Serpent In Love (🔞) - Completed

12. A Snake's Deceptions

Amber...Wake up.

A woman's voice calls inside my foggy head, commanding yet gentle.

You need to leave now.

"Mngh, I am sleepy. Let me rest a bit more..."

I protest in my sleep. My eyelids feel so heavy, they refuse to open at all.

Rest later. My child, time is running out...

"Time...? What...time?"

Mentally disoriented, I drift open my eyes. Except, for a blue backdrop only emptiness in space greets my filtering gaze.

Where am I?

I blink several times to chase away fatigue and to refocus my vision.

And, whose voice was it before? ...How does she knows of my birth name? ...Did I imagine it?

When my eyes register the vivid fresco ceiling of a midnight-blue sky overlaid with stars, I immediately recognize the bedchamber to be mine and Aquila's.

Out of habits, I swerve my head on the pillows to my right. Sure enough, I see Aquila sleeping soundly beside me.

It's still early afternoon, why were we in bed? Asking myself this, I eye down my body and let a breath of relief finding I am still fully clothed.

Frowning in confusion, I shift my glance back to the sleeping Aquila.

Almost instantly, scenes from moments not too long ago flood my mind...I was helping Aquila to our private quarters after he had fallen half asleep from the tea.

Therefrom, after laying Aquila down on the bed, I yawned once. Overcame by an overwhelming drowsiness, I laid down on the bed next to the bedrugged eagle to rest my leaden head.

Ugh. I wince in self-annoyance after the flashbacks come to an end.

It would appear, I had inadvertently fallen victim to my own scheme from Aquila's kiss back in the study.

Indeed, the honey herb's reputation is not to be taken lightly.

Now, watching my beloved's sleeping profile, I feel a pang of sadness wells up from the bottom of my heart.

Teary-eyed, I edge closer to Aquila's sleeping form and encircle my arms around his neck.

Not enough, I lean across his shoulder to kiss his lips before pushing up to sit beside him on the bed.

For a moment longer, I continue to gaze down at Aquila's slumbered visage with desolately cold heart that bleeds endless miseries.

You need to leave now.

This hollow, phantom-like command drops like a hammer inside my head. It's a dull thump disrupting my line of thoughts. To be precise, it isn't a new command but a reverberated vestige of the first one.

Nonetheless, it continues to haunt my subconsciousness, unrelentingly.

Sensing time is of the essence, I reach down with shaky hands to caress both sides of Aquila's cheeks. As desperation splits my soul, I lean down and gently touch my forehead to his.

"This is goodbye, my love...," I whisper, my voice thick with fraying emotions as tears starting to fall from my eyes onto my lover's closed lids.

"I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me for leaving you like this. For opting the cowardly way out-" I pause a few breaths to sob out loud, feeling my heart drowning in the bottomless well of built-up heartache, "-But if you know what I am about to do, I fear you would successfully convince me to stay. And if I stay, you and everyone around you will cease to exist--" I sob again, this time, to steady my choked-up voice, "--It will be a sure suicidal pursuit for me. A crazy one, I must admit. But don't people say one does crazy things when one is in love?"