Chapter 3:
The creature below gave a radiant smile, or at least it would be radiant on any other person than the loathsomely stained teeth of the creature below Alexandria.
It made to speak before pausing, then its face twisted as if had just tasted curdled milk.
"That's not your real name, is it," the creature asked, sounding almost petulant.
"No," Alexandria replied then, her voice echoed softly across the unnaturally still swamp. She could see from her vantage point several feet above the water the unnatural mist that crept ever closer and the ripples in the mire covered water. The strange lobster creatures were not gone but were evidently waiting at the whim of their master.
"I know better than to give my actual name to someone that asks for it as if it has value," Alexandria continued, glaring down at the creatures. A moment before she had almost given her name away, not believing that it had value on what was by all appearances another world. However, her reluctance had proved fortuitous, and Alexandria now suspected that the creature below had some power that required a name in order to use.
Library of Alexandria wasn't enough for it, but plain Alexandria might be enough. She was better known as Alexandria then as Rebecca.
"A name for a name?" Alexandria demanded, floating a little closer. The creature blinked pale eyes, the color of cataracts, earlier the creature's eyes had appeared as viridian jewels, even if the pupil was shaped like a cat's, now they were eyes fit for a corpse.
"No," The creature said, protesting, it seemed to be pained to even do so, "You did not give a real name."
"You did not ask for a real name," Alexandria's eye flashed below her visor. Her certainty that the creature had been trying to trick her somehow growing stronger, "you asked for 'a name'."
The creature scowled, "It wasn't a deal," it bit out, slipping deeper into the water, only its face was exposed now above the fetid swamp water. Alexandria heard a dull splash behind her but did not turn.
With a resounding boom, the limb of one of the rotting trees crashed into her shoulder, splintering into shards of wood, which in turn splattered into the goop that Alexandria had observed before.
This was an even more blatant attack than before and Alexandria was tired of this cape or creature's games. She darted forward, calling upon the speed and strength that her power gifted her even as the creature below sought to sink into the mire.
Alexandria impacted the water like a meteor, sending plant material, grasping giant lobsters, and algae-covered water into the air. Like a vise her hand closed around the creature's throat, pulling it upwards in one smooth motion. Alexandria took just a moment's extra care to avoid just snapping its neck outright.
It grasped at her hand, panic coloring its eyes, which had become a pale yellow, slit like a cat's. Alexandria also noticed the delicate tips of its ears, like a fantasy elf. The flesh purpled under Alexandria's grip, and the creature bit back the start of an echoing wail, not having enough air to pull in to continue.
Black claws and grasping chitin, combined with long tendrils of plant matter grasped impotently as Alexandria's legs, so she ascended higher again, not paying attention to the lobster which attempted to hold on before slipping to the hungry mouths below.
"Now you will tell me," Alexandria began coldly, "Where am I? What are you?"
The creature grasped with cold hands, Alexandria could feel that much, and ice crept across her arms. Alexandria disregarded such a pitiful attempt, a simple flex was enough to shatter the gathering ice, sending the razor-sharp shards to the lobsters below.
"I can," the creature gurgled, before cutting off. Alexandria loosened her grip just a moment, and then almost let go entirely as the creature's head seemed to burst and the body dissolved. As she felt the dead body slip through her fingers to the water below she glimpsed the moment in her memory. The creature was still whole.
With a grunt, Alexandria dived again, her superhuman speed just enough to grab the creature before it hit the water. Her eyes told her she was holding a corpse, her memory, however, told quite a different story.
"Illusion," Alexandria muttered, grateful for her thinker power, it has saved her from masters and strangers many times in the past, and it had saved her from releasing whatever this thing was.
"Tell me what I want to know," Alexandria commanded it darkly.
"Then you must make a deal with me," it rasped out, still twisting in her grip. Her hand was not as tightly around its neck as before, and the other arm gripped its arm, holding it aloft. It would not escape easily.
"No deal," Alexandria said, "Tell me what I want to know or I will kill you."
Alexandria was actually uncertain if she would. On one hand, the creature had tried to kill her, on the other hand, nothing it had used actually stood a chance at working.
"Don't you want to let me go? I know little of importance?" The creature replied. Alexandria's attention was drawn to its ruby red lips, a pink tongue licking them sensually. A smoldering look from the creature drew Alexandria's attention to her arm which was pressed up against the perfect naked breast of the creature. No trace of the dank vegetation from the swamp marred its porcelain skin. Its muscles were taught and perfectly formed, poised to fulfill many dark desires.
Alexandria took all this in and more, feeling the twinge of some long-ignored feeling inside her. However, yet again her perfect memory came to her rescue, her eyes deceived her yet again.
"I'm straight," was what Alexandria managed to say, before clarity returned to her mind, once she realized the unreality in front of her, the illusion peeled away, leaving only the inhuman and not quite attractive enough creature.
If Alexandria could interpret looks, which as it stands she could do quite well, the creature she was holding was glaring daggers with her. She could also detect fragments of wounded pride and lust in the creature's gaze.
"I mean what I say," Alexandria tightened her grip around the creature's throat, "Accept my deal, answer my questions, or I will end you."
The creature gurgled, pale yellow eyes bulging, the water fairly frothed below with the movement of the lobsters and vegetation.
"I accept," it gurgled, finally relenting. Alexandria held her grip a moment longer, just to watch the pain turn to panic, before relenting, relaxing her death grip.
"Three questions? Then you'll let me go free?" The creature asked, searching Alexandria's face. Alexandria very deliberately let no emotion show on her face, it was child's play for her. She had been doing it every day of her superhuman life.
"Those are the terms," Alexandria agreed.
"Thrice said and agreed?"
"Yes," Alexandria allowed.
"Ask," the creature relaxed.
Alexandria thought back, and decided to do exactly what the creature had tried to do to her, "Tell me your true name."
The creature stiffened, the sly look that had been growing in its eyes disappeared as if it had never been there, "No," it said, "ask a different question!"
"I don't think I will," Alexandria replied, tightening her hold, "You did not put any restrictions on the questions I could ask. This is one of my three."
The creature snarled, twisting in her grip, scales, and slime shedding from its body as it writhed, trying to escape her iron grip, illusion after illusion battered her body.
"Are you deviating from our terms?" Alexandria finally spoke, deciding she had humored the creature long enough, it stilled in her grip, becoming deathly still.
"I am Jenny Greenteeth!" It snarled, spittle flying from its mouth, it splattered against Alexandria's visor. Her lips twitched just a fraction as the fetid smell of swamp water came from the spittle.
"I see," Alexandria replied, "from the old English folktale."
The creature started to answer, no doubt interpreting that as a question so Alexandria tightened her grip, causing the self-named Jenny to let out a croak which sounded quite like a frog.
"So, Jenny," Alexandria said then, making sure to speak the name with the same inflection that Jenny put into it. She had found sometimes when dealing with very strangely named capes, repeating their ridiculous names back at them in the same tone they often used was often enough to get the most ridiculous ones to change their names to something halfway decent.
Jenny was one such name. Naming yourself after a mythical swamp-hag that ate children was just silly. Not to mention Jenny Greenteeth didn't even sound threatening, it did match though, with this creature's terrible teeth.
That, of course, led to the thought that even if the name was from a folktale that meant one of two things. First, this world had either convergent development with Earth or the name was a complete coincidence. That would be all fine and dandy, but Alexandria had repeatedly learned while working for Cauldron that 'there was no such thing as coincidences.'
"What are you?" She asked the creature, relaxing her grip just enough that Jenny could choke out an answer. Jenny's face was fairly blue at this point, from what Alexandria suspected was oxygen loss or throat trauma. It could be either.
"Sidhe," Jenny gasped, her eyes lolling in their sockets. Alexandria snorted, thinking, really playing up the magical swamp witch angle then?
"Where am I?"
"Winter!" Jenny screamed, just the slightest tightening of Alexandria's gauntlets to remind the creature that it was in her best interests to answer.
"Winter?"
"Three questions! We agreed!" Jenny screeched, clawing at Alexandria's hand.
"So I did," Alexandria replied. For half a second she considered just keeping the creature, forcing her to answer all her questions despite the agreement. However, with a pain of regret, she decided to be a better person, and relaxed her grip completely, dropping Jenny into the tide of squirming chitin below.
"So I did," She murmured once more to herself, eyes rising towards the clearing mist, where deep drifts of snow started in earnest leading away towards colossal snow-covered peaks.