The Witch knew evil as she beheld the oppression of men.

Every one by another, and every one by his neighbor.

Brother delivered up brother to death, and children rose up against parents, and caused them to be put to death.

Then she sang and caused death to fall upon Krall, and filled her horn with blood.

With the blood, anointed man in the presence of his brothers.

And He was evil.

- Andanian Chronicles

The atmosphere in the Saadian court tensed as a trembling messenger prostrated before Xerxes, “Immortal Emperor Xerxes, Ruler of Saadian and of the Southern Realms, Master of the Burning Legions, Slayer of the Thousand Dragons...”

“Arrgh! Enough! Enough with the titles, I am not my father!” Xerxes shouted angrily, “I will be addressed as Emperor Xerxes alone, or I will rip all your tongues out!”

The nobles and advisors in court murmured among themselves while glancing warily at their master, but none came to the unfortunate courier’s rescue. “Emperor Xerxes! Highest Majesty! The traitorous Vaishyans have mustered their forces and have delivered their response to our message. Thus, sayeth the Vaishyan dogs…” The courier’s voice quaked in terror as he stared numbly at the unfurled scroll and he did not have the courage to read its contents aloud.

Xerxes trembled with effort as he fought the sudden urge to behead the courier with the sword that had inexplicably appeared in his hand. He shut his eyes and took a deep calming breath before sheathing the weapon and tossing it harmlessly across the room. “My patience runs thin. Read or die.” He commanded with a voice that thundered across the spacious throne room.

“Please have mercy!” the courier begged as he prostrated himself before the mighty emperor, “These words… they must never defile your glorious greatness.”

Xerxes rose furiously to his feet and roared, “How dare you! How dare you tell me what to do. Don’t you remember what happened to the last fool who attempted to manipulate me for his own gain?”

The courier’s face paled as the parchment fell from his numb trembling hands and his breeches were drenched with fear. Then he let out a loud scream of utter horror as he turned and fled from his emperor. The veins on Xerxes’ face bulged with fury, and his thigh muscles coiled as he readied to close the distance with a single pounce as if he was going to tear the coward apart with his bare hands. The members of Xerxes’ court fled swiftly from his path and cowered fearfully in the multitude of reinforced alcoves built especially for this purpose.

“Stop. It hasn’t even been an hour, and you have already killed three people.” A slender hand clamped firmly on Xerxes’ shoulder even as he tore a spear from the guard beside him. The nobles trembled at the sight as they fought each other for the right to squirrel deeper into hiding.

“Arrgh!” Xerxes thundered as he whirled around to thrust the spear though the neck of the defenseless young girl standing calmly next to him. Fortunately, the gleaming blade was halted just an instant before it pierced the fair skinned maiden. Xerxes let out a primal roar of rage as he hurled the spear in the general direction of the fleeing messenger, and the weapon thudded harmlessly as it buried into the far wall.

“Good. That one survived.” Lily nodded with approval.

“Will someone please read that message! Anyone!” Xerxes demanded. But none of his nobles possessed the courage to answer his call. The Emperor let out a low growl as his eyes flickered again towards the nearest weapon. The guard blanched in horror, dropped his sword, and cowered fearfully behind the nearest column.

“You can’t read!” Laura exclaimed as sudden realization washed over her, “Xerxes, you birdbrain!” Lily giggled as she slapped his back with loud clap.

The pungent scent of piss wafted from the alcoves as Xerxes turned slowly to stare at the Andanian princess. “I think I know two or three letters of the alphabet,” he mumbled hesitantly, “but none of my teachers ever survived long enough to teach me the rest!”

“Fufu… fufufu…” Lily bent over with chortled with amusement as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. Then she leapt casually from the dais and snatched up the fallen parchment. “Here, let me teach you,” she instructed patiently as she pointed at each word before slowly reading it aloud:

‘To the Saadian devil who reclines with dogs,

Andania does not exist, and neither does any Andanian princess. We have nothing to offer you except fire and brimstone. So, sacrifice to your own whoring god if you desire a miracle.

Sultan Heliocles Ishmael Zimran, Vaishyan Protectorate’

Xerxes sighed as he stared the letter with a perplexed expression, “The Vaishyans really love their figurative language. I guess being addressed as a devil means that they respect my fighting prowess and sleeping with dogs means they know I’m well protected. But why do they say that about Andania? And I don’t get the part about why they think that you are some sort of phantom!” Xerxes frowned as he stared again at Lily, just to be sure. “And they want to trade in sulfur, that’s good since having more gunpowder never hurts. Finally, doesn’t this last sentence mean that their Sultan wishes to pray for help with me at the Aphrodite temple here?” The emperor mused aloud.

Lily blinked momentarily with disbelief before breaking out with peals of laughter.

“Ugh. I guess that means that I’ve made a mistake somewhere? Reading is really tough.” Xerxes sighed.

“Fufu…” Lily gasped and grasped at her aching sides as she finally managed to rein in her mirth. “The Vaishyans meant to insult you. They deny Andania’s independence and disown her princesses. Next, they threaten to wage war, before implying that you will be defeated by their forces unless a miracle occurs!”

“Leave me!” Xerxes growled, “please…” he added almost plaintively as he glanced at Lily, then the armrest he gripped crumbled with a loud snap. The nobles and advisors scrambled to obey their emperor, and the audience chamber emptied swiftly. Xerxes gazed balefully at the princess who remained, “Please… I can’t…” the mightiest man in the world begged.

“I refuse,” the princess stood defiantly before the emperor towering over her.

“Arrgh! Why aren’t you afraid!” Xerxes yelled as he swiped at Lily. Then he yelled again before lashing out, again and again. Finally, as the setting sun wrested the last of its amber rays from the palace rooftops, Xerxes collapsed tiredly in the room’s center, “How? How are you avoiding me?” Xerxes panted in disbelief.

Lily’s laugh tinkled gently through the silent air, “I’m a witch of Andania, how do you expect to ever hit me, if you yell out a loud warning each time before you throw a clumsy punch like that? You act exactly like Krall when he’s afraid, just that you’re smaller and much easier to deal with.” She giggled.

“Guards!” yelled Xerxes. A hundred armored men peeked tentatively into the throne room and ogled disbelievingly at the surviving princess, “Confine Princess Lily to her quarters. Then call up the Burning Legions and prepare for the Dark Ritual! We will go to war with the Vaishyans!”

Lily pouted as she was surrounded by a mass of nervous sweaty men, “This many people isn’t fair! And besides, if this Dark Ritual you mentioned is anything like that Blood Ritual I saw on the Yggdrasil, you’ll fare much better if I’m next to you.”

“Please just stay in your quarters, it just isn’t safe, especially for you,” Xerxes implored. Then he turned to his cowering advisors, “If Princess Lily is harmed at any point during the ritual, I will have all your heads along with those of your families to the ninth generation.” He growled warningly before striding out of the throne room and into the deepening darkness.

…

“Hey, are you okay?” Aryan prodded Laura cautiously with the longest branch on the island.

Laura paused from her mindless writing in the sand before her and her dull eyes glanced numbly at the concerned prince, “It’s gone… It’s gone…” she muttered repetitively as she curled up in a fetal position.

“What’s gone?” Aryan questioned worriedly.

“My ruby’s darkened. I’m empty! One third of my soul is lost! Where, where did it go to? And what went wrong with the ritual?” Laura shuddered with shell-shocked horror.

“Let’s think through this calmly. Are you absolutely sure that you got every detail of the ritual, right? Maybe you missed something, somewhere?” Aryan comforted the weeping princess gently in his arms.

Laura’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Aryan, “I’m The Witch of Andania. The Best. There’s no way in Krall that I messed up any part of the spell...” Just then her eyes widened in sudden realization, “It wasn’t the spell! It was…” she paused warily.

“What was it? I don’t ever want to see anyone go through that sort of suffering ever again!” Aryan yelled impatiently as his eyes glistened with tears.

“There was a reason why Father said those words,” Laura muttered as she clung tightly against the prince. “You have to marry me before the sun goes down. We have to say the wedding vows!” She pled.

“Okay,” Aryan agreed almost immediately.

“What!? You are just going to agree, just like that? Without the slightest protest?” Laura spluttered in disbelief.

“Why not? Didn’t you say that it was just some words? If any words I speak can save you from that kind of suffering, I’ll gladly speak till my throat breaks and my tongue falls off.” Aryan retorted with perfect honesty.

“We’ll probably have to say the Andanian version, I guess,” Laura muttered absently.

“What are we waiting for then? Princess Laura, will you marry me?” Aryan tugged the girl before him to her feet before kneeling before her in one fluid motion.

The boy and the girl faced each other as they stood ankle deep within the ocean. The girl smiled shyly as she tucked a small fluttering flower in her hair. Then the boy held his hand up and turned his palm to face the sea, “I, Aryan Ishmael Zimran, love you. Today I take you, as my lawfully wedded wife, to love and cherish for all of our days. Krall be my witness.”

And the girl blushed tenderly as she held her hand up and turned her palm to face the sea. “I, Laura Alexandra Muriel, love you. Today I take you, as my lawfully wedded husband, to love and cherish for all of our days. Krall be my witness.” Finally, the boy pulled the girl close in an embrace and kissed her passionately, and their hands were tightly locked as they waded back to the shore.

Laura frowned as she was plagued with a sudden burst of lingering unease. Then the sun set, the ring burned, and Laura screamed. And screamed.

…

“Laura! Are you okay?” Aryan prodded Laura cautiously for the second time.

“It wasn’t the marriage vows after all. It’s gone… two thirds of my soul is lost, I’ll only last another night at this rate.” Laura muttered disbelievingly.

“What happens when all your soul is gone?” Aryan questioned anxiously.

“I don’t know!” Laura exclaimed, “But I don’t think I’ll be human anymore once the sun sets.” She stared tearfully at Aryan, “Swear to me in the name of Krall!” she demanded suddenly, “Swear that you will kill me before the sun sets tonight!”

“I can’t do that!” Aryan protested.

“Idiot. If you don’t kill me, whatever’s left of me will probably kill you.” Laura muttered.

Aryan shrugged with a small wane smile, “I guess that beats living alone on this stupid island for another fifty years?”

“Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.” Laura muttered, “You are a super idiot!” she groaned. Then she perked up and thought furiously, “Wait… soul entwined! This ring must be transferring my soul to you, but the problem is that I’m somehow not getting anything in return. The wedding vows only mention taking but not giving, which means that you must give me something to balance out the spell’s effects!” Laura muttered as she glared at Aryan and her cheeks flushed furiously.

“Give you what?” Aryan backed away warily from the approaching princess, “Are you going to suggest something hackneyed like digging out my heart for dinner or something?”

Laura smiled malevolently as she darted forward and wrapped her arms around Aryan’s waist, even as her dress slipped from her slender frame. “I guess we could also try that,” she giggled, “but I might have a super slightly better plan.”

…

“Why? What’s the point of tearing up all our remaining clothes and tossing them into the ocean?” Aryan protested awkwardly before an equally naked Laura.

“Well its warm today…” Laura giggled, “And if this works, we won’t ever need those stupid rags again.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

Laura giggled louder, “I’ll be a monster and you’ll be super-duper dead. So, I guess we won’t need those rags either!”

“And so, what’s this better plan of yours?” Aryan gulped as he couldn’t help but stare at the naked girl stretching casually next to him.

Laura reddened as she got down on all fours and twitched her perky teenaged ass at the nervously sweating prince, “C’mon you are a man, aren’t you? Don’t make me do all the work!” She frowned at the hesitating prince, “Don’t worry about me, I am very super experienced at this sort of stuff!” she nodded her head while snickering.

“You are!?” Prince Aryan gulped and he looked as if he was about to flee into the ocean.

“Very super! My Andanian retainers do this all the time while I’m playing with them in the palace.” Laura giggled.

“You do this with your servants too!? Is that some secret Andanian taboo?” Aryan paled and took a hurried step backward.

“How innocent!” Laura tittered as she slapped at her rear suggestively, “Haven’t you tried it? It’s most amusing when there’s dozens of them all in the same room.”

“And you played with your servants in the same room, and at the same time?” Aryan confirmed as he took another unconscious step away from the giggling princess.

Laura pouted, “Of course! Do you even have to ask? I’m almost always stuck in the center, screaming for them to stop fighting and take turns!”

“I don’t know,” Aryan muttered under his breath, “I know that I recited the marriage vows and all, but…”

“I’m supposed to get down like this, and you are supposed to come at me from behind. Then the cute little boys go ‘Woof, Woof, Woof’ and the pretty girls go ‘Hooowl!’” Laura demonstrated helpfully.

“Wait. Your retainers are dogs?” Aryan spluttered as he sank into the ground and broke down in helpless laughter

Laura nodded and stuck her hands on her bare hips as she stalked up to the guffawing prince, “Idiot. Surely you must know what retainers are. They have four legs, long cuddly fur, and cute fluffy ears. And they start at just six months! I am SIXTEEN. There’s no way I can’t do what those little puppies do all the time with each other.”

Aryan laughed even louder.

Her face fell as she bit her lip apprehensively, “I know that it’s a super big favor for you and I might not exactly suit your tastes, but it’ll probably save our lives…” she begged as a single tear trickled from her eye and glistened down her rosy cheeks.

“Haha… hehe… hohoho…” Aryan guffawed while rolling wildly on the soft white sand.

“How is this even close to funny?” Laura protested while stamping her feet impatiently. “Please, we don’t have much time left. The sun is setting!” She muttered as she resumed her original position.

“I’ll show you how I prefer it,” Aryan growled gruffly as he lifted the princess and pinned her down beneath him.

“The front? But how…” Laura’s wondering protest was cut off as her eyes widened with a twinge of pain, “Oh…” she murmured as she gazed into his hazel eyes and her arms locked instinctively around the small of his back as he thrust repeatedly into her most tender spots. Then Aryan grunted as his pupils dilated and Laura gasped as she felt a growing warmth spread through her body. All too soon, the sated prince slowed and panted contently against her.

“Only once? I’m not sure once will be enough… And I didn’t get to do the howling part.” Laura teased as the sun’s last golden rays faded slowly into twilight.

“How many times do you actually want it?” Aryan growled darkly.

“A puppy usually manages at least two or three times. And they do it from the back…”

“I am not one of your puppies!” Aryan spluttered.

Laura nodded agreeably, “Of course! So, I naturally have higher expectations for you. Two puppies?” she giggled questioningly.

“…Andanian princesses…” the prince muttered under his breath as he pulled Laura on her fours, “You grossly underestimate me!” Aryan yelled as he rose to the challenge. And it was a most precious night of passion that they would always treasure.