Author's note: I'm off to Michigan tomorrow! So. . .yeah. I'm not gonna be
back for two weeks, and I thought, 'The good people deserve an update
before I leave.' So, without further ado or any mindless rambling, I
present chapter three (which may be a little skinny, but expect more when I
get back from Michigan... and after I finished reading Leviathan, damn,
that's a strange manga. But Kouhei is so cool! Okay, I'm gonna stop now
since I said that I was going to refrain my any mindless tangents).
Claimer: I claim Tsubaki. And Cassian. But nothing else.
I don't know when I fell asleep, but the next thing I knew I was being shoved awake. I guess I was expecting to see Cassian's face, so I was quite surprised to find myself staring into the wide black eyes of a strange young man. "Come on, girly," he said, quickly grabbing my wrist and before I knew it, had pulled me out of the wagon. It looked around noon and the sun was shining at it's brightest. I was blinded for a second and blinked my eyes furiously to get used to the sudden change from inside the dark wagon.
"This is the cream of the crop," I heard the man holding my wrist say. "Fresh, young, just came in yesterday."
I jumped with a start when I realized that he was talking about ME. My eyes had now grown accustomed to the afternoon sun and for the first time I noticed a scraped, dirty looking man and woman standing before me.
"Hmm..." The woman stepped forward, pushing my head to the side with her hand and then picking up my hand and began examining my palm. "She's youthful, that's for sure, but it doesn't look like she's worked a day in her life."
"Hey!" I said, jerking my hand away from her.
"Calm down," the man who was still holding my wrist said. "There's no escape now. The more you struggle, the worse it'll be for you." He tightened his grip on my wrist fiercely and I bit back the crushing pain.
Suddenly, for the first time, I realized that Cassian was nowhere to be seen. I twisted over my shoulder to see the empty inside of the wagon we had been in. Where had he gone?"
"So, how much you want for her?"
"H-Hey!" I yelled, startling them all. "Where's Cassian??"
"Cassian?" The man holding me repeated. "Oh, yeah mean the boy you were with? He somehow managed to escape last night. Haven't seen him since."
I felt my skin prickle. Cassian... escaped? Without me??
I swallowed back the ill feeling in my stomach and clenched my fist. Just as quickly as it came, my uneasiness was turning into anger. There was no way that I was going to be sold!
So I bit him.
Yelping, he released his iron grip-hold on my wrist. I spat out the awful copper taste of his blood from my mouth as I was swung around, heading for the woods.
So, Cassian escaped, eh? Well, who needs him anyway? I can escape just as well.
I could hear the pounding of feet behind me but I didn't dare look back. My heart was in my ears; my stomach was in my mouth. My feet barely touching the ground, yet each time they did, I could feel the heavy thump mixing in with my loud gasps.
Come on, I thought. Come on.
I had never run like this in my life.
He grabbed my hair and yanked, the motion sent me off balance and I wavered to keep from falling. He swung at me, but I managed to block my face with my arm. The impact felt like concrete. Everything was a fast blur. I kicked him in the shins as hard as I could. When he didn't let go, I kicked him in the crotch, even harder. Why hadn't I done that the first time??
I felt his grip loosen which was all I needed and I was off again, just reaching the edge of the woods. I crashed into the woods, still hearing the man's angry cursing from behind me.
I think they had given up on me. At least, I hoped they had. I had no idea how long it had been since I had made my daring escape. The minutes felt like hours, as I was crouched down in a low hole underneath a fallen log. It must have been some kind of fox den, but now it was empty. Well, except for me.
I couldn't get my breath to settle down. I was shaking, a little from fear, a little from excitement. In fact, this had probably been the most exciting, more terrifying thing that had ever happened to me before.
And then I heard it. A single footstep that froze my heart. A shadow fell across the entrance of the fox den.
"I've finally found you."
I stiffened.
"You must be Tsubaki-san, no da."
"...Huh?"
A bright smiling face was looking down at me. "It's okay, no da. You can come out now."
Blinking, still a little in shock, I forced myself to move my legs and crawl out of the hole. I wiped dirt from my face and found myself facing a smiling, bright-faced monk, and a familiar scowl that could only belong to one person. Cassian.
Author's note (again): Yes, yes, very short. But I promise more when I get back!! Besides, going on vacation will give me time to actually try to plan out the plot BEFORE I start typing... Until then, be happy with the last month left of summer!!
Claimer: I claim Tsubaki. And Cassian. But nothing else.
I don't know when I fell asleep, but the next thing I knew I was being shoved awake. I guess I was expecting to see Cassian's face, so I was quite surprised to find myself staring into the wide black eyes of a strange young man. "Come on, girly," he said, quickly grabbing my wrist and before I knew it, had pulled me out of the wagon. It looked around noon and the sun was shining at it's brightest. I was blinded for a second and blinked my eyes furiously to get used to the sudden change from inside the dark wagon.
"This is the cream of the crop," I heard the man holding my wrist say. "Fresh, young, just came in yesterday."
I jumped with a start when I realized that he was talking about ME. My eyes had now grown accustomed to the afternoon sun and for the first time I noticed a scraped, dirty looking man and woman standing before me.
"Hmm..." The woman stepped forward, pushing my head to the side with her hand and then picking up my hand and began examining my palm. "She's youthful, that's for sure, but it doesn't look like she's worked a day in her life."
"Hey!" I said, jerking my hand away from her.
"Calm down," the man who was still holding my wrist said. "There's no escape now. The more you struggle, the worse it'll be for you." He tightened his grip on my wrist fiercely and I bit back the crushing pain.
Suddenly, for the first time, I realized that Cassian was nowhere to be seen. I twisted over my shoulder to see the empty inside of the wagon we had been in. Where had he gone?"
"So, how much you want for her?"
"H-Hey!" I yelled, startling them all. "Where's Cassian??"
"Cassian?" The man holding me repeated. "Oh, yeah mean the boy you were with? He somehow managed to escape last night. Haven't seen him since."
I felt my skin prickle. Cassian... escaped? Without me??
I swallowed back the ill feeling in my stomach and clenched my fist. Just as quickly as it came, my uneasiness was turning into anger. There was no way that I was going to be sold!
So I bit him.
Yelping, he released his iron grip-hold on my wrist. I spat out the awful copper taste of his blood from my mouth as I was swung around, heading for the woods.
So, Cassian escaped, eh? Well, who needs him anyway? I can escape just as well.
I could hear the pounding of feet behind me but I didn't dare look back. My heart was in my ears; my stomach was in my mouth. My feet barely touching the ground, yet each time they did, I could feel the heavy thump mixing in with my loud gasps.
Come on, I thought. Come on.
I had never run like this in my life.
He grabbed my hair and yanked, the motion sent me off balance and I wavered to keep from falling. He swung at me, but I managed to block my face with my arm. The impact felt like concrete. Everything was a fast blur. I kicked him in the shins as hard as I could. When he didn't let go, I kicked him in the crotch, even harder. Why hadn't I done that the first time??
I felt his grip loosen which was all I needed and I was off again, just reaching the edge of the woods. I crashed into the woods, still hearing the man's angry cursing from behind me.
I think they had given up on me. At least, I hoped they had. I had no idea how long it had been since I had made my daring escape. The minutes felt like hours, as I was crouched down in a low hole underneath a fallen log. It must have been some kind of fox den, but now it was empty. Well, except for me.
I couldn't get my breath to settle down. I was shaking, a little from fear, a little from excitement. In fact, this had probably been the most exciting, more terrifying thing that had ever happened to me before.
And then I heard it. A single footstep that froze my heart. A shadow fell across the entrance of the fox den.
"I've finally found you."
I stiffened.
"You must be Tsubaki-san, no da."
"...Huh?"
A bright smiling face was looking down at me. "It's okay, no da. You can come out now."
Blinking, still a little in shock, I forced myself to move my legs and crawl out of the hole. I wiped dirt from my face and found myself facing a smiling, bright-faced monk, and a familiar scowl that could only belong to one person. Cassian.
Author's note (again): Yes, yes, very short. But I promise more when I get back!! Besides, going on vacation will give me time to actually try to plan out the plot BEFORE I start typing... Until then, be happy with the last month left of summer!!