A young girl ran through her father's rye field, giggling in childish delight. Her father, none too far from her, smiled at the sound of his child's laughter.

As the girl ran further she came across a snake stretched out innocently atop a rock at the far end of the field. The girl paused and stared at the snake, mesmerized by the way light reflected off its scales and made them glimmer in a multitude of browns, purples and reds. The snake raised its head, calling the girl's attention to it by the sudden movement. Girl and snake locked eyes. The girl stood paralyzed by the serpent's gaze, not moving even as the snake slid down from the rock and shifted so that it had the upper body of a captivating woman. The snake-woman reached out a long, pale hand to the girl, all the while keeping their eyes locked. In a trance the girl reached out a hand as well; slowly, almost tentatively.

The father's voice rang though the air, calling desperately for his daughter. The snake-woman started, ripping her gaze from the girl's and looking around; tense and alert. The girl blinked, a little dazed from having the jewel eyes there, then not. Eventually she focused on the snake-woman in front of her. She screamed, the sound causing the snake-woman to whip her head back to her and her father to come running. The father grabbed the girl's arm and began dragging her away just as the snake-woman made an attempt to grab the girl herself.

The father and daughter ran until they were safely inside their house. Another woman, the girl's mother, immediately began fussing over the two. The father recounted the story, causing the mother's face to twist up in anger as she realized the snake-woman's identity.

The snake-woman hissed in frustration, her scaled tail lashing violently against the ground. She clenched her fists, allowing long, black nails to pierce her skin and draw blood. She glared in the direction the pair had fled, her amber eyes narrowed to thing slits. She spat a curse before reverting to full serpentine form and slinking into the forest.

Today the girl was lucky. Because her father fled instead of staying to fight they both kept their lives. The snake-woman woman was a Lamia: a mythical serpentine temptress with a tendency to eat children, and seduce and kill adults. Yes, today the girl was lucky, but Lamia's are spiteful beings so on another date she might no be.