Disclaimer: I do not own Pilot Candidate/Candidate for Goddess. I've created this story in order to amuse my friends and myself, along with who ever else it amuses.
Summary: Zero and his mother are poor peasants in fourteenth-century England. Zero, who thought he had little to lose, soon finds himself with even less- no home, family, or possessions. Accused of a crime he did not commit, he has been declared a 'wolf head' which means he may be killed on sight, by anyone! Wishing to remain alive, Zero flees his tiny village…
On The Run
By Ronin S. Oath
Prolog
"There is always life in death." How often did the priest preach those same words? Yet there is also the saying, "There is always death in life." If this seems to be a riddle, then my own life must be an epic adventure.
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Chapter One
The day my mother died, the priest and I wrapped her frail body in a shroud and carried her to the church cemetery.
We passed the village fields where people were at work in the steady, hissing rain and mud. No one knelt in respect. They simply stared. They had shunned my mother in life, and they continued to shun her now.
Other than the priest, my mother had no friends. And she was often taunted by the villagers. Still, I had thought of her as a woman of great kindness and beauty.
The burial took place amongst the other paupers' graves of the old cemetery behind the church. It was there the priest and I dug her grave, in water-laden clay. There was no coffin, we couldn't afford one. We laid her down with her feet towards the east.
I knelt by the priest's side as he chanted the Latin prayers.
No sooner did we cover my mother's remains with earth than the steward of the manor, Azuma Hijikata, appeared outside the cemetery walls.
"You there, boy, come here," he called to me.
I drew close to him, my head bowed.
"Look at me," he commanded, reaching down and forcing my head up with a slap of his gloved hand beneath my chin.
No one ever accused Azuma Hijikata of any kindness. In the absence of Lord Crow, he was in charge of the manor, the laws, and the peasants. To be caught in some small transgression brought an unforgiving penalty. As a judge, jury, and willing executioner, Azuma Hijikata had but to give the word and the offender's life was forfeit. Everyone lived in fear of him…
"With your mother gone, you're required to deliver your cow to the manor house tomorrow. It shall serve as the death tax."
"B-but how will I work the fields?"
"Don't," he said and rode away without a backward glance.
"Come to church, young Zero. We'll pray," the priest, Father Quinn, whispered into my ear.
Too upset, I only shook my head.
"God will protect you," he said, resting his hand on my shoulder. "As he now protects your mother."
His words only distressed me more. 'Is death the only hope I have now?' I rushed off towards the forest.
Barely aware of the earth beneath my feet or the roof of trees above, I paid no mind into what I ran, or that my sole garment, a wool tunic, tore on branches and bushes. Nor did I care that my leather shoes, catching roots or stones, kept tripping me as I ran through the maze of trees.
Deeper and deeper into the ancient woods I went, until I tripped and fell again. This time my head struck a stone.
Stunned, I lay upon the decaying earth, fingers clutching rotting leaves, a cold rain drenching me. As daylight slowly faded, I was entombed in a world than any night could bring…
To Be Continued…