The Book Of Poison

01: The Stranger

     Dixen waited impatiently at the front door of the Manson Manor, checking his watch every so often and nervously glancing at the forest. The darkness always seemed to frighten Dixen, but the wrath of the queen frightened him more. His gaze was interrupted by someone waving their hand in front of his face. He flinched, looking down at the seemingly small person who the hand belonged to. He had wispy white hair, bright blue eyes, and stood at a mere five feet tall. Despite his small height, he had a strong build, and even stronger arms.

He cleared his throat, "As I said...Myrtle will be seeing you now." He seemed very annoyed at the fact that he had to repeat himself. "Let me show you in." He opened the door wider, letting him inside.

The interior of the house was very intricate, and very aesthetically pleasing in Dixen's eyes. He almost missed what the small man was saying. "As you can see, we are very busy right now," As far as Dixen could see, the house seemed completely empty in the living organism category, with the exception of a couple dozen small animals that he could not identify. Some seemed to be made of tree branches, and looked like their internal organs were glowing, some looked like kittens, but with terribly coarse fur and piercing green eyes. There was one animal, that was about the size of a full grown greyhound, that had the appearance of a doe, but had electric yellow eyes and its horns seemed to have flowers growing from them, as though they were hallow and filled with dirt.

"I see you have noticed one of Myrtle's hobbies." The small man stated, following Dixen's gaze. He was confused, they were animals. How could they be hobbies?

"Hobbies? And what kind of hobby could that be?" Dixen asked, skeptically.

"Playing with life." The small man said simply, and turned in the direction of a corridor and began walking. Dixen assumed he was supposed to follow, and walked behind him.

They walked in silence until they reached the end of the said corridor. A grand door made of oak with very intricate carvings stood, and reached the ceiling. The man took a slip of paper from his pocket and slid it under the door.

After a few seconds, there was a click, and Dixen assumed that the door unlocked. "This is where I leave you, Dix. Can I call you that?" The man didn't wait for an answer, and turned and walked away.

Dixen stood at the door for a short moment, and reached for the handle. He turned it slowly, pushing it open. The room inside shocked Dixen, leaving him standing in the doorway, speechless. The room could only be described as a library. How such a large room could be able to fit inside this manor, Dixen knew not. Bookshelves stood as tall as the ceiling. Chair and tables were scattered at the ends of the rowed shelves. The books were of a variety, some old, some new, and some ancient.

"Good morning." From a table in the middle of the room spoke a quiet voice. Such a statement was absurd, it was nearly five in the afternoon. At the table sat a fairly young woman, with curly brown hair and a pale complexion. As Dixen approached, he could see Myrtle more clearly. Freckles were spread across her face and her eyes were mismatched; one blue and one brown. This, perhaps, was to represent the reaper's stand on the balance of the world. They were neither good, nor bad. Neither black nor white; brown or blue.

"Good...morning." Dixen was wary was he pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. Myrtle set down the book that she was reading, and looked at him intensely.

"You requested my presence?" She spoke fluidly, like she was some sort of poet.

"Yes. I must speak to you about the Queen. Nowhere is safe. This is the safest place we can speak." Dixen spoke short and sweet, getting straight to the point. Dixen was not one for nonsense.

Myrtle folded her hands under her chin. "Which one, might I ask? The both of them seem to be stirring up the dust as of late." Myrtle spoke in a quaint sort of way. Even so that it was hard for Dixen to interpret what she was saying.

"Queen Lex, of course. Who else? Her regiments are gaining strength. There are whispers, saying that she is readying for an attack." Dixen was not going to put up with Myrtle's metaphors or riddles, she must see the importance of what was going on. Even if she has seen worse.

"I have been watching, my dear boy. I understand. But, I must say, rather than being on the offense, I believe that she is readying to defend."

Dixen could not believe what he was hearing. Not only was it unthinkable, but it was highly improbable. No one attacked the kingdom of Nightmares. They were the ones who attacked. Not only that, but they were also very fierce, and could hold the fort like no other. They easily had the strongest soldiers the Seventh World has ever seen."Who would be so stupid as to attack her?"

Myrtle still had the dreamy look in her eyes as she unfolded her hands and stood up. "I want to show you something, Dixen." She began walking away in the direction of the back of the library. Dixen followed cautiously.

When they reached her destination, Myrtle pulled out an old book. On its cover was scrawled an unreadable script. She began flipping through its pages, and on them were pictures. Of whom, Dixen didn't know. But as far as Dixen could tell, they looked like royalty. She stopped at a picture of two young girls, which looked exactly alike. Except for their eyes. One of them sported deep blue eyes, the other had grey eyes. They looked like they were in mourning, and Dixen felt for them. It was strange for Dixen to feel such a thing for two complete strangers, whom he knew nothing about. "They used to be so kind. Such sweet little darlings, they were. They often fought, though, behind the scenes. While no one was looking. That one there," She pointed to the one with grey eyes. "that one constantly bullied little blue-eyed-bell here. And it seems as though it hasn't stopped. To answer your question, Dixen, her sister. Her sister is coming to attack. You better batten down the hatches, boy, or there will be blood."