Yet another story to help me in removing the laziness that hath descended upon me.

Set in the year X777.

-Lucy Heartfillia-

Daddy. Why don't you love me? I'd been running for hours and nobody had come for me yet. It was my birthday and he hadn't remembered. He had yelled, I had cried and run away again. I lost my shoe just outside the house in a mud patch, but I hadn't stopped to pick it up. It was really cold and I was wearing a torn muddy shirt and pants with frayed edges and caked in mud and grass stains, with one shoe missing. I was supposed to be a princess, but… This is not what is supposed to happen to princesses. They are supposed to fall in love and go to parties and… I scream as I fall down a slope. The bottom is coated in lethal looking rocks. I I fell on them, I'd die for sure. My arms fail around and I scream louder as the bottom rushes up to meet me.

"Hey!" Something crashes into me and I shut my eyes. My back's against the cool, squishy mud and the sun's blocked out by something. I crack open an eye and scream for the third time in less than five minutes. I'd been knocked to the ground by a boy. His hand was cradling my head and his body was hovering over mine. He winces and sits back on his heels, taking his hand away and resting it on my stomach instead.

"Jeez, you're loud."

I flap my arms at him. "Get off!" I cry. Tears well up in my eyes uninvited, what is he going to do to me? Seeing my distress he gets off me and I crawl onto all fours. I watch him and he watches me. His teeth are pointy and his hair is a curious shade of brown, or maybe it's black, I can't tell. He's taller than me and couldn't be much older than me but has muscles on his arms and what Ms. Suppetto calls a 'six-pack.' I can't help but think he's dangerous. I snap my wrist up and flick mud into his eyes. A sort of roar rips out of his chest and he rubs at his eyes. I take advantage of his preoccupation and scramble up the slope. When I reach the top I run in the direction I thought I had come in.

"Hey! Come back!" He's chasing me. He's going to eat me. I'd read stories like this before. The little girl gets trapped in the woods and something tries to eat her. Usually she's saved by her Prince Charming, but I wasn't a princess anymore so I wasn't going to be rescued. I turn to look behind me and see he's catching up to me. He's determined, taking long, powerful strides. I turn around again and run straight into a thicket of prickly bushes. My hair gets caught on the thorns and my clothes tear more. Frantically, I squirm but the thorns just dig deeper into my skin. I see droplets of blood on my arm and tears spill over as strands of my hair are torn out. I see the boy stop and watch me.

"Do you want me to help you?" He asks quietly. I ignore him and keep wriggling. More pain and more blood and I finally stop and watch him. His eyes are black, but kind. I nod. He approaches me slowly I flinch when he lifts an arm towards me. His hands are big and thick-fingered, but he's surprisingly gentle. He breaks the twigs separating me from his and carefully de-tangles my hair from the branches.

"So. What's your name?"

Never give out your name to a stranger.

"Layla." I say quietly. I couldn't hear myself so I doubt he could hear me but he nods.

"You're lying but I'll call you Layla if you want."

I freeze. How could he tell? Not even Mama could tell when I was lying. I didn't do it often, but when I did, it was impossible to tell.

"So, you can call me Ryu!" He says cheerfully. I nod and screw up my face in pain when it tugs at my hair.

"Almost done Layla! How old are you?" He seems determined to keep the conversation rolling. And he doesn't seem like a bad person.

"Five." My voice is a little louder now.

"Hey, me too! I think." He steps closer and examines the knots before untangling again.

"You… Think?"

"I don't know how old I am. My dad found me wandering around when I was little. He's not my real dad, but he's the only family and friend I've got."

"I'm sorry." I couldn't think of anything else and it seemed appropriate to apologise. He takes my hand and pulls me out of the brambles.

"Don't be sorry Layla. There's nothing for you to be sorry about."

"Don't you miss your mama?"

He shakes his head. "I never knew her."

"Wouldn't that make you miss her even more?"
"I don't know what it's like to have a mama. So, I don't know what I'm missing. 'Sides, girls are too much trouble."

"We are not!" I say indignantly.

"You are too!"

"Are not!" I say, stepping closer to him.

"Are too!"

"Are not!" I step closer again.

"Are too!" He steps in, mimicking me, we are now nose to nose yelling at each other. My mouth quirks and I switch the words around in hope to confuse him.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

He stops and flushes, realising his mistake. But before he can take it back I yell triumphantly.

"I got yoooooou~"

He huffs and folds his arms across his chest. "Whatever little miss."

I burst out laughing. "No-one says that!" He stares at me for a while before laughing with me.

"That did sound a bit weird." He agrees. Unconsciously I rub at the scratches on my arms.

"You're all dirty Lal. Come on! We can wash up together." He grabs my hand and drags me along behind him.

"What kinda name is Lal?" I ask him.

"It's your nickname silly." He turns and give me an affectionate grin

And for some reason I adored him for it.

So, who's the boy? *hint* It's not an OC

Please support my other major story, 'The Peacekeeper'

Much love,

Rose-chan