A/N: -cries- Thank you, reviewers! You're sooo kind to me!
StormHornet – -sweat drop-
Rurouni-maxi – LOL! -shakes head- I never meant for people to hate Hotaru…
Ally – 'Poor Hotaru'? Whoa! Finally, someone who DOESN'T hate Hotaru!
royal blueKitsune – The fact that you chuckled made me laugh… hahaha…
Recap –
Hotaru took a deep breath, put her foot in the stirrup and mounted the beautiful mare. Nearly as soon as Hotaru had clambered on, the horse became scared and reared up on its hind legs. She screamed and held on tight as the horse galloped forward, breaking the fence and continuing to gallop out of sight.
The Color Black-Red – Chapter 7
Cursing the misfortune, Kenshin rode after her shouted her name. As soon as she came back into sight he yelled, "Pull on the reins!"
Hotaru, nearly dead with fear, did so, and the frightened horse slowed down. The mare eventually stopped and Hotaru stumbled off, crying. "Gomen nasai!" she sobbed. "What did I do wrong?"
Kenshin looked at her and shook his head. "It is alright, Hotaru-dono." He placed a hand on her shoulder for a brief moment and then strode toward the shaking horse. He stroked the mare until she calmed and nuzzled his face. "Now get on," he ordered Hotaru.
With a look of terror on her pretty face, Hotaru shook her head wildly.
"Look – we need to get to Daemon! Get on! The horse is calm and will not go off." Kenshin was impatient. Who knows what could be happening right now?
"But… but…" with another look at Kenshin's face, Hotaru wiped away her tears and slowly mounted the mare, who was now, uninterested in what was going on, chewing the grass by the roadside.
Seeing Hotaru safely upon the horse, Kenshin turned to the stallion and got back on him. "Alright. I think taking a train is too dangerous and slow. We could not take a train anyway as we don't have any money. We will have to take the horses all the way." Kenshin snapped the reins and they settled into a comfortable canter.
Hotaru soon rode next to him. "How often will we rest?" she asked timidly.
"I am sorry, but we will not rest. We need to get moving, and we need to get there fast. The bartender said it was a long journey and we have no time to lose." Kenshin pushed his horse to a gallop and he yelled at Hotaru to do the same.
Hotaru did so, nervously and looking warily down at the mare, who now looked quite happy. "How long do you think this journey will last?"
"Days, weeks, I know not." Kenshin said no more, but merely rode on.
"Queen?" a voice broke into my thoughts, and I focused on the cook standing before me.
"What is it?" I snapped, trying to sound as evil as I could.
"Eeto…" the cook stepped backward, "I was just wondering what you would like for – for dinner tonight…"
"Well you should have said that in the first place!" I growled. "Nothing. I'll pass." The cook bowed and left, and I stared after him regretfully. I turned to Daemon and whispered, "Monster!"
Daemon turned to me, smiling evilly. "You called?"
I stood up angrily and Daemon frowned, but said nothing. "Excuse me." I walked away without a look back and stormed up the stairs to my wing. I reached my room and was about to collapse on the bed when I saw someone that stopped me in my tracks.
"So, Kaoru…" Misao stepped toward me threateningly. I could see her kunai, ready to attack.
"Misao. Get out," I said roughly.
She stared at me for an excruciatingly long time. Finally she said, "I was just going to tell you that my former husband –"
"Aoshi?" I asked sharply.
"Yes. He died in battle three days ago."
My eyes burned with sudden tears, but I wouldn't let Misao see. "Hmph," I said indifferently, "He had it coming, being good and all." Oh, please forgive me, Aoshi…
Misao smiled. "Yes, I agree." Then, without a parting word, she retreated into the hall.
It was then I crumpled on my bed, and buried my face in my hands, the tears dripping through. "Aoshi, oh, Aoshi," I whispered. "Damn you, Misao… how can you be so uncaring?"
"It's easy."
I gave a start and shot off the bed and wiped away my tears. I faced Misao, standing in the doorframe, with my new glare.
"It's easy," she continued, "because I am evil. And I don't care about him. You shouldn't either, because you're evil. You are evil, aren't you?"
"Of course!" I exclaimed.
"Then why," Misao inquired, "were you crying?"
"Because… because, Misao, he was my friend. I cry for my friends when they die. Wouldn't you cry if I died, Misao?" I asked.
"No," Misao said simply, pacing. I gave a start, and she paused. "Deceiving me wouldn't be smart, would it, Kaoru?" she stared down at me smugly. "Sure, if you are actually evil, yes, I might cry if you died. Probably not though. Why?" she asked at my horrified expression, "Because, Kaoru, I know you are deceiving me. You're not evil, are you?"
I approached her but stopped abruptly when she took out her kunai.
"Yes, Kaoru, I thought not." That was all she said before she left me alone.
I fell down onto the bed, many different thoughts running through my head. One alone I spoke aloud, "Please, Kenshin, come save me from this nightmare."
A few weeks later -
Hotaru was exhausted and barely conscious. "K-Kenshin-san?"
"Hai, Hotaru-san?" Kenshin was in neither pain nor tiredness. However, worry clouded his thoughts.
"Are we near our destination?" Hotaru croaked. They had managed to find a little water and food along the way, but it had long since run out. Hotaru was almost lucky that she was stranded in the Sands of Shadow for a short period of time because now she could go with out food or water for a long time. But for a week they had had neither food nor water, and, to her annoyance, Kenshin didn't seem to be tiring at all. On the other hand, she was fit to collapse.
Kenshin looked thoughtful. "Since your mare is slightly slower than my stallion, we shall leave the mare here and continue with just the stallion –"
"I will have to walk?" the exhaustion was causing Hotaru to be slightly dim. "Nani? Kenshin-san that makes no sense!"
"No, no, Hotaru." Kenshin looked pityingly at her and slowed his horse to a walk. Hotaru did the same. "I am saying that we will leave the mare behind and you will climb up here and sleep until we get to our destination." Kenshin stopped the stallion and Hotaru followed his example.
"Oh…" Hotaru smiled sleepily. "Alright, Kenshin-san."
Kenshin got off the stallion and walked over to the mare. "Grab my hand," he ordered at Hotaru, stretching out his hand. "I will help you down."
"Hai, Kenshin-san…" Hotaru smiled again, and, instead of taking Kenshin's hand, she fell off the horse into his arms, fast asleep.
"Maybe we do need to take a rest," Kenshin said, unsmiling. "My stallion is on the verge of collapsing, Hotaru is asleep and now that I have stopped moving…" A wave of tiredness flooded Kenshin's mind. He put Hotaru down on the grass next to the road and tied his stallion to a tree. "Wait…" Kenshin put two and two together. "Grass… and trees… there must be water nearby!" He ran until he found it, a small trickling stream. He cupped it in his hands and drank until his thirst was quenched. He then found a very small hollow log that was open at one end and closed at the other, like a tall cup. He filled it with water and stumbled back. Placing the 'cup' next to Hotaru, he went back to the stream and filled his hands again, but this time he brought it back and the stallion drank its fill. The stallion immediately fell asleep, as did Kenshin.
TBC…
A/N: Um… I've run out of things to chat about. Shoot. Oh, well.
Review please!