A/N: It's not about the number of published stories that counts,… what matters is the contents. And I praise great writers who can do both. Anyway, this one is borne out of my interest on Persian Literature. I'm open for criticisms but NO flamers.
WARNINGS: might be too much for a first installment, but this chap has angst and rape. And for ratings' sake! this is M for a reason.
DISCLAIMER: Standard Disclaimer Applies
SUMMARY: She had nothing but a wish of reunion with someone she had loved, when a mere slave found herself uncovering the mystery behind the deaths of the King's women... by being the bait. Is it a curse? Or a conspiracy?
"oro" denotes speech
'oro' denotes thoughts
oro either used for flashbacks or emphasis on words
Four Leaf Clover
Prologue: Amity
Beads of sweat trickled over her forehead, only to stop as it came to the crude band tied around her head. She swallowed the remaining wetness inside her mouth to sate the dryness of her throat, though the inner caverns of her mouth doesn't see fit to withdraw any moisture from her salivary glands anymore, Since yesterday was the last time she had water, and that had only allowed her to endure the long day without a single drop.
The jug between her hands seemed to tremble between her grasp as she felt the emptiness, not only of the hollow water container but of her own being. She wanted to scour the insides of the ceramic jug but faltered, because she had done it several times that day to no avail. It was just as dry as the desert they have been journeying on for the past few weeks.
The slave caravan has been travelling for three straight weeks through the desert and they couldn't even remember how many suns and moons had come up since they left the tropics. The last time they came to a stop at an oasis, the slaves were given the chance to fill their jugs with water for the long travel, but unfortunately, their supplies had already run out. And the fact that they have been cut short of their refreshments didn't help either.
During their weeks on the tropics, the slave traders have generously given the slaves food twice a day, but due to the shortage of supplies in the desert, they have cut the slave's meal short, giving them a meager amount of food only ONCE a day.
She reluctantly stood up and mustered all the confidence a seven year-old girl could have. From that dark corner of the crowded cabin, her eyes searched for anyone, someone she could ask even a drop of drink from.
Slaves occupied every inch of the room, men and women of many ages. So far, she hasn't seen anyone much younger than her, but that doesn't make her any different from them. The scrawny little girl wished with all her heart that someone from the crowd of those strangers would allow her even a drop, so that her young body could be able to last a little longer without any refreshments.
Her eyes scanned the four corners of the room. Eyeing an old man, she remembered how badly he was beaten earlier when he complained about the paltry food. She winced at the thought. Then her roaming eyes dropped to the brute-looking man who sat facedown holding a jug full, but she dropped the hint, because she knew what it contained – sake. She's not that desperate to slake her thirst with alcohol, considering that she is just a child.
Finally, her gaze stopped over a huddle of grown women who sat at the farther edge of the room. Relieved, she gathered her jug tighter to her chest and started tottered to their direction. When one of the women looked at her and flashed a gentle smile, her waning spirit came to life. But as the woman's gaze fell on the obviously empty jug between her hands; her expression softened and shook her head. She immediately understood. They too, had nothing left.
Just before she started back to her corner in defeat, someone stepped behind her. At first she was startled. Warily turning to look at the person, her sight first registered a hand holding out a jug to her, the ceramic blocking her vision of the person's face. When she tilted her head sideways to see the owner of those generous hands, she was washed with sudden awe upon seeing amethyst eyes smiling down at her like the violets in the fields she cherished back in their small village.
For the first time since she came to the caravan, she smiled. She humbly accepted the container from the stranger and muttered her sincere gratitude.
'His face seemed familiar' she thought as she took her first gulp. 'Oh! That was it!'. She first saw him the day she was dragged into this expedition. There were chances her sight caught the red head moving from the crowd in the cabin. And the boy looked somewhat older than her.
'He must be an orphan like me, what else would he be?' She thought sadly, feeling sorry for both of them.
As she drank the water, which was quite tepid from the humidity of the desert, she reflected back to the day she was led to this miserable fate.
They were just a small family. Her father, a kenjutsu master, who sustained their needs by teaching sword lessons at their dojo and her mother, a faithful housewife who tried her best to keep the ends meet. Kaoru, their only daughter was the heir to her father's dojo and principles.
A perfect image of a family… but behind the mask veils a dark secret.
When her mother gave birth to her, the infant was believed to be plagued by a curse. A curse embedded to her young back as a mark of a dragon. Some says that it might bring famine to the village someday once she comes of age, as told by some dragons' tale which is known for their stories of destruction. But the family tried to attest themselves to some accusing villagers who hatefully despised them dwelling in the village.
As Kaoru grow up, his father's dojo started to lose its students one by one. Hardly leaving any means for him to provide for his family's needs. One day, he was hired to work as a bodyguard for a lord, and was guaranteed to be given more than enough to provide for his family. It looked so easy, but one night came when he was asked to kill for the lord, he declined, for it is against his principles. That same night he flew after knowing about the lord's corrupt motives. Knowing that the lord would not allow him to just get away with all the knowledge about his dark schemes, he went back to their home immediately to depart the village with his family for good.
It was too late though, Just as they were about to reach the farther outskirts of the village, they halted when they saw a group of thugs approaching, must be some of the lord's men.
His father kneeled in front of Kaoru who is frantically shaking with fear as she clasped with her mother's hand.
"Be strong kaoru, you have to live on, for the Kasshin ryuu,…. for me.." he held her face and kissed her forehead. "Even though others might treat you bad,.. help them…" he took her small hands in his. ".. as long as your hands could reach them." With that he stood and faced his faithful wife.
"Whatever happens ,…" he cupped her cheek and looked at her with his steady cobalt stare. "…remember that I love both of you,.. " his hand withdrew but before it fell to his side, she captured his hand with her right one.
"Take care,… anata" a tear fell as she whispered loud enough only for him to hear. He nodded and locked her in a tight embrace.
Koshijiro told his wife to move ahead of him and escape with their Kaoru as he distract the thugs. Kaoru cried out to her father, as his figure drawing a bokken faded with the fog. Her young limbs will surely tire out soon. On the other hand, , Kaoru's mother kept their pace even in her exhaustion. Running unstoppably towards the boundaries to the next village, adrenaline serving as her only remaining strength.
Minutes of running had passed, when Kaoru felt a painful twinge in her heart. As though something, or perhaps, someone had tugged at her heartstrings. The pain made tears sprang involuntarily to her eyes. She pulled at her mother's hand only to find her also in tears.
Her mother felt it, too.
There's no way she would fail him now, his death would not be futile. She has to escape and lead their child to safety. Inevitably, Kaoru tripped over. She winced in pain as her ankles throbbed with stinging pain. Her mother never wasted a second and lifted her, the job slowing them down. But better to go slower than to stop.
But even she has her own limitations. When her knees screamed out for rest, she decided to hide them behind a bush and continue by the time she regained enough strength. She examined Kaoru's ankles and found a bruise welt. To avoid the wound from getting infection, she tore a strip of cloth from the hem of her kimono and dabbed it to the swollen abrasion. Unbeknownst to them, footsteps approached nearing their direction. Just as she was wrapping the ankle, Kaoru whimpered out of pain.
The thugs heard the small noise and began to search for the source when they fell upon a large rustling population of bushes. Her mother felt their presence and clamped her child's mouth shut. But it didn't help. The men found them and harshly dragged them out of the bushes. How had they managed to catch up with them that quickly at such a distance?
Her mother pleaded to spare the child's life but they seem to be deaf. Instead, they laughed at her and looked at her maliciously. They separated them, one man dragging Kaoru away and four cornered her mother. A seven year-old's innocent mind not having any hint of WHAT was to happen, she helplessly watched as her mother was stripped off of her kimono with the men's filthy hands and beaten up badly as they took turns on her, ignoring her pleas and cries of pain. Her eyes went wide as she watched them spat at her mother which is now covered in dark bruises and blood. An unknown rage built within her, she struggled against the man's hold and tumbled down. Ignoring the pain in her ankle and her fall,. She dashed toward her mother.
Too late, before she got to her, one of the thug's blade slit her mother's throat, shutting the last of rational thoughts in her mind.
"Okaa-saaaaaaann!" her voice shrieked as blood flowed from her neck.
She fell beside her mother's still form and clung to her disheveled form. Her mother's eyes lost its sparkle as she looked back at her. She looked at her daughter, channeling her remaining strength through their gaze.
"Go,…..Pl-Please…Ka..o..ru" she said, her arms failed to reach to stroke her child's face as she fought unconsciousness.
Even at her final breath she managed to mumble her final words to her. "L-live,..for us.."
"Okaa-san,..Okaa-san…." Kaoru shook her mother's shoulders, earning no response at her constant plea.
"So,…what's it now little kitten?" one of the men mocked with a piercing laugh.
Tears flew continuously on her cheeks. She might have not understood everything in her young age. But one thing she knew for sure, her mother is DEAD.
With one final caress on her mother's cheek, Kaoru prepared for an unpredicted move. All her life, her parents are the only ones she had listened to. No use giving up now, now that she has nothing left.
She held all the strength left in her and made a wild dash away from the thugs. Unbelievably, she took the men off guard. She increased her speed, ignoring the pain in her ankles. Her small stature weren't even used to such fast speed or distance, but right now she desperately wanted both to get away from the figures that had been coming closer. Closing the space between them with trained strides, one of them grabbed her behind her neck.
"And where do you think you're going brat?" She almost choked at the pain in her pressure points but it was nothing like the fear she felt right now.
Would they do the same thing to her? For Kami's sake! She's just a child!
"What are we going to do with that one, boys?" one of them inquired. "Do you think she's as good as her mother?" they laughed loud, their menacing laughter echoed in her mind which promised to leave a lingering memory that would forever haunt her.
"Nah,.. we'd have enough session for now, though that bitch is quite feisty" one of them remarked. "…say,…" he paused "why not sell her to the slave traders?"
The others agreed " hmmm..even a price of dirt is better than none at all.."
She should have let out an air of relief. After all, she had been spared from the same fate as her mother's. But a life as a slave?
Her head turned to look back at the morbid figure of her mother. She caught something move from the corner of her eyes. She shook her head. it must have been her exhaustion. But she could have sworn she really saw something –a faint silhouette of a crouched man bending over her mother's lifeless body.
Thus, she ended up here in the slave caravan.
'Okaa-san must be with Otou-san right now…I wish I could join them sooner.' She thought, gulping the last mouthful of water.
'Last? Oh my!' her brain reminded her as she consumed the last of the boy's drink. She had been too occupied with her thoughts that she failed to notice the boy's worried look at his jug. She was ashamed of herself for taking too much than what she had asked for and what she was offered. Blushing furiously and waiting for her deserved harsh words, she looked down at her dirty toes, her bangs covering her face, but nothing came.
OoOoO
The generous boy watched as a blush started to tint her face. He could see it clearly even behind the curtain of her hair. He just looked at her with eyes full of compassion for the younger girl. Seeing her much closer betrayed his first impression about her. There were times he caught glimpse of her. But even before her eyes met his, she had already turned her head away.
He felt so much concern for her when he remembered seeing her earlier wandering around the small cabin with what he supposed to be an empty jug. She surprised him by being able to last to a slave's endurance. He silently admired her courage, which he first witnessed on the day she was first brought to the caravan.
"Let me go!" a voice broke the usual silence of the huddle inside the cabin one early morning in the slave caravan. Shinta squinted his eyes to adjust to the light peeping through the narrow slit of the opening door. One by one, the slaves got up as the noise drew closer, aware from the routine that someone new was brought to join their dreadful fate.
They're not expecting this one though, for the new member of the pack was no more than a child, a girl not much older than eight.
Shinta shot up from his lying position to have a look at the new person aboard. He expected her to cry when she saw the look on their faces, her eyes did widen but showed no fear. Even when those who brought her there told her that there would be no one for her now she had not faltered. They're quite mistaken on that part though…
Like everyone on board, she had nothing with her but her tattered clothes which had mud and what he could make out as..blood stains..? A strange feeling evoked from him. What could have happened to her to have led her here? And at such a young age? But his worry faded when she walked inside chin high, and sat by the empty corner of the room, opposite from him.
There's something special about this kid that he could hardly point out. Is it the truth that instead of seeing tears clouding her eyes, what he saw was fiery courage reflected amidst her regal innocence?
Then he realized what kept him gaping at her. His deepest thirst could be easily quenched by looking at her eyes which are as deep as the blue ocean. The girl was pretty, and he admitted to himself that he would have been infatuated with her if they ever met at a different circumstance…but in fact, he is now. Wait a minute! Infatuated? With a girl five years younger than him? He shoved the foolish thought aside. Not a chance, he thought. Especially with someone as ill-fated as him..
So far, they two are the youngest in the caravan. So when he saw her wandering, asking for water, he made his move, knowing that this is the best opportunity to get to know her.
He started to worry when she didn't respond after drinking from the jug. She just stood there, motionless. As if waiting for some kind of punishment. A realization registered to him; she must be embarrassed for draining his last drink.
In assurance, he patted her shoulders as a gesture for her to look up. She did but avoided his eyes. He just shrugged and smiled.
"It's okay,..I've drank enough today" he assured her. The girl finally managed to look at him directly in the eye.
"B-but… you will get thirsty soon,…" she muttered. She twitched her toes out of embarrassment.
"I could endure it,.." he confirmed. "Besides, I heard that we should be out of this dessert by afternoon tomorrow…I'll endure it till then, so stop worrying" he paused "In fact, you should be worrying about yourself,..Can you hold it until tomorrow? I have no water left for any of us"
"No! I mean,..Yes! Of course!, I c-can endure until tomorrow! But no! Don't w-worry about me,… you have given me enough to last until t-tomorrow…" she stuttered. "Go-Gomenasai!…I promise to pay you back!" she beat her head low to a bow that she almost knocked her head on the jug.
The boy looked at him with his signature grin "Don't be,.. I really wanted you to have it, I really don't mind".
Feeling more comfortable about this friendly boy, the light returned to her eyes "A-arigato,…um…"
"Shinta." He held his hand to her "You may call me Shinta."
The girl took his hand cheerfully and beamed her biggest smile for the first time since her stay. "My name's Kaoru... Nice to meet you Shinta-onii san*"
"Uh.. just Shinta please,.. " he scratched the back of his head, The picture of having her see him as an older brother unnerving him.
The two of them stood there for quite a long time. It's just then when Kaoru broke the silence.
"Okay..so,… how did you get here?...are you an orphan too?" her innocent question seem to steered at his emotion "Just as I expected, she's kinless like me"he thought.
"Hai,.." he nodded and motioned for her to move from their place to sit by one of the empty corner of the cabin where they could have their little chit-chat more privately. Kaoru scooted close to him, confident now that she had a new friend whom she would be comfortable with. Shinta didn't mind the closeness, not even when he felt her eyes on him.
"How about you?... how did you get in here at the first place… if you don't mind me asking" he leveled his stare to her but she averted her eyes from him, just as she did earlier.
She really doesn't want to avoid this, but this is unexpected. No one had asked her how she got here at the beginning… and remembering that terrible night made her want to throw up. Could she really trust him enough to let him know about her own demise? The memory is still clear, etched in her mind like a new ink painting. She wringed the hem of her clothes which were none too decent and caught remnants of blood from that night. She hugged her knees to herself, forgetting she still has to answer the hanging question.
The stabbing pain, her mother's tears..
"Be strong kaoru, you have to live on, for the Kasshin ryuu,…. for me.."
The blood, her mother's screams. The haunting laughter….
"Live,..for us.."
He felt her withdrawal. Suddenly, he felt guilty for bringing up the topic. Who is he anyway for prying into her life of solitude? Before words of apology rolled off his tongue, she brought her head up with her face as stern as an old worn man. Looking at the vast space as if seeing something he cannot.
"Shinta,… Is it bad to be helpless?" she asked without looking at him.
He was stunned when she immediately changed the atmosphere. Where is the cheerful girl he just made friends with? Is this the true face beneath her mask?
He tried his best to carry on the conversation. Maybe this way, she would be able to open up to him….she needed it.
"No.." he heaved a sigh. Not knowing what to say next. She was just as gullible as he thought she should be.
"I was not able to protect them,…to save them.." her voice broke but surprisingly, when he looked at her there were no tears.
He understood what she meant. 'Yes,..I was not able to protect them, too..' he spoke at the back of his mind. His hand came up behind her to stroke her back like a brother would. "Whatever that had happened, I'm sure It's not your fault… you're just too young….." he soothed her "..and I suppose they loved you and are happy enough to know you are safe and alive…"
"My father was not a bad person…." She began. Words of praise for her parents tumbled from her mouth, matching the sound of the childish monologue in her voice. She told him about her small village and the chase that night. She even told him about her so-called "curse" and every time she spoke degrading herself, he would shake his head. "You're not cursed Kaoru,…" he said thoughtfully, 'not even the slightest fiber of it' he wanted to say.
They sounded like adults now. The heaviness of the topic both sent them to a pit of dreadful memories they wanted to forget. But who would understand them anyway? They share the same cruel fate. They both suffered loss. Nothing left but themselves to lick each other's wounds.
As they made a detour at the memory lane, they were unaware of a little bud that had started to blossom within the deepest recesses of their hearts.
*o-nii san (big brother)
At last! I would be able to shove the messy rough draft of this story out of my table! I really wanted to merge the first and second chapter on this prologue but I thought that it might be too long for a prologue. I hope you enjoyed the family scene as much as I enjoyed writing it! And being the canon obsessor I am, I left the mother's name unknown (just as the original manga would). And before I forget, thanks to those who voted for BxK pairing for this fic.
WANTED: Beta reader …Well…that is, if I should continue or not. Review in exchange for a chapter. This time I won't beg. Take it. Or leave it. T-L