loose. The
princess was still quite confined inside, but she at least had a
bit of room to move now. She assumed that with the change, the
serpent had finally been killed, and so she tried to let go of her
anger. It was not a task that she found to be simple. She wanted
more. She needed to escape, so that she could find the craggy hand
demon and do the same to him. She wanted to slash and break and
kill. She lost herself in her infinite rage, and it felt so good.
Struggling to free herself only made matters worse, fueling her
anger and frustration at imprisonment. Ruby screamed and howled in
vain.
Then, there was a distracting thump at the
side of her fleshy cell. The confusion washed away much of her
anger, and the thump repeated from the other side of the serpent a
little bit closer. Ruby twisted her body to face where she believed
the sound was emanating from, and she wormed her hand free. She
mimicked the thumping sound as best she could from the beast’s
interior, and it echoed again from the outside. Someone or
something was out there. Maybe they would help free her, though she
couldn’t imagine anything else being alive in that pit.
Sythys had mentioned that all of her people
were his slaves. Was it possible another person had wandered this
far down? She didn’t have any answers, but she would need their
help to escape the serpent’s insides. The thought occurred to her
that it might be something worse than the giant serpent. Whatever
or whoever it was, she would face that challenge when she was out.
She had proven that nothing would stop her, that she could overcome
anything placed in her path.
Ruby thumped again at the inside of the
serpent, and she waited for the echoing response. There was none.
She began to panic. Had they left her? Why had they even made the
noise if they weren’t going to help her? Was it even real? Had she
imagined the whole thing? Was she so desperate to escape that she
had invented her own way out? She struggled once more to free
herself, but the quarters were too tight and far too dark.
A new sound then interrupted her panic. This
one was not a thumping noise, but rather it was quiet, hard for her
to hear. She stopped moving, trying to focus on the sound and
determine what it was. There was a soft noise, like something
scraping against another, but that wasn’t quite it. No, rather Ruby
realized that it was the sound of cutting, tearing. Whoever was
outside the serpent was cutting it open in an attempt to free
her.
The princess tried to wait patiently, but she
needed to be free. After several minutes of the sound, Ruby reached
out toward where she thought it was coming from. Using her fingers
as her eyes, she felt around for any openings. Piercing her nails
through some thin layer of the serpent’s insides, Ruby ripped open
a section big enough for her hands to fit through. She kept pushing
until she found what she thought was the final layer of the
serpent. On the other side of it was freedom.
Ruby felt around for the opening that was
being carved into Sythys. When her fingers met with an uneven
surface, she knew she had found it. She pried her fingers through
the small gash, and a tiny bit of light came through. On the
outside, Ruby heard some of the poison plop through and land on the
rocky ground below. The princess ripped and tore at the opening,
fitting her hands through and pulling it open with all her
strength. Everything was so wet and slippery, and she couldn’t get
a tight grip on anything. More of the toxins oozed out of the hole
that was increasing in size. She kept struggling and eventually
managed to squeeze her arms out of the gash. Ruby received no more
help from the person who’d cut the snake open. This was up to her.
One of her elbows made it to the other side, so she twisted her
arm, locking it against the serpent’s scales. Using it as leverage,
she pulled herself through. Her other arm was completely out now,
and her head was soon to follow. There was
princess was still quite confined inside, but she at least had a
bit of room to move now. She assumed that with the change, the
serpent had finally been killed, and so she tried to let go of her
anger. It was not a task that she found to be simple. She wanted
more. She needed to escape, so that she could find the craggy hand
demon and do the same to him. She wanted to slash and break and
kill. She lost herself in her infinite rage, and it felt so good.
Struggling to free herself only made matters worse, fueling her
anger and frustration at imprisonment. Ruby screamed and howled in
vain.
Then, there was a distracting thump at the
side of her fleshy cell. The confusion washed away much of her
anger, and the thump repeated from the other side of the serpent a
little bit closer. Ruby twisted her body to face where she believed
the sound was emanating from, and she wormed her hand free. She
mimicked the thumping sound as best she could from the beast’s
interior, and it echoed again from the outside. Someone or
something was out there. Maybe they would help free her, though she
couldn’t imagine anything else being alive in that pit.
Sythys had mentioned that all of her people
were his slaves. Was it possible another person had wandered this
far down? She didn’t have any answers, but she would need their
help to escape the serpent’s insides. The thought occurred to her
that it might be something worse than the giant serpent. Whatever
or whoever it was, she would face that challenge when she was out.
She had proven that nothing would stop her, that she could overcome
anything placed in her path.
Ruby thumped again at the inside of the
serpent, and she waited for the echoing response. There was none.
She began to panic. Had they left her? Why had they even made the
noise if they weren’t going to help her? Was it even real? Had she
imagined the whole thing? Was she so desperate to escape that she
had invented her own way out? She struggled once more to free
herself, but the quarters were too tight and far too dark.
A new sound then interrupted her panic. This
one was not a thumping noise, but rather it was quiet, hard for her
to hear. She stopped moving, trying to focus on the sound and
determine what it was. There was a soft noise, like something
scraping against another, but that wasn’t quite it. No, rather Ruby
realized that it was the sound of cutting, tearing. Whoever was
outside the serpent was cutting it open in an attempt to free
her.
The princess tried to wait patiently, but she
needed to be free. After several minutes of the sound, Ruby reached
out toward where she thought it was coming from. Using her fingers
as her eyes, she felt around for any openings. Piercing her nails
through some thin layer of the serpent’s insides, Ruby ripped open
a section big enough for her hands to fit through. She kept pushing
until she found what she thought was the final layer of the
serpent. On the other side of it was freedom.
Ruby felt around for the opening that was
being carved into Sythys. When her fingers met with an uneven
surface, she knew she had found it. She pried her fingers through
the small gash, and a tiny bit of light came through. On the
outside, Ruby heard some of the poison plop through and land on the
rocky ground below. The princess ripped and tore at the opening,
fitting her hands through and pulling it open with all her
strength. Everything was so wet and slippery, and she couldn’t get
a tight grip on anything. More of the toxins oozed out of the hole
that was increasing in size. She kept struggling and eventually
managed to squeeze her arms out of the gash. Ruby received no more
help from the person who’d cut the snake open. This was up to her.
One of her elbows made it to the other side, so she twisted her
arm, locking it against the serpent’s scales. Using it as leverage,
she pulled herself through. Her other arm was completely out now,
and her head was soon to follow. There was