The Ruby Empire

Alphi & Sela the Lamias

Female Monster x Female Monster x Female Reader

The village you grew up in had a ritual, one that always set you on edge. Once every three years they select one of the village's most beautiful and for two weeks they're pampered and lavished fine beauty treatments. They're bathed in oils and perfumes and every inch of them is massaged and tended to. At the end of those two weeks, they're dressed in ceremonial garb and placed at an altar at the edge of the forest. They're left there never to be seen again. It is believed that the creatures that live in the lush jungle will take them for whatever they desire and then bless the village with crops, fortune, and rain.

This time, it's you. You've gone through the beauty treatments and oils, but all you can think about is the jungle. Since you were little you've always been curious about it. You're afraid and yet you can't stay away from it. You've come terribly close to the edge before. You stare through the trees and vines, listening to the whispers that come from inside.

You're terrified of what's to come and what will find you on the altar. You don't want to be taken but you know you can never return to your village. All you can do, once you're placed there, is wait. As you sit there, picking at the hem of your robes, you hear the whispering. You lift your head, hearing the voices in the trees. You stand up from the altar and step towards the edge of the trees. You feel a breeze stroke your face and there's a rustling sound as if someone is moving.

As you stand there you hear breathing. It sounds like it is right in your ear. You turn, gazing up at a skeletal face. It is blood red and painted with blue and gold. It wears a crown of jagged and gnarled feathers and bone. It screams at you and you scream back before you run into the jungle. You hear the thing screaming from behind you as you race forward. You jump and leap, never knowing you were this agile. You come to a river and trip into it, floundering in the water you manage to get up and cross to the other side. You turn around, seeing that the strange red creature is no longer there, but you still hear is screaming somewhere. You pant, grasping at your chest and shivering.

You're really stuck now. At least on the altar, you could expect something but being lost in the jungle you had no idea what would come after you. There could be wild Rakshasa here. There was also a tribe of Orcs who lived in the trees. Not to mention any number of bloodthirsty monsters waiting in the shadows.

You decide to stay along the bank of the river. If anything it could lead you out of the jungle. You'd at least be near fresh water to drink and you knew what you could and couldn't eat that would grow near it. Finding shelter was your only concern.

Your first night, you find a tree with roots that grew up and out of the ground, coiling around like a sphere. You decide to stay there and gather some mushrooms and berries for your meal that night. You also found a nice, hefty stick and a stone. You used the stone to chip away at the stick, fashioning a sharp point. Well, it wasn't much but it was something. If that terrifying red thing ever came back.

As you're drifting to sleep you're roused by the familiar scream. You hear rustling in the leaves and the whispers seem to rise. You lay your head back down, covering your ears as you start to cry.

Come morning everything is still and quiet. You finish the last bit of your gathered food, take a deep drink from the river, and continue on your way. This continues for a few days. You walk and gather and pray you find shelter before night falls. You wonder how you've managed to make it this far and not see any creatures. Even the birds seem to fly away from you.

On your fifth night, you're struggling to find shelter. You're getting ready to try and build something when you hear the screaming. It sounds close. You want to run but you can't leave the river. You look up at a tree wondering if you could climb it. The screaming is coming closer and closer. You hear them running towards you. You claw at the tree, trying to find footing. You turn, seeing him rushing towards you. You scream and then you're yanked into the air. The red thing slams into the tree and falls backward into the river.