The Swan and the Snake

Arianna had always been a mystery to Jacob. To say the least, she was a person of extremes. Her mood and temperament varied so drastically day to day that it was nearly impossible to predict which aspect of her persona he would encounter. Some days she would be sweet and kind, a joy to be around, and on other occasions she would be vile and cruel, heartless and indifferent. Jacob could never know for certain to whom he spoke: the swan, or the snake.
But, regardless of her fluctuating temperament, her façade was always pristine. Her grace was unwavering, and she maintained an ever present elegance that both amazed and confounded observers. Her motions were fluid and graceful, a dance of precisely executed choreography, and she spoke with such elegance that her words seemed a song, melodic regardless of the sentiments they expressed. Even on the days when her cruelty manifested itself, she remained immaculate as ever; the loveliness of a swan and the underlying malice of a serpent.
It was because of her intrigue that Jacob took a liking to her. Her frequent changes in mood and sudden cruelties, for Jacob, only added to the mystery. There was also something unattainable about her superhuman grace. She seemed too good for the likes of him, which only contributed to her allure. Of course, he knew he had no hope with her. He was an average guy in every way. What would one so lovely see in him?
One day after school, Arianna approached Jacob, a look of unmistakable perplexity upon her face. It was unusual for her to pay him any mind, much less speak to him. Taken aback by this unprecedented interest, Jacob attempted, without success, to mask his awkwardness, but it remained all too apparent. Arianna, however, was much too preoccupied to notice.
“May I speak to you privately?” she asked. Surprised by her request, Jacob floundered for a moment, unsure of what to say.
“Er…um…sure,” he finally managed. Arianna smiled at his words with shining gratitude.
“Oh, good!” she beamed. “I knew you would! Do you know somewhere we can go?”
“Er…The riverbank, maybe?” suggested Jacob. Its beautiful placidity and serene silence had offered him sanctuary when he needed it most, and he often went there to collect himself. Perhaps it would extend that peace to Arianna. She certainly looked as though she needed it.
“Sounds perfect!” chirruped Arianna, nodding enthusiastically. “Lead the way!” They walked in silence, each pointedly trying to ignore the other, but finding that they could not. Jacob could not help but marvel at how nimbly she moved. He had half expected her graceful façade to melt away once they left the campus, as though it were an illusion only to be maintained in the presence of hordes of observers. It seemed too good to be true, and its apparent inherence amazed Jacob. Feeling somehow out of place by her side, his awkwardness was redoubled.
At last, Jacob led her down the hill to a sheltered bend in the river with a willow tree bowing over it like a lamenting maiden. In the glow of the rapidly setting sun, the entire landscape shone with brilliant hues of orange and red. The undulating shadows of the tall grass by the river’s edge lengthened, slithering forth like snakes from the blades that cast them. They sat side by side upon the bank opposite the weeping tree, their bodies making circular depressions in the grass where they reposed. The once pervasive roar of the river dulled gradually in their ears to a quiet rush, leaving the ambiance quiet and undisturbed. Dragon flies flitted quickly between the reeds, their wings iridescent in the rays of the dying sun.
At length Arianna spoke. Her words were directed at Jacob, but her gaze remained fixed straight ahead of her, trained upon something only she could see. Her voice sounded as though it was about to break, strained by unshed tears. This sudden display of emotion seemed somehow out of character to Jacob, incongruous with Arianna’s¬ graceful demeanor.
“There’s a war going on in my head, Jacob,” she told him. “And I’m scared I’m going to lose.” Surprised by her bizarre confession, Jacob remained silent, unsure of how to respond.
“It was hard for me to deal with my parents’ divorce.”  She continued, closing her eyes as if seeking something deep within herself. “The other girl offered to make me strong; to be a friend. We got along at first, but then she started taking over when she wasn’t supposed to.
“She started coming out at school and being mean to my friends. I told her to stop, but I couldn’t do anything about it; she was too strong. I had to fight to be me. Sometimes we would argue, and it would be so loud inside my head. I just want her to go away!”
She trailed off, breathing raggedly as if holding back tears. These revelations were more than Jacob could comprehend. Unable to think of a single thing to say, he sat there in dumbstruck silence, waiting for Arianna to resume her tail.
“I’ve been fighting her for so long, Jacob,” continued Ariana at length. “But I know she’s going to win, and I don’t want that to happen. She’s so mean, Jacob!”
“I know,” said Jacob honestly. “I’ve met her.” Arianna turned to meet his eyes, her own shining, opalescent in the sunset. Even as he watched, a single silver tear slipped fourth from the brimming reservoir leaving its shining track down her face.
“Oh, god, Jacob!” She murmured. “I am so sorry. I never meant for her to hurt anyone. I’m s-” But she stopped suddenly. Her face blanched rapidly and her eyes grew wide with panic.
“She’s mad,” she whispered in a stricken voice. “She wants me to- NO! NO! I won’t let you!” This last she shouted not to Jacob, but to whatever compelled her from within. Her words were forceful, but tinged with a pleading desperation that was both heartrending and terrifying to Jacob. The reality of her predicament seemed finally to sink in: Arianna was not the master of her own mind.
“She wants me to kill you, Jacob!” breathed Arianna, struggling visibly against the presence in her head. “She says you’re a liability now. We can’t have you telling anyone about us. Don’t let her hurt you, Jacob! Get away while you still can! Go!” Though terrified by her words, Jacob remained rooted to the spot, immobilized with confusion and panic. Looking into Arianna’s eyes, he watched as a new darkness manifested itself, engulfing their light like a snake consuming the eggs in a swan's nest. Suddenly, Jacob was overwhelmingly aware that it was no longer into Arianna’s eyes that he stared.
Despite its subtlety, the change that had come over Arianna had affected everything about her. Her warm demeanor had turned to ice, deadened and unfeeling. Her intrinsic grace was now augmented with a new strength; a cruel force of personality that radiated from her like waves of steely frigidity. Most striking, however, were her eyes. Dead and dark, they stared directly and unyieldingly into his, assaulting him and draining his strength. They held Jacob spell bound, like a serpent hypnotizing its prey.
Arianna smiled, but this was not her usual, warm smile. This was a smile of calculative cruelty and unadulterated malice.
“So,” she hissed. “You know our little secret.” Here she evaluated him with exaggerated remorse. “Too bad. You were kind of cute.” Quick as lightning, before he had time to react, she struck Jacob in the side of the head. Jacob reeled, falling heavily to the ground, face in the water. He looked up, slightly stunned, to see Arianna standing above him.
“So sorry about this,” she said in mock sadness, an exaggerated frown on her face. “But you understand, don’t you?” And with that, she gently placed her foot on the back of his head and forced it down.

***

Some hours passed. The shadows lengthened as the sun finally slipped below the horizon. One by one, the stars took their places in the sky as the wind sang a lamenting lullaby through the branches of the willow. Below its drooping leaves, Jacob rested, never to move again.
Upon the hill stood Arianna, her vision blurred with the tears coursing unchecked and unchallenged from her eyes.
“Why would you do that?” she whispered, her voice breaking. Abruptly her demeanor changed. Her tears ceased, and she looked down upon the body of the boy with remorseless indifference.
“He was a threat,” she hissed. “And I eliminated him. Face it, little girl. You need me, and you need me bad.” The change was suddenly reversed, and once again Arianna stood upon the hill.
“You’re a monster,” she breathed, weeping once again.
“Please,” she said, again cold and unfeeling. “I have a name. Say it!”
“Ophilia,” whispered Arianna, defeated and broken.
“Louder!”
“Ophilia.”
“LOUDER!”
“OPHILIA!” screamed Arianna, a tortured, pleading scream that resounded across the landscape.
“Good,” hissed Ophilia, at last satisfied. “Come, little girl. We’re going home.” And with that the snake turned and retreated down the hill; the swan was no more.