ̀wrāynạk wandered the Dead Forests, amazed at how much energy he possessed and his new eyes.  He felt like a conqueror, a being who strode across the earth and took whatever he wanted.  He longed to test his power.After perhaps a league, a strange fatigue ate into the mighty warrior.  He frowned, fighting dizziness.  What had the queen said?  This was not his true form?  What did that mean?Chạ̀wrāynạk closed his multicolored eyes, concentrating.  As his mind worked, he felt his body lower to the ground.  His arms and legs seemed to disappear within him, yet his torso grew longer and extremely powerful.  His skin became leather-like armor.  His jaws became double blades.When he opened his eyes, Chạ̀wrāynạk was impressed to see that he had become a python, an enormous black python, larger and longer and thicker than even the tallest tree.  Why, he was bigger than even the queen herself in her snake-form!  Chạ̀wrāynạk gazed down at his hide, impressed with how it evilly glinted in the dying sun.With a playful flick of his tail, Chạ̀wrāynạk swatted a towering rubber tree.  The tree burst into splinters at the blow.Chạ̀wrāynạk smiled, thrilled in his new abilities.But he wanted a greater test, some other…Ah.He knew.The enormous snake peered about, training his newly-forged senses into the deep jungle.  Soon, he knew exactly how to test his new powers.*****

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A few miles to the north lay the Guardian Mountains, great giants of the earth that watched over the jungles.  After the sun set, the Guardians seemed to loom larger in the darkness.At the mountains’ southern foot, the chained prisoners from Klahan’s village were still in the clutches of the two remaining slavers.  The miserable caravan of people were huddled in a small thicket.The slavers were deeply worried.  Why, just that morning, one of the slave boys escaped into the jungle, and three of their comrades had given pursuit.  But that was hours ago!  What could have happened?“D’you think they’re dead?” the first slaver asked for the thousandth time.Both men feared the worst.  If their comrades were gone, well, that all but ensured that this expedition was doomed.  Five men could herd fresh slaves over the mountains, but two?  Two was not enough.“I say we kill all but the strongest men,” the first slaver argued, nervously eyeing the villagers.  “If we can sell just a few of them-““Men, nothing,” snapped the second ruffian.  “We should kill the lot.  We’ll be lucky to get back home at all now.”“Maybe we should rape some women first?” the first fellow wondered aloud.  “You know, so this trip isn’t a total loss?”The frightened villagers could hear this conversation, of course.  Solada and Kulap shivered, praying to all of the gods for an escape.  Any escape.From deep in the jungle, dead wood cracked.  Both slavers leapt to their feet, clubs in their hands.  “What was that?” the first one whispered, afraid.The night was still.Sitting on the hard ground, Solada hugged her knees against her body.  Somehow, she was certain that she and Kulap were being watched, and not by their captors.  The sensation terrified her.The first slaver began to sit back down when something huge and long and black and powerful lashed out from the dark forests.  The man was hit square across the jaw, and he made a brief gurgling sound as his skull fractured.  His body was tossed through the air like a doll and smashed into a tree.  Lifeless, he crumpled to the ground.With a heavy thud, the black thing dropped to the jungle floor.  It was a snake’s tail, easily thirty feet long before it disappeared back into the thick trees.The remaining slaver leapt back, screaming in horror, fumbling for his club.But from behind the man, a great python head appeared from the blackness.  Larger than a water cow, the serpent’s head rose up, allowing the frightened man to stagger back in its direction.  The great jaws opened…Solada quickly buried her face in her arms.  There was a muffled scream, cut short.  A soft crunching.  A gulp.  Then only the night sounds.“Oh, gods…!” Kulap moaned.The villagers shrieked in terror as the massive snake now advanced toward them.  They clamored to their feet, forcing the chained Solada and Kulap to stand.  The python approached them silently.But there was no-where to run.  Before setting camp, the slavers had chained their victims to a stout tree.  None could escape.But just when the wretched people thought all was lost, the serpent hesitated.  In amazement, Solada realized it was shrinking in size!  Yes, its head, once larger than a man, was growing smaller before her eyes!  Now it was the size of a great melon.  Its body, once thicker than the widest tree, was now not much rounder than her own waist.How was the creature doing this?“It’s a jungle spirit,” Kulap said in wonder.The snake regarded the villagers with cold eyes.  Then, with a sudden movement, it used its tail as a bullwhip, striking the tree to which the villagers were bound.  The rusty chain shattered.The people gasped in amazement.  Working quickly, they unthreaded their chains and swarmed over the body of the dead slaver.  The manacle keys were quickly found.“The jungle gods smile on us!” the elders murmured, making gestures of subservience and worship to the watching snake.But when the people began to retreat back down the jungle road, the python suddenly rose up, growing violent and huge once more.  The reptile flared its nostrils and threw open its mouth.  Its rage was unmistakable.The villagers threw themselves onto the ground.  “Forgive us!” they cried.  “Forgive us!”The snake trembled in fury.  “Fools!” it bellowed in a clear, cold voice.  “I demand a sacrifice for the freedom I give you now!”*****Solada and Kulap stood clutching one another’s hands, doing their best to stifle their frightened sobs.  The python loomed over them, wrapping its enormous tail in a lazy circle about them, making it clear they could not escape.  As the girls watched, the remaining villagers departed down the jungle road, bidding them one last fearful good-bye with their eyes.The snake, silent once more, waited until the last villager had vanished.  Hissing contentedly, it shrank back down in size.  Soon the reptile’s head was at eye level with its two frightened prisoners.“Do not fear, girls,” the serpent said.  “I mean to take care of you both.”  Somehow, it smiled.Solada could not have been less encouraged.  She and Kulap were still dressed in nothing but the filthy loincloths that the slavers had forced them to wear.  Alone, in the middle of the jungle, and practically naked, Solada felt helpless.The defiant Kulap found her voice.  “What do you mean?” the young girl demanded of the reptile.“Look at me, Kulap,” the python murmured, drawing closer to her.Solada blinked.  “You know our names?” she said, dumbfounded.“I know much about you,” said the snake absently, still staring at Kulap.  “Please believe me… there is nothing to fear.”Solada glanced over at the dead slaver, and remembered how the other ruffian had perished.  “You…” she mumbled, “you aren’t going to eat us…?  I thought…”“Oh, I couldn’t eat you,” the snake assured her.  Not once did the thing break eye contact with Kulap.  Once again, it repeated: “You have nothing to fear.”Solada felt her panicked heart slowing.  If she and Kulap were to be eaten, well, it seemed like that would have happened already.  Was it possible the snake was telling the truth?  Were they safe from harm?But if that was the case… what would a jungle spirit possibly want with two young women?  Were they to serve the snake somehow?  Hunt for it?  Cook for it?  Solada wished she knew.Something odd caught Solada’s attention.  The snake’s eyes… she first thought they were bright green.  But now they were red… no, they became orange!  No, yellow!  Amazed, Solada watched those magic eyes bloom into every color of the rainbow.  This beast is a jungle spirit, she thought with awe.And then the young woman realized that Kulap’s grip was limp in her hand.  Puzzled, Solada opened her fingers.  Kulap’s arm flopped to dangle at her side, still and lifeless.Solada peered at her friend.  Kulap was staring directly into the python’s eyes, but otherwise her expression was completely blank.  She seemed unaware of anything except the snake’s face.  As Solada watched, Kulap’s eyelids began to droop.“Yesss…” murmured the snake, pleased.  “Now, Kulap, have nothing to fear…!”“…nothing to fear…” Kulap repeated, her voice little more than a whisper.Alarmed, Solada moved to touch her friend’s arm.The python’s tale flew out of the darkness, wrapping around Solada’s wrist, tighter than her shackles.“Do not disturb her,” warned the serpent.  The snake never released Kulap from its icy gaze.Solada wanted to cry out, to grab and shake her friend.  Her fear began to return.  What magic was happening here?The vice-like grip on her wrist tightened still more.  The snake-spirit would not tolerate any interruptions.Moving still closer to Kulap, the serpent blinked once, slowly.  Kulap did the same thing, perfectly imitating the action.  Then the python bobbed its head up and down; Kulap matched it exactly.  It was like the young woman didn’t realize she had become a puppet.“Can you hear me, Kulap?” the python murmured.“…yes…” the transfixed girl replied.“You feel wonderful, don’t you?” smiled the snake.A big smile spread over Kulap’s face, the only muscles she seemed to be using.  “Yes…” she agreed.“You are my slave, aren’t you, Kulap?” the serpent prompted.“I am your slave,” Kulap agreed, still smiling, still gazing fully into those rainbow eyes.“When you awaken, you will follow and obey all of my commands, won’t you?”“Yes, master,” Kulap beamed.“Wonderful, my child,” the snake hissed.  “There is nothing to fear.”Solada stared fearfully at her friend, who was now obviously under some evil spell.  Could she escape?  Could she somehow free the entranced Kulap before-As if sensing her thoughts, the great python swung its head to stare at Solada.  Kulap continued to gaze into space, smiling sweetly.“Ah, Solada,” the reptile purred.  “You are a pretty one.  There is nothing to fear.”“I won’t become your slave,” said Solada fiercely, struggling to pull her wrist free.  “What did you do to Kulap?”“She’s asleep… in a way,” the serpent replied, pulling Solada towards him.  “You look tired yourself, my dear.”“Kulap!” screamed Solada.  “Wake up!  Wake up, Kulap, help me, please!!!”“She can’t hear you,” the snake said, its voice harsh.  “Now… look at me.”Solada squeezed her eyes tight.  “Never!”As she tried to pull away, the young woman felt the strong coils of the snake’s body wrap about her legs and stomach.  She was pushed her closer to the snake’s face.  Her wrist was pulled upward into the air, meaning Solada could only flail her free arm about.“Such struggling,” the snake’s voice murmured, amused.  “Why not relax, Solada?  Look at me.  Gaze into my eyes, please.  There is nothing to fear.”“Never!” the young woman declared, fighting panic.The coils squeezed, knocking the breath from Solada’s body.  She gasped, choking on the jungle air.  In her surprise, her eyes flew open.“Ah,” said the python.Suddenly the great serpent’s head was before her, staring straight into her eyes.  Momentarily off-guard, Solada hesitated.Those eyes… she’d never seen anything so beautiful.  It was like swirls of light were uncoiling from the creature, dancing hues which dazzled and reached out to her.  As a young girl, Solada had once spotted the jewels in the king’s crown, sparkling in the bright sun.  The snake’s eyes were like that, only much more brilliant.Unable to help herself, Solada saw the red eyes twist into yellows, then into blues, purples, ambers, oranges, greens… more colors that she could track.  The world seemed to be spinning, just a little.Don’t look! a voice in her mind cried.  He’s trying to ensnare you, don’t look!“There is nothing to fear,” promised the snake, his words cutting through Solada’s mind.And then it was as if the serpent eyes expanded outward, growing larger and larger.  The colors swirled brighter, a rainbow of mesmerizing loveliness.  Solada knew she had to tear her gaze away… but she wanted to look.  Just for a moment longer.Yes, this seemed harmless.  The python’s eyes spun in a lazy motion, with such beautiful colors rolling in all directions.  Sometimes it appeared that the colors were turning into light, which shone out into  Solada’s face.  The hues became brighter and richer.“Yes, you feel relaxed, no?” the snake remarked.Did he say that out loud?  Or was his voice in Solada’s mind?She was dimly aware that the tense coils about her were softening.  No longer did they constrain her; no, now the snake’s body now caressed her muscles, lulling her a little more into blissful relaxation.The snake’s eyes now seemed so large that Solada was aware of nothing else in her field of vision.  She felt strangely sleepy.  She wanted to look deeper… to relax…No! the voice inside her cried, more desperate but distant now.  Don’t look…!Solada struggled to hear the fading warning.  It seemed-“There is nothing to fear,” she heard the serpent’s powerful voice say.The snake was right; there was nothing to fear.  Solada felt a compelling urge to agree.“There is… nothing to fear…” she mumbled.  Her own words sounded tiny and distant.The swirling hues expanded even more, completely filling Solada’s entire field of vision.  She felt as if her relaxed body was flying through a universe of color.The serpent’s head bobbed a little, and Solada discovered her own head automatically moved to match it.  She was barely aware of the disruption.“Can you hear me, Solada?” the snake rumbled.“Yes,” she obediently replied.“Very good,” the voice commended her, pleased.  “You will follow and obey all of my commands, Solada.  You are my slave.”In that instant, all dwindling resistance in Solada’s mind winked out.  She simply stopped caring about anything except the powerful voice filling her head.Like a sunrise, a tranquilized peace and happiness filled Solada.  It felt wonderful.  She surrendered and was immediately glad to do so.  A wide smile spread across her face.“I will follow and obey,” she gladly said to the swirling colors.  “I am your slave.”“There is nothing to fear,” her master told her.Yes, of course!  “There is nothing to fear,” beamed Solada.All was perfect in the world.*****Satisfied, Chạ̀wrāynạk changed into his human form.  As he felt his hide transform into skin, he noted how warm and moist the night air felt.  How odd it was to be a human!  Their fragile little bodies were little more than muscles and hair.  No armor.  It felt especially strange to coordinate two arms and two legs.The man-snake took a few experimental steps in the thick grass, assuring himself that he could still walk upright.  He flexed his fingers eagerly.Solada and Kulap stood rooted where they stood, each staring off into space, each with a wistful smile on their otherwise-empty expressions.  Chạ̀wrāynạk paused to admire both of them, running appreciative fingers over their warm bodies.  The women were in his spell, now.  Time to test the extent of his power over their minds.“When I wake you both,” the snake-lord commanded, “you will immediately strip completely naked.  Then you will pleasure me with your bodies, until I am satisfied.  Do you understand?”“Yes, master,” each girl replied happily.Chạ̀wrāynạk gestured, a mere flick of his fingers.Both Solada and Kulap blinked, as if waking from a dream.  Their eyes fell on the completely nude snake-lord standing before them.  A coy smile lit their faces as the commands placed in their minds went to work.Both women pushed their loincloths down below their hips.  The meager garments became untied and collapsed onto the jungle floor.Then Solada moved to stand directly before Chạ̀wrāynạk.  She appreciatively moved her fingers over his broad chest, kissing it softly.  Her expression was a combination of worship, reverence, and arousal.  At the same time, Kulap moved behind the hulking snake-lord.  Chạ̀wrāynạk felt her press against him.  Her small hands cupped his muscular buttocks.  Her lips appeared on his back muscles.“Mmm…” moaned Solada.  Her hands descended down Chạ̀wrāynạk’s abdomen.  She moved even closer, so that her nipples rubbed up against his body.Chạ̀wrāynạk grinned in satisfaction.  As Solada’s fingers found his rigid cock, he leaned forward and kissed her.  Her submission tasted wonderful.His powers were complete.  The snake-queen had been right!  He could enchant any woman, any woman at all!  Oh, the feeling of mastery was intoxicating!Chạ̀wrāynạk’s thoughts turned to plans.  Next, he would seek out Princess Anong.  No, first he would enslave other humans.  Wealthy humans.  He would take their riches, so when he approached his true love, it would appear that he was wealthy himself.  In his new, powerful body, the princess would think him a foreign prince, a worthy suitor.  And she would fall in love with him.Feeling even more aroused, Chạ̀wrāynạk seized Solada, lowering her to the ground.  The hypnotized girl was incredibly aroused.  She lay on her back and obediently spreading her legs.  Within seconds, Chạ̀wrāynạk knelt on top of her, and was thrusting his thick cock deep, deep, deep within her eager vagina.An animal lust was raging inside him.  The next time he fucked, it would be Princess Anong’s nude body beneath him.*****

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One Month Later…

Princess Anong was deep in sleep.Her dreaming mind took her back to a moment not that long ago.  She was on the riverbank, attended by her father’s servants, preparing for an afternoon swim.  The princess looked forward to the freedom she enjoyed in the water; it was one of the few activities she had where someone wasn’t lecturing her about etiquette.  She shed her robe, ignoring the disapproving clucks of the servants.As she waded into the cool water, there was loud splash, just a little way upstream!  An animal – no, a person had fallen from an overhanging tree branch and was now flailing in a deep pool!  Anong saw the person struggle, panicking as they sank into the deep.  They couldn’t swim!Losing no time, Anong dove over the rocks, fighting to reach the drowning soul.  She snatched the person by the armpits – thank the gods they were small – and hauled the body to the surface.“Don’t struggle!” Anong commanded.  “I’ll pull you to shore.  Just relax.”The person complied, leaning their weight into her chest.  Anong heaved.  With a few powerful kicks, she pulled her companion into shallow water.  Soon the princess and her rescuee were lying side-by-side on the grassy riverbank.He was a boy, no, a young man!  Handsome.  A peasant boy!Anong stared at the fellow, relieved to watch him cough back to life.  He was small and skinny, not much younger than she.  His eyes opened slowly, revealing beautiful hazel pupils that gazed up at her lovingly.Anong smiled.  “Well!” she exclaimed, and then laughed.  “Are you alright?  You nearly swallowed half the river!”The boy grinned, becoming even more adorable.The princess realized she was completely naked next to this stranger!  It was forbidden for peasants to see her nude body.  If only, she momentarily thought, he and I were far away from the palace…Suddenly the dream shifted.Now Anong and her peasant boy were leagues away, lying side-by-side on a wide, grassy hill.  The jungle spread out all around them.  Bright sunlight bathed the land.  Now both princess and peasant were naked, their bodies dry and warm and snuggled next to one another.  They were completely alone.“You saved me,” the boy smiled at her.Anong blushed, suddenly embarrassed yet delighted by his appreciation.“You must be part fish,” the peasant boy commented.“Yeah?” teased the amused princess.  “Well, you must be part stone.  You weigh a ton.”The boy dropped open his jaw in mock offense.  “She insults me…!” he exclaimed.  His thin arms slid around Anong’s waist, pulling her closer.“Oh hush,” Anong said playfully.  “You look like you get insulted a lot.”  She stuck out her tongue.The boy pretended this was an even greater offense.  His fingers leapt to action, tickling the unprepared princess with a ruthless abandon.“Very well, very well!” laughed Anong, squirming in the boy’s embrace.  “I surrender!  You win!”The tickling stopped.  Anong paused, realizing her lips were a mere inch from the boy’s.She gazed happily into those rich eyes.  In the palace, servants watched her every waking moment.  Dressing, eating, bathing, studies, court activities, even sleeping were all done under hawk-like supervision.  Now with this boy, this wonderful man, Anong felt free and happy.  She was glad they were both naked.Her eyes closed as she leaned forward, just a little.  Their lips touched…*****Someone was pounding on her chamber door.  Loudly!  The dream shattered.Anong groaned.“Princess!” the attendant shouted from outside the door.  “It is time to rise!  The feast preparations are underway!”Anong lay motionless, glaring at her wall.  Oh, that dream had been perfect!  What she wouldn’t give to return into it for just a minute or two!The door flew open, and Anong’s chamber-servants flooded into the room.  “Out of bed, please, your highness,” Taeng the housekeeper chided.  “You are expected downstairs.”Sighing, Anong crawled out of bed.  As she permitted Taeng and the others to dress her, the princess thought wistfully of that fantasy peasant boy.*****Perhaps more than any other day of the year, the Kĕbkeī̀yw Feast was anticipated by young and old alike in the kingdom.  This was the one day when King Chakrii opened the gates of Phechr Palace.  His kitchens when into full production, cooking food for the entire city.  And everyone brought food of their own to the community banquet tables.  On Kĕbkeī̀yw, no-one went hungry.Only Princess Anong dreaded the holiday.  She would be dressed in robes and jewels, placed on a throne for all to see.  Wealthy suitors would try to impress her, or simply buy her from her father.Anong hated being on display.  She hated all the staring and gossip.  She hated the men who would try to possess her.  She hated it all.*****After the opening ceremonies and prayers, the Feast was underway.  Anong sat completely still on her throne, watching her piggish father drinking wine with his concubines.  All about her, the people were eating and studying her closely.  Some snippets of conversation reached her sharp ears:“The princess seems cruel, doesn’t she?  I hear she hates men.”“She despises us all, you know.”“She’s thinner than last year.  Uglier, too.”“No doubt the bitch is scheming to murder her father.  Wants the crown for herself.”With a sudden flash of anger, Anong rose from her chair and strode back into the palace.  She ignored the shouts of the servants, already clamoring to fetch her.Once back inside, the princess broke into a run, determined to escape from watching eyes.  She hurried down empty corridors until the voices shouting her name were far away.  For a short while, at least, she would be alone.Anong found herself in the king’s audience chamber.  Here was where the monarch received guests or listened to the complaints of the people.  Normally, guards and members of the court would be here, clustered around the throne.The chamber was the grandest hall in all of Phechr Palace.  High stone ceilings were held up by smooth stone columns, the “Pillars of Heaven,” according to the palace historian.  The walls were carved with intricate hieroglyphics, depicting the long history of Anong’s people.And suspended behind the throne was the Sword of Khinopi, the Sword of the King.  The great copper-plated weapon was purely symbolic, of course.  Its silence presence was meant to remind anyone who sought out the king that His Majesty ruled with force.  Anong thought the great ornament looked ridiculous.On Kĕbkeī̀yw, the great room was empty.  Wait, not empty.  Anong frowned a little.  A man and two women stood in the center of the room.The man was tall and very muscular.  Dressed in the silken robes of a trading merchant, he stood perfectly still, studying the throne and sword.  He was bald and had perfect skin.To the man’s right and left were the young women.  Obviously slave girls, both women wore nothing but plain sarongs about their slender waists.  Their hair was long, black, and displayed a crown of small blue flowers about their temples.  They stood completely motionless at their master’s side.The man turned, spotting Anong immediately.  He was handsome, with a powerful jaw and flashing green eyes.  Anong found herself amazed by his iron-like muscles.  His chest, arms, and legs were nothing but toned flesh, perhaps carved by the gods themselves.  Not even the king’s elite swordsmen had such powerful bodies.“Hello princess,” the man rumbled.  His voice was deep, but kind.“Who are you?” Anong demanded.  It was forbidden for commoners to wander into the audience chamber.The man approached, every step powerful but not threatening.  “I am a merchant, from very far away,” he said easily.  His slave women fell in step behind him.  “Before I attended the feast, I wanted to see the king’s throne.  Magnificent.”“You shouldn’t be here,” Anong warned the man.He parted his hands.  “Yes, yes, I know,” the fellow grinned.  There was a roguish sense about the man which appealed to the princess.  “But I don’t like large crowds.  A moment of solitude appealed to me.”Huh.  Usually wealthy merchants liked to flaunt their riches, to preen before the king and his court.  Especially those fellows who wanted to marry her.  Anong studied the man, surprised at how different he seemed from all the others.“What is your name, stranger?” demanded the princess.“Chạ̀wrāynạk,” the man replied smoothly.An odd name.  Anong was certain she’d never heard of this man.She glanced at the two lovely slave women.  Their expressions blank, save for happy smiles.  Both girls let their arms dangle at their sides.  They seemed to be almost sleeping as their unfocused eyes gazed straight ahead.Now the strange merchant was standing directly before Anong.  He bowed.“Forgive me, princess,” said Chạ̀wrāynạk, “but you don’t seem to be enjoying today’s feast.”This was an impertinent thing to say, of course, but Anong was charmed by the man’s brashness and good looks.  “You’re not at the feast, either,” she replied.“Actually,” Chạ̀wrāynạk confessed, “I was waiting for you.  I’ve traveled far to see you, princess.”  He stepped closer.“Harrumph,” Anong frowned.  Perhaps this merchant wasn’t that different from all the other wealthy men who sought to possess her.Chạ̀wrāynạk stepped closer, staring at the princess intently.  His cocky demeanor seemed to fade a little.  “You are as beautiful as I remember,” he murmured.Anong was about to reply when she noted something odd; Chạ̀wrāynạk’s eyes were completely blue.  Not blue circles on white eyeballs, but all blue!No, they were purple!  No, brown… amber… red… orange…  How was he doing that?“You will appreciate spending a little time with me,” Chạ̀wrāynạk said absently.  His eyes seemed to grow larger.Anong gazed up at him, fascinated.  Surely this was some kind of magic!  She’d heard stories, of course, of wizards and spell-casters who…  who, um…  hmm, it was a little hard to think.  She blinked.Chạ̀wrāynạk’s eyes were regularly changing colors now, shifting through all the colors of the rainbow.  Strange lights seemed to dance about his face.  His eyes grew and grew in size.“You feel so peaceful,” Chạ̀wrāynạk’s rich voice murmured.  “Isn’t that so, princess?”Anong had to clear her throat to speak.  “How are you-““Shhh…” the merchant commanded.  “Relax your voice, princess.  Relax completely.  Let yourself relax…”The colors now began swirling, like milk and creams stirred into a soup.  Around and around they danced, always becoming larger.  Anong was only vaguely aware of her arms losing energy and dropping to her sides.  She stared into the colorful whirlpool, now unable to look away.“And now,” Chạ̀wrāynạk told her, “you will relax…  Let go…  Follow my voice…”The princess felt as if her body was turning into air.  Her consciousness was sucked into the twirling colors, now completely filling her vision.  She forgot where she was, to whom she was speaking, even who she was.  All that mattered were those entrancing colors.“You are mine, princess,” Chạ̀wrāynạk’s voice said, directly in her thoughts.  “You will follow and obey me.”And that was it.  Suddenly, Anong didn’t care about anything but allowing this rich voice fill her head and command her.“I will follow and obey you,” Anong echoed, her voice powerless and small.  A lazy smile stretched across her face.*****Chạ̀wrāynạk exhaled in delight, thrilled with his prize.  Princess Anong was in his power, at last!  Gleefully, he ran his mighty hands over her shoulders and down her arms, admiring how soft her skin felt.“Kiss me,” the snake-lord demanded.Instantly, Anong stepped forward, raising her full, red lips to meet his.  Their embrace was sensuous and filled with longing.  Chạ̀wrāynạk grabbed the girl and pulled her closer to him.The kiss lingered.Allowing it to break, Chạ̀wrāynạk looked at his beloved, flush with victory.  Anong gazed back at him.  Her smile was genuine, but her eyes were unfocused, empty.  Her mind was a dreamless blank.Chạ̀wrāynạk’s grin faded.  This felt wrong.  The princess would obey his every command, he knew, but… that was not what he wanted.  Not really.  He controlled her body.  But he wanted her heart.“Princess,” ordered Chạ̀wrāynạk, “you will awaken.  When you do, you love me madly.  You will tell me your fondest desires, your every wish.  You will speak freely, unable to stop yourself.  Do you understand?”“I understand,” Anong replied, her voice flat.The snake-lord gestured before her beautiful face.  Instantly, Anong was released from her trance.“Oh my,” the girl exclaimed, as if seeing Chạ̀wrāynạk for the first time.  She beamed at him.With a glowing expression, Anong took the snake-lord’s arm.“Shall we walk in the gardens?” the princess gushed.  “I feel I have so much to tell you.”*****Staying away from the feast-goers, Chạ̀wrāynạk and Anong walked along the palace grounds, among the carefully-maintained ratchaphruek, lotus, orchids, and frangipani.  The slave girls had been left behind; Anong and her strange suitor were completely alone.The princess spoke freely, pouring out her every want and desire.  What has gotten me?!? Anong thought to herself.  Yet she could not stop the words from flowing from her mouth.  It was like this strange Chạ̀wrāynạk had placed a truth-spell on her.Ah, Chạ̀wrāynạk.  As she talked, Princess Anong stole another look at this handsome stranger.  She felt so in love.  This man was everything she’d ever hoped for in a suitor.  He was courteous, handsome, attentive, a good listener.  The more she spoke, the more the young woman longed to spend more time with this man.As they approached the Jasmine fountains, Chạ̀wrāynạk broke out into a rich chuckle.  Anong had been regaling him about her love of sailing.“Ah, princess,” the tall man laughed, “you want for so much.  How can a woman with the kingdom at her fingertips be so desirous?”Anong frowned, just a little.  “I…” she mumbled, momentarily confused.  A moment ago, she couldn’t stop talking.  But Chạ̀wrāynạk’s question caught her by surprise.The big man stopped walking and took both of Anong’s hands in his own.  “You don’t really know your heart’s desire, do you?” he asked softly.The princess stared at him, flummoxed.“Let me help,” suggested Chạ̀wrāynạk in a tender voice.  “Look into my eyes, princess.”His eyes were once again changing colors.  Instantly, Anong was hypnotized.“When I command you,” the tall man murmured, “you will know exactly what your heart desires.  You will be able to speak it aloud without hesitation or shame.”  He waved one hand before Anong’s eyes.  “Do it now…!”“I want to escape this kingdom,” Anong responded, immediately.  “I hate all the servants.  I am watched all the time, so that I may be married to an ally of my father.  I want to run far, far away, and find someone with which to share that new life.”The princess blinked, coming out of her trance.  The words she had spoken still hung in her mind.  Stunned, she replayed them to herself, and realizing the truth, at last.Chạ̀wrāynạk smiled, his eyes twinkling but no longer changing colors.  “You want to escape?” he exclaimed.  “Then let us both escape!  Only you and me!”Growing excited, the big man began speaking like an eager young schoolboy.  “We’ll steal away to the harbor,” he said, thinking aloud.  “I’ll enchant a captain, and he will give us his boat.  And we’ll cast off, sail east…”  He longingly gazed down at the princess.  “…and no-one will ever see us again.”Anong’s heart leapt.  “You could do that?” she said, her eyes shining.“Of course,” murmured Chạ̀wrāynạk, taking her in his arms again.  He stroked her cheek, once.  “I would move worlds for you.”The princess kissed him.  She did so not because of any spell she was under, but because in that moment, she genuinely loved Chạ̀wrāynạk.  She was so happy.“We should leave immediately,” Chạ̀wrāynạk said grinning.“But you can’t leave, my love,” a woman’s cold voice said behind him.  “There isss work to do.”*****

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Chạ̀wrāynạk whirled around.  He had not heard anyone approach.  Yet he knew that voice.Standing before the trimmed chatuchack bushes was the snake-queen, just as beautiful as he remembered.  The woman was still nude, although she possessed a fierce confidence which suggested that she was immune to shame of any kind.  Her long, black hair tumbled down her back.  Although the breeze was modest that day, her hair billowed angrily, as if it was a great flag in a mighty wind.The queen’s green eyes were hard and furious.  “I gave you free dominion in my kingdom,” she said firmly.  “Perhapsss that was a missstake.  You forget who your true missstressssss isss.”Chạ̀wrāynạk moved quickly to protectively stand before Princess Anong.  “Leave us,” he warned.The snake-queen sneered.  “You are free to bed this sssilly girl, my love,” she replied.  “But I have been too lax with you already.  Have your way with her, now, and then you are returning to the Dead Forestsss with me.”With menace in her voice, the queen added, “Or I will sssqueeze the life from her little body.”Hearing Princess Anong gasp, Chạ̀wrāynạk flew into a rage.  “You will not touch her!” he bellowed.The snake-queen laughed, a cruel, harsh sound.  “Foolish boy,” she mocked.  “A warrior you may be, but do not think me… without fangs.”Chạ̀wrāynạk had heard enough.  He pushed Anong back, then flung himself at the queen.  In mid-air, he transformed into his python form, choosing to become as large as he could.  Two hundred feet of snake now flew at the queen.In motion too quick to be followed by the naked eye, the queen leapt aside, easily dodging the assault.  Her fingers curled into sharp claws, and evil, red fire appeared in her palms.  She struck, ripping gashes in Chạ̀wrāynạk’s leathery hide.The giant python roared in pain, an ear-shattering screech that could be heard for miles.*****Across the palace at the Feast, the horrible snake-cry split the air.  The people froze in terror.*****Chạ̀wrāynạk whipped his powerful body around, seething with rage.  Great sharp fangs appeared in his mouth, dripping with venom.  He rounded on the snake-queen.The she-spirit held her ground.  With her gesture, a wall of red fire leapt up from the ground, a curtain of flame which momentarily drove the massive python back.But Chạ̀wrāynạk was too angry to yield.  Hissing loudly, he leapt, ignoring the fire.  With a powerful blow of his tail, he sent the queen’s body spinning into the air and towards the palace.The red fire vanished instantly.Panting, the huge serpent hesitated only for a moment, to confirm that the queen was gone.Then, he turned to Anong, who cringed before him.“My love,” Chạ̀wrāynạk implored her, completely forgetting his fearsome appearance.  “Hurry!” he cried.  “Get to the harbor!  I’ll follow you!”But Anong, terrified at all she was witnessing, merely cowered on the ground.A burst of red flame shot up the side of the palace.  Banners and thatched awnings caught fire.  The cries of frightened people filled the air.Chạ̀wrāynạk stared back at the castle in dismay.  The snake-queen was clearly still alive.  He and Anong had maybe seconds before-A second python leapt from burning garden, its jaws clamping onto Chạ̀wrāynạk’s exposed neck.  Red fire danced within the mouth of the attacker.  Chạ̀wrāynạk screeched in pain, despite himself.With one mighty blow of his tail, the larger serpent struck back, knocking the queen-python to the ground.  The very earth shuddered.  Hissing and frothing at the mouth, she rolled over, and sprang again.And now the two giant snakes lashed at each other, bucking and thrashing, hissing and snapping, whipping their tails about like bullwhips.  Chạ̀wrāynạk was larger, stronger.  But the queen was faster and vomited vicious bursts of evil fire from her mouth.  The fighting was terrible to behold.*****Even as the two demi-serpents sought to destroy one another, the queen’s red flame spread.  It licked the foundation of Phechr Palace, spreading with frightening speed.  Within minutes, the castle was burning, and the horrid fire was aggressively spreading into the city.These were no ordinary flames.  Fueled by the hatred of the snake-queen, they could not be extinguished, or even slowed.  The more they consumed, the hungrier they became.  The people struggled to form brigades to hold back the inferno, but there was little they could do.*****Chạ̀wrāynạk discovered the queen’s weakness.  She was a cunning fighter, true, but she could not match his body for its weight.  Once Chạ̀wrāynạk wrapped his coils about her, she could not escape.  It was all the advantage he needed!  All he had to do was press her against the earth; she could not withstand his bulk.The wicked she-demon choked as Chạ̀wrāynạk crushed her.  She writhed.  He concentrated on nothing but strangling her, cutting her off from the hot, ash-laced air.  The flames deep in her throat flickered, then died.“Yield,” growled the bigger snake.The queen hissed in fury, but her eyes rolled back into her head.  Chạ̀wrāynạk felt her body shiver, then gasp, then lie still.Trembling with sheer anger, Chạ̀wrāynạk gripped the queen in his jaws, just below her head.  He bit as hard as he could.  The she-python’s armored skin tore, and Chạ̀wrāynạk tasted her blood.  It was cold and bitter.The victor spat, throwing the queen’s head to the ground.  He heaved for breath, feeling all of his wounds stab him at once.Anong!  Where was the princess?!?It was painful, but Chạ̀wrāynạk forced his body back into the form of a man.  His legs and chest hurt terribly, but he could still walk.  Or at least limp.  Holding his sides, he staggered into the burning gardens, frantically looking for his love.Where was she???  Behind him, Phechr Palace burned to the ground.  Surely the princess wouldn’t have returned there!  Could she have been killed in the battle?Sick with fear, Chạ̀wrāynạk pressed on.Wait!  There she was!Relief flooded through Chạ̀wrāynạk.  Anong was huddled against the stone basis of the Jasmine fountains, almost exactly where he’d left her.  The princess’s eyes were wide with shock and disbelief.  But she was alive!As Chạ̀wrāynạk limped forward, something hard and vicious struck him square in the back.  He was savagely tossed to the earth, smashing his chin into the warm ground.A body pressed on top of him, pinning him.  Long, cruel fingers closed about his throat.“Your betrayal knowsss no depths, my love,” hissed the snake-queen.  As Chạ̀wrāynạk struggled, she tightened her grip like a vice.  He was forced into submission.The evil she-goddess was furious, her anger almost uncontrollable.  While her snake-form had been broken, somehow she had switched back into a humanlike woman.  She was wounded, yet had enough strength to kill.“I will tell you one lassst time,” the queen whispered furiously into Chạ̀wrāynạk’s ear.  “You will return with me to the Dead Foressstsss, where you will guard me asss my warrior.  You will gladly do thisss, my love… or I will make you truly sssuffer.”Despite himself, Chạ̀wrāynạk struggled.  “You’ll have to kill me,” he swore.“Oh no,” the snake-queen sneered.  “I have a far more effective way to bend you to my will.”As Chạ̀wrāynạk watched, the queen extended one clawed hand towards Anong.  A burst of angry red light flew from her fingers and struck the princess, who began screaming.“Anong!” cried Chạ̀wrāynạk.  In a burst of fear, he threw the queen from his back, and then scrambled to his love.It was too late.  The evil magic worked quickly.  The strange red sparkles swarmed over Anong’s body, twisting her in agony.  As the princess struggled, her skin turned gray.  She lost the power to move entirely.And in the blink of an eye, the young woman was turned to stone.Chạ̀wrāynạk desperately clutched at the petrified hands, horrified.  Anong’s expression was a frozen mask of agony.  A silent scream lingered on her stone lips.The queen, crumbled on the ground, laughed cruelly.“No,” wailed Chạ̀wrāynạk, cupping Anong’s stone cheeks in his hands.  “No, no!”The distraught man whirled on the queen.  “I’ll kill you!” he screamed.“No, you won’t, my love,” sneered his mistress.  “There ssshe will remain until your debt to me isss sssatisified, do you underssstand?  Kill me, and your princessssss will never breathe again.”Chạ̀wrāynạk seized a rock, a heavy one which fit easily in his palm.  He stood over the queen, ready to smash the stone into her head.“Release her,” he demanded.The queen laughed again.  “You fool,” she taunted.  “You hopelessssss fool.”And then, her body turned to mist and vanished into the hot breeze.  Yet her cruel laughter lingered in the air.*****