Author: Tevrah
Email: writergirl852@yahoo.com
A/N: Just to let you guys know, Champion means guardian or protector!
And I've noticed something. In all of the reviews that I've gotten, everyone seems to hate Allen! I thought a lot of people liked him! Oh, well! I guess anyone who tries to get between Van and Hitomi (the coolest couple around) then they get burned! Okay, now read and enjoy!
***
Chapter Two
Van walked through the village looking around at all of the slaves. He was dressed in a soldier's uniform of green and black and kept to the shadows. He had dark and unruly black hair, brown eyes that were so dark they looked red, and was well built. The mining village disgusted him, but he kept his face blank and uncaring. He couldn't risk giving even a hint that he didn't belong there. His hand was always positioned on the hilt of his sword, though.
He could hear the whips of the overseers hitting the backs of slaves. He gritted his teeth and locked his jaw, resisting the urge to slaughter as many of the guards and overseers as he possibly could. Some of the whips had arrow tips at the end and were dipped in serpent poison. More than one slave had died because of those things. The slaves were barely dressed, not being afforded the luxury of clothing.
Suddenly the Van's eyes fastened on one particular slave. It was a little boy around the age of six. His hair, that was once a shining yellow was now caked with dirt and soot. His innocent blue eyes were now misty with unshed tears. His feet were bare, but covered in mud, and he didn't have a shirt on, exposing his delicate skin to the blistering sun in the sky. His back was unscarred, indicating that he was a new slave.
Van's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white. He wanted to rush to the little boy and take him away from this horrible place, but there were guards everywhere.
So as much as it pained him, Van was forced to wait.
***
Hitomi threw open her closet doors and selected a dark green dress. She undressed from dress she had worn to breakfast and hurriedly threw the dark green dress over her head. It was even baggier than the rest of her dresses. So she reached down and ripped a strip of cloth off of the bottom of her dress. Then she tied it around her waist in a tight knot and let the remainder of the strip hang down. She twisted her hair into a bun at the back of her head and placed a black covering that she had found at the bottom of her closet on top. Her hair was completely hidden except for a few stray strands.
Running to her vanity, she opened a huge silver jewelry box. There were jewels of all sizes and shapes, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and the list went on. She took everything out in a hurry, throwing the jewels on the floor to get them out of her way. At the very bottom of the jewelry box was a black silk pouch so small that it fit in the palm of her hand. She unwrapped it slowly and reverently.
The cloth slid away softly and a shiny pink teardrop pendant was revealed. She lifted it up and looked into it. A white glint was inside. Then as if remembering where she was and what she was doing, she replaced the pendant in the cloth and wrapped it up again. She tore at the cloth of her dress, making a small pocket and placed the silk pouch inside.
She picked up a velvet pouch that she had just thrown on the floor and looked inside. It was full of necklaces and bracelets and earrings. Closing it back up she lifted the hem of her long dress and slipped the drawstring of the pouch on her leg. She moved it up until it was high on her thigh. Then she tied it tightly so that it wouldn't slide down. Grabbing a ribbon, she tied it around the pouch on the outside so that it was glued to the inside of her leg.
Straightening up, Hitomi surveyed the room. Things were thrown on the floor and bed, and the once clean room looked as if a guymelef had destroyed it. She walked out onto her balcony and leaned over the rail. It was at least twenty feet high off of the ground.
An idea struck her. She ran back into her room and tore the sheets from her king-sized bed. She twirled them around and around until they were each in a thick string. Then she tied all of the ends together until they formed one huge rope. It looked to be just at twenty feet, maybe a little shorter. She carried it to the balcony and tied an end to the rail, and then threw the other end over the top and let it fall to the ground below.
Hitomi turned around and looked at the room once more. There was nothing that she wanted from it. It had been her prison, her hell. They only reason she had taken the jewels in the velvet pouch was because she thought that she might need some money where ever it was she would end up going.
Turning back to the hanging sheet-rope a knot of excitement and anticipation began to form in her stomach and spread throughout her entire body. When she reached the bottom, there would be no turning back. She would feel what true freedom felt like.
She carefully climbed to the other side of the balcony railing and braced her feet. She squatted down and grabbed hold of the sheet with both hands. Taking a deep breath, she let her feet dangle. The sheet-rope held secure. She released her breath slowly as she began to descend the twenty feet. Her hands began to sweat and she had to force herself to keep from looking down.
Then the rope ended.
Hitomi looked down and found herself at least five feet from the ground. Before she could find a good place to jump to considering there were bushes under her feet, she heard an unmistakable sound. Her head snapped up in time for her to see the bottom half of her makeshift rope ripping.
She fell into the bushes with a thud before she could even think about letting out a scream. She cleared away leaves from her face and dress as she stood up.
"Well, that was a lovely way to begin this adventure," she muttered to herself.
***
Van had been waiting for almost two hours in the shadows, watching the small boy as he did slave work. Each minute made him angrier than the one before. The boy was sweating from the intense heat and looked like he would fall down at any moment in time.
A big man, an overseer, that was dirty all over kept walking by and staring at the boy as if he were waiting for him to mess up. The boy always ignored him, knowing that if he looked at the overseer, he would be whipped or beaten. Slaves weren't allowed to look at their 'betters'. Suddenly the little boy slipped on some mud and fell down.
Van came to attention from where he was stationed in the shadows. The slaves around the boy spared the child a glance of sympathy and fear. The overseer sneered at the boy with a twisted smirk. He unclasped the whip at his side and let it unfurl so that the boy could look at it. It had an arrow tip on it. The little boy stared at it in fear and his lips began to tremble. The overseer raised the whip in the air preparing to strike.
Van came out of the shadows and began running toward the boy, dodging slaves, guards, and other overseers.
The whip came down.
"No!"
That had been a woman's voice. Just as the tip of the whip slashed down, a woman jumped on top of the boy and shielded him. She screamed out in pure agony when the whip touched her back, tearing her dark green dress.
Van watched the scene unfurl in amazement. Who was this woman that risked her life for another? He reached the pit where the boy and woman were just as the overseer lifted the woman up by her arm in anger.
"Why you b—"
The man stopped what he was saying as the black cap covering the woman's head slid to the ground and a mass of shiny honey-colored hair flowed out. The woman's eyes were barely open because of the pain, but even Van could see the amazing green-colored irises. She wasn't a slave.
"M-m-milady?" the overseer stuttered. The overseer suddenly dropped the woman as if she were made of fire. She fell back against the little boy and he wrapped his arms around her neck as if to protect her from further harm.
Van turned sharply to him. "Who?" he demanded.
"Didn't you hear?" a guard who had followed Van to the scene whispered. "This is Lady Hitomi. She is Emperor Allen's fiancée. The last man who had looked at her got his head chopped off."
Van narrowed his eyes and turned back to the woman in the little boy's arms. Lady Hitomi? He had never heard of her before. And she was engaged to marry the emperor? He cleared his thoughts. He didn't have time for this right now. His main concern was getting the boy to safety.
The overseer was shaking and had turned pale as a spirit. "What are we gonna do with her?" another guard asked. "I don't want Emperor Allen finding out about this. Everyone knows how possessive of her he is."
An idea came to Van. "I know this little place, not that far from here," he whispered conspiratorially, and got the attention of the men that were stationed around the pit. "I'll take them there, and if anyone asks, we'll say that we don't know what happened to her." He looked at the overseer. "But you better run, just in case."
The overseer turned even paler if that was possible and quickly nodded his head. "Why do you need to take the boy?" a suspicious guard questioned.
"Look how he's hanging on her," Van answered. "If someone came around asking questions, he might start making trouble."
"No one would believe a slave," the guard scoffed.
"No," Van agreed, "but it would plant the idea of the possibility in their minds."
The guard looked at Van for a long minute. Then he nodded. "Good plan. All right. No one saw nothin'. Take 'em away."
Van nodded and watched as the men left quickly so not to be caught with him. Van turned back to the little boy and the Lady Hitomi. The little boy was staring up at him with wide eyes. Van winked at him and motioned for him to keep quiet. The little boy gave a barely perceptible nod and lowered his head, but not before Van saw the boy's eyes light up with hope and joy. Van's heart constricted at the sight.
Bending down, he put the woman over his shoulder and grabbed the little boy's arm in a light grip. They walked through the slave village. No one looked at them as they walked past. No one wanted to see anything. Van led them into the forest and they disappeared from sight into the shadows. Everyone in the village continued working.
They hadn't seen anything.
***
"I knew you'd come, Uncle Van!" the little boy said in quiet excitement. "I just knew it!"
Van smiled down at the boy as they walked farther and farther away from the village. Hitomi was still draped over his shoulder limply. "Of course I came, Chid," he said gently. "I'm your Champion. I'll always come for you."
Chid's smile threatened to split his face in half. "How's everybody, Uncle Van? Is mama and papa okay? How about—"
Van let out a chuckle. "Other than worried about you, everyone is fine. And your mama and papa are fine. They are just worried that they're never going to see you again."
Chid noticed the woman hanging over his uncle's back still hadn't moved. "Is the lady gonna be okay?" he asked.
Van looked at him. "Don't worry. She'll be fine. As soon as we get back to the others, your mama can fix her up, and she'll be fine."
Chid nodded, his eyes showing his complete trust in his uncle's words. Then a thought struck him. "They took my dagger that you gave me," he confessed painfully. "I tried to stop 'em, but there were too many of them."
Van nodded and placed his big, callused hand on the small boy's head. "That all right, Chid," he said. "I'll get it back."
Chid smiled. "I know you will, but I'm still sorry I lost it."
Before Van could respond, Chid took his hand and began to talk up a storm about what he was going to eat and do when he got home. Van smiled, but then his smile faded as his thoughts began to wonder.
Chid had gotten captured by accident. He had been playing when he slipped off the ledge of a cliff. On impulse, his wings had unfurled, but he had fallen into the ocean before he could flap them. Van and the others had looked for him an entire week before they heard that Chid had been spotted in a slave village to the south.
Van had immediately gathered supplies and left before anyone had decided on a strategy of how to rescue the boy. His lips turned up slightly. Dryden would be in a fit and Van would get it when they got back, but if Van hadn't left first he knew that Dryden would have gone.
It was Van's responsibility, though. He was Chid's Champion, his protector. That's why he left to get to Chid first; that and the fact that the little boy had gotten into his heart so deep, that he would never leave. He didn't want Chid to grow up the way he did. Being a slave when you're young torments you when you're older. It had made him bitter.
"Don't 'cha think, Uncle Van?" Chid's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"About what?" Van questioned.
"About all the food I'm gonna eat," Chid explained. "Don't 'cha think it sounds good?"
Van smiled. "Sure do." He stopped and gave a shrill whistle. Two horses came trotting into view. Both were black as midnight.
"Ebony and Icibus!" Chid exclaimed in delight.
"That's right," Van said. He picked Chid up and literally threw him onto the saddle of one of the horses. Chid giggled and patted the horses neck.
Van mounted the other horse and gently placed Hitomi's still form in front of him. Her hair was hanging limply now and her face was pale as milk. Perspiration dotted her forehead. The poison had already kicked in full force. They had to hurry, or she would die. And painfully.
Grabbing the reins of Chid's horse, he led them through the dense brush and into the clearing. Then he spurred the horses into full gallop.
Time was everything.
What do you guys think? Van was introduced, so I know you must be happy. Not to mention the chapter was longer than the last one! Please review and let me know!
Tevrah
