Ellie Goulding - Dead In The Water

Death's Eternal Kiss

I felt like I was floating on a fragrant cloud made of lavender, Clovers, and Passiflora petals. My body had become weightless, and the pain had dulled until I had felt none. As I was being gently rocked by the cloud I was on, it lowered, placing me in a field filled with trees bearing all kinds of fruit, the most I'd ever seen, and flowers in various colors that covered every inch of the meadow.

Curiously, I glanced down at a body that should have been covered in burns to find that my skin was unblemished and my clothing was made of acceptable quality.

White, as the purest snow.

Brows furrowed, and a realization settled upon me as flashes of screams, flames, and smoke played in my mind.

Dead.

The flames from the fire must have consumed me, and now, I was traveling from the land of living towards the in-between where the dead went to journey to the afterlife.

Then, if that was the case, where was Thurstan? Feeling a frown form on my face, I slowly stepped off the soft white puff; my voice faded as I called out to my brother. When I heard nothing in response, my head slowly nodded in understanding.

He must have survived the ordeal.

Before the darkness had taken hold of me, I vaguely heard my brother and my name being called by a familiar voice. One that told us to hold on and salvation was near. Did the words speak of the salvation one is granted from death? Or did someone genuinely come to save us? If that were the case, they would not have been able to reach me in time. However, as I gracefully padded barefooted through the field, I felt a swell of emotion at the thought of Thurstan having survived to have some kind of future. When this knowledge settled, I felt a peace I'd never experienced before.

That was until I heard my name whispered from behind me.

"Alianora..."

Pivoting to find the source of the voice, blue hues widened when they settled upon Thurstan, dressed as luxurious as myself.

"No... No..." My head shook furiously. "I do not understand!"

I yelled in frustration.

I'd thought when I found myself in this meadow alone that I had been able to save my brother, that he'd survived the death sentence. Nonetheless, I had been wrong.

Feeling my eyes welled with tears, I began to move forward, just as he had. Our arms stretched out before us so we could embrace. If neither of us could live in the world of the living, we would continue into the Hereafter together. As my leg pushed me forward, I noticed the once luminous field gradually disappearing. The flowers that were once full of life withered, the animals began to rot and decay, and the trees soon burst into flame one by one. Sensing the pace at which I was moving had become slower, my eyes lowered to the ground, and that's when I noticed that instead of grass or dirt, the land had turned into slush, and I was being pulled down. Panicked, my head snapped back up as my lips moved to call for my brother, only to find that he had also disappeared.

No... This couldn't be happening.

I thought that once you reached the Afterworld, only peace awaited you. What had happened? Didn't I live a good life? I never used my gifts to harm anyone unless you counted the people I had to shift to get to Thurstan. Learning about the Hereafter, I'd been told that once I had died, my essence would be preserved so I could be reincarnated into another life form. As I tried pushing through the once grass-covered field that was now muddy, I wondered if perhaps all I'd been taught wasn't true. Was there actually an afterlife?

Before my question could be asked, the world surrounding me had transformed; now, I was underwater.

For a brief moment in time, the thought of all of this being a dream; our village turning their backs on us, Thurstan and I having to run for our lives, my brother becoming ill and then falling into the hands of the hunters from the said village, the bonfire, my twin bound to a pillar and a fire set in the hope of incinerating him until there was nothing left, and in turn my slim frame frantically moving through the throngs of people to get him until my own body was covering his to protect him from growing flames, before then finally my death when I thought I'd found peace in the Hereafter.

How wrong was I? Because I wasn't even worth saving?

Head tilting backward to gaze above at the light that now shined down upon me, a part of me whispered that if I could make it toward that light, I would survive this Hell. It was a struggle to move my arms and legs so I could push upwards. My limbs felt heavy, and the water went against me to keep me beneath the surface. Still, I continued to swim upwards, even as a fire began to rage from my neck, then my chest, spreading throughout the rest of my slim form. The sensation caused my lips to part as if releasing a scream. However, all that departed from frozen brims was the air I held in, causing icy water to slide down my throat and fill my lungs.

As darkness crowded around the edges of my vision, I told myself I needed to continue swimming. From the beauty and warmth of Heaven to the icy abyss that was now Hell, I told myself that I needed to survive to see my brother...

My brother, what was his name?

As my mind became foggy and increasingly more challenging to move my body, flashes of my life began to play in my mind.

Thurstan and I's first words spoken, the time we took our first steps when our parents knew that we were different—the old woman who was more of a mother to us than the female who birthed us. Watching our teacher curse the land and then be burned alive, followed by us having to flee our home. The years had passed, and with it, Thurstan became increasingly ill. Then, there was feeling him being trouble, finding him gone, knowing where to search for Thurstan, and watching as people we had grown up in a village with trying to kill him in the same manner as our teacher. Finally, as if observing from the outside, I saw myself push through a crowd of people and jump through fire to protect him. The flames were consuming my body. Still, Thurstan was mostly being covered until the blaze had spread from me to him, and soon, we both were devoured by an exquisite inferno.

Before I could be pulled away from the scene, I noticed, in slow motion, how figures cloaked in black appeared beside the still burning bodies of my brother and me, and soon, the fire was no more. Carefully, my body was removed, and I could faintly hear him saying that he could still hear my heart beating. Yet faintly. As more dark figures appeared, screams could be heard as I watched transfixed the male, from the sound of his familiar voice, leaning his head against my neck, biting into the flesh. I wanted to protest, especially after he repeated the gesture on my chest before handing my body carefully to another cloaked figure before moving on to my twin.

Before seeing what happens next, I was back in the Arctic void.

The pain I once experienced had now disappeared. As I tried remembering the events that had gotten me to this point, they dissipated like water between fingers or a string being cut.

"My love, the transformation is almost complete. Soon, our children shall awaken."

A lovely voice spoke from overhead.

It had come from the direction of the now dwindling light, and as I fought harder against the consuming darkness, my vision had eclipsed. All I knew about myself disappeared with it as a hand reached into the murk to pull me free from the dark into the light.