Today is my day of reckoning, I think as I grab the dress the Queens sent servants to drop off earlier.
I pull it on, wishing I hadn't dismissed the servants pursuit to help me get into the gown. The same gown that feels as if it is way to formal for me to wear, and I am suddenly keenly aware of every fleck of grime on my skin as I slide it on. Carefully, making sure even my fingernail does not snag the perfect seams.
The dress is mostly black, a sheer black. As pure as the black that speaks of new beginnings, instead of death as I would think white would be. Hiding the truth behind an air of purity, that is what white does. Death.
Black is the beginning. Not the end. It is the comfort, not the hate.
The darkness of the gown is only accentuated by light purple and white flowers. Only the buds and petals. As I take a step, petals fall, as if enchanted to by the seamstress of this gown.
It has puffy sleeves, which are once again flowy, and the bodice is tight, but as it hits the top of my thighs, it flays out as if it was the skin from the assassin Azul 'took care of'. The plunging V-neck that reaches down to the middle of my torso, yet seems like it continues with an eruption of gold embroidery. It reminds me of a frame, showing off my pale green skin.
Today is a trial. A challenge. The Queens alarmed me of this earlier, they said it was to be easy today. Magic. Not too hard, right? Unless they force me to use my power of killing one with a thought.
As I walk out of the room, my bare feet padding along the tiled floor, the guards flank me on all sides. None focusing on me, but rather everything around us. We go down the flights of stairs, and enter outside, the wind blowing my hair with the reverence of a stricken lover. I smile.
Ea is coming, I think. He should be. Somebody is dropping off the pail of water near my door every morning, and it must be him. Didn't he just the other day insist I needed to drink more water?
The crowd's shrills scream erupt as I walk through the grand doors leading to the backyard. I rear back, however, when my eyes scan everything. The Grand Revolt is not yet back, that much is clear. Seems Imbolc Island will have a peaceful few days left before hell is replenished and unleashed.
Although... my eyes must be deceiving me.
Why is there a cage? A giant bird-like cage sits in the middle of the expanse yard, flowers all around it, and a grand whits pillars twined together with the sculpture of a hawk atop it. Enough to house many people. About the size of a gazebo, with golden embroidered onto the pristine white pillars. I have the sudden impulse to run, but I straighten instead. Keeping my head held high.
They shall never see me falter.
The Queens sit atop throne-like chairs on a steep scaffold. Eirene sits with the poise of a Goddess, her legs strew over each other and bent oddly, but the main difference is her change in attire. Instead of her usual green arrow-proof mask and vest, the one shaped as if it was a leaf, she wears a lacy white mask that flows down her gown and clips onto her beastly horns. And although it is lace, it still shields her face. And her clans logo- The Clan of Desire, War, Peace, and Desire- stands out starkly against her new veil.
Her gown, though, is also different from her daily dark pink one. Now, it is a pantsuit made of the same thing as my gown, just without the flowers. She has her wins out as well, folding behind the backless chair to accommodate them. The white, iridescent feathers draw my eyes, and I find that they reflect the sunlight almost eerily.
Morana sits to the left of her, wearing the same surgical-like mask with woven gold and green, her bangs still looking fresh and her hair piled atop each other, making a flower in the back of her head. But her dress is pure white, billowing to the floor with every swish of the wind.
Jorogumo also wears the same red mask with the protruding snout- like the plague doctors I once read so endearingly about. Her red dress matching the red hound that lies down next to her, clearly a pup since it is only as big as a trailer house. One of Jorogumo's hands lies fisted in the hounds side. Whether she is petting or holding on, I do not know.
I incline my head as I bow, and Eirene stands, silencing the triumph crowd.
"Today," Her voice rings out, sure and strong. "We shall witness the third trial that Viviendel must endure." She raises her arms to the cage, gesturing lightly with the tips of her fingers, her head inclined the slightest. "She shall go willingly into this aviary," My breath is sucked in as the wind closes beyond her, her finger stop one of her horns, and blood dripping down her once pristine mask as she orders the air to open the cage. "And she shall tame the violent hound to surrender the keys strapped to his canines."
Jorogumo stands, her hand still fisted in the blood-red Faerie hound's fur, her eight legs carry her to the cage, and she drags the hound into it, then beckons me in with a curled hand. The hound now pacing, snarling at the crowd, and most disperse from around it.
I carefully walk up to her, each of my steps feeling like an eternity. And then she closes the cage behind me, and I quickly turn around at the sound of the lock clicking. But then I feel the air shift behind me, and then warm breath cascades around me.
My breath locks up, and I cannot breath. I cannot move.
"Good luck," Morana's voice hits me in the gut. "Viviendel."
I slowly turn around, my hands grappling my gown, no longer worried about the seams and stitching. Red eyes heated with fire meet mine, the size as big as a small stand, and goosebumps cascade down my arms.
"Okay, buddy," I mumble, fishing around my dress for something to prick my hand on. "Hello," The hound takes another step towards me, and the movement makes the entire cage sway. I falter, and I seize a hold of the hounds fur to stop myself from falling. A snarl rips through me, and I quickly let go, falling to my ass in the gilded cage.
The crowd roars with laughter, and I start to shake. Tremors racking my body, and my breathing ragged as the hound sniffs my hair. Its stout massive and as big as my head. Something mattalic shines at his canine, and I quickly reach out to grasp it, but he rears back. I stand back up, my lungs straining to breath and my mind flying everywhere inside.
"Come here, boy," I try to coax, my voice wavering. "I just need the keys, and then we can both get out." I speak in his language, using the Bwardipuginin power of being able to speak to such beings.
He just growls and prowls closer, his every step making me back up and wincing. My hands shake, but I reach out anyway, trying to push his face away from me. He sniffs at me again, a snarl marring his scratched, red face.
"No," I whimper as he nudges me, and I fall again. My back hitting the ground, but I do not stand. I stay still, my body shaking from my wails. This is how I die.
This is how it all ends. I never had a chance. The crowd seems to be waiting on baited breath, but I can do nothing any longer. I am spent. I can not try. This is how I die.
The hounds canine drags across my neck, ready to rip my throat out, and I almost let it. SHaking, I surrender. Putting hands down from his face, and lifting my head up more, baring my neck for death.
This is how I die.
This is it.
And then he slices my neck...
"STOP!" Eirenes voice yells out, and the hound stills, his canine still digging into my flesh. I scream in pain, searching the crowd now gathering around the cage once more for somebody. Anybody.
I see Azul's dolphin face, frowning.
I see Delta smiling, and Anul on his arm- a bandage wrapped around her scarred head.
And then the hound backs up, and there is the unmistakable click of the lock as it turns, and then I am being hoisted up and carried out of the cage I was trapped in. The hound staying put.
"The Heir has failed this trial," Morana addresses the group. Jorogumo looks up at me with disappointment.
The guards practically carry me back to my room, and I keep my head down, still seeing Jorogumo's gaze at me in shame.