A Snake Deserves No Pity

A/N: I was so happy to get so many reviews!!! It made me smile so much – thank you for your kind words, everyone! I appreciated each and every one I received; thank you again! Next chapter up so soon because I’m so happy with the result of the first~


God, the wind was harsh! It seemed to cut through him like a knife, sinking quickly right to the bone and making him groan faintly in the back of his throat. The stranger, who had wrapped a thick woolen cloak around his thin frame in an attempt to keep warm, glanced longingly over his shoulder as he gripped the lantern tightly with one hand. It swung left and right crazily, jumping up and creaking under the strain of the gale. His knuckles turned white in an attempt to keep a hold of it, his other hand drawing his coat even tighter around his frame as if it might help.

Why had he agreed this was a good idea? He let out a pained moan as he trudged through the dried mud, his boots already caked in the stuff from top to bottom. Some even splattered the knees of his britches, quickly freezing and clinging to the material like limpets. He trudged against the heavy push of the wind, fighting to overcome it as it attempted to bowl him over completely.

“It can’t be far now,” he moaned in frustration, hoping he wasn’t just trying to convince himself of that fact. He severely hoped he would reach the house soon; he was already chilled to the bone and the light inside his lantern was beginning to flicker in protest against the high winds. The trees did nothing to shield him from the harsh winter weather. Instead they made the whole thing far more tedious; scratching at his arms and catching his cloak with their long, spindly fingers.

He would have to give up on this whole ridiculous journey sooner or later. There was obviously no mansion after all. The stories and the rumors of the god must all be myths and fictional stories. A great and powerful god living in the middle of this blasted forest? He must be completely stupid for believing them. He knew this as he stomped through the undergrowth, cursing and muttering his own stupidity under his breath, but he still kept going forward. What else could he do? He knew he didn’t have the heart to turn back and disappoint his whole village. He’d already travelled for countless days on foot, sleeping when he found reasonable shelter, hunting when his stomach growled in protest, drinking from clean lakes and re-filling his water pouch when the time called for it. Nothing. He’d been wandering through this stupid woodland for two days already, and soon the sun would set and make it his third.

Maybe he should turn back. It was the easy way out – there obviously wasn’t a single trace of godly magic in this whole place. There hadn’t been so much as a snippet of snake scale or mythological activity. He was obviously searching in vain.

He was lost so deep in thought that he shuddered as a particularly hard gust of wind pushed at him firmly, making him draw his cloak a little tighter around himself, cursing as the icy blow stung his eyes, forcing them to close out of reflex. He stumbled blindly, loosing his footing on the mossy floor. He staggered to the left. His foot caught on an uprooted tree root, scraping against his toes and jarring it painfully. He gasped in shock as he struggled and slipped forwards, tumbling through a thick foliage and landing painfully on the floor as he careered through it.

He sat up, coughing and screaming in frustration as he pounded the floor with one hand. His cloak was ripped from him, caught on the branches of the bush, tugging painfully on his tangled limbs. He sat quivering for a few moments, fighting not to burst into babyish tears. He’d had enough damn it! He pushed himself up, trembling in exhaustion and distress. This was the final straw – there was no way in hell he was going to continue with this. He was turning around and going home right this second.

“I hate this stupid forest and these fucking trees and this bloody moss,” he growled as he struggled with his cloak, attempting to pull it free from the clutches of the possessive bush. He finally succeeded, dropping the lantern with a heavy thump as it was wrenched free, the force making him fall backwards once more. He struggled upright, bruised and muddy with the filth of the forest floor. Alright, this was enough. He was fed up with this whole thing. It was obvious he wasn’t going to find –

He stopped. He stared.

The mansion before him loomed out of the darkness like a great shadow, eerily silver and spooky in the moonlight. It was half hidden in great shrouds of ivy and vines, trees towering around it like bodyguards. It seemed completely dark, but several windows were flickering with candlelight and he could see shapeless objects passing to and fro from one window to the next.

Tyson swallowed as he began to step towards it, drawing his cloak absentmindedly around himself, certain he had entered some kind of dream-like reality. He’d been searching for the house for so long, he was certain he was hallucinating now that he had finally found it. ‘House’ was really a rather inappropriate word. Estate was far more fitting. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the sudden sight, he could make out a sealed off area in front of the rolling courtyard, surrounded by a high spiked fence and huge iron gates. Some sort of garden perhaps? Oh god. What if it was a hunting ground? A place to release the prey and leave it to run for its life as the great, monstrous snake pursued it relentlessly until it coiled crushingly around it and choked it to death...

He shook his head wildly, cursing his own foolish imagination. They were just stories. Creatures like that didn’t exist. They were mere fairytales and fables.

He began to make his way down the steep grassy mount where the forest ended and the land stretching in front of the vast mansion began. He’d come all of this way after all. There was no time to waste being frightened of nonexistent monsters and silly old things like that.

Firstly, he had to see if the master of this house was indeed a god, or if that was another story. He doubted that. Right now he was so happy he’d finally made it to the damn place he was willing to believe anything. Secondly, if step number one worked out alright, he had to see if this god could help him save his village. If he could, it would mean this whole trip wasn’t in vain. Tyson began to walk a little faster, growing bolder by the second. Nothing bad could happen, right? Surely there was nothing evil in that massive manor It was impossible.

This was why, as he looked up towards the largest window on the highest floor, he convinced himself it was merely a trick of the mind when he thought he felt a pair of eyes gazing at him and saw a flash of a glittering surface. Nevertheless, he stopped for a brief moment to gaze up at it and check if he was being silly, but there was nothing there. The curtains were tightly drawn.

Swallowing and shaking his head, he fixed his gaze firmly on the front door surrounded in honeysuckle as he mounted the stone steps. It was his mind. He must be tired. Yes, that must be it.

He cast his fear aside and raised one slightly trembling hand, pretending the shaking was from the cold, and rapped firmly on the thick front door.

A/N: Please tell me what you think! I know it's a little rushed and I can't help but feel I could have done a better job, but I've been inspired. Reviews make me so happy and they really make my day ^-^ Thank you to everyone who reviewed last time and I'm looking forwards to hearing from you again!