The Guard and the Bird

by bluejay16

She was a servant. He was a guard. She kept trying to escape. He kept finding her. It wasn't like he was doing it on purpose; she was just always there wherever he went. Kairi and Riku develop a friendship on strange terms. Where they'll go from there is something they'll have to find out.

1. Eyes

A/N: It's 4:29am, and I'm dead tired. I wasn't going to write this, but this plot bunny trampled all over my herd of sheep and wouldn't let me sleep until I picked up my ass and wrote it, so I did. The story's actually nearly complete, but I still need time time to refine the details, so it'll be cut into chapters. The chapters will be really short, but it'll be updated very frequently unless I'm not in touch with wifi.

P.S. Lovely readers, this writer will not be able to work on Cinderella's Sister or any other story for some time. Please accept this story as tribute.

Today's Song: [Jayme Dee] - Till I Fall Asleep

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She was a like a bird trying to escape the cage.

The first time Riku saw her, she was entering the castle gates with ten other girls of the same age. He unlocked the gates and stood to the side as he watched them be herded them inside. Then one of them caught his eye.

She was attractive, but not what he'd call breathtakingly gorgeous. Like the others, her face was blotched and swollen from crying. Her auburn hair, a tangled mess. Yet something about her intrigued him. Maybe it was the contempt blazing in her azure eyes, or the way she held her head high and her shoulders squared in those shabby threadbare clothes. Or maybe it was while her petite frame was vulnerable, she exuded inner strength.

They locked eyes. She scowled at him with unmasked dislike before scornfully turning her head away.

He leaned towards one of the guards that had come with the girls.

"Who are they?" he whispered.

The guard grinned. "New slaves, fresh off the market." He whistled as a beautiful blonde went by. "They ain't half bad, eh?"

Just then, the blonde's foot got caught on a protruding root and tripped.

"Whoop, careful." Riku caught her before she fell. The blonde blushed, mumbled a thank you, and scurried off.

The other guard poked him in the ribs. "Look at you, already making her yours."

Riku shrugged. He had already forgotten about the blonde. The redhead's defiant eyes lingered in his mind for the rest of the day.

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