The Heart of Thorns

I woke up feeling sore. I didn't actually open my eyes yet, but I was conscious. I felt the throbbing on my chest, right where I was stabbed. My body was partially numb and I was lightheaded. My eyelids were heavy. Despite all that, I could feel some kind of warmth enveloping me. I felt safe and cozy, like a butterfly in its cocoon. Am I dead? The question was ringing in my mind. Then I realized the extremely awkward position I was in. I was pinned on something, the wall perhaps? I was held in place with ropes tied all over my body. I felt like a picture hanged on the wall. I fought the drowsiness and slowly opened my eyes. I was still in the swamp, and was wrapped by the warm vines of the queen. I thought she killed me. I tried freeing myself. I pulled my arms out, and the vines snapped surprisingly easily. Then I tried to free my lower body. The roots were quite obedient, they loosened almost immediately. I fell on the water and saw my reflection. What has she done to me?

I scanned the area hoping to see Ivana, she was nowhere to be seen. I stared back at my reflection. Impossible. I was still me, except for the unusually bright green eyes and my black hair which turned to light brown. I looked so little like me, and a lot like her. No way. It just was not possible. How had this happened? Arg! I slammed my fists on the ugly creature reflected on the water, and the swamp shook. I could feel a strange, strong, energy coming from me. Just to check whether my fear was true, I concentrated hard on a beautiful black flower on a bush a few meters away. It seemed silly, but I motioned for the flower to come to me. Then, a tree root spurted from the swamp, took the flower, and delivered it to me. With shaking hands, I held the flower and started crying. There was no questioning it. I've become a monster. That witch. She has cursed me. No! I exclaimed with rage. The swamp shook again, and vines sprang from everywhere - filled with sharp thorns. I could not accept it. I couldn't bear to live as a monster. So I spent the next days trying to kill myself. Every time I tried to stab my heart with a broken tree branch or anything sharp enough, the vines would wrap my body in a protective shield that was impenetrable. I tried drowning myself, which was an utter failure because my sense of self-preservation just wouldn't let me die in peace. Eventually, I decided to get out of the swamp and find powerful demons. I figured that all I needed was to pick a fight with them; I thought that one of them was bound to be able to kill me one way or another. The plan was futile. One glimpse at me and the demons fled. How do I destroy my heart of thorns?

With my new powers, I was able to feel almost everything in the demon world. I could "see" - feel actually - every demon within miles away. I could sense their aura, the magical energy they radiate. I could see the difference in the demons' powers and strengths based on the "color" of their energy. I traversed through various demon lands -villages and wilderness - searching for an answer, a way to get out of my dilemma. I just couldn't believe what I've become. I was passing by a mountain range when I felt it, the horrific aura I have never felt for more than fourteen years. I recognized it instantly. With my new "eyes", I saw it hiding in a cave a few kilometers southeast. It was the giant spider that destroyed my village and killed my family. Portals are unstable and demons are somehow transported to different times, so it must be the same spider. There's no mistaking it. It's time for payback.