Chapter Text
Now how the hell did this happen? When Aunt Mari said that she was shipping me off to camp, I didn't think she was being serious. The last thing I remember was her giving us dinner, me and my twin cousins, Malcolm and Madison, then telling me to go right to bed because I don't look well. It wasn't that out of the ordinary for her to tell me to go straight to sleep while the twins, stayed up to watch TV or on Christmas when she gives them their really expensive gifts so I don't have to see. It was gracious of her really, to care about my feelings at least a little. Mama died when I was five years old, I don't remember her at all, which is beyond awful since all anyone ever says is how much I don't look like her. If I looked like her, maybe I'd see her face in the mirror every day, maybe she could visit me that way. Instead I am left with soulless pictures. Nobody even talks about her around me, even though I've begged them to. I want to know about her, how she sounded and acted. They all think it'll make me go crazy or something but I'm more likely to lose it by not ever knowing anything about her.
I guess last night was a little bit weird... we had soup which was rare because Aunt Mari hates making it and the twins hate eating it. Nobody complained though, giving each other glances all dinner, which was also kind of normal. It always felt like they were in on something and didn't think it necessary to let me in too. The twins barely spoke to me on a good day but they were even more distant, avoiding me completely. No matter what, Aunt Mari was probably right about me looking sick, since I felt it. I got lightheaded and nauseous so quickly after the soup but then again Aunt Mari really isn't good at making soup. Maybe the chicken wasn't fully cooked? Which is just pathetic, imagine I die from raw chicken and not being assassinated at the ripe age of 73 when I'm an evil baroness who's committed many atrocities but only because of the life I was forced to live as a woman who knew how to rise to the top.
None of that really matters since I'm not home anymore. I'm in a small wooden house in a white bed. My first thought is obviously that I've been kidnapped and I do a quick physical check to make sure that I'm all clear. I lift my arms and sit up in the bed-wait a sec... I'm not tied up? This kidnapper should really make sure their victims can't get away but I'm not gonna stick around long enough to tell 'em that. I look down at myself, I'm wearing a orange shirt and jean shorts that I'm sure don't belong to me. My skin crawls thinking about how I got into these clothes but I stand, quietly opening the door, and glance around. I don't see anybody and take off.
I run as fast as I can, not that I'm being chased but everyone knows that acting like you aren't in danger is the fastest way to get killed in a horror movie, or in general. I'm hardly watching my surroundings, just trying to reach the forest when I hear someone shout "Hey!". I start sprinting as fast as I can physically muster and make it to the open trees within a minute. I can still hear somebody shouting but I keep pushing further into the forest. Eventually, I can't hear the voice anymore and slowly stop to breathe. My lungs ache as I intake heavy gulps of air. I try my best to ignore the growing stitch in my side. Then I hear a sound that makes me want to just give up.
One thing about me is I can only take so much stress, if I'm put in a situation that is just way too above my stress tolerance, I'm going to lay there on the ground, and give up. So put yourself in my shoes for a second, imagine you wake up in a place that is not your home, likely kidnapped, wearing clothes that are definitely not yours and the implications that come with that, managing to escape the kidnapper, just to hear the most ungodly, blood-curdling, cardiac-arrest-causing screech coming from behind you while you are all alone in a random forest with trees to tall to climb and not a weapon to protect yourself with. If that's not above your stress tolerance, good for you, but me? I'm screwed.
I VERY reluctantly turn around, my face not even hiding the dread that sinks into my bones when I see the thing barely fifteen feet away from me. And yes I called it a thing because what the fuck even is that? It was scaly, thick, and teal? I've never been the best at describing things. Then I look up, expecting to see a face that only a blind mother could love but really... it was a woman. I raise an eyebrow and try to quickly reassess what I'm looking at since her scary self was still screeching at what I assume was the tops of her lungs, since her shrieks were probably reaching the decibel levels of an atomic bomb. She seemed to be a... hell no.
I laugh and shake my head because of course this is my life. Of course I get kidnapped to the place where the surrounding forests are inhabited by HELLISH snake-women. This being truly looked like she snuck up onto earth, her skin was an ashy gray, the kind that no amounts of lotion would fix, and her features were unnatural. Her eyes were completely red and everything about her seemed to be truly ungodly, I'm not even religious but if a god exists he needs to drag his god-forsaken creature back to wherever he had her before. I had exactly two seconds to decide where exactly I was gonna lay to give up because this was in fact TOO much for me.
Before I could find a place to give up, the snake-woman gained on me with alarming speed for someone with no legs, her mouth was open horrifyingly, since she was still screeching at the top of her lungs. Her arms were reaching for me and oh my god I just couldn't fucking deal anymore. But instead of dropping down, giving up like I had been planning to, I hear a devastating squelch and I look down to see a big ass knife in her stomach... and my hands attached to the other end.
Where did I get the knife from? Oh my god where did I get a knife? Did I have it the entire time I was running? I don't remember picking up a knife. I gasp, taking my hands off the weapon and stepping back. "Um... Misssss?" I extend the "s" sound to accentuate her snakeness, since she technically was a snake and I didn't wanna be disrespectful, especially since I just FUCKING STABBED HER! She was making these really gross groaning noises and like swaying around, screaming bloody murder, which might have been correct in this case. I didn't mean to fucking kill her! Yeah she's freaky but it's not her fault!
I hear a bunch of people surround me and the snake-lady. They're all wearing the same orange shirts, actually, the shirts are identical to the one I have on right now... was I kidnapped into a cult? Some of the people looked like... children. In fact most of them were children, the youngest looking around twelve years old, and the oldest ones could've been seventeen. A few of the kids were stationed in the trees I previously deemed to high to climb, the rest were all in a defensive position, like they thought I might attack or something. I step in front of snake-lady protectively, my arms out. "Listen, she needs medical help... she got hurt." I didn't know whether or not it'd be safe for me to say that I stabbed her. They might sacrifice me or something.
Suddenly I feel a stabbing pain in my right leg and I fall to my knees, crying out. I groan in pain when I turn to see that the snake lady clawed down my entire leg, the rips in my skin going from my upper thigh to my calf. My eyes fill with tears, I can't help crying if I get hurt, I'm pretty sure it's a reflex for my body at his point, from a paper-cut to getting the equivalent of MACHETED by a snake lady I was just trying to help... I guess I did stab her but still! My eyes are closed so I have no clue what's happening but I hear a lot of stuff kicking off. When I manage to wipe my eyes, snake-lady is gone, the kids are scattered, and one of the older kids (estimating based on height) removes their helmet and...holy hell.
The girl under that helmet is probably the prettiest girl I've ever seen. She has tanned skin, striking features, and this air of confidence. I sigh softly, well actually I started hyperventilating, probably due to the insane amount of blood that I've lost, but also because she took my breath away. Damn it. Of course this is how I meet my future wife, kneeling on the dirt, rapidly bleeding out, and everything going hazy. Gods I hope she's the first thing I see when I wake up and if I don't wake up, at least I saw heaven once.
The last thing I hear before passing out is "You might have just killed the mother of monsters." I don't know who said it because all I see is darkness.