A/N: Okay, my first fanfic ever, so be gentle! Hope you enjoy, and please tell me what you think so I can improve. I apologize in advance for those of you who are impatient, at times I go into detail, and adjectives are my friends!
Disclaimer: I don't own Witch Hunter Robin
Prologue: A Sleepless Night/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - - - - - - - -
She was surrounded by people, hundreds of people, all of them milling around her. Amon stood right next to her, his expression rigid and blank, as always, yet his presence was comforting. The people had hopeful smiles, and they all crowded around her, trying to touch her, murmuring happy sounds to themselves. Though the people seemed friendly, she was still afraid, and held onto Amon's arm. She felt slightly overwhelmed, and they all started pressing harder, all of them trying to get close to her at once.
She looked at them, and realized she couldn't see their faces, couldn't even tell how old they were, or even if they were men or women. She didn't understand why they were so eager to get to her, who were they, and what was so special about her? In fear, she tried to cling to Amon, but realized he was no longer there. She looked around trying to see above the heads of all the people, but couldn't find him, not anywhere.
The crowd was growing thicker, and more insistent. They tugged at her dress, at her arms and hair. As first they were gentle, like children trying to get someone's attention, but the grew more and more rough, their touches beginning to be painful. With shock she realized that they were all bleeding, pools of crimson streaming from their bodies, gathering into a sea of blood on the ground. They were crying too, hot burning tears collecting just as the blood had. Her dress was covered in their blood and tears, and she tried to escape, to get away from all these desperate people, but they would not let go of her. Their wordless murmurs had turned into haunting screams and cries, their voices pleading and full of pain. With panic she realized she was sinking, all of the were pulling her down, down, and she couldn't escape, not matter how hard she struggled.
In terror, she tried to call out for Amon, but blood and tears rushed into her mouth, the coppery and salty tastes, and hot thick scent overpowering her. Strangely, the liquids didn't feel liquid at all, if felt more like being smothered to death with some sort of thick, heavy cloth, and she tore at it, trying to get it off, anything to get it off. . . As she sank deeper, down into the darkness, the heaviness smothering her face parted just slightly, and in that small tear she glimpsed Amon, embracing a young woman, watching as the crowd pulled her down with them. His eyes were cold and hard, as they hadn't been since they first met, as if somehow he had forgotten all their time together. She felt tears fill her eyes, and she managed to force out a strangled "Why?" before the darkness began to press upon her again. Amon, still staring coldly, said "Robin . . ."
"Robin. Robin. Robin, wake up, Now." She open her eyes with a start, panting heavily and drenched in sweat. The room was dark, making it impossible for her to see, and that lingering sense of terror caused shivers of fear to rack through her body and sobs of panic to choke out of her throat. It had seemed so real, so very real that she could still taste the thick, coppery blood, and the salty, sticky tears . . . It was then that she realized she had been crying in her sleep, and had clawed at her face while caught in her nightmare; bloody scratches now oozed blood, which then trickled down into her mouth.
"Are you alright?" The words, sounding more like a statement that a question when said in that cold yet comforting voice, cut through the darkness. Robin started, realizing for the first time that Amon was leaning over her, pinning her wrists down, most likely in order to keep her for damaging herself. Her eyes had adjusted by now, seeing the room in wavering shades of black and blue, instead of the swirling fuzzy blackness of when she'd first awaken; adjusted enough to tell that Amon was looking at her in what was almost concern.
She took a few deep breaths, slowing her racing heart, and finally was able to force out a quavering "I'm fine." He raised his eyebrows slightly in an "Oh, really?" look, but let go off her wrists anyway. He continued to look at her skeptically for a long moment before finally he said,
"We should clean up those scratches." Without another word, he got up, flipped on a light, and walked to the bathroom, soon returning with a First Aid kit and a wet wash cloth. He found Robin sitting up, blinking owlishly in the sudden light. He sat down next to her in the bed, and looked at her cuts carefully. "Close your eyes." He ordered, and she did so obediently, though she was curious as to why he'd take time at who-knows-what in the morning to clean some minor scratches. She also wondered vaguely where he'd gotten his innate ability to make her feel like she was a naughty four year old. She readied herself for pain, but was surprised at how gentle Amon was. Her scratches stung a bit, but a lot less than she'd expected. When he finished, she looked up at him and thanked him in her quiet voice. He simply finished putting away the First Aid kit, and went back to sleep.
Robin tried to sleep too, but every time she tried her mind wandered to her nightmare, and she didn't feel at all ready to try and understand it yet. That is, if it even meant anything. Perhaps it was just a random nightmare. Even as she thought this, she knew in her heart it wasn't true. Her dreams almost always meant something, and she was certain that this dream was a warning. Warning me of what? She wondered, Amon leaving? She supposed there was always a chance he would abandon her, but she couldn't quite come to believe it. After all, he was here, in hiding with her, rescuing her from nightmares and cleaning up her injuries, even though he didn't have to do any of it. All because he'd promised to be her watchdog.
She sighed and turned over, trying to get comfortable. I really should get some sleep, she thought. They were leaving in the morning, to stay at the house of one of Nagira's friends who had agreed to hide them. Though she didn't want to burden anyone, she was rather grateful that she and Amon were settling down in one place for awhile. Ever since the factory had collapsed, they'd been on the run, staying at first one hotel, then another.
It had taken her a few days to adjust, first to moving so much and second to sleeping with a nightgown on. She'd always slept nude, ever since she was little and couldn't stand the nightdresses the nuns gave her. It had also be awkward at first, sharing a room and often times a bed with Amon, especially with his uncanny ability to wake up the moment she moved, but it was all worth it, if she didn't have to face another Hunter again. Even though she knew if was necessary, it had been so hard to kill those men, evening knowing that they had been sent to kill her in the first place. It was true that they had all been trying to kill her, and that they had all been far from nice, and that they toyed with her, as if it were a game. But, her mind whispered, it's also true that they are all dead.
Her mind wandered to something Nagira had said to them the other day, about the little girl their host was taking care of. "Watch your step around her. She isn't what she seems." An odd thing to say about a child, she thought. Well, it would still be a nice change, being in a real house and having some company. Wearied by her musings, she finally slipped into blissful, and thankfully dreamless, sleep.
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A/N: Yes, I know, its a bit slow right now, but it'll pick up in the next chapter, I promise. Please R & R, and tell me what you think. Flame if you want, just know that you won't get any respect from me if you do.
