Chapter 3
Endless shimmering stars added specks of white into the endless navy blue on the high plateau of the Gold Saucer north boundary. Strong wind swept across the great plain and howled her loneliness to the cool, dry air. Whirls of sandy dust tumbled along the sparse grass of the unfertile earth and rammed into dirty, white felt covers of a crowd of yurts. They were closely packed, forming a large white circle in the moonlit plain. A fierce wolf head sign was stitched to every drape entrance to the yurts with thick, black thread. The exquisite fabric handicraft symbolizes the strongest and largest tribe in the West, one of the greatest enemies of the Shinra kingdom, the Wolves. Yurts remained dim white under the ebony sky as most of them were resting, except the slightly larger one in the middle of the pack. Dim candle light shone through the thick cover walls, the shade of shadowy yellow looked somehow attractive and calm in the great circle of dim white. One of them is still awake.
A large, round oriental carpet with symmetrical patterns, woven with dark warm threads by the delicate hands of Far East craftsmen, laid in the middle of the candlelit yurt. Another piece of dark fur was laid on top of the carpet, offering warmth and comfort. On top of all was Cloud Strife, reading documents spread on the carpet floor and constantly glancing at the unconscious woman on his large, cotton-stuffed temporary bed. Her dirty clothes were all removed and a white-furred blanket covered her, providing warmth to her naked body. Her skin was like the virgin snow. She was incredibly white and delicate, and also smooth as newborn infants.
Looking at her, Cloud smiled slightly. The storm today has stopped them from moving and they had to camp in the wilderness for the night. His thoughts wandered off to the issues his tribe and her country have encountered lately. He originally thought the trading troop today were emissaries in disguise that were to deliver confidential documents to the Crows. The Shinras have been rather sneaky in politics lately and tried to reconcile with the Crows secretly to defeat the Wolves. The Shinras, after experiencing a war era and a flourishing decade, was starting to decline again under the weak rule of Rufus Shinra.
Meanwhile, the Wolves have strengthened into a massive strong tribe. Every step the Shinra king took was under the watch of glowing, blue eyes. Cloud smirked. It was, in fact, of no importance whether they could find the confidential documents or not. It would not affect the strength of the Wolves even if the documents were delivered safely into the hands of the Crows. The Wolves are now too strong to be defeated.
The Crows were infamous for their crafty political strategies. Their leader refused to submit to the Shinras, but yet they expressed their loyalty to the Wolves and used any way to bribe the latter. They coveted after the large amounts of jewellery and treasuries the Shinras offered for reconciliation, yet at the same time they informed the Wolves that the Shinras were sending emissaries to the North. The Crows were trying to obtain benefits from both sides. Cloud gave a cold smirk again. He picked up the documents on the floor and burned them with a candle. The raid today could act as a warning to the Shinras and the Crows that the Wolves could do what they desired and would never be controlled by any other tribe. Of course, the cargos and items they obtained could supply them for months, but he had never expected that he was able to bring a woman back, let alone forming an urge of possession towards her.
Standing up, Cloud slowly walked towards his bed and sat on it. He leaned towards the unconscious beauty and examined her closely. An exquisite piece of white jade was hung around her neck by a red piece of thread, the small word "Lockhart" was carved into the piece of jewellery.
Lockhart?
The Wolves knew about the Lockharts. The Lockharts controlled the Southern economic pulse of the Shinra kingdom. If they crushed the Lockharts, the Shinra family would definitely encounter a massive economic chaos. Then, the Shinras could never bribe and reconcile with the Crows through offering wealth.
Cloud brushed away a lock of soft, brown hair of the beauty's forehead and tucked it behind her ear. The candle light shone a dim yellow hue on her flawless face. Ocean blue eyes admired her carefully. Long lashes, delicate brows, petite nose and pink, soft lips formed one of the most beautiful Eastern faces he had ever seen. He had met and seen women from the Far East, but never from the South of Shinra. The women from the Wolves were tall and well-built, a characteristic for them to adapt to the harsher environment in the West, along with beautiful curves and gorgeous faces. However, this woman in front of him had more delicate features, fairer skin. His gaze slowly trailed down to her body. Her wondrous figure was covered by his blanket. He knew simply by looking.
She was the first person and the first woman who dared to slap him across the face in front of his troop. She had given him the greatest humiliation in his life. He should have killed her for her feisty actions but even she tried to kill herself with his dagger before he had the chance to wrap his fingers around her neck- She'd rather kill herself than to be killed by him. Instantly, she'd captured Cloud's interest. He wanted her to be his because of his strong attraction to her beauty, her personality and her mysterious background.
'Cloud?' A voice called him from outside his yurt and cut him off of his thoughts.
'Come in.' He sat up straight and looked at the figure entering.
Angeal walked proudly inside, an old woman named Elmyra following close behind him. Looking at the unmoved dinner on the table, Angeal figured that the girl was still unconscious.
'Is she alright? She's not hurt in any place else, is she?' Elmyra asked, walking towards the bed and looking at Tifa, her old dark eyes showing concern.
'Cloud might've given her a heavy blow in the neck when he knocked her out.' Angeal took a glance at the unconscious woman's wrists. They were still red from the harsh grasps when they captured her. He never believed that women from Shinra were that fragile and delicate until he saw it with his own eyes today.
'She should be awake soon.' Cloud gave Angeal an irritated glance and stood up, obviously a little discontent that Angeal showed a lot of concern about the sleeping beauty. Angeal quickly backed away, him and Elmyra following Cloud as he led the way out of his yurt.
'Did you count how many stocks and items we have acquired? And did Vincent send the troop away?' Cloud turned around to face them, his blue eyes glowing in the dark.
'We have enough to last five months if we include the carriages of stock we've taken beforehand. There will be enough food and clothing for everyone back in the den. Vincent sent the troop back the way they came from. It seems that they came from the Nibel Area. Nibelheim, I think.'
…Nibelheim…Lockhart…She's really the controller of the Southern Shinra economy?
'Another thing. The Chief wants you to return within a month to present to the Queen Dowager in the North Palace. You can leave the matters here to me or Vincent. The Chief hopes that you can focus on the Eight-tribal Chief election at the end of the year. You know, Corneo of the Gongaga Wolf Pack wants more than to be the eight-tribal chief.'
Angeal was from the Gongaga Wolf Pack however his heart strongly remained loyal and faithful to the Strife Wolf Pack.
Cloud listened to Angeal's report and nodded his head. There were three months left until the end of the year. Every leader of the eight packs of Wolves was ambitious to become the eight-tribal Chief. The Strife Wolf Pack had been the main pack and the pure blood family of the whole tribe and had strengthened the Wolves tremendously. Each Wolf pack became stronger and richer, but ironically it was the Strife's that encountered inner political trouble.
Throughout all these years, the Chief of the Strife's had also acquired the post of the eight-tribal Chief, but suddenly the Chief dowager announced that the post should now be selected among the Chief's of the eight Wolf packs. This action was to sooth the discontent of the other packs due to the complaint that the Strife's had not appreciated their abilities in helping the tribe and used Shinra men in political affairs instead of their own people.
'To prevent internal split, this change has to be done. The Wolves are loyal, faithful and united as a whole, but there are still ambitious Chiefs that try to obtain more than they can have.' Angeal furrowed his brows. The Strife's must not let the post fall into the hands of greed.
'Cloud…'
'Go and have some rest. I have my own intentions.' Cloud then turned and headed towards his other followers. Stopping, he turned back and faced Angeal.
'I'm going to tell the others we'll move at dawn tomorrow. Bring the girl something to wear, Elmyra.'
'Yes, sir.'
Long lashes fluttered open.
Where am I?
Tifa squinted her eyes and focused on her surroundings. She was in a large round yurt. A large black fur rug was spread comfortably on the ground and there were some papers on the floor. There was a large wooden trunk at the side of the yurt, open and showing shirts and clothing. Next to it was a stand, hanging a large black cloak. In the middle of the yurt was a low pentagon-shaped table, with silk cased cushions placed on each side. The yurt was brightened dimly by two dying candles, which were standing on a low bed stand at the sides of the yurt. Although the yurt was simply set up, it showed prestige and power.
Tifa pushed herself up from the bed and closed her eyes tightly when she felt pain coming from her neck. Then she remembered everything. She remembered being surrounded by black cloaked men. She remembered running away. She remembered blue eyes. Tifa gasped softly in surprise as she discovered she was naked under the covers. She quickly pulled the white furry blanket to cover herself and at the same time, someone entered.
It's him!
She tried to look calm and cool but she couldn't, not when she was completely naked before a stranger. Tifa grasped the blanket tightly until her knuckles went white. She looked at him cautiously and started to draw herself back to the top of the bed, away from him. She bit her lip nervously until it nearly drew blood, while the man, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself with her actions.
He slowly walked towards her, just like a wolf hunting its prey, and stood at the edge of the bed. Smiling smugly, he crossed his arms around his chest, his glowing blue eyes eyeing her figure up and down devilishly. Tifa shivered under his gaze but glared back at him, trying to show that she was not afraid of him.
Suddenly, he leaned forward towards her, his hands pressing onto the bed and trapping her in front of him. Tifa sucked in a deep breath. His face was nearly touching hers, his scent all around her, his breathing on her lips, just like light feather kisses, seducing and tempting her.
'Hello.' Cloud smiled naughtily at her.
Tifa quickly turned away from him but he was faster. He cupped her chin tightly with one hand.
'Do not turn away from me.' Ocean blue stared into chocolate wine. He looked as if he could see right through her with those glowing eyes.
Tifa closed her eyes tightly and struggled fiercely, kicking and hitting him hardly but he didn't't even budge. It was like hitting her fists onto a hard wall, and she ended up hurting herself instead. She had to stop him from getting closer to her. She raised her hand and slapped his face again, harder than before when they first met.
Cloud widened his eyes in shock and he bared his teeth at her. He touched his stinging face before grabbing her wrists, his grip strong and painful. Tifa kept on struggling and bit her lip to prevent making any noise because of the pain in her wrists he was inflicting. She did not want to show weakness in front of this man.
He tightened his hold on her wrists, strong enough to break her bones and held them above her head. He was hoping that she would surrender herself to him but obviously she was going to do anything but that. His gaze uncontrollably went down to her voluptuous body. Her previous struggling made her blanket fell onto the ground and in front of him now was the ravishing scene of a naked beauty. The rage in his blue eyes was now gone and sparkling with lust in the dim light. He ducked his head and was about to steal a kiss when she spoke.
'Is this how the Wolves treat a woman on their first encounter? Remove all their clothes and humiliate them?' Tifa struggled. She could withstand pain, but not this kind of humiliation.
Is he trying to force himself on me?
'This is our second encounter, to be exact.' Cloud raised his head a little to look at her. She looked angry and scared at the same time. He brought her wrists down to the sides of her head and kissed her on the cheek.
'I will release my hold if you promise not to escape or turn away from me.' Cloud looked at her flushed face.
'Don't touch me.' His actions were frightening her.
'Beg me.' He leaned closer and whispered into her ear, then looked her in the eyes. Tifa bit her lip and turned her head away, not wanting to accept his insult. His breath slowly wandered down her neck while he waited her reply.
'Don't touch me! You filthy man!' Tifa wanted to make him angry so he would kill her now, but his eyes did not show anger. His eyes looked at her devilishly.
'I have eighty men in this campsite who have not touched a woman for at least a month. If you don't beg for mercy, then prepare yourself to be a doll for the whole troop to play with. To kill you, I have better ways instead of using blades.'
'You…'
'I am the leader of the whole team of men. No one dares touch what belongs to me. If I announce to them that you are not mine, you will be dead within dawn.'
He could see the fear in her eyes now, and waited for her reply. He was at first just trying to tease, but this woman ticked him off and such words flew out of his mouth before he could think about it.
Just imagining the scene of eighty men made Tifa shivered with fright. He was a very horrible man! Threatening her with such humiliating things! His meaning was clear. If she obeyed him, she would be his personal slave, his personal doll. If not…
'Well?' He gathered her into his arms and pretended to throw her out of his yurt.
'Please! Please don't!' Tifa cried, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck, afraid that he would throw her to his men. He was driving her to the brink of insanity. He even had to crunch her dignity to pieces! She had never really hated anyone in her life - refused to hate anyone - but he was definitely an exception.
Tears fell down her cheeks and she buried her face into his neck, her hands on his back were held into fists and were hitting him endlessly. She knew he wouldn't feel any pain, but she couldn't control expressing her hate towards him.
Cloud suddenly felt pity for her and hearing her cry made his heart wrench. This feeling for her was new to Cloud and it made him feel strange. He never thought that a woman's tears could affect him so much. He was even feeling a bit ashamed of himself for teasing and saying such harsh words. He was too impetuous.
Damn hormones… Control yourself, Strife!
He cleared himself from these new emotions and put her on the bed. Then, he grabbed the clothes which Elmyra brought from the trunk and placed them next to Tifa. She looked up at him.
'Your clothes. Put them on.'
Tifa examined the pieces of clothing. She reached towards them and touched them. The fabric was soft and very thin, designed for travelling through desert or humid and hot areas. She looked up. Cloud was still watching her.
'Turn around!' She narrowed her eyes at him, but Cloud seemed unfazed by her glare.
'No.'
Tifa was angry, but the tears could not stop falling from her eyes. She wiped them away sadly and sobbed while pulling the bundle of clothes to herself. Cloud furrowed his brows and sat in front of her. Tifa quickly backed away, unsure what he was going to do. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he spun her around. Tifa reacted quickly.
'What are you…'
'Quiet and don't move.' Cloud reached for the silky piece of undergarment from her hands and helped her put it on from behind. He carefully tied the upper spaghetti thread behind her neck and another thread around her lower waist. The piece of silk in front hugged her torso tightly and hid her from nudity. Cloud then reached for the short pair of cotton shorts, reached under the blanket and slipped them onto her legs. He slid the pair of undergarments up her smooth, long legs, his fingers brushed slightly against her skin when he did so. Tifa clutched the hem of the shorts and pulled them up by herself when he reached her thighs. Cloud withdrew his hands and reached for a red shirt and slipped it onto her, smoothing out the black side-slit dress. Tifa glanced at the dress, it would most definitely show her legs. She was not used to such exposing clothing. Women of Shinra were conservative and not used to showing much skin.
'You will wear this. We don't have other clothes for women here with us.' Cloud informed her before turning away to reach for a rectangle box. Her clothes must've been dumped by now. Cloud walked back to her and opened the box. Inside was a pair of shoes, taken from a previous raid. He knelt on one knee, resting her foot on his thigh, and helped her put on shoes.
He had never helped people put on clothes before, but he did it so naturally for her. The feeling was foreign to him. It seemed her presence caused him to have lots of new feelings, and he knew that despite them only being together since the morning, he was already very attracted to her.
Tifa had stopped crying by this time. She thought, that after begging him not to throw her out, he would force himself on her. She was surprised that he didn't and was shocked that he was dressing her, even helping her to put on new shoes. Her hands were over her heart, watching him silently, and after he had finished helping her with her shoes, he looked up meet her gaze.
Tifa did not know why, but she couldn't look at him in the eyes anymore. She quickly looked away and could feel herself blushing…she didn't know how to react by now.
'How old are you?' He asked her quietly.
'Twenty-one' she replied softly. His gentle voice made her feel rather uneasy.
He cupped her face gently and made her look at him.
'Are you married or betrothed?'
'No…'
'Why not?'
Tifa didn't want to answer. She didn't want him to know her past. She lowered her gaze on the floor, not wanting to look into his eyes.
'What is your first name, Lockhart?'
'…'
'Answer me.'
'…Tifa.'
'Tifa…'
'Look at me.' he ordered.
Chocolate-wine poured into ocean blue.
'I am Cloud Strife, your master.'
Okay, here's Chapter 3. Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm glad that most of you are still interested in reading the story.
I know, short chapter but I gave more details~~~~~~~~ AND it's best to end the chapter this way, I think.
I will update as soon as I can, or maybe I'll update when the reviews reaches 50 or so. lol yea i'm sneaky!;)
It's just to give me more time to plan the story and present it in the best way for you people to enjoy!
And I've been rather busy lately with diplomas and stuff it's nearly gonna make my brain burst.
WELL, JUST PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE gimme a review and I'll give you Chapter 4.
Xie-xie! (thank-you in Mandarin) & Dor-che! (thankyou in Cantonese)
