Disclaimer: I do not own Mai Hime or the movie, "Lady Hawk".
The sun slowly rose above the horizon, a dark rider cantering from its direction with a cloud of dust disturbed by the horse's hooves. The rider sat fresh and confident upon its steed. The bright rays of the sun masking the identity of the rider as the rider seemed adament in its destination. A sharp whistle echoed from the rider's lips and a sharp screech responded. Soon, a hawk dove from it's position in the sky toward the rider. The rider slowed down its horse and held out its arm for the hawk to saftely land. The hawk gazed upon the rider with intelligent eyes before redirecting it's eyes in the distance. A formation of buildings showed promise of rest. With another sound, the hawk took off once again as the rider firmly kicked its heels against the horse's side signaling for a run.
Faint sounds behind a wall of thick dried mud and straw. A young girl by the name, Ant, was trying her utmost best to escape from her prison. In the distant, she heard the hanging of some prisoners she once roomed with. Increasing her efforts, she knew it was only a matter of time before the soldiers came looking for her. Her heart raced from both nervousness and anticipation for freedom, a bead of sweat slid down her face as her eyes stayed semi-closed because of the dirt falling all around her. Her hand scraped once more at the never-ending tunnel when she felt a slight gust of dry air touching her fingers. She paused momentarily to allow her fingers to wiggle. Feeling nothing upon them, she allowed a smirk to grace her features as she pushed with her other hand to punch out the remaining dirt.
A group of soldiers threw the remaining bodies into a growing pit of death. One soldier dressed as a lowly guard saluted to a man dressed in a white garb and black pants upon a grey steed. The man's face was stern and serious. His eyes coldly awaited for the lowly soldier's report. "Hung as ordered, sir." the lowly soldier confirmed.
The man briefly nodded before ordering two more before the end of the day. Another crisp salute before the lowely soldier watched his commanding officer ride off. The lowly soldier made his way to the dungeons followed by a group of men.
"We need two more." he stated to the warden.
The prison smelled of unwashed bodies, feces, urine, and blood. The small underground room held six small cubicles of gated prisons. Each cell held six prisoners with barely enough space between them, the lowly soldier named, Gus sneered at the prisoners. A vivid hatred crossed his expression when he remembered one prisoner he would love nothing more than to hang.
"I want Arika as one of them." he demanded. His memories flooding him as the girl, who made a mockery of him while trying to steal from his purse. The warden nodded before directing them a short ways into the poorly lit cell of Arika.
"This is her cell." the warden unlocked the door before stepping back to allow the soldier to enter. Gus pushed a prisoner standing in his way back before looking around the dim cage for his prey. Finding his eyes failing him at his task, he turned back to the warden and ordered for a torch to be brought to him. Within seconds, a torch touched his hand.
He looked back into the cell looking at the faces off all the prisoners inside. Nothing. "Are you sure, warden!" his temper rising. The warden clenched his teeth in annoyance, "I know my prison, Gus, do not question me."
"If that is true, where is she?" Gus turned back to the warden, his eyes hardened.
"Inside this cell, do not blame me for your poor eye sight, soldier." the cold steel voice responded.
Taking a deep breath, Gus turned back and spotted an old man chained to a pillar in the middle of the cell. A rusted collar attached to his whithered neck leading to a small lengthed chain attached to the pillar. "Where is she, old man?" The old man mumbled incorherant words. Gus's temper rose as he unshealthed his sword about to make an example. The old man's words stopped the tip from piercing his neck and a hand gesture from the old man pointed somewhere. Gus heard that Ant disappeared and never returned all the while pointing to a tiny sewer grating in the floor. Eyes widened in disbelief, Gus swiftly moved to the grating. It was tiny that his head was the only thing small enough to fit through let alone a person. 'Impossible! How is it possible that she could escape through that?' Gus's thoughts ran rampart.
Ant placed her entire arm through the tiny hole to use as leverage to push herself out. The hole seemed unable to increase in size. She gritted her teeth as she fitted her head through the hole. Her arm hung uselessly as her head filled the gap. Her eyes increased as she felt herself getting stuck. Panic shot through her as her other hand still stuck inside the tunnel gripped whatever holding she could find to push herself further out. Grunting and groaning, her body screamed in protest as the harden edges of the hold dug into her skin. Like any type of problem she faced, she made a sarcastic phrase to help allievate her frustration, "It's like escaping from mother's womb." her breath cut short when she managed to push out to her chest. Breathing became more difficult.
Her feet worked overtime trying to increase her odds at escaping. The arm hanging outside of the hold somehow managed to grab a protruding bump below the hole and pushed with all her might. Her body pulled even more out to her waist.
A long hallway of stone and open space resounded the echoes of urgent feet slapping against the cobbled floor. The commander ignored salutes and other civilians as he entered a cathedral. Before taking another step inside, he lowered his head in reverance and respect. The bishop standing at the altar stopped his progression with an annoyed expression. The bishop's mouth thinned at seeing her commander's rudeness.
Ant couldn't believe her luck, she was almost out of that damned hole! She balanced precariously at the entrance trying to get her feet out. What she did not plan was tipping too far ahead to loose her balance and fall head first into the cold, gritty waters below. A surprised scream escaped her mouth before being swallowed with dirty water. Her body fell underneath the surface, Ant panicked once more at the thought of drowning. Her bare feet touched a sandy floor before pushing her body up to the surface. Gulping down air before her body once again was submerged in water. Flaying her arms about, she tried to gain control of the situation. Her mind going from one horrible ending to another.
She managed to gain control of her fear to vaguely look around her. It was then that she noticed a bulky creature swimming her way. Her eyes increased in size and her heart increased in tempo. On instinct and reflex alone, she jumped to a nearby pillar with a narrow platform. She hugged the pillar for dear life all the while praying to God to save her.
"I swear to you, if I survive I will never pick another pocket again. I swear it!" oaths to become a better person spilled from her mouth as the creature continued its course toward her. She closed her eyes trying her utmost best to become one with the pillar as her prayers continued at a rapid pace. Most of the things spilling from her mouth, she had no idea what she was saying. Just anything to survive this encounter with this creature. Her eyes stung as she refused to blink in case the creature might attack if her eyes closed even for a split second.
"If I die, how can I prove my good words to you." She made a last ditch effort to make the good Lord take pity on her.
As the creature was within feet from her, Ant felt as if her heart would give out. The current of the water turned the creature's position into revealing what it really was, a bull's skull. Overwhelmed relief and feeling a bit foolish, Ant allowed herself to breathe. Before she could do anything else, she heard the soft singing of the choir alerting her of her position once again. Taking a chance to look around herself, she found herself underneath a building of sorts. From the singing, she gathered the building must be a church.
The entire area she was in was a sewer of sorts with multiple pillars keeping the building up. Soft lights reflected on the water's surface through small gratings on the flooring of the church. She pried her frozen fingers from the stone pillar to head toward the sound of singing. She found that the water reached her waist. Her small body shivered from the cold water as she carefully made her way to a small duct. The singing was strongest here. Looking upward, a long squared duct with aged iron rods positioned like a ladder in the stone. There were several missing or broken, which told the story of how long ago this duct was ever used.
Thankfully for Ant, the stones acted as the perfect climbing wall for her to grab ahold of and climb her way out to freedom. The square duct was big enough for her body to enter without worry. As she reached the grating of the church, she looked around before sticking her fingers through the tiny holes. Unfortunately for her, a young girl wearing a simple frock noticed her and walked over. The girl squatted and questioned what she was doing and why she was in the sewers. Ant waved and told the girl to get lost. Thankfully, the mother of the young girl noticed her daughter's unbecoming behavior grabbed her daughter and pulled her away.
Once again, Ant pulled her fingers through the tiny holes and started to lift. What she did not expect though was black boots walking in her direction and stepping upon her fingers. Shock and pressure alerted her of what happened then pain as her fingers were crushed underneath the heavy weight of someone. A scream of pain and the weight lifted off her fingers. Unfortunately during her moment of pain, she on instict pulled her hands back to find herself falling down once more. She was completely emersed in water as her mind duly curious as to how she did not hit the floor in the shallow water.
Common sense told her to stay under the water just in case someone heard her scream. She swam further under the water in hopes to find some other way out. If water was coming under the church surely there was a way out. She swam blindly for a minute or two before finding the exit. Luck was on her side once more as the thick corroding bars had a big enough hole for Ant to swim through. Air was rapidly escaping her burning lungs. She looked around for the surface. She saw light ahead and swam for it. Bursting through the calm surface, she breathed in air like never before. Looking around, she grinned at seeing the outside leading to freedom.
The commander waited in the hallway for the bishop as ordered. He rested his hands upon the railing looking out at the ongoings of the courtyard. His eyes remained focused and surly. Black eyes darkened at the disturbing news he needed to report to the bishop. Tightening his fingers on the stone railing, he knew that the bishop would not be pleased. Hearing footsteps leading toward him, the commander turned around to find the bishop calmly walking toward him with a blank stare.
The bishop wore complete white ceremonial gown to signify her position. Confident strides, the bishop passed by the commander before stopping. "What news have you for me, Rad?" the bishop's voice was soft but underlined authority.
"Your excellentcy, I bring news that one of our prisoners have escaped." with a slight bow of his head. The bishop's grey eyes narrowed slightly before walking once more.
"No one escapes from the prison of Aquila." her voice rang with conviction. Her dark green hair swayed in the wind as she turned once more to face Rad. "The people of this city understand this as a historical fact."
Rad kept his head low, "The responsibility is mine."
"Yes." The bishop agreed.
"It would be a miracle for anyone to escape through the sewers." Rad explained hoping that it would prevent him from being punished.
"I happen to believe in miracles, Captain. It's part of my job, Rad" The bishop responded, her eyes growing colder.
"It's only one petty thief. No one of consequence, Your Grace." Rad countered.
"Even storms announce themselves by a simple breeze, Captain. News of this could spread like wildfire and be the beginning of a rebellion." The bishop reasoned adding steel to her voice.
Rad was quiet for a moment, "I understand, Your Excellency, I will find this small fire and put a stop to it at once." he said with conviction.
"Yes." Tomoe held out her hand with the bishop's ring rested on her thumb. Rad bowed and kissed the ring before he departed on his mission.
Rad alerted his men to prepare for a hunt. As he armed himself before mounting his steed, he rode out of the gates to find his men waiting and ready. "We are heading north to locate a woman by the name of Arika! We are to capture her. Anyone of you who manages to capture her will be brought to the bishop for recognition. Anyone who lets her escape will face me for a gruesome death! NOW RIDE!" Rad head the charge with his men faithfully following his lead.
A small hand lifted out of the moat for a dagger stuck into the soft ground before it. A head followed suit as their hand lifted the dagger. Ant looked at a couple of guards sitting for their break. She located the leather purse on one of the guards and used the knife to cut the thin leather strap holding it to the guard's belt. With deft hands and years of experience, Ant managed to grab the bag without alerting the guards. It also helped that the guards were paying attention to the horsemen leaving the city. As quietly as possible, Ant sunk under the water with only her head bobbing above the surface. "I know that I swore never to pick another pocket again, Lord, but I also know that you know what an incredibly weak person I am." she whispered before disappearing in the waters once more.
Ant felt the cool evening breeze even more torturous because of her wet clothes. She rubbed her thin arms hoping to get some warmth into them. She stopped when she heard the faint sounds of horse running in her direction. Looking behind her, she sees a small group of men in the distance heading toward her. She looked around for a place to hide only to see a hilly plain. Cursing, she ran toward a hill that seemed big enough to hide her from the eyes of the riders. She pressed her body as close as she could praying not to be discovered. The thunderous sound became louder as did her heart. She watched as horses ran passed her and some jumped over the hill nearly trampling her in the process. Thankfully, she was thin and small enough to keep herself hidden and undected.
As the last of the riders rode past her, she waited a few more seconds before looking at them. 'Phew, that was close.' she breathed a sigh of relief. She got up and left the road toward the forest, a mile away. Night was falling at an incredible rate and her body was shivering uncontrollably. Her bare feet cut and scratched from the unforgiving environment. she needed to find something to wear and some shoes. She continued on her journey as the morning arrived. The cool air seemed to turn icy. The floor matted with early frost as she passed by a lake. In the distant, she heard the howling of wolves. "Wolf...wolf...great! I hate wolves. Please no wolves." she voiced her complaints as she increased her steps. Every so often looking about her for any sort of danger. She begun to mutter about great things to eat to get her mind off the wolves howling. "Lamb...roasted lamb sounds delicious."
The sun was setting as the rider continued on its journey. The cawing of a hawk made the rider's head turn to the right. The hawk flew toward the rider. The rider stuck out its arm once again and the hawk landed. The hawk cawed again as the rider looked at it. The hood of it's black cape hide the face of the rider. Weariness was evident, it had been days of riding since their last stop at a village. Supplies was getting low. The rider saw that night was approaching. A sigh escaped from its mouth.
Ant crouched amongst the livestock. She didn't want to be found as it was mid day and she needed clothing. Carefully, she looked around to find washed clothes hanging from a line. Two young girls were sitting nearby playing but no adults. To be safe, Ant released the gate to let the livestock out to keep the adults' attention away from her as she grabbed random clothes from the line and stuffing them inside her shirt. Then she spotted shoes. The girls were watching her with curiosity as she neared. "Hello." Ant greeted them. They responded in kind. "What's that over there?" she pointed behind them.
Their heads turned immediately, she swiped the shoes and walked off. The kids muttered how she stole their daddy's shoes. Ant was pleased with her findings. She quickly walked off into the brush to change and stay hidden. Once changed, she ran for the next quarter mile to the village nearby. Feeling utterly victorious that she had escaped and was too far away to be caught, she let out a laugh with no worries.
The rider watched from underneath a tree at the village up ahead. Contemplating whether or not to enter, the rider's eyes changed direction at a young girl running freely toward the village. The rider could feel its horse stamping its feet restlessly; the rider knew the horse wanted to run as well. The rider lowered its hood to reveal long, dark raven locks with a hint of blue in it.
Ant rode with her chest puffed out with pride. The revelation that she...SHE had escaped from the prison Aquila, known for being inescapable. She was going to be legendary! Spotting the barkeeper, she walked up to him, "A cup of your most finest." She placed her hands upon her hips. The barkeeper rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, let me see your money." The barkeeper walked toward the bar running a rag over the grainy surface. Ant confidently shook a bag of coins from her belt while looking around the place. For a bar, it was standing outside instead of a building. A nice place to shout and reveal her impossible feat. "A drink for anyone who will drink with me for a celebration!" She announced to everyone. Most of the townspeople ignored her as they went about their duties. The barkeeper slammed a cup of mead upon the stone made table.
Ant grabbed the cup and took a sip before someone's voiced out, "What is the reason behind this celebration?" Ant looked toward a group of hooded men. Striding over toward them with her cup in hand, Ant nearly beamed at the perfect opening for her story.
"Well, my good gentlemen, have you heard of a place called Aquila?" She asked, who has not heard of it. The place was legendary.
"Yes." The voice responded.
"Well, how would you feel about hearing from someone, who has been inside the walls of Aquila and lived to tell the tale?" She stopped a table away while her mind was coming up with the best and flashiest way to tell her story.
"And you believe this to be a cause of celebration? Even I have seen the walls of it, that is hardly sporting of celebration." "A blacksmith or a carpenter? A stone cutter even? But, a prisoner, who has escaped from those walls?"
A gloved hand revealed a captain's helmet underneath a napkin, "I've never said a prisoner." the men unhooded themselves and turned around. Ant felt a cold feeling creep up her back as she stared in shock into the eyes of Rad, the commander of the army of Aquila. "If you had kept quiet, you may have had the chance of escape, Ant." Rad's men rose from their seated positions.
"You're right." Ant took a step back. Rad turned back to the table to finished his mead.
"Gag her." His men begun to advance toward Ant as Ant realized her predictament. The men started to surround Ant.
Ant being small and quick used that to her advantage. Before one of the men could grab a hold of her, Ant ducked and crawled under the tables causing the men to try and grab her as she swiftly moved under people's feet and tables. Eventually, one of the men used their heads and started turning the tables over. As most of the tables were turned, the men could not find Ant anywhere. They forced people out but not finding Ant anywhere. One of the men noticed people sitting at a table, he forced them to flee except for one elderly person wearing a brown cloak. When the elderly man refused to move, he took his frustration out on the elderly man by ripping the cloak off to reveal it was Ant.
Ant rolled on the table with her back resting against the flat surface to kick the guard in the chest with her feet. She rolled to the floor only to be held by a soldier from behind. Ant lifted her arms upward and slid down. She then pushed the guard away only to reveal a dead end in that direction. Another three guards blocked the other direction so she slid between the legs of one of the guards and kicked the other guard in the knees. Using that guard's bent back as a spring board, she jumped up to the tables kicking and jumping away from guards. Rad watched all this with a bored expression.
He couldn't believe his men were being bested by a street urchin. Unfortunately, Ant found herself constantly being cornered with no way out. She was only delaying the inevitable. Rad also knew this so he merely clapped when Ant found herself stuck with no way out. Without a word, Rad signaled for Ant to come to him. With her head low, she made her way toward Rad. Soldiers grabbed her causing her to panic once more. She pushed the guard away and tried to escape once more. A guard drew out his knife to hold her down, but Ant struggled so hard that when Rad was walking close to them, the knife cut Rad's cheek.
In shock, Ant uttered an apology knowing it would do no good. Rad calmly ran his finger down the cut and glanced at the blood. Walking past them, Rad ordered for them to kill Ant. The men held Ant's arms behind her as another guard stepped forward with his sword ready to deal the final blow. Ant tried to plea for her life as the sword swung toward her neck. She closed her eyes waiting when she heard the sound a man's startled cry of pain. Opening her eyes, she saw Rad quickly move for cover and the man who was going to kill him cradling his arm with an arrow through it.
Rad carefully looked around his cover to find a woman dressed all in black holding a crossbow in her arms. Sharp green eyes kept a steely gaze upon him. Ant watched in horror as another soldier shot an arrow toward the woman but the arrow only flew past her. The woman quickly shot at the soldier killing him instantly. Her dark green eyes returned to the scene before her. Ant had never seen such a beautiful woman in her life. She was tall, dressed completely in black, and her skin was snow white. The woman's stance showed a knowledge of the battlefield. Her eyes remained steady and her emotions were controlled. The woman seemed to be studying the entire situation before her eyes landed on Ant. Ant felt her knees shake from the intense stare. Something told Ant that this woman was someone to be feared. From the reaction of Rad and the men,
her assumptions were true.
"You, get out." Her voice was rough but held a clear feminine tone to it. Ant obeyed without hesitation. She slowly walked toward the mysterious woman. When the woman drew her sword, Ant held her arms up in defense only to find that the woman was not looking at her any longer but at Rad. Ant ran. Rad stopped his men from acting then cautiously stepped forward, "One of my men told me you returned. I cut his throat for lying because I knew that would be stupid." The woman remained silent as she briefly looked away to see if the girl was far enough away only to see a reflection of sunlight from a soldier's sword. The woman quckly deflected the blade with her own. A silent stand off as the soldier smiled warmly at the woman, "Captain Natsuki."
AN: Yes, I decided to try my hand at this. I love the movie, "Lady Hawk"and thought it would fit perfectly for Natsuki and Shizuru. I've never wrote for this couple before, but I always loved them. Encouraging words are always welcomed. If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend you do so. A great classic. Anyway, please enjoy the story. I hope this becomes a huge hit. If not, I hope there will be some people who do enjoy it. Let me know your thoughts. You might have noticed that there are some movie quotes that are in this fic. Do not worry, there will be Natsuki and Shizuru moments, but like I said, this will be based off the movie. And Natsuki finally makes her real appearance. YEAH! Shizuru will be arriving in later chapters. Be patient!