Poison Rose(Roses & Kings #1)

Reyna winced and bit her lips hard, when the needle pierced her skin for a hundred times or so. Nobody told her she'd have to get a tattoo as a Rose, otherwise she would have rethink her decision to join the Roses.

“Fucking hell! damn it! Why do we have to get poke with sharp needles a million times before we can join the roses?” Chloe complained,her pretty face scrunched in pain. Sabrina and the three other roses totted in chastisement to Chloe's cursing. Even though they probably find it funny, from the amusing smile on their faces.

“Because it's the Roses barges, in the old world, the law enforcement had barges that showed everyone who they were. The first Roses adopted it and started the tattoo as our barges. It is a mark of pride to us all,” Clara the oldest rose said.

She's the one who had sent Sabrina to call Reyna and the girls inside the cave where they would get their 'barges' as she put it-the barges signify the conclusion of their training. Tonight they would be sworn in and inducted into the sisterhood. Finally! Reyna thought.

Clara had mixed all the ingredients to create the dark red and black ink that would be inked on their skin. Right now she's working on Reyna's skin. Reyna had chosen to be inked on her navel, as every rose can choose where she'd like to be inked.

The red and black thorny rose that was tattooed on every rose is something the roses were proud of, as Reyna has come to realize. Hers would wrap around her navel, the thorny stalk disappearing into her pants below on her waist. It was small, pretty,and feminine. She likes it.

Reyna would have probably loved it if it didn't fucking hurt so bad to get it. Clara and Bianca had been regaling them with stories of the Roses and the tattoo.

“The Rose as a flower was considered to be,beautiful, soft and fragile. Every rose has a different color and meaning, it signifies different things to different people.

We are roses because as women the beasts consider us weak and insignificant, they only see us as pretty things to take and use for their own purposes. We became even more pretty for them but also we reminded them that a Rose always had it thorns, and it can be fucking lethal too.”

Wow, Reyna didn't know about this. Knowing now the significance of the Rose tattoo, she feels proud to be a Rose. She was awed by the story of how the tattoo came to be. The rest of the girls also look kind of proud.

“Just then Chloe curses loudly when Bianca jabs her with the needle again. The women cackle. Reyna smiled, then flinched when the needle pricked her again.”

“Maybe i should become a rose too, this story is inspiring” Sasha, one of the two witches in the cave said smiling, she was one of the nurturers, she's heavily pregnant and was working on her sister's Olivia's tattoo. Livie is the other witch and is also undergoing training with Reyna. They both have powers but not as much as their grandmother Amara.

“Too late for you Sasha, you're already in the family way and what you're doing is also inspiring,” Clara assured with a smile, the others nodded. They'd all agreed, human survival is more important than waging war.

Later that evening Nana Maria helped Reyna into her red rose dress for the first time. She'd fuss over Reyna like a mother hen, making her hair into an elaborate style that goes up. After she had comb the thick mass until It fell to her back and shoulders into shining soft strands. Then Reyna applied a light make up on her face.

The dress had fit her so well you'd think It was sewn on her body. Reyna liked the feeling it gave her ,it made her feel powerful as well as sexy now that she knows what that really means. Although Reyna thinks her girls will like some breathing room, the leather corset is too tight and constricting. It has pushed her breast to the high heaven, half of which has swollen out of the red gown.

The communal room or village hall as Reyna likes to call it, was decorated with roses of different colors, candles had been lit. Food and beverages were laid out on two huge tables. Marlenians had gathered as is tradition to witness the induction. Sabrina had told Reyna there would be a private celebration later just among the roses .

All the new roses were in attendance, seated at the front rows of chairs. While the older roses were seated at the raised dais with the queen and council. Each girl had been called forth to take her graduation certificate and a dagger as a symbol of her roses training completion. When it was Reyna's turn she was so nervous she didn't hear her name being called the first and second time, until Chloe had bumped her knees the third time.

She rises and walks to the raised dias overlooking everyone, Cassandra gives her certificate and a new silver dagger, Reyna takes it and thanks her, Cassandra gives Reyna a hug and a kiss.

“You have made me proud Reyna,” she whispered, staring at Reyna with love and care she rarely shows.

“Thank you mother,” Reyna replied with a broad smile, she's done it. She had finally gotten her mother's approval. She walked down with a smile on her face. Throughout the party Reyna chatted, ate, drank and laughed freely with the guests and other attendees.

When the clock struck midnight, Reyna and the girls were led away from the partying crowds by Sabrina to the secret room below, but to Reyna's surprise they didn't stop at the round room instead Sabrina opened the door to the tunnels.

Reyna's heart pounds with dread, wondering if Sabrina is taking them to kill Casvan? If this was how her mother intended to kill him? But to her greatest relief Sabrina took a different route, the route to the right. The one Reyna had never walked through or explored.

They walk for a while before they come across a door, Sabrina opens the door without needing a key which means it was already open. When they finally entered the room, Amara, Cassandra, Elizabeth and a few witches were there.

This room was also round but bigger than the training room, in the middle a star was drawn with white chalk or is it salt. Reyna wasn't sure. Each of the girls took a place around the star and stood there, Reyna was unsure where she should stand, until Sabrina pointed to the last unoccupied spot.

Reyna went and stood there, not sure what was going on, each of the girls cut open her palm and let a few droplets of blood fall on the drawn lines, then they raised their knives vertical to their faces then said their secret oath together. Oaths that every rose through time had said before.

With beauty we'll lure you,

enthralled you so,

Your soul will be ours,

If we wish it so.

Consumed you'll be,

When caught in our web.

We're the roses with sharpest thorns.

We'll capture your eyes,

And cuts your flesh,

With knife,kisses, hearts and body,

We'll end you,

We are no one's slave

We're no damsels in distress,

We're the wild roses.

I'm the poisoned rose, with the sharpest thorns, mylife for my sisters, as theirs is for mine, This oath I took, until I breathe my last!

As Reyna repeated the last syllables after Amara and the girls she could swear there was something greater at work. The blood on the lines were gone, just disappeared, the wind howled and blew, the lights flicker and the witches kept chanting in low echoing voices that made her shiver as goosebumps covered her skin. Then it was suddenly over.

Then together all the girls were led down another narrow tunnel until they stopped outside a large steel door Sabrina knocked, a little window opened in the door, baring half the face of a woman.

“It's the new inductees' nights.”

The window closes and a few seconds later the large door opens to let them in, a tall broad woman stood behind the door, she was even bigger than Lydia. Reyna tried not to stare at her, her eyes went behind the woman, she gasped surprised to hear music filtering outside and when they all walked in, their mouths dropped open.

“Welcome Roses to the Chamber!” Sabrina announced with a big smile.

“What the heck is this place!” Reyna shouted her eyes following the men and women in different stages of undress fucking each other's brains out. Her eyes fix on a woman being pleasure by two men. One was buried deep inside her while the other played with her breasts.

“This is the best secret of Marlenia. Have you ever wondered where or how the people spend the token given to them by the queen? Or why do they exchange their food for one silver token? Well, this is it. Women come here and use the token to get and experience what being with a man really is. Which brought us to the why we are here, tonight you girls are getting fuck. So don't be shy, choose your partner for tonight and enjoy this is an order by the queen. Tomorrow you'll go on your first mission.” Sabrina said with a laugh, winking at them.