Sorry for you shopping folks out there, but I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, TOTALLY, COMPLETELY, HATE, HATE, HATE...clothes shopping. Stupid 'spring cleaning.' And she won't let me stay on the computer all day, so that stinks too. But AT LEAST I got it done, glad about that so I can focus my attention on the other stories.
Oh! Random comment: Yesterday was CRAZY! We had a 15-minute black out, during a hard rainstorm; there were even tornado alerts and sightings! And the rain also turned into hail for a little while, which is pretty rare. Well, just wanted to say that, so let's get on with the show!
Chapter 9: Castles and Spirit Beasts
The first rays of morning sunrise hit the cave floor, stirring Rhena from her slumber. 'Morning already? Guess I'd better leave soon.' Rhena soundlessly picked herself off the ground and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. She waited a few minutes before leaving, making sure that all the wolves and demons were asleep. Tip toeing past them, she peeked outside the cave. Rhena slipped into the safeness of the shadows. She was sure to travel on the rocks at first, making sure she wasn't heard by any of the demons. As soon as she was far enough, she set foot in the white, sparkling snow. 'Now how to get to the cliff.' She pondered. Rhena close her eyes and trusted her instincts. Her feet turned towards the East as she slowly walked.
Opening her eyes, she found herself on the rather familiar-looking cliff. "YEAH!" Rhena cheered and punched a fist in the air. She glanced at the sky and noticed the sun wasn't even close to when she was supposed to meet Kino. Guess she has a lot of time on her hands, due to that stupid, arrogant wolf-boy. He just had to make a big deal out a little trek through the forest, geeze. Anyway, now all she has to do is wait for a few hours, she could do that. Feeling better, Rhena eased herself to the ground, tracing random patterns in the snow.
An enraged roar tore through the air, coming from the forest below the cliff. Rhena jumped into the air, alarmed. She bent over the cliff, searching for any clues. With slight shock, she spotted large bloody paw prints leading into the ominous forest. She stopped for a moment, pondering on whether to check out, or to stay where she is, safe and sound. Curiosity got the better side of her, and she readied her body to go down the steep, snowy cliff. The saying "Curiosity killed the cat." rang though her mind. With a yell, Rhena gave a mighty jump off the cliff. The cold air rushed past her, hair and clothes whipping furiously in the wind. She moved her feet like one would do when skiing. "WHOA!" Rhena spun dangerously, after narrowly missing a large boulder in the snow. The bottom of the cliff neared and Rhena sped up.
But there was something she missed, at the bottom of the cliff; it steeped up sharply, creating a small-unseen trench. She let out a yelp of surprise as her feet stopped abruptly, caught in the trench. Her body flew forward into the snow, her head buried deep in the white fluff. With a large sigh, she pulled her head out of the snow, shaking it back and forth to rid it of the cold. Another ripped through the silence as Rhena jumped 3 feet into the air. She looked around, paranoid and frantic, before mentally slapping her forehead. Of course! She was here to find where that sound came from. Determined, she cautiously followed the bloody, red paw prints into the forest.
She saw a small clearing where two shady figures came to view. Hiding herself behind a tree, she listened in on the conversation, well one-sided conversation. "So, thought you would be able to escape from me, eh? Well, here is where it all ends." A feral growl came from the other side of the clearing. "SHUT UP YOU FILTHY FOX! YOU DIE NOW!" Rhena gasped, and ran from her hiding spot. She placed herself in front of the bloody fox-like beast on the ground, "Stop! You're not hurting this creature! Leave it alone!"
The ugly demon looked surprised, "WENCH! WHO ARE YOU? GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He snarled, becoming angrier. "FORGET IT! BESIDES, WHAT DID IT EVER DO TO YOU!" Rhena shouted back, agitated. "Its head will fetch a worthy price, now out of my way, wench!" He roughly shoved Rhena into a tree and made her lose her breath. He raised a bloody war axe above the creature's head. "NO!" Rhena snapped into action, grabbing hold of the axe handle, she used as much strength she could muster, pulling it away from the beast's head. She wrenched it out of his grasp, flinging it away and into the forest.
"WENCH!" His beady eyes centered flames of death on her, "You've ruined my hunt so now I'll take both of your heads, and eat the rest of you alive!" "Just try it!" Rhena challenged, her defiance surfacing again. Her mind was whirling with thoughts, 'What am I doing? What have I gotten myself into? May as well finish what I've started, I have no choice.' She got into a defensive position as the disgusting hunter demon pulled out six sharp daggers. Her eyes widened in fear and she worriedly glanced at the fox beast on the other side of the clearing. The demon caught her worried glance and gave a wry smile. With a throw of his fat wrists, he flung three daggers straight at Rhena and the others at the beast.
A growl passed her lips. She dodged and twisted her body to avoid two of the daggers. She received small cuts from those. The third skimmed her left lower leg, creating an open wound. She sped towards the beast, trying to pass the daggers in enough time to protect it. It was a matter of speed and time. Rhena's muscles burned from overwork, as she took one leap in front of the beast, taking all three hits. The first one impaled her right shoulder, the second hit her right thigh, and the third pierced upper left arm. She fell, breathing hard from the attacks. One of her midnight blue eyes were closed in pain as the demon hunter advanced.
Her mind spun, thinking fast and painfully yanked out the dagger in her left arm with a wince. She proceeded to yank the other two with her injured arm, biting her lip to prevent herself from crying out. Blood poured out of the open wounds and unshed tears stung her eyes. Hauling her body to their feet, Rhena held the daggers offensively. "Don't come any closer." The demon hunter let out a bone-chilling laugh as his face contorted to blood lust. He charged with long, jagged claws, ready to rip human flesh. Rhena didn't see the assault coming and barely dodged a killing blow. She received 4 large scrapes across her chest armor and three deep gashes on her right leg. Her mind swam for a few moments, the result of blood loss. And her muscles screamed in pain and protest.
A scowl put of her face, she lunged with the daggers in her hands, letting lose a battle cry. Taken by surprise, the demon hunter tried to move back and failed. Rhena swiftly slashed at his stomach, leaving 4 large, angry, bleeding wounds. He roared out in pain, trying to hit her as she continued her attack. She sliced his wrist and aimed for the neck. But the demon caught her wrist, holding it tightly and making the wounds on her arm bleed worse. Yanking back her hand, Rhena raised it above her head. She stepped back a few steps and flung the daggers, letting them fly toward the hunter demon. It hit their target, the one in his head efficiently killing him. The dead body fell back with a large 'THUMP!'
Rhena couldn't believe what she had just done. She slumped to her knees, her body shaking uncontrollably. Her eyes closed in pain, feeling the blood flow out of her multiple wounds. The snow underneath her was bright crimson, colored with her blood. A growl emanated from the other side of the red clearing. Crawling on her hands and knees, Rhena came to the kitsune beast. "It's okay," She cooed the creature. "You're safe, he won't hurt you anymore." She was answered by a soft growl; it's eyes opening. She saw deep purple. As she scrutinized its condition, she frowned. It too, had multiple wounds, blood staining the snow white coat.
Determined, she set her hands above the creature's body, "Let me try to heal you, stay still, please." Her brows furrowed in hard concentration, chanting 'Heal.' over and over in her mind. Her hands started to glow a light white while the wounds on the white snow body began to close; there was nothing she could do about blood on it's coat. After the last wound healed completely, Rhena collapsed on the creature, breathing heavily. She was dangerously dancing on the lines of unconsciousness, her vision occasionally blackening.
She faintly heard a voice, trying to speak to her. She focused on it, seeing a faint outline of the kitsune beast's face, "Hun?" Coming to her senses, Rhena jolted up, groaning shortly after due to her wounds. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to." She apologized to the creature. An unfamiliar male voice rung through her mind, 'You have nothing to worry about.' "What? Who?" Rhena looked left and right for the owner of the voice, "Okay…" She felt paranoid. The voice chuckled and spoke once more in her mind, 'I'm right here next to you, no use looking for me. Do not be afraid, I won't hurt you.' Rhena's jaw dropped, looking with big eyes at the kitsune beast, 'No way!' 'Yes way.' It argued, getting onto its feet, er, paws. From the ground, the creature was intimidating, taller than Rhena when she sat down.
'Now let's get down to business.' "Business?" Rhena repeated, feeling stupid, as if she had missed something big. 'Yes, now on your feet.' It commanded, using its large head to help lift up Rhena to her feet. She tried standing on her only, only to fail. She was caught by the beast, and settled for leaning support. 'I owe you my life and would be honored if you were to become my mistress.' "Me? Your mistress? What do you mean?" Rhena became flustered from the statement, completely confused.
'I am a spirit beast.' It began explaining, 'We can assume different forms, but are unable to take human form. Each form comes with various powers. There are very few of us left and most of society considers us sacred. We appear every 100 years to accompany those who are worthy. In the past, all our chosen ones have been male demons; you are the first female and human at that. Please become my mistress, I would be honored.' "Well, uh, I-I guess. But I don't anything about this." She stuttered, feeling completely ignorant. 'No need to worry, you'll get the idea in a bit.' It tried to reassure her.
"So, if I'm your mistress, then you'll need a name; do you have one?" She inquired, curiosity getting the better of her. He sounded sad, 'No, I don't I've never had one.' Rhena brightened, capturing the spirit beast's attention, "Well how I give you one. Hmmmm… Hey! How about Shinta?" The spirit beast cocked its head, staring at her face; it sounded like a child, 'Really?' "Sure! Shinta it is!" The spirit beast now deemed Shinta, licked her face while she laughed.
They reached the cliff and Rhena groaned, mumbling under her breath, "Great, now how am I supposed to get back up? Going down is one thing, but going up is a whole different deal." 'I can take you up there.' "Really? You can do that?" Her question was answered by a whoosh of air. She was perched on top of Shinta's body, clinging to his fur for dear life. 'Relax; I won't let you fall. And yes, I can fly.' He answered her unvoiced questions, 'As well as read your thoughts.' "Cool!" Rhena exclaimed, climbing off his back.
Before she was able to say anything else, She spotted a figure on the horizon, 'Shoot! Is it time already?' She fixed her gaze the sun, which was halfway to the midpoint of the sky; exactly when Kino said he would meet her. She let out an exhausted sigh; fingering the box he gave her last night. As Kino stopped, the slow sliding everywhere, his eyes widened. There stood Rhena, covered in her own blood, along with a spirit beast. "What happened?" He managed to utter, rushing to her aid only to be stopped by the spirit beast. It growled at him with ruffled fur as Kino growled back, frustrated. "Let him through, Shinta. It's alright; he's…" Rhena couldn't finish her sentence, loosing her grip on Shinta's fur.
She felt faint and overheated. She slid to the ground, grasping her right leg. Sweat covered her forehead, her eyes closed in pain. The four wounds had gotten worse, the bleeding increasing greatly. "Rhena!" Kino rushed forward, pushing away the silky bangs while putting a hand on her forehead, checking her temperature. He frowned and focused his attention on her wounded leg. He took off his silvery cloak, pushing her hands away from the wound. He lifted her leg off the ground, wrapping the cloth tightly around the wound. Rhena was unable to stay awake any longer, weary in both mind and body.
She slumped forward as Kino caught her, "I have to get medicinal help fast." He picked her up bridal-style, being careful of the other wounds. Her head lifelessly lolled towards his chest, her breath coming out in short pants. A growl emanated from his back. Kino watched the spirit beast circle him once, before giving a growl of approval. "If you wish to come along, then do so." The purple-eyed creature growled again in agreement. With a short, curt nod, Kino and the spirit beast speed off towards the east.
They ran side by side, occasionally splitting apart to dodge trees. Rhena was spared many worried glances, by both Kino and the spirit beast. It had grown dark as the twosome slowed their pace to a walk. They came to a path in the forest, following it. A tall wall lay up ahead, white and smooth. As it came further into view, a gate and two guards came into view; they were some type of feline demons, looking fierce and alert. They straightened themselves as their eyes grew the size of platter plates. Mouths agape, they just stared as young master passed them, a bloody human girl in his arms, and a spirit beast at his side.
About 2 miles further, a castle came into view. A grand white washed stone, reaching high into the sky. Vines covered part of it, and beautiful flowers dotting the lawn. The 2 large wooden doors creaked open, three maids stopping in mid-sentence to stare at the unnoticeable bundle in him arms. "Get me the healer, quick!" He ordered, one maid staying at his side as he rushed up the stairs and various corridors, reaching his room in under a minute. The maid took out a think, white sheet, and laid it atop his bed. Kino carefully set down Rhena, and turned his back, allowing the take her chest armor off. The other two maids arrived with the healer, coming in as soon as was set on the bed.
The healer was a raven demon, her long black hair reaching the ground. She was taller than Rhena, but not enough to reach over Kino. Her bright orange eyes scanned her body, clicking her tongue. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the young prince pacing with impatience. She smiled slightly and set to her work. Grabbing a washcloth and dipping it in the cold bowl of water, she started to wipe away and dried blood. The water in the bowl slowly turned red.
Finally satisfied with her work, she set out on cleaning the open wounds. First, was the one on her right shoulder, which had stopped bleeding but managed to look worse. She washed the skin around with care, lightly dabbing the wound itself. Then she took one the bandages from the maids, carefully winding it lose. The raven demoness did the same with her other wounds, leaving the leg wound unwrapped, for certain reasons. Calling out to the young master, the healer allowed him to stand by her side. He inspected each wound and gave a nod of approval, allowing her to move on.
She stepped forward, hovering to hands above the girl's body. A soft orange light engulfed her hands, surrounding Rhena as well. The wounds began to close and heal, leaving no scars in their wake. Though, something troubled the healer. It was the wounds on her left leg; it wouldn't heal completely. The best she could do was close up the wounds and make them a bit smaller. "That is the best I can do." She bowed, apologizing that she couldn't finish the job. "Thank you, Kaori." Kino dismissed her and maids, sitting down with a relieved sigh after the door closed. Shinta lay next to the bed, exhausted as well.
Kino put a hand on her forehead, checking her temperature; she seemed normal. Curious, her picked up the female-shaped armor, raising his eyebrows at the gashes, 'Must have been some fight.' His eyes grew tired, trying to fight against sleep. He leaned against the bedpost, giving into his tiredness. Today was a long day, and he's sure tomorrow will be even worse.
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Holy Geeze! 17 pages! I don't think my fingers could go any further. Sorry it took so long, I kinda had a writer's block, more like a too-busy-block. Oh well! At least I have the chapter up, right? That's what counts! And now I'm off to do some more writing, especially The Power Of A Miko, I haven't updated that one in a long time! I already have some of it, but not all, just gotta keep going! And while I'm at it, I'll try to start the next chapters of A New Life, and Highschool Craze (on fiction press). Well! Gotta go peoples, and THANK-YOU ALL WHO HAVE STAYED WITH ME FOR EACH NEW CHAPTER, THANK-YOU!
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