A/N- As promised, here is my new story. It does have a definite direction and will be updated probably monthly. Enjoy my lovelies and le'mme know what you think!
-Dessy-san
Chapter 1 At the Beginning
We were strangers,
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What we'd have to go through
Now here we are
And I'm suddenly standing,
At the beginning with you….
Richard Marx ft. Donna Lewis- At the Beginning
"Akane," Kasumi Tendo, the eldest of the three Tendo sisters of widower Soun Tendo, called out to her younger sister who was lollygagging behind the group on her little fuzzy brown pony. Their father, Soun, was taking the family through the EverFree Forest on a joy ride they always went on after he returned from his summons at the Saotome Castle in capitol of the Nerima. He and his daughters enjoyed a good ride through the forest while Soun hunted wild boar and stag for his household to eat; and today was exceptionally pleasant!
The sun shown down on them from behind the thick canopy of oak trees that stood tall and proud with small shrubbery decorating near their roots. Squirrels chattered about as the girls and their father and two guards passed by on their horses and birds gloried them in song. A herd of deer revered them as they passed nearby, quickly turning tail when they realized their visitors were men. The forest was lush and green, and lively in the spring air.
"Keep up please, Akane dear," the eldest, brunette called out again. She was only ten, but after their mother had died only a few years after her youngest sister had been born, Kasumi took it upon herself to take over the mothering role for her sisters. It felt nearly natural for her to do so and had no complaints. Though she did feel as though mothering her two younger sisters became a full-time job for her at times.
"Yeah, 'Kane," the middle sister, Nabiki smirked as she turned her speckled gelding, Toru, to the side to wait for her little sister, "Don't wan' wolves or monsters pickin ya off, now do we?" she snickered behind her hand at her attempt to scare her sister. Akane was always easy to get a rise out of, but today the little toddler ignored her, much to Nabikis displeasure.
"Nabiki," Soun frowned back at his middle child, "You could scare someone with that talk." He shivered. His stallion snorted as if to agree with his master. It was very odd to see the King slightly shaken up, but his mount remained very regal and bold as ever. Such was the temperament of a warhorse though.
"I didn't mean to scare you daddy," Nabiki smirked back. Her gelding tossing his light mane as she nudged him closer to her family.
"Akane," Soun called again. To get the point across, his stallion, Rama, bellowed out a summon call that had Akane's brown pony, Brone perking his tiny fuzzy ears toward his leader.
"Commin!" Akane turned her brown pony away from a few bushes, giggling all the while, and trotted back up to her family, "I saw fairies!" she grinned.
"Did you now?" Kasumi smiled back warmly. Her golden palomino mare, Sandy, nuzzled the small Brone as he approached. The little gelding pawed at the ground and whinnied back at her, tossing his mane proudly, imitating Souns stallion, Ramma's attitude and making Akane giggle. Rama didn't seem to see the joke and turned his head away with a snort.
"Brone, you silly!" the seven year old rubbed her pony's neck electing an appreciative whicker from the little guy.
"M'Lord," one of the huntsmen approached the family on foot, holding a fist to his chest and bowing to Soun, "The dogs have spotted a white boar."
"White?" Soun was intrigued, "how exotic!"
"It would be a befitting plunder for tonight's dinner in the hall m'lord." The huntsmen nodded.
"What of the Amazons?" Soun furrowed his brow.
"None of their territory markings have been found near it, sir."
The Lord nodded with determined grin, "Good," he then turned his red stallion towards the man, spurring him on, "Take me to it" Rama eagerly pranced forward, sensing Soun's excitement. Quickly, Soun allowed the stallions excited prancings to break into a graceful canter, and they were off!
"At once m'lord" amazingly, the huntsman was able to keep up with the large stallions graceful canter through the forest and lead the way towards the already-in-progress hunt.
"I wanna go too daddy!" Akane spurred Brone into a full gallop to catch up with her father, "I wanna help get the 'exsawtik' boar!" she pulled out her toy bow n' arrow she received for a birthday gift last year.
"Maybe when you're older my sweet, but not today," Soun eased Rama to slow down a little to talk with his daughter, "The boar is too dangerous for you and Brone right now." Rama was loosing patience again and began to prance.
"But daddy-!" she started, tears swelling in her big brown eyes as Brone slowed to a stop.
"When I return, I promise to tell you all about it at bed time tonight!" he called back, letting the stallion have his head once more and breaking into a brisk canter, "I love you! Stay here where it is safe!"
"DADDY!" Akane shouted back, holding out a hand as if she could stop him. Brone whinnied as well, sensing her urgency.
"Don't worry Akane," Kasumi and Sandy approached from behind, letting one of the two guards that stayed back with them to take her reins as the other helped her dismount, "Father will be back soon."
"But I wanna hunt too," Akane pouted, turning in her saddle to look at her brown haired beauty of a sister.
"Oh Akane," Kasumi sighed sympathetically.
"Oh don't get her hopes up." Nabiki, the nine year old snorted as she also let the guards help her off the tall Toru while he pawed the ground uninterested, tossing his light brown mane when he found no suitable grass he wished to chew on, "Girls don't hunt anyways."
"Yes they do!" Akane bit back, swinging herself off her pony before the guards could reach her.
"M'Lady!" one yelped, but she ignored them as she stomped up to be face to face with her sister.
"Do not," Nabiki huffed, folding her arms across her little chest, holding her noise high in the air and looking down at Akane with a board look in her dark brown eyes.
Akane balled her little fists fuming, "Do TOO!" she gritted though her teeth.
"What Lady of the court have you seen do anything remotely similar to hunting?" Nabiki challenged, hands migrating to her hips.
"They ride horsesys." Akane snorted, crossing her own arms this time and still glaring at her know-it-all sister.
"Girls," Kasumi approached her sisters, stepping between them to force some distance, "Please, let's not fight." She pleaded looking back and forth worriedly, "It's not often we get to come out here to the EverFree forest and get away from the Tendo Halls walls." She looked around, "Besides we don't want to make the Amazons mad…"
"Girls can HUNT!" Akane insisted, turning her back to her sisters, arms still crossed and clicked her riding boots together, "Amazons do it all the time!"
Nabiki dusted off invisible dirt from her dark riding pants she wore and rolled her eyes, "Just because you keep saying that doesn't make it true, you know." She leveled her sister with a dubious look, "And Amazons don't count. You're not one."
"I don't have to be one to hunt, and I'll prove it!" Akane whirled, "I can hunt better'n any Amazon OR boy!"
"Really now…" Nabiki was not impressed.
"Nabiki…," Kasumi gasped at her sister, wondering why she was egging on their high-spirited younger sister.
"YEAH! WATCH ME!" Akane shouted, darting to her pony and hopping on, kicking him a little rougher than she intended. The pony reared and squealed in protest, surprising her and the others as he bolted into the forest.
"AKANE!" Kasumi hollered.
"Stupid brat." Nabiki huffed, "Now they Amazons really WILL get you."
"M'LADY!" one of the two soldiers ran off to fetch her while the other one worriedly watched his fellow soldier leave him, then looked back at the two remaining girls as if they would run too.
"Don't worry… we don't go running into a mystical forest with out any protection with out good reason." Nabiki didn't seem phased.
"Why did you do that Nabiki?" Kasumi turned to her sister, gentle as ever in her confrontation, but still genuinely concerned and angry with her sister for provoking Akane like that.
"She will never get it through her head unless she tries and slams into the wall herself, sister." Nabiki shrugged, "She'll be fine…. She's got that TOY bow n' arrow right?"
"Nabiki…." Kasumi looked from her present sister towards where her youngest sister bolted off, "She is just a child."
"So are we." Nabiki said softly watching where Akane bolted off as well.
000000000000ohmaih0000000000000.0
Akane was normally a very good rider. A better rider than any of those stupid stable boys back home and knight squires. She had ridden bucking ponies, shot arrows off the back of a horse, and learned to hop on Brone while he cantered pass her.
….But with Brone blindly galloping headlong, reins flying out of her hands, the poor raven-haired, seven year old could only wrap her tiny arms around his neck and hold on for dear life.
"BRONE!" she screamed, wanting him to stop, but unfortunately that only spooked the adrenaline pumped pony more as his little hooves dug deeper into the ground to go FASTER, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she screamed, ducking her head into his long shaggy mane, trying to avoid the thick tree branches that scraped her and tore at her riding clothing.
Brone was quickly approaching a ledge with a steep slope on the other side of it and noticed it too late. The pony tried sitting on his haunches to slide to a stop before he reached it, nearly unsaddling his little rider, if she didn't have a death-grip on his neck already! Instead of stopping though, the pair toppled over the ledge, sliding down the muddy slope, both screaming in terror as they crashed through small bushes, narrowly missing half-uprooted trees.
Akane squeezed her eyes shut, willing the scary ride to stop, but helplessly struggled to stay on her pony while he clambered his hooves around trying to get traction and amazingly staying somewhat upright, not rolling on top his little mistress.
The land dipped suddenly and rolled upwards, tossing pony and child away from each other comically in the air, then splashing both into a very cold shallow body of water below. Akane struggled her way to the surface, gasping and gulping for air before she couldn't hold herself up any more and fell back in. SHE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM! She flailed about, desperate for air.
"H-HELP!" she screamed, "BRONE! HE-HELP!" she bobbed in and out crying out in terror, "I CAN-CAN'T SWIM!"
"HOLD ON!" a voice called out as another splash dove into the water just as Akane fell under again. It was getting harder for her to fight as he tiny body started to exhaust. Adrenaline slowly falling away….
Arms wrapped around her from behind, jerking her upwards, and suddenly air filled her lungs as they breached the surface. Akane's second wind flared to life soon as she realized she wasn't underwater.
"AAAAAHHH!" she screamed, struggling to get out of the water, not wanting to get back in.
Unfortunately that meant she was choking her savior, attempting to stand on top of him as she kicked and elbowed him painfully.
"HEY! CUT IT OUT WILL YA!?" the boys voice yelped. He struggled to hold her still as he tip toed the water, barely able to stand and keep his nose above the water breathe himself, "I'M TRYIN TO HELP, BUT I CAN'T DO THAT IF YOU DROWN US BOTH!"
Akane stilled, twisting around and wrapping her little body against his as he walked out awkwardly of the water. She shivered violently from the cold and fear with her arms around his neck where she buried her head into his shoulder. Her legs wrapped around his stomach, and he barely had to hold her to him at all with how she clung, but he did anyways until they were safely on the bank. Even when he did let go, she still held on, hardly moving at the loss of support.
"Hey… girl?" he poked her arm, but she tried to burry closer to him and he grunted, "Hey, look, we're outta the water. You're safe now!" he tried to dislodge her from himself again, but she held on tighter.
"NO!" she screamed, to which he winced since it was right in his ear.
"I said WE'RE OUT OF THE WATER!" he shouted back, starting to get angry that she was ignoring him. His anger vanished at her soft snivel though and he felt her body shiver for a different reason. She was crying… she must have been terrified! The boy started to feel bad for yelling at a scared, crying girl. It wasn't like she almost drowned just now….
He slowly lowered them so he was sitting on the ground, feeling her relax soon as her knees touched the grass, "See? Look" he tried to pull back as much as he could so she couldn't hide her face in his shoulder, "grass." He smiled at her, "see? No more water."
He watched as her brown eyes looked around timidly, and realization dawned on her. Then, ever so slowly, their eyes met and both paused as cerulean clashed into chocolate.
Akane stared at the boy savior, captivated. His hair was almost the same color as her own, but her long hair was more raven, as opposed to his sable. His deep blue eyes locked on hers as if he couldn't look away, and yet neither could she. His hair was pulled into a low ponytail that was almost loose from its holder from the struggle in the water and parts of his hair clung to his bare neck and shoulders.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
"R-Ranma." The boy answered, unable to look away from her face. Her raven bangs clung to her forehead. The rest of her locks was pulled into a thick braid down her back and face and her riding clothing was scraped and slightly muddy from her struggle, "You?"
"Akane." She replied, pulling away slightly to sit up on her own.
Brone whickered beside them, shaking off his fur and mane to dislodge the water, dousing them both again.
"BRONE!"
"HEY!"
The children shielded themselves from the shower of water, mud and pony sweat. Almost simultaneously realizing they were still very close to each other. Faces flared in blushes of red and pink as they darted back from each other.
"S-sorry!" Akane yelped, gathering her knees below her and fisting her hands on them, refusing to raise her gaze rom her knuckles.
He shook his head furiously making a noncommittal noise. Too embarrassed to speak.
A long silence filled the clearing near the bank they sat on until Ranma could take it no longer. The young boy stood up and turned towards the girl suspiciously.
"What were you doing falling in a fishing hole anyways?" he tilted his head, trying to knock some water out of his ears.
"It's not like I do that sort of thing for fun you know!" she defended sharply, turning to glare at him over her shoulder.
"Only an idiot would do that, stupid." He joked, but the girl didn't see it that way as she bristled.
"Well what kind of IDIOT hangs around a pond in the middle of the EverFree Forest alone?!" Akane growled back.
Ranma gapped at her, "You're sure loud for a cute girl." He snorted shaking his head.
"What?" her anger simmered again for a second as she blinked in surprise.
"I was fishing for lunch for me and Pop, when you and your donkey slashed all the fish into hiding and broke my fishing pole." Ranma explained as if she hadn't spoke, "Then I saw you couldn't swim so I had to help ya and-,"
"BRONE is not DONKEY!" Akane surged to her feet ready for a fight. Said pony looked between the children boredly, then lowered his head to graze.
"What do you call a pudgy mass of fur like that? That ain't no horse!" Ranma argued pointing at Brone, "and what kinda name is BRONE anyways? He looks like a Fluffy."
"FLUFFY?" Akane spat, "BRONE is a PONY. Can't you tell by the lack of rabbit ears?!"
"Rabbit ears are for rabbits, not donkeys." Ranma pointed out.
"I said they LOOK like em."
Slowly the two started getting closer, and closer in their yelling match until they were toe to toe yelling at one another.
"WHAT KINDA GIRL ARE YOU?!"
"THE KIND THAT CAN KNOCK YOU ON YOUR BUTT ANY DAY, YA STUPID BOY!"
"YEAH RIGHT!"
"YOU WANNA START SOMETHIN?!"
"BRING IT SISSY PANTS!"
"YOU LOUSEY JERK!"
Brone's head suddenly shot up and his ears perked as he smelled something in the breeze. The pony started getting nervous when he realized what it was and bobbed his head, stomping his hoof. He started to pace around the children, trying to get their attention that was locked onto one another so fiercely neither noticed the pony breathing down their necks anxiously.
"STUPID GIRL!"
"POMPUS BOY!"
"AT LEAST I DON-"
SQQQQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Both children and pony froze in fear. The children staring wide-eyed at each other as sudden fear hit them.
"Was that a-," Ranma started, but Akane saw the culprit burst through the tree line and sheer horror gripped her.
"IT'S A BOAR!" she snatched Ranmas hand and dragged him on Brone with her, digging her heels in the pony's sides, but Brone didn't need to be told to run. He lunged forward before Ranma fully had his seat behind Akane in the saddle, nearly tossing him there!
The boar roared in furry and honed in on the fleeing pony and children. It angrily made a mad dash forward, tusks lowered and red eyes gleaming with pure rage. Ranma chanced a look over his shoulder and yelped.
"IS THAT A WHITE BOAR?" he shouted.
Akane glanced over her shoulder hastily, "Daddy was hunting that boar!"
"Oh great, so it must LOVE to see us right now!" Ranma gripped her tighter as Brone leaped over a log, painfully slamming poor Ranma back down in the saddle when they landed, "OH MY GOD!" he yelped in pain.
Both children screamed when the white boar, who was only a few strides behind them, burst through the log they just jumped, angrily ripping into the dead wood by tossing its head left and right letting its razor sharp tusks make quick work of it.
"We weren't shooting at it so why is it chasing us?!" Akane shouted over the wind.
"HELL IF I KNOW, IT WAS YOUR FATHER WHO WAS HUNTING THAT THING!"
Suddenly Brone sat down on the ground again, trying his hardest to stop, squealing as he reared in the air. The land quickly sloped back into a steep hill again, forcing the pony to leap up on it at the break neck speed he was galloping at, but the children were not ready for such a vertical move and tumbled off the terrified pony's back, rolling back down to the bottom of the hill.
"BRONE!" Akane called, but her pony was gone and the Boar was upon them and Ranma wasn't moving at her side. She looked down horrified to see that he was unconscious.
"RANMA!" she snatched him by the collar of his shirt and shook him, "COME ON WAKE UP!"
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEALLL!
Akane rolled herself and Ranma out of the way as the boar charged them, falling further down the steep hill. She pulled Ranma tightly to herself as they tumbled over one another down the hill again. She could hear the sharp breath and pound of the boars' hooves as it turned around and followed them down the hill again. She had never realized how hilly the EverFree Forest was!
With the wind knocking out of her momentarily, they finally slammed to a stop again on flatter ground, Ranma breaking her fall with his prone body, still unconscious but moaning in pain, "Ranma!" she tried to lift him up to move them before the Boar caught up. She had to get them in a tree! Boars can't climb right?!
Too late.
The boar landed on the flat ground, making it shake with its sheer size, once again terrifying Akane. For a split second, she thought she and Ranma would surely die, mauled to death by an angry, raging boar.
"Leave us alone!" she shouted at the beast, throwing a lose rock from the ground at it, and missing a few feet.
The boars red eyes followed the rock then turned back to her unimpressed as it stalked forward, grunting all the while with tusks lowered and sharp teeth bared. It was a terrible sight to behold and a horrid smell to experience, gagging the young girl as it got closer and closer, closing the already short gab.
What scared her more was the look in the eyes of the boar. It's red eyes were not animalistic and angry, but cold and menacing. This thing wasn't attacking them in instinct like other wild animals did when threatened…. It was enjoying this!
"I'M WARNING YOU!" she bluffed courage she didn't feel as she fumbled for her bow and arrow, quickly knocking one back and aiming at the animal, "I will shoot you if you don't leave now!" she shouted, tears of fear rolling down her cheeks.
The boar paused, then let out a sound that almost sounded like a cackle to her. It was a squealing grunt that sent shivers up hers spine. The arrow flew from her bow before she realized she'd let go of the string and the boar screamed when it lodged itself into its thick neck just below its chin head on. It gasped in pain and flailed back, blood starting to drip from its teeth as its throat started to fill with its own blood and it coughed it out and stained its white fur.
With another gut wrenching roar, the beast charged blindly at the girl and her unconscious companion. Akane had already grabbed another arrow, but the beast was upon her before she could even think to knock it back.
She screamed in horror, thrusting out her fist holding the arrow instinctively against the impeding danger.
"Akane!" Ranma suddenly shouted, and she felt a strong hand grab the arrow near her own hand and thrust if forward just as the boar fell over them. It twitched once, twice, let out a moan and then went still on top of them.
"R-Ranma…" Akane grunted, barely able to breathe under the wild pig's dead weight, "you-You're awake!"
"Yeah!" he coughed, "And you're crushing me…"
"This PIG is CRUSHING US!" she emphasized.
Together, the two struggled to get out from underneath the dead white pig, bending over and falling on their behinds in exhaustion, panting extremely hard.
"We-we made it!" Ranma breathed.
"We're alive!" Akane smiled, turning her head from where she lay on her back to share with Ranma.
He mirrored her smile and started to giggle. The sound bounced between the two ecstatic children before it burst into out right laughter.
"WE'RE ALIVE!" Akane gasped.
"AND WE KILLED A BOAR!" Ranma rolled up to sitting position, crossing his legs in front of him, "AND YOU SHOT IT WITH AN ARROW! AS A GIRL!" he laughed.
"SO WHAT IF I AM A-," she started to get angry, but Ranma's brilliant smile stopped her as he cut her off.
"I'VE NEVER SEEN SOMEONE SHOOT LIKE THAT!"
"You…. You saw that?" Akane started to feel a blush over come her as she caught her breath.
"Yeah, when you landed on me I woke up…. That really hurt by the way." He groaned as he rubbed his ribs, "I think I broke something."
"Oh Ranma, I'm so sorry!" Akane yelped, rushing over to him to see where he was injured.
"I'm fine," He waved her off, "How about you? Anything broken?"
"Not that I feel right now." She shrugged.
"Children…." A clairvoyant voice echoed from the trees, "Children have done this?"
"WHOSE THERE!?" Ranma snapped up into action, getting in a fighting stance over Akane protectively, "SHOW YOURSELF!" he demanded.
"Oh now what!?" Akane stood up as well, at the ready with her bow, putting her back to Ranmas.
"You with the bow." The voice held little emotion other than curiosity in it, and had no specific direction it hailed from, so Akane and Ranma were circling trying to figure out where it was coming from, "Did you shoot Akuma?"
"Akuma?" Ranma narrowed his eyes.
"The guardian of the southern region of the EverFree Forest." The voice clarified, "He has protected this land from overbearing humans for three thousand years."
"That white Boar was three thousand years old!?" Akane yelped.
"Was it you?" the voice persisted.
Akane gulped and she was suddenly too scared to speak up.
"No I did." Ranma spoke up, "Girls aren't allowed to shoot."
"Ranma!" Akane hissed.
"Shhh!" he hissed back, looking back at her. Something in his eyes held her tongue, but her young mind didn't understand what that look meant. She had never seen someone look at her with eyes like his.
"You boy?" the voice echoed.
"Yeah? What of it?" Ranma puffed up his chest, "Aku-whoever attacked us first! We didn't do nothing!"
The voice was quiet for a good long while, making the children fidget nervously.
"Do we just leave?" Akane whispered. Ranma shrugged.
"You are a Saotome and Tendo, aren't you?" a small figure with flowing long white hair longer than herself hopped out on a stick into the children's vision.
"ACK!" Ranma backed up, holding out his hands to protect Akane, "WATCH OUT! IT'S A GOBLIN!"
"Fool!" the small woman rasped, "It is I, Cologne, of the Amazon tribe native to the EverFree Forest."
"You're the witch doctor Pop told me to watch out for." Ranma narrowed his eyes and braced himself, "Stay back Akane!"
"Witch Doctor?" Akane whispered hiding behind her friend, unsure of what to think. She had never seen a Witch Doctor.
"That is such a derogatory term." Cologne huffed, "Simply Witch will do."
"What do you want!?" Ranma demanded, "Was that pig one of your hench men?!"
"I do what the forest Asks of me dear boy, and it is the law of the land when a human takes a guardians life, the punishment is a life for a life. Humans are guests here in the forest and you may only take what you need to survive, but you have taken too much and must repay it."
"You want us to die!?" Ranma rebuked.
"No I want her to die." The woman hopped to the ground and pointed her knurled stick she used as a staff at the young girl behind Ranma, "She shot the arrow that took down Akuma. It is her debt to be paid."
"Debt to be paid?" Akane's breath left her, "But I didn't mean to kill him! I asked him to leave us alone!"
"And Akuma only meant to drive you from the forest, yet you didn't leave! Your fathers have taken too much so you must leave!" Cologne snapped back.
"But I did-," Akane tried to defend herself again, but Ranma stepped in instead.
"She didn't kill Akuma, I DID." He pointed a thump to his chest, "She may have dazed him, but I took the arrow and drove it into the boars heart. It would have killed us if I hadn't and you know that."
"So it would seem you both are guilty." Cologne hmmed, "But the law only says A life for A life. Not two for one." She hmmed some more, irritating the children, "What to do. What to do…."
Ranma quietly took Akane's hand in his own and leaned back to whisper to her, "Come on, Akane, lets get out of her while she's not lookin,"
"Kay," Akane nodded and let Ranma lead her slowly out of the witch's line of sight. They tiptoed in the cool grass and almost reach the first tree to hide behind when a ball of green fire WHOOSHED into their path, forcing the children to back pedal.
"I did not say you could LEAVE!" Cologne cackled.
"Look, we didn't mean to kill that stupid albino pig guardian thing! We're sorry but it tried to kill us first!" Ranma roared indignantly.
"THE DEBT MUST BE PAID"
"Yeah we got that already!" Ranma shot back.
"SILENCE BOY!" Cologne pointed her staff at him and Ranma gulped back his retort, "The forest speaks to me boy. I would quit angering it at least till it decides your punishment."
"Just be quiet Ranma," Akane urged worriedly, holding onto his bare arm. It was then that Ranma realized he was still half naked infront of not one but two women now, and had the decency to blush and cross his arms over his chest with a huff.
"The forest spirits have made a decision." The old ghoulish woman announced, "It is…. A surprising one at that." She pointed her stick at the children, "Three curses. One of the night, one of the future and one of the heart."
"Curses!" Akane stomped her foot.
"Wait …. THREE?" Ranma growled, "What happened to an eye for an eye crap you lying ghoul?!" a clump of dirt from the ground rose up and smacked Ranma in the face.
"I said quiet you fool." Cologne rolled her eyes, "Yes three. One for each and a shared one since you BOTH held the arrow."
"So happen to get technical here…." Ranma grumbled, whipping the dirt off his face.
"First is the curse of the Night." Cologne point her staff at Akane and the girls body glowed blue for a few moments then left her alone, "You deary get the curse of the night. Every night when the moon arises your true form will come to light, but during the day you will be hidden in a different form."
Akane looked down at herself in horror, "What form!?"
"I don't know, it's randomized." The old woman huffed, "I can interpret MOST of what spirits say, but its not exact you fool." She turned to Ranma, "As for you, boy… The spirits have a lovely surprise for you, but it won't hit just yet."
"Whaddya mean just yet?!" he demanded, bristling.
"I mean your inevitable curse will happen in the future." She grinned, "Hot and cold, yin and yang this is what your curse will entail. Now. For your shared curse." Cologne swirled her staff around, "Well it's not really a curse…"
"Say what?" Akane narrowed her eyes.
Neither child saw the green magic surrounding two thick pieces of log flying at either of their heads till they knocked the children on the back of the head, knocking them out.
"Well Amnesia, of course. Can't have you two remembering each other, that would be too easy to break the punishment." The old woman giggled as the children fell to the ground, not hearing a word she said, "The spirits can be so mischievous. To think, doing such a thing to our country's crowned prince and one of his possible suitors. Hmph." She shrugged.
A rustle in the trees showed a small, shaggy brown pony stepping out looking around as if he was searching for something, when he spotted the children, the pony pinned his ears menacingly at the witch and snorted.
"Oh don't get mad at me, beast of burden." The witch snorted, "What they get you know is inevitable when you tangle with spirits. Your mistress will survive." She levitated the girls body on the back of the pony, "There, take your charge back to her family. They will find out soon enough about the curse, but know the spirits were merciful this time… I will place the boy somewhere that the King will find him." She levitated the boy's body and went on her way to find King Genma's camp.