>Maximum lizard

You duck your head. "Well, I— I— you're going to make me have one anyways, aren't you? The Herald has a tail."

"Not particularly. I told you, I prefer to focus on internal alterations, or at least inconspicious ones. I have no interest in attracting unwanted attention at this—"

"What if I want attention, though? I— I— you said I'm going to be God. Definitely. And if I'm God, everybody in the world will know who I am. So shouldn't I get started now? Nobody else will— you don't think Jean Ramsey will have a tail, will she?"

"If Dickface catches wind, I imagine she'll have six, but don't let that stop you."

"Because mine will be better."

Richard's mouth quirks. "I can see what I can do. It might take several weeks, though, Charlotte. Altering existing structures is one thing. Conjuring up alien ones is—"

"An intellectual challenge?"

"You do know me after all. It should be possible, just... novel."

"Well, you know me too. I'm novel all the time." You flip your hair. "It's one of my special talents."

"So it is. I seem to recall you insisting that you never, ever wanted to turn into a lizard, and if I dared to turn you into a lizard, you would—"

"Well, then I did turn into one, and I remembered that I already did it a lot of times. So it wasn't so bad. It's only bad when I'm— when I'm not in charge of it, and if I tell you to do it, I am in charge. You should do lizard horns, by the way."

"Horns?"

You brace your hands above your ears and point four fingers backwards. "The Herald has horns. I'm positive. You should make them white, and not too pointy, because the Herald's aren't pointy. Also, so they match my outfits. But you need to make sure I can still wear the Crown with them on, or else— hey!"

Richard is snickering, which always could be malicious, coming from him, but he doesn't look all that malice-filled. He has raised his fist to his mouth to try and hide it. You slowly lower your fingers. "I'm serious."

"I— yes. Ehm." He wipes his mouth. "Of course. I am also serious, Charlotte. Horns are simpler, but the extra weight must be factored in— I don't intend on straining your neck— and, yes, the Crown must, eh—"

He has raised, reflexively, four fingers to his temple, and now that he's doing it you admit it looks a little ridiculous. You try not to catch his eye, in case you'll laugh, and screw your face up, so it doesn't show. Unfortunately, your pure and honest heart exposes everything, because Richard laughs at you more and you have no choice but to laugh a little back.

But no more than that, because he killed your father. He killed your father in cold blood and replaced him and lied to you and he doesn't get to be anything other than raw evil ever again. You snap your mouth shut and stare at his. "You need to go back to being a snake."

Richard's mouth inverts, then presses inward. He takes a moment before he says anything. "Thank you for the reminder, Charlotte."

"Will you?"

(1/5)