Trapped in A Fairytale

There was no sky. The darkness was suffocating, and the intense thunder only added to the chaos that enveloped her. The occasional heavy raindrops made it through the darkness, drummed on her exposed skin sending shivers through her body that seemed to reach her very bones. She shifted, and her left leg sent out waves of excruciating pain that made her gasp. It was then that she noticed she was smaller than she should be, her body less developed and fragile. Her hands groped around, feeling the broken vines that lay haphazardly around her; the grimy silt-like soil that she sat atop was confusing due to its absence of metal ship plate.

She felt around gently with her hands, running them down her leg, her chaotic mind attempting to give her necessary data. Her leg was fractured, her body was bruised, and many minor cuts tingled in irritation announcing they were covered in grit.

Her eyebrows came together in pain and confusion. She wanted to think that she had been dropped into a very realistic virtual simulator, except her body and brain agreed this was the real world because the pain was too intense even for an advanced simulator.

She lay back on the gritty earth and focused on what she remembered. Vanu, assassins, Shine's cold, lifeless eyes. The images flashed at her, threatening to bury her in grief and rage again. A hot tear slid out of the corner of her burning eyes. She took a steadying breath, mentally reciting the Maker's peace mantra.

Her mind quieted, and new memories invaded her mind, causing her to frown. An out-of-control carriage, guards turning on her, and a small boy of about five lunar years, her brother? They ran; she fought, killing three and evading two before a pack of four-legged animals with thick fur, long claws, and sharp teeth in long snouts took up where the assassins had left them.

*Wolves? How could there be wolves? Why do I remember this?* Her mind contemplated the images of the long-extinct canine creatures her memory supplied her with; she could only dwell for a moment before the sharp pain invaded her mind once more, and more memories pressed forward.

She had scooped the boy up and carried him on her back as they fled further into the dark wood; she climbed upwards as her brother whimpered fearfully into her ear. His tiny arms clutching to her back desperately. She reached more level ground and sprinted forward aimlessly, stumbling into a deep pit. They fell; she clawed at thick vines to slow their descent, her brother's terrified screams echoing into the blackness. Despite her desperate attempts to reduce their velocity, they still landed hard enough to knock her unconscious.

These memories seemed natural, not as if they belonged to someone else, yet they were distant, as if they had happened long ago. Her face contorted in confusion, carriages? Wolves? They were things from old historical vids, not anything that would be used in her lifetime. Yet the pain reassured her; this was real.

The critical point was that she shouldn't be alone wherever she was, a young boy had fallen with her, and she was heavily injured. So it was on point to believe he probably did not fare any better than she with his more petite frame.

Sitting up, the immense effort caused her to groan with pain through her tightly gritted teeth. She patted the ground, gently straining her ears for the slightest sound that did not belong to the raging storm above her. A sudden flash of lightning blinded her for a moment, yet left her with the faint afterimage of a small form a short distance from her.

Upon seeing the slight outline of the boy's prone form, she could not doubt that the memories that had invaded her mind were real. Her mind still reeling from Shine's loss and Vanu's betrayal, the confusion surrounding her current plight. She focused on helping the boy, helping someone, doing something to force her forward. She began to crawl, careful not to put pressure on her injured leg, cold sweat beading on her tiny forehead as she forcefully ignored the screaming pain attacking her body.

Feeling like she had crawled in the damp gritty soil for ages, her pale, cold hands finally touched a small leather-soled boot. Gasping for air, she pulled herself up alongside the tiny form he was breathing, but the sharp, shallow sounds hurt her soul.

"Brother? Brother, can you hear me?" She asked gently, receiving only the slightest sound that mimicked a sad, wounded animal.

She gently prodded the young boy; he was incredibly thin, and gauging by his reactions to her touch; he had a broken leg, bruised if not broken ribs, and probably a concussion. She could not tell if he had internal injuries without a scanner.

Frustration, anger, and sorrow rolled through her in equal measure as she knew there was no way they were getting out of this hole without more injury. Shifting him slightly could aggravate his condition; she bit her lip in rage.

She could bandage the boy using strips of cloth, but she needed something to brace both of their wounded legs and a way to bind his ribs. However, she couldn't move him without doing serious harm if not outright killing the young man. Would help come? She focused back on the new memories trying to glean more information.

She seemed to be the boy's half-sister and guardian; their status was noble. She frowned, focusing more on the events that occurred and the identity of those who had pursued them. The memories seemed to be of their personal guard turning on her and the young boy. Their target was her brother, the young Balam, the sixth prince of QinMay. Her eyes opened wide in shock as she registered the name and rank of the boy. A cold, oppressive fear slid through her, freezing her to her very bones.

*Wait, Balam, the sixth prince? Like in Nana's ancient storybook?* Her thoughts spun, and the ground seemed to disappear below her, her gut dropping a thousand feet deeper into the freezing hole she sat in.

Was she in the old children's telling of 'The first Empress of Ksin'? If that were true, she would be another Yun Val Daiyu. A Daiyu that supposedly lived hundreds of thousands of lunar cycles in the past of her ancestral planet. A dark mythical villainess who helped her brother almost wholly eradicate an entire imperial line.

The existence of the Empress of Ksin was a historical fact. However, information about her rise to power and the existence of the boy known as the sixth prince and his vile half-sister was not something that could be validated accurately as their birth and death records had been lost to time. Some ancient and vague court documents alluded to Balam's existence. Yet, the half-sister Yun Val Daiyu was only found in storybooks and myths.

Yun Val Daiyu, a girl born on the battlefield who grew up beside her father, following him from one war zone to the next, her mother constantly by his side, organizing the war camp and managing supplies like most women would run an estate.

The beautiful and delicate second princess of Taihar, a blossoming flower amid bloody war, whose love was so strong she refused to leave her husband's side even when faced with great danger. Their mythical child grew to be an accomplished warrior, medic, and beauty at a young age. The pride and heart of her parents; a testament to their strength and love.

She brought her mind back from those ancient and contradictory stories of who this Yun Val Daiyu was thought to have been. At this moment, if she was meant to be that young girl and he was the sixth prince, it would also mean she was not alone with just the boy. Because this is where the other Daiyu supposedly met the demon. Yet there was no way it could be true! She could not have become a fictional character of myth! Demons were not real creatures.

She pressed a frozen thumb into the space between her eyebrows as she tried to come to grips with what she was thinking. Was she in the storybook? Was she living the life of another Yun Val Daiyu? Was this history or legend?

They did seem to be at the bottom of a well, yet was the well older than the planet's current inhabitants? Could there really truly be a demon down here with them? She did not believe in mythical monsters, yet she knew the universe held strange and unexplained things. However, an ancient creature that had lived since before the Maker seed formatted the world? This was a possibility; solid archaeological proof found on many of the Maker's planets led to the belief that some planets had not been as uninhabitable for intelligent life as the Maker project had theorized.

Her spine tingled with apprehension as her mouth went dry; she felt eyes on her. Was it a natural feeling, or her imagination taking hold of her now adolescent mind? She breathed in slowly, mentally chanting once more. Listening to the sound of the storm above her and the labored breathing of the boy beside her.

Historically, the creature in the legend did not kill the two damaged children yet helped them achieve many goals with its unique abilities. If looked at from the children's perspective, he was not a dangerous demon, more of a companion and guide. Would that be true this time as well? Was this creature friend or foe? Was it dangerous and evil?

According to other tellings, the creature had a name; what was it? She frowned again, closing her eyes tightly to focus, almost seeing the ancient pages of the storybooks. The tale had been her favorite because her Nana had carefully cared for the old book and read it to her with such tenderness. Anytime she had free, she researched and read other tellings, fascinated by the myth. She scanned her memories for the name.

"Zalgras." She whispered into the dark space; her soft sound was greeted with the agitated grating sounds of scales moving along the gritty earth. An eerie slithering sound that seemed to wrap around her suddenly panicked heart.

*How do you know those sounds, little carbon life form?* A voice that wasn't a voice hissed inside her mind with such force that it vibrated, causing instant pain to explode in her skull.

"You can do that with less force; if you shatter my tiny brain, you will be unable to achieve your current goal." Instead, she responded instinctively, her voice filtering through teeth gritted against the pain, her tone dripping with anger.

*What does such a lowly creature know of my goals?* The creature's mental voice held a sharp edge but was graciously quieter. She breathed a small sigh as the pressure reduced inside her mind. Her mind raced with details, forming her strategy.

"I know you wish to leave this pit, and I also know you can only do that if I give my permission. Since the young one is unconscious. I could give you my permission to share his carbon body as one who shares the same genetic makeup allowing you to inhabit his form. We would do this by forming a contract binding us to define mutual terms and obligations as is your custom." She shivered; somehow, the situation seemed nostalgic; the things she was saying felt like vague memories, like a scent from long ago she could not remember but caught upon a distant wind.

*How!* The creature demanded in her head so loudly she felt it would crack in half.

"Maker's balls!" She cursed under her breath, grabbing her head with both hands pressing against the pain radiating there. Then, like a switch had been flipped by the pain, fainter memories and feelings pressed in on her.

Like those of the flight from the assassins, these memories seemed to belong to the other Daiyu, yet they were hazier and seemed to be images of things that had not yet occurred. Confusion plagued her, yet now was not the time to analyze. The being could be the end or beginning for both siblings. Their hopes of survival hinged on the cooperation of this creature. So she went with what the memories led her to be true.

"I am unsure; it feels to be true. Just as it feels like you can heal us enough to escape this place, even though I can not see you, I feel you have inhabited the form of a cave snake. Yet, due to your many years trapped inside the creature, it has lived and grown beyond its original capacity. This somehow makes it impossible for you to leave this place without assistance. I do not know the reason for this. Yet your only way out is if a carbon life-form who is sentient enough to make a contract with you agrees to said contract." She heard the large-scaled creature shift further away. She could sense its contemplation or perhaps its curiosity. She swallowed dryly, attempting to moisten her parched throat before continuing.

"We will help you, but of course, we have a few questions as well as demands that cannot be ignored before we begin. Shall we begin? Or do you wish to wait here for another five hundred planetary cycles till your life ends? Perhaps another carbon life form with the ability to communicate will fall in sooner, perhaps it will take longer. It's up to you." She forced her voice to sound nonchalant as her mind ran through the 'feelings' she was having.

The entity she was communicating with belonged to a race of creatures that existed on the planet before the Maker Seed terraformed the world. Fossil material left behind during the planet's transformation suggested that the beings had a corporeal form at one time. This was a historical fact that such creatures existed. Many died, and it is believed they were all extinct, yet according to myths, through some unknown means, they were actually able to change or 'transcend' into beings of energy.

Still, she vaguely felt that she knew more. She seemed to know that their energy form was precarious. They still required a corporeal host; before The Maker Seed populated the planet with its current ruling class of life forms, it began populating the planet with beasts and fauna. The original inhabitants found that they could bond with these simple life forms.

However, complications arose if they inhabited the host past its natural life cycle; they would become trapped, unable to choose a new form until the one they occupied died. With each death, their energy became more unstable, and many faded from existence in this way.

Once life forms with a higher consciousness began to emerge from The Maker Seed, they found they could inhabit them for more extended periods, and such a coexistence stabilized their energy. However, without a contract and conscious knowledge of the beings, their subconscious would fight the invasion when the hosts become aware of the second life form. This caused damage to the creatures and expedited their energy dispersal. Just as she knew her name, she somehow knew that this 'Zalgras' had been young and had fled into the serpent's body. He had much knowledge yet was still very ignorant of his people's ways or how his energy worked.

The air around them was tense; a sudden flash of lightning revealed the creature's location as well as its current form. The black serpent's body was easily five times the size of her meager self; its luminescent golden eyes focused entirely on her and the boy's prone form as it towered over the two children blocking any view of the sky above. Its eyes held doubt, anger, and undertones of fear.

She shivered, this time not from cold, as those gold eyes remained illuminated long after the brightness of the lightning had faded, and the thunder rolled overhead.