"Pride--Prologue" by Qydra,

[esercito sconfitto]

Pride--Prologue
by Qydra,


-Prologue-

Wind whipped through the princess's hair as she rode across the countryside. She always enjoyed the rides to and from her castle. The summer wildflowers in bloom, the warm air rushing by her face, a flash of blazing gold on white… She slowed.
...What are those trees? They're beautiful!
She pulled aside and dismounted to examine the stand of pale trees whose golden leaves glistened with red as if they were on fire. Bunches of red, grape-sized berries hung from their branches.

“Hello.”
The princess turned to see a young, black-haired woman tending a tree about twenty feet away. Her tousled black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, except for her bangs, which hung in her face.
“Good day, Miss. Did you grow these beautiful trees?”
“More or less. I found them here young, and I have tended them ever since. The fruit is very sweet and delicious. Would you like some?”
She picked a few of the berries and offered them to the princess with a tantalizing glimmer in her eye.
The princess took them from the woman, examined them curiously, and put one in her mouth. The woman was right—they were very sweet, and as she swallowed them, a warm tingle radiated through her, filling her with pleasure and confidence.
“It’s amazing. I’ve never tasted anything so delightful!” She ate another one eagerly.
“Isn’t it magical? I’ve fallen in love with these trees. I feel like I could take on the world whenever I eat some of these,” said the woman. She turned to the princess’s steed, offering it some fruit with a pet on the nose. “How about you, you handsome creature? You must be hungry. Don’t be afraid.” He eyed it warily, then, with a glance at the princess, took the fruit from the woman’s hand.
The princess picked another handful of berries. They never ceased to fill her with delight. I could take on the world right now, she thought.
Soon the two women were sitting happily, chatting and feasting on the tasty little berries, as the princess’s mount dozed off nearby.
“It’s wonderful being able to talk to you like this, Princess. You really are as beautiful as they say.”
She blushed. “Why, thank you…” She picked up her shiny metal amulet and gazed deeply into her reflection…
“I would love to have one of these trees in my garden…but I don’t see any seeds in these berries,” said the princess.
“Oh…did I tell you there are two kinds of fruit on these trees?” asked the woman.
“Really?” asked the princess, distracted by her reflection and the fruit.
The woman smiled at the princess, hopped up, and looked around the ground beneath the tree. She came back holding a fruit about the size of a plum, earth-toned, and mottled with white spots.
“I haven’t tried this one yet. They’re only ripe after they’ve fallen off. They smell heavenly,” she said with a mysterious smile.
“Shall we taste it? Is it safe?” asked the princess eagerly, putting down the jewelry. Actually, she really wanted to try it, whether she had permission or not. She had never gotten such joy from any other food.
“Royalty first,” said the woman with a laugh. She handed the princess the orb and watched expectantly.
The princess bit into the moist, butter-smooth flesh of the morsel and struggled to keep it in her mouth for how quickly she smiled. "Mmm..." she said. It was mellow, like almonds, or perhaps vanilla, and the tingle of pleasure was now a surge of euphoria. She greedily wolfed down the rest of it and ran to look for another. She searched intensely and wordlessly. A smile spread slowly on the woman’s face.
“By the way…no. It’s not.”
“Aahh…” whimpered the princess. She doubled over, choking; she crumpled onto the ground beside a cavity in the tree they had talked under, and stopped breathing.
She stood over the dead princess and scowled. Beautiful. They were all beautiful around here. This one most of all. It made her sick. Poor, drunk thing would have rotted there, wolfing down berries and staring at herself, if she hadn’t interrupted.
Not that she was ugly, because she wasn’t. She was young and mildly attractive, her ebony hair tousled over red eyes. Red eyes. How stupid can you get, trusting some red-eyed stranger offering you strange fruit? Too easy. What kind of princess runs around without bodyguards, anyway? She glanced over at the sedated steed. She’d used powerful tranquilizers in that trio of berries--it wouldn’t wake up for another ten minutes.
She almost turned away and left the “tree” to its meal, but suddenly a much better idea struck her. And she was too high on the fruit to take no for an answer. She knelt down and removed the princess’s jewelry, followed by her clothes. She held the riding dress up to her body for size. A bit small. Frowning, she looked down and eyed the princess’s body greedily.
She talked to the tree.
“…I have served you faithfully. And what fortune--here you have a princess,” she said as the princess’s body slid under the tree. She spoke to it respectfully, almost reverently. “But it would be a shame if you just ate her and moved on. I have an idea that will work wonderfully for both of us. I’ve been good, haven’t I? You wouldn’t begrudge me one tiny favor?”
Nothing happened, but she continued as if she had heard a response.
“I covet this woman’s beauty and power. I want her body as my own. Remake me in her image, and I will use my power to sow your seeds far and wide. Your kind will have all the prey they could ever desire. Give me her face, her body…her mind and memories... All I have done for you will seem like nothing compared to what I will do for you as her.”

She waited. Moments passed. She patiently stared it down.
A pale fruit fell to the ground at her feet. She grinned maliciously.
“We have a deal, then.”
She undid the ponytail in her hair and ate the fruit in three or four bites. It was tangy and firm.
“Thank you for your kindness,” said the princess, smiling and still dressed in her old clothes. She picked up the clothes and jewelry she had pulled from the corpse and walked over to her camp, fifty paces deeper into the stand of trees. A mirror stood against a tree by her trunk.
She carefully folded her new clothes and put them in the trunk. She removed her clothes and tossed them aside, taking time to admire her gorgeous new form in the mirror. After she decided she’d turned around and around long enough, she daintily donned her victim’s clothes, fixed up her hair, “replaced” her jewelry, and stepped back in front of the mirror. Staring back at her was the girl she had just murdered. She took a quick look through her belongings, grabbed what she wanted to keep, and burned down the rest with the wave of a hand.
She returned to the tree and smiled pleasantly as she picked several bunches of fruit—this time heavy with seeds--from the tree.
She threw some things in the saddlebag, then awoke her steed.
“Hi, there! Did you have a good nap? …She’s gone home now. I’m ready to go when you are."
She glanced back at the tree.
The fairest princess in the land is happy to keep her word…

[FemaleSpy]

This.