《Magicbound to a Snake Girl》


 Part 1: Best Friend – My Best Friend is a Snake Girl

    Amazon Exclusivity: This Part 1 is only 2% of the first book for this story, as it is published on Amazon</a> and available through KU. The story continues directly from Part 1 into Part 75, which is the beginning of Book 2.


    Magicbound to a Snake Girl


    by Kurtis Eckstein


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    I hurried through a narrow alleyway, careful not to trip on my own feet, while attempting to avoid being seen by anyone familiar as I made my way to the edge of town. Today had been a horrible day at school, as were most days, but I didn¡¯t care about that now.


    Right now, I just cared about the three dead rabbits in my arms, and their importance.


    The significance of me making this trip in the first place.


    This was a poorer part of town, with the exposed wooden frames of the houses being filled with clay daub, rather than brick or stone. The roofs here were also usually pitched straw instead of slate tiles, something I only knew about because my father was a carpenter.


    He taught me many things they didn¡¯t teach in class ¨C practical things, like how to hunt, trap, and fish. How to skin and gut. How to garden and harvest.


    I knew how to cook and sew too of course, but my dad didn¡¯t let the fact that I was a girl stop him from showing me how to fend for myself.


    He also taught me to have a thick skin ¨C instructed me on how to ignore those who were mean.


    I still wasn¡¯t very good at that though.


    As I slipped out of the alley into the street, I glanced around before darting across for an even narrower crevasse, bumping into a barrel only to startle a hidden cat. It immediately arched its gray back and hissed viciously, giving me pause. I wasn¡¯t foolish enough to think I could calm it down, knowing I was only one step away from it attacking. The last thing I wanted was to get all scratched up, and the passage was too narrow to go around, so I carefully retreated back towards the street.


    ¡°Stupid cat,¡± I muttered, hugging the rabbits tighter while keeping my head down.


    I doubted I would see anyone I knew, but the risk made me nervous. I would have just gone through the forest around the town, but I would lose too much time. I already felt like there wasn¡¯t enough time in the day as it was.


    For a week now, there hadn¡¯t been enough time.


    Unexpectedly, I gasped when something hard hit me in the middle of the back, causing me to drop a rabbit. I looked behind me in shock, only to see Kaylee running off in the other direction, having just thrown a rock. My surprise of seeing her in this part of town immediately shifted to annoyance.


    Coward.


    She would never try bullying me when she didn¡¯t have the rest of her crew. But I was relieved it was just her this time. All the kids at school were hateful to me, but Ryker and Meno were the worst. Kaylee was terrible too whenever she had them to back her up.


    I picked up the rabbit I¡¯d dropped and then readjusted them in my arms before hurrying the rest of the way out of town.


    Sometimes I found myself wishing that I was a boy, so they would leave me alone. I certainly dressed more like a boy, wearing snug shorts and tunics most of the time, although there were a few other girls I knew who wore shorts. Or maybe if I was at least as strong as the boys, they might back off. A lot of the boys got into fights frequently, but at least most of them could fight back. They were strong, whereas I wasn¡¯t.


    And since I couldn¡¯t easily fight back, especially when they were in a group, they picked on me all the more.


    They usually called me cruel names, like ¡®abomination,¡¯ ¡®devil,¡¯ and ¡®freak.¡¯ Sometimes Ryker even called me a bitch. But they were only repeating what their parents said behind closed doors. It didn¡¯t help that I had a higher pain tolerance than most people. Now, the kids regularly threw rocks at me because I usually didn¡¯t react, which only further encouraged the rumors that I was a freak.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    But I wasn¡¯t a freak. I was a normal girl.


    All these problems stemmed from my absent mother. The town was full of rumors about why she didn¡¯t live with us, and supposedly only visited occasionally. The biggest rumor was that she was literally a devil, which is where the nickname came from.


    And the fact that she refused to show herself to other people didn¡¯t help much either.


    In my opinion, it was foolish of them to call her names too, because I was fairly certain my mother could use magic. And shunning a mage only hurt them, ultimately. The services of a mage were highly desired in most places.


    I certainly didn¡¯t blame my mother for the bullying, primarily because my father didn¡¯t blame her. He said she was a good person, and that she loved me dearly. And I believed him, because I knew he loved me dearly.


    I trusted my dad more than anything¡­but I just wished I could remember her for myself. He promised me that she visited once a year, but I couldn¡¯t recall a single time. When I asked him about it, he finally explained somberly that she always suppresses my memories. Apparently, my mother believed kids can¡¯t keep secrets, including her own daughter. It made me a little sad that she didn¡¯t trust me, especially since I was fifteen.


    ¡®You¡¯ll remember on your own when you¡¯re old enough,¡¯ he promised me. ¡®She loves you and just wants to protect you.¡¯


    And I believed him. Because I missed her.


    Even though I didn¡¯t remember her, I knew the memories were there deep down, because I had a longing that couldn¡¯t be suppressed. I missed my mom like I knew her.


    But, as rough as my life was, everything had gotten a lot easier in the last week.


    Because I finally had a friend.


    A friend who I was headed to now, with the three rabbits I had trapped and killed. I had gone a very long time without any friends, doubting that my forced childhood friendships counted ¨C especially since Kaylee was one of those people ¨C but now I finally had one.


    However, unlike me, this new girl was genuinely different, but I didn¡¯t mind at all. I thought her snake-half was beautiful, with her lower body being covered in brilliant sky-blue scales. And her human-half was absolutely gorgeous.


    She had the upper body of an attractive human girl with a very large chest that made me a little jealous, considering mine was still flat even despite my age. And her hair and eyelashes were snow white, her eyes being a brilliant gold. I had to admit that I still felt a little nervous sometimes when I held her gaze. She had slits for pupils that made me vaguely uncomfortable, but it wasn¡¯t just her.


    In general, I didn¡¯t care for snakes, cats, or anything that had slits for eyes. Something about it just bothered me.


    But she was the sweetest person I knew, and she was exceptionally shy. The only reason I had been able to approach her was because she was injured ¨C otherwise, she had told me she would have run away¡­


    Well, slithered away.


    She had been naked when I found her, so one of the initial things I did that first night was bring her a shirt. I was a little shocked when she began shredding the garment, but she ultimately just tore off the bottom half and used the strips of material to tie underneath her chest to provide her some support. It left her milky stomach and waist exposed, but she didn¡¯t have noticeable intimate parts that a normal person would cover up.


    Instead, her body was just a smooth transition from a normal looking belly to a snake body, which meant the shirt over her chest was enough. I was certainly a little curious about her unique body, but I didn¡¯t want to be rude by asking such a personal question.


    I was shocked to discover she didn¡¯t have a name, but I hadn¡¯t found that out for two days. She really was exceptionally timid. Even after all my help, it took her a while to warm up to me. I assumed she was afraid I¡¯d be like all the other humans, but when I shared with her about my life she seemed to slowly begin to trust me.


    We both felt alone, with her literally being alone. I at least had my father, but it was difficult not to feel lonely when everyone else was mean to me.


    At least she wasn¡¯t withholding her name because she didn¡¯t like me. Once she nervously admitted she didn¡¯t have one, we tried out a few different ideas, ultimately deciding on Jasmyn. She liked the Jasmine flower, and I wanted to spell it similar to my name Alyssa.


    She didn¡¯t know how to read or write, so it didn¡¯t matter to her either way.


    Recalling the recent memory, I smiled to myself as I reached the rock wall that hid her small cave. I dropped the rabbits at the entrance, and ducked down to slip into the small crack in the rock that served as the opening.


    ¡°Jasmyn,¡± I whispered, hearing my voice echo slightly against the cave walls.


    No response.


    Was she inside?


    I slipped further in and then finally stood up once I was able to, knowing the interior was high enough that I didn¡¯t have to worry about hitting my head. It was pretty dark, so I shuffled my feet to avoid accidentally stepping on her tail if she was sleeping.


    ¡°Jasmyn?¡± I whispered again, speaking a little louder.


    Unexpectedly, someone grabbed me from behind, and I felt a hand cover my mouth at the same time that a powerful tail slithered around my body, completely immobilizing me. I screamed from the startle, but my voice was muffled by her palm.


    Her warm breath was on my ear then, prompting my heart to pound even harder. For the first time since meeting her, I was genuinely afraid.


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    Check out Book 1 on Amazon</a>, or continue on into Book 2 on RR.

 Part 75: Magicbound – My Continued Journey (START OF BOOK 2)

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    I sat with Jasmyn in front of the crackling fire, letting the flickering flames mesmerize me as I reminisced about everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks, prior to setting off on this journey to the elvish territory in the east. My naga best friend and I were alone at the moment amongst the trees in a small clearing, with my dad having gone with my cousin, Asher, and my kind-of friend, Kain, to collect more firewood and to catch something to eat.


    Prior to about two weeks ago, I¡¯d sort of just been going through ¡®the motions¡¯ most of my life, attending class, doing homework, hunting occasionally, and perfecting my traps to catch smaller game, all the while not having had any friends since I was little, due to the rumors about my non-human mother.


    And then, out of nowhere, I met Jasmyn trying to get an arrow out of her sky-blue tail, quickly finding myself with my first real friend in a short amount of time. We first found a small cave for her to hide away in, and then I began bringing her food every day, spending as much time as I could with her after school, and all day on that first weekend.


    But then the unthinkable happened.


    A bully named Ryker, who was a year older than me, had somehow figured out that I was taking care of something, and got a bunch of my classmates together to watch him kill it. And the worst part was that his plans didn¡¯t change once he saw that it was Jasmyn ¨C a person, even if she wasn¡¯t human.


    Occasionally, I wondered what would have happened if he hadn¡¯t tried stabbing at us, and ultimately sank his knife into my gut, causing me to discover I wasn¡¯t entirely human.


    Would he still be alive?


    Would I still not know I was half-demon?


    And what about the shapeshifter? Would that monster have succeeded in harming Jasmyn or those who I cared about? Would the draconic chimera still have attacked, ultimately killing the majority of those living in town?


    I mean, I doubted I would have been able to help had I not almost been killed by Ryker. Or rather, I wouldn¡¯t have known I could help.


    At the very least, I knew Jasmyn should have still ended up safe, since the day I got stabbed was the same day that I was going to introduce her to my father, so that she could start living with me. Thus, while it was possible a lot of people might have died if I wasn¡¯t aware that I could defend them, it was comforting to know Jasmyn would have been safe even if events had turned out differently.


    Granted, I didn¡¯t even want to think about what would have happened if my mom hadn¡¯t shown up the second time the shapeshifter attacked. I supposed I would have been fine, considering I didn¡¯t have that horrid chimera sealing my magic, but a lot more people probably would have died in the process ¨C not to mention I had lost my nerve.Stolen story; please report.


    Recalling how I felt when my enemy reappeared, after I thought he was dead, made me shiver. I had never felt so overwhelmed and defeated, not having any idea how to kill someone who could regenerate like me. But, it turned out that my purple hell-fire would have done the job just fine, so long as I put a ton of magic behind my attack like my mother had done.


    Her blue flames had turned pitch-black, the darker color coinciding with how much energy she put into it.


    Unexpectedly, Jasmyn pulled me out of my thoughts by wrapping her arm around my shoulders, hugging me against her side while part of her tail pressed against my feet, trapping them between the portion I was sitting on.


    Unlike the guys, I got to sit on her warm tail instead of a cold rock or log.


    I looked up at her in confusion, her upper body a little higher than mine at the moment, wondering why she was frowning. ¡°What?¡± I said simply.


    Her intense expression immediately shifted to embarrassment as she stuttered to answer, with her response giving insight into her behavior. ¡°O-Our bond,¡± she finally managed.


    My eyes widened, realizing she had picked up on the tone of my thoughts just now when I was thinking about the evil shapeshifter that attacked me. She might have even caught glimpses of my thoughts that came in the form of ¡®just knowing¡¯ what the other person was vague thinking ¨C an apparently effect of being magicbound to someone.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be embarrassed,¡± I said reassuringly. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. And I¡¯ve done the same to you.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± she whined. ¡°But I feel like I¡¯m invading your privacy.¡±


    ¡°You can invade my privacy!¡± I retorted seriously. I then reached my arm around her waist and returned the embrace. ¡°Besides, you wouldn¡¯t have known I needed a hug if you didn¡¯t know what I was thinking.¡±


    ¡°You needed a hug?¡± she repeated.


    I shrugged. ¡°I mean, isn¡¯t that why you hugged me?¡±


    She hesitated. ¡°Well, I just knew you were thinking about¡­¡± Her voice trailed off.


    I sighed as I glanced at the fire, lowering my voice. ¡°Exactly. And a hug helped.¡± I then looked back up to examine the entirety of her face for a moment before focusing on her slitted gold eyes again. ¡°So thank you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± she whispered, a smile barely touching her lips now.


    I could tell she still felt a little uncertain, but I didn¡¯t want to press it when I knew it was just going to take time for her to get used to me being okay with her doing something so invasive. In her perception, it was far more invasive than when we synced our magic. And, it wasn¡¯t like she was even doing it on purpose, not to mention I was doing it to her too, so it really shouldn¡¯t be such a big deal. But it was for her, because of her timid nature. She didn¡¯t want to be a burden to me, or to otherwise do something that might be perceived as offensive.


    But it wasn¡¯t offensive.


    Like I said, I didn¡¯t mind at all.


    I grinned when I saw her eyes widen a little, catching the tone of those thoughts as well.


    We still weren¡¯t entirely sure how to exchange thoughts on purpose, but it almost seemed like it was beginning to happen more frequently either way.


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    I''m a little behind on this story, but I plan on releasing parts regularly again in the next few weeks as we continue into book 2.


    The Kindle version of Magicbound book 1</a> is now available on Amazon, if you''re interested in checking it out. You may also want to check out Soulbound to a Dragon</a>, which is closely related to this story.