Chapter 2 A Meeting In The Snake Kingdom

After the death of Queen Maria, there was an urgent need to look after the snake kingdom and to bring back the baby-snake, the heir to the throne, safe and sound from the clutches of the cunning witch. Julia, queen's friend - who was very loyal to her, was now chosen as the main leader who would look after the kingdom and take decisions concerned with it.

Julia was in charge of the snake kingdom now and she summoned a meeting to deliberate over the current threats which all the inhabitants of the snake kingdom were facing. All the royal families were invited. The ladies were in fine pink velvety robes with shining golden laces. They were extremely beautiful with innocence playing on their faces. All of them had flexible golden hair and radiant eyes. There was a beautiful gold ring around each one's head, with a snake-hood positioning at the front. All the gents were dressed in turquoise robes with golden laces. They also had gold rings with snake-hood around their heads.

There were two guards on the main gate of the palace looking so fierce. Each of them was half man and half snake. The upper part was that of a man with nice build. The whole body was violet and there were white scales on the chest. The head was again of a python with tongue darting in and out. The lower part was cylindrical that ended in a tail. Both of them had lances in their hands. Their eyes were horribly red as if fire would come out from them immediately. Among the rest, some had greenish bodies and some yellowish or other. But all of them had scales on their bosoms.

All the royal members were sitting on the golden chairs arranged on the left and right sides of the throne. The others were standing. The court was in deep distress. Suddenly Julia happened to enter and all of them stood up to give her respect. The gold crown on her head was adorned with costly stones and gems that showed her significance. She sat on the throne with great dignity. She had an extraordinary look. Her dignity exposed her talent. Her heart was beating a little faster, for her beloved friend queen Maria had been killed. Moreover, her only child had been snatched away. All the courtiers were silent, looking at her face. She, feeling a little shy, addressed them in order to attract their attention, "Dear inhabitants of the snake kingdom!" she paused for a while, trying to stop herself from shedding tears, and then continued, "It's a very critical moment for us. We... we have lost both... our kindhearted... kindhearted queen and her only child, the heir to the throne..." she couldn't control herself and at once burst into tears. Her heart filled with grief. Rose, one of her friends who was sitting next to her on the right, stood up and stepped towards her. She caught her by the shoulders and began to console her.

"Come on dear! Be brave! If you shed tears cowardly then what will others do?" Rose said sadly. Her voice was low but clear.

"I'm... But..." she tried to say something but her voice didn't accompany her. She was weeping bitterly. Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks. Her lips were trembling. She was not in a position to say anything.

"Come on Julia! Stop crying!" said Jasmine, another friend, who was sitting on her left. She rose and wiped Julia's' tears with her fingers; kissed on her forehead and said lovingly "Let's go to the other room. Have rest for a while and you'll feel better, come on!"

Both of them took her to a room attached to the court. It was a well maintained room beautifully decorated. There was a golden bed and some other things of need in the room. Beautiful pictures, especially of snakes, were carved on the walls just as in the court. All the courtiers were sad and excited. They all started talking in a low voice, about future plans and actions to be taken to save the baby-snake. Each of them was expressing his own ideas and views before one another.

After sometime, Julia reappeared with her friends – Rose and Jasmine. She was looking calm now. All of them took their respective places and once more there fell silence. She looked at the courtiers gently and said with a weak but charming voice-

"O inhabitants of the snake kingdom! The time has come to take revenge. Furthermore, we have to save the child. She is very precious to us. We cannot let her die. We all know that such type of snake is born after 3000 years." She paused for a moment and again continued, "The wicked witch already knows this. She had tried it earlier, too. She'll do anything to get her. She wants to suck her blood to increase her power as well as her youth." The courtiers nodded their heads. They were listening to each and every word very attentively and carefully.

Julia stood up and went close to the mirror fixed on the wall. It was covered by a turquoise colour curtain. She took the curtain in her hand, turned to the courtiers and said "We don't have enough time now. The baby snake is almost in great danger. This magic mirror will help us in searching her."

The mirror was gleaming in the daylight. It was oval shaped and had a golden frame, surrounded by golden snakes from left and right. Julia commanded the mirror with some magic words in snake language. In no time, there appeared Melissa in the mirror, playing with Albert's beard. Albert was sitting on the floor cross legged and Melissa was stretching her hand to touch his beard. She was chuckling. The sight was almost amusing. Catherine was standing at some distance smiling at them.

"Wow! She's saved." Julia exclaimed with joy.

"Thank God!" all the courtiers said in unison.

Julia wanted to know about Albert and Catherine and the place where they lived, for they were completely unknown to her. The magic mirror told her all about them. She then returned to her place eagerly and consulted the courtiers regarding the baby snake's protection.