I am not a queen because I rule, I rule because I am THE QUEEN.
Birthed in my heart. Alive in my veins…
****************
She clung to a branch, her limbs drawn tightly against her belly, the ache in her legs growing unbearable as the cursed beasts scrabbled and clawed below.
Their claws raked, rasped against bark, relentless and cruel in a frenzy of hunger and mindless want. They could not reach her, not yet- but still, they tried to climb, and she dared not manage a glance down.
Every heartbeat sent a tremor through her aching spine, every breath of wind set her nerves aflame and when the breath of wind became a gust, it felt like one of the creatures was snarling behind her.
Every sound her ears picked, that was different from the snarls was a fresh torture for her strained senses.