The Viper and The Vasser

11) To Compose a Silent Song.

The Ballad of the Child and the Snake.

There were many ways to tame a monster, and the snake had mastered them all. She could fight with any weapon, she could dance any step, she could cut any throat and tame any beast. During her many moons of training, and fighting, and feasting upon the idea of being crowned queen of snakes, she had perfected her bloodlust.

However, this battle would not end in a death. It could not. It would have to end in taming. She stepped into the cell that she knew one day, she would rule. She felt the weight of her daggers upon her hips, steadying her. The guard outside the cell had scoffed when this little woman had strolled past.

The snake smiled. She called for the child to come out. To play.

"I don't want to play with you," a voice responded, echoing off the walls. It sounded like that of a little girl, but the snake knew the truth. She could hear the hunger in her tone.

"If we play nicely," the snake slowly pulled one dagger from her belt. "Then I will make sure you have all the comforts of the world."

The cell was dark and damp, buried so deep beneath the ground. No moonlight was visible. The child lived in isolation, in this pit of darkness so deep that the snake could not see the glint of her blade.

She shuddered, thinking of the suffering in these cells. How many steps...how many breaths away was he?

There was a great stillness to the air.

And in the darkness, in front of her, she saw a flash. The snake lifted her blade, before realizing that the gleam was a smile. Blindingly white and wide. Unnatural. The snake froze, as the smile stepped forward and as if illuminated from within, a child appeared from the rest of it.

The child kept beaming. She was dressed in rags, her hair a wild and white tangle. Her tawny skin was smudged with dirt. Her eyes were huge, and the color of blood. Her beam dimmed.

Round and round the cell, they went. Most candidates did not make it out of this cell alive. The child would devour them, leaving nothing but their shadow. But if one could trap her, before she struck, then she would be tamed. The snake worked tirelessly to do just that.

Screams echoed. Teeth flashed. The snake stumbled across a loose chain, something the child had obviously gnawed through, and she dropped the dagger. The snake, falling into the steps of this violent dance, reached for the chain. As the child pounced on her, ready to rip the snake's throat out, the snake lunged back.

The chain wrapped itself around the child's neck. The snake spun them backwards, slamming into the wall, and pulled the child against her stomach. She pulled tighter, as the child gasped for air, and sputtered curses.

"I have captured you," the snake hissed. "I have won."

"Y-yes," the child said. Her body went limp, slumping to the ground. The snake waited. And waited. It was said that the child could not truly die, only be tamed, but...she reached for her two remaining blades.

Then, the child stirred. Her eyes opened, no longer blood red, but the calm color of honey. Her lips titled in an aggravated sneer.

"You have one wish," the child said. "Use it wisely."

"Oh, no, no," the Viper laughed. "Not yet."

~