It's Good to Be Queen

Posted on Thu Feb 27th, 2025 @ 3:15am by Nathaniel Essex & Aurora Summers & Lorna Dane

5,414 words; about a 27 minute read

Mission: Episode 6: X-Fernus Agenda
Location: Limbo
Timeline: Three Years After Arrival

The twisted spire of the Goblin Queen's tower stood like a dark fang against the blood-red sky of Limbo. Its obsidian walls shimmered faintly with unholy glyphs, pulsating like a heartbeat, as if the tower itself were alive. Within its halls, the throne room pulsed with the oppressive energy of infernal sovereignty, a place of grotesque splendor that bore the mark of its queen.

The royal chamber's ceiling arched impossibly high, the stone pillars carved into serpentine figures that coiled around each other, their eyes glowing with dim green light that illuminated the room like sickly starlight. The walls were lined with drapes of tattered crimson velvet, edged with blackened gold, and torches sputtered with eerie blue flames that danced without casting warmth. At the center of the room sat the throne—a cruel amalgamation of jagged bone, charred wood, and polished onyx, with grotesque carvings of leering faces decorating its frame.

Aurora, the Goblin Queen, reclined upon her throne with regal ease, her posture commanding and sensual. She was draped in a revealing gown of deep scarlet and sable, its fabric sheer and flowing like liquid sin. It clung to her curves in all the right places, shimmering with an iridescent hue that seemed to change in the flickering torchlight. Her neckline plunged dramatically low, revealing an emerald pendant that rested against her gathered chest, its glow a stark contrast to her porcelain skin. Her nails, sharpened and blackened like obsidian talons, drummed idly against the armrest of her throne as her glowing red eyes watched the proceedings with a mixture of boredom and faint amusement.

Her long, Ombre hair cascaded in loose waves over her shoulders, streaked with raven streaks at the fringes of her fiery locks, mirroring the flames of Limbo. Her lips, painted a dark shade of crimson, curved into a lazy smirk that betrayed her enjoyment of her dominion, no matter how wretched its subjects. She exuded an aura of predatory mercy, a succubus queen who ruled with an iron fist wrapped in silk.

Before her throne, a line of goblin petitioners stretched out the open double doors of the chamber. Each wretched creature shuffled nervously, their grotesque forms marked by the corruption of Limbo. Their hunched backs, misshapen limbs, and glowing yellow eyes reflected the twisted nature of their existence, yet they waited with an almost reverent patience for their turn to address their queen.

S'yklobz, Aurora's royal vizier, towered over the goblin masses from his pedestal. He was grotesquely tall for his kind, his spindly limbs seeming to stretch far beyond what should have been possible. His bulging, googly eyes darted about erratically as he waved his clawed hands to keep order. His voice, nasally and oily, carried the tone of one accustomed to authority—albeit authority often tested by the unruly nature of goblins.

"Hear ye, hear ye!" S'yklobz proclaimed, his words slurring into a mishmash of grandiosity and crude diction. "Come forth, ye wretched scum! Present thy pitiful pleas to Her Exalted Majesty, the Goblin Queen! Keeper of the Torches of Damnation, Sovereign of the Scattered Wretches, the Most Glorious Flame of Limbo's Light!"

The next goblin in line—a bulbous creature with mismatched limbs and a voice like gravel—shuffled forward, clutching a crudely woven sack. He bowed low, his gnarled nose nearly scraping the ground, and spoke in a tone dripping with false humility.

"O Great and Beautiful Queen! Thy magnificence doth blind my wretched eyes! I beseech thee, grant mercy upon your humble servant!" He thrust the sack forward, spilling its contents—a collection of sparkling stones and a few jagged teeth—onto the ground. "A token of loyalty! A humble offering for thy royal indulgence!"

S'yklobz sneered and bent to inspect the offering, prodding at it with one long finger. "Tchhh! Paltry baubles and rotted enamel! You call this tribute? Pathetic!" He gestured toward the goblin guards flanking the throne. "Remove this filth from the Queen's sight!"

The petitioner squealed in protest as the larger demons, assigned by Belasco himself, seized him and dragged him out of the chamber.

For a thousand days, the court had carried on in this strange display of grotesque loyalty and crude bureaucracy, with Aurora reigning over it all like a dark sun in the infernal void. Around the edges of the chamber, larger demons stood at attention, their armored forms like statues of wrath, while the Clavis Askani observed silently from the shadows, her gaze fixed on Aurora with a mixture of pity and reluctant homage.

The next petitioner, a hunched goblin with one arm bent grotesquely at an unnatural angle, shuffled forward on spindly legs. His mottled gray-green skin glistened with a sheen of sweat, and his glowing yellow eyes were wide with desperation. He cradled the broken limb against his chest, its jagged bone protruding beneath the flesh, a sight that brought murmurs of disgust from the goblins still waiting in line.

"O most resplendent Queen!" he croaked, his voice trembling with pain and reverence. His goblin face twisted as he tried to remember the foreign language of English that was required in the Goblin Court. "Mercy, I ask... broken bone... fix, please... with thy magic! I... I beg!" He lowered himself to one knee, his malformed hand trembling as it reached toward Aurora's throne in supplication.

S'yklobz sneered, stepping forward with a dramatic flick of his lanky arms. His voice dripped with disdain as his bulging eyes narrowed at the groveling creature. "Pitiful worm! Do you address Her Majesty with such mangled tongue? 'Fix, please'? Bah! You offend the throne with your ignorance! Have you learned naught of the proper royal rites?"

The injured goblin whimpered, his head bowing lower as he attempted to speak more clearly, his words stammering under the weight of his terror. "P-pardon, great S'yklobz... I... beg... of the Queen's... kind sorcery... to mend... this wretched limb... so I may serve her!"

S'yklobz sniffed, his nostrils flaring as his hands fluttered toward the throne like the wings of a twisted bat. "Mercy for your insolence? Ha! It is a wonder the Queen does not smite you for this affront!" He turned to address the room, his voice rising in pompous proclamation. "Let all here bear witness: ignorance is no excuse for disgrace! Learn the rites of our court, or suffer the sting of exile!"

The injured goblin collapsed to both knees, his voice breaking into frantic pleas as he clutched his mangled arm. "Mercy! Mercy! I serve! I serve! Please, I beg!" His words soon deteriorated into the rapid-fire gibberish of Goblinese—a series of growls, clicks, and shrieks that echoed through the throne room in a cacophony of patchetic screeches.

Other goblins in the queue shuffled uneasily, some averting their eyes while others watched with cruel amusement. The guards shifted their weight, their clawed hands resting on their jagged weapons as they awaited a command. S'yklobz sighed theatrically, rubbing his temple as though burdened by blasphemy.

“Silence!!” Aurora rose from her throne her gown flowing behind her as she took a few steps forward towering over the pitiful goblin that was cowering in-front of her. “You break my rules speaking Goblinese in my court, and you expect me to grant you mercy!?” She waved her hand. “Get this pitiful excuse out of my sight!!”

S'yklobz straightened his spindly form with exaggerated poise and thrust a clawed hand toward the trembling goblin. "Guards! Remove this sniveling wretch from the court! Let him crawl back to his hovel in disgrace!"

The goblin's pitiful wails echoed through the chamber as two hulking demons seized him by his mangled arm and a misshapen leg, dragging him unceremoniously toward the exit. "Mercy! I beg! Mercy!" he howled, his cries fading into a series of incoherent screeches as he was hauled away.

As the doors thudded shut behind the unfortunate petitioner, S'yklobz turned back to the assembly of goblins still waiting their turn. His googly eyes bulged further, as though taking in each wretched face individually. "All ye filthy lot, take heed! Her Majesty's patience is not infinite, and her mercy is not squandered on the unworthy. Let this serve as a lesson: come prepared or do not come at all!"

With a dramatic flourish, he clapped his clawed hands, and the goblin guards barked guttural commands to the crowd. The assembled goblins shifted uneasily as a rhythmic chant began to rise, low and throaty at first, then building into a cacophony of gibberish punctuated by the occasional chant of "All hail the Goblin Queen!" The haunting refrain echoed against the chamber’s vaulted ceiling, the words twisting into a crude symphony of reverence and terror.

As the chant reached its crescendo, S'yklobz approached Aurora's throne, bowing so deeply that his forehead nearly touched the stone floor. He raised his long, gnarled arms in supplication, his voice dripping with obsequiousness. "Your Majesty, the fault lies with your unworthy servants for allowing such detritus to sully your court with their mewling incompetence. I beg forgiveness for this affront, my Queen. Rest assured, I shall flay the gatekeepers who permitted this disgrace!"

He dared to lift his gaze, his bulging eyes fixed on Aurora with grotesque adoration. “Your splendor is unrivaled, your mercy eternal, your judgment infallible,” he intoned, his voice reverberating with reverence. Then, with grotesque devotion, S'yklobz bent lower still, his long tongue darting out to slavishly lick the arch of Aurora's bare foot.

“Allow me to demonstrate my loyalty, O Glorious Sovereign,” he groaned, his voice muffled by his tongue entangled in such a grotesque display of servitude. “Your radiance is the beacon of Limbo, the fire that burns away our wretchedness! All who stand before you must know this!”

The goblins, still chanting, now pounded their fists or staves in rhythm, creating a cacophonous backdrop to S'yklobz's abasement. The grand vizier did not rise until Aurora deigned to acknowledge his plea, his hunched form trembling with anticipation.

Aurora rolled her eyes as she looked at the hunched over Goblin. “Rise S’yklobz! Enough of your grovelling! Roll in that tongue of yours, and clean up your drool!!” She looked around the rest of the chanting Goblins. “Silence!! Who comes to bring tribute to their Queen?” She looked around. “Be warned, it had better be good!”

The iron doors of the chamber shuddered violently before exploding inward with a deafening crash, their hinges twisted and shattered like brittle twigs. A blast of ash-ridden air swept through the throne room, extinguishing several of the ethereal blue flames that lined the walls. All eyes turned to the entrance as a towering figure stepped through the threshold, each heavy footfall echoing like thunder.

Standing a monstrous 7'5", the intruder was a grotesque picture of brute force and demonic presence. His purple flesh gleamed under what remained of the flickering torchlight, rippling with muscle that seemed hewn from stone. Around his massive neck hung necklaces of bone, while smaller, sharpened bones adorned his wrists and ankles like tribal trophies. A gray rhino-like horn jutted prominently from his forehead, and a wild tuft of wiry hair crowned his head, stark against his menacing red eyes, which glowed like embers in a forge.

The goblins closest to the doors scattered in panic, their terrified shrieks mingling with the echoing clang of the doors as they fell to the ground. S'yklobz, already trembling from Aurora's ire, stepped forward to block the newcomer's path, his spindly arms outstretched in a futile gesture of authority.

"Halt, Prince S'ym!" S'yklobz declared, his voice cracking but still laden with indignation. "You dare to enter unbidden? Her Majesty's court is sacred, and none may approach without her express—"

S'ym didn’t even break stride. With one massive arm, he swatted the vizier aside like an insect. S'yklobz's gangly form collided with the wall, leaving a spiderweb of cracks in the stone as he crumpled to the floor in a heap. A pitiful groan escaped him, but the goblin vizier made no move to rise.

The purple behemoth continued his approach, his heavy steps shaking the ground as he advanced toward Aurora's throne. He stopped mere feet from the Goblin Queen, his enormous frame casting a shadow that swallowed her throne. His red eyes swept over her with an imperious gaze, and a smirk twisted his brutish features.

"Your Majesty," S'ym said, his voice a deep rumble that vibrated through the room. "Lord Belasco sends his regards... and his commands." His smirk widened into a sinister grin, exposing jagged teeth. "He wants to see the Alaricus Tantus. Said nothing about how I should go about bringing him."

The room fell into a tense silence, save for the whimpering goblins who clung to the walls, their eyes darting nervously between S'ym and their queen. Even the armored demons stationed as guards tensed, their claws flexing instinctively at the brazen challenge S'ym presented. The fact he had not used any sorcery was rather telling. Nobody in the Hall of the Goblin Queen was recognized as a threat to him.

For a moment Aurora said nothing in response, looking across to where her court vizier lay crumpled on the floor. Waving her hand the downed goblin vizier was raised to his feet once more, before she returned her gaze to look at S’ym. “Very well, if Lord Belasco wishes to see my son, then I will be accompanying him.” Her gaze looked amongst the gathered crowd before settling on the Clavis Askani, of all its many occupants and servants Aurora trusted Lorna with the safety and well-being of her son. “See to it my son is brought to me!”

"Yes, Regina Mater." Lorna bowed dramatically in the manner that court required of her. She exited the room with slow careful steps, never turning her back on Aurora as a sign of respect for her while she sat on her throne.

Several minutes later, Lorna returned with Christopher in her arms. At the age of three, he was a doe-eyed toddler that usually walked on his own but he seemed tired, rubbing his eyes as he had woken up from a nap. Holding a blanket made of fine crimson silk and dressed in black embroidered pajamas, he looked just as princely as intended.

“Mommy!” The little boy called out upon seeing Aurora and he reached out for her as Lorna approached. Christopher's clawed feet remained and the start of horns appeared as tiny nubs on his forehead, but despite the demonic touch to his appearance the child was smiling and happy as he entered the throne room.

"Alaricus Tantus!" Every last goblin in the room groveled on the floor as soon as Christopher came into view. It was an honor to see him and they treated him like the heir of Limbo that he was.

"All Hail Alaricus Tantus!" The cry filled the room in unison.

S'ym stepped even closer, his towering frame casting a long, oppressive shadow over the throne. His jagged grin twisted into a leer of contempt as his fiery eyes bore into Aurora's. "You think this is a game, Goblin Queen?" he growled, his voice low and dripping with menace. "My patience is worn thin. Hand over the Alaricus Tantus before I reduce this miserable tower to rubble and tear him from your arms myself."

In response, the goblin horde scurried before Aurora's throne like rats. Sym's red eyes narrowed as he watched the growing throng of goblins interposing themselves between him and the child. His lips curled, revealing teeth like gnarled stones as he barked a guttural curse in Kemetish, the ancient syllables heavy with contempt and menace. "Iri khetkhet sʿʿk!" he bellowed, his deep voice reverberating through the chamber like thunder. "Give me the boy before I grow angry, or your suffering will become legend!"

The goblins flinched at his booming voice, their malformed limbs trembling, but not a single one wavered from their positions. They clung to one another like barnacles on a reef, forming a grotesque yet formidable wall of tangled bodies. Despite their terror, their loyalty to their queen outweighed their fear of the demon prince's wrath.

In the cracks between their hunched backs and clawed limbs, S'ym caught glimpses of Aurora. She reclined on her throne, her expression one of smug amusement, her lips curling into a smirk that only deepened his ire. The Goblin Queen was utterly unfazed by his threats, her fiery eyes glinting with a predatory confidence as though daring him to try.

“You DARE to speak to ME that way Sym? And in the presence of the Prince himself?” Aurora held her hand out to her son taking hold of his hand, and bringing him close to her for protection.

The goblins, emboldened by Aurora's composure, began to chant in their guttural language. Their voices, crude and disjointed, grew louder and more rhythmic, filling the chamber with a cacophony of defiance. Each chant seemed to drive their bodies tighter together, their grotesque shield wall becoming an immovable mass of loyal flesh.

"Please..." S'ym practically choked the word out. "... give me the boy that I may do as our Lord commands."

Aurora stood up from her throne her fiery eyes set on Sym. “If Lord Belasco wishes to see MY son, then I will be the one taking him there.” She motioned S'ym aside, looking towards Lorna. “Lorna, you will assume my throne until I return, ANYONE who disobeys you will feel my anger!!”

The Clavis Askani inclined her hooded head gracefully, the folds of her dark robe shifting with the subtle motion. Her presence at Aurora’s side was a study in restraint and ambiguity, her silence a quiet statement of loyalty that only Aurora seemed to understand. She stepped to the right of the throne with cautious but deliberate movements, keeping herself poised and attentive, though she did not sit upon the profane seat. Whether this was out of respect or revulsion was unclear; the shadows of her hood concealed any flicker of her expression.

S'ym snorted, a guttural sound filled with disdain, his massive shoulders rising and falling with the force of it. "What a farce," he muttered, his voice low but dripping with contempt. Turning abruptly, his heavy footfalls resounded through the chamber as he gestured impatiently for Aurora to follow. "Come, Goblin Queen. Let's not keep our Lord Ruler waiting."

Aurora rose regally from her throne, her fiery eyes cutting through the oppressive gloom of the chamber. She took Alaricus Tantus by the hand, the child clutching his silk blanket tightly as he glanced nervously at S'ym. Together, the strange entourage exited the spire, the heavy doors groaning shut behind them.

Outside, Limbo revealed itself in all its chaotic majesty. The sky—or rather the absence of one—was a swirling void of ambient crimson and black, lit only by the hellish glow of lava flows that cut through the shattered landscape like veins of fire. Floating landmasses drifted aimlessly, colliding with each other in slow-motion explosions of stone and molten rock. The air was heavy with sulfur and the oppressive weight of raw mystic energies that were thick enough to taste.

Aurora maintained her composure, her chin held high as she shielded Alaricus from the heat radiating from the nearby lava streams. The child’s small hand clung to hers, his doe-like eyes wide with wonder and fear.

S'ym halted abruptly, planting his massive feet into the cracked ground. Raising both arms, he began to chant in Kemetish, his deep, gravelly voice resonating with the ancient power of the language. The air shimmered as an enchanted floating island materialized before them. It resembled a jagged slab of volcanic rock, glowing faintly from within as if alive.

"Get on," S'ym growled, his crimson eyes narrowing impatiently and he forced them with a shove.

“HOW DARE YOU!!” Aurora spun around giving S’ym a powerful telekinetic push forcing him backwards. “Keep your hands to yourself S’ym, next time I will not be so generous!”

The sensation of raw magic intensified as the island began to glide across the void. They passed through layers of shimmering barriers, each one rippling with eldritch energy as it parted for the island. The tingling sensation crawled over their skin like a thousand unseen insects, and even S'ym's typically unshakable demeanor seemed subdued.

As the floating island approached Belasco’s fortress, the sheer scale of the structure came into view. The fortress was a Gothic nightmare brought to life—its spires twisted impossibly upward, and its black iron gates were adorned with the screaming visages of damned souls. The walls shimmered with wards and runes that pulsed like a beating heart, a warning to any who dared approach unbidden.

The gates were guarded by N'astirh, a draconic monstrosity even more grotesque than S'ym. His elongated limbs ended in wicked claws, and his leathery wings were torn yet still menacing. His body seemed to writhe with dark magic, his form shifting slightly as if it couldn’t decide on its own dimensions.

For a moment, N'astirh and S'ym seemed to be on the verge of squaring off. S'ym would not be denied, yet N'astirh was not stepping aside. The dragon-like demon grew in size to tower over even S'ym.

"Obedience is given," S'ym muttered, lowering his head reluctantly to N’astirh's swelled size, a display of clashing dominance between the two demon princes.

N'astirh's guttural growl reverberated through the air, bypassing spoken language and embedding itself directly into Aurora’s mind. ~The queen cowers behind her goblins and her brute. Fitting for a pretender~

“Is that so, N’astirh?” Aurora gave a wry grin. “I suggest you learn to speak to your Queen with respect, or I may just have to cut you down to size! Now STAND ASIDE!!”

Satisfied—or at least entertained—N'astirh stepped aside, allowing the gates to creak open. The enchanted island drifted inside, depositing its passengers in a courtyard filled with demons and lesser creatures of Limbo. At the center stood Belasco, his crimson cloak flowing like liquid fire as he oversaw the execution of a bound demon.

With the arrival of S'ym and his entourage, the macabre spectacle was cut short. Belasco raised a gauntleted hand, speaking a command in Latin. "Ad cineres redige eum!" (Reduce him to ashes!)

The chained demon disintegrated instantly, its cries silenced as it crumbled into dust.

Turning, Belasco’s fiery red eyes fixed on Alaricus Tantus. He paid no heed to Aurora, his focus entirely on the child. "Tandem venis," he said, his voice reverberating with cruel authority. (At last you have come.)

Belasco approached slowly, towering over Alaricus as he examined the boy. "Faciamus experimentum," he declared, gesturing for the child to step forward. (Let us conduct a test.)

Another demon was brought forward in chains of fire. Belasco looked down at the child and pointed his thumb downward in the manner of Roman emperors ordering the execution of a disgraced gladiator.

Alaricus hesitated, his small form trembling as he clung to Aurora. "No... I can't..." he whimpered, his voice quivering with fear.

"Lingua ignobilis," Belasco spat, his tone dripping with disdain. With modern English being a derivative language of Low Saxon, there was a particular disdain for it. While it was permitted among the goblins, Belasco would never allow his heir to speak with such common vulgarity. "Coram me loqueris in lingua barbarorum?" (You speak before me in the tongue of barbarians?) His fiery gaze burned into the boy, and he pointed a clawed finger. "Loquere linguam nobilem!" (Speak the noble tongue!)

More hesitation from Alaricus drew Belasco's ire. The Lord of Limbo drew back his gauntleted hand and prepared for a strike the child would not soon forget.

"Mommy!" he squealed, shielding his face with his arms.

Aurora’s protective instincts immediately came to the fore, raising a protective shield around her son she stepped up to protect him despite the risk of angering Belasco. “My Lord, you wish an heir who would fight your enemies in your name...would it not be best he understand, and speak his native language?” She gently moved her son behind her for better protection, she would not see him harmed. “My Lord, you permitted me to stay here and raise my son, now allow me to teach him the ways of this domain, he’s still young he will learn.”

As Belasco’s gauntleted hand froze mid-air, his fiery gaze turned toward Aurora, narrowing with malevolent fury. His eyes burned brighter, casting hellish light across the chamber. Her defiance had pierced the thin veil of indulgence he allowed her, and his lips curled back in a snarl.

"Legatarius meus iam doctus esse debuit!" Belasco roared, his voice shaking the very stones of the fortress. (My inheritor should have been taught by now!) "Et tu, mater insolens, audes me coram meis ducibus deficere?" (And you, insolent mother, dare flaunt your failure before my generals?) His clawed hand clenched, summoning arcs of molten energy that danced around his fingers like coiled serpents. "Et nunc ausa es contumaciam meam deridere!" (And now you dare to mock me with your defiance!)

Aurora stood her ground, though every instinct screamed at her to kneel.

With a flick of his wrist, glowing chains of hellfire burst from the ground, coiling around Aurora's arms and legs with a searing hiss. She gasped in pain as the chains tightened, their heat licking at her skin but leaving no visible burns. Belasco raised his hand, and the chains yanked her flat on her back and began to sizzle through her sheer gown into her skin.

"Disce locum tuum, Regina Mater!" Belasco spat with venom. (Learn your place, Queen Mother.) "Et memento me esse qui tibi in mea ditione spiritum largitur!" (And remember that it is I who grants you breath in my domain.)

As Aurora writhed against the hellfire chains, her defiance intact despite the searing pain, the chamber seemed to tremble—not from Belasco's wrath, but from a new and chilling presence. A sudden silence fell over the generals and demons alike, their guttural murmurs replaced by an uneasy stillness. The air grew heavier, charged with an unnatural energy, and shadows began to pool unnaturally at the edges of the chamber.

From those shadows, a figure emerged with an elegant stride, his immaculate suit glowing faintly in the hellish light of the fortress. His crimson diamond gleamed ominously on his forehead, catching the ambient eternal twilight like a baleful star. Nathaniel Essex, the Lord Sinister, surveyed the room with a predator's smile, his sharp features exuding an unshakable confidence.

"Really, Belasco," Sinister drawled, his voice cutting through the tension like a razor. "Beating the dog I sent you? Such poor form."

Belasco's eyes flared brighter, his molten fury barely restrained as he regarded Sinister. The other demon princes and generals, towering monstrosities who had sneered at Aurora's suffering a moment ago, involuntarily flinched in the presence of the genetic overlord. A few of the lesser demons, unable to resist the weight of Sinister's aura, dropped to one knee until Belasco snarled and waved for them to rise.

Belasco, for his part, only nodded, though his claws twitched at his sides. "Sinistram Apocalypsi," he said tersely, inclining his head just enough to acknowledge the intruder.

Rather than reply, Sinister's smirk deepened as he turned his attention to Aurora. His crimson eyes flicked over her bound form and then to the boy behind her. His brief assessment was humiliating for everyone but him. "Tsk, tsk. What an embarrassment, Belasco. You'd tarnish your heir’s view of your own grandeur by throwing such a... tantrum?"

He extended his pale hand, and with a flick of his fingers, the hellfire chains dissolved into nothingness. Aurora gasped as the burning weight vanished, and her injuries began to close almost immediately. Sinister's smirk widened as he stepped closer, the faint glow of his power flickering along his fingers.

"Rise, Aurora." He offered her his hand. With another flick of his wrist, her torn gown mended itself, and the lingering pain faded as her healing factor surged under his control. "There is no need for such dramatics."

Aurora took the hand Sinister was offering, she was no longer the scared young woman Sinister had first met she had gotten past that point in her life now. Getting to her feet she held out her hand to her son, he was the one she had done everything for, and she would protect him until the day she died.

"Now," Sinister turned back to Belasco, his tone as sharp as a scalpel, "I believe it’s time for me to have a private conversation with my investment and her progeny. Unless you are not finished here?"

Belasco's molten gaze narrowed, but after a tense pause, he waved a dismissive claw. "Fac quod vis, Sinistram," he said, his voice dripping with contempt.

Sinister's smile widened. "Oh, I always do."

He placed a hand lightly on Aurora’s shoulder, guiding her toward the exit. "Come, spawn. Let us find a quieter place to talk. And bring the boy. We have... much to discuss."

The demon generals parted wordlessly as Sinister led Aurora and Alaricus Tantus from the chamber, his presence casting a long shadow that lingered even after he had gone.

Walking alongside Sinister Aurora held onto her son's hand keeping herself between Sinister and Christopher at all times. "What brings you here, Sinister? First you toss my son in here hoping to use him to curry favour with Lord Belasco, now you appear to be in need of something." she paused walking to stand and gaze at Sinister. "What is it you want, Sinister?"

The air thickened with menace as Sinister's towering frame turned to face Aurora fully, his crimson eyes glowing with malice. With an almost languid gesture, he flicked his hand, and the child was suddenly enveloped in a web of translucent, bio-organic energy. The strands writhed and pulsed as they adhered to the child, pinning him against the cold stone wall. The material shimmered, turning to a viscous jelly-like substance that clung to his small form, restricting his movements and muffling his cries.

Before Aurora could react, Sinister seized her beneath the chin, his icy grip forcing her head upward. The half-meter height difference between them felt as vast as the chasm of power that separated them. Aurora's defiant eyes met his glowing red orbs, and for a moment, she felt as though her very essence was being laid bare.

"The Lord giveth," Sinister intoned, "and the Lord taketh."

With a flick of his wrist, he flung Aurora backward as though she were a mere ragdoll. She crashed into the opposite wall, the breath knocked from her lungs as she slumped to the floor.

Sinister loomed over her for a moment, his lips curling into a cruel smirk. "Be mindful, Aurora, of how you address your true lord," he sneered, his tone laced with condescension. His gaze flicked toward the Alaricus Tantus, still struggling futilely against the suffocating web of organic sludge. "Although, I must admit," he added, his voice softening into a mockery of admiration, "you seem to have progressed. You and the child both. It appears you must be reminded of how little leverage you hold."

Without waiting for a response, Sinister turned sharply on his heel, his coattails billowing like dark wings. He strode toward the heavy iron door leading to the inner chamber, the echo of his footsteps deliberate and resounding. Just before disappearing through the doorway, he glanced back over his shoulder, his smirk widening.

"You might want to hurry, spawn," he taunted. "If you're quick, you may pull the sludge off him before he asphyxiates."

Aurora was lightning fast getting to her feet, using her telekinesis to rip the sludge away from her son making sure he was alright, and safe before following on behind Sinister. Her anger radiated inside her, the blue tinge of flames showing in her eyes as she contained her anger.

"Ah, there she is," he drawled, his voice dripping with mockery when he saw Aurora approach. "Did you save your spawn in time? No need to answer—I can tell by that fire in your eyes. Bravo." Sinister leaned forward, resting his chin on his steepled fingers. "It's good to be queen, isn't it?"

TBC

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