Transformation

She tipped her head back and downed it at one gulp. The wine seemed to burn her throat as it went down, more than she expected. She was surprised at first; then it was gone, and sitting warm in her belly.

"Is it too strong for you?" Xuxian noticed the face she made as she swallowed. She threw him an amused glance. "Aren't you the one who can't take more than seven bowls?"

Xuxian laughed good-humouredly. "Then you must have some more. I certainly won't be able to finish this myself, or you'll have to carry me in to bed again."

He poured her another bowl. Suzhen put it to her lips, but more slowly. Her throat was still burning. The alcohol sat heavily in her stomach, and the hotness of it was unsettling. In fact, it seemed to be getting hotter and hotter, licking at her insides; she could almost imagine a fire burning within.

Her brows drew together. Something was not right. She put a hand to her stomach, feeling her insides lurch. A bout of intense nausea hit her and she put the bowl of wine down, suddenly feeling a strong repulsion to it. She half expected herself to vomit but there was nothing except an unbearable sense of being wrenched out of her body.

She knew Xuxian was watching her, alarm on his face, but she could not do anything about it. Suzhen pressed her hand against her side, trying to dispel it with a small burst of energy, only to catch her breath sharply in pain. Using her spirit energy only made it worse.

In a sudden blinding jolt of revelation, she knew. The wine. She should not have drunk it. She had not been paying attention.

"The wine," she managed to say in a tight voice. "What--what kind of wine is this?"

Xuxian had put down his bowl and was holding her by her shoulders. "Realgar wine," he said anxiously. "Why? Susu--you don't seem well."

"Realgar wine," she repeated in horror.

Her mind spun. She had only moments before her snake form would reveal itself, whether she liked it or not.

With a supreme effort, Suzhen broke free of Xuxian's grasp and staggered to her feet. "I'm not feeling so well. I'm going to lie down for a while," she panted, and rushed into the house.

She slammed the door in his face just as Xuxian sprang to his feet and came running after her. "Susu. Let me in. Something's not right."

Suzhen latched the door and leaned her weight against it, feeling the thud of his fists as he beat frantically on it. She heaved a sigh of relief and closed her eyes, stifling a groan. Her skin was prickling all over as if someone was sticking pins into her. Sinking down onto the floor, she dug her fingers into her arms, feeling cold sweat breaking out as she struggled grimly to keep her human form. If she could only hold it back and get over this, she could find some way--any way--to explain to Xuxian what had happened.

"Susu! Let me in!"

"I'm all right," she cried out. "Just leave me alone for a while. Please!"

Her voice cracked as she shuddered violently. Xuxian beat on the door. "Susu. Let me take a look at you. Maybe it's a relapse of some sort. Let me in, I'll find something to relieve the symptoms. Susu, why won't you let me in?"

There was bewilderment in his voice, under the alarm and distress. Suzhen could not care about it now. She raked her fingers against the wooden floorboards, feeling the scales rising to the surface of her skin. "I promise you, I'm fine," she sobbed desperately.

A deep groan wrenched its way out of her throat as she felt her tail materialize, felt her limbs starting to melt away, in all the maddeningly slow, torturing process of transforming against her will. She had never experienced this before and it was a horrible sensation. It felt as if her skin was being peeled off and her snake form was being probed out, raw and bleeding. Her struggles made the pain worse and she gave in at last, drenched in sweat and despair. The transformation was complete.

There was a dull, cracking thud as the great white snake's immense form was unleashed within the small hut. Suzhen felt her tail strike against Xuxian's medicine cupboard, so heavily the herbs within rattled and bounced inside their drawers. She tried to curl herself up, to keep from hitting against any of the furniture, but only ended up knocking over the table. The small tray with their tea set crashed to the ground and the little brown teapot shattered. She winced as one of the shards cut into her sides, caught under her as she moved.

Xuxian beat on the door like a madman. "Susu! Let me in!"

The relief after she had finally transformed made her light-headed and she could only hear him dully over his banging on the door. Suzhen prayed desperately that he would somehow give up. She could not even speak now if she wanted to. It would take a while before the effects of the wine would wear off enough for her to transform back. Never had she known how potent realgar wine was; she had only heard of its dangers before. Even with her advanced level of cultivation it only shortened the time it took before she could take control over her form again.

Xuxian threw himself at the door, using his shoulder to ram against it. He knew that the latch on the inside was not that strong. It would break eventually if he hit against it doggedly enough.

Something was not right. That was all he knew. The silence, if possible, was worse than her groans and the thudding, shattering sounds. And no matter what Susu said, she was obviously suffering. He had to get to her as soon as possible.

"Hold on, Susu," he shouted, panting. "I'm coming."

His shoulder was smarting from the impact, and he knew there would be a bruise there for days. He gritted his teeth and rammed against it as hard as he could, breathing a silent prayer that this time it would work.

The door burst open as the latch snapped, and he fell in over the threshold, gasping.