Silks and Snakes

She moved through the Bombay marketplace with some sort of ancient secret hiding behind her lips. Her eyes darted like the arrows of Apollo about the crowded space. She was jostled and bumped, pushed aside and shoved forward. Her nose was thrust towards exotic spices that tingled with special purpose within her flesh.

She eyed silken fabrics and plucked at them with longing fingers. Her feet stepped over unsavory piles of dirt and dung and her body turned like a snake to move between the tightly packed people. Merchants saw her eager eye and prodded her with their wares, were then disappointed when she sprinted away.

All around her was the hustling and bustling and cheerful sounds of the bazaar, and it pressed against her skin like milk in a goatskin till it was granted entrance. She was overwhelmed with it. And then through it all, she heard the low growl that signaled his presence. Between turbans and out – of – place Westerner’s hats she saw his face.

He was a man often thought of as a demon. Heavily browed and hooded eyes, their color black. A drooping mustache and a strong chin. He was dressed magnificently, even among the local princes who strutted about. He acted like one of the crowd, also pushing people aside, only he was pursuing just her.

She turned a sharp corner, feeling his hard footsteps upon her back, his breath on the back of her neck. As she turned she collided with a street urchin, hated to feel his unwashed skin upon her own. She pulled away from his long fingered grasp but could not escape for he snatched her again, fingering her purse as he did so.

She cried out in surprise as the rough brown wall hit her back, watched him closely as he fished within his pockets. The man’s grin was magical as he pulled out long scarves of marvelous color, beautiful in a sultry, luxurious manner. White with gold accents. Red with black embroidery. Blue with silver coins on the edges. A jade green with darker green tassels on the ends.

The scarves refused to bite into her skin as he wound them around her wrists and ankles. He tucked the jade green silk around her head like a veil with a sly smile.

Her eyes strained to watch the urchin go as he sauntered down the alley, away from where he had tucked her. He seemed happy and comfortable as he threaded around rambunctious younglings and crippled elders.

She yelped in a slight feeling of betrayal, but mostly in terror as he stopped to talk to the mustached man, her pursuer. They began to talk, obviously arguing passionately. The urchin pointed to where he’d had hidden her. Her body jerked unintentionally as the evil man’s eyes strayed toward her hidden body.

Her flesh began to heave with dry sobs of horror and unwelcome anticipation. Her eyes burned with tears that refused to come and her body jerked so hard that she began to hit the wall behind her.

She froze as something cool and smooth brushed her shaking arms. Her head snapped up, afraid that it was the hunter’s boot that she was touching. But it was a snake, long and sly with it’s black eyes so like the man’s. It’s tail wrapped around a mystery in the shadows, pulling out another snake, this one as tall as the first with large golden eyes.

They continued to materialize until ten or more giant snakes with dangerous teeth surrounded her. She felt a scream lodge in her throat painfully as the golden eyed snake stared deep into her eyes with an intensity no animal should possess.

She felt then a comfort settle in the marrow of her bones. A simple warmth that made her shiver and feel safe at the same time.

A large and icy shadow draped over them then like a velvet dressing gown. The hunter’s eyes almost stared straight through her, but the cruelty kept him on focus. He began to step toward her, his body movements determined. He drew back with a hiss as her protectors emerged into the hazy, gold sunlight.

There was a war fought there between the snakes and the demon man. The snakes swayed threateningly toward him, their fangs flashing white. The man’s hands strayed to his side where a wicked silver dagger lay hidden, as if he wished to slice off their heads in one fell swoop.

And then it was over, the hunter was backing away, his eyes narrowed to slits. For a moment he came forward again, but faded back into the crowd when one snake lashed out at him, catching one hand.

The creatures turned to stare at her again, their thin bodies edging toward her. She slid back as much as she could, pressing against the wall as the mass split themselves into two groups. She whimpered as one group swarmed over her bound hands, the second group doing the same over her feet.

She felt the silks give way and the snakes receded to show free limbs. Blessedly free and able to run. She stumbled to her feet on the dirt street, scattering snakes left and right till only one was left; the golden eyed one.

She reached up to discard the jade scarf, but stopped her hands from tearing it off quickly. It would be useful in disguising herself. She tucked it deftly behind her ear. Her feet began to move toward the market square again, but was stopped when the snake circled her. She gasped when it wound itself around her waist. She would have stopped to dislodge it had it not given her a nudge with its tail as if to say, ‘Go’. And so she did.

THE END

AN – So that is yet another Strong Woman story. A few notes about this one:

The line about Apollo’s arrows is a reference to Greek mythology. In one story, a queen says that she is luckier than Apollo and Artemis’ mother, Leto, because she has nine boys and nine girls instead of just one of each. Apollo and Artemis are so angry at this that they go down to Earth and kill all of the children. The story says that Artemis’ arrows are soft like moonbeams and Apollo’s are hard like the sun’s rays. So the girl is looking about very sharply in that scene…just in case you didn’t get it.

Also, the villain or “hunter” in this story is physically modeled after Vlad Tepes, who is better known as Dracula. I thought that his appearance would be perfect.

Lastly, I know that Bombay is no longer named “Bombay” any more, but I like this name better, and also, I think it helps to better set the time period, which is in the 1800’s in India.

So that’s it. I hope that you guys liked it! Please read and review.