One year after the capture of Calea~~~~~
I'd like to say that living in a dungeon is more fun than I had thought it to be…. Yup! That's exactly what I wanted to say!
Just this afternoon, I was hanging around Lord Orochimaru's office, reading his notes on things; a dangerous thing to do as I now know…but he forgave me; don't ask me why though, that man doesn't always make the most sense. But anyways, he walked in as I was observing a scroll that had been open on his desk, one that I knew of. He was almost angry, and that was terrifying, but then he stared at me.
My hand wandered to the back of my neck and I smiled sheepishly. "Hi, Lord Orochimaru…" I started to say, but he crept close and observed me and the anger slipped from his face. What a relief.
"You are reading this scroll?" he asked as I looked back at the paper.
"I guess so."
I've been here approximately a year so crossing boundaries had gotten more and more stretched.
"That is the scroll written in code."
Code?
My eyes brush over the words and images on the unraveled paper. This is not coded…not really…its just in a language I remember. Riddles that cover passages. I don't know why we sometimes spoke like that but it was like a part of who we were.
"Riddles." I spoke truthfully. My small fingers brushed over a particular sentence of a boy crossing a mountain. It was hinting at the dangers of what was to be told or that this wasn't meant for the young.
I tugged at my red hair and shrugged. He had asked me to read this before, but I wasn't interested then.
Orochimaru echoed me with a thoughtful expression. I smiled. Then something gleamed in his eyes, something I couldn't place.
It struck me as so strange that I giggled.
"If you tell me what the scroll says I'll grant you one wish."
I stopped giggling. This was serious to me. And my lord was serious as well, his snake eyes gaging my every move. I chanced another glance at the scroll. It was a difficult piece for me to tell as no riddles had a true answer, not really anyways.. But I was year older so it shouldn't be too terrible.
"I want to go outside." Those were the words I chose to whisper as almost secret. They had kept me cooped up in this cave dungeon thingy for way too long. I needed air. Breathing room... Anything!
He stared at me longer than necessary before breaking into one of his creepy smiles…the snake creepy thing. Ugh…
"You want to go outside?"
I drew away a bit… feeling smaller than usual.
"Yes?" I said in a small voice.
He considered this for a moment and my hands crept behind my back. He was looking worse for wear.
"I will grant you this wish." I let out a breath of disbelief and my eyes widened to the size of moons.
"But,"
Never mind. Must everything come with a catch?!
'First you must complete training to keep yourself safe out there. I've grown used to your presence and so I'd prefer to keep you around just a little bit longer."
Oh.
.
.
.
That's not so bad! My face beams and I couldn't care how anything else goes.
"Okay!" I squeal, jumping in my place.
He laughs. And I laugh with him.
Not too terrible after all!
Kabuto
A year, has it really only been that long? Calea, little miss sunshine, I can never place her. She jumps from place to place before I can usually catch her. And I don't even know how old this girl is… or when she was born for the matter.
Kabuto is walking down one of the lesser known halls where torches are sparse and few. They ripple as he passes. The ground is still stone but in some places it is not.
A soft tune hits his ears and he stops. 'I know that voice,' he thinks as he finds himself turning to the sound. Back the way he came, that's where he walks.
The dungeons of this hideout, to be specific, are where he ends up.
The air cools and Kabuto shivers. The tune plays on. He steps close to the iron doors and rests his ear against its cold surface.
The tune stops.
For a moment all he can hear is his own heart and breathing.
"LET ME OUT!"
Kabuto lets out a gasp as the loud scream hits his ears and falls backwards. It takes a few beats but the fear that had etched its way to his face disintegrated into a livid expression. He shouldn't be scared. And that scream was rude.
He procured the key to the dungeon, inserts it into the keyhole and lets the metal swing on its hinges with a drawn out screech. Kabuto is in the darkness and the dungeon is barely lit. Slowly he steps into that light.
A teenage girl is sprawled out on the floor, her hands holding the bars in a white knuckled grip. There's a crazed desperate air about her, with hair curled into unruliness and wide eyes of red peeking out from beneath it. She starts to shake when she sees him, laughter of the raspiest sort.
Kabuto finds himself glaring at this girl. She may be older than he is, but this is ridiculous. Looking at her wiggles a thought of how alike she is to Calea, a red hint in her hair, a petite form and the shape of her nose… but the red eyes and that laughter.
"I never thought a child would find me here." She bursts out. Her body grips the bars and suddenly she is standing pressed against it. An arm reaches for him.
"Come closer kid, I won't hurt you. Just let me out."
'She must be out of her mind if she thinks I'm going to let her out.' Thinks Kabuto as he shifts forward to the outstretched hand.
"Good boy." She says as her head rolls to the side.
He stops just beyond her reach and her face contorts into an unimaginable rage.
Her voice snaps out, "Get closer!" It's as if she expects a movement.
Kabuto crosses his arms and quirks his head to the side, silver hair spilling to the side.
"Why?" He asks as he watches her reaction.
"Because, you are going to let me out!"
Her fingers try to snatch him, clawing at his unreachable form. She screeches.
"You've been down here a short while haven't you."
Those rage ridden eyes of red dart to his. "I've been here long enough."
"Really?" He asks, sarcasm dripping like venom off his tongue.
"Yes." Comes the familiar voice of Orochimaru from behind him.
Kabuto looks at her with renewed interest.
"Kabuto, weren't you telling me how you were interested in learning medical arts?"
Kabuto broke into a smile that could only be described as sadistic. "Yes, my Lord."
The crazed teenage girl snarled at them, her lips quivering to reveal clenched teeth.
"Don't Touch Me!" She screamed as her body slammed into the wall furthest from them.
They advanced on her and she was screaming through the halls for days.
Calea
I was awoken from my sleep by a scream at one point. Someone in need of my singing? No. This was something different, something angry. I curled in on myself and moved to leave my safety of blankets and pillows; my fortress.
My feet slowly crept upon the cold floors, bare and my hair was a mess of red strands. I clutched my elbows and stayed close to the walls instead of moving freely like I normally would.
It's strange how a fear can keep you moving safely or recklessly; or in my case overly safe.
I call out a soft, "hello?" against my better wishes when the scream comes again with more fright than hatred.
I hated this part of living here. They always came at times of the night like this. When normal people sleep, the terrified scream, something my mother once mentioned when we were at war. But then we pulled our tribe out and the screams could no longer be heard… or at least that's what she told me.
My little feet wander the halls and find the kitchen. Normally this place would be bustling with servants who could prepare anything if I asked, but its barren. And scary. I shiver as shadows cross the area with foreign fingers. I don't recall being afraid of things like this before. Quickly, I cross the room at a brisk run and cower by the fridge.
"Breathe, breathe," I whisper to myself. Okay.
So my fingers dig into the fridge and produce a slab of cheese and a glass of milk, because dairy products are what help me sleep.
Immediately after this, I leave the kitchen in a scurry. Round a corner and down a hall, away from the few screams that echo about. It raises the hair on my neck and goose bumps cover my skin.
I was scared. So I suppose it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise that I ended up in the garden with the flowers and the moon's comforting presence.
I sighed and let the warmth of summer calm my nerves. The screaming ceased to scare me and instead I watched the flower at the center of my garden. The one from a year back that had refused to emit a scent.
Eating the remainder of my cheese, my fingers grabbed a water pail and I began to methodically water my flowers. Though the sound was mildly familiar and full of hatred, I put it out of my mind and hummed a tune softly.
Kabuto
I've never felt this…this exhilarated by anything! The way the scalpel felt in my fingers and how easy it was to press in the right areas. Skin fell away so easily. And I now have sparked an enjoyment where I can hold a person's life in the balance.
Even as I washed the blood away from my hands and face, I was giddy. Orochimaru laughed as he showed me what he knew. And I wanted to know it all.
I will learn it all. As much as I can!
Calea
I awoke in the garden. I suppose that's how I knew that last night was not a dream, rather that the voice I had heard I knew and that the flower had bloomed for me again.
The rainbow of colors it possessed were amazing to behold a second time. I smiled as it let loose the sweetest smell of summer that I had ever smelt. Sugary sweet as a rose crushed with lilacs and the clean air of fallen rain and a rich vanilla, I almost collapsed as it hit my senses.
Then I was clapping and smiling and giggling. And everything was alright again.
Kimimaru
I am to train Calea. Not for fun and games but to save her life. She is like my favorite flower: pretty, beautiful, magnificent, and elegant.
We will meet in the smallest training room with simply a mat. I only want to teach her to dance today; to stretch and of her weak points and mainly to dance them away.
I won't show her my secret ability…not yet. I can't. So for now I will perfect my dancing.