Standard disclaimer applies...unless Naoko Takeuchi wants to give it to me as a present? **looks hopeful** No? **sniffles** fine...
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I was running from her. The underbrush scratched my legs and caught my hair forcing me to wince in pain with every step I took. Blood started to trickle down my leg, mixing with my sweat. I pressed forward doggedly. I couldn't let her get me. I knew the punishment if I stopped. It was much worse than shin splints and severe dyspnea. It was so taxing, though. I knew that I wouldn't be able to go on much longer. With what little strength I had left, I looked around desperately for a hiding spot. I spied a tree with a knothole in it that I could just barely fit through. Stumbling exhaustedly, I reached what I hoped would be my haven until daybreak. As soon as I squeezed through the narrow hole, I concentrated on making my breathing as hushed as possible. Once that was achieved, I froze, my eyes wide open in terror. She was near, dangerously near. I could hear her harsh breathing as I hid fearfully in my shrouded location. The crunching of the leaves started to become hushed as she digressed. I didn't notice I was holding my breath until I felt a sharp pain in my lungs due to lack of oxygen. I slowly exhaled when I could barely hear her footsteps on the dead leaves. I wanted to crawl out of this hole and continue on running, but I just couldn't find the strength. My last thought before I drifted out of consciousness was 'I'm free.'
********
My eyes slowly opened, letting in the sun's shining rays. As soon as I did, I closed them again. 'Too bright,' I thought as I got my eyes readjusted to daylight. Then, I remembered what happened last night. Tears streamed down my face as I relived the past few weeks. All the beating and treatment I had received had overwhelmed me to the point where I almost had no hope of rescue or even a normal life. Slowly, my tears turned to those of happiness. I was finally free! No longer would I get slapped for talking without permission or folding the laundry wrong. No longer would I be hit until I was unconscious just because I was a minute late with bringing in the dinner. I sighed shakily and reached up to wipe the tears off my dirtied face. 'When was the last time I took a bath. Better yet, when was the last time I ate! I'm starving!' I thought with a small smile. I crawled painfully out of the small hole and surveyed my surroundings. The forest didn't look half as terrifying as it did at night time. I sighed again and started to walk west, hoping to get as far away from here as possible.
About halfway into the day, I stopped by a small creek and drank with a great thirst that needed to be sated. I looked around cautiously before stripping down and jumping in. The water felt so cool and relieved the dull ache that was being caused by all of my scratches. I got out quickly and redressed. I sat down on a nearby boulder and dipped my toes into the slow moving creek, making minuscule ripples. 'Where am I to go? I've been traveling for half a day and I have no real destination.' I thought quietly to myself. My life had changed drastically since the day I had become a slave. Before then, I had always dreamed of finding my true love, starting a family, and living serenely for the rest of my life. My true goal in life was to be with the person I loved. I didn't care if he turned out to be the poorest man in the world, as long as we were together, then I would be happy. But then, the infamous catastrophe occurred, and I became slave to that vile creature, Lady Beryl. My spirit was almost broken, but I managed to give in and conceal my contempt until I could traverse for freedom.
I got up and continued walking further west until I came upon a small town. It was impoverished looking, yet had some hidden appeals to it. One just had to look hard enough. I looked at the few coins that I had stolen from my ex-mistress. It was enough to get me two full meals and one night's stay at the cheapest inn. I shrugged my shoulders and walked to the bakery. I covered my face with the hood I was wearing. I was trying to keep a low profile. Lady Beryl would most probably be out looking for me. I was her most valuable slave and she would be asking people about me. I bought a loaf of bread and headed out the door. The town was actually quite bustling and crowded. The marketplace was full and festive. I smiled sadly, remembering the last time I was here. My mother had her arm around my shoulder and was haggling with the vendor. That was just a few days before she and my father were murdered by those Arcadian monsters. I guess I was too deep into remembrance that I wasn't even watching where I was going. Before I knew what was going on, I laid sprawled on the dirt street. I looked over and saw that I had ran right into a middle aged woman.
"Oh my gosh! I'm am so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going and...oh..I'm sorry," I pleaded with the woman to make her understand. The woman just looked up and smiled kindly at me.
"It's quite all right, child. One makes mistakes all the time. Plus, nothing can damage me much. You'd have to do better than that," the woman forgave in a jesting manner. I smiled slowly. I already knew I liked her. "I don't recognize you. Are you new in town?" she asked curiously.
"I'm just passing through. I won't be here long," I said as I helped her pick up the things that she dropped.
"Well in that case, you must come over for dinner and a rest. That way you don't have to spend all your money in this town for food and board," she suggested resolutely. "By the way, my name's Mrs. Hino. And yours is?"
"Um, Serena. And I don't want to impose on you further. I already bowled you over. I don't want to be any more of an inconvenience," I told her politely while subtly backing away.
"Nonsense, child. You'll be nothing of a sort. Come now, I'm making my special Shepherd's Pie. Nobody can resist that," Mrs. Hino chattered as she grabbed hold of my arm and hauled me off towards her home.
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The house was of moderate size, having about three rooms total. The front yard was beautifully decorated with an attractive herbs garden and a rose bush climbing up the right wall. As I entered the house, I spotted a girl about my age sewing together an apparently ripped shirt.
"That's my daughter, Rei. Rei, I want you to meet our guest for tonight, Serena," Mrs. Hino introduced. The girl was very pretty with long black hair and mysterious violet eyes. She shook my hand warily as if she didn't trust me. I smiled warmly at her so as not to show any harm. She just gave me a small smile and then went back to her sewing.
"Now then, why don't we get you out of those hot clothes and into something cooler, shall we?" Mrs. Hino proposed and left to the room on the right, leaving no room for argument. "You don't mind if Serena wear's something of yours, do you Rei?" she called from the room. Mrs. Hino then came out and pulled me into the room without even waiting for a reply.
Rei just rolled her eyes and responded sarcastically, "Of course not, mother. I always love sharing my things with people I've never even known before."
Inside the room, Mrs. Hino just shook her head and whispered to me, "Don't mind her. Though she gets her looks from me, she gets her temper from her father. Two of a kind they are, two of a kind." I giggled amiably as she took off my cloak. As she was peeling off my bodice, she gasped. I was confused at first, but then I remembered.
"What are all these bruises and marks on your body, child? What happened?" she asked with concern. I tried hopelessly to come up with a rational explanation.
"I, well, I fell down a hill about two days journey from here and scraped up my back pretty badly," I explained while looking at the chest at the end of the bed. She looked at me skeptically, but didn't say anything. She just went the Rei's closet, took out a light blue gown, and left me to put it on.
"We'll be having dinner in a hour's time. Feel free to make yourself comfortable," she offered as she left the room. I sighed, relieved that she didn't prod any further. I didn't want her to find out that I was a runaway slave. She might turn me in. Even if she didn't do that, she would probably act differently around me, sneering at my misfortune.
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When a hour's time was about up, I decided that I should go out and see if I could help. As I neared the door, I overheard people talking. Upon further investigation, I discovered it was about me.
"Oh, Ares, we must do something. She obviously comes from an abused household, we can't let her get harmed any further. She's a sweet girl," I could hear Mrs. Hino pleading.
"Miko, what do you want me to do? Adopt her? You know we can't afford another mouth to feed. She's probably already got a destination in mind anyway," argued the person I believed was Ares. I had enough of their conversation and opened the door as loudly yet casually as possible. Mrs. Hino looked away from Ares and gave me a smile.
"Hello, sweetie, I would like you to meet my husband, Mr. Hino," she introduced politely. I smiled and shook hands with him.
He nodded his head and replied, "You can call me Ares. Mr. Hino makes me sound like an old man." I grinned merrily as his eyes twinkled with sardonic amusement that seemed to be aimed at the world. Mrs. Hino had gone off to get the meal, but came back just as quickly.
"Dinner is served," she announced as we all sat down to begin our meal. Saying our prayers to the Goddess, we began to eat the scrumptious looking pie. This was the first time in weeks that I had another person's home cooked meal. It was so close to my mother's cooking that I almost broke down right then and there. I bit my lip until I could taste the coppery flavor of blood in my mouth. 'I will not cry in front of these people,' I repeated over to myself.
"So, Serena, where are you headed to?" Ares asked me inquisitively. I swallowed nervously and started to panic.
"I don't know," I answered honestly. I was tired off running from everyone, I just wanted everything to be the way it used to be. Tears started to forming at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to cry. I strained hard, commanding the tears not to fall. My head was down and I couldn't see anything but my lap, so I was surprised when I felt someone hugging me. I looked up and saw Mrs. Hino in the process of cutting off my air supply. That was when I let my tears fall. I weeped quietly while Mrs. Hino held me in her embrace. For a moment, I pretended that she was my mother, and I was home, safe in my bedroom in Delphia. I stopped crying suddenly, embarrassed of my emotional outbreak. I wiped the tears off with my hand and looked up. Mr. and Mrs. Hino were looking at me sympathetically while Rei looked at me with a more amicable appearance. I sighed tiredly and apologized.
"Child, one should not apologize for expressing one's thoughts," she stated wisely. I gave her a watery smile that conveyed my thanks. She smiled in return and continued on with the conversation.
"We would love to have you here, but we wouldn't be able to afford it. I'm very sorry," she stated sadly. I grinned and waved it off.
"Don't worry, I'll find my place in this world," I affirmed bravely.
"You know, there is a place where you could be right at home. They say if you go there looking for property to live on, they will assign some to you for free. Not that pathetic kind of land either. They are trying to encourage people to come to their nation. In fact, it is said to have a good government. Doesn't charge too much for the taxes and is ruled by a very kind monarchy, unlike our nation," Ares said informatively. I nodded agreeably. I knew that the King and Queen of Arcadia were very arrogant and unjust. The taxes on everything were unbearable and no one ever had a fair trial. Not to mention the fact that Lady Beryl was a duchess and therefore, was very buddy-buddy with them.
"What is this place called? Who are the rulers?" I inquired questioningly.
"Well, it's called Utopia and it is ruled by King Terran and Queen Gaia. It is a fairly strong state," Ares responded considerately. I nodded my head and asked to be excused. After I was admitted, I walked leisurely back to my room, deep in thought. About five minutes later, Rei came into the room I was occupying.
"We're sharing the same room," she answered when she saw my questioning look. "What happened before you came here?" I bit my lip again, unsure as to what to say. I shrugged my shoulders and told her about my past. I had nothing to lose.
"I was found in a town in the state of Delphia where my adopted mother and father lived comfortably. My life was fine and perfect until about half a year ago. By then, we were at war with the Arcadians. They wanted the land and kingdom of Delphia. The Arcadians went to each town, raiding and plundering each one. When they came to our town, we tried to defeat them, but it was no use. They were too strong and we were outnumbered. They killed my mother and father, and they captured me as a slave. For these past several months, I have worked for the Duchess of Pequod, Lady Beryl. I had just now escaped her and her cruel ways." I finished my story while staring blankly at my feet.
"I'm so sorry! I wouldn't know what I would do if I didn't have my parents," Rei expressed with compassion in her eyes. I smiled kindly and thanked her.
"So are you going to Utopia?" she asked hopefully. I looked at her peculiarly and nodded my head. "Good, because I want to come with you!"
"What?! Why would you want to do a thing like that!" I exclaimed.
"It's so boring in this town. I want an adventure. Travel around, you know? As long as I have someone with me, I will fine. Plus I hate it here in Arcadia, I want to live in Utopia. The way father described it made me desire living there," she responded casually, as if it weren't a big deal.
"But what of your parents, what will they say?" I prodded further.
"I'm of proper age to be living on my own. They must've known this day was coming sooner or later," Rei retorted carelessly. I sat there speechless. I mean, sure I would love her to come along, but how could she dismiss her parents and home so thoughtlessly? I sighed and consented her wishes.
********
The next morning, while we were having breakfast, Rei broke the news to her parents. The result was expected. They both stared at her blankly, and then started yelling at the same time, saying she couldn't go, she was too young, and 'who will take care of you?' Eventually, Rei calmed her parents down and got them to finally agree on letting her go. I was amazed at her manipulating skills. Nevertheless, our departure was a tearful farewell. The Hino's had given us two of their three horses and 100 gold coins to live off of. We then proceeded to head south towards Utopia.
As we traveled further away from our origin and closer to our final destination, we talked about ourselves, our views, and our memories.
"You mean to tell me that you know no way of self defense?!" I asked incredulously near nightfall.
"Yeah, what's so wrong with that?" Rei asked me, perplexed. I rolled my eyes.
"Only that if you want to survive out here in the wilderness, you need to know how to live!" I exclaimed, exasperated. "Do you know anything about herbs or tracking?" At Rei's shake of her head, I prayed to the gods we would survive. "Well, I guess, I'm going to have to teach you everything there is to know."
"How do you know all this stuff?" she asked as I was explaining to her a few simple moves of self-defense.
"My father and I used to go camping in the woods. He taught me how the track and fight while my mother showed me useful ways to employ herbs," I responded, leaving out any hint that I was lying. She nodded her head as she mimicked my moves. Soon, she was able to get down some essential maneuvers.
"I'll take first watch while you sleep. I'll wake you up when the moon is below the North Star. Good night," I said as I scaled a nearby tree. I heard a faint reply and smiled knowingly.
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I awoke to the sound of the wood birds chirping. Opening my eyes, I saw it was dawn. I also saw that Rei had fallen asleep on the job. 'Good thing no one attacked us last night,' I thought to myself as I prepared the horses and took out some bread and dried meat. I walked over to Rei and nudged her quite rudely. She didn't budge. I sighed and did it again. Still no response. I stood there rather angered until a devilish smile crept across my face. I walked over to the saddles and unhooked my water bag from it's tie. Then, I walked back over to Rei and started to drip it on her face. After a few seconds, a wet violet-eyed girl stood up, glaring at an innocent blonde with puppy dog eyes. Rei rolled her eyes and stormed over to the horses.
"Why did you wake me up like that?!" Rei shrieked.
"You wouldn't get up any other way. Besides, you weren't supposed to be sleeping," I replied coolly. Rei just crossed her arms with a slight frown marring her face.
"Come on, let's go. We have a ways to travel, and we want to make it there by nightfall," I told her as I mounted Epona, my pale gray mare. She sighed in defeat and mounted her black mare, Deimos. We traveled for a few hours until we came upon a small town. There we bought some more bread and some feed for our horses. As we mounted, I noticed a tall girl sneaking in the shadows. She looked both ways and then disappeared from my sight. I furrowed my brows as we continued through town. As we were leaving the limits, a girl with vibrant green eyes and chestnut hair pulled back into a ponytail rode up to us.
"I heard that you were headed for Utopia. Would you mind if I joined you?" she asked pleadingly. Rei looked at her warily, suspicious of all strangers. I only had to look at her eyes to see that she could be trusted.
"Sure, why not? The more the merrier, I say," I declared as I smiled warmly, recognizing her as the girl in the shadows. "What's your name, by the way?"
"My name is Makoto, and this is Callisto," she introduced while pointing to her dark gray mare.
"Pleased to meet you, Makoto. My name is Serena and this is Rei," I replied while pointing to my companion. Rei kept herself guarded as we traveled toward our goal. I learned that Makoto was running away from home because her parents were forcing her into a prearranged marriage.
"That's terrible. I think a person should marry for love, not for money or debt," I shared agreeably. As we walked further, I told her my story and more sympathy arose. By the time nightfall came, we had all gotten to know each other, and Rei even lightened up. I took first watch again, and then gave second watch to Makoto, who hopefully was more responsible. Rei got third watch because I thought that she could stay up during the early hours. I was right.
I continued to teach Rei the ways of surviving out in the woods. I was glad that Makoto was the daughter of a woodsmen. She even knew how to shoot an arrow. While she taught me archery, I taught her herbology. After a week of traveling, Makoto was even more skilled at preparing the herbs than me and Rei proved her talent over the bow. As we entered the next town, we asked a local villager how far Utopia was.
"Why, 'bout a fort's night, I guess," he answered with a toothy grin. We smiled our thanks and went into the general store to get some more kindle and a few pieces of sweets. I must admit, we were kind of addicted to that sugar, especially me. As we led our horses out of the town Rei noticed some people following us. She quietly alerted Makoto and me of our shadows, and we continued on, pretending not to see them. As we rode around the bend in the road, we quickly dismounted and hid the horses. Then we climbed two conifers and waited patiently for the group.
"Well, where'd they go?" asked the first man, who smelled like rotten cabbage, even from way up in the trees.
"Maybe they ran their horses and got so far ahead that we can't see 'em," the second man suggested, who looked as bad as the other smelt.
"Idiot, no horse could've run that fast. Them girls is hiding, c'mon," the third said as he hit the second man upside his head. He was the meanest looking one, with beady eyes and black slicked hair. I looked over at Makoto and nodded my head, and then did the same with Rei. She looked scared. I think she didn't believe in her abilities. We jumped down silently when the men's backs were turned away from us.
"Rei, you take the ugly one, Makoto, you take the smelly one, and I'll take mean one," I whispered noiselessly. They nodded and took a position.
"May I ask what you were doing following us?" I asked in an authoritative voice. The three men pivoted around and stood there looking at us. Then, the mean looking one stepped forward.
"I thought that some right purdy girls like you would enjoy some fun," he drawled out with a sickening glint in his eye.
"Take a long walk off a short bridge," Rei retorted. I looked at her surprised, but I saw that she was riled up, her arrow pointed right at ugly guy's heart. I smiled wickedly as the men approached. As soon as they were in striking distance, we attacked. They never knew what hit them. They were out and unconscious in less than five minutes. We proceeded to our horses, mounted up, and were on our way.
Rei couldn't stop talking about the attack. I guess she was so surprised at her ability that she just had to repeat the scene over and over to make sure it was real. After a week of more trekking, things started to get boring. When we finally reached the city of Marcel, which was only about 100 miles from Utopia, we were craving for human contact. We decided to go out to eat at the inn. We were all getting tired of the fire made meals. Hey, we girls need our variety. I looked around the room and saw a lot of drunk men, some card players, and two cloaked figures in the back. 'Well, at least no one recognizes us,' I thought.
We slept at that inn, just for variety's sake, and woke up early the next morning. We were on the road again, headed for our main goal. Rei looked up ahead and saw that those two cloaked figures were riding about a mile onward. 'I wonder if they are going to Utopia, too,' she though to herself. As we turned around the bend, the riders were gone. Makoto nor I had taken notice of the riders, but I was starting to get uneasy.
All of a sudden, the two figures jumped out from behind a huge boulder, aiming arrows at Makoto's and my throat. We all stopped and stood still.
"What were you doing following us?" a female voice asked. We looked at each other, perplexed.
"I'm sorry, but we weren't following you on purpose. We were just on our way to Utopia, and you just happened to be ahead of us at the same time," I explained. The one in a dark yellow cloak lowered her bow, and the other followed soon after. She took off her hood to reveal a beautiful blonde girl with large blue eyes. She nudged the other to do the same. The one in a dark blue cloak pulled away her hood revealing another petite girl with blue eyes. But this time, the girl had strange blue hair.
"I'm sincerely sorry for accusing you of following us. We are just very cautious," the blond apologized. I waved it off carelessly.
"No worries. It was a simple mistake," I said as I grinned sociably. The other girl returned my smile full force.
"We are going to Utopia, too. You can join us if you want," she invited. We were only too happy to agree. We needed new faces to keep things lively.
"I'm Mina, by the way. And that's Ami," the blond said as she pointed to the blue head. We introduced our selves, and then started on our journey. We eventually came around to our reasons for traveling to Utopia. I was kind of sick of explaining my situation with others, but I got over it. I discovered that Mina and Ami were wanted for witchcraft. The only reason they were believed to be witches were because they could do all the things a man could do and they could heal people.
"I swear, people don't appreciate good things, even when it comes up and bites them in the butt," Makoto remarked. We all laughed lightheartedly as we continued on down the road. I found that Ami was very intelligent and Mina reminded me so much of my self. Well, maybe a little more prettier and goofy. Another week had passed, and it was rumored that the Utopian borders were only a day and a half away. We celebrated by cooking a nice buck and dancing with Ami's lyre and Makoto's flute.
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We walked unblinking toward the rod iron gates of Utopia. Four sentries stood guard and watched us as we approached.
"State your name and purpose, or we will be forced to dispose of you," the first guard stated.
"Whoa, don't go all ballistic on us. I'm Serena, and we're here to settle in this land," I stated calmly. The two guards on the ground looked at each other while the two guards on the post kept staring at us. It was kind of unnerving. The first guard sighed.
"Very well, but you must remember that our laws are to be followed and respected," he stated as the other opened the gates. We all nodded our heads. What lied ahead of us was a new adventure, but we were all just happy to know that we made it to our goal, Utopia.
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Okies, well that's the first chapter....**sweatdrops** sorry if it seems kinda patchy...this started out as a story for my English class...