Anniya 15

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



" Ah, thank the gods. You're awake."

An Olive skinned face framed by wild, dark hair peered at Anniya. Anniya jumped up, scrambling away. The dark haired girl laughed, and stepped back. Anniya was too tired to glare at her. All this sickness-- she never got sick. The girl's amused expression only annoyed Anniya more.

" You have a hell of a fever. I'd sit back down if I were you. You've been on all sorts of crazed medication-- it's no wonder you bolted into the streets. Healers- think they know everything,"

the girl shook her head in disgust, shaking her head. Anniya noticed that two large gold hoop earrings hung from them, which made her realize who she was with.

A gypsy.

Anniya felt her eyes widen, and immediately all the horror stories she had ever heard about gypsies raced to her mind. They robbed the poor and murdered the rich. They used their enemy's skin as a winter blanket. They slaughtered their own children. They were nothing but prostitutes, murderers, and rapists. And Anniya was caught at the mercy of one.

The dark haired girl must of seen the realization in Anniya's face.

" Oh honestly, do you really think because I'm a gypsy that I'm some sort of blood thirsty mongrel? Don't try to deny it, because it's pretty obvious in your face. All those stories the Count has spread about us are lies. Pure lies," the girl spat. Her blue-green eyes flashed angrily, but relaxed.

" Forgive me. I tend to associate everyone with the blood sucking bastard of greater Kyrria, Count Frederick himself. Horrible man."

Anniya found herself laughing. The gypsy girl laughed too.

" Esperanza."

" Anniya."

For the first time, Anniya glanced at her surroundings. The rat that scurried past her feet gave her a good clue. Despite the colorful sheets hung in attempt to make the gloomy place brighter or to provide shelter against the wind, the alley was still cold and gloomy. A pile of blankets were being used as a bed, along with a few more blankets as sheets. A few rusted pots hung above her head, and Anniya spotted what looked like the remains of a fire. Despite her blankets, the alley was freezing, with a hard cold dirt floor.

" Where am I?"

" Well, right now were in my house, also known as an alley. Right down there is the market place."

" How did I get here?"

" I saw you collapse. I usually don't do this kinda thing; I barely have enough food for myself, but I don't know-- I saw you faint, and I just thought, I should help her. Do something good and honest for once. So I dragged you back here, bought some medicine, and took a few nights off to see if you'd get better. You had the fever, you know."

" Thank you."

Esperanza waved her hand.

" Think nothing of it. Couldn't leave you to rot on the street. Want a piece?"

The gypsy held out a piece of stale bread. Anniya gladly accepted it, hungry. Finishing it in a few bites, she casually asked another question.

" Do you live on your own?"

Esperanza nodded, rummaging through a bag. Anniya caught her breath when she looked at the gypsy's arm. On Esperanza's right arm, there were long, jagged scars ranging from her elbow to her wrist.

" Yes, I do live on my own. When I was a baby, my parent's were slaughtered, my brothers were put in the torture chamber, and my sister was raped and then killed. By Count Frederick, all of this was done."

Anniya was silent for a moment.

" I'm sorry."

" Don't say your sorry. It's not your fault their dead, and it's not your fault you asked."

Something about this Count Frederick had sparked Anniya's attention though, and she carefully asked another question.

" Who exactly is Count Frederick?"

Esperanza gave her a look of surprise, but spoke.

" Everyone knows who Count Frederick is! King Jerrold's right hand advisor, been that ever since the King was just a Prince. He's in his fifties, and has these silver eyes and-."

" Coal black hair with a touch of gray; this mustache that looks like a dead rat suspended in midair; tall, and a pointy nose?," Anniya guessed, describing the exact man that had called her a prostitute and taken West away and hurt John.

" That's him alright." Esperanza shook her head in disgust. Anniya jumped up, excited now.

" Where does he live?"

Esperanza looked a little curious now.

" In the palace, I would suppose. Why do you ask?"

" Just interested. Thank you for everything, but I really should be on my way now."

Esperanza nodded, and Anniya strolled out of the alley, on her way to Ayorthora.

Little did she know it would not be the last time she would see Esperanza.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Anniya found that the way to Ayorthora was not an easy route going on foot. Cold, wet, and hungry, she had lost Gleex, and could hardly find anywhere to sleep. She might not have made it if a Giant Farm hadn't let her stay the night, and they loaded her with enough food to last for a week or more. Amazingly, she managed to stay out of trouble as well. Almost.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was well into the night when Anniya heard Diobla. Her head turned sharply, almost certain it was the horse. She had sold him to but herself a few decent pieces of cloth, but now wished fervently that she had kept him. Tied to a post outside a tavern 9 miles from Ayorthora's capital, it was almost a miracle Anniya had seen him. She herself had never expected to see West's beloved stallion again.

But there was nothing Anniya could do about it now. She wished West or John were there, so that they might steal Diobla and manage to get away before alarm was caught. The cold night blew again, causing Anniya's snow blonde hair to ripple in the breeze. Then an idea struck her. Anniya was trained with a sword; an unusually scary talent or not, she could handle one. She had braved River rapids with Robert; managed to outrun West; tame a dragon( Anniya wasn't sure were Gleex was at that moment either); survived Ogres; made it through the Fever and a coma. After all of that, why couldn't Anniya just steal a bloody horse?

Determination raced through Anniya's veins, and she held her head high as she quietly walked over to Diobla. The horse seemed to remember her, and whinnied with delight. Anniya quickly put her hand on the horse, trying to quiet it. Diobla's neighing caused the other horses to shift and whinny as well, thinking someone was there to feed them. She heard someone shuffling towards her. Frantic, Anniya leaped onto Diobla, and kicked as hard as she could. Too late Anniya discovered that Diobla had no saddle on. The great horse bucked once, then reared. Anniya hung on for her life.

" Hey! You there! Off the horse!"

" Sorry," Anniya told the man cheerfully, and with one final buck, Diobla shot past the man.

Laughing, she patted the horse's mane.

" I don't know why West makes such a big deal about how dangerous horse thief is. Look at how easy this was! I get on you, ride away, and not so much as an arrow to stop me."

She had barely gotten the words out of her mouth before the first arrow struck her shoulder.

Surprised, Anniya let out a cry of pain, gripping the arrow with one hand. Another one was shot, this one missing her. What the bloody-- Anniya looked behind her. Sure enough, several men riding hard were after her, shooting in motion.

While Anniya knew she should of been frightened to death, as any normal female would of been, she was not. If anything, she was annoyed.

" You want a chase? Come and get me!," Anniya yelled, and kicked Diobla. The great horse tossed it's mane back, and surged into an all out gallop. She vaguely remembered West telling her that Diobla was one of the best horses bred in Kyrria, and would of cost a King's ransom if he had not stolen the horse.

The men riding behind her sped up as well, shooting more arrows. Diobla seemed to be moving in a distinct pattern, something Anniya suspected West had trained him to do. Turning around again to look at the distance growing between her and her pursuers, Anniya laughed.

" That's right! Keep on chasing me!"

They shouted something back at her, a variety of curses. Anniya rolled her eyes. Men.

Turning back to see where she was going, Anniya's eyes widened. For what she had not seen as she was riding in the darkness was that she had directed Diobla toward a cliff. Frantically, Anniya yanked on the reins with all her strength. The great horse abruptly stopped, the dirt crumbling at it's feet. Anniya held her breath, not daring to move. They were directly on the edge of the cliff, and there was no telling how long the dirt would hold up before collapsing. She would have to lead Diobla away. Stepping down carefully, Anniya took Diobla's reins and took one step. The dirt crumbled, leaving Anniya falling down a cliff at least 100 feet above the ground.

Anniya did not know why she had bothered to hang on to the reins instead of trying to stop herself from falling; but she had, and it saved her life. Taking slow breaths, Anniya tried to calm herself. It wasn't very easy, especially since she was dangling from reins, over a hundred feet in the air. Anniya peeked below her, and felt inclined to vomit. She had picked yet another river. What was it with her and rivers? Nothing but bad luck seemed to come when Anniya was near one. Squinting, Anniya saw some sharp points in the waters thrashing beneath her.

A small ripping noise made Anniya snap her head back up. The reins were breaking. Diobla stomped the ground impatiently, wondering what his mistress was attempting to do. Anniya held her breath, scared to breathe if it might cause the reins to break. Another small rip. The second noise caused Anniya to leap into action.

Clenching her teeth, she tried to pull herself up. The breeze came by, causing her to lose her concentration and fall back down, dangling in the wind. Taking a few more deep breaths, Anniya began to pull herself up. She was close. Getting closer. In a moment, Anniya would be able to grab onto the grass and get herself back onto ground.

That was when the first end of the rein snapped. In a second, Anniya dropped two feet, hanging on with one hand, a hundred feet above sharp, jagged rocks. A small scream escaped her lips from surprise.

" Did you hear something?"

A voice. A human voice. A voice that hopefully owned a rope, and would be able to get her out of here in a few moments.

" And what's that horse doing over there? Your majesty, come take a look at this."

Anniya found her voice. Bandits or not, she needed help. The other rein creaked.

" Over here!," she shouted frantically.

" It's a bloody girl!," someone shouted, and within a few moments, footsteps were heard coming toward the horse.

A man with curly black hair, with the uniform of an Ayothorian soldier, peered over the edge of the cliff.

" Oh, good Queen of Ayorthora!," the man exclaimed. He stared at her for a moment.

" What are you bloody waiting for? The reins are about to break! Get me on the ground!," Anniya snapped, no mood to deal with morons.

" Right away milady. Don't move."

" Where would I move?" Anniya snapped back, but did as he bid her. She heard a mixture of men's voices overhead, and Diobla angrily stamped, tired of waiting. The great horse began to fidget, and the ground threatened to give in.

" Hold the horse!," someone shouted, and Diobla soon stopped. Anniya bit her lip, for there was no telling how long Diobla would obey this person.

Another face appeared, but this one was not from the dark haired Ayothorian soldier. This face had blue gray eyes, a straight nose, and the golden hair that he shared with his cousin. Robert's face changed as he recognized exactly who the girl was.

" Anniya? What in god's name are you doing here? How did you get here?"

" Never mind that! How do I get out of here! Robert, I am hanging off a bloody cliff! I don't need you arguing with me. Now, get me on ground again! Men!"

If Robert realized Anniya was speaking Ayorthorian, he took no notice of it.

" All these Kyrrian lass's strive for independence," Anniya heard someone mutter. Before anyone could say anything else, the rein creaked, slowly breaking.

" The rope, throw down the damn rope!," Robert shouted.

The rope was released, falling down a foot away from Anniya.

" Try and swing for it," the dark haired man encouraged. Anniya nodded, and stretched out her hand for the rope. It was a few inches out of her reach.

" Reach for it! Try and swing your body weight!"

" I can't! It'll break if I try!" Anniya shouted back.

" Try and get as far to it as you can. I'll grab your hand!," Robert shouted back over the coming wind. His eyes met her's briefly, and Anniya knew she could trust him.

" One."

The wind picked up.

" Two."

Diobla was growing restless, ready to rear. The breeze was causing Anniya to swing back and forth.

" Three."

As Anniya said the word and swung herself over, the reins snapped, Diobla free of his burden at last. Anniya screamed as she began to fall. Robert caught her hand, barely. Anniya watched as the reins fell into the crashing river below. Robert pulled her back up onto the land, sweating as well as she was. The Ayorthorian men cheered, relieved that Anniya hadn't fallen. Anniya weakly smiled as well, and turned to Robert.

" You know, this is one of the few times I'm glad your mother didn't drown you as a baby," Anniya told him.

Robert grinned, his blond-brown hair shining in the moonlight.

" And how are you, Anniya?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~