There is a legend in my family passed down from mother to daughter from generation to generation. As I walk through the park on a normal spring afternoon heading home, I reminisce as a child my mother whispered the secret into my ears at bed time.
"I'll tell you a secret, my dear. A secret that cannot be reveal to anyone else but your own daughter," she said in her warm, motherly voice.
The cool west wind passed and twirl around me like an adoring hug from an invisible, heavenly guardian.
"So it's our secret mommy? I can't tell otou-san or nii-chan either?" my childish voice rings in my ears.
"Yes, not even otou-chan or anii-chan, and it is certainly our little secret, my doll" she teased as she poked my chubby cheek, a smile on her lips.
"I'm not a doll, mommy! Yuuri is a big girl, otou-san said so!" the little my pouted, cutely without intended, causing my mother to smuggle me in her chest.
"Yuu-chan kawaii desu!" my mother squealed much to my erh. I yawned then before pouting, "The secret mommy."
Another gust of wind passed me and successfully called me back to reality. I never understood what she meant, not at all until my fourteenth birthday when a strange symbol appeared on the skin above my heart overnight.
My sharp ears caught sounds of commotions to the right of me making me turned. There were four boys, three of the boys I recognized as unnamed bullies from a neighboring school and the victim looked somewhat familiar to me though I can't seem to recall his name. As if hearing my thoughts, the boy turned towards me, and our eyes met.
'Murata Ken' I finally recalled, only to have the three bullies turned their attention to me as I have unknowingly create a distraction making it possible for Murata to escape and caused the bullies to turn to me for repercussion.
Instinct took over me as I ran. Relief was not able to reach me as a chain reaction happened. One thug tripped and fell pushing the ones in front of him to fall and pushed the thug closest to me to lose his balance and pushed me off the bridge making me fall into the pond below. My only saving grace was somehow and almost unnatural wind softens my fall.
Splash!
The calm pond water was disturbed by the girl's fall. She quickly sink in an almost unnaturally fast pace. To anyone superstitious watching, it would appeared that the pond is alive and swallowed the girl whole. The wave of disturbance triggered an unnatural reaction.
The water around the girl swirled and the current grew strong and harsh. She was caught in the eye of the maelstrom.
"What's happening?!" her mind screamed as the water devour her whole. For what felt like eternity, she struggled to no prevail as then finally her effort fruited as she swam toward the surface. She grasped for breath and tunneled her vision as she swam to shore.
She collapsed face up on the shore, eyes closed, as she took a moment to catch her breath and calmed her racing heart. Once she deemed herself calm enough, she slowly opened her eyes to the world around her and froze in shock. Her sharp mind quickly concluded that she is no longer where she was.
The only question is "Where am I?"
The sound of approaching footsteps alerted her of possibly coming danger. Swiftly, she acrobatically made her way up the tallest tree closest to her. Silently cursing her dripping wet clothes, she strategically plaster her body on the tree in order to control how the water descend down, sliding instead of dropping. Below her was a girl of European descends dressed in medieval clothing belonging to middle Europe. The girl was carrying a basket of purple colored fruits that greatly resembled apples. The girl looked around in confusion and spoke in a language Yuuri was not able to recognize. After a few minutes of looking around the girl below her gave up and retraced her steps back to the location she came from.
Yuuri let out a breath of relief that she did not noticed she was holding. Deciding it was time to explore her currently unfamiliar location, she pushed her back off the tree, though with a hand still holding it for balance, and scanned the scenery around her. The forest was abundant with trees and the ground is covered in natural grass and wild flowers from what she can tell the season in not Spring but early summer. Another uneasy feeling sparked in her as her mind registered this.
'Just where am I?'
Deciding that it was more beneficial to not stay in one place for too long, she skipped from tree to tree using graceful movements like the figure gymnast that she is. It seemed like today is not a good day for her, however. On her 13th hop, she happened to almost step on a sleeping snake. A feeling of foreboding warned her first before she saw it at her feet and screamed. In her fright she missed her landing on the next branch and fell. Luckily or unluckily as she'll later question, she fell right on the lab of one Adelbert von Grantz who sat on his horse, scaring the animal and caused it to run.
Away from the danger of the snake and into another, the sudden movement of the horse caused her to grabbed hold of the nearest thing to her, which happened to be the solid body of one blond man. Her faced was hidden on the crook of his neck as she screamed in fright at the horse heavy gallops. Body plastered against the man with arms tightly griped around his neck even as the movements around her stopped. After her adrenaline-pumped blood calmed somewhat, she finally noticed her predicament. The warmth of another person, she quickly conclude as a man, made her froze first she then noticed his scent of sandalwood and mint and the warm breath on the exposed skin of her neck.
"Well, this is an interesting way to catch my attention, the most inventive so far."
Yuuri shivered as his deep voice vibrate down her spine even though she could not understand what the man said. Fearfully, she slowly raised her head and had to hold back a grasp. Piercing deep blue eyes scanned her feminine face before looking into her dark eyes from an extremely handsome face. There was something within his eyes that made her feel uneasy. Without thinking, she quickly whispered her apologizes and tried to jump off the horse but large, tone arms caught her effortlessly and held her captive around her small waist. Her left cheek pressed almost gently against his hard chest and an almost familiar feeling splashed within her.
She did not know that that same familiar feeling was rushing through the man's body as well causing him to close his eyes.
"Who are you, girl?!"
She jumped at his harsh tone and let out a small scream large hand squeeze the back of her head.
"Who are you?!"
She pushed against his chest in shock and both by her sudden comprehension of his words and because she wanted to give him a piece of her mind for hurting her without reason only to stop short at the conflicting feelings she read in his eyes.
"Sorry"
Her soft voice must have triggered something in him again as his arm around tightened, bringing her closer to him and make her heart race for reason unknown to her though she figured it was because of fear.
"What's your name, girl?"
She was about to answer when the sounds of gallops approach them and she found her face once again pressed on the crook of the blond man's neck. The thumping of her heart drummed loudly in her ears.
"Yuuri, Yuuri, where are you?"
The sound of her name made her turn only to stiffen up as her lips passed the skin of her man's neck.
"Sorry!" her voice was still soft but frightful.
"Yuur…"
The voice as louder this time, closer but she could only guess as she was still unable to move do to the hand behind her neck. She felt so small and vulnerable.
"Don't come any closer!" the deep voice of the still unnamed blond ordered.
"Let go of her highness, Adelbert!"
This caused her to frown, unseen to all but the blond.
"Is that your name, girl?"
She nodded. "Can you please let me go now?"
"Adelbert! I command you to let of her."
Yuuri tried to turn once more unsuccessfully, as the hand on her neck restricted her from doing so.
"Please" she begged staring into his dark blue eyes.
His stare was piercing but his holds loosen slightly, enabling her to turn.
"Yuuri-heika!" the brown haired man called to her, causing a confused frown to form on her face. They were surrounded by soldiers. It was easy to see that the brunette was the leader. Clearly, she was missing something as the blond who held her captive in a strangely gentle way if she had taken the time noticed and the brunette soon engaged in battle. She was held at blade point for only a moment by the blond and was soon pushed off his horse as he made his escape. She gazed after the blond distance silhouette in confusion as she could not figure out whether he was an ally or an enemy to her.
Again missing most of the conversation do to her wondering mind, she was once again left speechless and confused as the brunette, who's name she slowly recalled from the quick battle that she mostly missed, kneeled before her, head bowed and a hand over his heart.
"Heika, forgive me for not getting here sooner."
The man head was now lifted and looking intently at her. She could tell that he meant to say more, but she interrupted him.
"Who are you? And why are you referring to me as Heika?"
"Because you are my Queen, you highness"
She wanted to call his words bull, but the seriousness in his tone stopped her. Unable to find an alternative to her confusing situation, she settled to follow the man feeling apprehensive as she they were surrounded by his soldiers.
She felt uncomfortable as she was settled on his horse with the man, Conrad she recalled silently, behind her. The arm around her waist was gentle, but it did not bring her any comfort as he is very much a stranger to her.
The ride was long, and she refrained from asking about the man's destination figuring the answer would give her no since of relief as she would most likely not know anything about the place anyway. One thing she concluded was that she is not in her world anymore.