13 Serpent Kingdom

Werewolf king Ramose watched in heartache as his paws passed through the figure of the girl before she vanished completely.

As he recalled the image of the girl, alive and well, standing in front of him, he anxiously paced back and forth, searching the region.

He was not able to accept the fact that she was gone, believing that he would find her if he searched hard enough. But even after a warm morning and ice night of searching, he was neither able to find the girl nor locate a trace of her scent.

Disappointed and dejected, he spiritlessly crunched down on all four, lying his head on his paws, his vacant, onxy orbs aimlessly wandered around the vicinity like an abandoned dog.

Luke, the supreme elder of the Bloodsucking clan, watched the werewolf king's drastic shift in aura with complex eyes. He knew. One way or another, the changes in the Werewolf King were related to the flame haired girl.

And for some unknown reason, that made him feel uncomfortable.

Thinking up to this point, he found himself recalling the serpent girl, the vague feeling of familiarity strengthening when he remembered her purple pupils that widened in shock upon seeing him.

"Why did she look so surprised? Does she know me?" He wondered in confusion.

"Pack, we are good for today. We're returning to the Vampire City right away!" Leaving behind this holler, he turned, his figure blurring as he moved. In his mind, the image of the serpentine girl repeatedly replayed, her shocked expression imprinting deeply into his heart.

'Who is she?'

He was curious.

***

Versailles, who was still in shock, reappeared on a floating flame island on the east of the Nar realm.

"That could not have been who I thought it was. How could there be such a great coincidence? It might have been a trick of the light." Versailles dissuaded herself from the ridiculous notion taking form in her heart, convincing herself otherwise, as confusion and uncertainty filled her mind.

"How could such a coincidence be possible?" She roughly shook her head as she pushed the image out of her mind and looked around.

Here, there were huge lush flame trees that extended beyond the vermillion clouds and blooming netherworld flowers with crimson glow that brightened the islands.

Little flame bugs and flies twittered about as they flew, leaving behind them sparkly trails of flame particles. Flame fruits and seeds hang upon the branches of the trees and flower petals, glistening with red-gold glow.

And on the ground were snakes of various sizes, colors, patterns, and shapes gliding and twisting in the flame grasses.

The island levitated in the sky, volcanos exploding and lavas flooding beneath it.

Occasionally, fire dragons and pythons would rise from the volcanos up to the floating flame island before bursting into a splendid display of fire sparks.

The serpent abode was the only region within the entire Nar realm that was close to being beautiful in appearance and prosperous with great abundance of natural life.

There were rumors that the werewolves Underworld Palace did not lose out to the Snake clans Floating Flame Island, but since no other race is able to enter the wolf abode, the rumor remained unverified.

But the snake abode was an open floating island, visible from even great distances. With its gorgeous visuals and sparse, but heartening flame trees and nether flowers that bore fruits and seeds, the serpentines were never short on resources.

There were many among the six clans that were envious and covetous of the serpents for their serpent abode, but due to their massive population that was four times greater than even the Bloodsucking clan, no one dared to provoke them easily.

Especially when they had possession of the 'three lives' gem that held mysterious powers was entrusted to them for safekeeping.

Coming back to her senses', Versailles moved through the home which she had not seen for a whole 18 years after her death, feeling nostalgic. Making her way through the cluster of flame trees and nether flowers, she walked towards the three-headed snake statue that hid the magical portal.

Pressing simultaneously on the eyes of the middle snakehead, the stone groaned and creaked, before splitting apart and separating in opposite directions.

A pathway that led to the abode appeared in its place.

The moment Versailles stepped onto the pathway, it lit up and started spiraling downward before vanishing with her. The path disappeared and the stone statues went back into their original positions before fusing into one whole three-headed serpent again.

The inside of the serpent abode was completely different from the Nar realm. Not only were there no blazing flames, lavas, and volcanos here, but the temperature was also cool, making it the perfect haven for the cold-blooded creatures that occupied it.

Furthermore, there were verdant trees, groves, meadows, and vines growing out everywhere, their branches, roots, and vines wrapped and entwined together in a wonderful dance of untamed nature, wild and unrestrained.

There was a clear stream of sparkling water running through the abode, feeding all life.

Snakes were everywhere. Big and small, huge and tiny, white, yellow, black, red, blue, and green as well as a mixture of two-three colors with various lengths. They hang from the trees, slithered through the grasses, played in the stream, and wrapped around tree trunks.

Versailles took on her snake form as well, changing completely into a snake from head to toe, as she joined the melody of life, slithering and sliding through the grasses and trees as her golden scales gleamed in the lively environment.

After a long while of gliding, she arrived in front of her destination.

This was a cave covered in moss on the outside and vines on the inside.

After a brief pause where she looked around at the carefree and joyous snakes behind her, Versailles slithered into the cave.

A bright light greeted her, blinding her eyes for a moment before she found herself in the center of all the shapeshifting, serpentines, attention.

There were many questions in the serpents eyes focused on her. There were curious ones, confused ones, shocked ones, and suspicious ones, but not a single serpent attacked. This was the difference between the five other clans and the snake clan.

One of the reasons for being the strongest clan among the six clans. The other clans can kill each other when the need raised, but the serpents would rather die together than harm one of their own.

They were naturally cold-blooded, but towards their kind, they were the warmest of kin.

Not only were the serpents population the largest because of their great reproduction, but they also never attacked one of their own without a valid reason or evidence.

Even if the serpent was one never seen in the serpent abode before and was not born in the abode.

The entrustment of protecting the 'three lives' gem might have influenced their sense of duty, responsibility, and honor.

Either way, as long as one had their linage, they were welcomed with open arms.

Versailles slid to the front until she was in front of the dais where a serpentine woman with a green tail and flower crown sat atop a throne of vines and flowers.

Looking emotionally at this woman who she had not seen for 18 years, tears swam in her purple pupils. Straightening herself into her full 20 feet height, Versailles transformed the top of her body back into her human form, before looking deeply into the woman's eyes.

"Greetings Snake Queen. It has been a while." She happily said under the shunned gaze of the Snake Queen.