The Serpent Queen

Chapter Sixteen

Jughead came by the next morning to pick me up and we headed to the prison to see FP.

'Why the hell is this Northsider here?' I asked furiously when I spotted the redhead.

'My name is Archie, and I'm here to support Jughead' he explained.

'Whatever, come on'

We were sat opposite FP who asked us for the full story - he was mad that Jughead had properly joined the Serpents but he put it aside for now.

'Look, if we don't do something, now, there will be no more Serpents. It'll just be the Ghoulies' Jughead told his dad.

'I'd rather commit suicide than be a Ghoulie and be under that awful leadership' I told all three of them.

'Don't kill yourself Crystal, we're gonna need you. The Serpents have survived worse than the Ghoulies' FP began to plan and I could see him running different scenarios in his head.

He told us we had to out think them, this was mainly about territory. Then he mentioned how the Ghoulies loved their crazy souped - up retro cars and hearses - I knew what he was planning.

'You want us to challenge them to a one - on - one street race?' I clarified quietly so the guards wouldn't hear us.

'Keep it on the DL Crystal, I don't want you getting locked up. Again.' he cracked a small smile.

'What about the terms of the race?' Jughead asked.

'Their guy wins, the Serpents roll over. But if we win...'

'The Ghoulies back off' Jughead finished.

'We may have to raise the stakes' I mused 'Whoever wins controls Southside High, we could get rid of the Ghoulies and the Jingle Jangle'

'And get McCoy off our backs' Jughead added.

'Just be careful kids'

'We will, thanks dad'

Jughead and Archie went to leave but I hung back and told them to leave without me, I wanted to talk to FP alone for a while.

'What can I do for you Crystal?' he smirked.

'You can start by telling me the truth'

'The truth is I'm mad Jughead's a Serpent and involved in this mess but I'm grateful that he is as I think he'll be a good influence on you'

'On me?' I asked.

'You're a hothead at times Crystal. I don't mind it but it does make you a tad unpredictable. Jughead's more level headed so you make a good team'

'He's a good kid FP' I complimented, 'Hang on in there, you'll be out soon'

I left the prison and headed to my trailer. Jughead was waiting for me and said we had to go and meet the head Ghoulie. I agreed but was annoyed when he said his little friend Archie would be joining us.

'I swear if he messes this up, I will end him. Wait here while I get changed' I sighed.

I knew I had to show off a little in front of the Ghoulies so I wore a black dress, my biker boots, and my favourite black leather Serpent jacket. It didn't sound like much but I knew it would make an impact on them.

We made our way to the Ghoulies den and I cringed as we walked in and spoke to Malachai who eyed me like a piece of meat.

'My boys and I wanna challenge you to a race' I told Malachai 'If we win Serpents remain autonomous and you quit dealing at Southside High.'

'And if we win?' he asked.

'We fold and you can continue polluting Southside with your little straws of death'

'So, the mighty Serpent Princess has some stones, but not much else' Malachai taunted 'So, unless Your Highness wants to put some of her boyfriends territory on the table, I got no reason to agree to a race'

'First off, I'm the Queen, show some respect' I started but got interupted by two girls being dragged in by more Ghoulies.

'Veronica?'

'Betty?'

Jughead and Archie asked simultaneously when they recognised the girls whereas I rolled my eyes at their stupidity.

'Wait, so these are your bitches?' Malachai asked and I hid a laugh.

'I bet your misogynistic pardon?' Veronica retaliated.

'Shut up skank, I'm trying to do business here' I snapped.

'Until you give us a better offer, there'll be no race'

'If you win, we'll give you the Whyte Wyrm' Jughead announced, making me furious but I tried not to explode on him, 'you can exand your drug dealing horizons and upgrade out of this literal hell hole'

'We'll take the Wyrm and Sunnyside Trailer Park' Malachai decided.

Jughead looked at me, knowing he couldn't make a decision like that himself.

'Done' I agreed.

We left as soon as we could after that and once we were a safe distance away, I turned on the girls.

'Are you out of your crazy, small, insignificant minds? You shouldn't be on the Southside, you nearly blew everything for me in there'

'That wasn't about you' Veronica scoffed.

'No? Well it sure as hell didn't seem that way in the Ghoulie den'

I walked away, trying to resist the urge to punch both the girls in the face.