The Grove.
Gemini stands, solemnly still. In her hand, she cradles a red apple.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? How something so small… so simple, can hold the power to bring someone to their knees. Just a single bite, a moment of weakness… and it’s over.”
Her hand trembles slightly, the apple turning slowly in her grasp.
“They never see it coming. The poison. The way it creeps in, slowly suffocating the light inside, one breath at a time. Just like Snow White, I thought I was untouchable. I thought I could wander through this Grove, unafraid of the shadows. But poison always finds a way, doesn’t it?”
Her voice catches, as the flickering light dims, casting her face in shadows.
The shadow of Nergal.
But then a spark of defiance flickers in her eyes.
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you, Nox? With your chemicals, your toxins… You skulk in the shadows, watching us all like we’re experiments, waiting for that moment when the poison hits just right.”
A small, sardonic smile curls at the edges of her lips.
“But just like the wicked Queen, you’re driven by fear. Fear that when the smoke clears and the chemicals dissipate, you’ll be standing there alone. Exposed. Bare.”
Her voice lowers, almost taunting.
“Every time you lace the air with your toxins, you hope it masks the truth of what you are. That without the poison, without your control, you’re nothing. Empty.”
A pause.
“That’s why you need the smoke, the fumes, the lies. You can’t handle what happens when people start seeing clearly. You need us confused, desperate for breath, because clarity? Clarity terrifies you.”
She steps forward, her silhouette cutting through the dark.
“Nox. I see you.”
She grips the apple tighter, her knuckles white.
“Poison only works if you let it. It only destroys if you stay asleep. I’m not Snow White, waiting for someone to save me. I don’t need a damn Prince. I’m not the girl who takes one bite and falls forever.”
The fear is gone now, replaced with a quiet, simmering rage.
“I’ve tasted poison. I’ve felt it burn through me, turn everything cold, dark. But I didn’t break. I didn’t stay down. And now… now, I see it for what it is. Just a tool, a weapon wielded by cowards. Cowards like you, Nox. You hide behind your toxins because deep down, you know you don’t have the strength to face someone without them.”
She raises the apple, holding it up to the light.
“So go ahead, Nox. Offer me your poisoned apple. Drench the air in your fumes, lace every breath with your lies. You’re going to need more than that. I’ve already woken up from my nightmare. I’ve seen what waits in the dark. And when you come for me, when you try to pull me back into the dark, you’ll find I’ve been waiting for you.”
With a sudden, violent motion, Gemini crushes the apple in her hand, juice dripping down her fingers like blood.
“And in my story, I’ll be the one to put you to sleep.”