A/N: I've been meaning to write this story for years. I'd think about writing it and maybe even start before trashing what I'd written. This time though, I've got a good idea of which direction it's headed in and I like it. Also, I know this chapter will probably confuse everyone who reads it and I'm sorry. But it needed to get written and you'll understand why later. Many thanks to my beta for helping the story flow better.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Saint Seiya or any of its characters.
Summary: Risa was found only a short way from the Aries Temple and the entrance to Sanctuary covered in cuts and bruises. After spending a month in a coma, she came to but remembered nothing but her first name and the words 'The Virgo Saint… he will look after you.' What could it mean? While looking after her, on request from Athena, Shaka found himself falling in love with Risa, who always appeared to be afraid. Can he show her that she is safe here and will she learn to trust it when he tells her he loves her?
Prologue: Running from the Past
A young woman, about 20 years old, dashed through a forest as fast as her legs would take her. At the edge of the forest, she paused for a moment, praying she could regain her breath before her pursuers found her. All of her life she had lived on this one island. The island is said to be hell for the few who come here to train, but for those living here… to not desire freedom in death is a rarity. And this woman is one of those rare cases. Perhaps she is special because of how her mother raised her.
Only with her mother was she called the name she was given at birth, Risa. Everyone else called her Alyssa, a name her father had given her. Her time with her mother had been special, and Risa would never have traded it for anything. It was with her mother that she learned the legend of the Saints of Athena, and that she too has a special ability, though what that ability is she still does not know. If her mother knew, she never got the chance to say. On the eve of Risa's 19th birthday, her father found them as her mother secretly trained her. He was the highest ranking man on the entire island, and for anyone to disobey him was immediate death.
Risa was certain he doubted his own strength and perhaps also his masculinity. If he didn't, why would he have forbidden every woman to be allowed to train and grow stronger? It didn't matter anymore. She had been forced to watch him kill her mother, a woman who had never hurt anyone, with his bare hands. After watching her mother die, Risa lost control and used all the training she had gotten from her mother to kill her father. But… he had never treated her like a daughter. Every day he told her she should have been a son. Men were the stronger sex in her father's eyes. He considered women to be weak, unable to amount to anything. On top of this Risa was nothing more then an afterthought to him. She was not even important enough for him to acknowledge that she existed.
If she had been a son, she would now be searching for her father's killer to become the next one to rule over the island. He had put this system in place, so in case of his untimely death, the one who killed his killer would become the next to rule over the island. There was no plan of inheritance if no killer was found, so her father's entire bloodline, all of her many half-brothers, went out searching for her.
But… she didn't care. Risa believed in the strength her mother gave her. She knew that if she trusted in everything her mother said, everything would turn out alright. Risa would never forget her mother's last words to her. After her father killed her mother, Risa had run off after him. They fought and Risa came out the victor. Returning to her mother, she knelt down next to her and closed her eyes. Her mother never deserved the life she was given. Aline was a good person! To Risa's surprise, a hand touched her gently on the hand. Opening her eyes, Risa was surprised to see her mother looking up at her.
"Mother..." She whispered
"Go to Sanctuary… the home of Athena's Gold Saints. Once there… seek out the Virgo Saint. He… he will look after you. You may run into trouble with the Saints at first because they are not easily trusting of someone they do not know. Take this… it is a necklace I was given by the Pope of Athena himself when I visited Sanctuary as a young woman. It will grant you safety for a little while, buying you time for Athena to listen to your story. Tell her everything. Leave nothing out. I know she will protect you. You are… my beautiful daughter, born under the stars of…"
She never heard which constellation she was born under, though she knew her zodiac fell under the sign of Cancer. If she were ever to make it to the Gold Saint status, she would become the Saint of Cancer. Perhaps Athena would be able to tell her what her mother meant once she made it to Sanctuary. Looking up at the sky, Risa sighed softly. She still had a long way to go before reaching Greece, and finding Sanctuary wouldn't be easy. It is hidden well to keep out those who are not Saints of Athena. But Risa's mother believed that she would be able to find it, and Risa believed in her mother.
Hearing the rustle of leaves, Risa jumped back just in time to dodge a powerful punch from a man with short messy red hair and brown eyes. She recognized him as Martin, one of her brothers. When she landed easily on her feet, he glared at her.
"We always knew you would be trouble... but no. Father just had to keep you because Aline would have found a way to leave. You are just like your mother, always causing problems."
"What the hell do you know? You're no older than I am!"
"I was raised to be one of the best. That is something you will never know because you are a female. Females need to learn when to respect their superiors!"
He tried to punch her again. Risa had always been quick on her feet, so she was able to dodge his fist once more. However, this punch was more powerful than the last, and his fist shattered the rock she had been standing in front of, sending tiny shards of granite in every direction. She winced slightly as some of the shards cut her face. Turning to face her brother, her eyes hardened.
"You know nothing of that which our father controlled. Yes, he granted special privilege to his sons, but I still know the truth of everything that happened. He treated women as if they were nothing more than animals to boss around and prevent from having any freedom. In truth, he was scared of women… of me and Mother. For whatever reason, we threaten how he feels about being a man. Restricting our freedom gave him power over us, power he enjoyed. Now he is dead because he took it one step too far and killed Mother. I will not be so easily defeated. I will survive, and nothing you or any of our other siblings can do will stop me," she said quietly, and the extremely cold tone of her voice seemed to stop Martin in his tracks.
Taking this chance, Risa slipped behind a tree and disappeared into the forest. Without a visual on her, she knew he wouldn't be able to find her. After so many years training in secret, she had learned how to keep her cosmos at the lowest level of detection possible. Her words to Martin had been spoken in anger, but that didn't make them any less true. She would do whatever it took to survive. At the very least she could fulfill her mother's wish and make it to Sanctuary. Her mother seemed to believe that all the answers lay within Sanctuary. Sanctuary… The home of Athena's most powerful Saints, Risa thought to herself as she looked up at the night sky. It was a surprisingly clear night, and Risa thought she saw a shooting star. Smiling to herself, she focused her attention on getting through this forest. Death Queen Island is a long way from Greece, so her journey had only just begun.
A/N: Chapter two will be up in a few minutes. Hopefully it will answer most questions about this chapter.
