Chapter 1: An Arrival
A/N: I own none of these characters, so don't sue me. You won't get much. Also, I spent some time reformatting these chapters due to some constructive criticism I received. Hopefully it's much easier to read now. ^_^()
I lay in bed, my eyes closed, pretending to sleep. It was no use. The winds howled and rain pounded on my window, but nothing was as loud as the deafening roar of my father. He was pissed about something, what I didn't know. All I knew was that he was taking it out on Mom, again, and she was apologizing for it, again. I got so sick of the same damn thing every day. Since I couldn't sleep, I pulled back the covers and slid out of bed. Slowly I crept down the stairs, hoping they wouldn't notice me. I noticed that I'd got there just in time. He was balling up his fist, just waiting to strike. I wouldn't stand for it. As soon as his hand came up I flew down the stairs, latching onto his arm. Of course, he exploded.
"What the heck are you doing?!" He screamed, throwing me into the staircase. After that, he stormed out, not even bothering to look back. I coughed a few times, hoping I'd be able to get up. I could hear Mom crying again. She was always crying.
"Karen, are you alright?" She asked, her voice shaky.
"Yeah, I'm fine Mom." I replied, slowly standing up. I'd have a bruise in the morning.
"You really shouldn't do that, you know." Mom commented, wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.
I didn't even bother to say anything. Couldn't she just be grateful? I smoothed down my nightgown, the cotton fabric clinging to my legs. Lightning flashed outside the window, and I saw my mother jump out of the corner of my eye. She had never liked storms.
I moved towards the window resting my head against it. I could see the grapevines, and the gate that lead into the vineyard. It may have been just my eyes, but I could swear I saw someone near the gate, hoping to be let in. Without even thinking, I was out the front door, bolting towards the front gate.
To my surprise, someone was standing there. Someone I had never seen before. He was a tall wiry thing, seemed to be about my age. I couldn't really see what he was wearing, but I knew he had something wrapped around his head. His eyes were dark, so dark that I couldn't tell their color. He was soaking wet.
"Is there any chance I could come inside?" He questioned, shivering.
Going against my better judgement, I lead him into the house. Water dripped off of his clothing onto our kitchen floor.
"My goodness, what have we here?" My mother asked, walking down the steps. "Karen, you're soaking wet too!"
The thin fabric of my nightgown was now plastered to my skin. I ran upstairs to get towels, trailing water up the stairs and on my bedroom floor. Walking back down, I threw him a towel, and then proceeded to dry myself off.
"So, do you have a name?" Mom questioned our guest. He smiled slightly.
"My name's Kai." He replied, searching for some place to put his now soaked towel.
I took it from him, once again dashing up the stairs to put it with the other laundry. By the time I walked back down Mom and Kai were sitting at the kitchen table. She was drilling him with more questions.
"So what brings you here to this village?" She asked, scanning his face.
"I'm running away." He said, looking away from her gaze.
"What for?!" Mom gasped, taken aback at the statement.
"Long story. Would it be alright if I stayed the night?" Kai replied.
Pushy. I glanced at Mom. We both knew what was on our minds. What Dad would say?
"Well I don't see why not." Mom replied, all sweetness and light.
Why was she stuck with someone like dad I wondered? She handed him a worn out blanket and directed him towards the couch. He curled up on it and quickly fell asleep.
"You know Dad's going to have a fit in the morning." I commented, not bothering to look up at her face.
"I know, but I couldn't just send him away. Maybe your father will hire him or something." She said.
We did need more workers. Seeing as how only Dad and I worked on the vineyard, and he wasn't much help. I ended up doing most things by myself. I was used to it that way. But a little help would be nice. I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I crept up the stairs to my room.
Morning would come soon, I needed some rest.