The Price of Mercy
1524 Words
The noise of the sanctuary faded quickly.
Applause, admiration, whispers—everything was left behind within those iron walls. No one paid attention to the princess who walked away with a dying creature in her arms.
Elara returned to her chambers in silence.
The moment the door closed behind her, the world grew still.
Only then did she look down at what she had chosen.
The snake was far too light.
It didn’t feel like holding a living thing at all. Its body was cold, its breathing so faint she could barely feel it. Dark, dried blood clung beneath broken scales.
It was dying.
The thought settled in her mind with quiet certainty.
“Stay with me…” she whispered.
She wasn’t sure if she was speaking to it—or to herself.
Carefully, she laid it on the bed and brought clean cloth to wipe away the blood. She worked slowly, gently, as if even the slightest pressure might end what little life remained.
But nothing changed.
That sense of something slipping away… it wouldn’t stop.
Her hands stilled.
A memory surfaced.
A place she had not thought about in years.
A small house in the mountains.
A place no one spoke of.
A witch.
By nightfall, Elara had already left the palace.
She went alone.
A cloak hid her face as she moved through the forest, the dying snake held close against her. The air was cold, the wind threading through the trees like distant whispers.
The path was harder to see in the dark, but she did not hesitate.
She remembered the way.
The house was still there.
Standing alone on the mountainside.
The door was slightly open, as if it had been waiting.
Elara pushed it gently and stepped inside.
The air was thick with the scent of herbs, something bitter and unfamiliar lingering beneath it.
“You’ve come.”
The voice was rough, low, and calm.
From the shadows, the witch lifted her head.
Her eyes were strange—too sharp, too knowing.
She only needed one glance.
“The thing you brought,” she said, her gaze falling to the snake, “is already dying.”
Elara’s grip tightened slightly.
“Can you save it?” she asked.
The witch smiled.
There was no warmth in it.
“I can.”
She stepped closer, slow and unhurried.
“But nothing is free.”
Her eyes settled on Elara’s face.
“Can you afford the price?”
The room fell quiet.
The fire flickered softly, casting moving shadows along the walls.
“What do you want?” Elara asked.
Her voice was soft, but steady.
The witch stopped in front of her.
Then, without warning, she raised a hand and lightly touched Elara’s left eye.
Her fingers were cold.
“This.”
The word lingered in the air.
“For its life… I want one of your eyes.”
Silence followed.
Heavy and suffocating.
Elara didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she looked down at the snake.
Its body barely moved.
It looked as though it had already given up.
“If I give it to you…” she said quietly, “will it live?”
The witch did not answer at once.
She studied her, as if weighing something unseen.
“I can bring it back,” she said at last.
“But I cannot promise what it will become.”
Her voice lowered slightly.
“Some things, once pulled back from the edge, do not return the same.”
Elara said nothing.
Time passed—slow, quiet, stretching.
Then she lifted her head.
And nodded.
“I’ll do it.”
Elara woke up early the next morning in the dim light of her room.
Sunlight slipped through the curtains and fell quietly across the floor like a thin line.
She slowly sat up. Her movements were careful and restrained.
A dull pain lingered behind her left eye, but there was nothing on the surface that would reveal it. The bandage was hidden beneath her hair and a light covering cloth. As long as she did not mention it, no one would notice anything unusual.
She sat in silence for a moment before standing.
On the other side of the room, the black snake lay quietly inside a wooden box.
It was still alive.
Its breathing had become slightly more stable than before, but it was still weak. It made no sound, no movement of recognition, simply existing in silence like something that had been kept rather than truly saved.
Elara looked at it for a moment, then gently closed the lid of the box.
“Just stay alive,” she said softly.
Over the next few days, Elara rarely left her room.
She followed the witch’s instructions carefully, preparing herbs and medicine step by step to maintain the snake’s condition. She never told anyone what had happened or what she was doing.
Inside the palace, she remained the forgotten princess.
No one paid attention to where she went or what she did. Even her presence was often overlooked, as if she did not fully belong in their world.
Until the day she had to go out.
The medicine supplies had run out, and she needed to buy more ingredients from the city.
It was the first time she left the palace alone after her injury.
She wore a cloak that concealed her face and walked quietly through the streets with her head lowered.
The city was loud and busy, filled with the same conversations as always.
Seraphine.
And her beast, the tiger.
They spoke of its power, its dominance, and how even the palace guards dared not approach it.
Seraphine was already being spoken of as the future heir.
And Elara’s name never appeared in those conversations.
She walked through them in silence, as if she did not hear anything at all.
After buying what she needed, she turned into a quieter street on her way back.
That was when she felt it.
The air ahead changed.
The crowd instinctively parted.
And then she saw Seraphine.
She stood there effortlessly, as if she naturally belonged at the center of attention. Beside her was the massive tiger, Kael.
Its presence alone was enough to make the surrounding space feel heavier. The air seemed to sink under its weight, and people unconsciously stepped back.
Seraphine noticed Elara almost immediately.
“What are you doing here?” she asked casually.
Her tone was light, as if they had simply bumped into each other by chance, but her gaze carried a quiet scrutiny.
Elara stopped walking.
She did not answer and lowered her head slightly, preparing to pass by.
But Seraphine stepped forward and blocked her path.
“I heard you’ve been staying in your room lately,” she said with a faint smile.
“Taking care of your snake?”
The contempt in her voice was clear.
Elara’s fingers tightened slightly beneath her cloak, but she remained calm.
“It’s just a beast,” she replied evenly.
Seraphine smiled at that.
“Just a beast?”
She glanced at Kael. The tiger shifted slightly, and the pressure in the air deepened instantly.
People nearby instinctively moved farther away.
“You’re still the same,” Seraphine said slowly.
“You always choose things that have no value.”
She stepped closer, looking down at Elara.
“And the more you do that, the more ridiculous you become.”
Elara did not respond.
Her breathing remained steady, though her body was still recovering. A faint pain pulsed behind her left eye, but she showed nothing.
“Knock down,” Seraphine said suddenly.
Her tone was calm, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
At that moment, Kael stepped forward.
A heavy, oppressive force spread through the air.
The entire street fell silent.
Elara’s body tensed under the pressure. Her knees weakened slightly, reacting instinctively to the overwhelming presence.
Her vision wavered for a moment.
But she did not fall.
She remained standing.
Quietly enduring it.
“Did you not hear me?” Seraphine’s voice turned colder.
“Knock down.”
Elara’s fingers trembled slightly beneath her cloak. Her body struggled under the pressure, her breathing becoming uneven.
But she still did not move.
She lowered her head, silent for a long moment.
Then she slowly lifted one hand and pressed it against her chest, steadying her breath.
Her knees bent slightly.
Just for a moment.
She immediately forced herself back into place.
She did not kneel.
She simply stood there, quietly resisting.
A faint laugh came from somewhere in the crowd.
Sharp. Quiet. Unpleasant.
Seraphine’s expression darkened slightly.
“You really have forgotten how to behave.”
She turned away after a moment, as if Elara was no longer worth her attention.
Kael followed behind her.
The pressure in the air faded.
The street slowly returned to normal.
Elara remained standing for a long time.
Only after they were completely gone did she finally release her breath.
She did not collapse.
She did not speak.
She simply lowered her head and continued walking, as if nothing had happened at all.
- Writer
