Chapter Seven

Meeting a Serpent Pt2

That night, Lea had spent most of her time trying to find out what she could. She took out her phone and wrote down everything she remembered in a notes app. The parts of her dreams she could piece together were included along with anything she thought was important. When she finished the note she had a plan set in her mind for the rest of the night.

The woman in her dreams would come no matter what she would do, so she had to confront her when it happened. She didn't know how to lucid dream so that wasn't an option but she had another trick up her sleeves. Scrolling on her phone, she had five alarms set for later that night. They were set right after one another, ranging between one to five minutes long.

If one alarm failed, another would be ready to wake her up after it. And if all of those alarms failed, she had her old alarm clock from elementary school. With her aching body, she made sure the batteries were new and that they worked properly. Once she was positive it worked, she turned it on cranking it to wake her up on time.

'There's no way she can trap me in my dreams,' Lea drank the rest of the medication she had been given by her mother, it was for sleeping. 'This should knock me out in a couple of minutes.'

She was still scared from earlier but her desperation made her brave. All she wanted was answers and this was the only way she could get them. It was extremely risky and only based on a theory she came up with on the fly, but she had to do something. And if it meant getting hurt in the process she would just suck it up.

The medicine worked quicker than she expected. She felt the effects and laid down with one of her stuffed animals in her arms. Yawning, she prayed silently for not only her safety but the safety of her family and anyone else involved. Her eyes slowly closed as her body became sluggish and groggy, darkness surrounding her as she fell asleep.

Within her dream, Lea opened her eyes and was met with the woman from before. This time, the woman wasn’t attacking her or even near her. She stood far away, with her face peaceful which surprised the seventeen-year-old due to her previous actions. Her pale skin looked sickly, it was so bad that Lea could see her veins bulging against her skin.

Not knowing what else to do, she cleared her throat and walked towards her. Her feet didn’t even touch the ground, she assumed that maybe it was because they were in a dream. Still, she felt the air of the room they were in hitting her skin from a nearby window. Lea didn’t know where they were exactly, it was some large ballroom from what she could tell.

Chairs and tables covered in plastic sheets surrounded them. Large windows with lace curtains pulled aside to let in cold air that felt alien to her skin. The floor was cracked and uneven, making it difficult to navigate. Suddenly she felt something on her back and she wanted to squirm. It felt like someone was touching all over her body but she pulled through and continued.

The woman raised her head, revealing an even worse-looking face as she moved. Her dress dragged on the floor, revealing blood stains near its bottom to her horror. Unconsciously, Lea stepped back when the woman walked closer. Only she sat down on an uncovered chair, crossing her stick-like legs over one another. They resembled toothpicks more than legs with how skinny the woman was.

“Who are you?” Lea asked the mysterious woman. her voice shook, her anxiety grew more with the environment she was in. “What do you want with me?”

The woman was silent, distractedly staring off into the distance. This gave Lea the chance to see how much the woman had changed from their first meeting. Before, she had been strong enough to pin the teenager down and force herself on her. But now she looked like a child in her size and the way she held herself. That predatory smile was also gone, replaced by nothing.

Now, the ghost-like woman displayed no emotion. She wasn’t being domineered or animalistic but weak. Her arms which, similar to her legs, had taken on the appearance of being extremely thin were hugging her body. They almost seemed to be the only thing holding her together as she sat eerily still and silent. Lea was shocked by what she was seeing, her mouth agape.

“What happened to you?” This wasn’t the woman she came to confront. This was someone who was clinging to life by a single thread.

“My identity isn’t important anymore,” Her throat was nearly see-through, forcing the words to come out in her pain. “since we’re dying.”

"What? We can't die, this is just a dream…" The seventeen-year-old trailed off as the gravity of what she was seeing hit her. "How are you even here? I saw you outside when I was coming home. But every time I go to sleep, you're here waiting for me."

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me. And what I said about both of us dying is the truth. Your body is weaker than I was told, it can't contain me properly." The woman looked offended by her comment which only served to confuse the teenager even more.

"My body is weaker than you were told? What are you talking about?" Lea pressed the woman harder, wanting this game to stop and to be told answers. She knew that one of her alarms would be going off soon and then the opportunity would be gone. "So, you're the reason why I'm so sick. Because you're in my body?"

With a satisfied hum, the woman nodded. "I thought your kind recognized the signs of possession, it looks like I was wrong. Your body is very weak, weaker than expected. But then again, this is only a dream so why do you bother listening to me?" Seeing the way Lea gritted her teeth in agitation she smirked a tiny bit. "If this is just a dream then nothing I tell you matters."

"This is my dream," To her horror, Lea said the words hesitantly. If this was just a dream then how did she know if the woman wasn't repeating her thoughts? How would she know if the woman was even there? "But I never thought I was possessed, so this isn't just a dream."

"What are you?" The question hung in the air as the tension between the two grew.

Sighing, the woman tapped a bony finger against her arm impatiently. She didn't want to talk to the girl, but she acted as if she had no choice. "Well I have to be a demon, right? How else could I be able to possess you?"

"Angels can possess people, so can fairies and ghosts." Lea countered her claim recalling the books she had read as a child. A mythical creature would possess a sickly child or a human would take on the body of someone in another world. It felt strange to know it was possible.

"Darling, I'm no angel. And I've never met a fairy or a ghost in my lifetime," The woman batted the notion away with a wave of her hand. "You'll find out what I am soon enough. I noticed the little snake that day, I should have killed her when she awoke me from my slumber."

A feline-like eye glinted at the memory of the confrontation. "It was a surprise to see another one of my kind so close, I wasn't prepared for her attack." Her tone sounded apologetic but her smirk said otherwise.

"Momo was talking about you that day," Her hands shook as the familiar screech of alarm filled her ears. "You've been in my body this whole time."

The room began to peel from the walls, revealing a beacon of light. The longer the alarm went off the more the walls fell apart with the ground beneath them starting to crack. White light melted anything it touched, leaving ash behind. Sheets blew off of the furniture they were covering, going into the air with a gust of wind. Chairs and tables shook as they fell through the cracks or disappeared into thin air. Startled, Lea struggled to stay on her feet as the room was torn apart.

Before her eyes, the woman disappeared into thin air along with everything else. It was a slow process starting from her face to her lower chest. Witnessing the entire event left Lea traumatized, with the woman's body stripping itself apart from the light. The bone from her face came away as she gave one final glance at the teenager.

It was horrific to watch, she wanted to wake up faster than ever. It looked like a knife was being used to peel everything away, in slow motion, her stomach sour. Still, the woman watched her with a foreign look. It was unrecognizable. Her flesh was visible as Lea found herself being pulled back with the dream coming to an abrupt end.

Her eyes opened with her body jumping up in shock. She panted holding her chest as she struggled to process what had happened. The possibility that demons, ghosts, and angels could be real, was too much for her to bear. But she had no other ideas and the dream felt too real to be fake.

"Fuck," Lea held her head in her hands. "What do I do, what do I do?" She didn't want to die, but she wasn't told if there was any way to stop it.

While the dream had answered a few of her questions, it left her feeling terrified. Lea was unsure of what step to take next. She couldn't tell anyone about this, they'd think she'd gone crazy. She was completely on her own and worse, she knew her time was running out fast. All she could do was stumble in her effort to run away from her fate.

It was hard not to cry as she sat in her bed. Her body felt heavy with her heart aching at the thought of dying. She hadn't thought about death too much since she'd developed spectacular health, but now that had disappeared. Her mind was filled to the brim with imagery. It depicted her funeral, her parents grieving at the sight of a husk they'd call her corpse.

"It was her the entire time," Lea felt a sick version of relief knowing that maybe, she hadn't been hallucinating. That every single thing that happened since the encounter with Momo wasn't her fault. But the relief was short-lived. "Nobody even knows it wasn't me."

The realization that her body wasn't under her control anymore sickened her. She was uncomfortable with the idea of the woman forcing her to do things. Her mind was no longer her own and nobody even knew. Even in her decayed state, the woman still had to have control over her. The gaps in her memory proved it and no one would ever learn the truth.

Lea was violated by the woman possessing her body. The way she had pinned her down could have been the beginning. She did know what else the woman had done to her over the past month. A finger touched her upper lip as she recalled the woman kissing her, the gravity of the truth too much to bear.

Painfully, she forced herself to stay still. She wanted to go back to sleep and demand answers but it was impossible. She was lost, violated, and alone. No one could ever help her and no one would believe her. And just because she wasn't forced into doing something in one dream, didn't mean it wouldn't ever happen again.

***

Staring into the koi pond with a peaceful expression, Kaeo wondered if she had done the right thing. Everywhere she looked, she saw Lea. She saw the girl being forced into becoming one of the auntie's lovesick mates. She imagined the teenager hating her, that she would harm the child upon recognizing her. Kaeo knew if it came down to the newborn striking her down, she wouldn't fight back.

The fish in the pond played with one another as she observed them. She wanted to say that she had saved the teenager out of goodwill but she didn't. The child felt like a monster, she was selfish enough to choose how the girl would live for the next century or two. Kaeo didn't want Lea to die or live with the fact she killed her own family out of hunger. But, she was scared of the fact she had offered the girl as a weapon so easily in desperation.

'Auntie wouldn't hurt her too badly,' Kaeo had a hard time believing herself her gaze wavering. 'I could protect her.'

The doubt remained though. Kaeo wasn't a savage like Momo or calculated like her auntie. She was squeamish when near blood despite eating people to survive. She hated harming others and everything made her shed a tear. It hurt to be so weak, especially now.

"Zachary." She broke, calling out for the man who had been hiding within the forest.

It was odd. The man never left the fifteen-year-old alone ever since their talk. It scared her sometimes because he would get a look in his eyes. It wasn't predatory like before or as submissive as she would expect, but possibly territorial. She tried not to think about it much but he handled her with care since they first met.

Now, he was more blatant with his favoritism towards the child. At first, she thought auntie sent him to protect her from Momo's rage but that wasn't rational to believe. And she relied on his knowledge of newborns daily so she tried not to appear ungrateful to the older man. So the girl remained quiet and let him dote over her.

He walked towards her, the bridge creaking under the added weight. Zachary came over to the child and watched her silently. His hand reached over to hold her own, startling her.

"Did you hate that auntie made you eat your mother?" Kaeo was weak and she hated herself.

"No. To survive, I would have to kill someone to eat. I ate my mother in my last shred of humanity." The child peered at him in shock.

"But you hate yourself…"

"If I let my mother survive, she would have to live knowing I was a monster. Killing her was the lesser of the two evils," Zachary let go of her hand to pat her head. "I miss my mother but I know she'd forgive me for what I've done."

"I feel horrible Zachary," Kaeo watched the koi fish disappear into the murky water. "I don't want to be like auntie or Momo. What if I become like them?"

"You're different from them, mistress, your humanity is still intact. You fear me and yet you pleaded for its protection to me. Even now, you hate when I touch you but you ever complain." Zachary's monotone voice had a dash of warmth to it.

Kaeo was surprised by his words, she hadn't thought the man could be so kind. The Zachary she knew acted like a robot towards her, only living to complete tasks. But he spoke in a way towards her that showed approval and pleasure. She flushed when he mentioned he noticed her discomfort, embarrassed at her lack of subtlety.

The long hair man peered down at the child with that twinkle in his eye she saw previously. The predatory nature was gone, but she felt unnerved under his gaze. Her arms crossed over her chest in a form of protection from the man's eyes. She didn't like how even with his attempts at being kind to her, the man still desired to harm her.

"I talked to the others and they're still deciding what to do. For now, you should play it safe and act as if nothing is out of the ordinary."

"Does Momo know about it?" The fifteen-year-old was worried about how her cousin would react. She didn't want to get into a fight.

"I'll be by your side, Mistress. If Momo finds out I will make sure she leaves you be. Your safety is my utmost priority with the stir you've created." He reached out, beaconing her to hold his hand as they walked back inside.

She was hesitant to grab his hand but she knew she had to. The man was going out of his way to protect her, the weakest one in the manor. If Momo came around the corner, crazed with blood on her lips, she'd crumble. They wouldn’t fight on even ground, the other girl would destroy her. She’d have to watch every corner, every hallway to stay safe. Bringing her cousin’s “prey” to their home was like spitting on her face and she hadn’t even realized.

Taking his hand, she felt him immediately squeeze it tightly. Kaeo had to let him take the lead, even though it revolted against her. The idea of using the man as a guard dog made her skin crawl but she was too scared of the possibility of Momo knowing. Not only Momo, but she wondered if anyone else would be displeased with her actions. Did they think she was weaker than before? Did they doubt her standing in their family, in the household?

Kaeo looked down at his hand, seeing a gold tattoo wrap around it. It identified his standing as something nonhuman. She could see the form he hid beneath his human body and it was earth-shattering. Its size was hard to take in but it was even worse seeing what his form was made of. Still, it reassured her that if anyone tried to hurt her he would easily take them down.

“Mistress, you're not as weak as you think. Sometimes our kind struggles to accept the fate set for them,” They walked through the orchids leading to their house. “I know that you’ll be able to accept it soon enough. We all did.”

“I don’t want to kill people and I hate eating them. I just wish there was another way for us to survive.” Since she was an infant, she had fed on to humans. But not at the rate that auntie and the others wanted to. Almost every day they forced her to eat no matter how much she protested or cried.

“Exactly, if you were like your cousin you would delight at the idea of eating humans and ask me to help you hunt one down for a feast. But you want to be human so bad that you’ll fight against being served one for dinner.” Zachary stopped abruptly as they neared the gate in front of the manor.

“I don’t want to be human.” She tried to deny the truth but she wavered before giving up on a retort. He was right, she wanted to do human things like hanging out with friends and eating too much candy at sleepovers. She wished she could have friends again, that she could reside with humans in peace.

But she would never have that and it hurt. Kaeo cried at the loss of the life she never had, the life she had lost centuries ago when her kind came to life. A hand caressed her face and settled on her chin, lifting it so the two were face to face. His hand felt like ice against her skin, making her grow uncomfortable the longer he touched her.

“It’s okay to desire a piece of humanity,” He smirked briefly, lost in his thoughts. “That’s why this newborn is so special to you. She has that bit of humanity you can take for yourself. Become her savior, Mistress, and let her imprint on you.”

Her eyes grew once she heard his plan. He wanted Lea to imprint on her? That would be her taking advantage of the girl at her weakest moment. It would allow her to have the teen stay by her side, to watch over her for centuries and onward. But, she was terrified of taking someone’s free will to possibly protect them from a worse fate.

“The imprint would allow you to feel her pain and control it. You wouldn’t have to worry about her being used or Momo being able to harm her. Her life would be happy, even if you dictated it. She would become your property and automatically be regarded as a part of our family. You’re strong enough to commit this one sacrifice.” He said watching her conflicted expression finally settle.

“I could stop her from harming the ones she loves,” Kaeo hated herself but she didn’t know what else to do. “Would her imprint be like yours?”

“No. It would be however you want it to.” Zachary reassured his hand against her cheek in a show of emotion.

“Then...I want you to teach me everything about imprinting.” Kaeo hoped that maybe Lea would forgive her. This was the only way the transformation would be painless and she could guarantee that no one would harm the newborn.