"You have disappointed Lord Talpa yet again, Shōkōjo." The young general stated, his samurai armor rattled as he walked into the room. His sword was sheathed at his side but his hand rested on it ready for a fight and his dark green eyes, which resembled the dark green of forest moss, glared at the girl before him.
The girl had eyes that matched the soldier's in color and intensity as she kneeled before him on a ground of dirt, dust, and dried blood. The room they were in was round and had only a single rounded hole directly in the middle of the ceiling that shone a single beam of light down. However, she wouldn't be able to look up to see the sky though since she was shackled against the wall. The man stayed away from the light, as if he was trying to avoid it.
"Perhaps, it is for the best." She hissed as she worked at the shackle around her wrist again, the pain from where her skin had been rubbed bloody and raw no longer bothered her it was numb like her emotions.
"You know he will forgive you if you will only listen to him and pledge your allegiance." The general insisted his eyes light up briefly at the mention of his master.
After a brief blank stare the girl began to laugh, "I will never pledge my allegiance to him, not after I have found out the truth!"
The general glared once again and kicked a small pile of dirt towards the girl where it hit her in the face. She turned away for a moment to wipe her face against her ripped kimono sleeve as best she could with her limited mobility. At the same moment her stomach growled, she scowled at its betrayal.
Quickly though, she found herself out of breath as she was suddenly ripped from the ground by the collar. Her arms were forced back by the chained shackles and she grimaced at the feeling of her shoulders straining from the stretch.
"You have been in here for a few weeks, Shōkōjo; you will die of starvation if not from the torture. You are weak."
She simply gave him a sarcastic look, "you spit as you speak, and do you know that?"
With a growl the general threw the frail girl to the ground once more. She felt her bruised rib crack a little as she hit a small rock upon impact.
"Fine. I hope you die."
"Thanks for acting as if you cared." The girl replied watching carefully as the general left the room as she grimaced back into a sitting position.
Once she was sure he was gone she curled into a ball and let her shoulders shake but no tears came down her face. They were dried up at this point, as was her will to live.
However, as she sat in the dark silence she suddenly heard an echoing whisper, almost a soft melody.
"Great, now I'm hallucinating." She whispered into her knees.
Then the sound came again, this time she looked up. In front of her sat a small creature, no bigger than her own fist, it waivered before her as the light did from the ceiling.
"Hello kodama." She whispered, "Have you come to take my spirit away?" She asked.
The kodama didn't speak back but simply waved it's arms towards the ceiling and the light that came through it. The girl looked up then back at the ceiling.
"You are a funny thing. Do you think I could honestly get up there? I can't even stand on my own legs. And, if you haven't noticed, I'm shackled." She told it.
The kodama indicated the ceiling with more urgency.
"I cannot move kodama." The girl hissed getting annoyed.
The kodama suddenly moved as if it were part of the wind and went to the girl's shackles. Each one seemed to magically open. The girl stared at the little kodama as it then moved away from her and towards the light.
The girl felt her stiff body whine as she began to drag her way to the light to where the kodama was. Her muscles felt twisted, and she felt the dirt get into her wounds on her wrists but she kept going. Once in the light she lay on her back then turned her head to the kodama.
"What now?" She asked it.
"Now, we get you out." Someone said.
The girl's head snapped to look up through the hole. Far above her through the hole she saw two men standing, they both wore the uniforms of the Ancient clan.
"You came." The girl said as she felt the first burning hot tears she had in the last several days.
"Sorry it took us a while, we got a little detoured." The man who spoke before said as he and his partner lowered a looped rope.
A few minutes later the girl struggled to get the rope wrapped around her shoulders like a back then tugged on it to signal she was ready to go. The kodama disappeared as she began to be lifted to the opening above.