Shouts of anger roused the child with a start.
The little girl propped up onto her elbow, rubbed the sleep from her eyes with a sleeve. Her room was still dark and eerily silent besides the distant shouts. With a yawn, she tossed the blanket aside and called out her nurse. No reply came. She never leaves me.
With the fragility of her six-year-old imagination, the shadows surrounding her began to take the shapes of monsters. Distressed and without anything to distract her, she turned her gaze to the windows. It was a downpour outside, with the rain beating loudly against the glass, rattling the panes.
"Baba," the affectionate name for her nurse was a mere whisper on her lips, even though she felt the strong urge to scream.
No, she told herself, I'm a tough girl, just like Father said. I am no baby; I'll not scream unless I must.
Suddenly there were hushed voices just beyond her bedroom door, out in the hallway, although she couldn't make out what they were saying. Curiosity conquering her fear, she rolled out of the warm bed and quietly padded across the room. She stopped in front of the door, pressed her ear to the cool surface.
"The little wench is sleeping in here." The muffled voice of a man.
Another spoke up, snickering, "we have no use for her. There's nobody left to ransom her to."
The voices were clear, but she did not recognize them. She frowned and once again concentrated on their conversation.
"We'll just get rid of her, like the others. And then it's done."
"Good idea. Killing the Kamiya child would mean no heir to the throne-"
She jumped back from the door, sank into the shadows. Instinct told her to get away, as far as she could possibly go.
She remembered her father's words then, through the panic.'If there's trouble, escape through the window.'
Scrambling clumsily, she reached for the window and forced it open. A cold wind burst through the opening. Its howling was loud and frightening as she climbed onto the sill.
The door to her room was slid open loudly and the shouts of men could be heard. The girl wiggled frantically through the window.
Calloused fingers caught one of her ankles. She cried out in terror, lashing out until her heel met a nose. There was a howl of pain, and the hold on her was gone.
She strained her neck, her eyes meeting the pair of two others and the form of another holding his face. Though young, she knew the image of those faces must never be forgotten.
The rain was already soaking her, the nightgown clinging to her skin. She did not care that her shivers were uncontrollable. Her only thoughts were of escape and survival.
She swung down from the window without as much as a glance to the ground beneath.
Author's Note: A simple intro finished, rushed but complete. It's not much, but I've never found prologues to be very long. Anyways, things are probably confusing at this point. It'll make sense sooner or later, promise! Hopefully I'll have the first chapter out snappily.