The Copperhead's Choice

Chapter 19

"What are you going to do with us? I assume you're going to keep us."

"Eh. Keep you to... play with."

"What should we do?"

"GO to the room and wait for me." The stand with their snakes nowhere in sight and leave to their room, leaning on each other.

"Now let's walk. Aisling would you like to come?"

She nods and stands. "I'd love to walk with you."

"You see Ebony," They take a step toward her and Sweets gets pulled back to her tattoo form. "For the longest time, before I was king, even after I was king for a couple of months I bet, there were dogs as big as Sweets and bigger even." They start walking. Where Ebony doesn't know. "then, somehow they vanished. All of them just vanished. All except the chihuahuas. there are smaller dogs, but not that we have. We did worship chihuahuas for a while, not we don't so much, but we still give the title dog god or dog goddess to anyone who finds a dog bigger than a chihuahua. Somehow something happened that allows me to when I touch a dog bigger than a chihuahua, we. I, when I touch them, they become mine, but somehow, after they become mine, they die shortly after."

"So, you were going to steal and kill my dog." It's a statement.

"Yes." He says after a minute or two. "I should have told you earlier that you would get a puppy if you won." They stop and go down a bunch of stairs into the roots. They stop at a door.

"My old shooll house... I'm not going past here." She stops.

"You don't have to. Only me and a few others are allowed in. would you like a puppy?"

"I want to see them first." They shut and lock the door behind them.

"I wonder why they locked the door." Venom hisses in Ebony's ear.

"What the holy heck?" she jumps. She hits her head against the wall as she leans against it. "Ow, my giant blue head!" She sighs. "Sorry Venom, I forgot you were still here."

"Well. Isn't that something?"

"Yes. It is. Now would you like to stay there, or would you like to sleep? Or... whatever you do as a tattoo."

"I've got a question. So, these guys... are kind of like Egyptians? They worship animals and stuff like that? How does that work?"

"Alright, let me see. Each of the fairy kingdoms has its animal. This one is dogs. One of them is cats, one is rabbits, another was parrots. I don't remember the rest if there were anyway."

"No snakes? Sheesh."

"I think there is one..." She looks back at the door.

"That seems fishy... you think there is one?" Ebony slides down into sitting. "Answer me."

"You know what I think?" The door starts to unlock. "I think I'm disinclined to Aquiest your request."

"What are you doing down there?" Aisling asks.

"Just Chillin'!" Venom Hisses, then Ebony pulls her into tattoo form.

"Whatever."

"Where is the king?" Ebony starts unbraiding her hair, she unbraids it, then braids it again.

"Coming."

"Alright." They only have to wait a couple of minutes for him to come out with a small black puppy. "It's black!"

"Yes, it is. You're lucky. Would you like him?"

"No thank you."

"Okay. Can you find your way back to your room?"