"I'll go with you to places we'd never known, time to say goodbye," she sang in a melodic voice. "I'll go with you on ships across seas, which I know, exist no longer, it's time to say goodbye."
Her sweet, melancholy voice lulled me into a trance. Before I knew it, she'd finished, and all my wounds were cleaned and dressed. I smelled and felt better than I thought possible under the circumstances.
"I must leave you now, Ben," she said gently. "I have some clean breeches and slippers for you. You must put them on and make yourself presentable for the queen's arrival."
"She is coming here?" I asked as I picked up the clothes the healer indicated. "Your queen?"
"Yes, and you must present yourself for inspection," Talise said as she walked toward the door. "Stand tall, be respectful, and show your
intelligence. Our queen is just and magnanimous, but slow to trust strangers."
"How doI gain her trust?" Iasked.
"Prove your worth, Ben," she said and smiled one more time before walking out the door.
Prove my worth? How the fucking hell was I going to do that?
I stood, pulled the pants she'd given me up, and tied them at my
waist. They were made from the same soft material as the blanket, but were a dark gray color. The slippers were an exact match and felt like heaven
when Islid them on my feet. I hadn't been given a shirt, so I guessed part of my inspection was standing there half naked.
I'd worked diligently to keep my musclestoned and to stay in shape, and I was proud of that, but my body had never been under the scrutiny of beautiful-alien-serpent-woman royalty before.
I walked over to get a drink of the freshwater Talise must have brought in, but then there was a brief knock on my door, and I turned around to find I had visitors.
A very formidable set of beautiful twin serpent women walked into my hut. They shared mocha colored skin with golden scales and hair the
color of summer hay. They both stood nearly six feet tall, had lean muscles, and an identical look on their faces told me they would take zero shit from anyone. They wore the creamy colored bandeau top and skirt I'dbegun to associate with the warriors of this tribe, and each carried a spear adorned with various seashells and points that looked to be made of some kind of
glass.
"Stand and prepare yourself for the arrival of Queen Nerissa!" they both exclaimed in harmony.
I was already standing, so I did the next best thing I could think of
and drew myself into the attention stance I'd learned in my military days. My feet snapped together, my arms went straight at my side, and I lifted my head so my chin angled slightly up.
I was as ready for this inspection as I would ever be.
First through the door was Sela, my guard from earlier, and her face was stern as she looked me up and down. Once she was satisfied I wasn't about to make an assassination attempt on her leader, she moved away from the door frame to allow the queen to enter.
It took every single ounce of discipline I had not to let my mouth
drop open when she entered. Every strange alien woman I'd met so far was breathtakingly beautiful, but before me was a woman of divine perfection. She had to be a goddess, there was no other explanation.
She stood about five-foot-nine in herbare feet. Her longhair was
silver, not gray, not white, but actual silver hair, and it was pulled back into intricate braids in the front while the back fell to her hips. On top of her
head, nestled into the silver braids, was a crown of tiny seashells and some kind of glass or crystal. Her skin was a deep mahogany, and her eyes were huge and a mesmerizing shade of aquamarine. Her scales appeared to be made of mother-of-pearl and had that iridescent shine like on the inside of an oyster. She wore an icy blue wrap that fell to the floor and left her
shoulders bare,and it still clung to every curve of her and showed off her overly plump breasts and perfectly wide hips. She walked like she was
floating on air and began to circle me, and she took in every single bit of my appearance.
I caught a heady scent of something floral and musky all wrapped together, and it made my head swim and my dick stiffen. This woman was intoxicating.
"You are Benjamin Ross Whitfield?" she asked in a voice that melted over me like butter.
"Yes, yes I am, Your Majesty," I answered and wondered how she knew my whole name. My mind went back to the pep talk I'dgiven myself in the middle of the night, and I realized I wasn't imagining things. I really hadn't been alone on the beach.
Well, it didn't matter much now.
"To what purpose are you on my island?" she inquired.
"I was knocked off my boat during a bad storm and washed up on it. It wasn't intentional. I have no idea wh--"
"Are you alone?" she interrupted. "Will others like you follow?"
"I am alone." Inodded. "Nobody else knows where I am. I just want to get home."
The queen studied me with her aquamarine eyes for a long moment. "Walk with me," she said suddenly and left no room for questioning.
Then she walked to the door and signaled me to follow, and Sela fell in behind me and the twins took their places, one on each side of me. Queen Nerissa remained quiet for a long time, and I didn't want to say something that would make me look disrespectful, so I just took in my surroundings
instead.
There were dozens of huts built much like the one I was being held in. Some of them were of newer builds with a shine still left to them, and some were in total disarray and desperately needed repairs. I could see a much larger building up on a hill about half a mile away, and I assumed it was what served as a palace for the queen or possibly barracks for the
warriors.
The silence built to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. I rehearsed lines in my head so I wouldn't sound disrespectful, but I had questions that needed answers.
"Please pardon me, Your Majesty, but where are we?" Iasked. "Who are you and your people?"
My questions were answered with silence, so I glanced around at the other women walking behind us, but none of them would make eye contact
with me. We continued to walkin silence until I worked up enough nerve to speak again.
"I beg your pardon again, Your Majesty, please understand I mean no disrespect," Isaid. "I have been lost at sea, and as I said, I am all alone. No one was with me or followed me. I really just want to figure out what
happened to me and what to do next so I can get home. I promise you, I mean no harm to you or your people."
Queen Nerissa met my eyes with her own mesmerizing ones. Then she sighed softly after a few moments of intense staring and finally spoke.
"We are the Insulam Draconum clan and have been on this island for a thousand years," she explained. "We were breathed to life hereby our
Yoruba god and goddess Olokun andOshun, and we pledge our fealty to them."
"How did you learn English?" Iasked. "Is that your native language?"
"We have a native language that is not your English, but we were
given the gift to speak thousands of tongues so we can communicate with any being who trespasses into our home," Nerissa continued as she gave me a scrutinizing look. "We live humbly and simply, as our religion requires. All of us have a job assigned to us. We have warriors, builders, educators,