Hunter – Chapter 1
AN: With a story like this I find it an increasing challenge to keep Usagi in
character. I'm striving to keep her as true to her original as possible (which
will show more further into the story) but given her experiences it has to be
understandable that she's changed somewhat. Well, with that in mind, please
don't judge the way I portrayed her too harshly.
Also, I would like to profusely thank Nyaliss who has become my editor on this
little project, and desperately needed, at that. *huggles* I WUV you!!
~~~~~~~~
10 years later……
A lone manor stood in the dark of night in the midst of a dense forest. A
lonely road travelled from its gates to the main roads but otherwise it was
isolated. Its size and quality suggested great wealth and seemed only just shy
of becoming a castle. Its stables were well stocked, but at the dark of night
only a few sentries strolled around the perimeter. Most of the household was
asleep, except a few lonely servants going about their daily duties.
One other soul was about at this time of night, clothed in dark leathers
her slight figure climbed hand over hand down a makeshift rope of bed sheets.
She was fairly steady in her progression, if a little uncertain. Her foot found
its mark at last though, and she slipped in through the unlocked window of a
first storey room. Creeping quietly she slipped out of the storage room into
the hallway and tiptoed her way ahead, keeping her back to the cool wall.
Eventually she reached her goal, a small door exiting out to the back of the
manor, the servant's entrance.
Listening carefully for the sound of guards, she eased the door open,
dashed outside, and eased the door closed again. Keeping as close to any cover
she could find, she made her way towards the stables. One of the guards was
patrolling around the area, however, and she had to waste precious time in the
darkness of the bushes beside the stable waiting for him to pass.
Finally he moved on in his route and she dashed around the corner as fast
as possible, becoming almost vertical as she rounded the bend, one hand touching
the ground to keep her from tipping over. The entrance to the stable was open
but security was high around the horses, fortunately she was prepared.
The stable hand slept peacefully in a bundle of hay and blankets at one
end of the stall while the woman in leathers slipped a bridle from its resting
place on the wall and eased it over the head of a chestnut mare, and slid the
bit between her teeth. Some of the horses stirred, one knocked on the door of
its stall with a noise that seemed deafening to the woman's ears but failed to
wake the stable hand.
Crouching down before the mare's stall she eased the bolt on the door
gently out of its position and swung the freshly oiled door open. The mare
tossed her head gently and took a few steps forward out of the stall. The woman
caught her reigns and patted her gently on the shoulder. This was the tricky
part, for she was rather short and the horse, while not a monster itself, was
decently tall. Backing up slightly she took a deep breath and took a running
leap at the mare. The horse sidestepped slightly as the woman landed on her
back, but refrained from bolting. The woman used her momentum to swing herself
mostly atop the horse, gripping her mane firmly in one hand. She took a deep
breath and then swung her body the rest of the way, seating herself comfortably
on the mare's bare back.
Listening carefully for the clinking of armour of the guards she eased the
horse out of the stable with an expert and gentle hand. They then doubled
around behind the building and took off down a rarely used, but familiar path.
~~~~~
Dawn began to break onto this small portion of the Earth and a young man
made his way through the forest with a pair of buckets strung over his shoulders.
Mamoru Chiba let out a deep breath and put down the buckets for a moment, cool
water sloshing over their sides, dampening the ground. Water was such a
deceptive substance, in small amounts it seemed harmless, but its weight seemed
to grow exponentially.
He dipped his hands in one of the buckets and brought some water to his
mouth, shivering slightly at its temperature but enjoying the refreshment. He
splashed a little more on his face and then froze as he heard a familiar noise,
far too close and out of place.
Slowly he raised his head, and his crystal blue eyes met those of a brave
little mare. She was slurping happily from his other bucket as if she hadn't
drunk in all her life. The water was ruined, but Mamoru was not too concerned
about that. The horse was clearly exhausted, sweat was dried into her hair, and
she had some remnants of froth at the corners of her mouth and between her legs.
Curiously, there was a bridle, of good quality, on her but no saddle nor a rider.
The horse drank it's full and then shook vigorously and sidled up to the
young man. She was, he noted, limping slightly and favouring one foot. Easing
his way over to her he ran a hand down her neck to her leg and lifted it gently,
inspecting the offending hoof. It was obvious at once what the problem was, she
had a rather nasty rock lodge in the bottom of her foot that would only hurt
more with the more pressure she put on it.
Whispering soothing words to her, Mamoru pulled out his pocket knife and,
carefully so as not to hurt her further, flipped the rock out from the indent of
her hoof. It was tightly wedge and it took him a decent amount of time to
remove it but when it came it landed harmlessly on the dirt. The horse pulled
away from him immediately walking backwards and to the side, still slightly
favouring that foot but not nearly as much as before.
"Where did you come from, beauty?" Mamoru cooed softly, he had scanned
the area and seen no one around nor heard anything, so he reached for her reigns
which had slipped over her head and were dragging on the ground. She blew hot
air on him and immediately pulled back as he grabbed hold. He raised an eyebrow
but held steady, putting a gentle hand on her nose. She tried to shake him away
but he kept his grip on the reins firm. She wasn't pulling hard enough to hurt
him, yet.
After a few minutes she gave up and tugged him downwards this time as she
reached for a nearby patch of lush greenery. Mamoru chuckled and decided to
take her back with him. He was about ready to pull her towards his home when he
became aware of the distant sound of voices, and a faint thunder that he
registered as being the pounding of hooves.
Not quite sure what to do, he was left with little choice when a figure
leapt out of the bushes and vaulted over the mare's rear onto her back. Her
figure, though dressed in riding leathers, was clearly that of a woman, with a
long blond braid flaring out behind her. She yanked the reigns from Mamoru's
hands and kicked the horse foreword.
"Thanks for your help!" She exclaimed as the horse dashed off into the
forest as fast as it could handle on this terrain. "I'd get out of here if I
were you!"
As she vanished into the distance Mamoru stood dumbstruck for a moment.
The shouting of voices quickly broke through his daze, however, and taking the
girl's advice seriously he tipped the water out of his buckets, through them
into a nearby bush and practically vaulted up the nearest tree. He had just
reached his destination among the leaves when a troop of 4 men on horseback
thundered through the underbrush, a dog preceding them and charging whole
heartedly in the direction the woman had rode off in.
Mamoru decided to stay in his perch until he could no longer hear the
commotion and, as such, was stuck for a while. He thought about the woman, who
had startled him so, a lot. Part of him wished there was something he could do
for her. Her pursuers seemed to mean business, but he was without weapons, and
he didn't even know who she was, or why they were chasing her. As a few ideas
sprung to mind, he felt his stomach churn but forced himself to remember that
those had been armoured men, and that he had no hope of surviving against them
if he chose the route of combat. That and he had left all but his dagger back
at his home.
Those thoughts plaguing his mind he tried not to think of the situation
anymore but he failed miserably. The girl's deep blue eyes kept surfacing in
his mind, grateful but slightly panicked though still in control. Their
expression had been heartbreaking and they had been so soft that he felt he
could almost fall into them…
Shivering slightly Mamoru shook off that particular thought and leaned
further back against the trunk of the tree. The sound of the horses was getting
closer again but most of the talking had stopped. Their pace seemed less
hurried and to Mamoru that meant only one thing. They'd captured their prey.
As they once again came into view he leaned down, supporting more weight
on one arm to get a better look. The four were flanking the young woman, though
she had not been bound or, as he determined by a quick look, harmed in any
obvious way. She held her head high, as if in defiance, and the men seemed to
be avoiding her stare. It looked more like she was being escorted than captured.
While this eased his mind a little he still had to restrain his aggressive
instincts. His fingers clenched the bark of the limb he was perched on, his
knuckles turning white with effort. Deciding that they wouldn't be coming back,
he swung down out of the tree and gathered up his buckets. It was back to the
stream to get more water for him; this was none of his business anyway. Still,
before he started off he took a moment to mark the tree he had been in and took
careful note of the direction they had ridden off in.
~~~~~~~
The 5 riders reached the manor again fairly swiftly. The mare had stepped
on that stone rather early and her rider had tried unsuccessfully for a while to
wedge it out with a stick; having decided that it was worth the break to have
swifter transportation. They were back on the property before noon and the
young woman was escorted by the same men back into the manor.
In the light, and once one got a good look at her, it became evident that
she was still in her teens after all, with a healthily developing figure but
slim build. She walked swiftly, though she was exhausted, back into the manor.
Knowing from experience exactly where she was being taken, she marched along the
familiar hallways without pause.
Her escort stopped at the entrance to a well carved door, which after a
moment, was opened. The room was a personal one, well furbished with a large
fireplace and an expensive décor. The main occupant of the room sat in a large
leather chair; he placed his glass of red wine down on the table beside him and
gestured to the chair in front of him.
"Please Usagi do sit down; you must be exhausted." His voice was fairly
deep and was clearly laced with command and a carefully veiled anger.
Usagi walked over towards the chair, sighed and slid into it, just barely
avoiding collapsing into it. She took a silent pleasure in her dirt caked
riding leathers that were currently rubbing against the expensive material. Her
hair, still braided but coming undone in several places, was messier than ever
and her face was smudged with dirt. The man before her seemed slightly
uncomfortable about this, but not terribly so. His eyes were still filled with
the same hunger that was a large part of why Usagi had taken her flight in the
first place.
The man's name was Demando, the manor was his and so, apparently, was
Usagi though they were not married. Not a single other man on the estate
touched her, though she could feel their stares on a daily basis. For that one
thing she was glad of her position, so far her situation hadn't been too bad,
but things were changing and she knew it wouldn't last for long.
"You really must stop running away Usagi, you should know by now that the
act itself is both futile and dangerous to your well being." Demando took
another sip of his wine and sighed slightly. "It seems you've forced me to
tighten security around you. I wanted you to have the most freedom possible,
but when you abuse your rights they will be taken away."
Usagi sat silently in her seat not responding, not even looking at the man
in white and silver. Instead she stared out his window; she took in what he
said but made no response. They'd been through this enough times already.
Before this, though, Usagi had taken special care to get caught before she was
off the property, and had never climbed out her window before. Her tests of
security had proved fruitful with little recourse but in the end it had all been
in vain.
Demando growled with irritation under his breath, but retained his cool
demeanour as he motioned for a guard to come into the room. "See the lady to
her new quarters, and see that the servants get her cleaned up and presentable
for dinner." The guard nodded and before he could step towards Usagi she rose
and marched quietly out of the room, leaving Demando to watch her retreat in
silence.
~~~~~
Later that day Usagi sat in her room staring out her barred window. At
least she could still watch the clouds float through the sky. She had been
cleaned up rather swiftly and then left in her room to stew. Her hair was back
in her classic twin pigtails and she had been given a light blue dress to wear.
She was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. Tears threatened to
spill from her eyes and her hands, clenched into fists on her legs, were
trembling with anger, frustration and defeat.
Ten years trapped in this manor with Demando constantly hovering around
her. She was treated as if she belonged when things were in order, but she was
really a prisoner. She'd made a few friends among the servants, who felt sorry
for her. This was a great comfort, but lately she was feeling more and more
trapped. Inevitability was knocking on the door and all she wanted to do was
leap out of a window and fly to freedom, but she was being forced to confront
its call. From the stories she had been told or overheard, she was surprised by
how little Demando had actually touched her during her stay. This in itself was
only a small relief as it seemed that she was the exception to the rule, even
with Demando, and she knew it couldn't mean anything good in the long run.
Her riding leathers had been taken from her now. She supposed she would
still be allowed to ride for pleasure, but under far closer watch. Without her
leathers she couldn't very well escape. Even if the window wasn't barred, she
could never make her way down in the dresses she was put in.
She sniffled a little and debated collapsing onto the bed and forcing
Demando to deal with her comatose self if he wanted to see her at diner. Just
as she was making up her mind, however, a small tap came at the door and a girl
around Usagi's age stepped into the room. From her attire and manner she was
clearly a servant, but Usagi smiled widely at her arrival.
"Naru! At least they haven't taken you away from me yet." Usagi
exclaimed, a small smile creeping to her lips.
Naru smiled shyly back and laced her hands behind her back. "Well you
should be more careful or they might." She replied with a half grin. "It's a
shame you didn't get away but we'll just have to figure something else out."
Usagi giggled slightly. She was happy to see her closest friend again.
If there was anything about this place she would miss if she were to escape it
would be Naru. Naru didn't want to escape herself. She was decently well
treated for a servant and at least had a roof over her head. Sometimes she
didn't understand Usagi's overwhelming urge to take flight; after all she had a
wealthy and handsome man to look after her if she chose to stay. Maybe he
didn't have the best personality, or the nicest of friends, but it was better
than many people's lives.
Usagi, however, saw it differently. She couldn't explain it to Naru; she
had tried so many times but never succeeded. Usagi had a burning urge to escape
this estate, and it was growing larger the longer she stayed. So she would find
another way, but for now she decided to enjoy herself and share gossip with her
closest friend.
~~~~~~~
Please review!!!
AN: With a story like this I find it an increasing challenge to keep Usagi in
character. I'm striving to keep her as true to her original as possible (which
will show more further into the story) but given her experiences it has to be
understandable that she's changed somewhat. Well, with that in mind, please
don't judge the way I portrayed her too harshly.
Also, I would like to profusely thank Nyaliss who has become my editor on this
little project, and desperately needed, at that. *huggles* I WUV you!!
~~~~~~~~
10 years later……
A lone manor stood in the dark of night in the midst of a dense forest. A
lonely road travelled from its gates to the main roads but otherwise it was
isolated. Its size and quality suggested great wealth and seemed only just shy
of becoming a castle. Its stables were well stocked, but at the dark of night
only a few sentries strolled around the perimeter. Most of the household was
asleep, except a few lonely servants going about their daily duties.
One other soul was about at this time of night, clothed in dark leathers
her slight figure climbed hand over hand down a makeshift rope of bed sheets.
She was fairly steady in her progression, if a little uncertain. Her foot found
its mark at last though, and she slipped in through the unlocked window of a
first storey room. Creeping quietly she slipped out of the storage room into
the hallway and tiptoed her way ahead, keeping her back to the cool wall.
Eventually she reached her goal, a small door exiting out to the back of the
manor, the servant's entrance.
Listening carefully for the sound of guards, she eased the door open,
dashed outside, and eased the door closed again. Keeping as close to any cover
she could find, she made her way towards the stables. One of the guards was
patrolling around the area, however, and she had to waste precious time in the
darkness of the bushes beside the stable waiting for him to pass.
Finally he moved on in his route and she dashed around the corner as fast
as possible, becoming almost vertical as she rounded the bend, one hand touching
the ground to keep her from tipping over. The entrance to the stable was open
but security was high around the horses, fortunately she was prepared.
The stable hand slept peacefully in a bundle of hay and blankets at one
end of the stall while the woman in leathers slipped a bridle from its resting
place on the wall and eased it over the head of a chestnut mare, and slid the
bit between her teeth. Some of the horses stirred, one knocked on the door of
its stall with a noise that seemed deafening to the woman's ears but failed to
wake the stable hand.
Crouching down before the mare's stall she eased the bolt on the door
gently out of its position and swung the freshly oiled door open. The mare
tossed her head gently and took a few steps forward out of the stall. The woman
caught her reigns and patted her gently on the shoulder. This was the tricky
part, for she was rather short and the horse, while not a monster itself, was
decently tall. Backing up slightly she took a deep breath and took a running
leap at the mare. The horse sidestepped slightly as the woman landed on her
back, but refrained from bolting. The woman used her momentum to swing herself
mostly atop the horse, gripping her mane firmly in one hand. She took a deep
breath and then swung her body the rest of the way, seating herself comfortably
on the mare's bare back.
Listening carefully for the clinking of armour of the guards she eased the
horse out of the stable with an expert and gentle hand. They then doubled
around behind the building and took off down a rarely used, but familiar path.
~~~~~
Dawn began to break onto this small portion of the Earth and a young man
made his way through the forest with a pair of buckets strung over his shoulders.
Mamoru Chiba let out a deep breath and put down the buckets for a moment, cool
water sloshing over their sides, dampening the ground. Water was such a
deceptive substance, in small amounts it seemed harmless, but its weight seemed
to grow exponentially.
He dipped his hands in one of the buckets and brought some water to his
mouth, shivering slightly at its temperature but enjoying the refreshment. He
splashed a little more on his face and then froze as he heard a familiar noise,
far too close and out of place.
Slowly he raised his head, and his crystal blue eyes met those of a brave
little mare. She was slurping happily from his other bucket as if she hadn't
drunk in all her life. The water was ruined, but Mamoru was not too concerned
about that. The horse was clearly exhausted, sweat was dried into her hair, and
she had some remnants of froth at the corners of her mouth and between her legs.
Curiously, there was a bridle, of good quality, on her but no saddle nor a rider.
The horse drank it's full and then shook vigorously and sidled up to the
young man. She was, he noted, limping slightly and favouring one foot. Easing
his way over to her he ran a hand down her neck to her leg and lifted it gently,
inspecting the offending hoof. It was obvious at once what the problem was, she
had a rather nasty rock lodge in the bottom of her foot that would only hurt
more with the more pressure she put on it.
Whispering soothing words to her, Mamoru pulled out his pocket knife and,
carefully so as not to hurt her further, flipped the rock out from the indent of
her hoof. It was tightly wedge and it took him a decent amount of time to
remove it but when it came it landed harmlessly on the dirt. The horse pulled
away from him immediately walking backwards and to the side, still slightly
favouring that foot but not nearly as much as before.
"Where did you come from, beauty?" Mamoru cooed softly, he had scanned
the area and seen no one around nor heard anything, so he reached for her reigns
which had slipped over her head and were dragging on the ground. She blew hot
air on him and immediately pulled back as he grabbed hold. He raised an eyebrow
but held steady, putting a gentle hand on her nose. She tried to shake him away
but he kept his grip on the reins firm. She wasn't pulling hard enough to hurt
him, yet.
After a few minutes she gave up and tugged him downwards this time as she
reached for a nearby patch of lush greenery. Mamoru chuckled and decided to
take her back with him. He was about ready to pull her towards his home when he
became aware of the distant sound of voices, and a faint thunder that he
registered as being the pounding of hooves.
Not quite sure what to do, he was left with little choice when a figure
leapt out of the bushes and vaulted over the mare's rear onto her back. Her
figure, though dressed in riding leathers, was clearly that of a woman, with a
long blond braid flaring out behind her. She yanked the reigns from Mamoru's
hands and kicked the horse foreword.
"Thanks for your help!" She exclaimed as the horse dashed off into the
forest as fast as it could handle on this terrain. "I'd get out of here if I
were you!"
As she vanished into the distance Mamoru stood dumbstruck for a moment.
The shouting of voices quickly broke through his daze, however, and taking the
girl's advice seriously he tipped the water out of his buckets, through them
into a nearby bush and practically vaulted up the nearest tree. He had just
reached his destination among the leaves when a troop of 4 men on horseback
thundered through the underbrush, a dog preceding them and charging whole
heartedly in the direction the woman had rode off in.
Mamoru decided to stay in his perch until he could no longer hear the
commotion and, as such, was stuck for a while. He thought about the woman, who
had startled him so, a lot. Part of him wished there was something he could do
for her. Her pursuers seemed to mean business, but he was without weapons, and
he didn't even know who she was, or why they were chasing her. As a few ideas
sprung to mind, he felt his stomach churn but forced himself to remember that
those had been armoured men, and that he had no hope of surviving against them
if he chose the route of combat. That and he had left all but his dagger back
at his home.
Those thoughts plaguing his mind he tried not to think of the situation
anymore but he failed miserably. The girl's deep blue eyes kept surfacing in
his mind, grateful but slightly panicked though still in control. Their
expression had been heartbreaking and they had been so soft that he felt he
could almost fall into them…
Shivering slightly Mamoru shook off that particular thought and leaned
further back against the trunk of the tree. The sound of the horses was getting
closer again but most of the talking had stopped. Their pace seemed less
hurried and to Mamoru that meant only one thing. They'd captured their prey.
As they once again came into view he leaned down, supporting more weight
on one arm to get a better look. The four were flanking the young woman, though
she had not been bound or, as he determined by a quick look, harmed in any
obvious way. She held her head high, as if in defiance, and the men seemed to
be avoiding her stare. It looked more like she was being escorted than captured.
While this eased his mind a little he still had to restrain his aggressive
instincts. His fingers clenched the bark of the limb he was perched on, his
knuckles turning white with effort. Deciding that they wouldn't be coming back,
he swung down out of the tree and gathered up his buckets. It was back to the
stream to get more water for him; this was none of his business anyway. Still,
before he started off he took a moment to mark the tree he had been in and took
careful note of the direction they had ridden off in.
~~~~~~~
The 5 riders reached the manor again fairly swiftly. The mare had stepped
on that stone rather early and her rider had tried unsuccessfully for a while to
wedge it out with a stick; having decided that it was worth the break to have
swifter transportation. They were back on the property before noon and the
young woman was escorted by the same men back into the manor.
In the light, and once one got a good look at her, it became evident that
she was still in her teens after all, with a healthily developing figure but
slim build. She walked swiftly, though she was exhausted, back into the manor.
Knowing from experience exactly where she was being taken, she marched along the
familiar hallways without pause.
Her escort stopped at the entrance to a well carved door, which after a
moment, was opened. The room was a personal one, well furbished with a large
fireplace and an expensive décor. The main occupant of the room sat in a large
leather chair; he placed his glass of red wine down on the table beside him and
gestured to the chair in front of him.
"Please Usagi do sit down; you must be exhausted." His voice was fairly
deep and was clearly laced with command and a carefully veiled anger.
Usagi walked over towards the chair, sighed and slid into it, just barely
avoiding collapsing into it. She took a silent pleasure in her dirt caked
riding leathers that were currently rubbing against the expensive material. Her
hair, still braided but coming undone in several places, was messier than ever
and her face was smudged with dirt. The man before her seemed slightly
uncomfortable about this, but not terribly so. His eyes were still filled with
the same hunger that was a large part of why Usagi had taken her flight in the
first place.
The man's name was Demando, the manor was his and so, apparently, was
Usagi though they were not married. Not a single other man on the estate
touched her, though she could feel their stares on a daily basis. For that one
thing she was glad of her position, so far her situation hadn't been too bad,
but things were changing and she knew it wouldn't last for long.
"You really must stop running away Usagi, you should know by now that the
act itself is both futile and dangerous to your well being." Demando took
another sip of his wine and sighed slightly. "It seems you've forced me to
tighten security around you. I wanted you to have the most freedom possible,
but when you abuse your rights they will be taken away."
Usagi sat silently in her seat not responding, not even looking at the man
in white and silver. Instead she stared out his window; she took in what he
said but made no response. They'd been through this enough times already.
Before this, though, Usagi had taken special care to get caught before she was
off the property, and had never climbed out her window before. Her tests of
security had proved fruitful with little recourse but in the end it had all been
in vain.
Demando growled with irritation under his breath, but retained his cool
demeanour as he motioned for a guard to come into the room. "See the lady to
her new quarters, and see that the servants get her cleaned up and presentable
for dinner." The guard nodded and before he could step towards Usagi she rose
and marched quietly out of the room, leaving Demando to watch her retreat in
silence.
~~~~~
Later that day Usagi sat in her room staring out her barred window. At
least she could still watch the clouds float through the sky. She had been
cleaned up rather swiftly and then left in her room to stew. Her hair was back
in her classic twin pigtails and she had been given a light blue dress to wear.
She was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. Tears threatened to
spill from her eyes and her hands, clenched into fists on her legs, were
trembling with anger, frustration and defeat.
Ten years trapped in this manor with Demando constantly hovering around
her. She was treated as if she belonged when things were in order, but she was
really a prisoner. She'd made a few friends among the servants, who felt sorry
for her. This was a great comfort, but lately she was feeling more and more
trapped. Inevitability was knocking on the door and all she wanted to do was
leap out of a window and fly to freedom, but she was being forced to confront
its call. From the stories she had been told or overheard, she was surprised by
how little Demando had actually touched her during her stay. This in itself was
only a small relief as it seemed that she was the exception to the rule, even
with Demando, and she knew it couldn't mean anything good in the long run.
Her riding leathers had been taken from her now. She supposed she would
still be allowed to ride for pleasure, but under far closer watch. Without her
leathers she couldn't very well escape. Even if the window wasn't barred, she
could never make her way down in the dresses she was put in.
She sniffled a little and debated collapsing onto the bed and forcing
Demando to deal with her comatose self if he wanted to see her at diner. Just
as she was making up her mind, however, a small tap came at the door and a girl
around Usagi's age stepped into the room. From her attire and manner she was
clearly a servant, but Usagi smiled widely at her arrival.
"Naru! At least they haven't taken you away from me yet." Usagi
exclaimed, a small smile creeping to her lips.
Naru smiled shyly back and laced her hands behind her back. "Well you
should be more careful or they might." She replied with a half grin. "It's a
shame you didn't get away but we'll just have to figure something else out."
Usagi giggled slightly. She was happy to see her closest friend again.
If there was anything about this place she would miss if she were to escape it
would be Naru. Naru didn't want to escape herself. She was decently well
treated for a servant and at least had a roof over her head. Sometimes she
didn't understand Usagi's overwhelming urge to take flight; after all she had a
wealthy and handsome man to look after her if she chose to stay. Maybe he
didn't have the best personality, or the nicest of friends, but it was better
than many people's lives.
Usagi, however, saw it differently. She couldn't explain it to Naru; she
had tried so many times but never succeeded. Usagi had a burning urge to escape
this estate, and it was growing larger the longer she stayed. So she would find
another way, but for now she decided to enjoy herself and share gossip with her
closest friend.
~~~~~~~
Please review!!!
