Choose your own adventure: Lady of the Woods 3a

< this post continues from the 2a "yes" path > You do your best to nod an affirmation to the lady's question. Of course you deserve a second chance. You didn't ask for any of this, right? This wasn't your fault. It couldn't be. But the lady doesn't seem to agree. Her smirk deepens into something closer to contempt as her glowing eyes seem to peer directly into your thoughts. "You would say that. As always, greedy. Self absorbed. Deflecting blame. Humans rarely surprise me, but I was hoping you might be different." The formless world around you reverberates as though disturbed by some distant impact and the smoke closes in around you. "Unlike your kind though, I do keep my word. I offered you a choice. You decided. I would not make an offer if both outcomes weren't possible." She leans forward, magic beginning to gather in her palms like balls of green fire. "You shall have your second chance. But, I'll leave you fate in the hands of your own kind. Let us see if they choose to spare you, shall we?" The magic surges forth and you can feel yourself diminishing. The lady grows taller, or perhaps you are growing smaller, as what little sensation you still had of your body begins to fade away. When you regain consciousness, the world suddenly looks normal again. No smoke, no strange lights, no shimmering auras. But your mind still feels cloudy. Airy, even. Like you aren't thinking so much as drifting in a small pool of ideas and feelings. You try to move but you can no longer feel your limbs. Your arms feel thin and wiggly and you can't make them move at all. Your legs feel like they are bound together and you try in vain to wiggle them. You realize, to your horror, that you can't even look around. Your entire world is this single image of the forest clearing. And suddenly, the lady is here too. Sitting and singing just as she was when you first entered. You call for her, but you aren't sure if your mouth still works and she doesn't respond. After some time of this, maybe hours, maybe weeks, your hear footsteps approaching. A new human has entered the clearing, a man not so different from yourself. The lady greets him just as she had you. She gives him the same speech, and makes him the same offer of the magical flower. But then she turns to you. With only a hint of knowing in her eyes, she reaches out and grabs your stem, plucking you from the ground. Your legs have been severed. No, not your legs. Your roots. You scream internally, but to the outside world you are simply a flower and nothing more. The man has accepted the gift, just as you had. And in so doing, he has sealed your fate. She hands you over to the man, as your consciousness gives into the pain and begins to fade away. Your last sight, before your mind vanishes completely, is the lady's sad, but unwavering smile. Not looking at the new man, but at you, at your unseen eyes, perhaps truly wishing things had turned out differently. < Ending A - The Cycle of Nature - Reached >