As I crashed through the tree line, my momentary adrenaline wore off and the sharp pain in my left leg began to rebound. I stole a glance back out to the river. Meiko was still sitting there, staring at the ground.
I unsteadily walked through the forest, every left step leaving me with a wince. For the second time in 48 hours, I made my way through the damp earth, busy streets, and finally the glorious castle gates. The immense pain spread from my torso down. My limp was causing me to take huge strides with my right leg.
I edged through the back door and abruptly stopped as I was about to run into someone who was exiting. Len.
I was leaning on my right thigh so much that my face was parallel with his stomach. I had to crane my neck upwards to see his face.
"What... what happened?" He asked, still not letting me though the narrow hallway.
"Do you really want to know?" I spat. "Let me through!"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, sorry," He walked along the hallway until the first opening, the kitchen. "Sorry..." He muttered once more.
I sighed and confronted the extensive hall in front of me. White-knuckled, I took my first step with the left leg. I couldn't take it anymore. I fell to the ground.
"Damn!" I shouted as I shakily attempted to rest on one knee.
Len swiftly crouched down and extended a hand. "Need help?" he asked.
No. Maybe. "Yes," I sighed.
My arm perched around his shoulders, we hobbled to them kitchen counter where I promptly rested my leg on top of the granite.
I shuffled through the cabinet in front of me and pulled out proper clean bandages. Len came in with a wet towel a few seconds later. He started to clean my wound.
"I got it. I got it!" I pulled the towel away. He immediately stepped back.
I looked down at my calf. I gawked at the amount of blood as I started cleaning it.
"What happened?" Len asked again.
"I fell on a sharp piece of bark, okay? How was I able to do that? Ask your sister." I started wrapping the bandages around the gash. The tan strips turned a musty brown instantly.
"She doesn't tell me everything you know. I didn't know she was going to ask you to get rid of the body," Len explained.
I remained silent.
"I'm sorry, okay? I have a duty to Rin and…" He trailed off.
We waited a minute in silence. I ripped of the bandage from the spool and fastened it together at both ends.
"One day," I started. The broken silence startled both of us. "You will have to choose. Your sister or your friends, morals, and pride. I sincerely hope you choose correctly."
I plopped down my leg and unsteadily took my leave.
***************
It was early afternoon and luncheon was already past. I decided to go to my room and sleep. When I opened the door, Yuka was sitting on her bed, sowing.
She stood up as I closed the door behind me.
"Care to explain what the heck you were doing last night and this morning?" Yuka asked.
"I can't tell you everything, you understand?"
"Fine. But tell me something!"
I limped to my bed and jumped down on the soft mattress. "Rin…asked me…to dispose of… something." I struggled with the wording. "And…it took me a long time and… this morning I had to go… check. On. It. To make sure it was… disposed of properly."
"That's real specific, Mayu. What's with the bandage?" She gestured toward my calf.
"That would be because bark is sharp. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you more. It's for your safety. Trust me."
"I don't care about safety, I want to know why my friend is injured and why she has to worry about things like safety!" Yuka stood up. "I want to know what that witch of a queen is commanding you to do! Tell me!"
"I can't!" I screamed. She stormed out.
**********
I slept for another hour before waking up from a nightmare.
It was around the time that I would dress Rin for dinner so, I stumbled up the deserted steps to the carpeted hallway I knew so well.
I paused as screaming echoed from behind Rin's door. Not again. I thought that she was busy murdering more people and went off the deep end. Upon closer listening, I noticed it was Rin who was screaming and it was more of anger than terror.
I didn't bother knocking as I hesitantly opened the door. Rin was yelling at some poor young messenger guard.
"-IS IMPOSSIBLE, YOU LIAR!" She was screaming, stomping along the floor. "YOU MUST HAVE MESSED UP! IDIOT!" She slapped him. Rin twitchingly turned her head towards me. "LEAVE MY PRESENCE!" She swiftly dismissed the guard.
He happily left the heathen's presence and practically ran out into the hall.
"What is going on?" I asked.
"What is going on? WHAT IS GOING ON? THAT IMBECILE OF A GUARD IS A LIAR AND… AND…and…" Rin shouted.
"What happened!? What did he say!?" I pressed.
"He said… Kaito. H-he rejected my proposal. He-he rejected my proposal. Why would he…?"
Rin was in a state of shock. She stumbled to her bed, sat down, and sobbed. I remained where I stood.
The sobbing only lasted for a few seconds. "He told me…" She started, mustering up her energy, "That Kaito was in love with someone else… she must be the green haired girl from last night therefore…" Rin was deducing, "If she dies than Kaito will love me…" She was putting two and two together, "Therefore, I have to kill her, but what did she look like? She left soon after I came back from…" Sadly, her two and two equaled death.
I stood in utter shock of what she just said. I knew she meant it. I've seen her kill. She will. She will kill Miku.