"Faith"

Author's note: Dear readers, … You know, I do not know what to say except thank you for reading and reviewing! I just wanna write right now. Let's get started…

Oh, but first the disclaimer (out of respect for those awesome authors)!

~ I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh! ~

"Talking"

'Whispering'

'Thoughts'

~ Mysterious Voice ~

~ Mysterious Voice ~

Chapter 1: "Anybody!"

No sound. No thoughts. No smell, not tasting anything and nothing to see. She felt nothing. No pain, no fear. Everything had faded away together with her consciousness.

~ … -p! ~

'Sound?'

~ W-… up! ~

'Yeah, there was a sound.' She thought.

~ -mn, w-… up L-…! ~

'He sounds like something dangerous is happening.' Lea tried to open her eyes, but she still felt very drowsy.

~ LEA! ~

'Damn! What is it?!' Lea tried to move. Something was wrong. Why couldn't she breath?

~ You-are-drowning, wake up this instant! ~

The voice was harsher than the one from earlier that day. That yell was enough to make Lea realize her situation. With a shock, she opened her eyes.

Being back in reality was not fun in the least. Fighting to stay conscious, she couldn't breathe, the lack of air taking a toll on her. She had to find the surface before she would faint again! There was no time for thought as she fought against the wild water. Her body, heavy with all her winter clothes, was pulled deeper because of the weight. While being thrown from side to side by the water she was able to relieve herself from her overcoat, reducing her weight.

'I have to go up!' Lea fought against the power of the water. Finally, she was able to reach the surface, only to be pulled under water again by the current.

'Not happening!' Not giving up she was able to breach the surface again. It was very draining to fight against the current. Her injured leg was giving out. She had to grab something! Just as Lea was pulled down again she was thrown against a rock. If not for her reflexes, she would not be able to hold on to that rock. Pushing on, she pulled herself up and clamped onto the rock, just high enough to hold her head above the fast-moving water.

0000

'Alright, now I just have to catch my breath and reach the side...' As Lea was looking around her she felt it was beginning to look hopeless. She was in the middle of quite a big river. The current was too wild to risk anything on her own. Lea had to pull herself back up as she was getting swept below the water again, but no matter what, she was not letting go of that rock!

But even so, the water was cold. Lea was hurt, she was probably losing blood. Her powers were fading away. In the water, some objects impacted Lea's exhausted body without mercy.

'Come on … Just hold on.' Lea tried to not become hopeless as she whispered to herself. 'Do not give up, hold on … hold on...' She had to pull herself up again.

Her sight became blurry. The sound of the water faded away. Lea lost the power in her legs, her hands were giving out. The muddy water filled her mouth as she was pulled below the surface yet again.

'No.' Lea opened her eyes. 'Not giving up, I am sure someone ...' Lea gave a shout. "Someone!" She spits the mud out. "Anyone! Please!" Dizziness was taking over again. Her sight was gone. She did not taste the mud any more. The pain was incredible.

"There!" An unknown voice sounded through the darkness. Lea twitched.

"Do not give up young one!" Lea tightened her grip on the rock, pulling herself up for the last time and clamping to it like never before. "Hold on, I will save you!" Although her sight was still blurry, Lea saw in the corner of her eyes a man jumping into the water. Within seconds he had reached her.

The man used the rock to hold onto. He pulled Lea to his chest, at least her tried. She was not willing to let go of the rock just yet.

"Come on," the man placed his left arm around her waist, "I've got you."

0000

The man sounded really calm. The arm around her waist felt really strong. Lea wanted to let go of the rock, trust the man but… Her body was not listening, it would not move. Her breath was shallow as she started to panic. 'No there is someone here to help and I can't even let go of that stupid rock!'

0000

The man noticed her panic. There was no time, staying any longer in the river would be very dangerous. Forcing the girl was no option.

"Come on, just take a deep breath." He told her. He lifted her body a little higher, enabling her to breathe without the water hindering her. She looked at his face, doing as he told her.

'That is a good start,' the man thought, 'She is at least able to and willing to listen.' "Now, slowly let go of the rock. Yeah, like that." The man was encouraging. It looked like she was nearly ready to let go when a warning sounded from the shore.

Lea looked over the shoulder of the man and gasped. A big tree was drifting ridiculously fast towards the two. There was no way they could get away in time!

The man looked at the girl. The fear in her face was everything he needed to know about what was coming. "Trust me!" He looked into Lea her black eyes. It did not even take a second when she let go of the rock, trusting in the power of those words and his eyes. The man covered her head with his other arm as they dove under water.

Struggling to get to the surface again, the man noticed something more terrifying than the tree trunk they had just dodged. The dull roar of a waterfall was dangerously close. Already worrying about that danger, he would not have noticed their way out if it was not for the girl shouting, "Rope!"

The man on the shore just threw them the end of the rope. Lea caught it and was not planning to let go. The man with her quickly gripped the rope to and pulled Lea's face close to his. "Hold on to me, do not let go! We will get out of this."

Lea did as he told, not doubting him and trusting him fully. Clamping to him and squinting her eyes as she felt the pain in her body becoming harder to bear. It took her some time to notice the hands that pulled her out of the water.

As Lea was laying on her back, she was not planning to even try to move. She was awfully aware how extensive the damage to her body was. She wanted to sleep already, to not feel the cold and the pain. Lea was tired, all the power was drained from her body. 'Those men will understand it, right?' She thought, hoping to be permitted to sleep.

"Little girl?" Someone lightly slapped her cheeks. "You cannot sleep just yet." Lea acted as if she was unconscious, hoping the men would let her sleep for a bit already. "I am sure you can hear me pretty lady." The slaps on Lea her cheek made her feel irritated. 'As if I'm not hurting enough already.' Lea was becoming angry, her drowsiness fading away. She growled frustrated as she opened her eyes.

The drenched man gave her a little smile. The man had short, brown hair. His eyes were brown and he looked quite muscular. He was wearing some kind of uniform and a sword was placed on his hip.

'He is quite handsome.' The smile became bigger. Lea her eyes became bigger as she realized what had happened. 'Did I just say that out-loud!?' Quickly she looked away. On her other side, a few meters away there was another man, the one who had thrown the rope. He was rummaging in some packsaddles and took out two coats and a little package. He gave a brown coat to the drenched man and took the black coat with him as he kneeled down near Lea.

As Lea observed this man she noticed they gave somewhat the same feeling, but they looked quite different. This man was quite slim, looked a bit younger than the other and had orange coloured hair. He looked with sharp and observant eyes at Lea.

In order to not look too weak Lea tried to sit up. Not a good idea. As Lea yelped the drenched man made her lie down again. "Let me quickly examine you a bit." He said as he scanned her body for injuries. Lea wanted to object, not too happy about him looking at her intently but she could not. She was just too tired to argue.

Both man came to the same conclusion, the girl was hurt quite badly. After applying some first aid, with the materials out of the package, they put the black coat carefully around the girl. Looking at the girls eyes they also knew she needed medical attention, and fast. The light in her eyes were disappearing as she was beginning to lose conscious. The man with the brown eyes gently took the girl in his arms and lifted her up. She hissed, but did not fight back. "We need a place to take care of her, do you know a place close to here Yozak?" The man with the orange hair nodded and took Lea for a while from the other man as he mounted his horse. After mounting he stretched his arms and took Lea from Yozak. Yozak quickly mounted his horse and led the way.

The drowsiness and the rocking from the horse quickly became too much for Lea. She was able to just mutter one question to her savior, 'What is your name?' Her eyesight was becoming blurry. The sounds were yet again disappearing. The warmth and smell from the man were comforting.

The last she remembers was how the man wrapped his arm a little tighter around her, answering her inquiry, "My name? I am called Conrad, Conrad Weller."

Next chapter …

Lea will be dreaming while Conrad is taking care of her battered body, sensing something strange. After Lea wakes up, they will talk. In this conversation, they will find some answers, but a lot of questions will be left unanswered as Yozak comes to get them with a serious look in his eyes. What is going to happen this time? Will Lea be able to handle it?

Author's note: This chapter has become a tad longer than expected. But Conrad (and of course Yozak) have taken the stage, yeah!

Firebirdnamedsam, thank you for proofreading my work!

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