Hi everyone! Chapter one onwards will be related to the memories the woman mentioned in prologue. Enjoy reading XD

To slavedriver2008: thank you very much for your input dear :D. Aside that, did you enjoy the prologue?

Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi is owned by Yuu Watase. All the copyrights associated with Fushigi Yuugi belong to her. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.

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CHAPTER ONE: SUPERBIA (pride)

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British Empire, Hampshire, Woolmer Forest – Julian Calendar October 14th, 1348 -

The moonlight penetrated through the trees, bathed the creatures in the forest. It was eerily calm; the only sounds produced were from nocturnal insects and wolves. The fireflies danced in the moonlight, creating such a beautiful view.

A group of soldiers from Colchester town paced slowly, trying not to attract the forest creatures. Crunching sounds reverberated as the soldier's boots step on the sandy soil. They were on the way home from the Battle of Crécy. It has been two years since the war took place and English longbow men had managed to crush the French army.

Along with them, there were three of horse-riding knights. The group was exhausted, and one of the knights decided to take a rest following one of the soldiers just about to collapse. Some of them whom were still fit enough stayed awake to keep the group safe from undesirable attacks.

One of the knights couldn't sleep. His azure blue eyes drifted half closed but disturbing images of corpses that died from the plague kept him away from his slumber. Their faces were horrible; their mouths wide open as if to scream their suffering that accompanies them out till their death. People called the plague as Black Death.

No amount of medical knowledge could help England when the Black Death struck. In the short amount of time, the population decreased rapidly. Understandably, peasants were terrified at the news that the Black Death might be approaching their village or town while nearly all the victims died within three days. The filth in the streets of the towns and cities did not help to stop the spread of the disease. The Black Death had a huge impact on society. Fields went unploughed, harvests weren't brought, animals were lost wandering in the streets. Towns and cities faced food shortages. One consequence of the Black Death was inflation – the price of food went up creating more hardship for the poor.

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Faint melodious voice not far away from the camp came to his ear. It was indeed strange because he was sure that they were the only one currently stayed in the area. In the midday before they had come across a group of bandits and he made sure to slain all of them. And they hadn't found any inhabitants of the forest since they took off from Colchester. He narrowed his eyes and decided to take a look. He came out from his tent and went into the direction where the voice came. A few soldiers who also heard the voice tried to follow him but he dismissed them, saying no need of it because although it is a code, him being a higher-up to be accompanied with, his mind strangely wanted to be by himself this time. The voice had grown louder as he walked further and later than for about ten minutes the voice stopped when he found a water spring, the water so clear and calm it seemed like it was glowing faintly as it reflected the moonlight. He was thirsty, hence, he bent down and cupped his hands to scoop and drank the fresh water. He then stood up and suddenly he heard the voice again. He halted at what he was doing, taking a defensive stance and drawing his sword in case the owner's voice was villain and had a weapon. The wind blew his sun-kissed blond hair, and all of a sudden someone emerged behind the old oak tree. The knight realized then that it was a woman, dressed in a white gown with gold lines. Her face couldn't be clearly seen because of the dark.

He drew back his sword hastily and stared at her before asking, "Lady, what are you doing in the forest alone in this midnight?"

There was a pause. The woman only stared back at him. It was then the moon was free from the clouds and illuminated both of them. The woman was alluring. Her sandy, long blond hair almost touched her knees and her teal eyes glimmered like gems. Her ivory skin was glowing, caressed by the moon and made her feature ethereal.

"I come to warn you, your friend knights, and your subordinates," the woman finally spoke, "leave the forest immediately before the next night arrives." Despite her fragile look, her voice sounded rich and confident since the women he ever met except the nobles (he was sure the woman in front him was not a noble) never command a man, above all a knight!

"So it was your voice," he declared, "and what do you mean by that, Lady? You can't just order us around. This is ridiculous."

He turned around and the woman was suddenly in front of him, almost made his heart stopped. She took a step closer until their bodies were almost in contact. Her teal eyes turned into golden as her face remained calm yet threatening gleam could be seen from her eyes. The knight's eyes widened at the changing eye color occurrence but he stayed still. She lifted her chin and drew her face closer to his.

"Do not make me repeat that again human," she hissed, "It's dangerous being here longer than necessary and in the next night, the Harvest Moon will appear. I can't guarantee your safety. But if you humans persist, do what you want then." A sweat was formed at his temples at their about to kiss state, his eyes fixed with hers.

After she gave her last warning, the woman moved so fast his eyes couldn't follow, all he could comprehend that she was suddenly under the oak tree again. Her eyes softened when she saw the knight only blinked and lost his voice for a moment. Then her facial feature hardened again, she looked sideways, to him she looked as if she had heard something that her ears only could hear.

"They are hungry, you know," she said, "If you encounter them, pray to your God so He shall protect all of you."

The woman was about to leave when the knight finally shouted, "Wait! I don't understand by your saying they are hungry. Are you even a human?" The wind blew rather strong and he could sense her lavender scent reaching his nostrils since there were no lavender could be seen grown nearby. The one he asked merely smiled more before opened her mouth.

"You will find your answer. Warn your people and prepare for the worst. You are safe tonight. Farewell, Human."

She was in front of him again and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. While the knight stood still and an almost-nonexistence blush appeared on his cheek, she put a finger to his lips and added, "You have nice scent, I am sure they will find you appetizing. We will surely meet again."

And she disappeared like the darkness just swallowed her.

A/N: Please read and review =)