It had been three months since you’d started the hunt. Ever since you’d heard about the Queen of the Forest, you knew you HAD to get your hands on her. The old stories you’d heard about her talked about how she could grow the rarest flowers with a flick of her wrist, how mere words from her lips could cause the trees to dance to her tune. She was powerful, and judging from how many other adventurers had sought her out for one reason or another, she was probably beautiful, too.

Three months had passed since you’d started your hunt, but now you were on the verge of discovering her. In the ancient forest deep in the southern hills, there were whispers of a sanctuary. That was your destination, and each step deeper into the forest got you closer and closer to your goal.

You moved loose branches and large leaves out of your path, trying to remain quiet while you lightly stepped over every branch that would’ve snapped under your shoes. You were almost there, you could feel it, even if you didn’t know how you knew. There was some sensation building in your chest, something  straddling the line between excitement and... something else, something you couldn’t discern, but it urged you forward like nothing else could. Still, you were careful to not make too much noise, no matter how excited you got; you weren’t certain if this Queen appreciated visitors.

Eventually, your light steps carried you to a small clearing. It was barely 2 meters in diameter, but had a clear view of the skies above, as though the overhanging branches had moved out of the way. The ground was covered in a blanket of leaves and weeds, but the way they looked made it seem like they’d been planted there, as the leaves made a uniform pattern unbroken by the weeds as they wove winding streaks into the forest floor. It was like a rug designed by someone with an ungodly level of patience. At the center of the rug was a series of stones, ones that formed a small table with candles on its edges, their wax forming a stream of pale liquid that inched towards the ground. All around you, a curtain of vines was drawn and woven in such a way that blocked the outside world from view. If the queen did exist, then she existed here.

You took your time, slowly turning about multiple times in an attempt to find either her, or a passage leading away from this place, but all you could find outside of the curtains was more of the forest. After a few minutes of searching, you turned back to the strange stone alter, quickly coming face to face with the very queen you’d been hunting for. You didn’t even have the time to yell out in shock before her hand was raised, and a tendril emerged from the ground to seal your mouth open by stuffing itself in. Although, this did give you plenty of time to examine the woman from head to toe.

She was very... green; green skin, green hair, green eyes, she almost looked human with the way her skin creased and wrinkled around the edges of her smile, and her bare flesh was marred by tiny gaps and holes between the vines that composed her beautiful form. They were knit together so tight that the flesh didn’t look too different from your own, aside from the color of course, but hey eyes were the most human thing about her, brilliantly shining emeralds that sat firmly in her warm expression, and her hair was long, thick, and swept back to fall to the middle of her back. She sat with her legs crossed, her chest puffed out as though putting her breasts on display for you, and she even made sure to shift around in her seat, her slim torso twisting to show just a hint of her rounded backside. She knew you were examining her, the smile she flashed and the way she moved about as she sat there were enough of a hint of that.

With the same grace she’d used to gag you, she retracted the vine from your mouth before raising her finger up to her lips.

“Shhh~” She shushed before moving her finger away. “You stand before the Queen of the Forest. I do appreciate people who are bold enough to come to me.” She raised her arm again and waved you over with one finger in a very slow, almost sultry, motion. Stunned, you approached her without a word, and she brought you close with a tight embrace, wrapping her hands around your neck and her legs around your torso.

Just as you were examining her before, now she was looking over you, her eyes scanning you up and down as another smile crept onto her lips.

“Another hunter, stumbling upon my sanctuary.” She murmured. “Such a silly thing, you’re a moth approaching a shining light, but would you even know what to do with me when you catch me?” You didn’t have the chance to provide an answer before she unhooked her hands from behind your neck, and tilted your face up to stare directly into her eyes. “But that’s alright. So many of you have come here now, I know JUST what to do with you, and I have a feeling you’ll enjoy what I have in store for you.”

Another sensation rose up in your chest, this one was different. It was telling you that something was wrong, it was urging you to get away, trying to shake you to your senses, but you elected to not listen to it, or maybe you chose to shove it down. The woman’s eyes bore into your own, their shine and glow captivating you as she gently stroked your cheeks with her fingers. Then, she lifted one of her hands, pointing a single finger down towards you. There was something on it, something shimmering. It was gold, a small drop was forming at the end of her finger, slowly growing as it danced with each tiny movement of her arm.

“Take it.” She said, and without thinking, you slid your tongue out, and took the droplet into your mouth. It tasted amazing in a way you couldn’t properly put into words. It tasted like how gold felt in your hands, like water after a long trek through a desert. It tasted like assurance, like a promise, and the Queen seemed to know this. She looked deeper into your eyes, cocking her head and smiling. “You adventurers are such... delightful prey.” She hummed. You took in her words, comprehending them one after another, but even at the word ‘prey’ you couldn’t bring yourself to truly understand what she meant. You didn’t much care.

The feeling of her hands against your cheeks was warm, comforting, and they held you so tight, so secure, that you couldn’t care about anything outside of that secure grip. You couldn’t even feel your legs as they quickly became weak, nor your arms as they slipped down to your sides. You couldn’t see as your pupils dilated, nor could you feel yourself salivating at the taste of the Queen’s sap. Its effect on you was almost instant, and it was too fast for you to realize what was happening to your body before the changes had already taken effect. Even if you had been able to feel the alterations, the warm smile that the Queen gave you after it was done would’ve been enough to erase your worries completely, just as it was doing now.

Seeing that the sap had taken its toll on your mind, the Queen rose up from her pedestal.

“Stand.” She ordered, and your legs found the strength to push you back to your feet. At this point, you weren’t even consciously obeying an order, you couldn’t even comprehend the words that slithered through your ears. Your body was perfectly capable of following orders while your mind was otherwise occupied. “Carry me.” She commanded, and once again your body did as it was told. “Foolish creatures.” She laughed, as you picked her light frame from the ground. “You were damned the moment you set foot in my sanctuary. My pheromones had already done their work on your mind by the time I used my sap, but that would’ve been reversible. This, however,” she paused, and raised her head, quickly pressing her lips against your cheek and leaving behind a mark of sap that began to sink into your skin, “is a bit more permanent.”

You carried her through more forest, following her guidance as she led you through the trees. After a few minutes of travel, you ended up at the base of a large tree, one whose trunk could probably fit a house at the very least. She told you to stop, and so you did, and you quickly found that a vine was wrapping itself around your neck. It came straight from the hand of the Queen, and with a tugg, it led you after her as she walked up one of the roots to sit down in a carved out throne. She sat down, but you, with the organic collar still around your neck, were told to kneel before her. You obeyed.

She smiled down at you, not a smile of warmth, but one of satisfaction, as she admired her newest trophy.

“Look at me.” She said, reaching a finger towards your face as you followed her instruction. Once again, a bead of sap began to form on the tip of her finger. “Take it.”

One drop of the sap was enough lock your mind behind a wall of submission; you didn’t need higher thought to obey, and so you didn’t need higher thought at all. Two drops were enough to make you realize that you would never leave your queen’s side ever again. Three drops were enough to erase you, four drops were enough to reshape you into the perfect slave for your queen, and a fifth drop finally sealed any free will you may have had before away forever. You didn’t notice any of this, of course, you were much to busy taking in more and more of that wonderful sap from your queen’s finger, drinking it like water from a fountain, filling your mind and body with her essence, her desire, her will.

Just half an hour ago, you were an adventurer, hunting down the Queen of the Forest. What a silly thing you were back then. Now, you were content to kneel beside your queen, basking in her glory, drinking her essence, and doing everything in your power to make sure that your queen would want for nothing. You were a servant, a slave, and the happiest thing in the world.