Bubbling in the Dark

Evil Queen

Cursed Thorns

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Bubbling in the Dark Feb 12, 2020 19:30:39 GMT

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Post by Evil Queen on Feb 12, 2020 19:30:39 GMT

(January 17th, Midnight, dungeons. Open to one Cursed Thorn brave enough to interact with ~~and maybe get something out of~~ the sorceress!)

The Forbidden Fortress was renowned as the home of the Mistress of All Evil. Maleficent’s keep couldn’t get much more forboding as a reflection of her harsh, sharp, and unforgiving personality. The courtyards were crumbling, but never fully decrepit, sculptures reminiscent of waning life and light in architecture. The halls were long and echoed and no amount of lighting could make the whole space visible. Greens and blacks swallowed every other color. Everything the eye could actually see of the Cursed Thorns capital was horrific at worst, vaguely unsettling at best.

The dankest, deepest part of the dungeons was far worse.

They weren’t being used, currently. Well, not for what they were actually meant for.

The lime walls were lit by several tiny flames, boiling potions in glass vials that were oddly unsmeared, despite their mucky surroundings. In fact, everything on the various tables against stone walls, from books to frames to phials to bottles to bejeweled containers...all were as perfectly clean and ordered as their owner.

Golden crown and velvet robes glowed with brightness in the black. Regina moved purposefully from tome to bubbling brew. Her frightfully sharp eyebrows were stretched up, eyes wide as ravenous mouths devouring the knowledge therein. Calculating, proud, fierce, even with no eyes to see her.

She was the second-in-command of all the forces of evil. She could do as she pleased. But the Evil Queen still restricted her black magic laboratory to the most secret corner of the host’s home. She hated to be disturbed.

”I really must get a new familiar.” The red lips rolled their r’s in quiet menace. To experiment on, of course. Her raven, Corpsin, would disappear every time she descended into her workplace.

”Now,” murmured the regal woman, one pristinely sculpted fingernail trailing a page, ”Hair of clean gold...purest sunbeam...gilt cotton...” She had all these. There were but a few more things needed to transform herself and ensnare their latest recruit. She was looking forward to shifting her skin again.

”But one thing remains,” intoned the Queen. ”Where is that insufferable...”

With a wrathful rippling of robes, she turned like a beautiful cyclone toward the dungeon steps expectantly. The sound of footfalls echoed in the hopeless space.

Ah, here was her errand-running guest. She briefly wondered which Cursed Thorn had been assigned to the task. Whomever it was, they would be rewarded with the sight of a rare, terrible smile for bringing their liege her final artifact. It was altogether necessary for this brew. She’d had it removed from neutral territory just on the border with the utmost of discretion...if those bungling oafs had smashed it...or even removed it from the wrappings she had instructed it to be carried in...

Well, no matter, here came her subordinate, carrying the long cloth package.

”Ah, for all your faults, you are at least timely. Well done, faithful. You have served the Cursed Thorns well.”

Last Edit: Feb 28, 2020 23:40:35 GMT by Evil Queen

Sadira

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Bubbling in the Dark Jul 25, 2020 6:20:16 GMT

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Post by Sadira on Jul 25, 2020 6:20:16 GMT

    This wasn't the way Sadira expected her day to go. Granted, she should have known better than to expect a normal day among the Cursed Thorns, but of all the things she would have thought she'd be asked to do, running an errand for a mysterious queen was not one of them. If she was being honest her pride stung a little at being used as an errand boy - err, girl - and the more defiant part of her had wanted to refuse. But the queen was a powerful member of their army, and more importantly - to Sadira, anyways, - she knew magic, so the streetrat reluctantly agreed.

    She wondered what it was she'd been asked to bring for the queen, wondered if maybe it was magical. Her curiosity burned as she carried the long package down into the depths of the black keep, and if she were doing this for anyone else she absolutely would have peaked, or perhaps even pilfered the object - she was a thief, after all. Yet the ellusive queen wasn't someone she wanted to trifle with, at least not until she knew the full extent of her power. The last thing she needed was to bring a powerful woman's wrath down on her head, so the fledgling witch would do as she was told. And perhaps, if she made herself useful she'd be able to pick up a thing or two.

    Sadira wasn't foolish enough to believe the Queen would take her on as a student or apprentice because she ran an errand for her, but perhaps she'd find a reason to linger long enough to pick something up - her technique, her ingredients, a forgotten scroll or book she could "accidentally" swipe and bring back in a week or two, anything. The witch was hungry for knowledge. She felt her magic bubbling under the surface of her skin begging to be used frequently. She'd clearly awakened something within herself in the caverns below Agrabah that fateful day, but until she learned more she was limited to what she could discern from the old scrolls she'd taken from Agrabah. A lot of it was beyond her, but she was learning on her own - slowly. Too slow the new power within her, apparently.

    She reached the dank old dungeons of the black keep, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the look and smell of the place. This place was more nightmarish than the rest of the black keep, and that was saying something. She exhaled and cradled the package closer to her body before pressing onward. Her quick, bare feet barley made a sound on the black stone as she scurried along like a mouse. Despite her silence, the Queen clearly sensed her coming as she'd barely had time to clear her throat to announce her presence before the Queen's deep, sultry voice rung out and gave her a somewhat backhanded compliment.

    "Uh, thanks?" She replied, wondering how she was meant to take that. As she held out the package for the Queen to take she took the opportunity to take her in. She was beautiful, gorgeous even, and ostentatiously dressed. A bit of jealousy burned within the witch for a moment as she compared the Queen's rich beauty to her own rags and homely appearance, but she squashed the thought as it came up. She wasn't here for that.

    "Here ya go." She said informally as she presented the queen with her delivery. The smile she received from the Queen in return was both incredibly dazzling and deeply unsettling. "I don't suppose I can ask what all this is for?" Perhaps she'd get a lashing for asking, but the witch's curiosity was getting the better of her. She was starting to severely regret not taking a peek. As she waited for the Queen's response she tried to subtly look around the ruler's workshop, but subtlety was never Sadira's strong suit, and her wide eyes couldn't help but try and drink everything in: from the massive tomes she longed to crack open to the colorful potions lining the walls, before her icy eyes finally rested on the bubbling concoction that was clearly the queen's current project.

    Now what in Allah's name could that be for...

Last Edit: Jul 25, 2020 6:21:12 GMT by Sadira

Evil Queen

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Bubbling in the Dark Jul 25, 2020 19:47:05 GMT

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Post by Evil Queen on Jul 25, 2020 19:47:05 GMT

Rouge-lined eyes glinted. Greedy were the hands, tethered to royal sleeves, which all but snatched the prize from the girl’s grip. Regina soared her no look and paid her no attention. Her eyes were upon the unwrapped contents of the bundle.

It was a piece of broken glass, stained with French art. She barely glanced over the depiction on the broken window shard, large as her own head. What the excellently sculpted nails lifted gingerly from the cloth beneath the glass was far more valuable. A single petal from a rose, shriveled and all but dust for its faded color, crackled in her grip.

The Queen could feel the power in her veins thrilling in response to what magic lay left in the corpse fragment of flower. “Rose as red as the maw of a beast...the fabled ‘Enchanted Rose...’” Her fascinated voice was hushed with critical awe. This, Her Majesty could appreciate.

Into the cauldron, she let the petal fall. Instantly her brew responded, boiling ever faster. Poisonous eyes stared down at its progress, fully focused, until the voice reminded her that her guest was not gone.

The Queen turned. It would be droll to explain her machinations to someone, especially in her present satisfied, nearly victorious mood. Corpsin was nowhere to be found, so her little messenger would suffice. Regina could use the question as an opportunity to gloat her genius with wicked glee.

When the crowned head faced the asker, she took in information. A girl. The age-old envy against any young woman eho’s age and innocence were yet unspoiled did not, for once, rise. This girl might have a firm of beauty. But she hid it beneath rags and a crop of shrubbery disguised as hair. Clearly, she knew her place before one as stunning and powerful as Regina. That was satisfying to see.

But what really caught the royal’s attention was the look in the large, young eyes. It was a look that saw magic and darkness and hungered after it; not from plebeian superstition or fear. No. Regina saw in this face a mirror image of herself, coming upon power in its purest form as a teenager.

She approved.

The stately woman nodded once, importantly, and struck the urchin with a stare. “You may.” She withdrew the glass picture again and held it in the weak light of her cauldrin’s Fire. The image seemed to glow. It showed a gloriously, supernaturally beautiful woman even in the simplicity of stained art. She was sunny-headed, wore a kind of crown, and a bit of wand showed in the right hand corner of the broken segment. ”Look upon the best of trickery, girl.”

A cunning smile seemed to add redness to Regina’s lips. She lowered the glass into the cauldron and was content to watch it sink, glowing, into the brew. “The things you bring me are essential to completing a draught which will transform my Queenly raiment into the likeness of one Beautiful Enchantress.” She paused, reaching to stir the mixture.

Last Edit: Jul 25, 2020 19:47:42 GMT by Evil Queen

Sadira

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Bubbling in the Dark Jul 29, 2020 4:44:39 GMT

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Post by Sadira on Jul 29, 2020 4:44:39 GMT

    The little vagabond watched the Queen work carefully, curious eyes studying the way the regal woman worked while she seemingly forgot Sadira was there. When she unveiled the contents of the package Sadira's first thought was that's it? A large shard of glass and...was that a withered flower petal? Neither struck the witch as particularly magical, but the Queen knew more than she did, clearly.

    The queen's hushed whisper told Sadira everything she needed to know. This wasn't just a petal from any flower, but an enchanted rose. You can enchant plants? The witch thought curiously. She'd have to look and see if there was anything like that in her scrolls. She'd been so hesitant to practice things beyond her skill level for fear of hurting herself or someone else, but who cares if she accidentally curses a plant? She watched as the queen delicately handled the rose petal - it looked as though one wrong move would have it shrivel to dust right then and there. When she finally dropped it into the cauldron the little witch's eyes widened at the concoctions's reaction. Her mouth fell open in slightly awe, the ghost of a smile there as she watched it brew with fascinated eyes.

    Curiosity gnawed at the streetrat. What did this do? What was it for? and most of all how did she do it? Luckily her curiosity was rewarded, not reprimanded by the Queen, and a small grin replaced the look of awe. The contrast between herself and the composed and closed-off Queen didn't go unnoticed, but Sadira had never been good at hiding her emotions. She wore her heart on her sleeve and this time was no different - the magic excited her.

    She edged closer as the Queen held up the glass shard in the light of the cauldron and told her to look. The woman on the glass was beautiful, the stylized portrait of her face couldn't hide that fact. She looked nothing like the women from her homeland, with her pale-skin and flowing waves of golden hair you'd never see naturally in Agrabah.

    "You mean like shape-shifting?" She asked eagerly as the queen sunk the glass into her mixture. The thought excited her. There were spells in her scrolls for hypnotizing others and even changing reality - though she obviously hadn't tried those yet - but she hadn't come across the ability to change form yet. In a war the possibilities for that particular ability were endless - especially for a scout such as herself. She could be stealthy all on her own, but to be able to assume the form of another person entirely? She could waltz right into the enemy camp and no one would be the wiser "That is so cool. Where'd you learn to do something like this?" The witch asked with her usual tact and grace. She'd be lying if she said she didn't want to have this knowledge for herself.

    "This Enchantress," The little witch began. "What will you do when you look like her?" She asked. Surely there was a reason beyond the Enchantress' beauty. The older sorceress had plenty of that of her own - granted the two women each possessed two very different types of beauty. Whoever this woman was, she must be important somehow, either to the army's cause or for some other score the Queen wanted to settle.

Last Edit: Jul 29, 2020 4:45:27 GMT by Sadira

Evil Queen

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Bubbling in the Dark Jul 31, 2020 21:31:56 GMT

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Post by Evil Queen on Jul 31, 2020 21:31:56 GMT

The Queen did not turn her head, nor did she face the girl directly. Only the barest curve of a brow indicated acknowledgement of the questions. She was, for the moment, once again occupied.

This particular brew of shapeshifting had much to do with intent. It was not capable of changing the organs and life’s essence, or one’s very identity, like her hag disguise had. No. This one was merely for show, flash and polish, like the makeup she put on each day to accentuate her own frightening beauty.

But it was nonetheless important to her plans. Maleficent’s plans.

When the teeming froth had reached a glowing height, Her Majesty put down the ladle and considered her reflection in it’s depths for a moment. She had never liked blondes. But this was worth it.

Finally, Regina turned back, gradually, to show off the heavy folds of her gown rippling, to the messenger. Yes, there it was again. The girlish excitement that the older woman so naturally detested...and yet. This girl’s enthusiasm seemed to aim at the things that had once enthralled Regina. Indeed, the only thing she retained from her blighted youth was a fascination with sorcery. And did this mouse run in terror, or flatter, or simper, in the sight of her Royal power? No. How refreshing.

The Queen nodded with a satisfaction that did not line her face. “My child, there are many tomes and secrets to be found about magic—the power which urges on the world—if one only looks. And in this instance, looks are indeed all that matter. See here,”

She gestured to a painting near her desk. On it was depicted Fort de Chambrod, a famous landmark in France. With a microscope, the Queen’s scientific hand enhanced the image to focus on one of the painting’s representations of stained glass. This particular window depicted a pair of human hands alongside beastly claws. “We have in our midst a Prince. He is cast down from his throne and forced to join our ranks because he believes he has been returned to a beastly body—one that he lived in before—and came to us seeking aid. What he does not know is that it was Her Ladyship, our benefactor Maleficent, who did this misdeed. If he were to discover our trick, he would return to his wife and likely join our enemies in retaliation. But...how would it be if he believed that the same Enchantress, who cursed him to become a beast once before, long ago, had done so again? If our Prince thought himself shunned by the forces of ‘good...’ well. Who else would he have to turn to?”

A smile made redder by cruelty crossed Regina’s lips. She turned it rarely on Sadira. “Tell me, girl. What do you know of magic?” She did not divulge her plans lightly. But something had surprised the Queen in this girl—it was like looking at a mirror unposessed by all-knowing spirits. A looking glass back to her own past. She would indulge in it, for now. Who knew but that this dark little lady may yet be of use?

Sadira

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Bubbling in the Dark Aug 3, 2020 10:13:20 GMT

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Post by Sadira on Aug 3, 2020 10:13:20 GMT

    Sadira nodded as the older woman told her largely what she already knew - books and tomes were the way to learn magic. Everything Sadira knew, she got from the scrolls and artifacts that had belonged to the witches of the sand - But the scrolls were old and complex and every time Sadira tried anything even remotely cool it backfired somehow. There were also artifacts - like an amulet that magnified her power over sand. But Sadira didn't want to rely on on any amulet or staff, she wanted to be powerful on her own.

    The sorceresses words were both disappointing and motivating. Sadira had been waiting for some hack or shortcut that would give her more power in the blink of an eye. She wanted to be better and she didn't want to wait for it - but if nothing like that existed then she would just have to work harder. Apply herself more to the witches' scrolls, and maybe even look outside of the sand witches belongings at other kinds of magic. Perhaps if she made herself useful to the Queen, the monarch might let her borrow a book or two. She was going to try harder. She had to. If she couldn't be a powerful witch then what was she? She might as well pack it up back to Agrabah and go back to being a nobody. A nothing.

    That wasn't going to happen, she would make sure of it.

    Her attention was brought back to the queen as she spun her tale. She listened with rapt attention at the story of a hideous monster prince who'd been manipulated to join their side. "So you make him believe that the ones he trusts have turned their backs on him so he thinks he has nowhere else to go." The young witch concluded. "That's...brilliant." And cruel, a weak voice whispered in her head. She imagined what depths of darkness she might sink into if she ever gained friends - even a spouse! - only to be led to believe they'd abandoned her. She might actually go mad - and perhaps that was what the thorns wanted: a mad, feral beast to do their bidding in hopes of someday regaining all he'd lost. It was a terrible fate, but Sadira couldn't afford to feel for him.

    The Queen's next question caught her off guard as she looked up abruptly. "I know that magic is power, and the possibilities are endless, in theory. But..." She looked down again as she prepared to admit her limited knowledge. "In practice I can't do much myself yet." She said with a frown. "Not too long ago, I fell into a cavern that used to belong to the witches of the sand - they're not around anymore but they used to rule the seven deserts, I found all their scrolls and artifacts and I've been studying them, I'm good at manipulating sand and I'm starting to figure out conjuring, but the more complex stuff always seems to go wrong somehow."

    "But I'm gonna work harder!" She added hastily, not wanting the older woman to think she was some pathetic girl who was going to give up at the first sign of resistance. "I'm gonna get better, I - I wanna be able to do things like this," She said, with a gesture around the sorceress' lair, from the cauldron that currently housed her latest brew to the tomes that undoubtedly contained vast amounts of knowledge. "one day."

Evil Queen

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Bubbling in the Dark Aug 9, 2020 23:57:04 GMT

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Post by Evil Queen on Aug 9, 2020 23:57:04 GMT

Regina was amused to allow this waif to speak her peace. A young woman so bold and relatable’s enthusiasm was surprising music to the background of her bubbling brew. It was welcome. The Queen watched the bushy-headed creature’s face coolly, betraying no emotion. The only movement she made was to grandly fold her hands into the cavernous sleeves of her robes.

But inwardly, the The Evil Queen began to examine the emotion cracking across her icy heart. Scientifically she traced its origin. It was more than finding something in common with this dark skinned pauper. It was rooted in a deeper, yawning gap that wanted to be bridged inside of her. Had Corpsin, her raven, left that hole? Or was it the loss of other companionship, since Maleficent hard retreated to her chambers to brood?

Hmm.

Regina decided that the special mixture of intrigue and approval stirring in her soul could be studied later. Yes, she deigned to like the fact that the urchin connected magic with study—but that paled in comparison to the excitement mention of sand witches stoked in the matriarch.

“Child,” she commanded, the authority in her tone as sudden as the widening of rouge eyes. One flawless hand extended, as if demanding tribute. “Give me your name...and along with it, you shall produce these scrolls you speak of.”

Of course, all magical artifacts in the Cursed Thorns ranks should be hers to study. Unquestionably. But for once, the purple figure’s posture was not dismissive in learning of the objects alone. She had no need to stoop and say so for the sake of the girl’s feelings, but for the first time in her career of dissecting the supernatural, Regina did not intend to take the scrolls and study them in solitude. She could, perhaps, learn much in teaching the little peasant.

Last Edit: Aug 9, 2020 23:59:31 GMT by Evil Queen

Sadira

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Bubbling in the Dark Aug 21, 2020 18:42:07 GMT

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Post by Sadira on Aug 21, 2020 18:42:07 GMT

    The young witch almost snapped to attention at the Queen's authoritative command. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, partly at the realization that she'd gone this long without giving her name and partly at being called a child. A large part of her wanted to dispute the epithet - she was 18 after all. But she knew that wouldn't get her anywhere. She was actually enjoying her conversation with this witch queen, the last thing she wanted to do was ruin it by acting like... well a child. "Oh! My name is Sadira," she clarified quickly. "And...what can I call you?" Sadira didn't have a very high opinion of royalty and so she suspected the monarch would insist upon being called "your majesty" or some other formal title, but she thought she'd ask for clarity's sake.

    However, the second of the Queen's demands sunk in, causing the ex-streetrat to bite her lip. "You want the scrolls?" The old survival instinct to hoard what little belonged to her crept up on Sadira, but she did her best to kick it down. Those scrolls were all she had in terms of learning magic, letting them go wasn't going to be easy. But she didn't know what the monarch wanted them for. Sadira had to remind herself she wasn't just looking out for herself now, she was a part of a collective and perhaps it would be better for the army if her scrolls were in the hands of a more competent magic user who could put them to better use. Who knows what resources Sadira was sitting on that could make a huge difference in their battle against the Suns?

    And if, by chance, the Queen did intend to hoard the scrolls for herself, Sadira could always steal them back. She might not be good at magic, but thievery she could do in her sleep. With that in mind, the witch nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay." she agreed. hoping she didn't sound as reluctant as she felt. "I keep them under my bunk, I'll go get them and be right back." She promised.

    When the witch returned again it was with a large and rather ostentatious ruby pendant around her neck and a box full of about a dozen or so scrolls. "It's no fancy library like this, but I try to take good care of them." She said as she set the box down. True to her word the scrolls were in good condition for their ancient age. She read through them often so there might have been a little more wear than when she found them, though. The spells inside ranged from everyday usefulness like teleportation and conjuring to extremely powerful like portals to different realms and hypnotism. She took off the amulet and set it in the box with the scrolls. It seemed to be mainly for advanced control over sand - if there was another use for it Sadira hadn't found it yet, perhaps the Queen could.

    "Hopefully you can find something useful in them." She couldn't imagine there would be much in the scrolls that this advanced sorceress didn't already have in her vast collection, but she supposed she'd find out.