"So what does this Queen of the Night look like?" The two of them walked along the edge of the river.

"I've never seen it." Gimlet confessed. "But I heard it's a flower that has white petals that glow under the moonlight and it's suppose to cure any illness. The old grandmother said just follow the river north and we should find it."

Eric looked above, at the hovering treetops, not seeing a speck of sky. "It's impossible to find north without the sky to guide us."

"I agree but I believe we'll find it." Gimlet glanced at Eric's clothes. It hadn't bothered him before due to the more important matters of escaping, but now the curiosity returned. Eric's trousers were blue made with a rough fabric similar to coarse cotton but more sturdier. His upper garments were odd. A black long sleeved shirt with a hood. His shoes were even odder. They weren't made of leather like the ones in town but in some smooth white material. Eric caught Gimlet observing his clothes. He grinned.

"They're called sneakers."

"Sneakers?" The word felt strange in Gimlet's mouth. "Do you use them for sneaking around?"

Eric laughed. "No, they just call it that. Where I come from, everyone wears them."

"How peculiar. Is your village near the forest like mine?"

"Um...I suppose you could say that. It's hard to find so not many people know about it."

"Then how did you end up here?"

"It was my fault. I strayed too far from the path and ended up lost. I think I can find my way back home once we get out of this forest. Something about the forest freaks me out. Like something is watching us, you know." Eric shook, rubbing his arms for warmth. "Is it just me or is it getting colder the more deeper we walk into the forest."

"We must be getting closer north."

Eventually they reached the end of the river. It was connected to a small lake. A waterfall stood silently against the moonlit night.

The sound of falling water rushed up to their ears. Following the narrow path leading to the waterfall, Gimlet saw a shallow cave. His heart pounding with hope, he almost rushed straight in but Eric roughly grabbed his arm.

Eric silently gestured for Gimlet to look into the cave carefully. Following Eric's advice, Gimlet paused and squinted his eyes. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, there was something inside the cave. A four legged serpent with scales and barbed claws curled up right before the cave entrance.

Gimlet nodded, relieved for Eric's timely warning.

Eric picked up a pebble from the ground. He threw it somewhere a bit off from the cave entrance. The serpent lifted its long neck at the sound a long forked tongue quickly appearing and disappearing into its mouth. Eric picked another pebble and threw it in the same direction. Slowly, the serpent walked toward the sound, leaving the entrance open.

Gimlet and Eric quickly ran inside. The cave was deeper than Gimlet initially thought. Torches along the stone wall illuminated the tunnel. Eventually, the path led to a cavern room filled with all manners of plants and flowers. In the middle of the room stood a fully grown tree reaching high up to the ceiling. Pretty white flowers hung from the branches.

"Is this the Queen of the Night you're looking for?" Eric asked.

"I think so. It's suppose to be a white flower that grows in dark humid places."

"Nothing more dark and humid than a cave. Grab one and let's get out of here before that thing comes back." Eric quipped.

Gimlet picked a few flowers, putting them safely inside a cloth bag he hid through the journey. He tied it with a piece of string, putting it over his shoulder to make sure it wouldn't fall off.

While Gimlet was busy, Eric looked around the room and spotted a bunch of bushes with bright red berries on it. His stomach grumbled, reminding him he hadn't eaten for a long while. He picked some and popped them into his mouth. A burst of sweet juice filled his mouth.

"Don't eat that!" Looking startled, Gimlet threw the remaining berries off Eric's hand.

"What's the big deal? I felt hungry. It's not poison, is it?" Eric replied worriedly.

"These are called Feel Good berries. How many did you eat?"

"Maybe five or six. What's so bad about eating Feel Good berries?"

"They're aphrodisiacs." Gimlet replied bluntly. "It's a popular drug the apothecary sells in my town. A single berry is known to last an entire day. We need to leave right away and vomit those berries out of your system."

"Oh, I don't think you boys are going anywhere."

A woman appeared at the cave entrance. Her pale skin and long dark hair made a stark contrast to the bright blue silk dress she wore. With red painted lips and clear brown eyes, she smiled at the boys. Gimlet recognized her.

"You're that woman at the square! The one who said there was a plant to cure any illness."

"Congratulations on reaching this place, my dears. However, none of you are leaving here." The reptilian creature appeared from behind the woman, making a deep hissing noise.

"Who are you?" Gimlet asked.

The woman chuckled. "Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly." She eyed Eric with an appreciative glance. "It must be my lucky day to have caught two in one go. I'll save you for last."

Eric started to sweat. His face turning flush. His heart pounding furiously against his chest, making it hard to breath. That was quick. He didn't think the aphrodisiac effect would be this strong. He took several steps back. His voice hoarse and throat dry.

"Oh? Did you eat something you shouldn't have?" The woman smirked. "I raised all the plants here with loving care. You could say they're my children and your corpses will provide nutrients my children need to make them grow healthy and strong."

"Is this how you lure in your victims? By telling them something they want to hear?" Gimlet took out his knife and stood in front of Eric to protect him from the woman's line of sight.

"I didn't lie. The Queen of the Night is real. It can cure any illness but getting it is another thing. You won't live long enough to see it."

"Then the flowers in the tree?"

"Pretty, aren't they? But no they're not the real Queen of the Night. They simply can't compare to the real one."

"Then where is the real one?"

The woman shook a finger. "Sorry but that's a secret. Now be good little boys and become food for my children."

The serpent attacked, making a beeline toward Gimlet. Gimlet pushed Eric out of the way and dodged the attack. The serpent followed and they started a chase around the room.

Eric's entire body burned. His skin itched and pricked every time the air brushed against it. His senses were heightened, over stimulated and trying to suppress them took most of his strength.

He didn't notice the woman had reached in front of him, lifting his chin which was dripping with sweat. Her brown eyes looked into his blue ones.

"You look uncomfortable. Want this big sister to help you? I know how to make you feel better."

With her body so close, Eric smelled something sweet, like the berries he just ate. Unconsciously, his mouth started to salivate. He couldn't properly move his body and his senses were muddled.

All he could do was look at her with glazed eyes.

The woman smiled, pushed Eric flat on the ground and straddled his hips. Her long hair gently brushed against his skin. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. He shuddered.

"Don't be afraid. It won't hurt. In fact, it'll feel good very soon."

Long green tentacles appeared from below her dress, wrapping around his legs.

"Just surrender to the sensations and do what men do best." She purred, rubbing her nose against his neck, feeling the thumping of his furious beating heart.

Gimlet saw what was happening and when he tried to reach Eric, the serpent would block the way. He gritted his teeth and furiously tried to think of a plan. The knife in his hand glinted with sharpness.

Gimlet had never been a hunter but he knew how to fight. And he knew his stamina wouldn't last long before the serpent caught him. He needed to do something.

Then a thought came and passed and he grabbed it with the desperation of a man who wanted to live. He grabbed a rock lying on the ground, slashed a generous amount leaves and branches and with a practiced ease, made a fire torch.

Raising the torch high in the air, he yelled.

"Let go of him or I'll burn all your children to the ground."

The woman stopped, narrowing her eyes. "Are you threatening me?"

"You let him go. You let us leave here or else I'll burn this place." Gimlet trembled yet he stood his ground. The serpent waited for the woman's instructions.

"Do you even have the guts to do it?" The woman stood, the green tentacles withdrawing back into her body. She smiled but there was a sharpness in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Can you risk the death of your so called children to find out?" Gimlet held the torch over the nearest plant. It could have been his imagination, but it shook under the heat.

The woman let out an inhuman hiss. The serpent dashed and leapt toward him, jaws open with the intention to bite. Gimlet let go of the torch and the knife was already in his hand. The serpent jaws locked onto his shoulder, blood poured from under its sharp teeth. With a furious cry, he stuck his knife into the serpents exposed underbelly again and again. Together, they were locked in a bloody tangled mess. Neither would let go, making it hard to see where Gimlet started or where the serpent ended. Eventually, both of them stopped moving and fell on the blood soaked ground.

The woman quickly put out the flames before they spread and angrily glanced at the bloody forms.

"Serves you right trying to hurt my babies!" She spat and kicked Gimlet. More blood flowed out of his wounds. She kicked him a few more times, to vent her frustration and calmed down.

"Fortunately, there's still an extra..." She looked back and trailed off. Eric's body was gone.

The woman frowned, wondering where the body had gone when a fist came flying out of nowhere, hitting her in the face. The force of the impact forced her to fly a few feet from where she stood.

Sensing a new presence, she looked up, ready to kill whoever hit her and widened her eyes with shock.

"How are you still standing?"

Eric looked at her. His dark eyes eerily calm and rational. There was something about him that felt different. An intensity she had felt before crept upon her and she trembled with fear. She knew this feeling. As a planting who managed to reach this far, she knew a predator when she saw one so why didn't she sense it before?

"Who are you?" She asked.

Eric smiled and there was a hint of sharpness on his face. "Does it matter?"

"Please don't kill me." She begged.

"Alright but in return, tell me where you hid the real Queen of the Night."

"I can't!"

In a supernatural flash, Eric held her off the ground by her throat. His eyes growing darker by the second. "So you would rather choose to die?"

"I can't because I am the Queen of the Night." She blurted, feeling the tight constriction of his grip.

Eric let go and the Queen of the Night fell on the ground. Gasping for air, she looked at him with fear and a hint of accusation.

"You're not human."

"Says the plant disguised as a human." Eric replied.

"I'm a mother! I'm only doing what's best for my children."

"You mean, luring innocent people into this place and using their corpses as fertilizer." Eric snorted. "Right. Tomato, tomato."

"We're the same."

"Perhaps, but I'm not the one with kids to feed. Now, my friend really needs the plant. Are you going to surrender or do we have to get physical?"

The woman trembled but realized she might have something to even the field.

"Are you sure?" She looked up, tears glittering around her eyes, her lips in a downward arc, presenting an image of feminine softness. She shifted and her dress fell, revealing smooth pale shoulder and long pale legs. "Isn't there something else I might interest you in?"

Eric leaned toward her ambiguously. "Is that an invitation?"

"I know you ate the Feel Good berries. It must feel painful to have all that stress with nowhere to vent it on. I could do that for you. Be the stress relief that you need. I may be a plant but I have all the right parts." She grabbed his hand and trailed it all over her body.

A spark of something flashed in Eric's eyes. The woman saw it and her smile grew flirtatious. She knew it. No man could resist a woman's figure. Growing bold, she pressed her body against his.

Eric nuzzled her neck, breathing in the sweet smell of honey and lavender. It smelled safe and comforting. Like a gentle breeze on a warm summer's day.

"You're right. I ate too much of those berries and now, there's a fire in me that's like a raging inferno. I keep trying to fight it but it keeps getting higher and higher." He breathed, letting out a gush of warm air. "So high, I'm afraid I'll burn myself into ashes and I want so badly to put it out." He said. "You'll take responsibility, right? Stay with me until I'm satisfied?"

She leaned into his ear and whispered. "I'm all yours."

After she said it, there was a change in the air.

The woman frowned, wondering what was going on but before she could take her next breath, something otherworldly pressed into her mind. Like barbed hooks they pierced through her and when she tried to think or struggle, she could feel sharp pain against her soul. Her eyes widened in surprise. To be able to attack the spirit directly. This wasn't an ordinary monster. She opened her mouth and a gasp escaped her lips.

"Ssshh." Eric shushed her, gently putting his finger against her mouth. They were so close. Their mouths almost touching and the woman saw his eyes turn black as the deepest night and something moved behind that inky darkness, something terrifying malevolent and starving. She grew petrified. He looked at her as if she was a piece of meat served on a platter.

"Did you know there's a fine line between lust and violence?" His voice soft and gentle. "I promise I'll be gentle."

He teased her like an instrument, evoking whimpers and cries. He was bad at first. Clumsy and inept but he got the hang of it. Soon, her cries grew louder and louder, transforming into screams. The sounds filled the empty cavern, bouncing off the stone walls. It lasted forever and a day.

When he was done, Eric was covered in sweat and had a satisfied look on his face. What was once a woman was now a glittering plant with snow white petals. The true form of the Queen of the Night. No longer sentient but just a hollow husk. The darkness in his eyes faded, returning clear blue once more.

Eric looked down at what he had done, remembered and turned pale.

He glanced around and saw Gimlet's prone body lying lifeless on the ground. He quickly gathered the young boy into his arms. Gimlet's wounds were life threatening. Too much blood has been spilled.


The treetops began to recede. The sounds of nature poured into his ears. Gasping for breath, Gimlet ran out of the woods. Relief poured into his heart as the first thing he saw was the outline of his town from afar.

He had made it. He was back home.

When his mother saw him on their doorstep, she cried and hugged him tight.

"Gimlet! Where have you been? I was worried sick about you."

"Mom, I've only been gone for a night."

His mom looked at him with surprise. "No, you've been gone for a week. No one has seen you since that night you left the house."

Gimlet grew confused. "It was only last night I left the house. I went to the woods to find you a cure for your illness."

Gimlet's mother grew pale when she heard where he had been. "Oh you silly stupid boy! Everyone knows not to go into the woods at night. What would I do if you never came back? I'd be all alone."

"I'm sorry I made you worry."

He presented the cloth bag to her. "This is for you."

She opened the bag and took out a white flower. It illuminated the room with a moonlight glow. Her eyes widened with awe.

"This is what you got from the woods?"

Gimlet nodded and told her about his journey. He didn't share the identity of the forest spirit. He didn't think bringing it up would help. He didn't know what happened to Eric either. He could still be in the woods. Or he found a way back home. Who knows.

His mother's illness got better. Gimlet went back to being a blacksmith's apprentice. He eventually forgot what happened that night. Only remembering bits and pieces of it. Years later, he became a blacksmith. He earned enough for his mother to retire well. In his later years, he would go back to the woods in the daytime and retrace his steps, wondering if it all had been a dream.

He found the skeletal remains of the wooden cabin. Holes in the ceiling and a thick layer of dust covered the floor as he entered inside. But no old woman or the cauldron. It looked like no one had lived inside for years.

Venturing deeper into the woods, he found the waterfall. It had not changed.

Lighting a torch, he walked behind the waterfall and found the hidden cavern. The faint smell of burnt things filled Gimlet's nose. He raised the torch and saw the aftermath of a battle. As if something had burnt the entire room with a hot searing fire. All the plants were gone and so was the tree. Incinerated to dust, leaving behind only a shadow of where they once stood. There was no sign of the plant creature or the lizard either.

Gimlet took a step forward and felt something hard under his foot. He looked down and a metal glint caught his eye. He bent down and cleared the dust. Picking up a familiar looking ax, he remembered he lent it to a young man all those years ago.

The handle still felt warm in his hand. It wasn't a dream after all. Gimlet returned to town and hung the ax atop his fireplace. When someone asked him about it. He would tell them his story and show them the scar on his arm. He'd warn them to stay away from the woods.

Because its never a good idea to go into the woods at night.

The End
© MaryJ0jo