Today’s writing was incredible and at the same time felt like something had been sucked out of me, leaving me dry and gasping for air… I can’t remember if I painted anything else, but I did sit and do a pencil sketch of an overview of Oasis, from which I then continued to write this scene… Oh wait, I also painted a LOT on this same day (I’m writing this in retrospect as I didn’t get around to doing the debrief and post on the day) - I did a little scene in my sketchbook which I think would be a great base layer for continuing in digital painting. I had fun discovering some colour mixes with green appetite genuine here!
Oh, and I think I never actually mentioned the word “Home” in this specific scene, but the idea was to dive in a bit deeper into what Simone called “Home” for this season in her life…
“Oasis - Above and Below”
Silence descended upon the cavern, the murmur of conversations and occasional laughter fading completely as every eye turned towards her. Even as Simone felt herself shift uncomfortably beneath their scrutiny, she found herself soaking in the beauty before her. Winding steps were carved into the walls of the cavern and walkways from rope and wood criss-crossed from one wall to the next, here tethered to a giant fern, with a platform built around it, there stopping at a swinging rope that dangled out over one of the glistening pools tucked beneath all the foliage. Amongst it all, the balls of light danced with colour, creating a shifting atmosphere in the cavern. As Simone walked slowly closer, she realised as well that true daylight was filtering in from above. She faltered as her gaze followed a bronze trellis upwards. At first, she had thought it mere decoration, another elaborate space for the vines and other plants to grow up against, but as her head tilted up, she realised the trellis expanded into an arched roof against the top of the cavern, breaking through the stone ceiling to soar upwards in an impossible combination of glass and metal. And all along its sides, inside and out, plants grew up and out, as if yearning for the true daylight to be found outside the cavern.
So that was how the plants grew in the middle of the Palace, Simone thought. It’s all connected, above and below, all coming from right here. This is the true heart of Oasis, not that ugly palace…
“Keep moving, you stupid girl. Or do you want them to kill us both?”
Simone stumbled as Alexis prodded her from behind, her boot catching against the edge of a stone on the path. For a moment, she thought she’d fully lose her balance, but then his hand gripped the back of her tunic and pulled her upright.
Trying to keep a smile plastered to her face, Simone continued walking, paying more attention to where she was putting her feet and trying to ignore all the miraculous beauty around her. She supposed a Gifted would be used to this kind of luxury, all the greenery and plants around her…
The Queen had stood up from where she had been lounging along one of the pools and now stood in the centre of the path, her silk dress draped in waves of aqua and turquoise around her. It almost looked as if water flowed from the pool right along the fabric and up to the jewels glittering in the crown on her head, but Simone knew it was all a trick of the light. She swallowed, suddenly aware how parched she was as she stared at the crystal clear pool.
“My Alexis, you certainly have a way of finding… The special ones.” There was a strange glint to the Queen’s eyes and Simone felt her heart go cold.
“I aim to please, my lady,” Alexis bowed deeply, then stepped backwards, as if to give Simone the limelight.
“Well?” The Queen asked, arching her brow. She clearly expected Simone to say something, but Alexis hadn’t prepared her for this, she had no idea what the Royal expected of her.
Simone was still trying to figure it out when one of the princes stepped forward. “Please Mother, give the poor thing a break. I’m sure Alexis wouldn’t lie to us, but she’s clearly a startled little bird who’s lost her tongue. Why don’t we let the garden speak for her instead?”
The relief Simone had felt was short-lived as the prince’s initial friendly demeanour turned to a cruel smile.
Two guards appeared from the shadows along the path — had they been there all along?? — And grabbed her arms, pulling her forwards.
“No, please—“
But a swift motion from the Queen had them strap a piece of cloth across her face, the fabric bundled into her mouth so that she could barely breathe, let alone speak. Simone gagged against the stench of rotten fruit coming from the cloth, forcing herself to swallow back the bile rising in her throat. She tried to resist, but one of the guards twisted her arm behind her back and she cried out in pain, her screams muffled.
The sudden clank of chains above her drew Simone’s attention upward, and she saw a metal platform being lowered from somewhere above ground. It stopped in the centre of the garden, the plants that had been there moments before crushed beneath its weight. As Simone stepped onto the broken leaves on her way to the platform, a shudder of pain went through her, as if the garden’s agony had become her own. She had no time to dwell on it though, as the guards continued to push her onto the platform, giving her a final push before stepping back and out of the way. Simone fell to the ground, the metal so hot it felt as if it would burn blisters into her hands.
It must have come from out in the desert sun, she thought, her mind feeling a strange detachment.
As the platform shuddered and shifted beneath her, chains clanking again as it moved upwards, Simone realised that there were no railings, nothing at all to keep her from tipping over the edge. She kept her body flat, trying to ignore the searing pain where the hot metal touched her skin and clothes, but soon she couldn’t bare it anymore. She pushed herself to her knees, wincing at how high she was, and grabbed hold of one of the chains. The links also pulsed with heat, but not nearly as much as the platform itself, so she gripped it with both hands and pulled herself to a standing position. She allowed herself a brief moment of looking down, forcing down the terror that was bubbling up into hysterical giggles. The Royals looked like children’s toys from her current vantage point, the cavern pulsing with cool and gentle light beneath her and harsh sunlight piercing down from above. It was as if the glass walls of the column amplified the light coming from outside and Simone squeezed her eyes shut, momentarily blinded after turning her gaze upwards.
“Now,” the Queen’s voice commanded from far below, her authority echoing through the cavern.
The platform rattled and Simone gasped, snatching in a breath of air through her nose before she ripped the gag from her mouth. It said something of her state of mind that it had taken her this long to realise her arms were free to remove the gag. Another bit of detached information from her rattled brain before she realised she had far bigger problems than getting enough air. The platform was tilting, moving beneath her. The edges were rising up, as if to form a barrier, but it went no higher than her ankles and was slowly shrinking inward, pushing her away from the meagre safety of the chains and stumbling towards the centre of the platform. The edges moved with her until she was standing right in the centre of the platform. Before she could wonder whether she’d be able to keep her balance from where she was now, a metallic clank sounded from above. Air whooshed above her and her head whipped up, just in time to see a large gilded cage rushing down towards her. Simone crouched down, instinct kicking in, her arms over her head for whatever protection it could provide. Her heart skipped a beat and a fearful cry escaped her lips as the cage connected with a rattling thud to the platform. No, not just to the platform, but right onto the edges that had formed around her. The cage towered over her, its rectangle base arching into a rounded top. Simone couldn’t tell whether it was still connected to a chain or not, all she could see was the intricate leaves and branches that had been carved into the metal that joined above her head. She gripped the bars in front of her, then yelped as a burst of pain flooded her hands. In stumbling backwards, she connected with the cage wall behind her, and felt another burst of pain shoot through her lower back and course up and down her spine, as if she had just been struck by lightning (@todo not sure if she would know what lighting is, except if they have intense electric storms from time to time??).
Some deeply ingrained survival instinct kept her from bounding forwards against the front of the cage again, her body crouching down instead. Simone gasped for breath, tears running down her cheeks. She should have called this farce when she still had a chance — a Royal hanging would have been a far better fate than this. She should have never—
Come, child, let me see you.
The voice was gentle as a drop of dew, washing over her soul with a sudden promise of comfort. Simone let out a ragged cry as her emotions broke, sobs racking her body. She realised she was touching the cage bars again, but this time nothing happened. Instead, the metal was cool against her burnt palms, easing cool relief into her body. She pulled herself up against the bars, yearning to hear that voice again, to feel its blessed presence, but silence remained.
“Who are you?” she whispered, looking around and noticing her surrounding for the first time. The arch above her that had let in blinding sunlight before had been closed off by a mass of vines that seemed to move as if in a gentle breeze. As Simone watched, the vines continued to grow, covering the entire ceiling and know growing downwards, towards her cage. She felt only deep curiosity as she continued to watch them grow, one strand finally dangling down just in front of her face. It’s leaf was a brilliant green, fresh and young. It curled towards her, its tip beckoning as if calling her closer. She leaned forwards, cupping her hands beneath it. A drop of water rested in the leaf’s hollow, and as she held out her hands, it tilted forward.
Drink, child.
Without hesitation, she followed the voice’s instructions, leaning forward until her lips touched the leaf. The drop fell onto her tongue and a million colours exploded into her mind. She heard herself cry out with pain and ecstasy at once as the gardens awareness flooded into her. She was suddenly aware of every plant, every drop of water, every rock… It was so much more than just the city, something so much bigger… Her mind stretched to take it all in, the new presence growing and growing in her consciousness until she thought she would break. She was vaguely aware of the vines growing all along her body, small traces of pain erupting all along her arms and legs as she realised it was attaching itself to her. Even as a desperate fear, a deep survival instinct, clawed at her mind, Simone couldn’t help but yearn for more, opening herself up to see even more of the garden’s true nature. Euphoria flooded her and she was suddenly soaring above it all, a bird in paradise, the desert’s heat and sand gone as she saw Oasis for what it once was, and had been meant to be. Colourful wings flapped about her and she soared higher and higher, relishing the beauty beneath her, revelling in the garden’s joy. Up and up she flew until she became aware of a sudden tightness in her chest, as if ropes had been thrown over her and pulling her down. She became aware of the vines binding her body again, this time pulsing with flashes of agony.
She cried out, writhing against their grip, but in her mind’s eye she saw herself, no longer Simone or even just human flesh, but growing to become a part of the garden, strung up to be their life source for however long she could last. The garden would suck her dry, desperate for every last drop her life could give them, desperate to overcome the toll the Royals’ greed and decadence placed upon it, grateful and yet ashamed for her unwilling sacrifice. Simone’s arms stretched out, her back arching as she tried to fight it, her mouth still open in a silent scream. Vines grew thicker along her arms, creeping up her shoulders until they were pushing up her face.
“No, please—“
But her voice cut off, the leaves pushing into her mouth and down her throat. Her body jerked and spasmed, light flashing before her eyes.
Finally, we are one, the voice sighed, and Simone cried out as every nerve flared with pain.
A face flared in her subconscious, eyes deep as the cavern pools and flooded with regret. Then everything went black, her body slumping against the vines as Simone gave up the fight.
Finally, I am free.
