The Bride of the Serpent is Silent

The bizarre red landscape passing Jing Li by from the awkward vantage point upon her abductor's shoulder. The bride of the water god, who had been biding her time peacefully with her little book of poetry in her room. Now discovered that her obstinate protests had earned her the prime position, usually occupied by a sack of potatoes or freshly hunted deer. Flung indelicately over the man's shoulder, she had continued to wriggle and pound on her captor's back with her fists for a while until she had eventually been too exhausted to persist.

The two, coming to arrive at the base of the jagged mountain range that was seen from where they had emerged on the riverbank. The man, claiming to be Shui Long's brother, proceeded deep within a dark crevice at the base of the mountains, before finally dropping her from his broad shoulder. Still disorientated from the various twists and turns that had brought them there. Jing Li stood fumbling for a solid holding in the dark, until her hand was finally to brush against the craggy wall of the cave. Steadying herself as she allowed for her eyes to adjust to the gloomy interior, Jing Li was able to make out vague piles of objects in her captor's lair after a couple of minutes.

The floor, littered with the remnants of jugs that had once contained alcohol. There were a few knives and pieces of his tinkering that winked at her from amongst the chaos. These components, twinkling like grim fragments of the man's life upon the ground. They were found to be in stark contrast to the beauty of what remained above them in the cave. Her gaze, drawn up towards the thousands of long crystals that hung down like stalactites from the ceiling. They cast a vague light over Jing Li's dismal surroundings as she finally distinguished a place along the wall in which she could crouch.

The wonderment found in observing the numerous shapes of the red crystal formations on the ceiling, interrupted by a profound chattering that originated from Jing Li's teeth. She pulled the damp layers of the clothes that she wore around her in a desperate effort to try to conserve body heat as she bided her time. Shivering, whilst the uncomfortable burn of the serpent mark on Jing Li's ankle told her that she had strayed too far from the water god's estate to receive his protection. Jing Li attempted not to display any sign of these discomforts or distress in the presence of her captor, as she continued to glare towards the man that had dragged her unwillingly into this strange and inhospitable land. 

The red-haired stranger, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to regard the daggers cast onto him by the sharp gaze of his disgruntled guest. He paced around the cave kicking the cluttered objects out of his way as he passed. The noise stirred up by his movements, still echoing through the narrow corridors of the cave as the man then proceeded to rummage through a pile in an obscure corner of the cave. This clamor finally ceased once he prized a cloth, a small jar, and a thick but unattractive covering from the miscellaneous collection of belongings that he kept.

Having obtained these items, the man turned back towards Jing Li. Walking over to where she was now sat curled up and shivering miserably against the side of the cave. Jing Li noticed her captor's thick eyebrow knit together in frustration as he came to pause in front of her. His lips, pressing together in the same way that Shui Long's did when he refrained from voicing his discontentment, they parted to grumble, "I don't want it on my conscience if you freeze to death." The sentiments of the remark demonstrated further by him as he indelicately dropped the blanket that was balled up under his arm onto Jing Li's head. She looked at the offering dubiously at first. 

Inhibited by pride from accepting the man's meager display of sympathy without at least some reservations. It was necessity that won out in the end, as Jing Li was eventually encouraged to unroll the dirty covering from its compressed form. Still watching her abductor warily from the corner of her eye as she shook some dust free from the blanket. Jing Li pulled the layer around her shoulders as the man plonked himself down directly opposite from her on the floor of the cave. The stranger wincing vaguely as he slid onto the cool ground, he began to review the thin trail of blood that remained on his left arm. 

The red liquid, mostly dried now as the man raised his arm to inspect the small incision on his bicep. Her abductor, grimacing as he dabbed at the gash that had been inflicted by a shard of the broken vase with a rag. He glanced back over towards the hindrance responsible for this injury as he casually began to address his silent hostage, "I must confess, I thought Shui Long's human bride would be more boring when I heard she was a mute." Pursing her lips together to express her dissatisfaction on receiving this backhanded compliment. Jing Li's indignation did not prevent the man from adding, "But you really made a lot of ruckus for such a scrawny human."

Unfortunately, not consoled by the fact that her efforts of escape had only succeeded in impressing her abductor. Jing Li wrapped the blanket around her more tightly as she recalled her helpless attempt to cling to the fibers of the rug in her chambers. The endeavor made too late in order to draw attention to her room before Jing Li was whisked away by her captor and lacking enough strength to ensure its success. She wondered now what Shui Long would think of the scene once it had been brought to his attention, and instantly regretted the trouble that her feebleness had caused him and his staff once more.

Finally dabbing the last remnants of blood from the wound on his arm, the man slumped back further against the glistening wall of the cave as he continued to speak openly into its cavernous void. 

"You know, it wasn't my intention to harm you." said Jing Li's abductor. His tone made more subdued by the toils of his labors, Shui Long's brother was to look upon the mistrust in Jing Li's eyes with recognizably impartiality as he continued, "You were only meant to be a pawn in my revenge." This remark, prompting her to remember what Lin Jin had once told her about a falling out that had occurred between Shui Long and his brother long ago. 

Jing Li could not disguise the suggestion of intrigue that appeared in the soft arch of her brows. Their lines creasing together curiously, the man did not need much more encouragement than this to proceed with the tale of his retribution. Bolstered by the fact that his captive was willing to lend a sympathetic ear, the abductor stated confidently, "Shui Long might be a god to you, but to me he will always be known as a traitor and a hypocrite." His dark irises capturing the light of the crystals on the ceiling, they flashed vehemently as he continued, "He'll soon see that I don't need to possess the power of a god to defeat him. That I'm not the same weak younger brother he once knew." 

Feeling that she had been made an involuntary coconspirator in this plot to finally exact recognition from the older sibling he once admired, Jing Li shifted uncomfortably on the damp floor. The centuries of solitude, distilling the man's hurt towards his brother's betrayal into something that now resembled anger. Jing Li knew all too well that loneliness was able to drive people to commit desperate and horrible acts if left unchecked. However, she also acknowledged that she was incapable of conjuring the words that would help to alleviate his pain as she looked across to him empathetically in the dimly lit cave. 

The flow of her captor's monologue seeming to naturally come to a close after evoking some sympathy from her, he looked back down towards the cut on his bicep. Cracking the lid of the little jar, which had been placed beside him on the ground. There was the pungent smell of garlic that filled the stagnant air in the cave as the man began to apply some of the mixture to his arm. Once a thick layer of the salve was smeared across the wound, Jing Li's abductor extended the shallow clay container towards her. Moving the object up and down as though enticing her to take it from him, the man said, "Go ahead, I saw the cut on your forearm." 

The mostly healed wound, which had been drawn by the assassin's dagger; torn apart again during their struggle. Jing Li glanced down at the fresh blood that now dotted the bandage, unsure of whether or not to accept the ointment he offered to her. The evidence of this uncertainty must have been clearly present in her features, causing the man to sigh. Apparently exasperated by Jing Li's indecisiveness, her captor placed the jar of salve midway between them on the ground, grumbling discontentedly, "Do what you want then." The man, slouching back down onto the jagged wall behind him as he continued to tend to his wound. Jing Li waited a minute or two longer, before finally reaching into the space between them. 

Shuffling away to her side of the cave after retrieving the small jar from the ground. Jing Li unraveled the soggy bandages under the cover of the blanket where she was cocooned to examine the cut on her arm. Red beads of blood, still seen as they oozed out from the cracked ridges of the scab that had formed there previously. Jing Li frowned whilst considering the further agitation that this minor injury might bring to the water god, were he to observe it. This concern, prompting her to carefully rub some of the ointment onto the reinvigorated wound. Jing Li hoped to at least mitigate some of this anxiety by tending to the wound.

Shui Long's bride and her captor sitting in silence, whilst conducting rudimentary first aid to their injuries for a while. There was a tremor felt through the cave that caused both to pause. The quake, urging rocks to shake loose from the walls and an ominous rattling to sound from the large crystals overhead. The two people contained inside rose apprehensively from their places against the cave's walls to meet with the incredible force that approached them. Jing Li's abductor, grabbing her again by the arm. She was pulled behind him roughly, before Jing Li heard him whisper forebodingly to her, "He's here." 

These words, seeming to incite a crackle of tension within the stale air of the cave. The persistent tremble felt beneath their feet was to suddenly desist as two glowing golden orbs appeared out of the darkness of the tunnel before them. Their presence, inspiring a sense of relief in Jing Li at first. This was soon to be expunged by dread as she realized that Shui Long had unwittingly complied with the schemes of his brother. The two siblings, glaring at each other in the narrow confines of the cave with a loathing that seemed to even stir the air. 

Shui Long's forked tongue struck angrily as he said, "Xi Yang, I have come for my bride." The water god's fierce eyes, remaining unmoving from the red-haired man, he added, "Hand her over without a fuss, and perhaps I will be content to merely pretend that you are dead." A flash of mischief observed in the eyes of Jing Li's captor in response to this threat. He stood more deliberately between Shui Long and his bride as he replied, "What's the matter brother? Are your powers not great enough to take her from me?" 

Evident that Xi Yang meant to defy the demands of his brother. There was the suggestion of the god's sharp fangs from between his lips as he hissed back, "Are you still so weak as to hide behind these ridiculous games, brother?" Xi Yang exhibiting a sneer of ire upon hearing this remark, he answered, "That's rich, coming from a man who only leaves the comfort of his ivory castle for his treasured bride." The brothers' eyes, narrowing on each other as it seemed that words could no longer suffice in place of action. 

Shui Long lunged from his menacing stance above them. Diving down towards his brother, Xi Yang was made to release Jing Li from his grasp. Pushing her aside quickly as he fled from the snake's giant fangs. Jing Li could barely make out the shape of her captor, before his long form changed into a bright red fox that possessed serrated fins along his back. The nibble creature, displaying no difficulties in navigating the limited space. He hopped around, evading the water god's attacks for a while until he was finally able to land a blow with one of his jagged fins to the serpent's side. 

Letting out a pained hiss as the fox landed deftly behind him, Shui Long turned fiercely on his brother. Intending to seek shift vengeance for the wound inflicted on him, the god rushed towards Xi Yang with deadly force. However, forgetting that the dimensions of the cave were too small to accommodate the overwhelming size of his form easily. Shui Long struck against a wall, whilst Xi Yang again evaded him. The impact, causing another shower of debris to rain down from the roof of the cave, Jing Li was made to produce a distressed squeak.

Attempting to shield herself from the falling rocks that had begun to pelt her body by crossing her arms over her head. There was another more sinister crack that seemed to echo through the cave, which caused her to look up. Spotting a chuck of rock and crystal that had broken free from the roof of the cave through the feeble light. Jing Li closed her eyes knowing that it would be too late to avoid its inevitable course. However, all there was left for her to do was to cower and face the brutal impact that would most likely put an end to her life.