Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Fruits Basket nor any of its characters.
September 12, 2004
Behind Castle Gates
Chapter 1: A Girl, a Legend, and an Escape.
"Mom, can you believe it has already been four days? At this pace, we will be at Grandpa's in no time." A few people stopped on the streets to stare at the girl who was happily talking to herself.
"Now I only have to continue walking west" The girl suddenly stopped as she looked at her shadow in front of her. Isn't her shadow supposed to be behind her since she's facing the setting sun and walking west? Wait ... unless she memorized it wrong and her shadow IS supposed to be in front of her.
Let's see, the sun sets in the west. Tooru furrowed her brows. She was pretty sure that's true. And the sun is setting; she nodded to herself as she looked at the darkening night. So her shadows should be behind her if she was going ... if she was going ... Tooru could feel the cold claws of panic slowly latching on to her as she tries desperately to remember the direction she was going in. Suddenly she stopped in the midst of her rambling thoughts as a worse, much worse realization suddenly came to her.
Has she been walking in the wrong direction for the last three days? The claws of panic have tightened their grasp and are now slowly choking her.
Tooru felt a little uneasy on her feet as her body swayed. Of course, it was only inevitable that she overlook the pebble under her feet in her moment of daze and panic. She fell like a timber. Her fall was as graceful as can be with her wildly waving arms, deranged in their quest for balance but hopelessly unsuccessful as their owner landed on her face.
More people stopped on the streets to look on in fascination as the cheerful, rambling girl suddenly stopped talking to herself. The smile on her face was replaced with an intense look of concentration before that too was replaced with a look of utterly blind panic.
And the panic must have been very blinding indeed because everyone except her noticed the huge rock that she would soon trip over. She must have been deaf also because Tooru continued to dazedly walk on, amazingly oblivious to everyone's shouts of warning.
One of the spectators was an old man. He was the only one to move toward her as the rest of the crowd seemed to be mesmerized by her imprint on the floor. "Are you all right, young miss?"
The young miss lifted her head off the floor. When she saw that the entire city was watching her, her mortification was evident even below her dirt-covered face.
"If you'd like, my home is just around the corners. I can get you a pail of water to clean you up a bit."
"Thank you, thank you." Tooru gave him several grateful bows.
"So are you a traveler, Tohru-kun?"
Tooru nodded. She smiled gratefully at Hashi-san, the kind, old man who has offered her the convenience of his well and bathtub along with a nice cup of tea.
"Where are you traveling to?"
"I've been
searching for Eri. It is the village where the rest of my relatives
liv-"She stopped at the expression on Hashi-san's face.
"Eri? But that's all the way on the other side of Mt. Fukarian. You unlucky girl! Out of all the villages in the kingdom that you could been lost in, this one is the farthest from Eri."
Tooru's smile froze on her face. Her suspicions was right, she HAS been traveling in the wrong directions. "Anou ... Hashi-san, can you tell me how to get there?"
"I'm afraid you would have to circle around the Enchanted Forest to get to Mt. Fukarian. But then Eri is on the other side of Fukarian so that will take a while" Hashi-san drifted off into his own random train of thought.
Tooru waited patiently but old age seemed to have pull Hashi-san into his own little world. "Hashi-san? Anou ... how long will it take for me to get there?"
Tooru's voice jolted the old man out of his thoughts. "Sorry, dear girl, what were we talking about? Oh yes ... the time ... it's a quarter to five. Oh wait, you want the time it takes to get there ... the forest is rather large so you'll have to go through several villages and then you'll have to climb to the other side of Mt. Fukarian"
"So overall, it will probably be two to three weeks." Hashi-san stopped when he saw Tooru collapse to the floor.
"Is there ... is there a shorter way? What if ... what if I go through the forest-"The answer to that was a very loud and vehement "NO!"
"You must never go through the Cursed Forest!"
"Cursed?"
The old man sighed. "Its actual name is the Enchanted Forest but it's probably more cursed than it was ever enchanted."
"How is your history, Tooru-kun?" All he got for an answer was a rather blank look. "Does the name Sohma ring any bell?"
Tooru could only shake her head bewilderedly.
"Why don't you sit down, Tooru-kun. I'm going to tell you a little†I'm going to tell you a story. It might be somewhat long so why don't you grab that seat over there." With that, Tooru obediently carried the seat over along with some tea for Hashi-san in case he gets thirsty in the midst of his story-telling.
"Did you know that our kingdom wasn't always like this?" Hashi-san smiled but it was a somewhat wistful smile. "It was not always filled with famine and wars. Do you know that hundreds of years ago, women and children used to walk out alone at night without fears of being robbed or killed? The men were happy fathers and husbands who stayed at home with their families; they weren't always called away for the endless strings of sectional strife and wars."
"Yes, it was a beautiful time hundreds of years ago, a time of great peace and beauty and magic. It was believed that the prosperity of our land was held together by the balance created by the various spirits of nature. There were many spirits but the most powerful ones took the form of the twelve animals of the zodiacs."
"During those times, it was also believed that some people who were gifted with great spiritual power had the abilities to cast spells, perform magic, and even communicate with these spirits of nature."
"Before there were legends and stories, everyone knew of the one family of particularly powerful magicians who were not only able to do all of those things, it was also said that they possessed the power to control the Zodiacs. And their mastery over the Zodiacs and other spirits of nature brought to the kingdom an era of great prosperity and peace."
"So as long as people could remember, that family, the Sohmas, was deemed as the royal family in everyone's eyes."
"But in the thirteenth dynasty of the Sohma Prosperity, another powerful sorcerer who was famed to be even more powerful than the royal family, called together an army of rebels, criminals, and mages who have all resented the Sohmas for either one reason or another."
"The sorcerer, Akito, was said to lead a dark army of such destructible might that not even the mighty, all-powerful Sohmas could defeat. And for the first time since the beginning of the Sohma reign thirteen generations ago, the peace of the kingdom was shattered and the people fell to a series of war and famine that we never really recovered from."
"Slowly, Akito's army overtook the land. All of the other domains of the royal family fell until all except one of the Zodaic guardians has been defeated and captured by Akito. All except the guardian of the Rat."
"It was said that Yuki, the guardian of the Rat, was remarkably intelligent, ethereally beautiful, and quite young too. The guardians of the Zodiac spirits are often powerful magical beings who are revered by everyone. However most do not dabble with the politics of keeping a kingdom together, neither do they play a big part in the military leadership. So imagine the shock of most people when Yuki was revealed to be the mastermind behind the military planning that held back Akito's mighty army."
"But the final battle came down to a private meeting between Yuki and Akito. Both agreed to a temporary truce for the duration of the meeting, which was to take place at Akito's castle."
"But no one really knew what happened in there. Akito, Yuki, and both sides' army were present near the castle during the time of the meeting. But days became weeks and weeks soon became months, yet still no news ever reached the outside world."
"There were wild theories flying in every town and village of the kingdom speculating as to what might have happened. Some thought that Akito finally succeeded in his plan to defeat the royal family. After all, it was no secret that he hated the Sohmas and particularly the Guardian of the Rat, maybe because Yuki was the only member of the royal family that Akito has yet to conquer. But some said that even before the other eleven Zodaics fell, Yuki was already the focus of Akito's most vehement hatred. But no one really knew the reason why."
"Another common and more romantic theory was that Yuki summoned all of his power in a last attempt to keep the promise of the royal family to protect the kingdom by defeating Akito. He succeeded in defeating Akito but he lost his life in the process."
"There were many other theories but no one ever knew for sure what really happened. So men were sent out to the forest of Akito's castle to find out and many strange incidents started to occur. But one way or the other, the results were always the same; whoever went into that forest never came out of it again."
"The Enchanted Forest which borders this village, the forest which I'm warning you never to enter is the same forest which supposedly contained Akito's Castle of ages ago, the forest in which numerous men went in and was never seen again."
The old man stopped. He suspected he more than got the point cross seeing the petrified expression on Tooru's face. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Tohru-kun, but this is not a light warning. The forest is dangerous."
"No, no, I'm grateful. It is very kind of you to spend so much time telling me the history of the Enchanted Forest. Thank you, thank you so much. Your warnings will be most helpful when I leave for Eri." With that, Tooru stood up and bowed to Hashi-san.
"Are you leaving already? It will be dark soon. Even though Kawari is one of the safest and most peaceful villages on this side of Mt. Fukarian, it becomes like every other war-ridden, incontrollable city at night."
"Despite the disappearance of Akito and his dark army, our kingdom never recovered." Hashi-san sighed as if remembering something bad. "The land stricken with strife and chaos became a breeding ground for criminals, dark sorcerers, and all other kinds of evil people because there was no one to stop them. In the end, the whole kingdom just fell apart without a strong leader to unify it. And eventually the once peaceful kingdom became the world that we inhabited today; the days became the battleground between cities and regions that were all once part of the same kingdom and the nights became the hunting ground for villains and cowards who are better able to conceal their crimes in the dark."
"So if you'd like, you're more than welcome to stay at my humble hut for the night. It is not safe for a pretty, young woman like you to be alone out there at night."
"No, no, I can't possibly-"
Hashi-san's face drooped. "Of course, I understand, my house is so small and always looking like it's on the verge of collapse-"
Tooru's face immediately heated up in panic. "NO! No, you have already been so kind, I can't possibly impose on you any longer. It's not dark yet so if I hurry, I can reach the small inn I passed this morning."
Hashi-san smiled having already forgotten what he was so upset about. "Just be safe. Make sure you get there before dark. And whatever you do, do not enter the Enchanted Forest."
Hashi-san was right, Tooru was more than a little scared after his story. While most people would have scoffed at mentions of magic and sorcery and put off Hashi-san's story as a very depressing fairy tale or the lunatic hallucinations of a crazy old man, Tooru ... well, Tooru wasn't most people and she took Hashi-san's warnings very seriously to heart. In fact, Tooru took everything that everyone says seriously to heart, regardless of the likeability of them happening in the real world.
Out of the corner of her eye, Tooru can see the large mass of green which are the trees of the Enchanted Forest. At the mere thought of its name, Tooru felt another chill creep up her spine and she soon find herself hurrying her steps. After all, she just wants to get to the inn before it gets dark. It's not safe to be out alone in the dark. Robbers, killers, and all other manners of criminals roam the streets at night in all corners of the kingdom. It has nothing to do with the fact that she is trying to get as far away from the forest as possible, or so she keeps telling herself.
After an hour of very fast pacing, even Tooru's steely determination lost some of its steam. The inn should not be far now but no matter where she walked, she could not escape the Enchanted Forest. It is a rather large forest after all and it lies on the outskirts of almost all the towns and villages on this side of the kingdom.
Seeing how she was almost at her goal, Tooru finally allowed herself a quick glance at the forest. But what she saw took her breath away.
The Enchanted Forest looks just like every other forest. But there is a certain aura that emanates from it; a beautiful, unearthly aura. It doesn't seem like something that belongs to this world and time. Its gently scented balm and soothing, cool air reminded Tooru of a drawing she once saw of the beautiful and mythical land of the past, before wars, fires, and other tragedies and disasters destroyed all its previous traces of beauty.
But despite Hashi-san's warnings, Tooru could not help but be drawn to the Enchanted Forest. Before she knew it, she was standing at its borders. She could not shake the feeling that there is something calling her from deep within; something beautiful and sad and beyond this world.
Tooru was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she did not notice the dark, lithe creature that jumped out of the forest floor until she felt some soft and furry slithering against her legs.
She stood there, completely frozen for a few seconds afraid to look down while every terrifying visions of what creature it possibly could be flashed through her mind. She gripped the backpack of her only personal belongings, opened her tightly shut eyes, and swung it down for all she was worth on a ... on a ... on a cat? A CAT!? She barely stopped herself from crushing the poor animal in time.
"Hi there, Kitty-san!" Tooru kneeled down and held the cat in her arms. "What were you doing all alone inside the Enchanted Forest?" The cat stared at her curiously, marveling at the strange human who was trying to talk to it.
Tooru's fingers glided over its silky hair and the cat purred at her soft touch. "You have such beautiful fur." Her eyes darkened with sadness. "I wish I can bring you along with me. I bet my journey won't seem as long and lonely with you by my side."
The cat suddenly hissed and jumped from her laps. "Wait, don't go yet!" She turned and tried to give chase when she suddenly realized that she was no longer alone.
"Look what stumbled unto our hands tonight?" Came a sneering, crude voice. Standing a few feet away from Tooru was the largest man that she has ever seen. With him were several other man who was just as big who were all wearing strange, dark clothing with the sign of a red skull.
Red skull? Tooru's eyes widened at the realization of who they are. The man who spoke, who looks like the leader of the group, smirked at her dawning comprehension. "Looks like the little lady already knows who we are."
The Hands of Red Death was a group of criminals who were infamous throughout the region for the horrors they commit. They only pray on weak, defenseless villages whose men are all away at war; robbing and pillaging every hut and house before setting fire to them all. They were identified by their strange attire which is always emblazoned with the sign of a red skull.
Tooru watched in horror as the leader slowly walked toward her. She wanted to run but her legs seemed to be frozen under her. She looked everywhere, hoping that someone, anyone would be in sight.
The leader saw her wandering, hopeful looks and laughed. "Sorry, little lady, there's no one here to save you. We checked" Tooru shrank back at the way he eyed her. He laughed even more at her sign of fear. "Men! Look like we will have ourselves a little appetizer before we raid the village tonight." Every warning and horrifying story she has ever heard about this group suddenly all rushed back to her. She remembered the horrible, unspeakable things they did to all the women and little girls in the villages. The ones that they killed after
Tooru desperately sought for an escape route. But she has just noticed that all the men have fanned out, as if anticipating her escape. They surrounded her from everywhere and with her back to the Enchanted Forest and all her other escapes blocked off, they knew she was cornered.
The leader slowly sauntered toward her. Tooru was shaking so hard that she felt she would collapse at any moment. Her heart pounded with every step that he took, growing louder and louder as he came nearer and nearer.
He stood right in front of her. His hand reached up and she winced, expecting a strike. But instead he slowly stroked her face, his hands tracing the contours of jaw and neck. She tried to control her instinct to shirking away. Her heart was beating so hard that she was starting to hear the blood rushing into her head.
His face broke into a malevolent leer. "If you are a nice little girl," he whispered into her face, his breath stank with the rancid odor of liquor, "we might make it good for you." Perhaps it was those words or perhaps it was all that blood in her head, but whatever it was, it made Tooru do something that she never thought she could do, let alone at this present time and situation.
She abruptly pulled up her right knee and the loud groan of pain told her that she had found her mark. Then with all the strength she possessed, she shoved the him as far away from her as she could.
And to her credit, Tooru only stood motionless for a bare fraction of a second before she ran like hell in the only direction that she could, toward the Enchanted Forest.
A/N: Wow, this is my first author's note. I feel so excited. Anyway, thank you for all the people who reviewed the prologue and sorry for the one month wait. You'd figure since it's summer, I would write faster ... Oh speaking of which, for the people who are satisfied with this chapter, thank RJunkie and Ina who bribed, coerced, blackmailed, cajoled me into finishing it. And for the people who did not like it, you can blame them also. Kidding, kidding, my complete ineptitude with the English language and lack of talent (writing and otherwise ...) are purely my fault, no need to go after them. But I do have to say, it's nice when others share you misery.
