In the palace gardens, pythons, and other snakes, slither here and there. Most are big, and all are exotic.
There's a statue of Dionysus. Snakes slither, rest, and drop from it, too.
There's also a statue of the Baracus, a servant of Dionysus. He resembles a panther. He wears a collar made of gold. Or rather, it would be gold, if it weren't made of stone...
Atop the Baracus's back, Queen Olympias rests, in her silk lingerie. Her snakes crawl all over her. In pure ecstasy, she raises her foot to the heavens. A cobra crawls up it, and caps it.
She laughs. "O look! I've made the Bronze Snake! I can now hereby heal everyone who's been bitten!"
Alexander, her stepson, and the crown prince of Macedonia, slithers in...no play on words intended. He sees all the snakes...and stays where he is.
He calls for his stepmother. Moments pass before Olympias realizes she's being summoned.
The snakes clear a path, to a gong on the wall. Wary of the snakes, Alexander creeps down the path they've made. He takes up a mallet...just as soon as a certain cobra has abandoned it, chambers, and strikes the gong.
The snakes atop the Baracus abandon their Queen. Olympias sighs, sits up, yawns, and turns to her stepson.
Alexander gapes at his stepmother's bare rack. Olympias gapes, hides behind the sculpture, and comes back out, wearing a tunic. At her feet, the snakes clear a path.
"Sorry, Alexander." She yawns. "Didn't hear you come in."
Alexander laughs indifferently, and acknowledges all the snakes that surround them. "I beg to differ."
Here, Alexander complains, once again, about his new stepmother's fondness for snakes. He hates it when they break into his room at night. As much as he doesn't mind sleeping on the balcony outside his bedroom...he's worried that the snakes will soon try to colonize THAT, too. He's also concerned that most snakes are solitary, and that his stepmother seems to be breeding them as if they were shad.
Olympias purrs, and caresses a python that she wears around her neck, like a scarf. The snake seems to be purring, too...
Alexander hates this. His new stepmother has no respect for her stepson's phobias...
She explains that she's the queen of a nation. And as that queen, she won't be able to influence the nation half as well, if she's not at her emotional best. Her soul demands these snakes just as much as her body demands Dionysus's care. She appreciates her stepson's concern, but she can't change herself for anyone; not even her own kin. She assures Alexander that one day, he'll understand. He'll have to be king one day; and naturally, EVERY ruler has at least one critic for every advocate.
Alexander scoffs. "SOME kingdoms have so many critics, it's a miracle their regicide rate stays low."
"Will there be anything else, dear stepson?"
He shakes his head. "Not at all. I'll just...have to expect to sleep in a different bed each night, I suppose."
She smiles, and pets her snakes. "That's a good boy. Now run along, and go get a local peasant girl pregnant." She smiles, and attends to her snakes. "I have MUCH I need to mull over with the children of Dionysus..."
Alexander sighs, and leaves her stepmother be. He can't stop shaking his head.
"Gee, Dad," he mimics a conversation to his father. "Where did you dig THIS whore up, if not a snake pit in the belly of Bengal? Did you raid a tomb, and resurrect her?"