A New Beginning - Chapter 4
Hitomi lay in her bed thinking, not quite ready for sleep. She stared out the window for a blank second, and returned to staring at the ceiling. Gray…made of stone…the ceilings back on Earth are rather smooth too. She caught herself thinking of that thought and stopped. Am I missing my life on Earth? Afraid of regretting what she did, she pushed away the thought and finally attempted to go to sleep. Just the second when she shifted herself to a more comfortable position and closed her eyes, she heard whispering. And it's coming from outside.
"Yes, I understand." Understand what? Hitomi decided that it was none of her business, and decided to ignore the commotion. Once again, she closed her eyes.
"…from the Mystic Moon…" another voice said. It was about her? So the people aren't so at ease about her history after all. Her curiosity got the better of her and she got up from bed, quietly. She walked over to the door, and placed her ear against the cold wood. "…must capture her…" Capture her?! And that's when she noticed the warmth hitting her bare feet, caused by a red light under her door. Red light?!? She got out of her current position and kneeled down, trying to get a better view of what is outside from the crack under her door. Only one pair of feet. She caught a faint glimpse of the man's clothing, but could not make out the face. He wore a sleeveless black vest, which didn't cover up the scar on his right arm, and a long black cape that flowed down to his boots. The scar was the shape of a star with a circle around it.
The red light soon disappeared, and the man walked away.
What the hell is going on? Red light? Capturing? She decided on asking Van what is going on in the morning. She got back into the bed, once again looking up at the ceiling, but she couldn't sleep anymore.
*****
Sunlight shone in through her window drapes, and she opened her eyes to see a servant putting up the drapes, tying them to each side of the window frame. She squinted to protect her eyes, and attempted to get up. Ow! The servant noticed she was awake, and ran over to help her get up.
"Had a good night of sleep?" the servant asked.
"Uh, yeah, you?"
The servant smiled. "Yes, thank you, miss."
Once again, Hitomi tried to move, but her headache pushed her back down. She grunted and brought an arm up to her forehead. The servant quickly took her arm and gently pulled her up. With a worried look, the servant asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I stayed up too late yesterday, I guess."
"Let me go get the doctor. He should know what's wrong."
Hitomi quickly grabbed her arm and shook her head. "A doctor for a headache? I'm not dying…yet…"
"M'lady, don't say such things! Lord Van will be so upset!"
Upset over what? "That's okay, I'm fine now. Would you be so kind as to give me a moment alone?" The servant bowed and backed out of the room. Hitomi sighed. Finally…she thought. She got out of bed and stuttered her way to change. Preparing everything, she set out to the well to wash up.
Merle, her cat ears twitching, heard someone approaching. She looked up from her reflection in the water and saw Hitomi making her way toward her, all the time grabbing hold of something, as if she'd collapse any second.
"Hitomi!" Merle called, getting up from her seat and running over on four legs to help Hitomi.
"Merle! Why are you up so early?"
"Early? You call this early? The moons are almost in the center of the sky already!"
Merle quickly guided Hitomi to sit in her previous seat by the well. She rinsed a cloth and gave it to Hitomi. The girl quickly took the cloth and wiped her face. "Feel better?" Merle asked. Hitomi nodded.
"Why didn't you just ask the servants to get you some water? You look half-dead!"
"Didn't wanna bother them."
"Why not? It's their job."
"Felt like walking."
It was no use. No matter how much Merle tried, Hitomi was still that stubborn and independent. Just like Van. Wonder where Van is? Merle thought. Just when Merle was about to say something, footsteps interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to find Haligre plastered with his usual grin walking their way. "Morning! How's last night?" he chittered, and winked to Hitomi.
"And you forgot about me…" Merle said, crossing her arms at the same time.
He turned to Merle with a slight smirk. "Of course not! How can I forget about my favorite catgirl?"
Are they together? Why does Merle care so much? Hitomi smiled and got up. That was when something caught her eyes. She froze in her tracks, trying her best not to make it noticeable. "Umm…ex-excuse me for a sec…" She ran off into the hallways, not caring whether she got lost.
"What's up with her?" Haligre asked. Merle simply shrugged.
*****
Out in the hallways, Hitomi was panting, trying to catch her breath. She looked back to see if anyone followed her. No, it can't be…HIM? A scar. A star-shaped scar. With a circle around it.
Haligre was the one with the sorceress' cape around him the night before.
And he's after her.