08-24-2015, 01:23 PM
The arrival of the two Chamber mares made Stricken uneasy. Their meeting seemed coordinated, planned well before her capture, and this observation filled the mare with dread. She did not recognize the Queen of the Chamber, having been out of touch with the ruling monarchs during her time in the Meadow.
Stricken backs up slightly, just as Gryffen shoves her forward into the embrace of the scaled mare. Cellar mumbles her apologies, and Stricken utters only one word.
"Please…"
She had always thought death would come with a violent hand, but the caress of the serpent mare against her side was as gentle as a mother to a child. Stricken barely felt the barbs penetrate her skin and so at first she didn't even know she was dying. She was indignant and frightened, thinking that torture was her lot.
It took only a few moments for the poison to take effect. A horrible ache turned into agony as her body stiffened and throbbed. Her veins felt like fire had taken hold. The poison destroyed her healthy cells, causing Stricken to let out a startled, terrified whinny.
Her vision began to grow hazy. the figures in front of her wavering and losing shape as loss of blood left her lightheaded. She felt blood leak from her eyes, and mistakenly thought they were tears. The gray mare's face was contorted with agony.
"I don't…" her voice trailed off as she fell to her knees. She could not see it but her coat was streaming red. Without the clotting factor, she was steadily being drained to death. Her head ached desperately. Nausea rolled in her stomach.
She was tired, so tired, and that feeling finally overtook her, overriding even the agony as her organs began to shut down from lack of fluids. Stricken collapsed fully onto the ground, lying on her side, the blood that had been steadily flowing now slowing to a dribble.
She opened her eyes one last time, confusion and exhaustion lining her face.
And then she was gone. From one breath in the Chamber to the next in the After.
Stricken
chosen to die