Pathetic?

  Well, I'm used to pathetic. That's how I felt during my last meal with my parents. At one point, my mother asked:

  “You know we can't support you forever, right?”

  “You don't give me anything already.”

  “That doesn't change the question! If something happens to us, you won't be able to count on us if you have a problem. What will you do then, Marie? Sleep under a bridge?”

  I refrained from replying that if I had a problem, my parents wouldn't be the first people I'd call, given that they'd sworn never to give me anything again. In any case, the discussion wasn't started so that I could give my point of view, but only to judge me.

  Here's a detailed description of Sunday family meals: everyone sits down around the table and as soon as the starter is finished, the subject turns to me: “Still no job? What are you waiting for?” “No boyfriend? Ah, if it's to find a boy like the one you had in high school... what was his name again? Kevin? Timothée?” “You're dressed like a bag today, sweetheart. We're family, but you could make an effort.” Of course, everyone has something to say. Cousins, uncles, grandparents. That Sunday, I was lucky to have only my father, mother, and brother around the table. While it wasn't any more bearable, at least the meal didn't drag on forever.

  “Come on, Mom, if Marie has a problem, she knows she can come to me. Right?”

  Ah. Kind-hearted Gabriel playing the hero... it made my blood boil. Why stick his nose into her business, anyway? For once, Mom didn't take the bait.

  “You can't always take care of your sister when you have so many responsibilities. You already have your company to run and your girlfriend! Have you talked about children?”

  Awkward little laugh.

  “No, not yet. We've only been together for two months, you know?”

  “So what?”

  So what? They broke up a week later. But no one held it against Gabriel, the girl in question didn't deserve him after all!

  I'm always impressed by Gabriel's ability to take centre stage. As children, during harmless arguments between siblings, adults always took his side. At first, I was led to believe that it was because I was the eldest and, as such, it was my responsibility to behave in a more mature manner.

  Then time passed, and now I'm no longer chastised for minor arguments, but for just about everything. It doesn't help that I'm not very good at much. And it doesn't help either that, for reasons only he knows, Gabriel always insists on helping me in one way or another. It's thanks to him that I found my last job (which I quit after less than a month). Why does he insist on playing the knight in shining armor, burdening himself with such a weight, I wonder. One thing is certain: I didn't ask for anything. I never did and will never.

  “Ah. Finally awake?”

  Marie struggled to open her eyes. The first thing she felt was excruciating pain in her head. The second thing was a weight on her body and bonds tightening around her limbs, as if she were tied up with a heavy rope. She let her eyes adjust to the light and realized that a few millimeters from her face, two red orbs were staring at her. Marie blinked. Once. Twice.

  They weren't orbs, but eyes. Belonging to a huge white snake slumped over her.

  “Wh- wh- wh-”

  “Don’t you know how to speak?”

  Marie jumped. The snake had just spoken to her. The snake, which had two huge fangs protruding from its mouth and was holding her prisoner with its body, had just spoken to her. What did that mean? Was she dreaming? Why did the snake seem to be smiling? Why wasn't it attacking her?

  "Oh. Is it because of your injuries? Maybe you're still in pain. The healers did their best, but you were badly hurt."

  Marie heard herself reply softly :

  “N-no... well, yes. But I'm okay. I guess?”

  The snake moved its head forward curiously, forcing Marie to instinctively move hers. Too close, too close!

  “So you really do speak my language. Surprising, I wouldn't have thought so. You seem like a perfectly ordinary human. Your essence isn't even more powerful than that of a human baby. There's something strange about you, though, but I can't figure out what it is. Have you been sealed?”

  “...Not that I know of?”

  The snake's tongue shot out and retracted into its mouth. Marie felt the tip of its tail tighten its grip on her leg. The animal had a smooth, feminine voice, which went hand in hand with a deep gaze that seemed to pierce souls.

  “Hmmm, this all seems very strange to me. For a Chosen, you don't seem to be of much use. You even almost got yourself killed by low-born spirits. Why did you appear in the middle of my forest, tell me?”

  Marie noted the use of the possessive to refer to the forest and concentrated on giving an honest answer. Even if she didn't understand the situation, perhaps she could get out of it without too much damage. If the snake had wanted to kill her, it would have done so while she was asleep. Clearly, it wanted answers to questions that Marie would surely not be able to give. The last thing she remembered was her teleportation into another world (she would have preferred it to be a dream), as well as her attack by werewolves, then her rescue by the most gorgeous woman she had ever seen (she would have preferred it to not be a dream). But that was all.

  “If only I knew. I was saved by a beautiful lady shortly after I arrived. That's all I can tell you. You wouldn't have seen her by any chance?”

  How she would have loved to talk to her mysterious savior. Even if she couldn't help her understand the situation, her presence would at least have made it more pleasant.

  “A beautiful lady? A human, you mean? No, there are only spirits around here. She probably got eaten if she stayed in the forest.”

  Marie closed her eyes. Eaten? No, surely not... or had she? Oh. She would have liked to thank her. Or talk to her. Or... or she didn't know. Marie hoped to see her again one day; the snake must have been exaggerating how dangerous this place was.

  The creature hissed, drawing her attention once more.

  “Anyway, none of that matters much. You're the Chosen, so surely the god told you things, right? About your mission, your powers, your role?”

  Marie cringed inwardly. Strangely, the snake's expectant gaze made her uncomfortable.

  “Well, I wasn't really supposed to be here.”

  “Oh?”

  She laughed sheepishly.

  “I... It's my brother who has a mission. I was sent here randomly because he insisted that I be teleported with him. I don't even know where he is right now.”

  Somehow she felt that this was the right answer, because the snake loosened its grip.

  “So you're not the Chosen. I thought this was rather strange! That suits me fine, I would have felt terrible if I'd been forced to devour someone as adorable as you!”

  The snake detached itself completely from Marie, prompting her to sit up properly. Now that she had a better view of the creature, she could see that it was the size of a huge boa constrictor. Its white scales glistened like diamonds. It was certainly no joke that this thing could devour her, perhaps even in a single bite. Stunned, Marie also noticed that she was no longer wearing her old clothes but a white toga, similar to those worn in Ancient Rome, held in place by a leather belt at the waist.

  “Is it a bad thing to be, um, chosen?”

  The snake, which clearly had no concept of personal space, rested its head in the crook of her chin.

  “It depends on who you ask. Well, I kind of like your essence, so I'm going to insist on keeping you. What is your name, Human?”

  So many things were wrong with this situation that Marie's head hurt. Fearing an unfortunate reaction from the creature, she refrained from moving too much as she replied.

  “Marie... Marie Chevalier.”

  “Weird name. Well, it was to be expected since you're not from this world. I am Serpentine and this is my dwelling. You can call me Your Highness if you prefer.”

  Why would she prefer that, exactly?

  “From my point of view, Serpentine is a much stranger name than Marie.”

  The snake pulled back with a chuckle.

  “You're funny. Can you walk now? I'd like to show you to my brother. Just to let him know what's going on.”

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  Marie nodded, although she wasn't sure she could walk. To her surprise, despite the dizziness that overcame her once she was standing, she managed to take a few steps and followed the snake.

  What a strange creature. Beyond its unusual color and immense size, it had a special presence that filled the room : a commanding attitude that made you want to obey it, even though it was just a snake. A python, to be precise, much larger than average. Marie had seen them in biology books: they were a particularly voracious species. She never thought she would see one up close.

  However, apart from the animals' apparent ability to speak, Marie found this other world rather dull. A mundane forest (populated by werewolves?) and a small stone house with only a table for furniture and a light blanket for a bed (inhabited by a snake?); it all seemed very ordinary. Well, she hadn't expected pyramids in the sky or dragons at every turn, but... to be honest, she hadn't expected anything. Marie had never had much imagination. Her thing was studying reality and all its possibilities, which was why she liked to play poker. She left imagination to idealistic dreamers like her brother.

  “He must be near the fire by now. Come, my human!”

  Marie followed her guide into what appeared to be a small village in a clearing in the forest. Small houses made of earth and stone were scattered here and there. They all looked alike: rectangular, seemingly flimsy, wide open, with no windows. On the way, she saw other snakes of different species stop to bow before Serpentine, as did humans and other reptiles, such as lizards and monitor lizards. A village where wild animals and humans lived side by side... perhaps this world was ordinary, but its inhabitants were not.

  They arrived in front of a huge fire, in front of which sat a man dressed in a toga similar to hers. Muscular, with short white hair, pale skin and huge scarlet eyes, he resembled an ancient statue. Marie held her breath as he stood up and came to meet them.

  “Glycon!”

  The man placed a hand on his hip.

  “Serpentine. I see you've decided not to eat her right away after all. Would you like to share her?”

  The snake chuckled.

  “She won't taste good at all, look at her essence!”

  The man frowned, undoubtedly displeased. Marie cleared her throat awkwardly.

  “Yes, I won’t taste good.”

  “I don't think I gave you permission to speak, Chosen.”

  “...”

  “Oh, but she’s not the Chosen! She's collateral damage from the Divine Judgment!”

  Glycon, for that was apparently his name, stiffly sized up the two protagonists. Marie wondered if he knew how to display anything other than a stern expression, so frozen in marble did his face appear. His eyes darted quickly from Serpentine to Marie, then from Marie to Serpentine.

  “The Divine Judgment does not cause collateral damage.”

  “And yet it seems that today is an exception. May I keep her?”

  A vein appeared on Glycon's temple.

  “You're not going to keep a Chosen.”

  “Please?”

  “No.”

  “I've been an adult for many moons now, I'm asking you out of pure politeness. You know that, right?”

  “I remain your Emperor.”

  “And I remain your sister.”

  “Then act like one!”

  “I am acting like one: I ask for something, I get it. That's what being of high lineage is all about, isn't it?”

  Before Glycon could prolong the argument, Marie intervened. Among all her faults : her laziness, her obsession with useless topics, her tendency to judge others easily, her pessimism, and her impulsiveness, the worst was undoubtedly her impatience. So, of course, this kind of endless debate didn’t suit her.

  “The Chosen is my brother. He was told he had a great destiny to fulfill here. I just died with him, and the god got rid of me by throwing me in the middle of a forest.”

  Glycon glared at Serpentine.

  “Did you believe that?”

  “Well, she's so weak...”

  “There have been cases of Chosen ones not having direct access to their powers. That's why we agreed to leave her alone with you.”

  “She doesn't seem to know anything, so...”

  “This is stupid, Serpentine! Even if this story were true, she would be affiliated with the Chosen, which is a valid reason to get rid of her!”

  “Or to blackmail humans?”

  Glycon looked sick at the suggestion.

  “No. Too dangerous. We can't afford to gamble the fate of our people on a move like that.”

  Marie pricked up her ears. Gamble? She knew all about that. Without thinking too much about her (obviously bad) condition, she flashed a big smile.

  “If I may, you've been talking a lot about Chosen ones and eating me... could you be my brother's enemy, by any chance?”

  The brother and sister (it was better not to think about the logistics of the family relationship between these two) looked at her with the same questioning gaze. Marie grinned.

  "No, because... I am too, you know! We're not particularly close. I would even be grateful if you get rid of him.”

  Glycon gave her a suspicious look.

  “Why would you want to eliminate your brother? Aren't you related by blood?”

  The gamble was here.

  “We are. But ever since we were children, the whole world has had eyes only for him, relegating me to a secondary role, that of the failure. Even in death, he continues to haunt me, to be the hero once again, while I am left to rot in an unknown world. Don't you think that's unfair?”

  An effective lie always had to contain a grain of truth. She didn't want these people to hurt her brother, but they could lead her to him. Whatever she said, Marie was trapped in this weird dimension, with no reference points, nothing. The only thing she could cling to was her acquaintances of her world of origin, in order to find a way to escape and return to her home.

  That jackal judge had resurrected them, so why couldn't he send them back to their land, huh?

  But to do that, she would have to use the only part of her that was minimally functional: her intelligence. Intelligence that told her that right now, these people would be the best ones to guide her to Gabriel.

  “Hmm, it's true that it's not uncommon for humans of the same blood to kill each other out of jealousy or misplaced hatred. That the Chosen, a figure blessed by the Gods, should be a victim of this nevertheless surprises me.”

  Serpentine clearly didn’t share her brother's doubts.

  “I find this very amusing. Don't you want to see how this plays out? Look at her, she clearly wants to fight!”

  This snake had absolutely no idea how to read human faces.

  “Y-Yeah ! Well, I don't know how to fight, but your sister is right.”

  Marie stifled a scream when Serpentine lunged at her, climbed up her body, and hugged her so she could rest her head on her shoulder. Strangely, despite her heavy weight, the snake seemed careful not to hurt her. Glycon shook his head at the scene.

  “She’s lying. She wants to use us to find her brother.”

  Serpentine curled up against Marie's neck, who fought with all her strength not to faint.

  "Maybe! But if that's the case, I'll make her my dinner. Think about it, Glycon: we won't be so lucky in the future. As we speak, the real Chosen is training to destroy us. The humans have certainly already taken him in, and by now, he has already killed his first spirit. We can't afford to think too much. We must act! Otherwise, we will end up suffering the same fate as our ancestors."

  Glycon shook his head sadly.

  “You know very well that I disapprove of your idea of fighting the Chosen. If he has indeed been taken in by humans, we must prepare to hide, not for war.”

  Serpent let out a discontented “sss.”

  "This land belongs to us. We don't have to hide. I'm sure all the lines will agree on that."

  Glycon chuckled darkly.

  “We've talked about this a thousand times : the four lines will never agree on anything. Especially not this. Listen, Serpentine, you want to keep this human? Good for you, but don't expect my blessing.”

  With that, he returned to his seat by the fire without looking back. Serpentine made no move to join him, so Marie stayed motionless. After a long silence, the snake finally spoke to her.

  "It could have been worse. I know he'll end up on my side eventually. But in the meantime, you'll have to keep a low profile. No one likes humans, here."

  Marie hummed.

  “I understand that you're not human, but your brother looks a lot like me for a non-human, doesn't he?”

  Serpentine climbed down (thank the gods!) from Marie's body and settled on the floor. From there, she watched the woman with a twinkle in her eye.

  “Out of habit, we take human form for everyday tasks, because that’s what our ancestors liked best: a kind of inexplicable tradition, like so many others.”

  Serpentine headed toward the center of the village, where they had originally come from. Nodding to Marie to follow her, she continued cheerfully.

  “You are in the capital of the great Empire of the fire spirits: Olynthe. My home.”

  Empire, this little village? This was absolutely ridiculous.

  “And that means that you and your brother are...”

  “The heirs of the ancient fire spirit chiefs. Everyone you meet here is our subject, owing us respect and obedience. As for you, you are the only human. Consider yourself lucky. When I found you in the forest, you were almost caught by earth spirits, who are not the most gentle of my kind, I'm afraid.”

  That was a lot of information to take in.

  “The spirits don't seem to like humans.”

  “Oh, don't worry, you don't like us either!”

  That was precisely what worried Marie. She didn't want to stay in a place where people were ready to devour her at the slightest misstep. Strangely, Serpentine didn't seem the least bit concerned about her fate, even going so far as to defend her against her brother, even though she didn't know her. Beneath her cheerful, ignorant exterior, this snake seemed to be hiding something.

  During their walk to the spirit's dwelling, Marie couldn't help but address what seemed to be her partial protector in this strange land:

  “Serpentine...”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Did you really intend to eat me at all?”

  Curious blink.

  “I mean, I woke up at your place, cleaned, healed, and in new clothes. It's hard for me to imagine that you or your servants would have taken the time to care of a future prey.”

  Serpentine burst out with a melodious laugh.

  “You're really smart, right?”

  Predatory gaze.

  “As soon as I laid eyes on you, I knew you would be useful. My instincts never fail me. So... try to serve me well, my dear human companion.”

  It is said that when humanity faces its demise, the Chosen from the heavens will arise. - The Truths of Djehuty