Chapter Twenty: The Snake Queen

Semiramis had many masks. She had one for every mood imaginable: a mask that looked as mournful as if it had just lost its best friend to the Netherworld, a mask that resembled an indifferent gaze, a mask that stared up at the subjects as if it were in love for the first time on a sunny spring day - she never used that one, a maskt that depicted pure surprise and shock that was only seen in the eyes of a prisoner a split second before the axe hits their baren neck, even a mask illustrating completely and utter rage that could have only been spawned in the inferno of Hell itself - she used that one often. These masks served as her escape from herself. They made er seem formidable, powerful. They made her Semiramis. Without their protection, she felt like a helpless hybrid of unlikely races put together to create an ugly creature that could only ligitimately exist in a demon's nightmare.

She was beautiful, no doubt about it. Her lips were a full, pouty vision of the purest of emerald green. Her eyes, with their cat-pupils, were also a shade of emerald - like a lot of things about her.

The snakes on her head, which seemed to sparkle like a rainbow every time they writhed and hissed, were mayhaps her best feature. They were intimidating even to her sometimes, varying in length from down to her ear, fully stretched out, or all the way down to the floor, fully coiled. They had minds of their own, each and every one of them, and it often bothered Semiramis when they fought and bit each other. Sometimes they even bit her, and she would be forced to tie them into various braids, or even threated them with a pair of gleaming scissors - not that she would ever cut them off or hurt them in the slightestbit.

Her masks also sometimes served as a kind of tranquilizer for her powers. She didn't want each and every one of her servants turned to stone every time she looked at tem, and the masks helped her control her gazes. Thus, all Harpies knew to shield their eyes if they ever thought that she might be taking off her mask.

Despite being the Queen of a whole empire, Semiramis had a horrible inferiority complex. She thought she was ugly. She felt she had a huge nose, crooked lips, vicious eyes, and an overall ugly face. She didn't like her body, either. She thought she was too thing, that her knees were too bony, and that her breasts were too small. Semiramis never had a man tell her that she was, indeed, beautiful. She was more vibrant than an Etrionese sunset, and as luminescent as the evening starts. Her body rivaled that of a goddess, her legs were two fine, shapely visions of heaven, and her bosom was firm and supple. Yet no one had ever told her that se was beautiful. She grew up with Harpies, and they always were too terrified of her to even look at her face. Every day she yearned for a man to hold er and whisper in her ear that there would never be anyone but her. And with every day that he did not come, se felt uglier and more repulsive.

She did have a man, once. He came to her in a dream, and she fell in love wit him right away. He was tall and elegant, with hair as dark as raven feathers. He treated her like a woman should be treated. He made her feel beautiful, and for one night, she was actually happy. But with the morning, the dream faded into ugly reality.

Semiramis never really played any big role in Etrionese politics. She rarely came in person to peace talks, or war declarations, or any other political affairs. Her Harpies went for her. Partly because she was ugly, partly because she lived a sheltered life atop a crystal castle, and partly because she didn't care, she never graced politicians with her presence. Yet even though Semiramis personally did not tend to affairs, Starlight Empire was a major world power in Etrion and effected quite many of those world affairs. It controlled alf of the Etrionese trade, had a sizable army and navy, and was present in all world conferences. Thus Semiramis played a tremendous part as far as her decisions went. But when it came to personal appearances, the World Council had a better chance of getting a dragon to tapdance on their round tables than seeing Semiramis in person.

Semiramis was also very intelligent. She spoke elloquently when need arose, she could solve complicated mathematical equations, and she was a superb commander of her military forces. Her only faults were her shy nature and impulses to keep herself isolated from others.

Now all she did was sit in her crystal-filled room and stare out the windows. She felt that something big was coming. She could feel visions in the back of her head, tingling rigt behind her eyes, waiting for the right moment to surface and immerce her in the magic of te vision. She now sat and waited, feeling a great connection between herself and an entity that suddenly appeared and linked to her by powers unknown to Semiramis.

Back to Gems page.

Back to Main page.