Chapter 1 - Escape
She had to keep running. She had attempted to escape before, but every time they found and dragged her back within that place. She couldn't even remember how long she had been there, alone in the dark room she was supposed to call home. All day long she was watched by nameless faces who seemed to float past her door. Every so often she would see a pair of cold eyes look directly at her through the bars. Almost all of the time there seemed to be a dangerous sense of craving behind the eyes; this is what scared her the most. There were strict orders for her to be left untouched, but no one knows how long a simple command can last.
She knew she hadn't been there her entire life. She kept having reoccurring dreams that just seemed too real. Every time she tried to hold onto them just a bit longer, but she always awoke, and whatever memory she had remembered faded away into oblivion. Her first memory was waking up in a carriage. She was bound and gagged, but she was not alone. Seated across from her was a young man who didn't look to be much older than she was. The only thing that suggested that he might truly be aged was his eyes. They held a sense of maturity that showed a lifetime of experience. When he saw that she had awakened he simply nodded as if to say hello, and turned back to the landscape outside of the carriage, instantly forgetting she was there.
She stopped running for a moment to catch her breath. She had never made it this far before. A faint glimmer of hope flashed inside of her. She looked at her surroundings to get an idea of which way to run. She was in the middle of a grassy clearing completely surrounded by dark woods. She gazed up at the black sky, amazed at the sight of the twinkling lights of stars above her. It was the first time she had seen stars since she had been brought to that place.
When the carriage finally stopped, the young man untied her feet and told her to step out of the carriage. She attempted to stand, but her legs, weak from being bound for so long, gave out from beneath her. Sighing with exasperation, he gently picked her up and began walking. She noticed the way he was trying to be gentle with her, and found the thought to be peculiar, wasn't she his prisoner?
As they walked down a stone path, they came around a bend. Her heart sank and what she saw before her. They stood outside of an immense palace. Crumbling and completely overgrown, it had the sad look that once it had been beautiful, but now it was only a dark form of what it had once been. Carrying her like his dark bride, he made his way towards the entrance of the palace. She realized that he wasn't having any difficulty carrying her, and wondered how strong he truly was. As he wound his ways across the stones she looked up into his face. He was better looking than she had noticed in the carriage. Again she studied his eyes, at least what wasn't covered by his hair. His eyes were a dark, almost indistinguishable color that almost seemed to blend in with his ebony hair. His eyes appeared sad, as if many troubled thoughts dwelled there. For a moment she had to resist the urge to snuggle into him and run her fingers through his long hair. Although he hadn't spoken more than four words to her, she already knew that she wanted to help him forget his sadness.
As she stared up at the stars, she heard a rustling in the brush behind her. She snapped her head down and took off again before she could see what had made the sound. She ran back into the forest, hoping it would make it harder for her to be caught. The branches of the forest reached out and snagged her clothing and raked her skin as if they too, were trying to prevent her escape. She ignored the pain now searing across her face as she felt tiny drops of blood slide down her cheek. She had to keep running. She couldn't go back. She'd be killed for sure.
When they finally reached the doors, invisible hands granted them entry, allowing him to continue without setting her down. He stepped into the main entryway and placed her onto the marble tile. She immediately fought back an urge of regret and tried to calm her beating heart. He turned his back to her to shut the enormous doors, allowing her a moment to look around the room. It was a large room, poorly lit, with shadows bouncing all around. Two large staircases were on either side, once a place that invited those who entered, but now dared them to venture further. The young man quickly spun around, this time revealing a knife he had clasped to his side, and began walking towards her. She shut her eyes tightly and prayed for it to be over quickly. She tensed as she felt him grab her wrist, but slowly peered at him through squinted eyes when she realized he was cutting her bounds. Once he finished he removed her gag, finally allowing her to take the deep breaths her lungs had been craving for. When he saw that she was ok he spoke to her.
"What is your name?"
She was taken aback by his odd question. She had assumed he had known all about her. "Don't you know?"
"Why should I know?" he answered gruffly, "I've never seen nor heard of you before tonight."
"Then why would you take me? I mean, usually kidnappers know at least the name of the person they kidnap." She couldn't believe what was happening, not only had she been kidnaped, but it was random.
"It wasn't my idea to take you. I was just given orders to find the girl who possesses the light. And believe me, it took a long time to find you since I had no knowledge of you. But any questions you have, I can't answer."
She looked at him with a face of disbelief.
"It's Kagome."
He simply shrugged at her and began walking down a dark corridor. Not wanting to be left alone, she got up off of the floor, and ran after him.
She paused again to catch her breath. This time she had stopped near a small stream. She gazed into the dark water and watched as it silently rushed past her. Without another thought she stepped into the shallow water. Ignoring the stabbing pain of the bitter cold, she started to make her way downstream. She had once heard it was nearly impossible to track someone in water, so she figured it was her best option. As she waded through the water she tried to remember her life before she woke in the carriage. Ever since that night she couldn't remember anything about her life. That woman had attempted to explain things to her, but she had just become more confused.
She walked down the corridor behind him in silence. The hallway was narrow, and she kept rubbing up against him. He hadn't seemed bothered and just kept walking. When they stepped into another large room, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, preventing her from walking any further. She gasped as she saw the room around her. They had walked into a large circular room, and if she had not felt the floor beneath her feet, she would have assumed they were floating. What made the room magnificent was the stars. The ceiling, the walls, even the floor, was covered with stars. Everything was so realistic, she felt as if she was on her way towards heaven. Seeing the wonderment on her face caused him to smile.
"So you like the Lair of the Stars?"
"It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen," she exclaimed. "I've never seen anything like it before. How is this all possible?"
"It's from the power of my lady. Come, she's waiting for us."
Before she could respond he resumed walking. She caught up with him just as an opening appeared in the wall. They proceeded down another narrow hallway. This time though she felt less awkward, and she thought she could see him smiling again.
Thinking about his smile caused her to pause in the water. It hurt to remember his smile. It hurt just to remember him. She had to remind herself to keep running. She just had to get away. Away from that place, and him.
They emerged from the narrow hallway into a large throne room. The room itself was completely black, with a long, blood crimson carpet running from the door to the throne platform in the center of the room. Along the carpet, standing candles threw eerie shadows against the already darkened room. He grabbed her hand and started to walk her down the carpet towards the throne. With every step she took, she felt suffocated by a dark presence. When she reached the end of the walkway, she looked right into the eyes of her captor and gasped.
The chill of the water was beginning to affect her. She knew she had to get out of the water soon. She figured she had gone downstream enough and climbed out of the stream. She looked over the trees and saw a faint glimmer of light coming from the east. It was morning. She was about to run again, when strong arms encircled her from behind, and a hand clamped down over her mouth. All her running had been in vain. She was caught.
She had to keep running. She had attempted to escape before, but every time they found and dragged her back within that place. She couldn't even remember how long she had been there, alone in the dark room she was supposed to call home. All day long she was watched by nameless faces who seemed to float past her door. Every so often she would see a pair of cold eyes look directly at her through the bars. Almost all of the time there seemed to be a dangerous sense of craving behind the eyes; this is what scared her the most. There were strict orders for her to be left untouched, but no one knows how long a simple command can last.
She knew she hadn't been there her entire life. She kept having reoccurring dreams that just seemed too real. Every time she tried to hold onto them just a bit longer, but she always awoke, and whatever memory she had remembered faded away into oblivion. Her first memory was waking up in a carriage. She was bound and gagged, but she was not alone. Seated across from her was a young man who didn't look to be much older than she was. The only thing that suggested that he might truly be aged was his eyes. They held a sense of maturity that showed a lifetime of experience. When he saw that she had awakened he simply nodded as if to say hello, and turned back to the landscape outside of the carriage, instantly forgetting she was there.
She stopped running for a moment to catch her breath. She had never made it this far before. A faint glimmer of hope flashed inside of her. She looked at her surroundings to get an idea of which way to run. She was in the middle of a grassy clearing completely surrounded by dark woods. She gazed up at the black sky, amazed at the sight of the twinkling lights of stars above her. It was the first time she had seen stars since she had been brought to that place.
When the carriage finally stopped, the young man untied her feet and told her to step out of the carriage. She attempted to stand, but her legs, weak from being bound for so long, gave out from beneath her. Sighing with exasperation, he gently picked her up and began walking. She noticed the way he was trying to be gentle with her, and found the thought to be peculiar, wasn't she his prisoner?
As they walked down a stone path, they came around a bend. Her heart sank and what she saw before her. They stood outside of an immense palace. Crumbling and completely overgrown, it had the sad look that once it had been beautiful, but now it was only a dark form of what it had once been. Carrying her like his dark bride, he made his way towards the entrance of the palace. She realized that he wasn't having any difficulty carrying her, and wondered how strong he truly was. As he wound his ways across the stones she looked up into his face. He was better looking than she had noticed in the carriage. Again she studied his eyes, at least what wasn't covered by his hair. His eyes were a dark, almost indistinguishable color that almost seemed to blend in with his ebony hair. His eyes appeared sad, as if many troubled thoughts dwelled there. For a moment she had to resist the urge to snuggle into him and run her fingers through his long hair. Although he hadn't spoken more than four words to her, she already knew that she wanted to help him forget his sadness.
As she stared up at the stars, she heard a rustling in the brush behind her. She snapped her head down and took off again before she could see what had made the sound. She ran back into the forest, hoping it would make it harder for her to be caught. The branches of the forest reached out and snagged her clothing and raked her skin as if they too, were trying to prevent her escape. She ignored the pain now searing across her face as she felt tiny drops of blood slide down her cheek. She had to keep running. She couldn't go back. She'd be killed for sure.
When they finally reached the doors, invisible hands granted them entry, allowing him to continue without setting her down. He stepped into the main entryway and placed her onto the marble tile. She immediately fought back an urge of regret and tried to calm her beating heart. He turned his back to her to shut the enormous doors, allowing her a moment to look around the room. It was a large room, poorly lit, with shadows bouncing all around. Two large staircases were on either side, once a place that invited those who entered, but now dared them to venture further. The young man quickly spun around, this time revealing a knife he had clasped to his side, and began walking towards her. She shut her eyes tightly and prayed for it to be over quickly. She tensed as she felt him grab her wrist, but slowly peered at him through squinted eyes when she realized he was cutting her bounds. Once he finished he removed her gag, finally allowing her to take the deep breaths her lungs had been craving for. When he saw that she was ok he spoke to her.
"What is your name?"
She was taken aback by his odd question. She had assumed he had known all about her. "Don't you know?"
"Why should I know?" he answered gruffly, "I've never seen nor heard of you before tonight."
"Then why would you take me? I mean, usually kidnappers know at least the name of the person they kidnap." She couldn't believe what was happening, not only had she been kidnaped, but it was random.
"It wasn't my idea to take you. I was just given orders to find the girl who possesses the light. And believe me, it took a long time to find you since I had no knowledge of you. But any questions you have, I can't answer."
She looked at him with a face of disbelief.
"It's Kagome."
He simply shrugged at her and began walking down a dark corridor. Not wanting to be left alone, she got up off of the floor, and ran after him.
She paused again to catch her breath. This time she had stopped near a small stream. She gazed into the dark water and watched as it silently rushed past her. Without another thought she stepped into the shallow water. Ignoring the stabbing pain of the bitter cold, she started to make her way downstream. She had once heard it was nearly impossible to track someone in water, so she figured it was her best option. As she waded through the water she tried to remember her life before she woke in the carriage. Ever since that night she couldn't remember anything about her life. That woman had attempted to explain things to her, but she had just become more confused.
She walked down the corridor behind him in silence. The hallway was narrow, and she kept rubbing up against him. He hadn't seemed bothered and just kept walking. When they stepped into another large room, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, preventing her from walking any further. She gasped as she saw the room around her. They had walked into a large circular room, and if she had not felt the floor beneath her feet, she would have assumed they were floating. What made the room magnificent was the stars. The ceiling, the walls, even the floor, was covered with stars. Everything was so realistic, she felt as if she was on her way towards heaven. Seeing the wonderment on her face caused him to smile.
"So you like the Lair of the Stars?"
"It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen," she exclaimed. "I've never seen anything like it before. How is this all possible?"
"It's from the power of my lady. Come, she's waiting for us."
Before she could respond he resumed walking. She caught up with him just as an opening appeared in the wall. They proceeded down another narrow hallway. This time though she felt less awkward, and she thought she could see him smiling again.
Thinking about his smile caused her to pause in the water. It hurt to remember his smile. It hurt just to remember him. She had to remind herself to keep running. She just had to get away. Away from that place, and him.
They emerged from the narrow hallway into a large throne room. The room itself was completely black, with a long, blood crimson carpet running from the door to the throne platform in the center of the room. Along the carpet, standing candles threw eerie shadows against the already darkened room. He grabbed her hand and started to walk her down the carpet towards the throne. With every step she took, she felt suffocated by a dark presence. When she reached the end of the walkway, she looked right into the eyes of her captor and gasped.
The chill of the water was beginning to affect her. She knew she had to get out of the water soon. She figured she had gone downstream enough and climbed out of the stream. She looked over the trees and saw a faint glimmer of light coming from the east. It was morning. She was about to run again, when strong arms encircled her from behind, and a hand clamped down over her mouth. All her running had been in vain. She was caught.