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Serpentine Adventure

“Y ou know, for a magic-reliant human, I had to go through quite the trouble to catch those moonsilver slashers for you. Have at least one. Their sweetness tends to grow on the tongue. Or so I've been told by a certain scaly someone."

Shriszra looked briefly through the translucent bubble that imprisoned the agile fish mentioned by her human mate, Edward. Slashers really did not look much like ordinary fish, with serpent-like tails and a collar of frills that made their angular heads look like deep sea royalty. Their name came from the shape of their fins, two finned hooks that ended with a sickle-like claw that helped the creatures boost their speed by launching themselves across the crevasses of the deeper seas.

These creatures learned to avoid serpents like the plague and that, coupled with their uncanny agility, made them a rare treat for a commoner's table. Shriszra almost felt bad for the stunned specimens that floated in the crystalline waters their magical prison. They were slaves, like her, bred in mass in order to fulfill a predetermined purpose.

How am I going to ever escape the reach of my father?

Shriszra sighed. She wished she had the dexterity of a slasher right now. To just cut her way through the rocks and seclude herself into a cave where nobody would ever find her.

“Shriszra?"

She almost forgot about Edward's request. With a quick shake of her head, Shriszra turned her eyes away from the morsels.

“I'm not hungry," the serpent decided. She swam past the surprised face of her mate to seat herself on the bed of corals that felt oh-so-wonderful on the scaly hide of a sea serpent.

“Sure. Seat your lazy spine on the bed again and pretend you forgot how I acquired these treats." Edward speared one of the languid fishes with the makeshift crystal sword he hunted with. “Days like these make me wonder what I would do if I was one of the HighFather's sons. A serpent, like you."

“Dissssappoint everyone." Shriszra drawled. She worked her long serpentine form along the corals to help her tight muscles relax while Edward ate raw fish on the side of her bed.

“Like that's a first. Offspring are meant to disappoint their parents, no matter what those pompous brothers of yours want you to believe. Humans. Serpents. Dragons. We are all fodder for the ambitions of our betters." Edward bit again into the raw fish impaled on his sword. He was rather messy and audible, making sure his princess noticed every detail of the chewing process in the hopes she'd find her appetite.

Shriszra pretended to pay attention, yet her mind soared out of the room, out of the city that birthed her, even…out of the sea. She was not like her warmongering brothers, to have her head filled with conquest and glory. Shriszra's mindset incorporated a great deal more knowledge that extended past the domain of the sea. She often found herself intrigued by the lavish comforts of the human settlements. This thing she remembered, an inn, was the closest semblance to the comfortable abode she earned for herself. In this small section of an undersea cave, she had a comfortable bed to rest her winding spine on, a few treats to eat, and better company than she deserved.

“You're thinking again." Edward noticed with a sly smile. “What is it this time? Your victory on the seas last week? Or the sour face your father made when you escorted all those shipwrecked humans out of his reach? Or maybe it's your brothers. For someone so striking, you sure love to compare yourself to those bastards."

“Not of my brothersss, no." Shriszra waved her fin to welcome her human by her side. Edward rubbed a hand tantalizingly along her smooth belly until Shriszra coiled her serpentine form around him, welcoming Edward into the coral formation of her bed.

“Really? Because we both know you tend to lick your snout whenever-“

“I know," Shriszra gave him a gentle slap over the head with her tail fin. “Need I remind you how improper it issss to point out the flaws of your princessssss?"

“Princess now, are you? Well excuse me, your majesty," Edward perked his head and leaned into the best imitation of a bow one could perform underwater. “Crap. How do you serpents do it again?"

Shriszra fell into his trap. Her lower half performed two loops that kept the serpent upright, while the huge claws she sported from her flippers entwined like the hands of a noble would, only infinitely more awkward.

“Ssssomething like this."

“That-that was rather terrible to look at." Edward laughed. “I mean it's the best you can do as a serpent, but nobles don't twine their hands at the court. It's too much of a submissive gesture and they've all got their heads in the clouds."

“Priessssts do. I remember that bit. Made you laugh though," the princess shook herself to return into a proper position and quickly embraced Edward back within her scaly coils.

“I want to know the nature of the beast that laid claim to your royal thoughts." Edward rubbed her snout with one warm, delightful hand. “C'mon. You know you can trust me with your deepest, darkest secrets."

“Innsssss," Shriszra leaned her head on top of Edward's, nuzzling sweetly through his hair. “I read a tablet yessssterday about their originssss, or well, a tale about a man who had a housssse at the crossroadssss. Weary travelerssss knocked on his door every day. The man received them gladly under hissss roof even if he did not always have a bed or food to spare. As he grew old, hisss son got more and more involved into his father's affairssss, and with greedy eyes, he noticed only the pursssse, not the weary facessss of the travelers. He sssstarted to demand coin in exchange for hisss sssservices, and-“

“Yes, yes." Edward interrupted. “I'm sure the rest of this con story is just as fascinating. Why inns?" he brushed her snout back in kind. “There's mana forges that supply energy to an entire city, gryphon riders that picked on us more time than I can count." Edward's hands cupped her snout, looking into her eyes. “Not to forget the dragons that captivated you ever since you were a little eel. There are endless tales out there far more captivating than these comfy dungeons called inns."

Right after he said his piece, Edward slid his hands down Shriszra's jaw and started to caress her scales so carefully that Shriszra's eyelids threatened to fall over her bright amber eyes. “I can tell you a couple of very enticing tales about the hunting, nesting, and the mating habits of dragons. You only have to ask…"

Dragons. The very same beasts that came to Shriszra during her dreams. Few were the nights when she wouldn't dream of dazzling scales bathed by the light of the eternal sun. She would be there, on the golden sands of an island, hiding in the shade of a wing while the dragon's head rested comfortably against hers. Why did something so beautiful acquire such a poisonous reputation among her kin? SeaLord, ruler of all the four seas, Highfather of the serpent race, lived more years than the number of offspring he produced, yet with that venerable age came a very scant amount of wisdom where other races were concerned. Dragons became an enemy to the serpentkind after a few vile specimens developed a taste for serpent flesh, and humans were not too far behind with their lust for conquest. Was this the best way to rule? To make an enemy out of everything and everyone based on a few little conflicts?

Edward noticed Shriszra's absent gaze and swam over to the fish prison to return with a fresh morsel impaled on the tip of his sword. “Here. To take the taste off whatever's ailing you."

Shriszra accepted it. Munching gave her a few more moments of silence where she could contemplate about her future now that her elder brother returned victorious from his latest -and greatest- of conquests. At the frail age of seventeen, Laken had led a pod of several hundreds against a harbor town build on the eastern islands, the domain of the HighPrince of War, a dreaded veteran said to have stuffed his entire castle with the heads of dragons, pirates, and serpents alike. His father called Laken a deluded fool. His brothers prepared for his funeral.

Yet his followers saw something in him. A spark that kindled their courage enough to risk their lives in the most dangerous conquest of this year. Shriszra felt her stomach tighten as she remembered Laken's glorious return. She was there, at the edge of a crowd so big the sea itself started to froth. The ripples made by the slashing tails and thumping flippers of frenzied serpents, the crying fervor of the hundreds of thousands that swam across the entire sea to see the Laken the Bold, Conqueror of War. Never in her life had she seen such a feast of glory, nor did she expected her people to demand more blood even as bodies of the fallen were moved to rest under the sands of the sea.

“You're drifting again, though I suppose it's my fault for bringing back those slimy-scaled dragons. What was your favorite color again? I can't recall whether it's violet or blue, my princess."

Edward's words were mere chatter for Shriszra's ears. How could she prove herself to an exigent parent that loved nothing apart from his own image? Where would she go if she failed whatever task her father cooked in his head after he got drunk on Laken's success?

Who would she be without the human that hugged her, caressed her, kisser her, comforted her with his warm, beloved touch?

“Whatever stirs inside your head, let it slip. You are mine now, understand? In this room, you are not a princess anymore, and if I am allowed a moment of honesty, I want to say that I am getting mildly annoyed to keep reminding you the obvious."

“It's…it's fine. Everything is just fine," Shriszra murmured as she leaned her head into the embrace of her mate. “Does it never bother you, land dweller? That out of one hundred and sssseventy two warrior princes, you got the weakesssst of whelpssss? There isn't anything I can give you, Edward. My inssssecuritiessss are going to drag you to the depthssss. Untangle yoursssself from my uncertain future or rissssk plummeting even further from the-“

Edward's slap slammed the words out of Shriszra's mouth. “That's enough of that nonsense."

Her gurgles turned to rumbles, only to descend into a suave moan a few seconds later when her mate's nub of a tongue snuck into her mouth. The sweet taste of moonsilver slasher played along her tongue as it twined with that of her partner in good and evil alike…her mate.

“My dear serpentess," Edward pulled back from the kiss. “I have never been more sure of anything than when I chose to spend my life by your side. If it's problems that haunt you, I shall be your shield, and when the future looks darker than the bottom of the ocean, I will be the light that guides you back onto the proper path. Give me two hundred more princes to choose from. Give me a thousand kings! No other serpent will make me consider any other choice than the one I've already made."

The intensity of his words instilled a fire within Shriszra, yet that pleasant tingle paled in comparison to the slithering tongue that probed at her lips to demand entrance once again. Shriszra instinctively parted her jaws to allow the slippery human to tickle her much longer tongue. Edward caressed her sweetly with both hands as they shared a few passionate human kisses, squeezing Shriszra in a tight embrace that banished every dark thought away from her mind, replacing it with the heated caress of arousal.

“Seems her royal highness is getting a bit worked up," Edward rubbed a hand over the embarrassingly leaky fluid that emerged from the female's puffy slit.

“I can't help it when you do that with your tongue." Shriszra blushed.

“My princess…are you flattering me?"

“M-maybe," Shriszra turned her head to the side to avoid another kiss. Getting hot was one thing. Spilling her purest essence from a few kisses? Not really the most dignified way for a strong ruler of the seas to express her adoration towards her mate.

“Well good, because I find myself in need of a different type of meat to fill my mouth with." Edward disentangled from her coils, but not before sliding his slippery hand along her receptive vent again. “Care for some netherweb eels or corksnails? Our friend the coral keeper knows where all these delicious beasties hide."

“A shaleskin fish will do."

“Shaleskin," Edward grumbled on his way out. “I propose delicacies and she slams me with Shaleskin. Maybe I should've fed on your juices instead of fetching the most boring meal known to serpentkind."

Shriszra slithered back to her coral bed once her mate left to procure the main course of the day. Although she loved her human dearly, Shriszra was rather happy to have a few moments to calm down from the earlier excitement. She held the lower part of her tail up so she could watch her nethers deflate of blood until her slit became an almost unrecognizable line.

“His touch is…messssmerizing." The serpent mumbled to herself. Though she loved Edward with all her heart, she could not help but get extremely embarrassed whenever her folds flushed with arousal out in the open for everyone to see. SeaLord prohibited any form of sexual gratification between his offspring and humans, for he considered the latter to be inferior, and his offspring, too elevated to even frolic around with humans. Perhaps that was what kept Shriszra on edge.

Or maybe it was the fact that she never wanted to sire any offspring of her own. Serpents as young as two years partook in the courting rituals that Shriszra made a habit to avoid. She was so awkward around males that not even the lowliest of coral keepers considered her a potential mate, and that could become a problem on the day her father suddenly decided that his youngest and last daughter needed to build a family of her own.

“I'm thinking again," the serpent swam over to the trapped moonsilver slashers to look how they drifted in their own existential prison. The fish were neither alive nor dead; merely trapped in an endless cycle of apathy. Shriszra felt it too whenever she tried to imagine a future free from the oppressive grip of her father. There was no place in all the seas where one of her brothers would not find her. Not unless she sprouted wings and took to the skies.

Shriszra impaled a fish through its silvery scales. She prepared to eat it when the energy barrier fizzled with the return of her beloved. Edward dragged himself forward with the help of his sword, holding onto a monstrous catch with the other available hand.

“Apologies about my tardiness. This heavy bastard avoided me like…well, in a very similar way you avoid males with scales! Here," he swam over to the bed to drop the big shark onto the bunch of corals. The multicolored corals bent around the sizable girth of the catch. “Your meal is served."

“In the bed?" Shriszra flicked her tail with obvious irritation. “You could have just put it down on the sand like any normal serpent!"

“That is completely right. But then I remembered what we call 'breakfast in bed'. Come on. It's just a few bent corals anyway. Kernan can fix them with his eyes closed."

Shriszra pretended to ignore the joke and dug into the soft belly of the shark alongside her hungry friend, turning down the healthy organs whenever Edward threw them over to her.

“We have a deal," Shriszra reminded him. “You ought to treat me like a commoner."

“A friend. And only out in public. Last time I checked, friends were able to take care of each other." Edward insisted.

With no other choice, Shriszra munched on the healthy parts of the kill.

“So those dragons of yours…can you imagine a beast like that drinking and eating with the rest of the tiny folk?"

“Musssst be a very large inn to fit a dragon."

“Or a very small dragon." Edward quipped. “I heard their cocks look eerily similar to those of your males. Some would say you even share the same ancestor."

“It is a possssibility." Shriszra admitted.

“More than finding yourself impaled by someone who can give you a real future?"

“Keep doing that and I might just sssside with my father." Shriszra slapped the human over his bare back with the soft fin of her tail.

Edward did not retaliate. Instead, he gulped down his piece of meat to look at Shriszra with a mischievous glint in his emerald eyes. “Smart of you to bring your father into this. He already spilled you inside your mother once, and from what I hear, he is fond of giving his royal drink to his concubines. I wonder how that would look, a helpless Shriszra trapped under the girth of her own father…You really don't want to swallow your next brothers now, do you? Oh wait. I forgot he's unable to sire offspring anymore."

Shriszra could not very well let such a crude joke pass. And neither could Edward. The two lovers, man and serpent, wrapped around each other into a wrestling frenzy, slapping each other with everything they had, barely noticing the intrusion of a grey serpent that watched them with calm cerulean eyes.

“Do excuse my interruption," the old male said to the pair. “I only wish to relay a few recent findings that the princess might be interested in."

“Don't listen to that prattle!" Edward whispered in her ear. “It's a trap. He wants you to-“

Shriszra pushed Edward into the sandy ground and turned around to coil her tail tip with the visitor's, a gesture of friendship in serpent culture.

“Please, be free to speak."

The coral keeper still dipped his head in reverence. “The celebrations held in the honor of your brother Laken give no pause. It is my estimation that the feast will continue well into the following day. My liege, if you wish to remain here overnight, it is with humble generosity that I will continue to house you both."

“I…don't think it isss proper…“

“Of course we'll stay." Edward's voice whipped through the waters like a storm. The human managed to free himself and hand-shaked the grey male's tail to send him back on his way as soon as possible. “Thank you for your hospitality, lord. We are grateful to still have you amongst us."

“It is my pleasure." The grey serpent nodded and bowed his head again before swimming back out.

“Grateful to still have you amongst ussss?" Shriszra turned to her mate who now sheepishly pecked at the half-eaten shark with his sword. “He's old, not dead."

“Often one and the same at his age." Edward chuckled.

Shriszra rarely felt in the mood to punish, but this time she had to teach this insolent, land-dwelling brat a lesson. She slithered back to Edward's side calmly, then pushed the human's head into the sand, forcing him to feed on the ocean's body.

“Same move?" He winked at her.

Edward struck her vent with his foot, and within seconds, Shriszra found her exposed area under siege by the same fingers that gave her countless orgasms before. “I felt like our previous bout needed a winner. How's this, my princess? Exposed like a dragon waiting to be judged by a human council. Maybe you like it this way, hmm?" Edward swam his way up Shriszra's ear. “Just maybe you take after your father. The Highfather of the serpent kind seems so enamored with Laken's conquest that he might just turn around, raise tail, and have the conqueror of War stuff him with the same passion he unleashed upon that harbor!"

The warm, lean muscles of her human mate felt utterly delightful rubbing against her cold scales like that. Tense and strong, they throbbed with a power that coaxed a soft moan out of Shriszra. “My father will ssssee your cock parted and your ballsssss cut for even speaking of him like that."

“Your father, your father…" Edward poked his tongue out to play it along the outline of Shriszra's ear. “He's not here now, is he? He doesn't suspect the tiniest thing about his daughter being a human lover. Where does that come from, I wonder? Ever wondered if the reason you like my heat so much might be because the Highfather himself enjoys a good filling from his humans every now and then?"

“If only…my brotherssss had your way with words…your…aaaaahhhh…" the princess closed her eyes with a resplendent moan. The human's deft hands found the most sensitive part of a serpent's body, and the way he caressed it was nothing short of orgasmic. First, he played his fingers gently along the slit, then inserted those warm, dexterous things into her, each of them spreading apart within her nest of flesh the deeper he pushed. Shriszra's body shuddered at the pleasant dance that took place inside her. Edward stimulated her sensitive flesh before it even had a chance soften into the heaven of silk that'd milk a male dry, and she was sensitive, oh, so wonderfully sensitive to his delightful body heat.

Shriszra's throat rippled with another moan of ecstasy once Edward hilted himself in down to his elbow. The first surge of blood coursed through her like molten fire, flushing her lips pink with arousal, and Edward was there, spreading and curling his fingers within her pussy with the same passion he mounted her body, whispering of love and eternal devotion. He was a male who abandoned his world to be with her. She? A with no achievements. A human that knew Shriszra better than her family ever could. A lover that could give her everything a serpent could not.

A rush of crystalline lubrication squirted out of her convulsing pussy, making the water ripple around Shriszra's twitching nethers. The serpent mounted two rapid thrusts into his arm, searching with her tail for her mate's erection. Edward did not make it easy, shifting his body out of the way until the presence of something hard poked at her vent again.

“You're mine," he hissed before plopping his arm out, only to insert himself fully inside her the moment after. His shaft, balls, and everything disappeared within her smothering slit, forcing a weak hiss out of the needy female's jaws. Shriszra squeezed gently around the fleshy protrusion that throbbed inside her. Edward kept on caressing her scaly body with his hands as he began working himself in and out of her vent. When he sank himself all the way to the balls again, a light squeeze on her fins followed the insertion of his warm cock inside his partner's cold pussy.

“Let go of your thoughts," Edward's voice was but a gentle whisper, warm and loving, just like his smooth, vein-beribboned cock. “Surrender to me. Think not of your father, your brothers, of responsibilities."

Shriszra immediately ceased her efforts to mount him back with a submissive whimper that rewarded the human with a few licks along his cheeks. Edward directed the large serpent upon the bed of corals, wrapped his legs around her serpentine body to keep his warm, muscular form tightly pressed against her scales, then started to pump his hips so that his member gently slid in and out of Shriszra's cold passage, slick from the ample amounts of alkaline fluid excreted by her slit. It was a dance of maddening arousal, a fire which set her instincts aflame. Shriszra squeezed her eyes shut. Her mate grabbed hard on her scaly body every time his crotch kissed the sweet, puffy lips of her pussy, his tense muscles pressed against her quaking body that trembled under the tremors of pleasure brought by his blazing body heat. Unlike a serpent's cock, the human burned like a bonfire, his heat making her body react in wonderful ways. Whimpering in pleasure, Shriszra tried to grab onto Edward's member, to keep it in for a longer time, for she adored the throbs coursing through that perfect member that filled her in such wonderful ways.

“I-hhrrraaaassssss…I'm getting clossssserrrrr…"

Edward slammed his cock inside her receptive flesh with a sharp plop. “So quick?" he nuzzled his way along Shriszra's trembling snout to plant a few kisses on her cute moaning snout. “We mustn't let the princess spend her passions so quickly then…"

Shriszra almost managed to unleash that sigh of relief before an onrush of heat tickled the very source of her pleasure, causing her entire body to tense up like a spring on the verge of rupturing. She knew what that warmth was. The ample amount of precum that traveled along her mate's bloating cock touched her where she was the weakest. And it was hot. Oh, so warm and good…

“Haaaaaaawwwrrrhhhhhh!" the long, rippling moan that exploded out of her maw felt just as coarse and intense as the indescribable bliss that welled within the depths of her shuddering tail. Shriszra squeezed it around Edward's legs so tight it hurt, only that she felt no pain, only sharp, intense pleasure.

“Oh my…" Edward's teasing lips descended between her tightly squeezed eyes. “I seem to have touched a sweet spot there for a moment."

“Ppppp-pl…please please please… not therrrr…it's...sssssso warrrrm… too intensssssssss!"

Shriszra's helpless moans caused a satisfied smile creep up alongside the human's playful face. “That's how dragons do it, isn't it? Rough and sudden, until the fire leaks out of them."

Shriszra braced hard for another wave of rippling bliss as she felt her mate's hot glans rub against her sensitive clit. Edward was purposefully teasing her, showing Shriszra that even a powerful creature like her could be at the mercy of a human.

He actively began to thrust his hot, flushed penis against her clit. The hard, trembling source of her pleasure, a nugget that threatened to contract and expel the large quantity of chalky fluid that was going to pair up with the tide of clear slime building up within the serpent's mating orifice. Shriszra unleashed another desperate cry. The anticipation of Edward's hot cum washing over the nerve-packed walls of her clit was like a tsunami of pleasure. A sensation she could never get tired of. Suave and delicate, her partner touched her clit with his glans over and over again again, his delicate tip brushing around gently, keeping Shriszra on the very edge of her orgasm.

“You're squeezing so tight around me…" Edward kissed her wrinkled snout with love. “I don't think I can hold it back much longer…"

Shriszra empathized with every word that he said. Storms! Her genitals felt like stone, trapped by the seething pressure exerted by the human's body heat. She focused hard to hold her female essence back, but then a throb hardened Edward's penis to send the tip slamming into the sensitive nugget that spasmed hard to unleash part of its pheromones. Shriszra instinctively thrust her cherry red clit against the human's cock, three long gushes of cloudy fluid serpentine fluid escaping through her rapidly clenching pussy.

Shriszra hissed through her trembling, gritted teeth. She couldn't hold herself back anymore. She had to cum now!

Edward must have felt her desperation rush through the sharp spasms of her unrelenting vaginal muscles. Laying his head flat against the back of her scaly neck, the aroused human embraced her in a mighty hug, gritted his teeth, inserted himself balls-deep inside her love tunnel, and started to pound at her tail in the rough ways of the dragon kind. For Shriszra, there was no greater way to be mated. Her mouth remained open for the whole duration of the breeding, unable to close, hard for her to even breathe with the inferno Edward awakened inside the depths of her nethers. His cock traveled in and out of her drenched lips at blinding speed, balls slapping against her vent like a sledgehammer. When she felt the stinging kiss of his teeth around one of her frills, Shriszra completely lost control of her shuddering body, sinking her sensitive pussy into the bed of corals that felt as divine as as her mate's phallus to her orgasm-infused mind. Edward's hot seed washed through her clamping pussy a few seconds later, amplifying the pleasure even further so that Shriszra ejaculated every drop of femcum that resided within her glands.

With her fire spent, Shriszra rotated around so that she could gaze upon the face of the one she loved most in the world. Edward's tongue played across her snout playfully, like the bifurcated one of a serpent. The fool apologized for the bite, citing laws Shriszra had no interest in hearing while her flesh still tingled with the gentle aftermath of their union. She kissed Edward in return, keeping him safely secured inside her while the milky wisps of their union soared above the vibrant colors of the corals to dance in the water around them like little serpents.

With their love consummated, the two lovers relaxed, coiled in each other's embrace inside the coral bed. They cared not for the flakes of seed that still clung onto some of the corals or the half-eaten shaleskin shark.

“If only all days were like this…perhaps I would have a reason to remain in the city." Shriszra said. Her father had her under guard for a few months already to make sure his last offspring had not the chance to stain his elevated name.

“Only a few more days, my dear. Prove yourself to that stuck-up king, and then we'll slip into the empire's seas where no serpent foolish enough to risk his hide will ever chase us."

A fulfilling fantasy for one ready to believe it. Shriszra tried not to display it to her mate, yet the rising apprehension that crawled along her spine warned of a much darker future.

“A few more days…and then we'll be free."

Part 5

Shriszra lounged on her bed of ruby corals, pondering on how far she came since that day at her father's palace. She remembered the fear that slithered through every part of her being on the way to the shimmering gates, the intimidation as she swam towards the looming walls that surrounded the crystal palace, the apprehension when the waters grew colder once she entered inside the home of her father.

And the freezing terror that gripped her when SeaLord laid out his plans for her. Even now, months after she saved hundreds of humans from the clutches of death, the same fear churned within her gut, as if it was a living entity that never truly left her. SeaLord, against all other expectations -save for Shriszra's- recognized victory when he saw it. For him, an alliance with the HighPrince of commerce yielded far more than years of lost lives and closed trade routes.

Through her selflessness and compassion for the human race, Shriszra placed the first stone in the foundations of peace when she stood up against the commanding officer of his father's killing squad, an unruly serpent named Nagash who made himself scarce after his defeat. He had been forgotten, while Shriszra reaped the laurels of her victory. As a boon for her newfound strength, her father dissolved all the threats, the deals, and the curses he unleashed upon her during that fateful day. Shriszra was no longer forced to mate with a male serpent against her own will. She did not even need to renounce her affections to Edward, provided they kept their love secret.

Life had been good since that day. Too good. In moments like these, when peace of mind kept her sailing in a cocoon of perpetual happiness, Shriszra wondered how her life would have looked if she bowed her head before Nagash.

The female serpent rolled onto her back, allowing the corals to spread around her sapphire scaled back. The gentle nubs of the ruby corals rubbed along her scaly hide like the touch of her beloved mate. Why think of what could have been, when she could focus on better prospects, like Edward's presence deep within her cold, needy body?

Shriszra let out a whine filled with longing. Her mate's presence had been sorely missed for the past two days. Love had no place in war, her father would say. Feelings distract you from your true purpose. They make a warrior hesitate, and on the field of battle, even the slightest hesitation leads to death.

Much as she disagreed with her sire, Shriszra understood the importance of focus, especially now, when she was a step away from climbing further onto the path to peace.

But it was hard. Too hard, when her mind so easily flew back in the warm embrace of her mate. The feel of Edward's deft hands slithering down her body, the hard embrace of his muscular arms, and his hard, throbbing member lodged deep inside her cold pussy lips made Shriszra shudder with pleasure even in the absence of a partner. The mere thought of Edward's hot seed pumping through her vagina, sending ripples of living heat along the tense, nerve-packed surface of her flesh made her puff up and wetten in an instant. Shriszra found the tip of her tail gently glide within her receptive crevice, not as warm as his mate's cock, yet good enough to relive some of the best moments of her life.

Shriszra thrust. Her eyelids fluttered over her amber colored eyes. The sensation felt far better than she expected. Her sensitive pussy found no shortage of stimulation upon the various ridges of her tail tip. Trapped from all sides like a dragon whining within the wet depths of his first mate, she throbbed, and throbbed, and throbbed, stoking the fires burning within her enlarging clit.

“Merffff," Shriszra clenched her jaws. She was so close. So incredibly close to pour her love in the suckling jaws of her mate.

“Your brightness?" A voice called.

Shriszra whirled. The image of Edward suckling onto her clit dissipated as corals snapped and broke around her clumsy body. The voice. It was too loud to be a whisper of her mind. Too coarse for Edward's gentle lips.

“Brightness, the rest of the group is almost assembled. We request your-“

“Yessss, yessssssssss." Shriszra waved the gray serpent off with a flick of her tail. “Give me a moment to prepare. The plan…I had a big plan ssssstuck in my tail. Head. In my…head."

The serpent left before he was able to finish. Storms! He probably did not even care for an explanation when the commander of his pod, one of the HighFather's own daughters, lay with her belly up and her tail tip deep within her own gender.

“I shouldn't have done that. I should not have done that." Shriszra wandered around her room with her flushed pussy still leaking wisps of inner pleasure. The mantra followed along with the efforts to coax her unwanted arousal back from where it came from. There was nothing more effective than coarse sand to rub lust off. With gritted jaws, Shriszra pushed her vent up against the seafloor and thrust herself gently back and forth along the soft sand, enduring the waves of rippling discomfort that saw her lips harden and become even with the rest of her underside again.

“Nofu," she called to the young grey male as she rushed after the messenger. She had met Nofu a handful of times in the coral market. He was a serpent of scant years with simple ambitions, certainly not deserving to catch his princess like…that.

“Nofu, wait." Shriszra's voice grew more desperate.

The serpent slowed down to allow her to finally catch up with him. “How many arrived?" Shriszra deviated the topic to the mission at hand.

“All of them, apart from the two of us." Nofu's blue eyes gazed in the distance, to the outlines of about a dozen serpents clustered together. “Tharg was supposed to grab your tail, but he started challenging us at tail wrestling, and you know how I feel about losing to a fellow kelp nibbler."

Shriszra sketched a wry smile. If it wasn't for his dull color, the young serpent could've passed for one of her younger brothers. “Nofu…I must know something before we join the others. How much did you see?"

“Of your home?" The youngling smiled. “It looks tidy. My bed is twice smaller than yours. Father says that sleeping coiled strengthens your muscles so he abhors comfort. We're also saving for a moonsilver enclosure. They're starting to move into human controlled waters, and my father thinks the only ones that remain will be bred in captivity."

“No, I meant…how much you've sssseen of…me." Shriszra stuttered a bit. She hated asking something in such a blunt way, though with Nofu, one could not simply beat around the bush.

“I…I just came to tell you that-"

“Never mind."

“Are you well?" the curious leviathan cocked his head. “You do look a bit tired now that I look at you. Was that why you lingered in your bed? Are you feeling ill? That why you said your mind is… never?"

Shriszra smacked his head with a flipper. “No, that's a term humanssss use when they wish to get out of a ssssstrange conversation. I am more than well, my friend."

“Oh, like let it swim away from your mind. Why couldn't you say that instead?"

“Exactly. My point precisssely. I have been doing extenssssive reading on human customssss for the past yearsss. I sssometimes forget not every sssssserpent is accustomed to their verbal habits. But let us not waste time any further. We must join the otherssss, and on the way there, perhaps you can tell me how a Chaddsm Dweller managed to entangle that witty tail of yoursss."

The two serpents shared a few brief tales on the way to the small group that awaited their arrival. Twenty five serpents SeaLord had granted for this journey. The first group that swam forth to greet Shriszra were the warriors. Garbed in metal armor inscribed with the green runes of a novice, these aspirants were led by Tharg, a serpent who too was beneath the rank of a crystal armor bearer. Though he was black in color, with a grey belly and white stripes along the sides, concealed under pristine metal plates, very little of Tharg reminded Shriszra of Nagash. Neither cocky nor with a mind for war, Tharg was actually the first male serpent that befriended Edward, and he insisted to accompany Shriszra on this journey on account of the close ties with her human mate.

“Shriszra!" he said with his scruffy voice. “It's good to finally receive you. If we waited any longer, we would've found you fused with those damned ruby corals you fancy." The serpent grasped Shriszra's tail tight in his serpentine embrace. Shriszra expected a warm greeting, but not a thorough embrace. “The body of a warrior, eh?" Tharg nuzzled her neck fondly, slowly climbing towards her ear, where he dimmed his voice to a mere whisper. “This how you slapped that loud-mouthed bastard Nagash over the head? By stuffing his vent with your tail?"

That jest made Shriszra redden from snout to tail. Fortunately, nobody else seemed to have paid attention. After she parted ways with Tharg, the rest of the warriors moved in to greet her in turns, shaking tails, and, to those she knew personally, Shriszra also nuzzled them under the jaw, a sign of both trust and fondness for their loyalty. With that done, the warriors took positions around the caravan made of floating crates filled to the brim with corals of all colors, dull spheres, kelp, crystals, and other serpent goods. Tribute, her father called it. Shriszra preferred to look at the goods more as an investment towards lasting peace.

“Where's the princess? Come on. Sod off. Up you go. Outta my way." A burly serpent pushed his way through the crowd until he came face to face with the surprised Shriszra.

“Orzen?"

The dark green beast whose name she mentioned scoffed. “Heard you'd be leadin' this bunch of miscreants, but I never figured you'd have the stomach for it. Come on now. Suppose you'd want to take a look at what my crafters put in these crates."

Shriszra followed the largest serpent of the group to the back of the caravan.

“So? Wha'd ya think?" Orzen had a weird accent for a serpent. After living part of his life in human waters, the old male acquired a couple of their mannerisms, the most obvious being the way he chopped words like human sailors.

“It's…brilliant," Shriszra said. “Fine work. The besssst I have ssseen." She mumbled praise after praise before the brightening eyes of the other, younger crafters, though that did little to lift Orzen's spirits. He pulled Shriszra by her tail behind a boulder, where he pressed his much larger snout against hers. “Listen here, lass. Stuffing my ears to the brim with sweetness won't change my mind about these humans o'yours. The bastards are going to put their greasy, stubby hands on these crystals with the intent to twist 'em against us."

Shriszra nodded her head. “I understand the risk."

“Do you?" Orzen's snout pressed her back against the rock. “There is a spark of courage in these eyes, and fear. I suggest you listen to the latter. Humans. Can't. Be. Trusted."

Shriszra conceded for the time being. There was little use to debate that point. The grumpy craftsman had been one of the most illustrious metal shapers in the employ of SeaLord until age dulled his mind. Or so it had been said among the serpents. A few rumors spoke of a more tragic story, of betrayal and loss. Either way, Shriszra hardly expected to see such a rugged veteran here on a simple mission he did not even believe in. Why not retreat towards warmer seas to live the rest of his days in peace, like other elderly serpents?

“Don't pay mind to Orzen's blabbering. He's got a hide as tough as the metals he works with." The voice of an approaching male distracted Shriszra from her musings.

“Ferlian," she eyed the bare, brown body of the young male.

“Surprised to see me?"

“Not at all." Shriszra pulled him into a coily embrace. Ferlian was one of Kernan's youngest, and a gentle soul with a mind for peace, both between serpents and humans, and between SeaLord's youngest and the kelp collectors. After Shriszra entered back in her father's good graces, Kernan was quick to express his innermost regret for tarnishing her name. And what better way to atone for his sins than to entrust his own son to this journey?

“You're welcome amongst ussss, Ferlian. How are the coralsss looking?"

“Fresh and brilliant, grown under the caring eyes of my family."

“Good. We need to make an outstanding impression if we are to open back the trade routessss closed by my brother's conquestsssss."

Ferlian nodded. “The man that will meet us. This Tharazim. Is he as open minded to an alliance as they say?"

“The White Dove has maintained peace among the HighPrinces for more years than some of us lived. He will not falter now when the future of his town is at sssstake. Come. All of you," Shriszra addressed the rest of the group. “We have a long journey ahead of ussss, and we should make haste if we are to reach the port by midday."

The magical brightspheres blazed with power as the carts they were encrusted upon settled into motion. Shriszra swam at the front of the caravan with the other leaders at the sides. She imagined her father would have been proud to see how much she evolved from the fearful serpent that bowed at the foot of his throne. Their destination was Khar'Valeigh, a coastal town that fell under the jurisdiction of the HighPrince of commerce. The HighPrince himself had an audacious mind for trade, so SeaLord did his utmost to obtain an audience with the next best man in line. Tharazim. A man whose family was the town of Khar'Valeigh itself.

“My princess, look there. Serpents, in the distance."

Shriszra perked her head up. Two scouts blasted their way through the water like arrows, their camouflage making them almost invisible among the vegetation of the seabed.

Something felt wrong. They swam too fast, with bitter purpose. “Wait here."

Shriszra swam ahead of the caravan to avoid spreading panic amongst her followers.

“Princess, you need to turn back right now." One of the scared leviathan warned.

“Why?" Shriszra inquired.

“Because…" the two scouts stared into each other's eyes. “You are going to treat with Vegrauhn, scourge of the blue seas."

Vegrauhn. Captain. Admiral. Conqueror. Pirate. There were many words to describe the man. Kind was not among them.

“You musssst be misssstaken. Vegrauhn has a mind for war, not for peace. Why would-"

“The White Dove has been summoned to the King's Keep to attend urgent matters. Khar'Valeigh is not safe. Not when it fell into the hands of a beast that-“

“I know what he did to our kind, my friend. Believe me, I fully underssssstand your concerns, but I can not tell my sssserpents to turn tail now when we are so close to mend the rift that's been bleeding the heart of our seassss."

Shriszra surprised herself. Was it really her who spoke such brave, emboldening words? Images flashed through her mind of terrified humans screaming for help amidst the wreckages created by Nagash's bloodlust. Then the tide shifted. She saw the future, her own serpents perishing under the tridents of Vegrauhn's army.

What had more power? The past, or the present?

“Princess, pardon for interfering, but the words that come out of your mouth are those of a warrior. Put this matter to vote. If your followers share your confidence, then we will obey with whatever course of action you decide."

Shriszra took the scout's warnings to heart. She conferred with her pod. She knew the warriors would stand by her side, but she was surprised to see the kelp collectors and even the crystal crafters support her risky decision to press onwards. The serpents had their own reasons to see this task reach its end. Only Orzen wrinkled his snout in dismay.

“You are going to regret this, lass." He swam to the tail of the caravan, making himself unnoticed, as if he refused to be part of the events set in motion.

To Be Continued...