CHAPTER 4 EXECUTION - JEYNE VASILISA EHRENSVÄRD EKATERINA BELIKOV, SHSL PHILOLOGIST
art + writing by moa
CW FOR MILD IMPLICATIONS OF ANIMAL DEATH
THE BEAR AND THE MAIDEN FAIR
Violet eyes flutter open, a blinding light forcing her to take a second, two, three, to understand where she is, what’s happening around her. The sun hangs high in the air, reflecting off the field of flowers she rests in. Lilies, roses, poppies. The colours strain her vision, overwhelms her, and she struggles to back up, through the piles of petals until her back hits a solid pillar, just as entangled in flowers and leaves as she is.
The air around her crackles, sparks; though the sky is clear and blue, thunder shakes the ground, strikes the trees and the grass. Jeyne has never feared dying, even now, but the deafening noise of lightning and thunder striking the earth makes her shy away, corners her and makes her feel like an animal backed into a corner- Until it stops. When her eyes open again, the world around her is ablaze, pillars of fire lighting up her surroundings even further.
Hither there comes the son of Hlothyn,
The bright snake gapes to heaven above;
Against the serpent goes Othin's son,
In anger smites the warder of earth,—
A final strike of lighting hits the pillar she leans against, startling her and allowing her to finally get to her feet, petals falling from her dress and scattering around her. The flowers are soft against her legs, brushing against porcelain skin like a gentle touch, a heavy contrast to the raging fire outside the comfort of her death trap. Nowhere to go, but forward; through the fires shines a light, of sunlight, a promise of freedom if she can make it to the end.
Forth from their homes must all men flee;—
Nine paces fares the son of Fjorgyn,
Heat strikes her as soon as she takes a step inside the chaos, flames trailing behind her, closing in around her, burns the grass under her feet to burn away at delicate skin and turning every step into a walk on embers, to a feeling of knives poking through the earth. ||Fire mixes with the sound of animals scrambling through the woods to escape, run from the eruption that threatens to swallow them along with her.|| Smoke makes her eyes water, and her blurry vision mixes with confusion to keep her from noticing a large form towering over her, in her path; not before it stands right before her does she see the frightened bear, on its hind legs, turned towards the sky as it tries to find a way out of the labyrinth of flames.
A claw is brought down once it spots her, before she can react; strikes her directly, tears ripples in her dress and in her stomach, pushing her to the ground with a pained squeal. Yet, she scrambles to shaky legs once more, it’s so close- The way out, just beyond the bear’s panicked form, and as it hurries towards her, she manages to clumsily slip past, blood trickling through fingers clutched at her waist, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stumbles along.
One step-
Two, three, and the fire brushes past her shoulders once more, when she looks out over the ground below her,
And, slain by the serpent, fearless he sinks.
-there’s nothing.
Before she can take a step back, she tumbles down the cliffside with the bear close behind, falls with nothing to latch onto or anything to help halt her descent. She falls, and falls, until finally her body hits stone at the bottom of the cliff with a sickening *crack*.
Petals fall through the air, slowly, and land after her, but there’s no more movement.
