A/N: A different fan fiction this time!
I've been watching a lot of Spice and Wolf lately, since i see it on the FUNimation channel, and a while back, I thought of this story. I started typing this, but then I took a break and started others. Now I finally finished it.
This is going to be a 2nd generation fan fiction, since there are none of Spice and Wolf.
Trust me, the other chapters are going to get waaaaaaayyy better, so sorry if this one sucks.
Spice and Wolf is owned by Isuna Hasekura, Imagin, and FUNimation
Enjoy!
The song of horses' hooves on the hard-packed earth echoed throughout the small town. Horse-drawn carriages flooded the streets, going about their businesses. The moon was high up in the pitch-black sky, and provided light to the rural town. It was close to midnight, yet the town was as active as it was in the daytime; possibly more so. Citizens went here and there, from different cottages and homes, tending to their business. And though the streets and paths were full of activity, the winter night was peaceful when surrounded by quiet.
One of these figures heading into the town was walking at a slow pace. The person shuffled along the paths, keeping to the side so other people and carts could pass by. One could hardly see the person's face, though you could tell it was a female. She wore a shoddy-looking cloak; it was a faded shade of brown and covered in dirt and stains. She wore no shoes, and as a result, her feet were calloused and covered in horrible blisters. The cloak had a hood, which covered her head. This girl looked down so no one could see her face.
The wind nipped at her skin. Since the cloak was all she wore, the girl shivered from the freezing cold. She clutched both her arms and rubbed them, desperately trying to warm herself up. An intense pain shot through her feet every time she tried to walk. However, nothing hurt more than her stomach; because of lack of money, she hadn't had a full meal in weeks. Or was it months? She shook her head; the girl couldn't even remember anymore.
Just as she set foot into the small town, tiny white flakes started to fall from the dark winter sky. She glanced up, staring at the falling flecks. It was nights like these that made her melancholy; but she couldn't figure out why. The faint memory of snow felt somehow sad and comforting at the same time. Most of her life, she had tried to understand why she felt like this, but never came to a concrete conclusion.
Suddenly, she felt her knees start to give way. She had to hold onto a carriage, which was at a stand-still at the moment, just to get her bearings again. This is not good at all…my…b-b-body cannot handle much more…
The girl forgot how long she had been traveling. I guess my memory is not the sharpest, but you would think I would remember something. There hadn't been much that the girl remembered currently. It scared her to think that she couldn't remember anything. All of her memories that she recalled were from the time she found herself alone in the woods. With the exception of her name, of course.
A deep rumble erupted from her stomach. It scared her for a minute until she realized what it was.
I…need something to…eat…or else…I will not be long for this world.
Not that she wanted to stay in this world much longer anyway. She found that others could be cruel if misunderstood. The girl held her aching head up with her hand as she recalled one time when this happened.
{Flashback}
She walked into a tavern; a small, little club that only had poor visitors. Peddlers were seen everywhere. The girl had no money, but she wanted to get a job so desperately so she could buy a meal. Just one meal, so that she could rest at ease that night.
She feebly sauntered up to the bar, rested her frail hands on the counter, and hoarsely whispered,
"Sir...do you…" she broke off into a rough coughing fit, but resumed after, "Do you know of any jobs available…in this town?"
The grizzly man, who had a small beard and goatee combo, glared at her menacingly, and spat, "Are you even old enough to work?"
"I am not sure, sir…but I do know that I am willing to work for anyone…you see, I have no money or food…so-"
But she grew silent as she noticed the bartender stayed silent, looking the girl over. She appeared to be about fifteen years old, but he couldn't tell much due to the cloak she wore.
Finally he grumbled, "No. There are none."
The girl looked down, disappointed.
"I see"
The man then had an unexpected cold-hearted attitude.
"Now, get outta my tavern!"
The girl protested, "But, sir, could you at least give me a small ration of food? Please, sir! I will pay back! I just-"
A loud smack was heard as the man's fist collided with the girl's face. She was thrown back onto the tables and chairs, knocking them over all around her. The clatter droned out the fog of babbles in the tavern.
After a few seconds of silence, the other members of the inn all gasped and looked on with anticipation. They were eager to see what happened next. The girl, weak as she was, managed to stand up, unbalanced, and face the man.
"Now, I said it once, and I'll say it again; GET OUT OF MY PUB BEFORE I REALLY HURT YA!"
That was enough for the girl. She spun around and sprinted as fast as she could out of the bar, and didn't stop until she was a safe distance away.
{End of Flashback}
It hurt the girl deeply to think that others could be so pitiless to those who dreadfully needed help. Almost everywhere she went; she'd find a horribly ill-tempered person waiting to show her who was boss.
Her view of the world suddenly went double on her. She head whirled to the point of excessive nausea and lightheadedness. Once more, she had to lean on something to stop her from keeling over. Her body became very warm all of a sudden, and her stomach pain increased, making her double over and fall to the ground.
She couldn't hear anything that was going on around her. She couldn't see either, for she shut her eyes so tight to ward of the dizziness. The girl's breathing became rapidly ragged and irregular. Feeling this torture, she wondered if her time on this earth was coming to an end.
Through her fog, however, the sickly girl heard a faint voice in the distance.
"Hey…hey, miss…are you all right?"
The girl opened her eyes slightly to see a woman, kneeling down beside the girl, with her hand on the girl's head.
The woman was a gorgeous young maiden; a bit more or less than 30 years of age. She wore a beige dress with a white hem on the bottom and around the sleeves. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which made her face more present. She had sparkly green eyes, and her cheeks were a dim crimson color.
"Are you all right?" The woman asked again. The girl smiled weakly and murmured,
"Yes…y-yes I am fine…thank you…"
The lady stared at her disbelievingly, but replied with nothing at first. She helped the girl sit up by supporting her back. The girl held her head in her hands when she felt the world around her start spinning again. The woman took account of this and put her hand on the girl's forehead.
"You seem to be spiking a fever. And you're wearing such a thin cloak; you must be freezing!"
The girl abruptly waved her hand dismissively.
"No…I am all right…really…t-thank you for being…concerned…"
The girl struggled to stand up, and it took her all of her strength and will to keep herself from collapsing. However, the plan didn't go so well, and she nearly fell again. But the woman caught her and held her steady.
"You poor thing. You're too weak to even stand up."
The girl let her head fall into the woman's chest. She let out a tiny moan and she shivered. I am pathetic. I cannot even respond correctly.
"Come on, dear; I'll take you to my house and get you warmed up."
The girl's heart skipped a beat. No…I can't… She couldn't get too close to others; not only for fear of abuse, but for fear that they may find out her secret. Besides, too many people have covered for her already. Another sacrifice would only make her feel worse.
"N-no…I can't…I…I'm sorry!"
She dashed off in an unspecific direction, desperately wanting to find solitude. The lady called after her, "Hey! Wait!"
But no matter how much her heart hurt to leave the nice woman, she kept running until she found a small, dark alleyway between two buildings. Once inside, she stopped, and took the hood off of her head, revealing long, brown hair, but also something you'd never find on a normal girl.
On her head were two brown and black-tipped ears; wolf ears. This was one of her appendages that she did not want the woman to find. That and her beautiful auburn and black tipped tail. Two details that made her a disgrace to everyone who spotted them. The girl felt the pain of embarrassment and loneliness every time she remembered how others would react to her wolf ears and tail. Voices echoed continuously in her head.
…monster…!
Get out of here, you freak…!
Why are you back to ruin our land…? Why? Answer me, you beast!
The last one was the one that confused her more than anything. That was the topic that came up the most often; '…Come back to ruin the land…"
She had no idea of what it meant. Yet, it seemed that others were implying something bad happened, and she was to blame. This thing obviously concerned 'the land', but it didn't shed light on anything else. And being in the dark and confused made the girl feel so horrible. Whatever it was that she did, she hurt these people. Tears formed in her eyes at this thought that she harmed others, even though she never intended to.
She felt off balance again, so the girl hung onto one of the walls of one of the houses and held her head in her hand. She seized her arms and rubbed them, trying to warm herself up.
I need to find some type of shelter…or else I will not last the night…
Once the wooziness subsided, the girl put her hood over her ears, hid her tail and staggered on off-road. But even though the world stopped spinning in her eyes, her other symptoms got out of control. She felt extremely hot and held her hand to her forehead.
That woman was right…I do have a fever…and it is getting unbearable…
Not only was that a problem, but her head pounded with a great intensity, her parched throat burned, fatigue dragged at her bones, and her hunger was now replaced with horrible nausea. Every one of these signs got worse as she trudged on.
Her vision grew foggy rather let out a loud moan, and then she started to search for some shelter.
A small house came into sight; it was brown, lights lit up inside the abode. As if to spite her, the wind picked up and chilled her bones. The small flakes that descended from the dark sky had become heavier and white was beginning to cover the ground. The girl's shivering had become worse, so she sped up her pace and hurried to the small house. She walked up to the door and knocked.
A tall man of about fifty years old opened the door. He looked the girl over and let out a frustrated grunt.
"What do you want?"
The girl couldn't help but feel hurt by the man's tone. She cleared her throat, which did not help anything at all, and asked,
"Sir…p-please…I have no money and no food…a-and I cannot find any place that will take me in-"
"Man, if I had a silver coin for every time I heard that one…" The grumpy man started. The girl, feeling another hurtful sting, continued,
"Please, sir…if it is no trouble…could…could I stay h-here?"
The man shook his head and crossed his arms.
"Sorry. As one would say; there is no room at the inn"
"But…but sir, please!"
"I SAID NO, YOU BITCH!" The man shook his fist threateningly. Scared that she would receive another beating like at the pub a while back, the girl immediately ran off the property and kept running north, until she felt weakness sink in again.
Well…that did not go well as planned…
She started to cough roughly, making her body tense up with each cough. The girl put her hand over her mouth and stopped walking until the episode stopped. When she looked down at her hand, little specks of blood decorated her palm. Her heart lurched.
Oh no…oh no, this…is n-not good…
Panic flooded through her body, and only made her feel worse. The world was fading out. She was going to pass out if she didn't find shelter soon.
The girl quickly looked around, looking for someplace to stay for a little while. Her eyes caught a tiny, brown shed. She sprinted as fast as her injured feet could take her there. Upon closer inspection, the hut was tinted with green mold in the cracks of the wood. It was definitely weathered, but she didn't care; if it was warm and safe, she didn't care what it looked like.
She opened the squeaky door with a weak hand, and was greeted with a warm breeze. A small lantern hung from a hook on the wall, and gave the small shed a light glow. Nothing was really occupying the shed, except for a big pile of hay and wheat.
Wheat. For some reason, that sparked something inside her. But she had no idea why.
The girl wobbled to the pile and collapsed down on it. Even though the hay and wheat tickled her skin and made her itchy, she settled down into it nonetheless. Darkness was engulfing her again, claiming her consciousness. Her breathing quickened and she lay there twitching and gasping, afraid of her condition.
Mom…Dad…I am sorry…but I do not think that I will make it…to Yoitsu…
Tears gently dripped from her eyelids as she finally closed her eyes.
I am…so sorry…I have failed…
A/N: AAAANNNND TA-DAH! First chap done!
I will not disclose the girl's name until the next chapter or Chapter 3. Sorry X3 you're gonna have to wait!
It WILL get better later on, so please stay tuned and Review! thankies!