God, it was tempting to just go and relax with all the beautiful women celebrating right now. Even Melody, someone she never would have felt attraction to before coming to this island, caused Cassandra to grow warm inside. But... she had just dumped a whole lot of work on Elizabeth, and it didn't feel right to go and party while she was working her cute, supple ass off.
"I have a theoretical eternity to go rock out and destroy pussy," Cassandra stated plainly. "In the meantime, how about I help you get ready to carry out my crazy-ass ideas?"
There was a look of surprise on Elizabeth's face. "Oh... thank you, my Lady, that means a great deal... but I will be alright. I, ah... I am afraid you may not yet understand the alchemical and magical requirements to prepare, in any case."
The redhead shrugged. "Then I can keep you company. Unless, of course, you don't want me and my two big girls here hanging out with you..."
"Now now, my Lady, there's no need to be hasty."
With a laugh Cassandra leaned in, briefly kissing the blonde and reaching up to ruffle her hair. "Thought so. Lead on, my darling little demon lady."
The succubus sighed and nodded, pulling away from their embrace yet taking Cassandra's hand to lead her away from the celebrations. Past the entrance's grand columns and into the lower section of the temple, where the light came from flickering torches and the occasional open window port, she guided them through several corridors before heading through a back exit Cassandra hadn't previously noticed.
Past this ingress she was met with the sight of the most lush and bountiful garden she'd ever seen. The amazon's jaw loosened slightly in surprise at the vast array of flora that filled up this place, ranging from flowers to little trees to bushes to plants that she'd never even seen before. At such a sight, she could only mutter a simple truth. "It's beautiful."
"I daresay it's the second most beautiful thing on this island," Elizabeth agreed with a squeeze of Cassandra's hand. She let go as the redhead blushed, stepping over to a bush covered in pretty pink flowers. "I've found its quite useful in the cultivation of alchemical ingredients. Not to mention, of course, that it's a wonderful place to spend some time in peace."
"I'll bet." She bit her lip as she made her way over to a small stone bench, sitting and and stretching out her long, toned legs. They still felt a bit odd, what with her having been a snake for several hours. "I've gotta ask - did you learn to do all this magical stuff before you ended up here, or was it an acquired skill?"
Elizabeth giggled as she set about carefully snipping off one of the flower buds. "Before I was drawn here, I'd have placed no stock in the mystical. I was a practical woman, you see, convinced that she knew the ways of the world, unbelieving towards superstition and the supernatural."
"Heh. Guess I was the same, but... here we are." She rubbed the back of her neck. "What exactly did you do? You uh... you mentioned something about fighting evil, and those Nazis...?"
"Covert Operations. I served the Crown as an agent of the Special Operation Executive. I risked life and limb every day in the fight to stop Hitler's mad dash across Europe." She turned with an eyebrow raised. "I do hope, based on your use of English rather than German, that we ultimately won the war...?"
Cassandra nodded. "Oh yeah, you Brits, us Americans, and the Russians all kicked his shit in."
"The... Russians?" She squinted. "They joined the war on our side?"
"Uh.... yeah, Hitler sort of... invaded them. Was a bad call overall."
"Hm." She returned her attention to the flower bud. "Strange to imagine, but I'm glad we won. Sabotaging the force sent to conquer this island was my little contribution to victory, then."
"Guess so, yeah." She swayed her chest back and forth, causing a set of jiggles that briefly caused Elizabeth to blush. "What happened with all that, anyway? And why are they all zombies now?"
There was a pause as Elizabeth came over and sat down next to Cassandra, pondering how to explain things. "I told you before, that this island... changes people. After I sabotaged the flagship's navigation, and caused the ships to run aground..." She sighed. "The magic of this place can turn women into all manner of mystical beings. Mere humans of incredible beauty, creatures of legend, or yet more bizarre creations. Men, however... they face one of two fates. Most faced the same one: decay into something between life and death, locked in eternal misery, unable to do aught but pursue their last living goal."
She shivered. "Okay, that's... nice and fucked up. What about the other fate?"
Elizabeth seemed to brighten up a bit. "Well... several of our most beautiful guards used to be men, before they experienced the other fate." She smirked. "They have had few complaints about it."
That was.... weird to consider, but she supposed it was on track for this place. "Alright, I'll... try not to think about that too much." She shook her head a little. "So after you all crashed here, how'd you end up at the temple?" She reached up to brush some of Elizabeth's hair.
"I was fortunate enough to be found by..." Her eyes seemed to darken as she looked down. "Your... predecessor."
Silence lingered over them for several long moments. Cassandra could put two and two together regarding her companion's sudden drop in mood. She had seen the skeleton, after all, and if Elizabeth had treated this past Champion the same way she treated the new one... it was understandable why she grew quiet.
Cassandra couldn't even begin to parse out how that must of felt - but she knew that she wanted to help, somehow. Any way she could. "Do you... do you think it'd help you feel better, if you... talked about her a bit?"