Gilded Serpents

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Gold

Gold.

Absolute and perfect, warm and divine, and a wave of nectar sweet filled my lungs. It inraptured my body, twisting it and contorting beyond my control, and pulsed through every pore, every nerve. The fire beneath my skin burned brighter than ever before, and I felt as though I would burst through my own body.

I felt every touch, every scent and sound, saw every sight I had ever known in an instant, and a pressure filled my head before bursting through the rest of my body in vibrant sparkling light.

Suddenly, I began to see things, memories, visions that were not my own. In fractured bursts, I was once alone in the woods, riding atop a great white moose's back. I was then on a beach, hand raised before me as I propelled a man backwards against the rocks with ease, halberd flying out of his hands on impact.

I was walking along a busy street, and hands were grabbing at me, tugging at me left and right, pulling at my cloak, pleading with me. I ran. I ran as fast as I could, away from all of the people. There were gentle hands placing something on my face, something cold. I met the man's silver eyes and he smiled at me. Kind, familiar eyes and a bronze clockwork scepter in his hand.

I was then before a red-haired woman, pale eyes wide with brow stern as a door was slammed in front of me, punished to my room once more. I was alone again.

Gods, was I alone.

Suddenly, I was then in a red field, sent on some unknown task, but somehow I had lost my way. My arms were cut, sore, and I was so very tired. And as I fell to my knees, the ground beneath began to split, and I fell into the jaws of a beast.

I was surrounded by faces, screaming, crying, pleading.

I watch myself take a dagger from my belt and cut off the tip of my finger, as offering, and golden pain envelops my vision.

Then darkness.

Pain and darkness.

Nothing.

Breathe, Mira.

Darkness.

Breathe.

I coughed, gurgling, and black soot mud came out of my mouth, earthy and vile. I try to move my arms and legs, but I am stuck in some sort of invisible quagmire. I can barely see out of one eye, as the other is caked shut by some unknown force. I coughed again, and more of the strange mud came out of my mouth, spilling before the wet black, twig and vine covered ground before me.

My breaths were short, as my chest seems to be held compressed by something beneath me. I listened, only to hear the sound of frogs and crickets around me. Then, to my surprise, was another strange noise.

With my one open eye, I looked to my right, and saw the blackened marble eye of a small rodent, covered in mud-matted black hair. The little creature was using its little paws to dig at the moist ground above my shoulder, letting out little chitters of frustration every few swipes.

"Doris?" I coughed, my voice sounding very far away, and more of the black sludge fell out of my mouth.

The little rodent-like creature looked up at me for a moment, let out a squeak of acknowledgement, before once again returning to its task.

Dig-dig-dig-dig-dig.

Squeak.

Dig-dig-dig-dig-dig.

With much effort, I was able to fully open both eyes, and I once more tried to scan my surroundings. I seemed to be in the middle of some sort of swamp, chin on the the mud ground as the rest of my body remained trapped in the earth below. But despite my debilitation, my body felt fine. I found that I was not sore in the slightest. Much to my surprise, I felt bizarrely awake, strong, and oddly warm. Even in the dark of the thick tree cover, everything seemed so unbelievably vibrant and colorful. I could see every tiny insect, hear every frog, smell every flower.