In Labor, Yet Ordered to Wait

My blood dripped onto the white snake’s body.

In the next instant, the snake opened its eyes.

It looked at my battered form with shock and sorrow, then darted forward, hissing at Martha and Chloe.

Through my haze, I thought I saw that gentle figure from memory—Grace—standing in front of me, shielding me from harm.

“A snake? Where did this come from!”

“Ugh, disgusting! I hate snakes the most.”

“Not only stealing, but now bringing snakes into the master’s house?”

“Relax, Mom, it’s not poisonous.”

But the snake had been dormant for too long; its body was weak. Chloe seemed to notice and grabbed a stool, smashing it down hard on the snake.

The snake writhed in pain. Even without human consciousness, it had always been gentle, never striking at people.

Martha, emboldened, picked up a nail-studded stick and beat the snake again and again until blood seeped between its scales.

“No!” I cried.

Grace had been weakened after protecting Richard and Ethan. If she were injured again, this sleep wouldn’t last just ten years—it could be forever. The high priest had told us to protect the snake at all costs. If it died, Grace would vanish from this world as well.

I threw myself over the snake, shielding it with my body. Nails drove into my back, tearing flesh. Blood poured from my mouth, staining its scales red.

The snake looked at me with sorrow, then shot forward, wrapping itself around Martha’s wrist to stop her from striking again.

“Damn snake, get off me!” Martha roared.

She seized its tail, swinging it violently, smashing it to the ground over and over. Blood streaks marked the floor.

Still, it fought to hold her wrist, determined to protect me.

Chloe sneered, “You like tying things up? Let’s see how you like this.”

She wound the snake around the nail-studded stick, driving the spikes through its body.

The snake let out a low whimper, a tear of blood sliding from its eye as it looked at me.

“Stop! Don’t hurt it! Mom…” I screamed.

Chloe’s eyes gleamed with cruelty. She twisted the snake’s body into a grotesque knot and tied it to the stick.

“Two filthy creatures. Disgusting.”

At that moment, my phone buzzed violently.

By now, Richard and Ethan’s flight should have landed. They had told me to care for the snake, that important guests were bringing rare medicinal herbs to prepare for Grace’s awakening.

Before I could answer, Chloe snatched the phone, her lips curling into a sneer when she saw the caller ID: “Precious One.”

“See, Mom? I told you she’s just a gold-digger,” she mocked.

“Who knows how many old men she’s slept with. Filthy slut.”

Martha frowned. “Chloe, stop for now. They’ll be back any minute. Today’s some big occasion, and I was told to tidy the house for important guests…”