TW: W3ap0n$, vi0l3nc3, bl00d

Verita stood in the middle of the throne room looking like she hadn't slept in days. She held up the thick, ancient tome she'd dug out from the depths of the library, recounting details about the gorgon to Tigris, the knights, and the king. Finn stood in the corner of the room behind the librarian, fidgeting with his armour.

"The gorgon acts fast, spurred by its wings and lithe form. It spits a potent, paralyzing venom and a single bite from its fangs will turn the victim to stone. You must also avoid the left side of its body. That side contains a corrosive poison that will destroy everything it touches, including your blades. Such a poison can only be cleansed with fire." the librarian explained solemnly, highlighted by a beam of silvery moonlight. She pushed back a stray strand of hair from her face, her eyes meeting Tigris'. "The gorgon transforms at midnight sharp and will remain in its monstrous form for a quarter hour."

Tigris gripped the hilt of her sword, meeting Finn's eyes. He nodded at her, looking haggard but determined.

The gorgon was going to die tonight. Kai would be avenged, and he would get the anti-venom he needed.

"How can it be killed?" their father asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Verita kept her eyes obediently downcast as she answered,

"The right side of the gorgon must be slashed first to drain enough of the healing blood. You may have to make multiple blows to drain enough blood out. Once that has been done, the creature can be killed like any other." she explained.

Finn frowned at the answer. "But how are we supposed to land a blow if the scales are infallible?"

"It's not infallible," Tigris corrected, her mind darting back to the last battle, "My sword managed to cut through."

The king nodded, standing from his throne. "Midnight approaches. Tigris, lead the battle. So far, you're the only one who's had any success in wounding the beast. Lead the knights and kill it once and for all."

As if on cue, the warning bells began to ring. Confusion flitted through the room.

"It's not midnight yet," Tigris mumbled in confusion. The king's brows furrowed.

"Go. Ensure no one is in the courtyard," he ordered sternly, "Send for more knights as needed."

"Thank you, father," Tigris curtsied deeply before beckoning for the knights to follow. She raced out into the winding halls, her pace picking up as the fresh night air caressed her face.

Tigris burst through the courtyard with her usual poise, her eyes instantly focussing on the group of pompously dressed nobles gathered in the courtyard.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tigris asked, her voice stilling the murmurings and chatterings of the gathered crowd, "There is a curfew in order! A battle is to occur in moments."

"This is important, my lady," a vaguely familiar voice assured her. The crowd parted, revealing a rotund, muscled bald man with eyes gleaming with hate. Draven stalked up to Tigris, holding something squirming in his hand.

It only took Tigris a moment to realise that his grubby fingers were currently holding a thick head of dark hair attached to a pale, shivering woman.

"Is this who you were searching for?" Tigris asked, swallowing her discomfort as the bounty hunter threw the woman to the ground. The inkblood cried out, delicate palms bloodying as they scraped against the ground. She was crying silently, stunning grey-blue eyes hazy as they peered up at Tigris with a strange kind of intensity that Tigris had only seen in two others before: Kai and Roche.

"Aye, my lady," Draven answered with a triumphant grin, revealing yellowed teeth, "This is the inkblood that even the fool librarians didn't want. We caught her trying to escape the castle,"

Jeers rang out from the gathered nobles. Tigris felt a strange sense of pity for the battered woman as she shrank in from the cries, hiding her face among her hair. It took a fair amount of Tigris' royal training not to show her distaste.

There was no honour in taunting the defeated.

"Enough!" Tigris snapped after a few moments, "Lock her up again, securely this time. She mustn't be released again, especially not tonight."

The woman gasped, tears streaming down her tawny cheeks. She looked up at Tigris with grey-blue eyes so wide and fearful that the princess' stomach dropped.

"Please," the woman gasped, "You must let me go!"

"Shut up!" Draven snarled, kicking her in the stomach. The woman curled in on herself, crying out.

"You don't understand! The monster, I can't hold it back!"

Finn grabbed Tigris' arm, forcing her back a step. His eyes were wide and fearful. His voice carried over the jeers of Draven's men.

"Wait a moment. Are you Med-"

He never got the chance to finish the statement.

The inkblood's let out a sharp scream that cut off Finn's words.

"Seize her!" Draven snapped, and the men converged.

A ragged cry tore out of the woman's mouth. She looked up, eyes locking with Tigris. Her pupils dilated, blown so wide they covered her entire iris before stretching grotesquely over the whites of her eyes.

The bells tolled loudly, signalling the start of midnight.

Her scream took on an agonised tone, drawing out into an animallistic wail as her back arched. Her nails bit into the ground as she heaved and spat, like she was fighting some inner battle. Her hair fell around her eyes.

Then, before Tigris' very eyes, she began to shift.

Her back curved, arching larger and larger. Her dark hair extended, melting into her skin and hardening into glimmering black scales as her body popped and twisted, growing. Her wails stretched into a serpentine hiss that Tigris finally recalled. The former woman looked up, her white teeth extended into dripping fangs. Those rubbery lips expanded into a monstrous grin. A forked tongue slid over those lips.

Tigris cursed, stepping back. She unsheathed her sword. "Get into-"

Before she could finish the order, the gorgon's wings flared. She blinked, and the creature dove, moving so fast it blurred.

A baritone scream filled the air, joined by others in moments. The place where Draven had stood was now nothing more than a red smear of shredded flesh that quickly turned grey. The rest of his posse screamed in terror and began to run. They didn't get very far.

"Men, on me!" Tigris ordered loudly, adrenaline making her vision crisp. She breathed deeply, the coppery reek of blood staining her nostrils. Her knights converged into a wedge shaped formation behind her, swords extended.

The air stirred on Tigris' right. She was moving before she could even warn the knights, spinning around with her sword lofted. The edge of her blade cracked against the gorgon's flat head, oozing sizzling inkblood. Tigris sprang back as the beast reared, spraying the cobblestones with sizzling blood.

"Wrong side, Tigris!" Finn called, voice tinged with amusement. She gritted her teeth, annoyance rising as the knights snickered. Their laughter was cut off when the giant winged serpent hissed, leaping for Tigris again with the promise of revenge for its healing wound. Tigris rolled out of the way, her lungs emptying as she popped back to her feet and stared into the eyes of the creature.

"Distract it!" she snapped back to her knights, "Keep it's right side open!"

"Its right, or our right?" one of the knights shouted. Tigris bit back a groan but didn't have time to respond as the beast peeled back its lips and sprayed venom at her face. She ducked, rolling forward. Bits of stones peppered her skin painfully as she came up against the snake's underbelly, slicing her sword across its right side quickly before rolling out the side.

The gorgon roared, dark inkblood making the ground sticky. Tigris noticed, with no small amount of satisfaction, that the wound was healing slower than usual.

The air blurred, and suddenly the gorgon wasn't in front of her anymore.

Finn cried out, and the beast crashed into her back, knocking her to the ground. Her sword clattered out of her hand as her back hit the ground, her lungs emptying. The heavy weight of the creature settled over her legs, pinning her in place.

"Hey! HEY!" Finn shouted, trying to draw its attention. Tigris noticed, faintly, that the knights were hacking at the gorgon's sides with little success. The gorgon loomed over her trapped body, fangs primed and ready to turn her to stone.

Its eyes twinkled with triumph. Tigris' breath caught in her chest, like her lungs had already been turned to stone.

"Tigris!" Finn was shouting, sounding closer, but she knew he wouldn't make it to her in time. The creature's lips peeled back, ready to bite. Tigris braced for the piercing bite, her fingers stretching to cover her face.

Suddenly, the gorgon's hiss split the air. A warm spray of liquid coated Tigris' leg, and the pressure pinning her down loosened. Tigris scrambled back and away, quickly drawing her sword into her hands and landing another strike before turning to look at the cause of the beast's pain.

Finn was near its belly, his sword digging into the slash Tigris had made earlier. Despite the sharpness of his blade, he wasn't cleaving through the skin with his sword. Instead, he used brute force to wrench apart the flaps of dangling skin, undoubtedly painful for the gorgon.

With a whack of its tail, the gorgon sent Finn flying across the courtyard. Tigris' heart stopped in her chest, beast forgotten. A cry passed her lips, but Finn was already twisting midair like a cat. He landed, the impact rocketing up his ankles, and he winced. But he was alive and conscious, which was all Tigris needed to see.

A new fury crept up her veins as she turned. Her knights were doing well, distracting the beast with well timed jabs and dodges. The gorgon's eyes were beginning to dart away from the troublesome prey. Tigris saw those serpentine irises drifting towards the castle doors.

Not today, you foul creature. Tigris sneered in her mind as she launched back into battle. Before the gorgon could return its attention to her, she plunged her blade into its side. It hissed loudly, trying to slither away towards the castle, but Tigris leapt, stabbing her sword into one of the scales with a wet crack. As the creature squirmed in agony, she used the embedded blade to haul herself onto its back.

The scales dug into her thighs. From the ground, Finn gasped loudly.

"THIS WASN'T THE PLAN!" he shouted up at her, eyes flashing with concern.

Tigris yanked out her sword, thick inkblood mixed with red streaks pouring from the wound. It was healing at a snail's pace now. All they needed were a few more hits.

"I made a new plan!" Tigris called back, holding onto the scales for dear life as the slithery gorgon began to buck. She landed a slice to its right wing before flattening herself against its back, barely managing to stay on, "We need a snake head!"

"We do?" one of the knights called.

The gorgon began to retreat towards the castle. Tigris clenched her jaw, crawling forward as the beast's movements began to flag.

"Keep it distracted!" she ordered the knights again, inching up the scaly back. She was nearly at the head. With a grunt, Tigris brought her sword down with all her strength, lopping off one of the writhing snakes.

The gorgon stiffened as the snake head fell to the ground. It watched the monstrous, writhing thing smack against the cobblestones. The gorgon screamed, like Tigris had yanked its heart out. Tigris clambered to her feet, struggling to balance on the undulating body, and dragged her sword down its scaly side.

The gorgon rolled over with an agonised sound. Tigris gripped her sword, nostrils flaring as the foul scent of inkblood filled the air.

"Get ready!" she shouted to her men as she leapt off the beast, still holding onto the sword. The embedded blade carved through the scales with ease, ripping the gorgon open to its tail.

The gorgon seemed to realise it was in real danger. It roared, injured wings flaring. It sprayed blood and inkblood across the courtyard with the movement, backing away towards the forest. But when it turned to flee, its serpentine eyes widened.

Because Finn was standing there with half of the knights, blocking it from escape.

The gorgon turned back to the castle, shrinking in on itself as it spotted Tigris and the rest of the knights standing guard over the doors.

Tigris felt a surge of triumph as its eyes flared with panic. Its hisses no longer made her tremble. She stalked forward, easily dodging a sluggish snap of its fangs. Inkblood slicked the cobblestones.

She moved toward its left, sword prime in her hand. In her mind, she saw Kai lying comatose on the infirmary cot.

She felt no sympathy or remorse as she slid towards the closest seam on its chest where she knew a pulse boomed.

"This is for Kai," she hissed, just like it had. Tigris surged forward with victory in her eyes and lunged forward, her sword piercing through its chest with ease.

She didn't register the way the gorgon stilled suddenly, its obsidian eyes latched on the maid who had raced into the bloodied courtyard.

A/N: ... ta da?

On a real note, I'm so sorry everyone. Please prepare yourselves for the next chapter, I nearly cried writing it.

As always, happy reading!