Bargain
The path to finding the god had been long, fraught with hopelessness, but now that they had found it, the reality of what they were facing was heavier than either Brittany or Santana had imagined. They had expected a being of untold power, something that would loom over them like an ancient, untouchable force. But they never could have anticipated this.
The god wasn’t what they had expected. It wasn’t the twisted creature of darkness or a tempest of fire. No, this god had a much more intimate, insidious form. The being stood before them, the air thick with its presence; but it wasn’t in the shape of some ethereal monster. It stood there in the familiar, comforting form of someone they both knew too well.
Santana’s grandmother.
The figure before them had the same sharp features, the same silver hair pulled tightly into a bun. Her eyes, though now glowing with a cold, unnatural fire, were unmistakably the same dark eyes that Santana had grown up with. The voice that echoed from her lips was the same one that had scolded Santana for years, telling her she was wrong, that her love was wrong, that she was a disappointment.
“You’ve come for me, haven’t you?” the god, in the form of Santana’s abuela, said with a sneer, the voice dripping with malice. “You’ve come to undo the curse, to break the bond I placed on you.”
Santana froze. Her stomach churned. This wasn’t just any god; it was one who had watched her entire life, waiting for the right moment to strike. The god had taken on the form of the woman who had disowned her years ago, the woman who couldn’t bear to accept that Santana was a lesbian, the woman who had made her feel like she was wrong for loving who she loved.
She could feel her breath quicken, a deep-rooted anger swelling within her. It had been this very woman who had made Santana feel like a failure, like her very existence was a burden. The woman who, in her eyes, had never seen Santana for who she was, only what she wasn’t.
Brittany squeezed Santana’s hand tightly, as though to anchor her, to remind her she wasn’t alone. But even with Brittany there, even with her touch grounding her, Santana couldn’t look away from the face of her past, her worst fears made flesh before her.
“What do you want?” Santana’s voice was a low growl, her eyes flashing with defiance. “Why are you doing this? Why curse us?”
The god smiled coldly, the smirk pulling at the corners of her lips in a way that sent shivers down Santana’s spine. “Why?” the god echoed, as though the answer was painfully obvious. “Because of you, Santana. Because of your defiance. You think you can love whoever you want, that you can live your life on your own terms, and I will not allow it. You’re a disgrace to everything I stand for.”
Santana felt the bile rise in her throat, but Brittany, ever the optimist, stepped forward, her voice shaking with fear but filled with determination. “This is a trick, Santana. This isn’t your grandmother. This is the god that cursed us.”
The god’s laugh was harsh, a shrill sound that echoed through the space like a clanging bell. “Oh, but it is. What better form to take than the one that you both fear the most? What better way to twist the knife than to remind you of all the ways you’ve been made to feel lesser?”
Santana’s eyes filled with fury, the rage she’d buried for so many years beginning to boil to the surface. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to hurt her, us, again. I don’t care what form you’ve taken, you’re not my abuela.”
The god’s expression shifted, becoming darker, colder. “I am everything that you are afraid of, everything you’ve been running from. You are mine to control, Santana, and you always have been.”
The air around them seemed to grow heavier, and Brittany could feel the weight of the god’s power pressing down on them both. “What do you want?” Brittany demanded, her voice shaking with both fear and the desperation to end this madness. “We’ve done everything. We’ve tried every way we can think of to break the curse. What do you want us to do?”
The god’s eyes glinted with cruelty. “I told you. One of you must die. If you want to break this curse, you must offer a life in exchange. Sacrifice, or be cursed forever. You cannot escape the price of defiance.”
Santana’s heart dropped into her stomach. She turned to Brittany, searching her face for any sign that they could somehow get out of this, any sign that there was another way. But Brittany’s face was pale, her lips trembling with the weight of what was being asked of them.
“No,” Brittany said quietly, her voice barely a whisper, but filled with strength. “No, we can’t. We can’t let you do this.”
The god’s lips curled into a sickening smile. “It is not for you to decide, my dear,” the god mocked. “The curse has been placed. And now, the price must be paid. Either one of you dies, or you will remain bound by the curse forever. Choose.”
Santana’s body shook with rage. The thought of losing Brittany, of sacrificing herself for this twisted, vengeful god, was unbearable. But she couldn’t let Brittany die. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t even bear the thought of being without her.
But Brittany, Brittany was different. She was brave, always fighting for others. Santana knew she would do anything to save her. Even if it meant giving up her own life.
“I won’t let you sacrifice yourself,” Santana said, voice breaking. “I won’t let you die for me.”
“I won’t let you die for me either,” Brittany responded, her voice firm, despite the tears that threatened to fall. “We’re in this together, Santana. Always.”
The god scoffed, stepping forward, her form flickering with unnatural energy. “You cannot defy me. You will choose, or you will both perish.”
Brittany turned to Santana, her eyes filled with love, but also with something else; a resolve that matched Santana’s own. “We will never stop fighting, no matter what. But we have to end this.”
Santana’s eyes softened as she gazed at Brittany, her heart aching with the weight of the decision that loomed over them. But before she could speak, the god’s voice cut through the air, as cold and final as death itself.
“Choose,” the god commanded. “One of you will die. That is the bargain.”