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00:00My mother is a snake woman. She bound me and held me captive, raping me ten times each day.
00:04You can't run from me. You're mine.
00:08I taught her how to flirt. She thought I was proposing, so she took me.
00:12I was so naive.
00:13The strongest, most beautiful snake woman on Snake Island, how could she fail to find a mate?
00:19She could constrict prey, weighing hundreds of pounds.
00:23Yet she'd never once attended a snake folk courtship gathering.
00:26I thought she was just a poor snake folk who had grown up alone, with no elder to teach her.
00:31So I used a speaker to teach her the courtship song, then put on a prosthetic serpent tail,
00:35and showed her how to perform the courtship dance in the hot spring.
00:38She learned it almost instantly, and danced it right back at me.
00:42I was thrilled. I recorded the whole thing.
00:55You idiot. Can't you see the venomous fangs? The black and gold tail? The living snakes moving through her hair?
01:01She's no snake folk. She sounds like a Medusa from the ancient texts.
01:05One bite could poison you, and her tail could crush every bone in your body.
01:08Creatures like her court the way they hunt.
01:11They drag their mate back to the nest and hide them away until you're carrying her eggs.
01:15Get out of there! Now!
01:17Too late! She's coming towards me!
01:20Two months ago, a snake woman arrived deep on Snake Island and settled alone on the far side.
01:26Snake folk live in family clans, but young ones sometimes leave the clans.
01:30Unlike the soft features of ordinary snake folk, this snake woman was all sharp angles.
01:34Venomous fangs, a black and gold tail, measuring six and a half feet from head to tail,
01:39with enough strength to overpower every other snake folk.
01:41She carried the oldest bloodline in the serpent domain,
01:44yet she had left her homeland alone to seek a mate on Snake Island.
01:47I watched her through an infrared camera.
01:49She moved through the forest with lethal grace,
01:52chasing a giant horned deer that could hit 45 miles an hour,
01:56brought it down with a sweep of her tail, and drove her fangs into its throat.
02:00The smell of blood drew monitor lizards and a pack of crocodiles,
02:03but none of them dared come near her.
02:05She was the undisputed ruler of the serpent domain.
02:08She dragged the deer, still weighing hundreds of pounds,
02:11past my observation post without a care.
02:13I couldn't help but say,
02:14You're incredible.
02:15Of course, the snake folk language had nothing in common with human speech.
02:18She probably couldn't understand me.
02:20There had been a brief craze for snake folk research,
02:22but once studies showed ordinary snake feck were barely smarter than monitor lizards
02:26and couldn't breed with humans,
02:28the funding dried up.
02:30Most researchers moved on to beast folk.
02:33I had been planning to do the same.
02:35Isabella, too many of this year's thesis proposals are about beast folk,
02:38and none of them are original.
02:39Stay on Snake Island and keep studying snake folk.
02:42You're my best student.
02:43I know you'll find something new.
02:44Fine.
02:45If you'd called one day later,
02:46I probably would have been off Snake Island by now.
02:48The second I said it,
02:49the snake woman's cold, gold-green slit pupils locked on me.
02:53I was safe inside the observation post,
02:55but a chill crawled up my spine.
02:56With surgical precision,
02:58she sliced the choicest cut from the deer
02:59and tossed it through my window.
03:01A snake folk had just fed me.
03:03Maybe she really was different, intelligent, and powerful.
03:05Staying to study snake folk might not be such bad luck after all.
03:08If I made a breakthrough,
03:09it could land me a research position after graduation.
03:12But to study this clever snake woman properly,
03:14I first had to help her find a mate during courtship season.
03:17Only then would she stay.
03:18By next spring,
03:20there could be two or three bright, powerful little snakelets,
03:22and I'd get to study inherited traits
03:24across different snake folk bloodlines.
03:27I named the snake woman Christine.
03:29Snake folk courtship season only lasts three months,
03:32and two were already gone.
03:34She still hadn't found a mate.
03:35Every day, she brought down some enormous beast
03:38and often tossed the best cuts to me.
03:40She ate only a small bite from its belly
03:42and throw the rest away.
03:43Young snake folk would sneak off with the discarded meat
03:45and present it to the ones they were courting.
03:47Christine had accidentally played matchmake for several couples.
03:50But this fool wouldn't share food with another snake folk,
03:53and she'd never even attended a courtship gathering.
03:55I asked my advisor.
03:57He said snake folk are social animals,
03:58and if there's an exception,
04:00she was most likely separated from her clan or abandoned.
04:02That explained her hunting skills, too.
04:04With no clan to protect her,
04:06she had to become stronger just to survive.
04:08It also meant no one had ever taught her
04:10the courtship song or dance.
04:11Without completing the ritual,
04:12no other snake folk would even know she was courting them.
04:15No wonder she couldn't find a mate.
04:17Once breeding season ended,
04:18Christine would leave Snake Island with nothing to show for it,
04:21and my thesis would go up in smoke.
04:22I had to do something.
04:24It was one song and one dance.
04:26I'd just teach her myself.
04:28I pulled up the recording of the snake folk courtship song
04:30and waited on the observation deck.
04:32Christine arrived again,
04:33dragging a giant horned deer that weighed hundreds of pounds.
04:37Several small snakes gleamed gold
04:39at the edges of her silver-black hair in the sunset,
04:41and the warm light softened her cold features.
04:46Christine.
04:47That's the name I'm giving you.
04:48Say it.
04:49Christine.
04:50Christine.
04:51She could talk,
04:51and her pronunciation was crystal clear.
04:53Data on ancient snake women was almost inexistent.
04:56Maybe certain snake folk bloodlines were capable of language.
04:58If this was real,
04:59my paper would shake the entire field.
05:01I pointed at her,
05:02then at myself.
05:03Isabella.
05:04Call me Isabella.
05:06Isabella.
05:07She's brilliant.
05:09I opened the speaker
05:10and played the snake folk courtship song.
05:12I'm going to teach you a courtship song.
05:15Once you learn it,
05:16you can sing it to the mate you choose.
05:17She looked confused.
05:19I thought she hadn't heard me,
05:20so I picked up the speaker and moved closer.
05:22I had to admit it.
05:23The snake folk song was beautiful.
05:25Then Christine's expression changed.
05:27Her claws punched straight through the speaker.
05:30I bolted.
05:31If her claws could destroy a speaker that easily,
05:33they could crack my skull just as fast.
05:35When she saw me run,
05:37she lunged for me
05:37and nearly caught the hem of my shirt.
05:39I looked back and saw her chase after me,
05:41trying to cut me off,
05:42but her serpent body moved too slowly on the ground to catch me.
05:45Isabella.
05:45Isabella.
05:46Her voice was mournful, pleading.
05:48No wonder my advisor always said
05:49creatures like her were experts at lure prey.
05:51Right now,
05:51she sounded exactly like she was trying to coax me back.
05:54The next day,
05:55I found a roasted game leg on the observation deck
05:57with the speaker beside it,
05:59pieced back together as carefully as she could manage.
06:01Christine stayed a hundred yards away,
06:03neither approaching nor leaving,
06:04just watching me.
06:05Seeing how pitiful she looked,
06:07I started to feel like I'd overreacted.
06:08Christine had probably just been startled
06:09by the song coming out of the speaker.
06:11I waved her over.
06:12She slid dozens of yards closer through the grass,
06:15waited to see if I'd run,
06:16then cautiously closed another dozen yards.
06:18It took several minutes
06:19before she came within a few yards.
06:21I felt even worse
06:22and softened my tone.
06:24Did the speaker scare you yesterday?
06:26I'm sorry.
06:27I won't do it again.
06:28To make it up to you,
06:29how about I teach you to sing myself?
06:32She nodded.
06:33Could she actually understand human speech?
06:35I'd been listening in on that group of snake folk
06:36singing the courtship song.
06:37I already knew it by heart.
06:38I sang the first line.
06:40The moment Christine heard me,
06:41her slit pupils suddenly lit up.
06:43She repeated the line after me.
06:44By the time I finished the song,
06:45she'd sung it back from beginning to end.
06:47I figured it would take a dozen tries.
06:48Instead,
06:49she completed the entire courtship song
06:51perfectly on the first try.
06:52She just stared at me without blinking.
06:54It was a little unsettling,
06:55but I didn't think much of it.
06:56I simply praised her.
06:57Christine,
06:57you're way too smart.
06:59Next time you meet a snake folk you like,
07:01you can sing it to her.
07:01I accepted the game leg she brought me.
07:03Consider this your tuition.
07:04Late that night,
07:05a familiar song woke me.
07:08I opened the window,
07:09furious,
07:10and met Christine's eyes
07:11a few dozen yards away as she sang.
07:14Shut up!
07:15Do you have any idea what time it is?
07:17Christine stopped.
07:18She looked a little hurt,
07:19but I slept like a baby.
07:21A few days later, though,
07:22I realized she still hadn't found a mate,
07:25even after learning the song.
07:26Why?
07:27Was I seriously going to have to teach her the dance, too?
07:31I'm great in the wild,
07:32and I'm an excellent climber.
07:34When I was little,
07:35my parents brought me to Snake Island.
07:38After visiting a snake folk settlement
07:40in the shallow valley,
07:42we drove to the edge of the Chiss
07:43to look for traces of ancient snake folk.
07:46But that day,
07:47a storm hit the valley,
07:48and I accidentally fell into an underground cavern.
07:51More than ten days later,
07:52my parents found me unconscious
07:54near the riverbank
07:55with a raging fever.
07:56The fever wiped out my memories from that time.
07:59Everyone assumed the snake folk had saved me.
08:02After that,
08:03my parents signed me up for climbing
08:04and wilderness survival lessons.
08:07Ten years later,
08:08life brought me right back to Snake Island,
08:10and climbing finally came in handy.
08:13When you meet a snake folk you like,
08:15do you sing her the courtship song?
08:18What the hell?
08:20You sang it and still got rejected?
08:22Those snake folk have terrible taste!
08:24You're the most beautiful snake woman alive!
08:26She tilted her head, confused.
08:28I moved closer and asked her,
08:29Do you know the snake folk courtship dance?
08:32She shook her head.
08:34Fine.
08:34For the sake of my thesis,
08:36I'd do it.
08:36I went back inside,
08:37grabbed the prosthetic serpent tail,
08:39and climbed the rock face
08:40to her cave entrance for the first time.
08:42I put on the tail and began to dance,
08:44mimicking the courtship movements.
08:46Christine's eyes grew brighter with every motion.
08:48She watched me without blinking.
08:50I like it.
08:51She spoke again.
08:52It was the first word she'd said besides my name.
08:55If she liked it,
08:56she had to learn the dance.
08:57I was already looking forward
08:58to studying her little snakelets next year.
09:00When the dance ended,
09:01Christine pulled me into her arms.
09:03She retracted her claws,
09:04held my waist carefully,
09:06and rested her head on my shoulder.
09:07Our hair tangled together,
09:09the little snakes in her hair nuggled my ear,
09:11and our serpent tails pressed tightly together.
09:13I like it.
09:14Isabella.
09:15Then she let go of my waist.
09:16She sang the courtship song I had taught her.
09:18Her voice was haunting and beautiful.
09:20Her face was impossibly perfect,
09:22like something divine,
09:24spellbound.
09:24I moved closer,
09:25wanting to kiss and dance with her,
09:27but napped out of it.
09:29I've lost my mind.
09:30I'm actually dancing with a snake woman.
09:32Fled in a panic.
09:32Behind me,
09:33Christine let her hand fall,
09:34watching me leave.
09:36I just peeled off the prosthetic serpent tail
09:38when my advisor's call came through.
09:40He was furious.
09:42You idiot!
09:43You told me you found an ancient snake woman?
09:45Didn't you see the venomous fangs?
09:47The black and gold tail?
09:48The living snakes in her hair?
09:49That's no ordinary snake folk.
09:51She sounds like the Medusa of myth.
09:53One bite could poison you,
09:55and her tail could crush every bone in your body.
09:57Creatures like her court the way they hunt.
10:00They drag their mate back to the nest
10:01and hide them where no one can find them
10:03until you're carrying her eggs.
10:05Get out of there!
10:05Get out!
10:06Get out now!
10:08So my instincts had been right all along.
10:10She wasn't an ordinary snake folk.
10:12She was an ancient species
10:13and incredibly dangerous,
10:15which meant the poorly defended
10:16Snake Island research station
10:17was a death trap.
10:19Until my advisor secured funding to fortify it,
10:21I had to evacuate immediately,
10:23grab the essentials,
10:23and started the off-road vehicle.
10:25Only after I'd driven off Snake Island
10:27did I dare to breathe.
10:28I hadn't even said goodbye.
10:30Whatever she was,
10:31she'd never hurt me.
10:32My advisor called again
10:33to make sure I'd gotten away.
10:35Don't worry.
10:35I'm already miles from Snake Island.
10:37Good.
10:38I'd rather not attend the funeral
10:39of a student who hasn't even graduated.
10:40But I wasn't in the mood for jokes.
10:42Professor!
10:43She's coming!
10:45She caught up with the off-road vehicle
10:46in seconds.
10:47I had never seen her expression so cold.
10:50I told myself I was safe.
10:52The vehicle was reinforced.
10:53An instant later,
10:54her claws punched through the frame.
10:56I was thrown out of the vehicle
10:57and hit the ground.
10:59I stared at her in terror
11:00as her serpent tail split apart
11:02and shifted into human legs.
11:04She came toward me like a monster
11:05crawling out of a nightmare.
11:07Only then did I truly understand.
11:08She was dangerous.
11:10And she was calculating.
11:11Who said you could run?
11:13From the beginning,
11:13her clumsiness and kindness
11:14had all been an act.
11:15If she wanted,
11:16she could pull me on a whim
11:17or slaughter the entire
11:18Snake Folk settlement.
11:19Her face closed in on mine,
11:21eyes locked on me.
11:22Then she kissed me.
11:24The kiss was fear.
11:25I tried to escape,
11:26but she forced a black and gold
11:28serpent soul pearl
11:29from her mouth down my throat.
11:31You can't escape now, my mate.
11:34The next second,
11:36I lost consciousness.
11:38Christine took me like prey.
11:41Back in her serpent form,
11:42she coiled her tail around me
11:44and sped through an underground river.
11:46I had no idea where we were going.
11:48My phone fell to the ground,
11:49my advisor's voice still coming through.
11:52Isabella, are you alright?
11:53Answer me.
11:54I opened my eyes
11:55and found metal chains
11:56around my wrists and ankles.
11:57It was a serpent nest
11:58deep in the chasm.
11:59The only exit was submerged
12:01in an underground hot spring,
12:02and there was no telling
12:03how deep the passage went.
12:05Even if I managed to swim out,
12:06I'd face sheer cliffs
12:07and poisonous mist
12:08that never cleared.
12:09A few yards away,
12:11Christine silently sliced
12:12an antelope into chunks.
12:13Blood ran through cracks
12:14in the stone into the hot pring,
12:16and the smell reached me.
12:18It looked like a scene
12:19from a slasher movie.
12:20Was I next?
12:21I was shaking so hard
12:22the chains rattled.
12:23Christine looked up.
12:24Her expression was even colder
12:26than before.
12:27Try to run, liar.
12:28See what happens.
12:31What exactly did I lie about?
12:33Her expression turned more furious.
12:35You recorded me first.
12:37I answered you,
12:39and then you tried to run.
12:41You lied to me.
12:42I had sung her the courtship song
12:45and danced the courtship dance.
12:46In her mind,
12:47I'd courted her,
12:48and she'd accepted.
12:49This is all a misunderstanding.
12:51I thought you were a snake folk,
12:53looking for a mate,
12:54but didn't know how,
12:55so I was teaching you.
12:57Shut up!
13:00You think I'd court
13:01one of those stupid,
13:03weak snake folk?
13:04It took her a long time
13:05to calm down.
13:07When she finally spoke,
13:08her voice was calm
13:10and completely unhinged.
13:11It doesn't matter.
13:13Only weak snake folk
13:14court like that.
13:15My kind court
13:16by dragging our mate
13:17back to the nest
13:18and keeping them coiled close
13:20until they carry our eggs.
13:22So my advisor had been right.
13:24Why didn't he say so sooner?
13:25She held a slice of raw meat
13:27to my mouth.
13:28Eat.
13:29I was about to refuse
13:30when a savage hunger hit me.
13:32Suddenly,
13:33I wanted that meat
13:34with an intensity
13:35I couldn't explain.
13:36I devoured more than
13:37ten pounds of it.
13:38Christine looked
13:39satisfied,
13:40like she'd known
13:41exactly what would happen.
13:42After I ate,
13:43exhaustion crashed over me
13:44and I passed out.
13:46I woke to Christine
13:47slicing meat again.
13:48I ate even more.
13:49It took several days
13:50for the hunger
13:51and drowsiness to fade.
13:52I confronted her.
13:53What did you do to me?
13:55She took my hand
13:56and guided it behind my ear.
13:58Hard,
13:59fine serpent scales
14:00had grown on both sides.
14:02My skin felt closer
14:03to something cold-blooded, too.
14:05I might be able to stay
14:06underwater in the hot spring
14:07for hours now.
14:08It was that serpent soul pearl
14:10you forced me to swallow.
14:11That's why this is happening.
14:13What am I turning into?
14:14A monster like you?
14:16She stared for a moment,
14:17then answered slowly.
14:19Yes.
14:20You'll become a monster
14:21just like me.
14:22You'll never go back
14:23to the human world.
14:25I'd turn into a monster
14:26with a serpent tail.
14:28I'd never see my family
14:30or friends again.
14:31I'd spend the rest of my life
14:32with this monster.
14:34I screamed every insult
14:35I could think of at her.
14:37Monster?
14:38Even if I stop being human,
14:40I'll never be with you.
14:43I hate you.
14:46I'd rather spend my life
14:47with a clan of snake folk.
14:48My words made her furious
14:50and wounded her.
14:54Then I'll keep you chained forever.
14:57You won't see another human.
15:00You won't even see
15:01another snake folk.
15:03From that day on,
15:05my body changed more and more.
15:06Scales spread from the two patches
15:08behind my ears
15:09down the sides of my neck.
15:12I stopped speaking to Christine.
15:16The chain was long enough
15:17to reach the cave mouth.
15:23I tried soaking
15:23in the underground hot spring
15:25for hours
15:26until I heard Christine return.
15:29If I could just get the chain off,
15:31I could escape.
15:32That day,
15:33Christine dragged in an antelope
15:34weighing only a few dozen pounds,
15:36but there was a long wound
15:37across her black and gold tail.
15:39Iridescent scales
15:40flaked off with every movement.
15:42She was hurt,
15:44too weak even
15:44to hide her tail
15:45and swift into legs.
15:47She simply lay down
15:48and closed her eyes.
15:49I walked over
15:50and checked
15:51whether she was breathing.
15:57Without opening her eyes,
15:59she caught my arm.
16:01Too bad I didn't die.
16:03You must be disappointed.
16:07Of course.
16:09I'd love to see you dead.
16:12What happened to you?
16:15She opened her eyes
16:16and smiled.
16:17Then her...
16:27...back of my hand.
16:29Don't do that.
16:31She laughed
16:32and let me go.
16:33A pack of giant monitor lizards.
16:35About thirty of them.
16:36They tried to take my territory.
16:38I won, of course.
16:40Just a scratch.
16:41Giant monitor lizards,
16:42bloodthirsty predators,
16:43and she'd won.
16:44I felt despair.
16:45I'd really provoked
16:45a terrifying monster.
16:47I kicked the carcass
16:48she'd brought back
16:48into the hot spring.
16:50I don't want antelope.
16:52I want mountain goat.
16:54She sighed.
16:55Can we have it tomorrow?
16:59No.
17:00I want it today,
17:01you useless snake.
17:02If you can't provide
17:03for a mate,
17:05then either let me go
17:07or get back out there
17:08and hunt.
17:09She forced herself up
17:10and slid out of the cave again.
17:11I don't know how long it took,
17:13but she eventually returned
17:14with several mountain goats.
17:15The wound on her tail
17:17had gone pale
17:17from soaking in the hot spring.
17:19Changed my mind.
17:21I don't want mountain goat.
17:23Too rich.
17:24I want something lighter.
17:25Pheasant.
17:29She dragged her injured tail
17:31out again to catch pheasant.
17:32When she brought one back,
17:35I hadn't even spoken
17:36before she collapsed heavily
17:37onto the ground
17:38and passed out.
17:39With her eyes closed,
17:40she looked harmless.
17:42Her wound was waterlogged
17:43and rotting.
17:45I cleaned it.
17:47I sat beside her
17:48and closed my eyes too.
17:50I was supposed to hate her.
17:53After I swallowed
17:54the serpent's soul pearl,
17:55some of the old injuries
17:56in my body healed.
17:58The calluses on my hands vanished.
18:00Even my terrible
18:01nearsightedness was gone.
18:06I was floating in warm mist,
18:09but I knew I was dreaming.
18:12I was ten again.
18:14I saw a girl about my age.
18:16Her silver black hair
18:18was alive with snakes,
18:19and it was beautiful.
18:22Was I hallucinating?
18:25I reached out to her.
18:27Please, help me.
18:31She slid towards me,
18:32and I saw a long serpent tail
18:34below her waist.
18:36A snake folk.
18:40She saved me,
18:42laid me on a warm rock,
18:43and hunted for me.
18:45A good snake folk.
18:46I wanted her to take me back
18:47to where people were.
18:48My parents would be worried,
18:50but she couldn't understand me,
18:52so I taught her to speak.
18:54One word at a time.
18:55She was smart.
18:57After about ten days,
18:58we could hold basic conversations.
19:02That was when I learned
19:03she wasn't an ordinary snake folk.
19:07She was the terrifying Medusa of legend.
19:14I was so innocent as a child.
19:16Innocent enough to be cruel.
19:18So you don't have any family?
19:20No friends?
19:22You are always alone.
19:24Doesn't it make you lonely?
19:28She looked confused.
19:30What is lonely?
19:32It's when there's no one like me
19:33to play with you
19:35or talk to you.
19:36No one to miss you.
19:38She seemed to understand.
19:40I didn't know what lonely was before,
19:42so I wasn't lonely.
19:44Sadness filled her face.
19:47I'll be lonely now.
19:48I realized I'd hurt my friend
19:50and hurried to comfort her.
19:53I'm sorry.
19:55After I go home,
19:56I'll come back every summer
20:00to play with you
20:01and talk to you.
20:02I'll miss you too.
20:03I held up my pinky.
20:04We'll make a pinky promise.
20:05I swear.
20:09She copied the gesture,
20:11solemnly lifting her pinky
20:12and being careful
20:13not to scratch me
20:14with her claws.
20:15We hooked our fingers together.
20:17No takebacks for a hundred years.
20:20We're best friends.
20:21I'll never forget you.
20:23Her smile was beautiful.
20:26Best friends.
20:29I'd planned to stay
20:30a few more days
20:30then have her take me home.
20:33But day after day
20:34in the valley wind
20:35and with the same bland food,
20:37I got sick.
20:39A fever burned through me,
20:41leaving me dazed.
20:42This is my fault.
20:43She was terrified.
20:45You don't belong
20:46in the underground valley.
20:47I'll take you somewhere
20:48humans can help.
20:49She carried me
20:50through the valley
20:50on her small back,
20:52shielding my hair
20:53from the dew
20:53as best she could.
20:54When she finally laid me
20:56by the riverbank,
20:57I touched my pinky
20:58to her tail.
20:59When I'm better,
21:00I'll come back for you.
21:01She nodded.
21:02Isabella,
21:03I'll wait for you.
21:05She returned
21:06to the depths
21:06of the chasm.
21:07She stayed
21:08until someone found me
21:09and carried me away.
21:11Only then did that
21:12tiny figure
21:12in the distance
21:13slip away.
21:14But I broke my promise.
21:15I forgot everything.
21:16If I hadn't been reassigned
21:18to my current advisor,
21:20ten years later,
21:21I might never have returned
21:23to Snake Island.
21:24Christine hadn't come
21:25to Snake Island
21:26for the Snake Folk.
21:27She came for me.
21:30And what had I done?
21:31I let her believe
21:32I was courting her.
21:34She accepted.
21:36Then I ran.
21:37She thought I'd lied
21:38to her twice.
21:39In her fury,
21:40she took me
21:41and called me a liar.
21:42But even then,
21:43she couldn't bear
21:44to hurt me.
21:45And I told her
21:45I hated her.
21:46I called her a monster
21:47and swore I'd never
21:49be with her.
21:50Christine healed
21:51incredibly fast.
21:52Within hours,
21:53the gruesome wound
21:54had closed.
21:55Christine opened her eyes,
21:57saw me still chained
21:58and obedient
21:59and relaxed.
22:00Christine,
22:01you're awake.
22:02Are you hurt anywhere else?
22:04She looked at me
22:04in surprise.
22:05Even if you're changing
22:06tactics to win me over
22:07and make me drop my guard,
22:09I'm not letting you go.
22:10I rushed to explain.
22:12I'd forgotten our promise
22:13and that everything
22:13on Snake Island
22:14had been a misunderstanding.
22:17She didn't believe a word.
22:19Liar.
22:20Don't think sweet talk
22:22is going to get you
22:22out of here.
22:23But I wasn't afraid of her.
22:25She'd always been all ice
22:26on the outside
22:27and soft underneath
22:28when it came to people
22:29she cared about
22:30and that hadn't changed.
22:32My goal wasn't freedom.
22:33It was to comfort
22:34this poor serpent
22:35who had been neglected
22:36for more than ten years.
22:38I don't want to leave anymore.
22:40I'll stay here with you.
22:42Christine stared at me
22:43then suddenly smiled.
22:45Then you'll be my mate.
22:47Soon
22:47this will be full
22:49of serpent eggs.
22:51Isn't that what you wanted?
22:56To study my offspring?
22:59Isabella
23:00why don't you
23:00carry them yourself?
23:02I got nervous.
23:03We're both women.
23:05You swallowed
23:05my serpent soul, Pearl.
23:07Your body has been
23:07changed enough
23:08to carry my offspring.
23:10It wasn't that
23:10I couldn't accept her.
23:12Marriage laws
23:12between humans
23:13and Beast Vic
23:14had already passed.
23:15But two women
23:16having a child together
23:17was still a little
23:18too far outside
23:19my world vibe.
23:21We can date first.
23:23Keep it emotional.
23:25That only made her angrier.
23:26You really were lying to me.
23:28I'll never trust you again.
23:30Still
23:31when I begged her
23:32for a longer chain
23:32so I could play
23:33in the hot spring
23:34she agreed.
23:35Tough talk
23:36soft heart
23:37and impossible to sweet talk.
23:39While Christine
23:39was out hunting
23:40I slipped into the cave mouth
23:42and found beautiful
23:43glowing fruit
23:44beside the hot spring.
23:46I picked a few
23:47and ate them
23:49like snacks.
23:50By the time
23:51I climbed out
23:51my body was burning.
23:54I tried to relieve it
23:55for what felt like forever
23:56but nothing helped.
23:59Then Christine
23:59came back from hunting
24:00and found the
24:01leftover glowing fruit.
24:04Those are an aphrodisiac fruit
24:05snake folk eat
24:06before mating.
24:08You ate them?
24:09Why the hell
24:10did the valley
24:10have something like that?
24:12Humans clearly
24:13hadn't studied
24:13Snake Island
24:14nearly enough.
24:15The ache grew worse.
24:16I reached for Christine.
24:18Please
24:19help me
24:20Christine.
24:23She just stood there
24:24watching me calmly.
24:26You hate me.
24:27When you come to your senses
24:28you'll want to kill me.
24:30My voice broke.
24:31I like you.
24:33Help me.
24:34Liar.
24:35You promised you'd come back for me.
24:37You courted me first.
24:38You were the one
24:39who begged me like this.
24:40Then despair heavy
24:41in her voice.
24:42Tomorrow you'll hate me again.
24:44In the end
24:44I begged her to stop
24:45sopping
24:46but she ignored me
24:47until I had no strength.
24:48The next morning
24:49I woke up
24:50and realized
24:51I'd slept with a snake woman
24:52and it had felt good.
24:54Maybe I really had
24:55fallen for Christine.
24:56When Christine saw
24:57I was awake
24:57she handed me a dagger.
24:59You hate me even more now.
25:01I forced you last night.
25:03I was the one on the bottom
25:04but I knew exactly
25:05who had done the persuading.
25:07You must hate me.
25:08I removed your chains.
25:09Use this to pierce my heart
25:10then leave.
25:11Go back to the human world
25:13and never come back.
25:14And then what?
25:15Was I supposed to leave
25:15with her corpse?
25:16She was a hopeless romantic
25:18with a soft heart
25:19and she had to go
25:20and copy someone's
25:21imprisonment routine.
25:23I really do like you.
25:25If you don't believe me
25:26we can do it again.
25:29After that
25:29it happened again
25:31but she still didn't believe me.
25:33She thought I was only
25:34trying to make her
25:34drop her guard
25:35so I could escape.
25:37So I told her
25:37over and over
25:38that I loved her
25:39that I wanted her
25:40to meet my parents
25:41that I wanted to marry her.
25:44She only looked at me
25:46with sorrow.
25:46Is that why you want
25:47to lure me to the human world?
25:49So they can capture me
25:50and study me?
25:51Is your thesis
25:52really so important
25:53that you'd endure this place?
25:56Seduce me
25:56just to finish it?
25:58I had no way
25:59to defend myself
26:00so I seduced her for real
26:01and made sure
26:02she didn't have time
26:03to be heartbroken.
26:04Then one day
26:05I couldn't stop vomiting.
26:08The color drained
26:09from my face.
26:14Christine panicked.
26:15She remembered the night
26:16ten years ago
26:17when I nearly died of fever.
26:18I'm taking you back
26:19to where humans
26:20can help you.
26:22After that
26:22you'll never see me again.
26:24I caught her arm.
26:25Didn't you say
26:25I would turn into
26:26a Medusa like you?
26:27She kissed me.
26:28That was a lie.
26:29The serpent's soul pearl
26:29only changes a mate's body
26:31enough to survive
26:31long periods in the cold.
26:32Enough to bear me
26:33and carry my eggs.
26:34But you're still human.
26:36I know you've wanted
26:37to leave all along.
26:38I was the one
26:39who imprisoned you.
26:40You must hate me.
26:42Just like ten years before
26:43Christine carried me
26:45through the valley
26:45like a black wind
26:46until the research station
26:48on Snake Island
26:48came into view.
26:49The station had been rebuilt
26:51transformed beyond recognition.
26:52She set me down
26:53at the exit
26:54looked at me one last time
26:55then turned to leave.
26:56I called her back.
26:57An instant later
26:57a metal cage
26:58dropped from above
26:59and trapped
27:00the powerful serpent inside.
27:01I stared at her
27:02without expression.
27:03Who said you could leave,
27:04specimen?
27:04Christine looked back at me
27:05like something inside her
27:06had died.
27:07Was this your plan all along?
27:08You seduced me
27:09and made me drop my guard
27:10all so you could capture me
27:12for your research
27:12and your paper.
27:13You win.
27:14That's right.
27:15I was exactly the kind of person
27:16who would sacrifice
27:17anything to graduate.
27:19Once the ancient species
27:20was confirmed
27:20my advisor secured
27:22major funding.
27:23The Snake Island
27:24research station
27:24was expanded
27:25several times over.
27:26More researchers
27:27were brought in
27:27and my advisor
27:28moved there permanently
27:29as project lead.
27:30He chewed me out for hours
27:32but he had no choice
27:33except to clean up my mess.
27:34But Christine refused
27:35to cooperate
27:36with any of our experiments.
27:37She stopped eating
27:38and drinking.
27:39She stopped speaking.
27:40She was so aggressive
27:41that no researcher
27:42could collect her blood
27:43or scales.
27:43In the end,
27:44I went alone
27:45to the cage
27:45holding Christine.
27:46You will die
27:47if you don't eat or drink.
27:48It would be a shame
27:49if all you got to study
27:50was a corpse.
27:51I touched the slight
27:51screll of my belly.
27:53Don't worry.
27:54We'll still have
27:55a living snakelet right here.
27:56Her eyes went wide.
27:59You're carrying my child
28:00but she's your child too.
28:02You want to use her?
28:03Do you hate me that much?
28:05You'll never find out
28:06how I study this child.
28:07Just pretend you don't know.
28:08Her face went ascal.
28:09You can have my venom,
28:11my scales,
28:12even my serpent tail.
28:13Anything you want
28:14but you can't hurt our child.
28:17From that day on,
28:18Christine stopped
28:18her hunger strike
28:19and cooperated fully
28:20with the project.
28:21Intelligence tests,
28:22language tests,
28:23blood and scale samples,
28:24all of it.
28:25Three months later,
28:26a paper changed everything.
28:28Humans had discovered
28:29a being from ancient legend,
28:30the Medusa.
28:31She had the upper body
28:32of a human
28:32and the latter body
28:33of a serpent,
28:34intelligence comparable
28:35to humans,
28:36advanced language ability,
28:37incredible physical strength
28:38and lethal combat power.
28:40Everyone left Snake Island
28:42to celebrate.
28:42I went to the lab alone.
28:44The imprisoned Christine
28:46opened her eyes,
28:47empty of sorrow
28:48and joy alike.
28:48You imprisoned me once,
28:50I imprisoned you once.
28:51I'd say we're even.
28:53For the first time,
28:54a flicker moved
28:55through her calm eyes.
28:56So, my dear credit it,
28:58can I go now?
28:59Of course.
28:59You are now recognized
29:00by the Stellar Alliance
29:01as a super species.
29:03You can apply for legal status
29:04equal to a human's
29:05and marry any humanoid
29:06intelligent species.
29:07She stared at me,
29:08confused,
29:09as if she didn't
29:10understand a word.
29:11Christine,
29:12you've never believed
29:12that I love you,
29:14but I'm still going to propose.
29:16I used some extreme methods
29:17to keep you here.
29:19I learned them from you.
29:20Will you marry me?
29:21You don't want our little snakelet
29:22to be born out of wedge,
29:23do you?
29:23Her eyes went wide.
29:25Isabella,
29:26are you proposing to me?
29:28Everything you said before
29:29that you liked me,
29:30was it true?
29:31I angrily lit into her.
29:33If I didn't love you,
29:34why would I sleep with you?
29:35Why would I carry your eggs
29:36and want to keep them?
29:37We only took your blood once,
29:38and the only reason
29:39was to see which drugs
29:40would work on you,
29:40not for illegal research.
29:42If you hadn't decided
29:43to put on some tragic little act,
29:46convinced yourself I hated you,
29:47and tried to leave forever,
29:49I'd have taken you
29:50to meet my parents
29:51and friends the next day.
29:52We'd have been married
29:53within a month.
29:53You idiot.
29:54You forced me to lock you up
29:56so you wouldn't leave.
29:57Then I started laughing.
29:58I'm an idiot too.
29:59I taught you a courtship dance
30:00and told you to use it
30:01on snake folk.
30:02She stayed frozen
30:03for a long time.
30:04When she didn't answer,
30:06panic swallowed me,
30:08and I started to cry.
30:09Of course,
30:10if you don't like me anymore,
30:12if you still hate me,
30:13if you're going to blame someone,
30:15can you blame only me?
30:16A second later,
30:17Christine silenced me
30:18with a kiss at the back.
30:20After a long time,
30:21she finally spoke.
30:22Isabella,
30:23in the moment I found you again,
30:25there hasn't been a single moment
30:26when I didn't love you.
30:28That flimsy cage
30:29never had a chance
30:30of holding me.
30:31If I wanted to leave,
30:32I'd have left long ago.
30:34The only reason I stayed
30:35was you.
30:36Even when I thought
30:36you hated me
30:37and saw me as nothing
30:38but an experiment,
30:39I still loved you.
30:40I refused to eat
30:41because I wanted to see you.
30:43You used our child
30:43to threaten me,
30:44and even then,
30:45I couldn't hate you.
30:48The serpent egg
30:49grew inside me
30:50for months.
30:51When the baby was born,
30:52she was wrapped
30:53in a translucent membrane,
30:54a human-looking child
30:55with black hair
30:56and round ears.
30:57She had the same
30:58gold-green slit peoples
30:59as Christine,
31:00but other than that,
31:02she looked nothing
31:02like a Medusa.
31:04Is this really our child?
31:06Could someone have switched her?
31:08I looked at the little baby
31:09with worry.
31:10A second later,
31:13Christine casually placed
31:14the baby in the hot spring.
31:16I nearly killed her.
31:20What are you doing?
31:21What kind of mother are you?
31:23The baby rolled happily
31:24through the water,
31:26and her legs shifted
31:28into a golden serpent tail.
31:30So she really was
31:31a cute little snakelet
31:32after all,
31:34Christine said carelessly.
31:36Good.
31:37We can throw her outside
31:38and let her fend for herself.
31:44I pounded Christine
31:45without mercy.
31:48My little snakelet
31:49is going to be
31:49the happiest little snakelet
31:50in the world.
31:51She has two moms,
31:53grandparents on my side,
31:55and she's going to preschool
31:56and making lots of friends.
31:58And you want me
31:59to throw her outside?
32:02You have a death wish.
32:04Christine drooped
32:05under my beading
32:05like a kicked puppy.
32:07But that's how I grew up.
32:09I never met my parents,
32:10let alone grandparents.
32:12My only friend was you.
32:15And you never came back.
32:21I waited for you
32:22at the place
32:22we said goodbye
32:23for more than 10 years.
32:26I pulled the poor
32:27big snake into a hug.
32:33There, there.
32:36You have my love now.
32:39You're already
32:40the happiest snake
32:40in the world.
32:42I was too busy
32:43comforting her
32:43to notice the triumphant
32:45look on her face.
32:47Then tonight,
32:48we're leaving the baby
32:49with my parents.
32:50It's been too long
32:51since we had time alone.
32:56I agreed
32:58and kissed her first.
33:12Again?
33:17next time,
33:21really?
33:22next time,
33:24next time,