I N C O G N I T O (on hold)

~ II ~

I couldn't breathe.

Something cold and rough was wrapped around my throat, squeezing. My eyes flew open and widened at the sight of the hag sitting on my chest. Her eyes were stark white. No color. Nothing to differentiate between pupil and iris. Her hair was matted and grey, a tangled mess that framed her old, wrinkled face. I choked back a scream. She smiled, showing yellow stained teeth. And her nails. They were long and dark, like talons. She leaned down until her face was inches from my hair and inhaled.

"You smell like death," she rasped in my face, her breath hot and putrid. "How many have you killed so you can sit in your throne and lie on this canopy bed, dear queen?"

I parted my lips to speak. "I am not a queen—"

"No. No, you are much more than that." She cackled. "He made you much more than that."

"Who?" I didnt understand. "Mavachai?"

"No, foolish girl. Your king. Your Lord. The One you should bow down to and thank for granting you such a gift."

"Wha—"

"Silence, you petulant child. You know nothing, not yet. Soon you will." She ran a talon down my cheek, digging in enough to draw blood. I winced. "The blood of an innocent tastes different from the blood of the wicked, you know."

"Please, I beg of you, leave me be."

"Oh, you still do not understand, do you, child? I cannot leave you be. We are one. I am a part of you. I made it so."

"No—"

"Shh," she leaned down, her tongue snaking out her mouth like it had a life of its own. It dragged along my face, leaving a slimy wet trail. "I will not hurt you. You are a part of something much bigger. I need you."

"I want nothing to do with you."

"You called for me, child. I am here because you wish it."

"No. No. Go away, you witch!"

She hissed. "That prince of yours is going to die. You will have nothing left but me, dear queen, and the only King that matters. A real and true God."

I grimaced as she leaned down and pressed her dried, cracked lips upon mine. The world shifted, blurred, altered.

When my eyes opened, she was gone.