Shattered Dawn
Chapter One
In the very beginning, everything was white and soft around the edges.
Eleven years and the pen only now touch the parchment. As the dark ink scribbles across the page, she looks up in thought. It had begun eleven years ago, hadn't it? That was the very beginning; when they first met. She touched the pen to the parchment once more and began writing.
A small girl, around the age of six danced happily. Her hair was a vibrant pink color and she danced with her mother. They smiled and sang together as they preformed tricks. Their matching bright green eyes twinkled with joy. The girl was born into this world. At this point, she only saw the glitter and heard the twinkling bells. She could not see the scars or hear the hoarse screams.
But she does know that she needs money, otherwise she and her mother might not eat tonight. So she dances her little dance and begins juggling a few lovely stones. She closed her eyes and juggled as her mother carefully put a blindfold over her eyes. The routine they did was one that the little girl was familiar with.
Her mother would blindfold her and then throw small weapons into the mix. It wasn't long before the little girl had expertly caught a small knife and began juggling it along with the others. She tossed a rock at her mother who caught it and began juggling. Soon, they were tossing the little items back and forth in a dual juggling act. When they were done, each of the weapons and rocks were in the mother's hands and they were still. The mother nodded at the little girl who then began singing.
"If your mother says
Straight ahead
Don't delay or be mislead
By a gypsy
Not by a gypsy
Just be aware
You might be in for a scare
Some gypsies aren't fair when
Telling a fortune or making a sale
But if you should pass a sweet gypsy
With a tall glass of ale
Don't be afraid to accept so nice and proper
So when your mother says it nice
Please head her advice
For not all gypsies are as nice
Or as pretty
As me and my mummy!"
The small crowd that had gathered clapped.
The little girl came forth and took a small bandanna off her head. She held it out, as if asking for coins. And who could turn down such an innocent child, born into this life of poverty? No one! Her bandanna was soon full of small silver and bronze coins. It was then that she saw a small cute little boy around her age. He was holding the hand of an older boy and the two approached her.
It was then that the boy who looked her age came up to her. He tilted his head and looked shy, though ready to ask a question.
"How can you tell a mean gypsy from a nice one?" he asked.
The little girl smiled and put her index finger up, ready to read him off the rules.
"Well, for one, good gypsies always wear little bells and old coins sewn onto their clothes. A mean gypsy will never do that unless she's in disguise. But no gypsy can hide their eyes. A mean gypsy will have cold eyes and despite their kind words, always betray you in the end." She replied cheerily.
"Sasuke! Come on, we've got to go!" the older brother called.
The little boy looked back at his brother and then back to the cute girl he had just talked to. He waved at her kindly before he ran back to his brother. The little girl smiled softly and tied her bandanna up into a small bundle.
"Sasuke…It fits." She muttered.
She smirked as she read over what she had written. But almost as quickly as that had come forth, another something in the back of her mind screamed to be set free. She set her pen back to the parchment and began writing.
Ten months after the first time they had unofficially met, was a dark night. The woman who used to be her mother was gone. The poor girl didn't know where her mother was, but she just kept running. She carefully and expertly dodged fences and buildings and soon found herself crawling through a small hole in a wall.
It was then that she reached a beautiful big house. She ran to the door and began knocking on it. It wasn't long before a lovely woman with pretty black hair and eyes in a pretty black dress came to the door. The woman immediately took the poor girl into the big house.
It was then that the woman in the black dress took her into a big room in the big house and gave her some warm soup to eat. When she was finished with her food she took the little girl to a room and had a bath start. The little girl had never had a real full complete bath! She loved every moment of it and scrubbed every last bit of dirt from her hair.
When she came back out, there was a small night gown on her bed. The little girl pulled it on and scrambled into the nice soft bed. But then she blinked her eyes open. What would happen tomorrow? She shook her head and decided to sleep.
She woke early the next morning happy to find that her clothes were fresh and pressed and on the end of the bed. She pulled them on and tightened her bandanna around her head before she ran out of her room silently. In the halls she gets intercepted by the boy she had seen earlier. He takes her hand and leads her to the big room she was in for dinner that previous night.
This time, there is a family eating at the table along with the little girl. She pulls a piece of hair behind her ear and begins eating hastily after a few moments. NO one questioned her movements, but simply ate as well. No one spoke during this strange breakfast and the second she was done, the little girl got out of a chair and left.
After a few minutes of wandering the halls, she quickly found a treasury like room. Using a small pouch that she always held on her, she filled the bag with coins and small jewels. When she heard the door behind her open, she quickly moved towards the shadows and hid herself.
The little boy who had opened the door knew someone was in the room, but he couldn't tell who. The second he was gone, the little girl ran out of the room and towards the one she had come from that morning. But she was slightly surprised to realize that there was a small pouch beside her door.
"What's your name?"
She turned around, slightly surprised at the question. It was the little boy again. How did he keep appearing? Was he a phantom of some sort? Like the ones her mother used to tell her of in bedtime stories?
"My name? My name is Sakura." She replied.
And that very night with two small pouches full of gold, the little girl left.
The pen stopped and yet the flow of words did not. So she continued on with her final date with destiny.
Sakura strolled down the streets of Venice without a single care in the world. The gold she had stolen almost four years ago from that family was still keeping her afloat. Thank goodness she was good with handling her money. She began whistling a happy tune when everything went dark.
She could feel something slip from her eyes when she was awake once more. She looked around and found herself in a dimly light throne room. In the shadows there was a throne with a woman sitting atop it. To her left and to her right there were three women.
"Bow to our Mother." Someone says.
But Sakura does not. She is afraid, unsure of what to do. In almost an instant she felt someone grab her hair in a fistful. In a flurry of movement, Sakura found herself on the ground with a knee on her back.
"Temari, heel." The woman on the throne stated.
"Yes, Mother." The girl called Temari says before backing off.
It amazed her. How could this Temari girl let someone speak to her as if she were a dog, and obey? She blinked a few times and looked back up. The woman is still on her throne but she appears to be smirking beyond the shadows.
"If you were wondering how you were born into this pitiful life of poverty, blame the royals. It is them and it is their fault for destroying us. In the beginning, all people were gypsies. Until one person decided to break the trade and made himself royal. It was then that people decided that other royals needed to be in this world as well, to keep things in order. And it wasn't before long that the remaining gypsies who clung to the old ways were considered dirty and disgusting.
"So the few remaining gypsies formed Underground. In the beginning, we were only a rag tag team of gypsies, but we have made it our mission to destroy each royal and make it so that we all are equal once more.
You were born into this world of hardship and pain. Now it is time for you to obtain your birthright. Accept this world Sakura. It is not a choice. You have nowhere else, you belong here." The woman concluded.
Not daring to rise to her feet, Sakura sat on her knees and took in each thing the woman said. But she still did have someone; her mother. Though she knew that the woman had been missing for four years, Sakura still had hoped that she could be found. She looked up, the words of refusal ready on her tongue. But the sight of the woman who used to be her mother turned the words into bile in her throat.
The woman's emerald eyes were dull and full of pain. Her body was ravaged with scars and dirt. Tears rose in Sakura's eyes as the woman was dropped to the floor. The woman on the throne walked up to Sakura's mother and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her up. A knife was soon in play as it rested against the woman's neck.
"This woman was your only reason that you could have thought of declining my offer. If you ever want to see this pitiful excuse of a woman alive again, you will join us."
The knife pressed harder to Sakura's mother's neck. The tears that threatened to spill over did exactly what they threatened to do. Sakura got to her feet and ran forward until she was on the edge of light and shadow. With a shuddering breath, the girl stepped over into the shadows.
"Yes…Mother."
The woman who held her mother smirked and dropped the woman. Sakura reached out and caught her by the arm, keeping her up. She may not have known it then, but her blood contract with Satan herself had just been sealed.
And so the age old tale begins…