Mede’s Sacrifice

The thicket was my skies, and clouds with brooding lightning were my ground.

Great. I must’ve passed out soon after.

When I next opened my eyes, it was raining and I was suffocating in Celphi’s arms. His familiar sturdy torso held me secure. I tried pushing away from his body, but his grip was violent.

’Cel’, I opened my mouth to speak, but more water entered me.

I heard wild screeching at a far distance, from what I assumed was Mede. I managed to move my head to an area without water and assessed the situation as fast as I could. Celphi was having a body of water strapped around him like a thick sash that had its own life, and it swayed ever so slightly.

His breath grew heavy, ragged. His claws dug into my sides, possessively and greedily. I tried to move my head some more so I could breathe freely, but his grip only tightened. His scales began to shimmer and reflect the stars above. His wings wrapped around me, folding closer, a cocoon of rough, hot power.

This isn’t protection anymore.

The world grew smaller. Darker. Celphi’s dragon form had been shrinking and was closer to his former size. But his unfolding was unstoppable and uncontrollable. He engulfed me in a prison of his embrace and wings. I gasped for air, mind and heart in panic, trapped inside a barrier that was forming around us.

‘Ina.’ He whispered my name, but it was no longer love. Maybe it was. But there’s also more. Need. Desire. Ownership. And I was drowning. Literally.

Was Mede trying to prevent this?

‘What’s happening?’ I breathlessly asked as my face was forcibly mashed into his neck with his iron hug. I couldn’t move. Could barely think.

That was another moment that I won't be able to recollect perfectly. Celphi was wrapped in water, well, us. It pulsed and swayed around us, thick and heavy, almost sentient but still a part of him.

What happened next is fuzzy. I remember Celphi shifting. His body stretched and shimmered, returning to a human shape. The water around us tightened, compacted, forming something solid. A container. No.

‘What’s…A womb? A cocoon?’

Fucked. I am fucked.

I frantically looked around for an opening. I did not have to be medically inclined to know that this was going to be horrific.

Is he going to absorb me? Become with one me in this aspect?…Shit.

By the time he was fully in his human form, his grip weakened. I slipped free, but not out. The watery sac held me inside. I pressed against it, but it resisted like skin. Like a lumpy balloon. I had no power. I raised my head to an area where I could breathe and speak.

‘Celphi!’ I shouted in between gasps. ‘When I said don’t let me go, I did not mean this!’

I pushed at the membrane and then at Celphi. Nothing. He passed out and was crouched in a fetal position. My heart was swollen looking at him. For a second. Just for a while, I felt bad for him. But I had to get out first. Then I could feel bad for him as much as I’d like.

Once I am not in like, mortal danger!

Outside, Mede was coming. Battered, wings torn, feathers singed and hanging in tatters. He looked like a fire ball in the middle of the night.

He really does look like an angry bird.

His eyes locked onto me, fierce and desperate. I saw him dive. His body alight. I ducked and braced on instinct, even though I knew it won’t help. His tackle hit the sac dead-on. Celphi and I went flying and destroyed everything in our path. I was tossed around inside, weightless and helpless, like laundry in a storm.

I wasn’t hurt. But the impact knocked the breath out of me, and the water quickly took its chance. I was drowning again.

Typical. Theme of my holiday here apparently.

Just before I blacked out, Celphi awoke from the tackle, kissed me tenderly, sharing some air for me to breathe in. It felt like the normal him. But the shared air wasn't enough. I was breathless. Behind him, I saw Mede diving for another strike. My lungs gave out. My eyes closed.

***

‘Ina, you don’t need to worry. I will always come back. To you.’

***

I don’t know how long the coldness went on for. When I came to, my eyes were closed and my body was cold. Very cold. Then it was warm. I forced my eyes open and saw that I was facing the ground. I pushed up to look around and saw that Celphi was close to me and was on fire. I extended my arms to reach him and saw that I, too, was on fire. Even more than him.

I almost did not notice that the serpent birthmark I have on the raised arm in front of me had changed. It looked like its colour became more prominent. Not anymore a faint discolouration on my skin. It had become a distinct mark in the shape of a dragon. The old snaking shape had additional wings and appendages on it.

The fire almost avoided touching the dragon mark. Even though it burned inside me as well. I breathed in fire and exhaled smoke. My body rebelled against it with every breath, and still it consumed me. It was a different kind of pain from inhaling water, but it was equally agonising.

Is this hell? I hate it here.

I struggled hard and long to push myself up. Ash from my body and moisture from Celphi’s round sac of torture made it a slippery and untidy venture. I could only lift my head. More huffs and puffs of ash leave my nose and mouth. Some slowly and painfully. Some have forced coughs and sneezes.

When I had managed to get my footing, I realized that I was lying on a giant mound of ash. And it was on fire. And I was on fire. I slipped back directly to the ground with my face. Eating ashes.

Isn’t it amazing? Princess of two divine mythical beings. And I’m face-first in the dirt.

I groaned, trying to push myself up and crawl, but the ashes made everything slick. My body felt heavy. My arms shook. I lifted my head to look around and realized Mede was nowhere.

‘Mede?’ I tried to say. No voice came. Only puffs of ash escaped my mouth and nostrils. From my recent facial and from deep within me. Ashes. Ashes are coming from everywhere. From my skin, my nose, my mouth, my tears.

Then, without warning, a sharp, stabbing pain exploded across my back. I cried out and twisted in pain, fingers digging into what’s left of my fur outfit. Celphi’s shed skin that I was wearing as a dress remained intact.

Something's wrong with my back. Dorsal. Deep. Something bloomed under my skin, sharp and constant, like someone driving searing metal through bone. I collapsed again, hugging myself tight in a fetal position. The pain was unbearable.

Is this how a lumbar puncture feels? Times a million.

‘He…help…’ I managed to whisper against the ashes drying in my throat.

I rolled around in pain and in tears. Writhing wouldn’t be enough to describe the feeling. I was late in realising that the fire on me and around me did not cause me that much pain, but whatever was growing on my back did.

I shrieked and thrashed around in immense pain, sending ashes in all directions. Like playing snow angel, but with charcoal glitter. The fire around me comforted me, keeping me warm, until I blacked out.

***

‘Pick her up with care! If you leave as small a bruise on her, I will cut your arm.’

I was roused by noises of rumbling from underneath the soil and someone lifting me. In fact, it felt like a lot of hands were on me. Holding me with care. Passing me around until I felt like I was placed on a soft mattress. My mind was awake, but my body just wasn't able to wake up. I was driven by waves of soil, almost swallowed by the ground, almosttaken away again by Celphi, almost taken by Mede, almost torn to shreds by two gigantic creatures, almost absorbed by Celphi on his transformation ending stunt, then almost died of back pain.

Awesome. About time someone held me with gentleness, respect, and care. Just a lady who didn’t have to be rushed into anything.

‘Ok, take her away. That’s the one the queen wanted killed permanently.’ An unknown voice said.

Excuse me who?

I felt the enclosure I was in got lifted.

Wait, ME?

‘You can leave this dragon boy to die here. Or you can kill him. I don't care as long as we get that girl to the ritual hall.’ He ordered.

Celphi?

‘Sir we can’t find any traces of the Phoenix. Only these ashes. He must have been injured gravely but escaped.’ Another voice reported.

Mede?

A cold hand travelled on my back, feeling the surface, studying my skin and the area where I felt the most horrific pain that ever existed. His touch lingered longer than it should. I felt violated for the first time in my life.

Never mind your goons, it’s your hand that needs cutting.

'She has a new promise mark. He has bonded with this girl. Let’s hurry up and vacate. He’s the rescue head of Noble Elysium. He will certainly come back for her.’ He barked his orders with urgency. ‘Also, leave the dragon, even if he’s weak; we don’t have time to deal with him if he awakens.’

What bonded?

The compartment I was in got dragged with ease despite the loud and rough digging sounds all around me. It didn’t take me long to recall that the rumbling sounds were the same as the ones by the forest's edge, where the stretch of sand lay. The one who followed behind me closely as I tried to locate Celphi and Mede in their fight.

‘Why does the queen want to kill her?’

‘When the queen tells you to do something, you do it. You don't get to ask the queen to explain herself.’

I suppose I’ll finally learn why I was brought into this world. Though cruelly, it might be in the same moment I leave it.

MESSAGE FOR LOVELY READERS

I was a bit excited to upload cause here marks the end of the first arc. (I think). I am tempted to go back and start editing everything from the beginning into a more beautiful, flowing, cohesive set of paragraphs and dialogues. But I am afraid that will hamper my current vibe. So I decided to keep going for a while before I go back and start making everything ‘perfect’. Thank you for reading up until now!! I do everything the comments say, so I wouldn’t have reached this point without everyone’s support. I really am excited to keep going! So I will do just that.

Edit: Moving forward, I will edit and proofread as I go. I won’t upload on whim.