Roxy was waiting at the entrance, arms crossed.
"Well? I didn't hear any screaming until the end. Did they take the basket?"
Zarek walked past her, placing the basket of dirty potatoes on the table. A little bit pissed from whatever happened at the boundary of his territory. The rage was still coiling in his gut.
Roxy could see that anger, but clipped her tongue.
"They did not want the potatoes," Zarek lied quietly.
"What did they want?" Roxy asked, Because right now, it looks like you are about to burn down the whole world with one breath.
Zarek looked at her. He reached out, pulling her into his arms with a desperation that hurt. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her scent as if it were the only oxygen in the room.
"They know," Zarek whispered against her skin. "They know I have a fertile mate and that you are with my heir."
Roxy widened her eyes.
They know what now?
[TheWorldbuildingGod looks at you with a knowing look.]
Oh yes, I remember, this fucking lizard was not the only one who needed a child. I have to get pregnant with all their children.
She shivered at the thought.
System, can we discuss this task?
[Access Denied.]
...
Roxy raked through Zarek's silky black hair. "And?"
Zarek pulled back, his golden eyes burning with rage. A rage that promises he would kill someone if he doesn't calm down.
"They ran away." Zarek said.
Just like that?
He looked toward the forest, where the sun was setting behind the trees. For some reason, Roxy felt like he was hinting at something.
"The pack is coming, Roxy. And this time... They will not bring flowers."
Roxy spaced out. Coming for war? To take me away?
"It won't be that easy, Zarek. If they come to declare war right now, they wouldn't survive, and during this time, we will think of a strategy, we will build our tribe." Roxy proposed.
Zarek finally calmed down. Seeing how cute he was, Roxy decided to reward him.
She tipped his chin up and placed a sloppy kiss on his lips. Zarek blanked out. He didn't know how to kiss someone, nor did he know what this was.
But he closed his eyes and tried to learn whatever his female was pulling him to.
****
The next morning, Roxy woke up with a bad feeling.
She doesn't know where it was coming from, but the feeling made her heart ache. To the point that even the system noticed it.
[TheWorldSaint looks at you with worry.]
Don't worry, I am fine, all I know is, something is about to happen, and I don't know what it is.
This was definitely not morning sickness. It was a sinking dread in her gut that had nothing to do with pregnancy hormones.
"System," she muttered, sitting up in the massive stone bed. "Do I have indigestion, or is something wrong?"
The screen flashed with a message.
[Alert: Biological Distress detected in Sector 1 (The farm). Crop viability is dropping rapidly.]
People had fucking touched her hard work!
Roxy could smell it. She was out of bed before Zarek could even open his eyes.
"Roxy?" Zarek mumbled, reaching for. "Where..."
"Get up, Zarek!" Roxy shouted, grabbing her tiger-skin dress. "Something's wrong."
She didn't wait for him. She waddled as fast as she could, out of the cave and down the rocky path to the valley.
When she reached the ridge, she stopped. Her breath hitched in her throat. In absolute horror.
"No..." she whispered.
[The gods all sympathize with you.]
A vein pulsed on her head in anger. The vibrant green rows were black. The potato plants had collapsed into a slimy, purple sludge. The wheat was withered, burnt as if by an invisible fire. The air smelled acrid, biting at her nose like ammonia.
She winced, pinching her nose and placing a protective hand over her stomach.
When I catch the waste of space that did this, I am going to snap their neck and drink their blood!
The female dragons were already there. They were as shocked as Roxy, trying to think of what could have gone wrong for the crops to turn out like this. Because they had harvested some before. Some wondered if this was a sign from the heavens.
"My Queen!" One of the females cried out, seeing Roxy. "What are we going to do?!"
Roxy walked down into the field. Her anger intensified as she passed her hard work. At some point, she was vibrating. A month of back-breaking work was gone in a single night.
She knelt by a row of dead potatoes. She touched a leaf, and it crumbled through his fingers.
Zarek, who followed behind her, looked at it all, and a low, terrifying growl started in his chest. He hated seeing the angry, devastated look on her face.
"Who did this?" Zarek asked. His voice wasn't loud. It was quiet, and it was the voice of a King who was about to execute someone.
If he doesn't do it, I, myself, would put a knife into their throat. Fuck peace.
System, I want to know exactly what happened. I have 98,000 LP. Spend whatever you need.
[Initiating Forensic Scan...]
[Analyzing Soil Toxicity... Complete.]
[Substance Identified: Concentrated Neurotoxin/Acid from Razor-Tail Viper.]
[Tracking Source...]
Red glowed in Roxy's vision, invisible to everyone else. It traced a path from the water trench, up the ridge, and toward the north caves.
The caves where the Elders gathered.
[Analysis: The venom was manually introduced to the water supply approx. 6 hours ago. Footprint analysis matches Subject: Lyra.]
If I didn't have a system, I wouldn't know a real snake was right beside me. I knew she was not to be trusted. I didn't know the witch could be this vile, the fucking whore.
Roxy's heart thumped with rage, but she tried to calm herself.
"Zarek," she said, standing up.
"Yes, treasure?" Zarek perked up, his voice softening.
"Do Dragons hunt snakes?" Roxy asked.
Zarek frowned. "We crush them."
"Good," Roxy said. She turned around, looking back toward the Elder's cave. "Because we have a snake in the cave."
[The gods are urging you to calm down.]
Calm down, my foot! They would finally realize why shouldn't anger a pregnant woman.
[TheMotheroftheWorld snaps her fingers at your thoughts.]
"Where are you going?" Zarek asked, easily keeping pace with her, his claws already lengthening.
"I'm going to fire one of your elders," Roxy said, her voice deadly. "And his daughter."