A/N- So here's my second SM fic. Sorry for those who wanted a sequal to the Princess and the Pirate, but I just got the idea for this and had to start writing. So I hope you guys like this story just as much as you liked the other one. Reviews are greatly appreciated!
Gold and white flashed in and out of the trees of the dark forest. Following the blur were three men on horse back, all yelling at each other and all grunting as trees hit them. "Andrew! Give her a warning shot!" One of the men called to his blonde comrade. Andrew notched an arrow and aimed for just right of the girl's path. When he shot the girl jerked to the right and the arrow implanted itself into the girl's arm.
"Andrew! I said a warning shot!" The man yelled.
"I know Jed!" Andrew hollered back. The girl stumbled for a few steps and then reached up and yanked out the arrow from her shoulder. She looked back at the men with big blue eyes before running again. "Does she not know when to stop?!"
"C'mon, let's get her so we can go home." The third man said. The other two nodded and nudged their horses faster. They girl was getting slower due to the loss of blood and so it was easy to catch up. Jed was the first person to reach her, and leaned over to pick her up. The girl started fighting and protesting, but Jed held her in a tight grip.
"What's your name little one?" Jadeite asked. The girl remained silent and continued to wiggle around. "I asked you a question! Answer it and stop moving!" At his outburst the girl stilled her motion, but stayed stiff and silent.
"She's not going to answer no Jed, you've probably stunned her into silence." Andrew chided.
"I wasn't the one who shot her with an arrow!" Jed shot back.
"I wasn't the one who scared her when she was picking some berries so she shot off running!" Andrew retorted.
"Both of you shut up! Jed, give me the girl. You and Andrew can fight the rest of the way home." The third man said again. Jadeite handed the girl over to his comrade and glared at Andrew. "It will take most of the rest of the day till we reach the castle so you two asses better not start anything!"
"Yes Mal." The two groaned. Mal rolled his eyes and started to walk out of the forest and onto the main road.
"I am sorry, my two comrades can be a little overwhelming." The girl just nodded, but stayed silent. "You will be meeting with King Darien of the Jade Kingdom. He will want to question you on why you were in his forest and then if he decides you are free you may return home." Again the girl just nodded. She relaxed a little bit though and seemed to rest for a bit.
Malachite was right, the ride did take most of the day. The girl had completely relaxed in Malachite's chest and was almost asleep. "Lord Malachite! Welcome back!" A sentry called from the top of the walls. They had reached the capital city and were greeted by the men and large white walls.
"Thank you Darnel! Open the gates; we must speak to King Darien as soon as possible." Malachite answered. The man nodded and opened the gates so the company could walk into the city. The sentry from before greeted them when they walked in.
"Lady Mina will not like this scene my lord."
"It could have been worse. Jadeite was the first one to catch our elusive rabbit and then there would be more of a problem with Lady Rei." Malachite answered with a smile. Darnel smiled back and moved so his lords could continue the journey to the palace.
The girl sat right back up and watched as city life happened all around her. Her eyes seemed to absorb the different colors of the clothes and blankets that the merchants had brought out to sell today. Mal smiled and knew that Mina would probably bond with the girl if the two were given the right chances. They both had blonde hair, blue eyes, and were entranced with shopping.
The group reached the front of the palace and dismounted. The girl was now being held by Andrew and had Jadeite to her left. Her shoulder had stopped bleeding and she hid it under her shirt as best she could. She shifted nervously as three other men came and got the horses from them. When the horses were gone they walked into the palace where servants, Lords, and Ladies all openly stared at the group with curiosity.
"Lord Malachite, Jadeite, and Andrew, as well as a guest." A servant said as the group walked into the throne room. King Darien was sitting on his throne and had been talking to two other men who all had armor similar to Malachite, Jadeite and Andrew. The men turned and looked at the newcomers, especially the girl.
"My lord." Malachite said and bowed. Andrew and Jadeite followed Malachite's example and bowed. The girl was just looking around at the palace that she had just entered. Andrew grabbed her arm and pulled her down in a bow as she gave off a squeak of surprise.
"My friends, who did you find?" Darien asked eyeing the woman. Serenity had yet to see him, but when she looked at him he was surprised at how bright and clear her blue eyes were. Darien sucked in a breath as she held his gaze for a few seconds before her eyes kept traveling over the other people and things in the room.
"We found this woman in the forest. She was picking some berries from a bush and had already taken some fruit from some of the trees." Malachite explained. "When we tried to talk to her she took off running. Jed told Andrew to fire a warning shot, but instead he hit her in her shoulder."
"She jerked to the right! I did not mean to hit her." Andrew tried to defend himself. Darien's eyes shot over to the girl's shoulder he saw the blood stained shirt that weakly hung over her shoulder.
"Come here little one." Darien said. Serenity didn't walk over to Darien like he had expected her to do, but had moved closer to Malachite.
"Go on, he will not hurt you." Malachite said pushing Serenity forward a bit. She hesitated before taking small, unsure steps to Darien. The three other soldiers he had been talking to moved away and over to their comrades as the woman approached the King.
When the girl was close enough Darien held out his hand and pulled the girl a little bit closer. He lifted the edge of the cloth that hung over her shoulder only to see red from where blood had just been. Darien's eyes snapped up to Serenity as she tried to pull away.
"Who are you? Or what are you?" Darien asked. His hand loosened its hold around her hand and she slipped away. When she was a step back she turned on her heels and started sprinting for the door, but Malachite caught her before she could escape. Again she started pounding and kicking hopping he would let her go. When she had settled down a bit he also lifted up the piece of the clothing and looked in astonishment as the wound was gone.
"What is your name little one?" Darien asked walking towards the pair. The girl just wiggled more into Malachite, trying to get away from the King.
"Darien Endymion Terran! You get away from that young woman right now!" A female voice exclaimed. Everyone looked over to the doors where five women were standing. Lady Rei, Darien's sister, was the one who had spoken. She had fire in her eyes and was ready to fight Darien, who merely rolled his eyes and stepped away.
"Malachite, who is she?" Lady Mina asked.
"We found her in the forest. She was picking berries and fruit…"
"YOU WERE GOING TO ARREST HER FOR PICKING BERRIES?" Rei yelled. The girl in Malachite's arms winced and tried to hide behind the man again.
"I am sorry about Lady Rei. She can have quite the temper." Lady Ami said. She walked over to Malachite and looked at the girl. "Malachite why is her shirt bloody?"
"Please tell me you two did not try and shoot her?" Lady Lita groaned.
"We were firing a warning shot when she moved and the arrow hit her instead."
"You are so lucky that Rei is fighting with Darien right now. Otherwise she would be yelling at you." Indeed Rei was yelling at Darien who had retreated to the throne and was leaning his head into his palm. "Who shot the warning arrow?"
"Andrew did." Jadeite said quickly.
"Andrew, a warning shot goes above the head that way you know the person in question won't get hurt." Lita lectured.
"Lita, I am sure that Andrew knows better. He will not make the mistake again." One of the men from before said as he wrapped his arms around Lita.
"Now let me see your shoulder." Ami said. She moved the cloth to see no wound where the blood covered cloth had been over. "Malachite, I thought you said you shot her?" The other girls came over to see what Ami was talking about and whispered quietly. By this time Rei had also rejoined the group and had seen the flawless skin where a bloody arrow shot should have been.
"That was what we were trying to figure out." Darien said, coming up behind Rei.
"I can't believe this. In all the lands of this realm have you ever seen anything like it?" Ami asked.
"I've heard stories." Mina said, piping up. "My mother used to tell me about the –" The girl had lunged at Mina and covered her mouth. She had fear in her eyes that were silently pleading not to tell. Mina pried the girls fingers from her mouth and looked at her with a friendly smile. "Do not worry my friend, your secret shall be safe with me." The girl sighed and nodded.
"You haven't known her for five minutes and you already have secrets?" Rei muttered.
"Can we know a name that we can call you by?" Ami asked. The men were all watching the exchange with interest. The girl looked around all the people that had surrounded her and shrunk back into the wall as far as she could. When she realized she could not escape the group without giving up on small bit of information she looked down at the marble flooring.
"Serena, my name is Serena."