Free Web NovelChapter 10: Episode 010: Unwanted Visitor.
The two women looked at each other. freewebnovёl.ƈom
One was a tall, incredibly energetic princess with bright green hair. The other was a very small, very miserable rabbit trying to blend into a snake’s tail. Caius didn’t look pleased. His heavy tail slapped the cold stone floor giving her a clear warning.
Gianna completely ignored it. She ducked her head low and clapped her hand, her eyes wide and her mouth wide in disbelief at how cute Rue was.
"Oh my gods, she’s so cute!" Gianna squealed. Her voice bounced off the cave walls and stabbed directly into Rue’s sensitive rabbit ears.
Rue flattened her ears against her back. She closed her pink eyes. freewebnøvel.coɱ
Who’s this loud person? Rue thought. I’m trying to be miserable in peace.
A low, deep sound vibrated in Caius’s chest. He was chuckling silently. And he honestly expected her to react that way. Gianna didn’t notice him laughig at all, and continued to say cute things to Rue to make her react.
A blue screen popped up directly in front of Rue’s face.
[Character Info]
[Name: Princess Gianna]
[Tribe: Snake Kingdom]
[Rank: Princess of the Swamps]
[Threat Level: Low. Annoying but harmless.]
I don’t care, Rue told the glowing text. Can’t she see someone’s pregnant and needs rest?
She definitely didn’t need another Caius up in her space, especially someone whom she doesn’t know.
"Gianna," Caius called once, his voice cold and detached. The temperature in the room seemed to drop. "You came without alerting me."
Gianna pouted. Her bottom lip pushed out dramatically. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on her heels.
"I was dying to see you," she complained. "Ever since you got a mate, you don’t take care of me anymore. You don’t even play with me."
Caius stared at her. His golden eyes were flat. "You’re no longer at the age for games."
Gianna stomped her foot on the stone. "You’re mean."
Rue shivered. The stone floor was cold. Caius noticed her movement immediately. He slithered forward, leaving Gianna near the entrance. He reached down and picked Rue up. His large hands scooped her tiny bunny body off the ground with shocking care and held her against his warm chest.
Rue allowed it. She nestled into the crook of his arm. She preferred to be held by the hot snake than to stay alone on the cold floor with the loud person. His skin was warm. It made her sleepy. It felt safe. She hated that she liked it.
Gianna noticed the wooden table immediately, trying not to think about how she was ignored.
"Oh, food!" Gianna clapped her hands together.
She walked right up to the table. The bowl of braised beef sat there. Steam was still rising from it. It smelled like rich spices and roasted garlic. It was the exact food Rue cooked with her own two hands. The food she was absolutely not allowed to eat because her new body rejected meat.
Gianna picked up a piece of the meat with her bare fingers. She tossed it into her mouth and chewed. Her green eyes widened in absolute delight.
"This is amazing," Gianna said thickly. She swallowed and grabbed another piece right away. "Did you cook this, Caius? Since when do you cook?"
Rue watched her eat from the safety of Caius’s arms. Her pink rabbit eyes narrowed to tiny slits.
That’s my food, Rue thought. I cooked that.
Gianna swallowed the beef and licked the sauce off her fingers. She picked up a third piece. The meat looked so tender. It practically fell apart in her grip.
She’s eating my beef. Rue’s small, furry body shook with concentrated rage. I made that for him and me. And I can’t even eat it. Now this random green snake’s eating it. What the fuck is this?
[It’s just beef.]
Make something with all your heart and wait for someone to take it from you, and see how it feels.
[...]
I thought so.
Caius stiffened. He heard the pure, violent jealousy broadcasting in her head. Guilt washed over him heavily. He looked at the table and realised that she had not been eating. He grabbed a handful of fresh strawberries and some crisp lettuce leaves from the produce sack. He brought them up to Rue’s face.
He held a bright red berry out to her mouth.
Rue glared at the berry and then looked at him.
Really? Are you fucking serious?
She narrowed her eyes at him, and he nudged the berry at her. She groaned internally and bit into it with intense anger. She chewed the strawberry as it’d personally offended her whole family.
It tasted incredibly sweet. It practically melted on her tongue. That only made her angrier. She swallowed it and aggressively bit the lettuce leaf he offered next.
Gianna dragged a heavy wooden stool over to the table. She sat down and continued to clear out the bowl of beef. She didn’t even notice the tension.
"Remember when we used to hunt near the border of the wetlands?" Gianna asked. Her mouth was half full of meat. "You caught that massive wild boar. The one with the broken tusk. I was so scared it was going to charge me. But you snapped its neck in two seconds."
A boar?
Caius didn’t look at her. He used his large thumb to wipe a single drop of strawberry juice off Rue’s tiny chin.
"I remember," Caius said softly. He was talking to Gianna, but he was staring exclusively at Rue.
Gianna kept talking. She talked about the swamps. She talked about her older sister Tanith. She talked about how Caius used to train the palace guards when she was just a child. She painted a picture of a long, shared history. A history full of inside jokes and dangerous moments.
Rue stopped chewing her lettuce. She felt completely useless. She was just a small, angry rabbit sitting in a snake’s arms. She belonged nowhere near this conversation. She didn’t know these places. She didn’t know these people. She was a human from New York who died in a hospital bed.
I want to leave, Rue decided. She let her head drop against his arm. I’m not needed here.
Caius paused. His fingers stopped stroking her white fur. His head snapped up. He looked toward the cave entrance. He looked anywhere but at her.
"I’ve somewhere to be," Caius announced out of nowhere as he started lengthening to leave.
Rue froze. Her rabbit heart started beating wildly against her ribs.
Are you going to leave me with a stranger here?!
Caius actually tripped. His massive lower coils tangled for a fraction of a second. He caught his balance quickly, catching himself on the edge of the stone bed. He looked down at Rue. His golden eyes were wide and deeply apologetic.
He reached out and patted her head gently. "I’ll be back soon," he promised. His voice was thick.
Then he slithered right out of the cave. He moved so fast it was like he was running away from fire, leaving Rue entirely alone with Gianna.
Gianna swallowed the last piece of the braised beef. She wiped her hands on a damp cloth sitting near the stove. She turned around to look at the bunny.
With a soft pop, Rue shifted. The small white rabbit disappeared. Rue was back in her human form. She sat on the edge of the stone bed. Her new white silk dress draped perfectly over her knees. Her silver hair fell in a messy, heavy wave down her back.
Gianna stared at her. The princess’s mouth hung open slightly.
"Wow," Gianna whispered. Her eyes scanned Rue from head to toe. "You’re really pretty."
"Thank you," Rue said. Her voice was completely flat. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
Gianna walked over to the bed. She sat down on the edge, leaving a little space between them. She rested her chin in her hands and stared at the cave wall.
"Caius’s so handsome, right?" Gianna sighed. A soft, dreamy look took over her face. "I’ve known him for so long. He’s always so strong. So incredibly protective. Every female in the Convergence and even the snake tribe looks at him when he walks through the market. But he never looks back at any of them."
Rue watched Gianna’s face. She noticed her dreamy eyes and the soft, stupid smile on her face, and everything clicked into place.
Oh, Rue realised. She likes him.
It made perfect sense. He has taken care of her since she was a child. He was a high-ranking general and the Queen’s right-hand man. She was a princess. It was a very standard, predictable plotline.
Rue felt nothing. Or at least, she tried very, very hard to feel nothing. She folded her hands tightly in her lap.
Gianna leaned closer. Her green eyes were bright and totally sincere. She reached out and grabbed Rue’s hands. Rue flinched. The touch was too sudden and too familiar.
"I love you already," Gianna declared loudly. "You’re so soft and quiet. You should come with me to the palace."
Rue stared at her blankly.
Say what now?
"The cave’s so dark," Gianna continued. Her grip on Rue’s hands tightened. "The palace’s nice. It’s warm. There’s plenty of sunlight. There are servants to do the cooking. We’d take care of you. We’d take care of your baby. You’d never have to worry about anything ever again."
Rue looked at the green snake princess. Gianna was offering her a golden cage. A very safe, comfortable place. Maybe Gianna just genuinely liked collecting soft things.
It didn’t matter. Rue hated relying on people. Everyone she had relied on in her past life had abandoned her. She wasn’t doing that again. She wasn’t going to be someone’s pet project.
Rue wiggled her hands and pulled them firmly out of Gianna’s grip. She placed her hands back in her own lap and looked at Gianna softly. Her expression was completely empty.
"You can have him if you want, Princess Gianna."
