The Silver City Scorpion

Sienna breathed in and out deeply a few times. Her eyes got locked onto the big scorpion statue. She slowly get out of bed and opened the door to check the corridors. Samuel was already guarding her door." Where did the king go? " she asked him quietly.

"Down the stairs," he replied.

"Thank you. "Sienna nodded."I'm starting my ceremony. Make sure no one will disturb me," she whispered. Samuel nodded and Sienna closed her door.

She went to her table and picked up the hammer and goblet and looked at them again. It was nothing hidden inside. Then she went to the big scorpion statue and smiled sadly."This must be my Trojan Horse or I'm dead."She ran her hands on the statue and felt the slight almost invisible bumps on the stones. "It must be stuck together," she thought, "It is not from one piece."She picked up the hammer and hit the scorpion lightly. The little stone flew."Sandstone," she smiled. Sienna hit the statue with the hammer a few times taking off the little pieces of stones away.

Thurssa walked straight to his immortal concubines. He stormed thru the corridors. He was angry and unsatisfied. He felt his heart raging impatiently. He went to his huge decorated theatre. As he walked around, the freshly awoken concubines opened their eyes and called him with the soft movements of their hands. "Take me, take me," their voices were rustling.

Thurssa looked around and felt pathetic. He looked at the spiderwebs-covered concubines with dim red eyes. He felt angry rage."Why your eyes are not blue? " He smashed the few closest concubines on the floor."Why your hair are not golden?"He smashed another few down."Why your cheeks are not so soft and lips full?"He pushed over another line. He looked behind him. The concubines lay on the floor, still calling him with their arms, red eyes open unfeelingly. Some of them have their bodies smashed and the bloody liquid was gushing out. It smelled so strongly it made Thurssa feel sick, "What is wrong with me?"He asked himself. His mind was changing and he did not understand why...He watched the gruesome scene. He inhaled the scent deeply. Thurssa's inner spider awoke, "Go drink," he said to him. Like in a bad dream, Thurssa unwillingly changed to a huge spider and drank from his concubines on the floor. He found them disgusting. They tasted repulsive. But he sucked them out in angry rage. He suck them completely dry and then he smashed them with his fangs to bloody mush. He will not miss them anyway. His spider looked at the small empty space in his packed-up theatre."I will make a special space for my golden-haired queen. "The spider thought and start weaning a long, curtain-like structure, to make it more celebration-like. It should be curtains for her, to stand separate from others as a special prize. She will be the queen of my theatre, my sweetest meal."The spider laughed crazily and got distracted. It helped Thurssa o take over him again. He started to fall out with his inner spider more and more now, as he disagreed with him about Sienna. Thurssa started to care about someone, but his spider care about food only. Thurssa changed back to the man with difficulty. He felt sick from himself. He held his stomach and leapt out of the bloody mush, which was staining his silvery coat. The picture of Sienna sewing innocently was stuck in his mind. Feeling her waist in that silken dress was making him crazy with want. But what if his spider will come out and kill her? Would he be able to look at her like one of his immortals? The poems will never flow freely from her mouth and her eyes will not shine blue like the prettiest sky. Her golden hair will lose its shine and her cheeks the softness. She will never cause commotion and give him a chance to save her. He felt good saving her. The feeling she clenched tightly to his arm when passing madame. Or the little victory he felt, when she showed off his courtiers, how crude they are. She brought sparkling light to his boring pretentious life and he did not want to part with it. He held his head in his hands. He felt pain and hopelessness. He was stuck with his own killer spider. His heart was hurting and he did not know how to stop it. Thurssa walked fast back to his bedroom. He needed to think about how to get rid of his inner spider. He does not like to be controlled.

Samuel was standing in front of Sienna's door when another guard come to change him."Royal advisor Mehrat is calling you for a quick meeting."

Samuel nodded."The queen is doing her ceremony, make sure no one disturbs her."

"Just hurry up."Said the other guard."She is trouble and I do not want to be responsible for her too long."

Samuel shook his head."I will be fast."He said to him and walk to Mehrat's office. The tall Royal advisor was waiting for him, with his hands folded on his chest."Samuel, you are to be the boss of special guards for the queen. King trusts you and she respects you. That is good. But as the friend of your father, I'm warning you. Do not get too close to her, though she is likeable. The king will make her immortal at some point and then she will be out of this world forever. "

" He wants to kill her?"Samuel furrowed his brows."

Mehrat nodded. "Her body will feed the king, what is a better way to die."He smiled sickly.

Samuel was an honest man. This shocked him. He knew people in the palace are twisted, but this was too much. To endanger the city and then kill the queen was unforgivable in his eyes."What about king Sarcos finding out she is dead?"He asked."Wouldn't he wipe out the city?"

Mehrat shook his head."She is doing a ceremony to part with him. She will be not his business anymore!" He smiled cheekily."Go, Samuel, protect the queen and do your duty, find a few men you can trust to guard her with you. Don't mention this to anyone and don't put your life on the line again. You have a family to take care of. You can't imagine how much money I had to give madame to keep your sister safe from becoming immortal." Mehrat said to him.

Samuel nodded and left back to the queen's room to exchange the other guard. He heard, that she was hitting the rocks and whispering something. "She must be crumbling that statue."Samuel thought. "Poor queen, she must part with three kings who love her, just to stay with the one who wants to kill her. It would be better if king Sarcos just took her back. He sent her a beautiful statue. He must surely love her dearly. Why would a powerful king like him give up on his queen? It doesn't seem right! What if he would still attack the city?".Samuel thought about Sienna's dream, "We all be dead, she saw it," he thought, "Her nightmare will become a reality and our city will be flattened. Maybe queen has a gift of visions too if she is so talented."Samuel thought about his family. He felt sorry for the pretty queen. For the kind queen who stopped the sword with her bare hand to keep him alive. He decided to help her escape, maybe then Sarcos will have mercy on the city.

Sienna was hitting the statue and humming tunes of song, which somewhat stuck in her head. The stones fall off quite easily and she saw a fabric. Sienna felt someone was inside the statue. She covered the statue with a red silk fabric sheet it comes in and went under it, in case Thurrsa is watching her.

"Who is inside? Come out now, we are safe."She whispered. The stones started to crack on their own. They fell off the statue and someone was coming out.

Sienna held the fabric sheet over her head to make more space under it. Suddenly she felt the statue crack strongly by itself. The dark siluett of the man appeared and the hard muscly hand reached for her waist and pulled her to his chest. Sienna felt his heartbeat and inhaled the man's scent in the pleasant shock." Sarcos," She whispered and hugged him tightly. Sarcos held her in relief. He missed her so much. He lifted her chin and smiled at her."I'm sorry, I took too long. You have to make poems for me only from now on."He whispered.

Sienna pecked his lips lightly as he was too tall, "The king is watching me any time," she whispered, "But I think he went to feed now."Sarcos nodded. "I will kidnap you back."

"I missed you so much Sarcos, you can't imagine how sick is this place. The king is feeding on immortal concubines, who are his food stash underground."Sienna whispered.

" But you sounded so gentle and poetic in that ballroom." Sarcos teased her.

"Poems are my only means to survive, the king likes them. Ignore what I say, is just stalling the time. I do not want to be made immortal concubine by this king."Sienna clutched around Sarcos's neck."Would you like some water my love, you must be dried out from that statue."She ran and bring him a jug of water and a Sharchan goblet to drink from. Sarcos smiled. He could not wait to have Sienna safe in his castle again. He drank water fast and took her hand. "Let's go!" when suddenly the doors opened and somebody barged in.

Samuel was getting crazy. He stood in the dark and saw a vision of innocent Sienna being devoured by a huge hungry spider. He saw how she screamed and begged for help and he just stood in the corner, motionless, watching the cruel king eat his feast. It felt wrong. He decided. He heard Sienna whispering quietly and he barged into her room abruptly. He saw the scorpion statue was covered and the queen under it." Queen Sienna. I need to talk to you."He pulled the sheet strongly. The queen held it with a great force." How is this possible?" Samuel wondered, it must be the magic of that ceremony," he thought.

"Why are you disturbing my ceremony?"Sienna asked in a whispering sad voice.

" It is me, Samuel, I have to warn you, that the king wants to kill you!"Sienna's pale face appeared from the sheet "He send you to kill me now?"

"No, "Samuel shook his head," He plans to keep you around to his pleasure and then change you to one of his immortal concubines, which means to kill you and feed off you."

Sienna's eyes were opened wide, she looked so innocent."You are an honest man Samuel."Sienna stood next to him and touched his strong shoulder lightly."King Sarcos will destroy this city if I don't come back to him, just to keep his reputation. He is strong and cruel, he loves me dearly, and he will never let go of me. My letter just enraged him. He sent me a scorpion to show me, that he will not part with me." She held the fabric-covered statue remains."Please, help me to get back to him. I will beg him to spare the city."

Samuel looked at her."Did you ever see the begging ceremony before? You will have to kneel in front of King Sarcos in front of all city and his soldiers. Will you lower yourself to the dust for the city of those who wronged you?"

Sienna looked at him."Will you kneel for the sake of your family?"

Samuel nodded.

"Then come to kneel with me, to save the good people. Do you have a plan, how do you get me to Sarcos?" She asked.

"Yes, we ran thru the bath sewers. I got the keys already. Please be ready to leave shortly."He said and left. Sienna nodded and went under the sheet. Sarcos held her waist tightly."Do you want to trust him?"Sienna nodded.

"It will give you time to get the king. He got immortal females in the cellars. It has to be destroyed."Sienna said.

"Go with Samuel then," Sarcos nodded. He wanted to try him out. "And tell him to leave the gates of Troy opened."Sarcos smiled. Sienna nodded and kissed his lips. Sarcos got her letter so right!