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Most of the time, the depths of that jungle were a quiet, peaceful place, unspoiled since time immemorial, a location where even the Ancient Maruvians seldom went at the best of times. Birds sang, aromas of various flowers permeated the atmosphere, and trees taller than even some of the Maruvian ruins that were plentiful in other parts of the land stretched toward the sky, as if determined to one day touch the sun that enabled them to exist.
But over the previous months, there had been disturbances at various spots in this untouched place. They never lasted more than a few days, but they always seemed enough to suck the very spirit out of the environment, to the point it appeared its very life force either had been destroyed or wanted to make itself unnoticed to avoid attention.
And one such spot was about to become the latest location of such an occurrence.
"Inferno!"
Few creatures heard the shout. But as a large cave on a bare cliff side released a purple, flaming glow, every creature that noticed as much as a hint fled as fast as it could, thinking of nothing but getting away from danger. Predator and prey, large and small, they all thought of nothing but rescuing themselves.
The purple glow kept blazing at the cave's entrance, the area around the bare cliff ever more devoid of life as all those who could kept fleeing the vicinity. To the most sensitive ones, even the very air around the area seemed to grow an edge hotter and drier, the unusual effect seemingly powerful enough to affect even the very temperature.
No creature in the area had the same concept of timekeeping as humans, but the strange occurrence seemed to last an eternity for all of them.
But, as those creatures that for some reason had been unable to flee started to grow desperate that it would never end, the purple glow finally vanished with all the speed of a lightning flash.
By the cave's entrance, a pale black-haired woman lowered a silver scepter with a purple orb as a last flicker of flames flew from it, her breathing an edge heavy and her forehead beaded with sweat.
Beside her, an older-looking man in black robes and a blue cape with black cobras on it tapped the tamborita he held, the purple symbols floating vertically beside him ceasing the shifts they had undergone while the scepter had fired its jet of flames. His brow furrowed as he read what the symbols told him.
"Well?" Shuriki asked as Fiero spent an eternity without saying anything.
Fiero seemed to not have even heard her. He just kept studying the odd writing. Shuriki gritted her teeth. Much to her hatred, she hadn't yet been able to put any meaning to the symbols Fiero summoned whenever she trained with the Scepter of Night, and Fiero hadn't volunteered anything to her yet.
The rotten bastard.
"Well?" she repeated, more insistently.
At first, Fiero showed no reaction other than a small blink. But then, he turned to her and said, "I feel this is it."
Shuriki curled an eyebrow. What did he mean?
As if reading her mind, he added, "I think that's about as far as you'll get."
She narrowed her eyes, both at his tone and the actual sentence.
As if sensing her displeasure, he gave her an appeasing look and added, "And it should be more than far enough. Next time you face that Crown Princess, you should be able to bring her down if there's a good plan in place."
Shuriki narrowed her eyes an edge further. Despite the more complimentary words,, she didn't like it any more how Fiero's words to her so often seemed to have that edge of disdain than she did when they first started working together. The ungrateful bastard. She agreed to make him her Royal Malvago and the bitter geezer couldn't even show proper appreciation.
But before she had time to say anything about that, two speeding shapes approached from her left. Her heart jumped as she whirled the Scepter of Night toward both.
"Demolish!"
A blue blast flew from the scepter's jewel at her shout an instant before both blurs sped away from its path to avoid it.
"Put that down, it's us!" a familiar annoyed and annoying voice shouted.
Shuriki scowled, both at the petulant tone and the fact she had potentially been about to lose her ride. And then she had to force her scowl not to deepen as the two jaquins Troyo had gotten her landed before them, both looking distinctly annoyed.
"You should be more careful with that thing," Cruz snapped at her. "That's the second time you almost blast me away."
"Stop complaining!" Shuriki snapped at him. "It's your own fault for approaching like that. I thought you two were others from your flock of pests."
Both Cruz and Vestia scowled at her response, at which point Shuriki squeezed her scepter more tightly. Those two really needed to remember who was in charge.
But before anyone else could do anything, Fiero again tapped his tamborita to get their attention, erasing the strange symbols he had conjured at the same time.
"Before we start an argument that will last into the night, did you see anyone approaching?"
Both Shuriki and the jaquins scowled at Fiero for his interruption, but the malvago didn't even blink. For whatever reason, however, both of the winged rats seemed less annoyed as they turned to face him.
"No," Vestia replied. "As far as I could see, no one spotted us."
"I didn't see anything either," Cruz added.
Fiero nodded at them both.
"That's a relief. But for safety's sake, we should move again anyway."
The jaquins scowled again, though in a visibly less pronounced way than they had when Shuriki almost blasted them.
"Stop sulking, you two! Shuriki cut in. "It will be the last time we do it before we go back to Avalor and finish off that princess and her pesky friends."
This time, both jaquins actually gave matching wicked grins at her words, similar to the one Shuriki loved to give her targets whenever she was about to deal something to them.
"You're done getting fired up, then?" Cruz asked.
"Yes, I am," Shuriki stated. "Now cut the smart questions and get us out of here, beasts! Or would you rather wait to see if your fellow winged rats have spotted us after all?"
This time, the jaquins actually seemed about to bare their teeth at her for the remark. But before they got to do so, Cruz somewhat composed his expression and slid up to her so she could get on his back.
Meanwhile, Fiero actually walked up to Vestia himself and perched himself on the smaller jaquin's back, as always looking so unstable that the slightest speed bump would throw him off into the sky.
Shuriki held back a sneer as Cruz took off. Fiero always looked so ridiculous riding that jaquin, that half the time she saw him doing it she felt like she was about to crack up.
It was his own fault for looking so, though. After all, Cruz had enough room for both of them. She had even offered
But he had always refused. If Shuriki didn't know any better, she'd say he'd rather go through that discomfort than go through the discomfort of being so close to her.
Pity if that was the case. She loved it when he felt that discomfort. She loved when anyone felt that discomfort. She never felt better than when people squirmed in fear from being close to her, aware she could bring their freedoms or even their lives to an end the moment she decided to.
But his particular discomfort was something she could live without right now.
After all, she would soon get something much better.
Much later, as the sun sank below the horizon and the sky became a giant fire like those Shuriki hoped to make with her scepter, she and Fiero landed on another cliff side, hundreds of miles away from the previous one, and mostly covered in trees, except for the spot of bare rock surrounding the cave they had landed by.
"This should be minimally acceptable," Shuriki said as she dismounted. "We'll stay here until we go back."
"Swell," Cruz replied. "Now, if you don't mind, my sister and I will be taking care of our dinner."
Not waiting for Shuriki and Fiero to tell them if they minded or not, Cruz immediately took off flying. Vestia immediately did the same, leaving her and Fiero alone by the cave.
It lasted all of a moment, until he spoke up.
"Well, given the time it is, I think I'll be following the jaquins' lead and get something for our dinner."
Shuriki forced herself to appear calm and collected. While she certainly enjoyed eating as much as many humans, and could eat as much as she wanted without worrying about weight gain, she didn't actually need to eat or drink. As long as she kept breathing, she could literally live on air. To actually eat anything that could be found in this cursed jungle would be akin to torture.
But at the same time, there was just enough of her old self that she could be psychologically affected by not eating for too long. And Fiero did need to eat and drink, and for better or worse, he'd be useful when the time came for her to do away with Elena. If she starved him, he'd be too weak to help her properly.
"By all means, do," she agreed. "Just make sure to get something decent, not to mention you cook it ideally this time."
He curled an eyebrow. "There's no pleasing you, is there?"
She smirked. "Shouldn't you be motivated to please me? After all, I'll be the one making you my Royal Malvago when all is said and done."
Fiero held back a scowl.
"I'll just get dinner."
Not waiting for any further comment from her, he walked away into the forest, holding his tamborita. For a moment further, he seemed annoyed, but then his step perked up, as if something was making him happy, probably the idea of becoming her Royal Malvago once she was back on the throne.
Shuriki barely held back her laughter at the thought as she raised the Scepter of Night to her eyes.
The old fool! Did he really think she needed him as Royal Malvago? The moment Elena and her annoying family were dealt with and her place of ruler was properly secured, she'd turn the Scepter of Night on him and reduce him to ashes. A moment she looked forward to almost as much as the one when she dealt with Elena, especially given the look he was bound to have on that ugly face of his after she told him that not only she was behind his wife's death, but had actually struck down his daughter herself when the foolish girl had tried to beat her in a duel.
What would shock him more? The fact she had set in motion the events that had lead to his wife's death? Or the fact she had struck down his daughter with her own wand?
She almost couldn't wait to find out.
But at the same time, it didn't really matter. Both would be among the many looks of shock and horror she'd fondly remember for eternity once she was back on the throne.
And to make things even better, the Scepter of Night would allow her to not have to stop at Avalor this time. She could conquer Paraiso, Cordoba, Cariza, Enchancia, Maarswick, Napurna, Corinthia, Freezenburg, Zumaria… given enough time, the whole Ever Realm would be under her command, and she would be free to do with it as she saw fit!
And now that she had managed to permanently set herself in perfection thanks to the jewel Victor and Carla had gotten for her, she would truly have an eternal rule of everything she managed to conquer, her perfect form revered 'til the end of time.
The Scepter of Night clutched in her hands, Shuriki stared off into the forest, thinking of everything she would get once she was done with her conquest.
And as she lost herself in her dreams, Fiero stopped in the middle of the forest and half-turned toward where he'd walked from, a bloodthirsty grin on his gaunt face.
He couldn't believe it, he thought as he started into the direction where he knew Shuriki was.
Even though he'd been able to not make her suspicious for months, Fiero still couldn't fathom the witch being so full of herself. It seemed almost surreal that she still had no idea of how deeply he hated her, of how his claim of wanting to be her Royal Malvago was nothing but a ruse to stay close to her, or most of all, of how he was more than well aware that she was behind his wife's and daughter's deaths.
Not that he was complaining. Thanks to her ignorance, he had been able to stay close enough to learn just how much magic it took to power the Scepter of Night, and had even managed to discreetly build his magic to the point where he would be able to reliably use it.
And on the first available chance, whenever that was, he would take the scepter from her and look her in the eyes and soak in every bit of the horror she would be feeling as he did away with her.
Smile, you witch, smile. The malvago thought, sure that she was doing just that. Smile and keep dreaming of all the power you want to get. When I'm done making you pay for what you did to my family, I'll be the one with something to smile about.
Of course, Fiero had no idea of when that would happen. As vast as his magical talents were, foresight had never been one of them. He had no idea of what the future had in store for him or of what kind of circumstances would come about.
Not to mention that he was alone, while Shuriki had help. The fool, the girl, the two jaquins… they would all side with her over him if it came to a fight. And even if he could push himself to actually destroy them, he couldn't afford to try to get rid of them all on his own before trying to deal with her. There were far too many ways it could go wrong. And he wasn't foolish enough to try to sway them with promises he wouldn't keep. If none of them was loyal to Shuriki, there was no way they'd be loyal to him.
As much as he hated it, he had to lie low and be ready for anything and wait for just the right time, and pretend he still fully supported Shuriki until then.
What if that moment doesn't come before the whole royal family is eliminated and Shuriki is back on the throne? An inner voice asked.
Fiero pushed that voice away. It wouldn't happen. With how full of herself the witch could be, he doubted he'd have to go any farther than helping her to kill Elena. Still, the thought of the princess dying, even though she was a great-granddaughter of the man who had denied him the post of Royal Wizard, made some small part at the bottom of his being twitch the slightest edge. No matter how much he tried to rationalize it, her death would be an innocent death on his conscience.
He pushed the thought aside. It made no difference. He already had too many innocent deaths on his conscience. Yes, he hadn't actually meant to cause any of those others, but he could take one or two he meant to cause. He was already a rotten bastard anyway, and he had come too far to be able to turn back.
And he wouldn't let Gracia and Seentahna go unavenged. Gracia had been too kind to have the grisly end she had only met because Shuriki had told those rotten bastards of her whereabouts. And Seentahna had barely been past twenty when she was killed. She'd had her whole life ahead of her, and had thrown it away after her grief compelled her to go on a path of revenge - a path he hadn't been able to stop her from following.
Fiero clenched his fist in a mix of sadness and fury at the memories of them. Yes, he hadn't been able to stop his daughter from following that path, but the only reason she had even followed it and ended up dying was because Shuriki had been behind her mother's death. And for that, he would make Shuriki pay. He might be alone against her and her so-called allies, but he would make Shuriki pay.
You don't have to do it alone, you know? The same voice pointed out. You could still try to offer your help to the princess and her friends.
Again, he pushed the thought aside. He had considered it before, but it wouldn't work. Neither Princess Elena nor any of her friends would help him. Not after what he had done to Alacazar, even if it had been over a hundred years ago. Not after what he had already done to them, even if they all had recovered from it - except maybe that one isolated guard he had petrified outside the ballroom. If he tried to ask them for mercy, he doubted they would show any.
Not that a rotten bastard like him wouldn't deserve whatever they did to him, but he'd rather not endure it just yet. Maybe that would be an option to consider once Shuriki was taken care of, but for now he'd stay where he was.
Even if that means causing more suffering? The same voice insisted.
Fiero again pushed it aside. He'd rather avoid that as much as he could, but he was strictly on his own resources. No matter how much he loathed it, all he could do was keep following Shuriki like the lapdog he was pretending to be, bear whatever turmoil any collateral damage caused him, and wait for the perfect chance.
For Gracia.
For Seentahna.
And for at least a sliver of peace of mind.
As difficult as it seemed to achieve.
Will you stop that? He inwardly shouted at himself. At the rate you're going, you'll only miss the chance to your move!
No. He replied to his own shouts.
That wouldn't happen. He'd keep playing the game, and wait for the right moment. But as soon as that moment arrived, he would strike, send Shuriki on a one-way trip to the Spirit World, and at least one of his torments would come to an end.
He hoped.