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NECK DEEP IN water wasn't exactly the best place for kumar anjali to be in, but that was exactly where she was currently.
head bobbing below the thrashing waves, breaking the surface of the salty water every few seconds to fill her lungs with air before being dragged back down below the blue ocean depths.
shivers wracked her soaked frame, the salty waters matting her auburn hair in unnatural angles.
something weirdly slimy was stuck to her leg, an appendage most likely belonging to a sort of sea king trying to lure her back into the water.
gasping and gagging for air, anjali did her best to (attempt to) swim over to the small wooden dingy floating a few feet away.
curse her luck for encountering such a hostile creature on the one day she decided to finally venture away from her small village of swordsmen.
the sea king had great strength, and anjali was failing her escape from the watery jaws of doom.
salt stung at her eyes, already red from their constant sodium-water cleansing that the king was giving her.
bubbles were slowly forming at the surface of the water, and anjali was pulled underwater, eyes firmly and tightly shut as she was plunged at breakneck speed into the depths.
suddenly the beast stopped, and anjali found herself staring into the eyes of a giant creature.
her pupils dilated in fear, hands clawing and grasping at the thick appendage wrapped around her legs and waist, yelling only for small bubbles to leave her mouth, clogging her lungs with hydrogen.
but the pull of the creatures eyes were intense, burning holes into anjali, so much that she couldn't look away. her eyes hardened, unblinking as they locked into the beast's.
the seconds ticked by, but it was as if there was an impenetrable barrier between her conscious and the king's mesmerizing gaze.
like a cobra to the music, dancing like a puppet being controlled. anjali wanted out.
she created her own hypnosis, her reddening eyes staring, and staring, and staring at the creature.
slowly, it's limbs began to uncoil from around her, and the remaining pockets of light guided her back up to the surface.
having left her villiage taught anjali something that day.
one, she was more of a land person.
and two, there was something strange about her mind.
as if she could . . . impose her willpower on others. as if she could overpower them with her mind.
and that would become her greatest weapon.
children grow up, when will we get to do the same?
