"Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed peers and honored members of the Imperial Army, thank you one and all for gathering here today." Perfect white teeth flashed between cherry lips as a blonde witch wearing pure white robes spread her arms in welcome. "It will undoubtedly be worth your while."

Indigo slouched in her chair, unable to hide a frown. The small arena around which they sat was uncomfortably warm as the crowded audience raised the temperature and poor circulation failed to fix it. If  Lady Aqua hadn’t insisted they attend Indigo would be buried in a comfy study far away; she wanted nothing to do with this woman. 

"As the esteemed members of the Academy are likely aware, I have been granted the privilege by His Highness's Imperial Army to develop new and powerful weapons. Weapons that will protect our brave soldiers and bring glory to our great empire."

The woman flashed another bright smile at the crowd as her magically enhanced voice rang out, reveling in the attention. Indigo really didn't like her; the witch known as Lady Snow acted as if she had spent her whole life in a position of privilege. Not only that, but she seemed to obsess over ideas and theories that bothered Indigo in the worst possible ways: the last one being a theoretical detransformation potion she named the ‘Transexual Cure’. The Academy hailed her as a genius, but Indigo had a feeling Lady Snow was more cunning and manipulative than she let on. The manner in which she snatched the Army's research grant from the other Magicologers at the Royal Academy was a good indication of that.

"Until this point, the hostile nature of the land we live upon has been a scourge to the development of our society. Monsters and creatures prowling through the woods have laid waste to our villages and towns. Goblins snatch babies from their cribs! Ogres lay waste to our crops! Fey wolves kill our hunters and feed them to their young!" Her clear voice sunk in anguish, as if she herself had suffered a great loss. But just as Lady Snow’s tone had dipped, it quickly rose again as she continued to speak. 

"But no more. Today, my dear colleagues, I am overjoyed to announce that these monsters will no longer plague us. No longer shall we have to quake in our beds, worried about being torn to shreds. No, today I am pleased to announce that as a result of the Imperial Army’s wise investment, we have successfully developed a liquid compound that will place our foes directly under our control, harnessing the power once used to terrorize us."

Lady Snow finished her speech with a flourish and a snap of her fingers. A warped crack was heard, and three large cages suddenly appeared beside her. Murmurs of interest rose from the crowd as they craned to get a better view but in the seat next to Indigo, Lady Aqua shifted in discomfort; an expression of worry on her face. From her own seat Indigo could just barely make out two shaggy gray wolves that had horns curling out from the base of their skulls. They sat hunched and shivering in the farthest corners of their cages, their bodies coiled in a fight or flight pose. In the third cage stood a tiny humanoid figure, wearing nothing but rags and a little red hat. Its posture was also timid and afraid.

"I have brought with me here two Fey wolves and a species of goblin creature. To demonstrate the power of my new compound I will apply it to one of the fey wolves. As many of my esteemed fellows already know, Fey Wolves and Goblin creatures usually live in a symbiotic relationship, and as such are not hostile to each other. However, once the compound is applied… well, allow me to show you."

Lady Snow gestured to the entrance of the arena where a pair of white robed assistants approached her pushing a trolley upon which sat a heavy looking black metal box. The box itself was tightly sealed with various locks and bolts, but with another snap of the witch’s fingers a creak was heard and the box opened all by itself. One of the assistants offered Lady Snow a pair of thick leather arm length gloves which were promptly donned. Carefully reaching into the box she removed a vial filled with an oily black liquid and a long 3 inch syringe. Inserting the syringe through the cork top of the vial, she began extracting the gloomy looking liquid into the syringe. 

"As I will now demonstrate, the compound must be applied directly to the subject’s bloodstream; preferably near the heart for it to take proper effect. We are currently working on a gaseous version, but without further funding that may yet remain a dream." Her last sentence was directed towards a group of men seated in red military uniforms.

"Now, please observe closely."

Reaching into one of the cages she stretched out the syringe towards the fey wolf trapped inside. It backed up as far as it could in terror, claws scrabbling against the cage's wooden floor. The white witch tutted in irritation.

"Come now sweetie, do hold still. This will only hurt a little bit."

Even from here Indigo could see how terrified the wolves were of Lady Snow. However what surprised her the most was the goblin creature. As it watched the witch approach the wolf, it reached out towards Lady Snow and cried out in a pleading tone. Indigo couldn’t understand what it was saying, but from the gestures alone she could tell how panicked it was. But the woman in white paid it no attention. She snapped her fingers again, and the scrabbling fey wolf suddenly held still, as if its muscles were frozen stiff. 

"There we are, much better sweetie. Now just relax," spoke the witch in a gentle, cooing tone. She snaked her arm through the bars of the cage and carefully inserted the full three inch needle into the wolf's chest. The goblin continued to beg in its strange language of clicks and barks as the black liquid was pushed into the wolf, tears spilling down its face. But the procedure was already complete; Lady Snow turned towards the goblin, seemingly noticing its anguish for the first time.

"No use begging for your life, if you little rapists are even capable of that. Don't worry, it'll be over relatively quickly." She turned back towards the crowd.

"As you can see Ladies and Gentlemen, the compound has now been applied. Please observe closely as the changes take effect."

At first there was no noticeable difference. After Lady Snow removed the syringe the wolf suddenly began moving again, freed from the binding spell. It growled and snapped at her, ears flat against its skull in terror. But then, a few moments later, the wolf's body lurched. The murmurs and small talk in the arena suddenly quieted as even the goblin’s pleading silenced, its eyes widening in horror.

The wolf's body lurched again as it suddenly vomited a foul black liquid that continued to spill from its jaws. The Fey Wolf collapsed onto the ground, its body abruptly devoid of energy. As the black liquid continued to flow, it also began to leak from its nose and eyes. Indigo could only watch on in disgust as every orifice on the wolf spilled this mysterious liquid as a weak whimper could be heard. The goblin began to cry again, its arms reaching for the wolf as it repeated a word over and over again. 

"The process varies from subject to subject depending on size, strength and general health. The larger it is, the longer it will take. I have conducted numerous tests; the longest it has taken to convert a subject was two weeks. However, fey creatures are particularly susceptible so it will not take long for the compound to take effect."

Even as she spoke the wolf's body began to twitch and jerk, random muscles clenching and relaxing. Its limbs flailed about wildly, and the jaw opened and closed at random as if puppet strings were controlling it.

"As my esteemed fellows and guests can see, the compound is working its way through the body, taking control of the subject's brain and muscle functions. Much of the work has already been done; the compound is now adjusting to the subject's biology. Once that is complete, the subject becomes bound to whomever first addresses it with the key phrase. Please observe."

She turned back to the wolf, who was now stumbling to its feet. It slowly opened its eyes to reveal that a pair of ruby red irises had replaced ones that were once a silvery grey.

Then it went ballistic.

The wolf-like creature hurled itself against the bars of the cage, growling and snapping as it displayed an extreme aggression unseen before. Black liquid sprayed from its jaws and fizzled on the floor of the cage as the former wolf clamped its jaws against the bars and tried to rip them off.

"μόνο η ζωή μου έχει σημασία."

As the white witch spoke the words the wolf suddenly froze, its red eyes burning like coals. She only smiled in response, and with a snap of her fingers all the cages containing the creatures disappeared. The crowd collectively gasped as they were let loose.

"Do not be alarmed ladies and gentlemen; I have complete control over the wolf. I can instruct it to do anything, including turning it against its own allies."

She raised a hand and pointed at the terrified goblin as it scrabbled to get away from her. She kept the same calm smile on her face as she ordered the kill.

"Devour"

The former fey wolf immediately lept into action, hunting the petrified goblin. The goblin turned to it and cried out again, seemingly begging for its life but the monster did not hesitate; in an instant the goblin's small body was in its jaws being whipped back and forth, snapping bones with a sickening crunch. Indigo could not help but look away; the sight upset her far more than she expected. At her side, Lady Aqua’s expression was calm but her hands were clenched in fury, betraying a frustration of her inability to do anything.

Once it was certain the goblin was dead, its fervour seemed to calm somewhat. However, the next instant was even more disturbing. Dropping the goblin corpse, the wolf monster stretched open its jaws, wider and wider until Indigo could even hear its own jaw bones snapping in order to accommodate the width. Yet the creature did not indicate any pain, despite an impossibly open maw that defied all logic. Then it ducked its head and swallowed the goblin's corpse in one go, until nothing but a sad little red hat was left to indicate that the goblin had ever existed.

"The subjects controlled by this compound have greatly heightened senses and strength. Additionally they possess incredible regenerative abilities, to the point in which they can injure and heal themselves instantly. They become the perfect super soldier."

After having swallowed the body, the wolf monster rehinged its jaws and turned back towards Lady Snow. It looked at her with an aggressive expression, and then began to advance.

But Lady Snow's gentle smile did not change. 

"So great is this compound that the monster can even be turned against its mate." With a point at the remaining fey wolf that was cowering in the furthest corner of the arena, Lady Snow repeated herself.

"Devour."

This time it was over in an instant. The former fey wolf charged towards its mate, who did not even put up a fight as the monster seized it by the jaws and snapped its neck. Once again, its jaws snapped open into an impossibly wide maw and swallowed the corpse whole. The crowd gasped, amazed at the sudden display of savagery, then broke into applause. 

Lady Snow’s expression remained the same, but a slight flash of excitement flickered in her eyes. 

"Thank you, thank you very much. My little demonstration has now come to an end. I hope you all are suitably pleased with my work. I will be taking questions in half an hour in the seminar room, but until then please enjoy some refreshments in the antechamber."

The crowd rose up around Indigo as they began to leave the small arena, chatting and talking with each other over what they had just seen. Indigo remained seated, frozen in shock over the display of violence. Her gaze could not seem to move away from the transformed monster. Despite the cacophony of noise that arose as the audience left, it had kept its eyes locked on Lady Snow, a low growl emitting from its throat. The white witch turned to face the gaze that had turned predatory as the monster slowly advanced, but that smile never left her face. She snapped her fingers again, freezing the wolf's movements. Her two attendants approached with a new cage and pushed the unmoving creature inside, then left the arena with it. However, despite the witch's spell, the creature's hungry gaze never left her, following her even long after she was out of sight.

Niame

Indigo is here! Though we won't learn much about her yet, I hope you guys will grow to love her. I also wanted to say thank for all the messages on last chapter about my cat; y'all are amazing and I love you. Also I just wanted to say that from here on out the chapters have not been extensively proofread, so if you spot spelling errors or broken sentences please point them out. A huge thank you to my proofreaders up until this point; they're all amazing and I'm grateful for them having put up with my nagging. 

I hope you're all enjoying the free entertainment, and if so please leave a rating and maybe even a review. Love you all!