::Byakko no Miko:: Chapter 3 :
The sharp bright light that enveloped Caerria left her blinded and disorientated for a moment, and as she brought up a hand to shield her eyes from the glare, she found, to her horror, that she was falling through the air.
"What the hell…" The words were torn out of her throat by the rushing wind that whipped her hair around her face, and left her with little or no visibility. Her clothes were threatening to rip themselves apart, and Caerria suddenly had a horrible feeling that she might die a very untimely death on the branches of one of the trees dotting the landscape below her.
This was one of those times when she hated gravity.
At first contact, Caerria nearly fainted from the pain that shot through her limbs. The tree limb she landed on gave way, and she fell down, shattering one branch after another.
The rough texture of the bark scraped her limbs raw, and her arms and elbows had cuts inflicted on them by the leaves. (Apparently, at high speed, even leaves become lethal.) And all over, Caerria felt battered and bruised.
As she fell onto the cold damp ground, Caerria had a moment's realization that this wasn't where she was supposed to be… and then she blacked out.
!!-!!
"Argh…" A barely audible moan slipped out from her lips as Caerria felt her consciousness returning to her. She opened her eyes, and blinked in the muted light of the room.
(Where am I?)
Shadows danced on the scant wooden walls of the room, and her befuddled brain took in the fact that the only light in the room was coming from the flickering flames of a fire quite a distance away from where she lay, and…
Caerria blinked fiercely. She couldn't see all that well. But unless… no, it couldn't be…
(My contacts!)
She tried to bring a hand to her eyes to check, but a heavy clunk alerted her to the fact that she had chains on her. Chains that shackled her limbs AND didn't allow for much movement. It was only now that her mind took in the fact that she was currently a prisoner. Damn. So those blurry blobs… She squinted.
Ohh…Ugly fat hairy men who were feasting on unidentified bloody meaty bony hunk of thingie. Now that was something she saw everyday.
Right.
"Ouch." She squeaked as she shifted an arm.
The fact that her body ached too much for her to stay confused/ puzzled/ befuddled was both good and bad. On one hand, she was awake, and able to defend herself, if barely, from them icky men. On the other hand, she HURT. Not those little pinpricks of pain, but a huge roaring one that surely meant she had broken something. Who wouldn't? She had crashed through a TREE, mind you, and a prickly pokey branchy one at that.
Wide awake, Caerria's alert eyes roved around her surroundings, taking in whatever she could. She needed to escape, and fast… Waitaminute, what was she thinking?
Even if she managed to escape, she would probably be caught less than a minute later, given the fact that she was so totally _badly_ hurt.
(No, no, BANISH negative thoughts… Must stay positive…ly sure that I will be ending up dead…)
She stifled a sob. She didn't want to die so young! She wasn't even old enough to drink yet! How could Heaven be so cruel… One minute she was at home, prying through people's belongings, and the next, she was falling through the sky and now stuck with a bunch of ugly men!
(Hold on a second… I _WAS_ PRYING THROUGH SOMEBODY ELSE'S STUFF JUST NOW! How did I suddenly end up here?)
It took a moment for Caerria to realize that she had just spoken out loud… and that the bad guys knew she was awake.
"Heh heh… Look, the girl's awake," The one closest to her was brandishing a chunk of bloodied meat, and she shuddered as he leant back to leer at her.
"Yeah… Time to have some fun heh?" Another laughed out loud, licking his lips as he gave her a long 'meaningful' look.
(Aargh! Someone save me!)
"Boss!" A younger male voice rang out amidst all the gruff baritones. All eyes swiveled to focus on a young male, who had stood up from his place in a dark corner. The features of his face were indistinguishable due to the dim light, but Caerria could see his dark eyes glittering from under the cloak of hair that had fallen across his face.
Hope leapt in her heart.
"Yes lad?" The man who had spoken first spoke gruffly, sticking a finger in his nose as he did so.
"You…promised," The reply was hesitant, but one could hear the determination in the voice.
"Ah yes. Yar brave, lad, speakin' up lyke this," Caerria heard the note of amusement in the voice, as did several others, who sniggered loudly. "Right, she's yours."
"What?! Boss, ya promised us we coulda have a go…" Protests came from almost every part of the room, but Caerria was hearing none of it. She felt as though a bomb had just gone off in her head.
Too stunned to respond, she was pulled roughly to her feet, then unceremoniously dragged to an adjoining room.
As the thin wooden plank that served as a door closed behind them, closing out all the raucous noise, Caerria fell to the floor.
!!-!!
Hello, it's just me again, with another cliffie!
Haha, I know you guys hate me, but I couldn't resist… Hee…
Now, for reader replies, though Hydra-star was absent from their ranks this time, sadly.
Anyways,
To Eulene: Oh you lovely lovely girl! *muackz*
To kat: Thank you!
To *__mEl__* : This is an original story, not the Byakko no Miko in the show :D And in case you didn't notice, she's more *now* Thanks for reviewing!
To Summer Pastorale: Thank you :D
And last but not least, my first reviewer for Chapter 4 part one, Silver Sky 45: *curtsies* Thank you for all the compliments :D Hope you continue reading!
