Evarista almost thought she got away from the scene unnoticed, and was slightly startled when someone suddenly took her hand. It was Hwyn. So, he saw her. This lad really had eyes on the back of his head, didn't he? He wasn't looking to start a fight, so that was no issue. The girl was quite content with her small act of espionage today, it was quite enough. Taking a better hold of his hand, she smiled wryly in an attempt to look friendly, and returned his chatter as well as she could. Small talk was an arcane science to her, so she mostly stuck to simple hums and nods of agreement. The pair looked inconspicuous as they steadily walked away from the place where they scuffled with the molester.
They didn't escape the most unwelcome notice. The hair on Evarista's beck rose as she felt an indescribable gaze pierce her back, and she increased her walking pace nervously, dragging Hwyn along. It didn't help. Suddenly, a shimmering wall blocked her vision. Clutching Hwyn's hand forcefully, she spun around even before she heard the voice of the woman behind her. Making contact with the milky white eyes, Evarista understood that it was a Druvin. Why? What would a priest want from her? Various possible scenarios came to mind immediately, and none of them meant anything good. She couldn't even open her mouth to answer the woman.
The woman turned out to be less than interested in hearing an answer. |
Blinking in confusion, the young aristocrat found herself in a spacious room, facing a commission of some sort. Many pairs of judgemental eyes were focused on her, gazing from faces both familiar and not. A sharp voice came from one of them; she wasn't sure who.
"What have you done for the Nitrozian family?"
What's with this sudden interrogation? The girl spun her head around, trying to make sense of why this was happening, and how she even got here. She's been chided for her underachievement many times before, but never in such an... official setting. The voice didn't relent, exerting an otherworldly pressure.
"Why disgrace our name by being lazy, and what is the fascination with spiders?"
Evarista felt her throat parch. This was usually uncomfortable, but never to such a degree. She didn't give a damn about contributing to the family prestige. She just wanted to be left alone... while enjoying the benefits of the family prestige that someone else upheld. Fine, she wasn't the most thankful child, she'd admit it. Please let me go now, ladies and gentlemen. Opening her mouth to say that, she was interrupted by the voice again.
"Why did you follow that strange boy who pretends to be a girl?"
A sudden realization struck her. Wasn't there an uncle of hers who was disowned for sexual deviancy when she was little? Was this what they were getting at? True, she was something of a pervert, but nothing she has done could compare to the uncle's insane proclivities. But all these people needed were an excuse to kick her out. This is what it really was about, was it? She'd be living in a ditch tomorrow, wouldn't she? Torrents of sweat poured down her face, and the accusatory frowns of her family blurred before her eyes. There was nothing left to say. The ride was over. Everything went black.
"You're useless." |
She was on fire. No, she was boiling. The blood was boiling inside, as if trying to escape her. She felt like it would be alright to let it go, if only that would end the pain. The blood didn't take her up on the offer. There would be no end. Not only that, but it felt like a massive weight was crushing her body from above, a weight her legs could not carry.
There was no sight. Everything was an undulating darkness, mingling with smudges of motion somewhere far away. A surreal display. Evarista tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't. Maybe her eyes were already open, but they showed her nothing.
There was only vibration. She could hear very well. Breathing. Heartbeat. There was someone else right next to her. However it was, maybe they could help her. Maybe they could ease the pain. Subdue the boiling of her blood.
Evarista stretched her long legs towards the heartbeat, finding something warm. It was familiar. Wasn't she holding this hand just moments ago? That was impossible, though. She couldn't hold a human hand. But she really wanted to. Many legs reached for the heartbeat again, but this time her limbs met a barrier.
A sudden tremor told her that her body was pushed back violently, as if she was repelled by some invisible barrier. Her body felt light, and the pain ebbed suddenly, the unspeakable pressure lifted. It felt like falling through the air. Maybe she was actually falling through the air. She wanted to experience it again, reaching for the barrier. Again she was repelled, sending her rolling back. Drawing her many legs under her body, she rolled towards the invisible force, seeking it like a medicine. Her body bounced from wall to wall in this strange prison, dizzying her mind in hysterical amusement.
The only thing that distracted her was the heartbeat. It was still there, still close. It was irritating. Something told her she couldn't ignore it. Legs mechanically stretched again. The heartbeat could not escape. It was trapped in this prison with her, and there was nowhere she could not reach. A caress of the skin sparked a tingle in her mind. The sense of familiarity again. She had to ascertain.
An auristic emanation. Her eyes didn't sense it, but her legs did. She strained to caress this formless figure of sound around the boy. It was a boy. She knew this boy. His breath and his heartbeat.
His flesh and blood.
At once, all other thought was expelled from her mind. A thick stream of slime flowed from her maw, and the urge to consume. Throwing herself in an unstoppable rush towards the prey, she almost wanted to swallow him whole. Jagged fangs grazed his skin, and a visceral smell excited the senses. She was thrown back by the invisible force again, curling the legs under her to roll smoothly. The force was toying with her, allowing her to savor the wetness on in her mouth. She could not feel any taste, but she knew it was blood. It so get her in the mood to prepare this feast.
It was easy to find him once more. The contours of his sound told her where to go. Pulling the heartbeat towards her, trapping it underneath her massive abdomen, she draped it in a loop of silk. The legs turned and turned the small human body, as the spinneret spewed forth a thousand of threads; a scarf of silk to wrap round and round. Mechanical motions towards one goal, if erratic, if imperfect, continued until the heartbeat was securely trapped under her abdomen, countless loops of the silken scarf attaching it to her spinneret. It offered a small sense of comfort.
But not enough. She sought the force to lift her into the air again, to ease the agony for a single moment.
Not so.
The force was suddenly gone. And in its stead, a flood of new sounds washed over her. Not only did the force keep her in, it also kept things out. Countless heartbeats, all around her. The force was no more, and there was nothing left to separate her from the prey. There would be a feast in celebration of this, where all these heartbeats would be served. But not yet. She had to get away and think.
The eyes finally saw. Still a blur, black and white. A grey sky, grey shapes of the buildings, grey carriers of heartbeats. No faces. Faces were no longer important.
Large strides brought her into a familiar alley, to a familiar wall. It felt like she had climbed it earlier today, didn't she? Rather awkwardly at that, for some reason. Laughable. Moments later, she was grappling the cornice, already on the roof. It was a matter of course.
The cocoon attached to her spinneret dropped down onto the windswept rooftop, the end of the silken scarf falling out of her body and drifting down to the ground. Here she was alone with her precious heartbeat. She wished to savor this small happiness, but she would not be allowed.
The pain in her joints swelled again. That unspeakable crushing weight she carried; it couldn't be set down. The boiling of her blood within; it couldn't be subsided. This agony was a price. Somehow, she knew there was something decidedly wrong going on. And she liked it.
It was as if the missing pieces of a puzzle were snapped into place crisply. Or... no, that wasn't the right way to put it. The old puzzle was thrown out of the window, and a completely new one was being built all around her.
She was not supposed to exist, not even through magic, not even by accident. Against all common sense, it was not merely a revolt. It was a revolution against the tyranny of nature. Nature, her archnemesis. This suffering was its siege of her sanity, but her sanity was the wrong place to attack, because it was worth nothing. Through strange aeons, she has won the battle.
Now came the war. |
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