A/N:This is my first story, and I hope you read all the way through this chapter before you decide whether you like it or not. It might be long, but it's my writing style.
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN GAKUEN ALICE OR VOCALOID! (Damn do I wish I did, though)
And you can take the one thing I have left
I'd give it all away for so much less
Could even take the heart inside my chest
Woah, woah
And you can take the one thing I have left
Beat me to the ground and take my breath
But you can't take who I am
Woah, woah
-The One Thing I Have Left by Hawk Nelson
In a snowstorm, a man walked steadily towards his destination. He huffed as he breathed, more often than not brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. He was in a forest, one he had been travelling in for days, maybe weeks now. Sometimes he had almost looked over his shoulder, but just one longing look towards his home would weaken his resolve, and that wasn't allowed. His task was much more important, more important than one man's life. He had to get there and get there soon; his supplies were running dangerously low.
Finally, through the whirlwind of snow, he could make out the shadow of a building. When he passed the fence bordering the forest, it was like he had walked past an invisible barrier. The snowstorm stopped around him, and he let out a soft sigh of relief. Then, he observed his surroundings.
He was in a small city, a town, perhaps. Three inches of snow layering the ground, and there was some activity around him. In the distance he could see windmills, thousands of them dotting the horizon, and rivers with water wheels all around. He had heard of what it looked like, but it was still astonishing. The houses were made of different types of stone: cobblestone, marble, cement, and even some brick houses, like the ones at home.
When he stepped out of the blurred snowstorm zone, the activity slowly died down. The people who lived here knew what this meant. The fact that a man who was so obviously not from there meant change, and change was what most of the people were afraid of. His dark hair and olive skin was odd, never seen before by the townspeople- unless you counted that. And no one ever did. The children, who were curious, went to the stranger to investigate, until they were dragged into their houses by their parents. Quickly, the area emptied until only the man, a little old woman, and a young girl who clung to her stood alone. Just as the children before her, the young girl with flaming red hair and bright green eyes released her grandmother and scampered up to the man. Though the top of her head only reached his hips, she still stared straight up at him with no fear at all. He stared back, bemused.
"I'm Nenny," the girl's loud voice pierced the silence, her breath fogging instantly. "What's your name? Who are you? Why are you in district 5? What district are you from? Why do you look weird?" She took a breath to continue, but was stopped by her grandmother's voice.
"Nenny, hush," The wizened old woman's voice was quiet, but clear through the silence. Her gaze, as green as her descendant's, turned to the man. "He must be frozen stiff, and he probably needs a place to rest." She turned away, towards a brick house, and her words indicated that the two should not hesitate to follow her. When inside, he was given a heavy coat, gloves, a scarf, and a hat. "Is this all right?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Thank you very much, madam," he muttered, and she nodded back at him in reply. She called to Nenny to fetch some stew, then waited until they faintly heard the door close.
"So, it's finally time for you to recruit district 5 in your rebellion plan, is it?" The man hesitated, and then nodded. "As you can see, our district isn't as willing as you'd hoped. Early February isn't the best time to come calling." She sighed and sat down on an armchair. Hesitatingly, he sat across her on a couch. "Young man, this is where you explain yourself." He slowly nodded, then spoke in a rough, gravelly voice, a voice that did not seemingly match his age.
"My name-" He stopped, and then cleared his throat. He hadn't spoken in weeks, after all. "My name is Samuel. I come from the group of rebels in my district, and I was sent here to convince 5 to join as well. It's true that I'm not exactly thrilled at the reaction of your district, but it's understandable. To answer your question, I came at this time of year because I needed cover in the forest. I didn't want to be caught before I'd even gotten close to my destination. If I'd been caught, I would've been killed, or worse- been taken to the capitol and become an avox." He didn't voice the unmentionable, but it was understood nonetheless.
"You have a family waiting for you?" She inquired, her voice gentle. He had been staring at his hands, but he glanced up quickly then back down at this point.
"Yes." His voice was almost inaudible, "my wife and son will be waiting for along time." His voice nearly broke at the truth of it, and they both knew it. The second he had left his district with an off-limits place his destination, he knew he would never see his family again. As their conversation dropped off and hung in silence, they heard the howl of a wolf… a wolf that seemed to be much too close for comfort. Instinctively, Samuel shot to his feet, and stalked outside without thinking. It was the first time he noticed that the old woman's house was on a hill, and behind the hill there was a ledge, jutting out and undeniably large. The ledge was about 2 stories higher than the top of the house, and the platform it created was obscured by mist.
"Ah, that ledge is quite special, you know." He jumped, then settled when he saw it was just the old lady standing in the doorway. "My grandmother used to tell me how people of this district would be able to see apparitions, but that line has dwindled as of late. The only person I know of the youngest generation that can see the apparitions is my Nenny. She's quite fond of naming them, you know. She named the black one Zigor, and the white one Abertha." She trailed off as her eyes focused past Samuel's shoulder. "The brown one, Emese, is one that I named. I haven't seen that one for a long time." His eyes widened and he slowly turned to face the ledge again.
Staring straight back at him was the strangest and yet most terrifying sight any one person could imagine. To the left stood a great black wolf, but it was larger than possible. Just by standing, the wolf was as large as a car. For some reason, just by looking at it, Samuel could tell this Zigor was a male. On the right crouched a white wolf, slightly smaller than Zigor, but not any less deadly-looking. The man knew that the Abertha he was looking at could be terrifying just by herself. In the middle, though, stood a monstrous creature. It was most obviously a grizzly bear, but even with the distance, Emese, the grizzly, looked as large as a bus. For some reason, Samuel felt no fear as he stared at these predators. All he felt was perplexed, as if his mind was trying to remember something that it had never learned, or that it was trying to understand something as complicated as the heart's thoughts. In all three of the mammal's eyes was an unplaceable emotion. Was it sadness? Yes, that was there, along with pity and suffering. Samuel realized that the emotions weren't unplaceable, just not directed at him. As if the animals were staring through him at something else.
"I never finished telling you about the legend." The woman's voice broke through his thoughts. "My grandmother told me this 'Imagine the danger, the real danger, of those animals attacking. This gift you have tells you something, something the whole village needs. It warns you of danger, for the equivalent of danger of those animals attacking is coming. Coming as you see them.'" Samuel turned quickly, immediately aware of what she was saying.
"Grandma!" Nenny's voice suddenly called, coming nearer. "They're coming grandma! Lot's of 'em! Peacekeepers!" When she came into view, the old woman called for her to hide inside. When she protested, the old woman insisted, and Nenny retreated. The elder turned towards the agitated Samuel.
"Young man, I am sorry that you will never see your family again. I'm sure this must be terrible for you. Rest assured that, whatever happens, my people will see it, and they will not leave the call of suffering unanswered." Then she retreated into the house, leaving the man standing alone, with his mission finally accomplished. He walked into the middle of the square, so as to draw the approaching "keepers of the peace's" attention away. They came into view, the lot of them, and he saw that one man was in the front. They surrounded him, and he made no move to resist.
"We came here expecting a rebellion crowd to be forming, but all we find is the traitorous runaway?" The head peacekeeper spoke, shaking his head as if he was sympathetic. "How sad, that no one would even stop to listen to you." Samuel glared at the man, and the peacekeeper nodded curtly and started reading his rights. "Samuel… no-last-name." He stopped, then looked at him. "The runaway doesn't even have a last name? How sad. Samuel No-last-name, you are hereby accused of escaping your district, trespassing into another, and trying to cause a commotion. Your punishment is death. That's all." The peacekeeper stared at him. "You know, I was astonished to find that light of penalty, so I did some research. You have been the husband of Leticia Marcs for four years, and father of a 3-year-old son, both of whom are waiting back at home. It certainly wasn't the answer I expected, you know." The peacekeeper raised his gun in his right hand, and raised an empty left hand, indicating the rest of the peacekeepers were no longer needed. It didn't matter to Samuel, he was dead anyway. The peacekeeper walked towards him, staring him straight in the eye, until he was only an arm's length away and the pistol was pressed against Samuel's temple.
"You know," the peacekeeper said softly, staying eye-to-eye with Samuel, "I have a wife and kids at home, too. More kids then I can count, though, and I'm sure there's more to come. Doesn't that make my coming home more important than yours?" But it didn't, because the look in the cruel man's eyes said so much more. No love for his family, no desperation for understanding, not even the resigned look of someone who's given up. The only emotion in his eyes were lust for blood, and anticipation for his hands to be dyed, once again, in the thick red liquid. And Samuel hated him for it. As the man pulled the trigger, Samuel's last thoughts were 'I love you, and I'm sorry…"
A/N I've been planning this story for awhile now, and I've finally finished the Prologue! Now, if you've read this all the way through, you'll probably have loads of questions. I'm sorry to say, most of them I won't answer, but that's mainly because it'll take a lot of fun out of it!
Questions I won't answer: What district Samuel's from, his son's name, his last name (yes, he does have a last name), and maybe some others...
No, the old woman and little Nenny will not be a part of the main story line. And the names of the wolves and the bear mean:
Zigor: means 'punishment' in Basque
Abertha: means 'sacrifice' in Welsh
Emese: means 'mother' in Hungarian. The bear, I should've mentioned, but I was planning on making her a mama bear. Sure she's an apparition, but she represents 'mother'. And yes, the names and their meanings are important. It's kinda like a prophecy.
So anyway, if you have any questions that you're not sure whether I'll answer or not, reveiw! If you don't have a question, review! It'll make me nervous to see all the viewers and no comments!