Bridal Path

[PM2K]

New story by me.


Bridal Path - by PM2K

Kaiemi adjusts the brightly colored sarong draping her shapely hips and steps outside her hut into the reddish Pacific twilight. She strides quickly across the light tinted beach sand, her bare feet feeling the day's heat which remains on its surface.
A garland of pink flowers circle her neck to bounce half way down the golden skin of her firm bare breasts. It partly covers a necklace of shark's teeth which also hangs around her neck to nestle in her generous cleavage. A second ring rests on her head, the colors a sharp contrast to her jet black hair, which hangs well combed straight down her back close to her waist.
Reaching the ocean's edge, she glances with beautiful almond shaped eyes at the crowd of villagers, many holding burning torches, and bows her head reverently. They return the gesture, and the group, men and women, form two lines, between which Kaiemi walks.
An old woman steps in front of her, a garland of bones and sea shells clinking around her neck. Her face is daubed in colored mud, and she makes a series of elaborate gestures over the younger woman, who has knelt in front of her. Leaning close, the older one whispers into Kaiemi's ear, who nods in understanding.
When she rises, her sarong remains coiled around her feet. Kaiemi's skin glistens with sweat, generated from the heat of the torches, and clad only in the two chains of flowers, wades out into the blood warm ocean waters. Reaching her shins, she leans over to grab hold of the small outrigger canoe which has been placed there for her, and, swinging her left leg inside, pushes off with her right, launching herself into the crimson tinted sea.

I've done it... I've done it!
Kaiemi grins into the fading daylight, her eyes locked on the sacred island as she paddles. It hadn't been easy... not by a long shot. But soon the glory will be hers... and the hand of the headman's son. As his wife, she will finally be in a position of respect and power, and those who looked down on her all these years will be forced to swallow their pride... and squirm at her command.
You see, little sister, your sacrifice was not in vain... she thinks. I just did what needed to be done...

Tui had been two years younger, but Kaiemi could easily pass as her twin, and vice versa. The pair lived alone since their parents were lost in a typhoon which lashed the island chain years before, but the village took the two under their wing to ensure they were cared for properly.
When they came of age, both had grown into striking beauties, turning many heads in their wake.
But while many embraced Tui warmly, the community was more wary of her older sister. Despite her sunny exterior, some sensed Kaiemi was perhaps a bit cold around her heart, and were uneasy in her presence.
Tui wasn't one of those, and warmly embraced her sister, unaware her affections weren't being reflected back.
The truth was, Kaiemi bitterly resented her sister. She had for years once she sensed how people warmed to Tui over her, a bitterness which curdled to hatred, which in turn built into an abscess that over time poisoned her heart and soul.
But all this darkness she swallowed, shoving it all deep inside, while outwardly she smiled and nodded like the rest. It was a facade which has become brittle, and needed but a moment to shatter.

It happened in an instant, unexpected and unbidden.
Tui burst into their hut excited, bare breasts bouncing in time with her motions, a new shark tooth necklace clattering and gleaming. Kaiemi glances up from the small cooking fire, choking down her resentment to force a smile.
"You seem excited, sister..." she said, her voice even. The younger one had been called to a meeting of the elders, a rare honor for one her age.
"Oh, this is just the best of news!" Tui says. "I'm to be married!"
Kaiemi feels a fist squeeze her heart, hard. She struggles to keep her voice calm while internally she begins to shake.
"Oh?"
"It is just the greatest honor!" Tui bubbles. "I've been deemed the most worthy by the elders... and they only do this once every 1,000 moons!"
Kaiemi stares intently. She never heard of this before... but then, the elders seldom spoke of their rituals openly.
"Congratulations are in order, then, dear sister.." she says slowly, standing up from the fire. "Who is the fortunate one? Your intended husband?"
"I... I cannot say..." Tui replies. "Truth is, I don't know if I'd be found worthy of... but he is important!"
"Important?" Kaiemi asks quietly. "You mean, like the headman?'
Tui smiles shyly, and blushes. Then shakes her head.
"The headman's son?" she asks again.
"I cannot say... I cannot! I've taken the oath!" she repeats. "All I can say is the ritual is being held the night after next, during the full moon."
"Really?" Kaiemi's eyes narrow. "A ritual?"
"Yes..." Tui said, then kneels by the fire. Several fish are cooking over it, and she grabs one of the wooden spits to chew on one. "It's a test to see if i'm really suitable to be his bride... I have to pray and be cleansed for a day or so by the elders, and then they tell me what task I must perform over at the sacred island.... and if I succeed..."
"The sacred island? Isn't that taboo?" Kaiemi was both fearful and envious. The island lay within sight of their home isle, but only the elders are ever permitted to visit it. Stories of unknown wonders and terrors which waited there were popular around the communal fires.
"Oh, yes..." Tui said, then touched the necklace she wore. "The elders gave me this to protect me... and to let the gods know why I was there..."
Kaiemi found herself walking closer to Tui, circling behind her, hands flexing. Her eyes are fixed on the necklace...
"Sister... I have to tell you..." Tui said, her voice now serious. "The elders... they told me I may not return from the island... If I'm accepted... and I told them, for the good of the village, I'm prepared for..."
She was unable to complete the sentence, her breath savagely cut off. Kaiemi had grabbed ahold of the necklace with both hands and twists it tight, hauling the girl backwards with all her might. The leather cord cut painfully into Tui's throat, sinking deep into her flesh. She claws desperately at the makeshift garrote, her legs kicking frantically, bare feet slapping against the sand floor of their hut.
Kaiemi breaths hard from the effort, but holds on grimly, tightening the necklace with each twist. Tui's eyes bulge, her face darkened, her tongue protruded gruesomely. A long slow gurgle bubbles out, her body still shaking violently from side to side in its death struggles.
Then slowly, Tui goes limp, her toes arched and digging into the sand, then relaxing. A final painful gargling sound dribbles out of her slack lips, and fades into silence.
Kaiemi lets her sister's body drop like a load of dead fish. Panting, she slumped next to it, and pondered her next move.

Later that night, Kaiemi wrapped her sister's corpse inside a woven reed mat, and carrying her cargo over her shoulder, crept out to their canoe, paddling out silently. Within a few hours, she reached the far side of the island, beyond the fishing grounds, and to the dangerous place, known for its sharks.
Unrolling the mat, she stares at Tui's body, her face hideously distorted in death, then removed the necklace from the deep grooves cut into her sister's throat and draped it over herself. Taking her knife, she cuts Tui's belly open from mid chest to her groin, flinching at the expulsion of gas. Inserting the anchor stone into her, Kaiemi lifts the weighted body and dumps it over the side, leaving behind bubbles and a crimson cloud.
She nods with satisfaction as she spots a number of fins slicing through the moonlit water towards the bloody water. In no time at all, no trace of her will ever be found.
Later still, she would sink the canoe in safer waters, and make her way back to her hut before daybreak.
And that is how Kaiemi became Tui.

The canoe's keel grinds softly into the sand of the sacred island, and Kaiemi extracts herself from the vessel, splashing ashore. Her sharp eyes quickly spot the strange moss hanging from the trees which glows eerily under the full moon.
There... that's the path the old one spoke of...
Pulling the canoe further up onto the beach, Kaiemi runs towards the marker, finding herself getting excited. She is also still amazed the villagers never caught on to her deception... They certainly believed her story of how her "older sister" ran off in a huff when learning the news of Tui's marriage... and the missing canoe backed up the idea she had departed for open waters... and likely disaster.
Afterwards, with all of the preparations for the upcoming ritual and marriage, there was no time for idle chatter and determining the fate of sisters... just prayer, ancient blessings and chanting, and the cleansing with special oils.
Throughout, Kaiemi heard no mention of the man she is to wed. She just gets the impression the marriage is important and a great honor, which would bring peace and prosperity to all.
She didn't ask, for Tui would know, so instead she turned the idea around inside her head.
It has to be the headman's son... it has to be, she thinks. He turned of age this summer, and for the first time in years there is no apparent bride of him.
She smiles now, as she did then. She understands now. To avoid conflict among the families, all vying to use their daughters to secure such a position, the elders decided to bring back an ancient ritual to select a suitable mate for him... and who would question the wisdom of the elders?

The path which winds through the thick growth of palm trees and wide leafed plants is overgrown, but still quite visible in the moonlight, thanks to the moss which marks the way. Kaiemi finds the going easy. The ground she walks on is free of stones, and she relishes feeling the slight dampness of the jungle floor beneath her feet, and the way the soft tropical breeze strokes her bare skin.
As she walks, she thinks of what the old woman whispered to her earlier that evening...
"The moon lily... you must find and retrieve the moon lily... Follow the path..."
Moon lily... Kaiemi may have seen it twice in her lifetime. Unlike the tropical flowers common to the islands, which burned brightly with yellow, red, and pink, the moon lily is pure white in color, dazzlingly so. A rare prize, fit for a bride of great importance.
But where would I find that?
Her question is soon answered, once she reaches the next bend in the path. It fades as it blends into a wide, dark colored clearing. Trees and reeds stand around it forming a wall, but the sky above it is clear of foliage, allowing the full moon to illuminate it freely.
Kaiemi's eyes narrow, and she quickly determines the lay of the land. The dark ground, rendered nearly black in the cold light, stretches evenly in all directions, a space roughly the size of the beach her village is built on. Its surface is broken by clumps of grass and flowers widely scattered across it, and it is these blossoms she scans carefully.
There! Near the center!
Several moon lilies, their brilliance dazzling and unmistakable, grow in a small clump some distance from where she stands. But something makes her hesitate, some growing unease.
Stepping carefully forward, she gasps as her right foot presses into the lukewarm sodden earth and vanishes, taking with it her leg to mid-shin. Leaning backwards, she manages to extract herself, her foot coming free from the mud with a thick, wet slurp. The rich wet smell of earth assaults her nose, and she flinches.
"The earth is hungry here..." Kaiemi says aloud, shuddering at its slimy touch, and the coating it leaves behind on her leg.
Thinking carefully, she more closely examines the mud clearing. Flecks and puddles of wetness glitter everywhere, and it is apparent the sacred island has guarded its treasure well.
Well, it wouldn't be a test if it was easy...
Frowning, Kaiemi makes her way slowly around the firmer ground forming the edge of the bog, her eyes on the nearest grassy clump. Holding her breath, she takes a quick hop towards it...
...and sighs with relief as her feet find the grass to be firm beneath them.
Emboldened, she makes her way towards the lilies, hopping deftly from tussock to tussock. Some of the firm clumps are small, barely a foothold, while others are large enough to stand on comfortably. Her progress is steady, if slow, but despite this, the sense of unease never leaves her.
Pausing for a moment on one of her perches, Kaiemi takes the time to examine the morass surrounding her, and shivers. The ground seems to be alive, shaking and bubbling with her every movement. Even the grassy islets aren't entirely firm underfoot; she can sense them moving sluggishly under her weight, and realizes these are simply floating atop the mud.
I wonder... how deep is this swamp? Is it bottomless?
Kaiemi shakes off such thoughts. They aren't helpful. Instead, she concentrates on reaching her next foothold.

Now, she squats, then kneels atop a low lying patch of grass, staring at her prize. Her journey to the center of the mire felt like it had taken ages - in fact, Kaiemi had lost all sense of time since first coming here - but here at last is the moon lily, almost within reach.
She leans forward, right arm painfully stretched to the breaking point, yet her fingers can only brush the petals of the plant. So close... and yet, too far.
She scowls, silently cursing her bad luck... then her sharp eyes spot a small tuft of grass, lying close to the mud's surface, so close she had overlooked it before. It lay about two arm lengths from her, but is far closer to the lily.
Kaiemi swallows hard, sweat beading on her skin and rolling down her back. Other rivulets trickle down her breasts to drip from her stiff nipples, and form a slick sheen across her entire form. She bites her lower lip.
Dare I chance it? There is no way to judge how firm the ground is there, especially in the moonlight, and yet I've come so far... done so much...
Unbidden, Tui's face flashes before her eyes. Kaiemi angrily shakes the vision off.
She stands, careful to maintain her balance. The ground shifts under the pressure, and she senses she cannot linger for much longer. Bracing herself, eyes on her destination, she leaps...
The rubbery ground melts beneath the impact of her feet, and Kaiemi cries as her long legs plunge effortlessly into the heavy mud, which quavers in eager anticipation.
In moments, the mire has sucked her down to her hips, and she squirms at the sensation of the gritty slime pressing hard against her bare groin.
She struggles to remain calm, but it is difficult. The mud has clamped down firmly on her legs, which feel as if they are being drawn downward by some powerful force into the shifting mass. There isn't a hint of anything solid beneath her buried feet, and shifting her weight only makes the ground wobble and gurgle in response.
Kaiemi wants to shout for help, but hesitates. Maybe this is all part of the test... to see how brave she can be while in the grip of this death trap. But then remembering the island is taboo, she realizes no one was near who could hear her anyway...

Feeling herself sinking deeper, the muck oozing her quivering belly as it surrounds her waist, Kaiemi gasps as she feels the sloppy earth force its way inside her, and her pelvis shudders in reaction. The motion loosens the mud around her, but only to allow the hungry mire to suck her nude form down further into it.
Struggling to escape, she reaches past the lily which bobs in front of her towards the grassy lump she was standing on earlier. Thrashing in place, she tries to break the mud's grip on her, and finds she is able to lean forward a bit to lengthen her reach...
Just a bit more... a bit....
Her movements force Kaiemi deeper into the muck, now churning with her desperate motions, Her ribs vanish, then the bottoms of her bare breasts slap on the wet surface, just as her right hand brushes the grass...
A cry of despair escapes her lips as she feels herself being sucked backwards, the grass receding from her grasp, the mud thickening around her. The island girl begins to wail as the dark slurry fills her cleavage and licks her nipples, and she begins to claw frantically at the muddy ooze. Her struggles are for naught, and serve only to speed her descent, ever downwards into the gurgling bog.
Kaiemi is finding she can barely move now, as her chest vanishes beneath the quaking mud. She wiggles in place, her terror at being consumed by the liquid earth rising rapidly to overwhelm her.
As her bare shoulders are swallowed with a sodden slurp, and the mud flows sluggishly around the base of her neck, her sanity is clawed away, and she screams loud and long...
"Help me! Someone! I... I don't want to be a bride anymore!" Kaiemi shrieks, just as the mire presses under her chin.
The tepid mud fills her ears and oozes over her lips... choking off her cries. She can only gurgle now, her eyes wide as her nose fills with thick earth, which flows into her mouth, filling her as she sinks deeper.
A burst of energy propelled by fear propels Kaiemi's head free of the bog's surface, as she flaps her arms, smacking them violently atop the quavering skin with sharp slaps. She manages to scream once more, a final wail before the bog regains its grip on her supple body to haul her under once more, in a dense swirl of mud and filthy bubbles.
Kaiemi's black hair forms a writhing carpet on the surface before disappearing... her arms wave about before being drawn under... Her right hand, visible from the wrist up, grasps one of the moon lilies and clutches it tightly before it slips out of sight, dragging the flower down under with it.
The bog's surface roils and shakes for a time, bursts of bubbles appearing sporadically, before it calms down, flattening out slowly. Two bright rings of flowers remain on top of the dark mud, a last froth of bubbles appearing within their hollow center... then all is quiet again.

The light of dawn bathes the island, easing its way into its many nooks and crannies. It gently caresses a half dozen painted men and women, all elderly, who make their way carefully along the path.
They stop at the edge of the dark morass, noticing the twin rings of colorful flowers resting atop a shallow puddle in the center of its sucking surface. Several murmur quietly, while others nod. All eyes glisten.
The signs are there. The rite has been concluded.
Someone begins to sing, and others follow suit. They sway slowly in time to the rhythm woven by the poetry of the ancient words. There are tears, but also smiles, and feelings of gratitude.
As sad as the villagers may be at the loss of one of their young ones, it is also a time to rejoice.
The earth god has chosen his bride, and they will all benefit from his blessings.

[Stephymink]

Ah beautiful <3