2

"My lady, are you alright? What is it? What happened?" she frantically asked. She couldn't afford the Princess fainting again, or worse still, trying to escape like last time.

"Who is this?" Jasmine asked, pointing at the person looking back at her in the mirror. A tall, stunning, black-haired, fair-skinned female with red markings on her face and body that served to enhance her beauty further. This female was dressed in a grey gown studded with several rubies at the waist. This wasn't how she, Jasmine, looked.

Penelope sighed, "My lady, that's you, of course!" she replied.

"What?" Jasmine blurted out in astonishment. How can this be me? No," she shook her head, "it can't be. That can't be me!" she clamoured.

"My lady…"

"Who brought me here? Where is he? How dare he do something to me?" Jasmine yelled in ire, attempting to rush out the door but the maid locked her hands around her waist tightly, preventing her from going out.

A frustrated Jasmine questioned in rage, "Let me go! You claim to be my personal maid and you dare to grab me like this? This is harassment! Help! Let me go! I said let go of me!" she hollered, trying to free herself from this woman's grip to no avail. She was internally dismayed by the strength this petite maid shockingly possessed.

"My lady, please calm down," Penelope said softly.

"I am calm already,"

"No, you aren't," the latter shook her head and Jasmine sighed.

"Okay, I promise I'll not take a step out of this room if you let me go, alright?"

Penelope contemplated for a while before loosening her grip on her mistress but her hands were still wrapped around Jasmine's waist.

"Penelope, I promise," Jasmine said softly.

"Okay," Penelope let go of her.

"I didn't say I'll not leave starting today. Hmph!" she pushed the startled maid to the floor and hastily ran out of the room into the hallway.

"My lady," Penelope rose from the ground and chased after her mistress. Seeing that she couldn't catch up to her, she grunted and closed her eyes. Opening them again, her eyes had changed to a glowing green and she transformed into a big grey python.

Jasmine looked back once again to make sure her maid was no longer chasing her, only to see a large snake coming after her with great speed.

She screamed in fright and increased her running pace even more, hollering at the top of her lungs, imploring anyone nearby to come to her aid. She encountered a group of 4 females also dressed similarly to Penelope.

"My lady," they curtsied while holding the pricey things they were to deliver to the appropriate chamber.

"Snake, Snake!" Jasmine cried out, pointing behind her, panting heavily.

"Snake?" the girls asked with furrowed eyebrows. Why was their lady scared of a snake when she could easily defeat one? They shook their head with a sigh thinking maybe she'd lost her mind or was just trying to prank them.

"Princess Belinda," a masculine voice was heard. Jasmine turned to look at the owner of the melodious voice and it turned out to be a bisque-haired middle-aged man dressed in white lavish robes.

She ran over to him, still panting.

"Princess, you're awake. Why're you not resting but running about instead?" the man asked with a concerned look masked by a frown.

"Snake…" she pointed behind her and the man shook his head.

"Princess, if this is one of your antics, stop it. Go back to your chambers and reflect,"

"But… But…"

"Now!"

"Who are you to command me? If you're not running for your life, then don't prevent me!" an ired Jasmine made to run past the man, only to be stopped by him as he held her right hand and drew her back.

Penelope, now in human form walked over and Jasmine asked her how she survived to meet her and if the snake was already dead. A confused Penelope furrowed her brows, "But my lady, I'm a grey python. Why are you wishing me dead?" she asked, looking hurt.

Jasmine thought this was a dream and pinched herself. Wincing from the pain that greeted her after she pinched her flesh, made her certain that this indeed isn't a dream, "W-What do you mean by… you're a grey snake? I don't understand," she nervously laughed.

"Take your mistress back to her chambers, and don't let her out until command is given by the king!" the man ordered and Penelope nodded quickly, "Yes, Master Leo. It won't happen again," she promised and the man left with a harrumph, also ordering the four maids who were observing to go on with their duties and stop being busybodies.

Now that it was just two of them left, Penelope sighed, "My lady, come back with me, please," she implored.

Jasmine shook her head and backed away subconsciously, "No, I won't,"

The maid's eyes changed colour and she let out her forked tongue, causing the ascared Jasmine to fall to the floor on her butt, covering her mouth to stifle a scream.

"Now, do you believe me? Let's go back to your chambers, my lady. I can't let you get hurt before the wedding," she said, walking closer to the frightened Jasmine. The latter got to her feet and tried to flee as fast as her legs could take her but she felt something soft and cold hit her legs and she was about to fall but then, that same thing started… wrapping around her? She fearfully looked down and screamed. It was a large grey snake tail that was wrapped around her from the waist down.

Using her eyes to trace where the head of the snake was, she was stunned to see Penelope with her glowing green eyes that looked like those of a snake and then her upper body was human indeed but her feet were nowhere in sight. So she was saying the truth; she is indeed a grey snake!

"Mistress, will you follow me back to the chamber, or should I take you there by force?" Penelope questioned in a voice much different from the usual, her forked tongue not afraid to make its presence known.

Jasmine gulped down hard and nodded, "I'll follow you. I…I won't run away again. Please… let me go," she said pleadingly as she looked at the breathing tail.