Water Lily | E. Riddle

[01] Venom

Darkness engulfed the room and a gentle breeze was blowing, the flimsy curtains at the window swaying along with it. An impenetrable silence had gripped the atmosphere, digging its roots deeper into the night, spreading steadily over the land. Sweeping as gentle as the wind yet just as swift as a hurricane.

The pale moonlight filtered in through the window, partially illuminating the sleeping figure of a young woman. Her hands clutched at the sheets, body convulsing as if envisioning a nightmare. The blanket got entangled in her limbs as the fabric slipped off her delicate frame, exposing her to the cold night air.

Even though her eyes were closed and she had not yet broken out of her sleep, the scenes flashing behind her closed eyelids were vividly real. So real that it felt as if he was right beside her again, his smoothly manipulative voice coaxing her as his hands lingered at her pale white skin, his lips closing upon hers lethally.

And it felt so real that she had no idea whether she was experiencing a nightmare or it was all a part of blatant reality. She wanted it all to stop, urging herself to wake up from the horribly realistic nightmare but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free from its hold.

That night which had turned her life upside down a couple years ago played on repeat and she could feel each touch, each kiss tainting her skin and each poisonously soft word sending shivers down her spine almost as if she had gone back to that time.

"It might be the last time I see you, but I will make sure that you feel better by the time I leave."

The long slender fingers that ran through her hair as he whispered in a dulcet tone to her, assuring her that it would all be okay soon, that she would forget her pain and he was only doing it for her benefit. 

"Just for a short time, I can make you forget the pain." 

His voice echoed through her head and deep down she knew very well that those words were dripping of venom for he was but a lethal serpent who preyed upon the weak and helpless. A serpent who had lied to her and she naively fell for all his lies.

"If you want me to leave all you have to do is say it and I'll be gone."

She struggled but was unable to sit up as an invisible entity seemed to strap her down to the bed, her arms held tightly above her head with her wrists pinned down, just like he had done so that night. She felt utterly helpless and unable to break free from the horrifying trance. Unable to open her eyes that were forced shut.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Demelza, I never will."

Despite the softness of the tone and the gentle way he had held her face in between his palms, grey eyes looking down at her intensely, a scream gurgled in her throat but her mouth was shut forcefully against her will, refusing any sound to pass through her clenched jaw.

"Let me take the pain away..." 

The most terrifying fact was that she was no longer certain whether it was a terrible dream from which she would eventually wake up or a persisting hallucination from which there was no release.

She could see each feature of his so clearly even though she knew he wasn't there. The cold grey eyes, the hauntingly pale skin and the well chiseled mouth that had been the first to kiss her because she had been stupid enough to let all her guards down in front of him.

She had been stupid to trust him so much but all that had passed could not be reversed and she was stuck with the guilt of herself letting the devil inside her sanctuary and allowing him to destruct every single thing she held dear.

Her family, her best friend, her dear cousin and last but not least her own self.

Her head arched back as his teeth lingered at her shoulder akin to a serpent injecting his venom into her helpless form. Leaving a prominent bruise that she knew would no longer be there when she would wake up.

His scent surrounded her heavily, almost suffocating her with its existence. The minty cologne that he wore mixed with a trace of liquor and deceit, an otherwise irresistible charm exuding from him that only weighed her down at the moment because in her nightmares he somehow always appeared in his true form.

While in real life and to all others, he appeared to be a charismatic gentleman, a doting admirer, a skilled wizard, a phenomenal sensation but in her nightmares all those cleverly crafted layers of deception were peeled off, revealing only the serpentine monster that lurked underneath.

A monster that craved darkness and sucked out the light from souls as pure as her own, leaving nothing but empty vessels in his path. Just like he had left her as well. 

His face swam in front of her once again and her breath hitched in her throat, her body trembling with both the fear that clawed at her heart and the chilly breeze that gusted in through the window. 

The pale slender hand cupped her cheek, gently caressing the soft skin underneath as he spoke, "some promises are made to be broken, my love. Just like the promise you had made to Perseus. You did not stay away from me, you let me in yourself and now you belong to me and no one... No one can take you away from me."

Exasperated and completely breathless she sat up at last, her mouth open as she took in deep gulps of air, her lungs failing to function so abruptly. Her hollow brown eyes had fluttered open at last, widened in shock as her gaze darted over the room searching for the man who had been so close to her mere seconds ago.

But she was alone and there was no one else in her room. It was all a nightmare, a terrifyingly vivid one but nightmare nevertheless.

It wasn't the first time that she had woken up in the middle of the night in such a dreadful state but the horrifying aspect was that she knew it wasn't going to be the last either. She knew that every single night as she slipped into the realms of sleep, instead of having dreams or a peaceful slumber, that dreadful night would replay in her memory once again. And she was cursed to remain a captive of the agonizing yet never ending nightmare forever.

Though as she turned to get off the bed to get herself a glass of water, those familiar grey eyes flickered in front of her again and she screamed, drawing back in terror as she clutched the blanket close to her, "stop, don't... Don't step any closer. Get out!"

She was trembling in fear, her breathing irregular and her brown eyes were wide as she retreated, fingers searching frantically for the wand she had kept beside her pillow.

"Mum, what happened?" The boy stepped forward and she realized that it was Eridanus, her son, and not Tom Riddle, the monster who had preyed upon her soul. Eridanus who was himself the result of the night she had just relived in her nightmare.

Seeing her as such had troubled the four year old as well and he stared back at his mother with concerned grey eyes. Eyes that were exactly like his father but not as cold and emotionless. It struck her how her son was a striking image of both herself and Tim Riddle, a thought which churned her heart but she knew well that her child was not responsible for all she had to go through. 

And so she reached forward to engulf the boy in her arms, holding him close as if fearing that Riddle would appear out of nowhere and snatch him away from her too, "Danny... I'm so sorry, dear, I just... I had a bad dream and I got terrified. I hadn't meant to scare you too. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he gently squeezed her hands, "Nana says that whenever bad dreams scare you, you should pray and then it goes away."

She nodded gently stroking the child's head, "yes... Nana's right. I will pray and then it won't trouble me anymore. It won't trouble me anymore." 

And though she was repeating the words in her head over and over as if to assure her own self, she knew very well that there was no release from the terrible nightmares that haunted her. She was going to live forever with the guilt of succumbing to Tom Riddle and no pray, no beg for mercy could free her from that curse.

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