The Rise and Fall of the Red Whore

Chapter 6

Past , 1800s

Cordelia sucked in a breath and sat up, her mind spinning so roughly she felt like she was going to vomit.

With the sudden intake of air, She coughed harshly, grabbing at her sore throat and wincing at the dryness.

A wave of pain from her stomach hit her once her coughing subsided, causing her to hunch over and close her eyes to try to deal with the unwelcomed feelings.

Only for everything to fade away.

Still clutching her throat and stomach, she steeled herself for another wave of pain.

But it never came.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

And gasp at the beauty around her.

She was in a field of spider lilies, the sea of red stretching out so far that Cordelia could not see what was beyond the flowers.

Looking up, she saw the sky was lighter than when she had passed out, the memory causing her to shiver with anxiety. The clouds were swirling over a sky that seemed to be painted with pink, blue, and orange colors, making her guess it was either the early hours of the morning or late afternoon.

What happened?

Finally summoning up the courage to look at her stomach, Cordelia's gaze drifted down.

Only to find no blood, and no stab wounds.

In fact, there wasn't any blood on her hands either, something she definitely remembers before succumbing to the darkness.

The only evidence that there was any sort of violence that happened to her was the dry blood and sliced fabric in her corset.

Cordelia started to undo her corset and pull at her clothing with shaking hands, trying to get a better look at her skin.

Nervous about what she was about to see, Cordelia prepared herself to witness the confirmation and the ugliness it caused to her already marred flesh.

But nothing could have prepared her for what she truly saw.

The skin on her stomach only showed clear, beautiful skin.

A laugh escaped Cordelia's lips.

Am I dead or have I gone mad?

Another laugh came, along with a tear dripping down her cheek.

"The best way to endure... is to laugh."

Cordelia's head snapped up, trying to find the person with the eerie voice.

"You can try, try, try... but I am someone who you cannot find, find, find," the voice circled her, making her turn her head in every direction she could.

"Such a pretty thing to come to our land," the voice purred out. "The atmosphere has been swirling with magic since the moment you've arrived, and the only thing that can make the magic in this land do that is pure lust."

Cordelia blinked.

Lust?

She looked down at herself, her clothes laying around her as she came to the realization that she was sitting in a field of spider lilies in the nude.

Nudity was never the problem with her, but how she got there, where she was and what was going on with her missing stab wounds was more the issue.

"Is this heaven?" Cordelia hesitated to ask, lifting her head up to focus on nothing but the red sea spread out before her.