Riana groaned as she got up from her prone position on the ground. "Ugh… What in the world…?" She closed her eyes, and rubbed her throbbing head. What just happened?
She opened her eyes as the realization hit her. That's right… I was in the reference section of the school library, reading this strange-looking Chinese book, and then there was this light… She looked at her surroundings, and groaned again. Oh man, you've got to be kidding me! Don't tell me that I got sucked into that book!
For she was now in a completely different place. She was sitting in a little alley of a very crowded town, the sounds of morning activity all around of her. She turned her gaze upwards, and noticed that the roofs of the buildings were decorated in a Chinese style, and the most predominant color was red. She groaned, and hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. Oh great, of all the places to end up in, it has to be in China. Ancient China, no less.
However, she was there, and she presumed that there was no way she could get out of that place until she did a little searching. With this thought in mind, Riana stood up, dusted off her clothes, and started to walk towards the end of the alley.
She hadn't gotten far when she heard someone wolf-whistle her from behind. Her temper, which she usually kept pent up beneath her other emotions, was suddenly unleashed in full glory. She whirled around, trying to find the rude little punk.
Her blood ran cold. Okay, make that…punks. For right behind her were a group of rough looking men, and one of them was holding what looked like a bottle of strong-smelling alcohol.
The drunken man staggered towards her, attempting to grab hold of her by her tie, but Riana stepped back to avoid his reaching fingers. "Hey, you look like a particularly pretty specimen. I bet that we would get a lot of money if we sell her to the right people."
Riana let a small smile creep over her features. "You can do whatever you want with me…that is, if you can catch me first!" With that, she turned on her heel, and sprinted away as fast as she could before those hoodlums could collect their wits and chase after her.
She weaved her way through the maze-like alleys and side streets, hoping that this would throw her pursuers off her trail. However, they seemed to know this place better than she did, so she decided to take a risk and head for the main street.
Riana grinned when she saw the wall of people in front of her. Perfect! I can lose them in that crowd! As she drew even closer, she remembered that trying to blend into the crowd would be useless. She grimaced. I'm wearing a school uniform in BLUE, for crying out loud! They'd be able to pick me out easily!
But, it was too late for a change of plans. Riana ran right into the crowd, and broke through onto the street on the opposite side. Unfortunately, it seemed that there was a procession at that moment, and there were hundreds of soldiers arranged in ranks, forming a completely solid wall that she couldn't possibly hope to break through. She glanced upwards, hoping to find a way of simply vaulting over them, but all she could see were rows and rows of sharp spear tips. Shit! No way of getting over THESE guys!
She looked further down the procession, and noticed a palanquin coming her way. An idea struck her instantly. That's it! I'll just leap through the palanquin, and I'll be home free! Using what little energy she had left, she ran over to the palanquin, and vaulted into it. However, she had miscalculated the strength necessary to get herself over and out onto the other side, so she landed right in the lap of the person riding in the palanquin.
"Yikes!" She landed with a thud on the palanquin, and the whole thing stopped, the guards swarming around her. Before they were able to knock her out with their blows, however, she caught sight of gleaming golden-amber eyes screened by long brown bangs, and then…the world turned black for the second time.
* * *
When Riana regained consciousness, she found herself lying on a cold stone floor. Now that the pain in her head was worse than before, she could do nothing but roll over on the soggy stones and groan.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Riana's eyes flew open when she heard a voice talking to her. Her eyes focused in the dim light, and she saw a young girl with long brown hair in two buns at the top of her head and a young man with bluish-green hair staring down at her. "Who…who are you guys?"
The girl's light hazel eyes gleamed brightly, and she smiled. "I'm Yuki Miaka, but you can just call me Miaka." She turned to the blue-haired man. "And this is Tamahome."
Riana sat up, rubbing her head again. "And I'm Riana. Pleased to meet you guys." She looked around, and realized that she was in a prison cell. "By the way, how did we get here?"
The young man named Tamahome was the one who answered. "When you decided to jump into the Emperor's palanquin, Miaka insisted that we help you. When we went over, we got fingered as conspirators against the Emperor, and we were thrown in jail along with you."
Suddenly, Riana felt so guilty about what had happened to them. She turned away from her two other companions. "Oh dear…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you involved."
Miaka gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. You're from the same world as I am, after all, and I thought that you needed help."
Riana glanced at Miaka. "From the same world?" It was only then that she noticed that Miaka was wearing a long-sleeved brown and white school blouse with a short brown pleated skirt. "Oh yeah, you're right."
"I noticed that you were wearing a school uniform, so I thought that you had come here from the other side." Miaka continued to smile, which made Riana calm down a little bit.
Tamahome leaned against the wall, pulling on knee up slightly. "So, what happened to you? You looked like a demon or something was hot on your heels."
"Well, I was in the school library, planning to do some research, when I noticed this weird book lying on the floor. When I read the title, it said 'Book of the Four Gods Sky and Earth: Guardian of the Stars'. I was so curious that I opened it, and then this big bright light just shone forth and took me. When I woke up, I was…here." She shook her head "I was being chased by some slave traders and a drunkard, and I tried to get away by jumping through the palanquin." Riana grimaced. "Is it just me, or are most of the guys in this world freaking perverts?"
Miaka giggled slightly. "I was thinking along the same line, Riana."
Riana turned to her, a small smile playing on her lips. "Why don't you tell me how YOU got here, Miaka? It might be the same way that I did."
Miaka nodded. "Actually, it WAS the same way. My best friend Yui and I found this book in the National Library, and when we opened it, it took the both of us. Slave traders also attacked us, but Tamahome saved us both. I thought that it was going to be okay, but then Yui disappeared, and I haven't had contact with her since. I wandered through this place called Konan, and slave traders attacked me again. Fortunately, Tamahome came to my rescue. I convinced him to help me look for Yui, but then we noticed you running, and we decided to help you."
Riana glanced at him, and smiled. "Thanks for trying to save me. But when you did that, you got into trouble yourselves. I'm sorry for dragging you into this." She was silent for a while, and then she grinned. "Hey, I have an idea. How about I help you guys break out of here. I mean, it can help, right? This is to repay you for what you tried to do for me earlier."
Tamahome looked up at her. "You would do that for us?"
Riana nodded. "Of course!"
"Then come with us, Riana," Miaka said. "You'd be safe with us once we get out of the palace."
Riana turned the thought over in her mind. Should I go with them? A bright smile spread out on her face, and she nodded. "Okay, it's all set then. Now all we have to do is get out of here. Just play along, and we'll get out."
While Miaka and Tamahome watched her, Riana walked over to the bars, and doubled over, clutching her stomach. "Ooh! My stomach! It…it hurts so badly… Someone…please help me…!"
While Tamahome looked on, bewildered by what was going on, Miaka stepped over to Riana, and asked, "Riana, Riana, are you alright?!" She turned to the guards. "Hey, you! Please help my friend! She's not feeling too well."
The guard approached the two girls. "What's going on here?"
Miaka gazed up at the guard with her sweetest, most innocent expression. "Please sir, please help my friend…"
"Oohh… Miaka…it's too painful…"
The guard eyed them momentarily, but then, he reached for the ring of keys attached to his belt. He picked out one of the keys, and inserted into the lock of the cell. He stepped inside, and knelt down in front of Riana. "Alright, what's the matter with her?"
Riana glanced up at him, and her eyes flashed temporarily. In seconds, the guard was knocked down to the ground, unconscious, and Riana was standing over him, slapping her hands together to indicate a job well done.
Miaka stared at her with awe. "Wow. How did you do that?"
Riana turned to her, and winked. "Oh, just a little trick I learned from my cousins. They've taught me a lot of things." She peered around the corners, checking if anyone was around. "Okay, the coast is clear. Come on, let's get out of here before they find out what's happened to their companion."
* * *
Tamahome raced through the palace corridors, Riana right beside him, and Miaka a little ways behind. He took a sideways glance at Riana, and smiled at her. I'm impressed. She can actually keep up with me.
"How much farther to the exit Tamahome?" Riana panted as they rounded a corner.
"I don't know, but I guess that it can't be that far from here anymore," Tamahome answered. They continued down the hall, but then, a troupe of guards appeared from the other end.
"Yikes!" Tamahome, Riana and Miaka ground to a halt just before they collided into the soldiers. Tamahome stood his ground, and told the girls, "You two better get out of here now! I'll hold these guys back for as long as I can manage!"
Miaka stepped forward. "But Tamahome…"
He glanced over his shoulder. "I'll be okay! I'll just catch up to you two later." He turned to Riana. "Riana, please take care of Miaka. And watch out for yourselves!"
Riana nodded in acknowledgement before sprinting off, dragging Miaka with her.
* * *
Riana tightened her grip on Miaka as the other girl struggled against her hold. "Let me go Riana! We have to help Tamahome!"
Unable to handle the other girl for much longer, Riana spun around, and faced Miaka, ready to give her a piece of her mind. "Look Miaka, Tamahome told us to go on ahead, and that he'd follow us after he was through with his business. I trust him, so I believe with my whole heart that he'll catch up to us somehow. And besides, he put his own life at risk just to help us get away. If I were you, I wouldn't waste his efforts by going back and risking getting myself caught."
Miaka couldn't argue back out of sheer shock. She merely stood there, gazing with stunned eyes at Riana.
Riana smiled slightly, glad that her words had produced the desired effect. "Now come on, we don't have a lot of time to waste, you know." She grabbed Miaka's wrist, and pulled her towards the other end of the palace.
Riana winced. Why does this place have to be so damn big?! She turned left at the corner, and came face-to-chest with a soldier dressed in red, yellow, and orange armor. Cripes! She jumped back slightly, pushing Miaka away at the same time. "Run Miaka! Run away from here!"
"But Riana…!"
"Just go!" Riana shoved the brown-haired girl harder, almost making her fall. "Run! I'll be able to handle these guys myself!"
Miaka stayed a few moments, hesitating, but eventually, she turned, and ran away from the fight.
Riana smiled satisfactorily. That's much better. Now you'll be safe. However, Riana found herself in a bad predicament that she couldn't find a way out of. Why did I have to play the hero? Stupid, so stupid of me… And, for the third time, she blacked out.