Into the Dragon's Den

[Maleficent]

January 9th

The night air was cool, as it usually is out in the Arabian desert. It was often assumed that the desert was always hot, but this is not so. It could be bitterly cold when the sun set. Day or night, the desert was an unforgiving place.

The preparations were complete for the excursion to Australia, all supplies ready and accounted for. Warriors organized into their respective teams, and prepared for the teleportation to the foreign land. Orders given. Weapons readied. Everything perfect.

So why had Maleficent called forth Nasira? Her summons to the necromancer hadn't specified. Merely the time and place, this late evening at the chambers in the northwest of the palace. This was where the more opulent chambers resided in the palace. Grand dining rooms for feasting, lavish lounges to impress guests with silk and gold, extravagant baths of precious scented waters, and private chambers discreetly separated from the majority of the palace inhabitants...

The room Nasira had been ordered to was one such chamber, the doors imposingly large and ornate. They were masterful things of engineering. One would think such a massive door would be impossible for one person to push or pull. The door opened outward a crack, moving silently, heady perfumes of incense drifting forth.

"Come in..." 

[Nasira]

All was quiet. Outside the palace walls, in the barracks, there might be a few ghazis sitting up late, drinking by the orange glow of the fire, but here, there was no one around. The overseers were fast asleep, and if a janissary patrolled the halls, Nasira did not see them.
 
To say that Nasira was anxious would have been a tremendous understatement. The overseer could only guess why she had been summoned by Maleficent; she had only been told where to go and when, not why. She did not think she did anything wrong, so she should have nothing to fear. Still, the willowy necromancer hesitated, looking up at the colossal adorned doors to the room she had been told to go to. They glared back at her accusingly, as if they knew full well what was on her mind. She suddenly felt very small.

On top of not knowing why she had been sent for, Nasira knew this was going to be at least ten times more awkward than it would have been had Nasira not felt the way she did about Maleficent. She had overcompensated for it by overthinking her every move, so that she could just fly under the radar, but the paranoia of being found out ate at her daily. Nasira was never really good at hiding her feelings for very long, and she did not know how she was going to handle herself in there. 

Nasira's heart lurched when the massive doors opened.

"Come in..."

Her legs felt too weak to walk. Concealing a sharp jolt of fear, she took a deep breath and stepped inside, her heart pounding.

[Maleficent]

The room was on the smaller scale of the chambers here in the palace, however they were still quite lavish. Silks hung about the walls, and hung strung along cords through the area. It made the large space more private.

Standing in the opposite side of the room was Maleficant herself. She had her finger extended, a green flame flickering from the tip. She used it to light whick of the lamp on this end table.

"Welcome, Nasira," Maleficent flickes her wrist, the fire going out. The tall woman turned to face Nasira, and her lips curled into an inviting smile.

Gone were the Mistress's long billowing robes, and dark cowl. Instead she was wearing a long black dress. Her neck and shoulders were left bare, the neck line dipping, but only slightly. It was still modest. Unlike the slit along the skirt that went up along Maleficent's thigh.

With the cowl removed, it was apparent that Maleficent's horns were real, sprouting from her skull. Her hair was long and dark, braided in a rope that looped over her shoulder and down her chest, nearly reaching her waist.

"Good of you to come," Maleficent then poured two glasses of a dark red wine in identical matching goblets, "We have much to discuss."

[Nasira]

Nasira froze at the doorway and - stupidly - stared, mesmerized. Though the necromancer had seen Maleficent once before, she was startled all over again by how tall the Mistress of All Evil was, and how strikingly alluring. The fact that her queen was now in attire that left less to the imagination seemed to augment those sentiments. The difference in rank and sheer power had sat in between them like a wall, but it was hard for Nasira to think of anything else when looking at her. She was absolutely stunning.

Only when the medium's eyes fluttered down to one of Maleficent's exposed thighs, she realized she was staring. Nasira felt her face grow hot, and she forced herself to avert her eyes, instead opting to gaze at one of the silk curtains as if they were the most interesting thing in the room. 

Thankfully, by the time Maleficent had turned away from the candle she was lighting to address her, Nasira had, for the most part, reined herself in, doing her best to appear professional. "Thank you for having me," Nasira said tactfully, meeting Maleficent's intense yellow eyes. 

"We have much to discuss."

"Of course," Nasira complied. If her leader wanted to talk to her, then whatever it was, it had to be important, and she was to treat that as such. So Nasira, albeit tentatively, approached Maleficent. The immense doors then shut behind her, closing them both in.

[Maleficent]

If Maleficent caught sight of Nasira's stares, or the blush on her dark features, she said nothing. Instead, she approached Nasira and gave her one of the goblets of red wine.

"I hope you like the vintage," Maleficent clinked her glass against Nasira's,then retreated back into the room, "Come. Sit. Make yourself comfortable."

Maleficent certainly did laying herself across a chaise longue.

While many of the trappings of the room were arabic, there was still a selection of european accents here and there. Mostly the choices in seating. Maleficent never understood sitting on the floor. Bah.

"I never got a chance to express my condelences to you about Jafar," Maleficent swirled the wine in her goblet, "I should have been here to prevent such things. In fact it was the very reason I took up residence here in Agrabah. I don't want to lose any of my other capable comrades."

Hooded eyes flicked up to Nasira's, " Comrades like you."

[Nasira]

The shock had hardly dissipated when the Mistress of All Evil handed Nasira a goblet and invited her to sit down. What was even going on? And why did it feel like she was stuck between this weird place of wanting...whatever this was, but also wanting to run and hide? It made no sense at all.

"Thank you," Nasira said as she gingerly met Maleficent's glass, secretly relieved she now had something to help take some of the edge off. "I'm sure I will." She chose a chair directly across from Maleficent's chaise longue and took a sip of wine. It did taste good.

Recognition flickered in the necromancer's dark eyes, and for a fleeting moment, her mind went elsewhere. She nodded somberly, "What happened was indeed a tragedy. It means a lot to me to hear that from you. You've been good to us in spite of everything."

Nasira took another sip. Everything she and her brother had worked for had been undermined by a powerful entity neither of them had the capacity to overcome, and that sense of helplessness had nearly drove them mad. But as time went on, Nasira's disappointment and anger had waned. Maleficent had been pretty generous compared to what the necromancer was so used to seeing in the Seven Deserts. Jafar got to keep his life and was given a high rank and had been left to his own devices. That never happened here. It still felt weird following someone else's commands, but after having to bring back Jafar once, Nasira felt the mercy they had been shown ought to count for something. 

And in the months of autonomy that followed her brother's death, Nasira had got her bearings and continued to adjust to the new regime in spite of being so forlorn. It had not been easy, but it was the prospect of revenge that brought her back.

"-comrades like you."

Nasira's heart fluttered though she hardly dared to hope. She did seem to sit a little straighter and had recovered her composure quickly before she could splutter something lame. She smiled. "You're too kind," she said graciously. 

[Maleficent]

Maleficent's eyes looked over Nasira, trying to read her, understand her. She recognized when talk of Jafar clouded them, and took a sip of her wine to give the woman a moment with her thoughts.

"What happened was indeed a tragedy. It means a lot to me to hear that from you. You've been good to us in spite of everything."

A gust of air escaped Maleficent in a sympathetic sigh, and she set her goblet down on a table besides her seat, "It indeed was. He was a capable man, even if, forgive me for saying, he had a collection of... weaknesses. He had potential, however, and I knew he would have been a powerful and trustworthy vizier I could trust Arabia with."

The somber expression on Maleficent instead twitched into a smile as Nasira had sat up straighter. Her eagerness was... cute. Maleficent laughed quietly and sat up straight as well, leaning towards Nasira. Her long and thin finger hands laced themselves in Maleficent's lap.

"Let me speak frankly about why I've asked you here tonight," the sultana said, "Nasira, I see you as a dependable woman. Powerful. Competent. Out of all my overseers you are the one I see most potential in. I had briefly considered to elevating you to Jafar's position..."

Maleficent then settled back in her chaise longue and sighed taking up her wine again, "However, your loyalties... my trust in you... I couldn't be completely confident in. So I called upon Crow to take up the position as I have known him for many, many, years and know that he is infallible in my service."

Maleficent's eyes snapped from her wine straight into Nasira's with laser like focus. Deeply and intensely.

"Nasira, I want your loyalty. I want to know that you are mine," she spoke quietly, as seriously as her gaze.

[Nasira]

"Okay." Nasira wondered what was coming next. Until now the conversation was no more than idle pleasantries. Not that she minded. The apprehension of not knowing what she had been called in for was almost agonizing, but another part of her wished the inconsequential remarks lasted a tad longer before reality sank its teeth in.

"I suppose that makes sense," Nasira said diplomatically as she gently set her wine glass on a side table. "You've known Crow for years, and we're...um, still getting acquainted. The fact that you even considered me, however brief that was, is something in and of itself." She smirked coyly. "I can do plenty as an overseer."

Their eyes suddenly deadlocked, and Nasira's heart skipped a beat. Maleficent's eyes had held a strength that could not be contested, holding Nasira's gaze like a snake mesmerizing her prey. Nasira never thought she would be on the receiving end. A cold shiver crawled up her bare spine. She was unable to move, let alone look away, held completely captive by the other's authority. 

"Nasira, I want your loyalty. I want to know that you are mine."

Nasira knew she was teetering dangerously close to the point of no return, but her mind was made up. I don't want Crow's position, she thought, I want you. "I am yours," she persisted. "I will always be yours."

Maybe Maleficent already had something in mind. "Okay," she said decisively. "What would you like me to do?" She leaned forward in her seat.

"Try me."

[Maleficent]

Red painted lips cracked into a satisfied smile. Nasira had given the exact response Maleficent wanted. She was pleased, looking like the cat that caught the canary.

Which wasn't far from the truth.

"You don't know how it pleases me to hear you to say that," Maleficent responded quietly, "You particularly."

Maleficent took up her wine again, and took a sip, "Right now, I merely want you to spearhead the mission to Australia. Show me your ability to lead directly, when it matters most, on the battle field."

"I want you to insure our success. I won't tolerate failure," Maleficent raised up one jeweled finger, "With only one caveat."

The dark mistress extended her goblet, clinking it against Nasira's, "I forbid you to die."

[Nasira]

Nasira smiled and leaned back in her seat to retrieve her glass from the stand. "I'm glad," she purred softly, basking in the sunshine of Maleficent's approval. The latter's smile was lovely.

Nasira had already known she was to go to Australia tomorrow as she was one of those who had been selected to go. She just did not expect, however, to be the one leading. She was thrilled. It would definitely a start to prove herself. Nasira knew just as well as Maleficent that trust took time as much as the necromancer wanted to absolve Maleficent of any doubt right this second. "Thank you, Maleficent," she said, inclining her head. "It will be done."

But Maleficent had not finished. Nasira inquisitively arched an eyebrow. Only one condition? She lowered her glass. What did Maleficent have in mind? Nasira saw Maleficent's arm move again, and right on cue, she tentatively met the latter's chalice.

"I forbid you to die."

Nasira did not expect her to say that. She felt herself blush again.

"I won't then," she promised.

The End