Page 9 of Of Serpents and Ruins
I almost laughed as I slid my hands into my hair. It felt almost exactly the same, yet it was blue.
Crossing over to the river, I peered down. The triceratops and salamanders playing and bathing farther downstream sent ripples up through the water, though they paid me no mind. My reflection danced over the bright surface, taking a moment to come into focus.
I jerked back.
Was that… How was that possible?
I leaned forward again, hands pressed against my thighs as I peered down.
I had shoulder-length blue hair now and golden eyes. My skin had become an almost ethereal golden brown, and my ears were long and pointed like an elf’s or a fae’s.
My heart beat faster, hammering within my ribcage.
Not fear.
No.
This was me.
This was really me.
All the times I had looked into a mirror before, the eyes and face peering back at me had been wrong. Even though I couldn't see all the details of my face, I saw enough.
My heart raced faster, my breath catching in my throat. Gently, I tugged out a strand of rich-blue hair. Yes. I'd always known I wanted this color, but, costs aside, no dye ever looked like it would come out right on Earth. I felt like I did the day I changed my name from Margot to Stella. Stella was who I was, and Stella had gorgeous blue hair.
I almost laughed as I stood.Invino veritas, perhaps. Or in margaritas clarity.
Digging my fingers into my scalp, I stared down at my watery, rippling reflection. If only there were a real mirror here. I had to remember this when I woke up. I wanted to memorize every detail.
This was me—the me I was supposed to be.
And I'd becomeheragain.
Again? That was an odd thought. I'd never been this person before, had I?
No, that wasn't possible, but when I woke, I would remember, and I'd become whoever this woman was.
A strange urge intensified within my gut and rose into chest, a plucking, like someone was playing a series of strings coiled around my very heart.
Come in. Come deeper.
A dark-green triceratops with black patches on its back shambled by me, munching on mouthfuls of the tall, sweet-scented grass. As I passed it, I pressed my hand to its hindquarters in an almost absent-minded pat. As if this were normal.
Somehow, it felt as if this made all the sense in the world despite so much of my brain struggling to comprehend this. It was easier to simply let it be.
Go along.
Breathe.
Follow.
Why did this have to be a drunk dream?
If I didn't feel so calm, I'd be sobbing, begging for this to last forever.
But no amount of tears would make it last, so I should enjoy it while I could.
Off I went. There was no path exactly, yet I walked beneath the broad-limbed trees with delicate dark-red and white flowers, similar to cherry blossom trees. The ground beneath my feet had strange thick veins gouging and clawing throughout—black or dark green or even dark purple maybe, depending on how the light hit them. Wherever they were, the plants had withered a little or lightened.
