Recap (sorry no fun words today im really sad at the moment. My parents just took me out of studio dancing without any referance to me so I came home today and I started going upstairs and then there all 'jade don't get dressed for dance." I was like, "ehhhh…why?" then there all like cheerful, "Your not going anymore!" I started crying…yes I know im pathetic but dancing is my life and meh! Ill just stop ranting and let you people read.)
"N-no, my p-p-p-papa gave it t-t-to me," she cried.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you!" he apologized.
"Excuse me, my lord." She stood up and bowed letting her tears melt into the boards of the walkway. She took a few steps toward her door but she stopped and added something.
"I'm sorry my lord, but could you get more supplies for the infirmary?"
He stared at her, so very confused.
She took in his silence and then finished her walk to her room and quietly shutting her door, letting her tears fall.
Griffin stood up and then mentally slapped himself on the way to his room.
Good going Griffin! Upset her! Good job! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
Chapter 4:Bang, Snap, Clap, and a Lullaby.
Griffin went to his room and fell asleep and had the same dream as the night before with the faceless woman known as Ryann but this time the image of her crying was added to the repertoire of images he had accumulated of her in the last 2 days.
Ryann on the other hand cried until the next dawn and walked out of her room at daybreak to the infirmary. She found with her puffy red eyes a new wave of wounded soldiers looking just as sore as the last group.
Alexander came in right after and his eyes got a saddened look in them.
"Just as bad as the last bunch," he said as he walked over to the cabinet.
Ryann followed Alexander to it and they both gasped when he opened it.
It was completely restocked.
Ryann saw a note sitting on one of the shelves. She picked it up and read it as a smile crept on to her face.
Dear Ryann and Alexander,
Thank you for your work to my castle. I greatly appreciate it. Please, if you ever need supplies again, just ask.
Lord Griffin
P.S. Ryann I am sorry.
"What is it?" Alexander asked noticing the smile on his partner's face.
"It's a thank you note," Ryann said as she tucked it into her kimono.
"Let's get to work, shall we?" she said pleasantly.
"Ok," Alexander replied, glad to see his friend in a happier mood.
They did the same thing as yesterday and changed the few soldiers' bandages that were still in there from yesterday, Ryann whispering her spells.
"I don't understand how your patients all got out yesterday while mine look almost as bad as yesterday," Alexander said confused.
"I don't know either," she lied.
"Well, we finished early," he sighed.
"What does that mean?" Ryann asked, hoping the answer would be to do whatever they wanted…but she had a suspicion that wasn't going to be the answer.
"Well for me, I go and work with the accountants for you I was told you go and work with children," he said, squinting in thought.
"REALLY!" Ryann squealed.
"Yes, yes, I'm positive," said the old man, crinkling his face at the loud noise.
"Where is it?" she said excitedly hopping up and down.
"Ehh…to the right in the corner of the courtyard," he said still confused.
"Thank you!" she called as she ran out the door.
"You're welcome?" he said to himself.
Lord Griffin sat down in the front of the courtyard with his council. They were going over the best ways to defend themselves against the demon onslaught.
He looked up from his tactical drawings to find Ryann running happily towards the children's care.
He smiled inwardly and looked back down at his work.
"Hello?" Ryann asked as she knocked on the door-less doorframe.
"Oh yes, Lady Ryann, Lord Griffin told us you would be coming in today," said a tall, thin, warm looking woman.
"Please just call me Ryann," she smiled back.
"Ok, I'm Alyssa!" she giggled.
She had black hair that came to her knees, which she kept in a braid with a dried rose tucked behind her ear. Her eyes were a subtle green that stood out from the longest and blackest lashes anyone had ever seen before. She had light skin with a light pink coloring on her cheeks. She was at least 4 inches taller than Ryann but the same age of 15.
Ryann looked down and found a little girl holding on to Alyssa's hand.
"Hello I'm Ryann!" she said squatting down to the height of the little girl no more than 5.
She shyly turned toward Alyssa.
"This is Trichina," Alyssa said smiling down at the little girl.
Trichina looked up at Alyssa with the most innocent eyes.
A bunch of 5 more ragged looking kids scramble around her to figure out what commotion was going on without them knowing.
"Miss Alyssa, who is this?" a little boy of seven asked tugging on her green Kimono.
"Children, This is Miss Ryann. She will be helping me take care of you guys. Now everyone say 'Hi'."
"Hi, Miss Ryann!" they said happily, glad to have someone else to play with.
"Hello kids!" Ryann greeted with a smile. "Now what are you names?"
"I'm Tyler!" said the same boy who tugged on Alyssa's kimono, obviously the most out-going of the bunch with his sandy hair.
"I am Mina," a girl with blonde hair down to her waist said in a shy high pitched voice, looking about the same age as Tyler.
"I'm Anoka," said a girl with black hair, big brown doe eyes, and was about six.
"I'm Samantha, but you can call me Sammy…. if you want to," added Anoka's twin with identical features.
"I'm Zanoske," said a dark haired boy with sharp black eyes. He looked older than Tyler did and he made Ryann's hair stand on end.
"Nice to meet you all!" she greeted cheerfully. (making this face .) (hehe)
"Mk, kids now go back to playing," Alyssa said shooing them away.
The children all picked up their previous toys, such as wooden swords or a top, and continued the games that were interrupted by the new caretaker. Trichina stayed on Alyssa's hand though.
"Trichina, why don't you go play with everyone else?" she asked gently.
Trichina looked out at the other kids playing then turned around and clung to Alyssa's leg.
Alyssa made a sympathetic face and started to stroke her long black hair.
Ryann sat cross-legged next to Trichina and playfully said, "Hey Trichina, would you like to come here?"
Trichina's ice blue eyes looked into Ryann's brown ones and shook a 'no'.
"Please?" Ryann jabbed again, adding a puffy lower lip and puppy dog eyes.
Trichina looked over at Ryann then back up at Alyssa who nodded with a smile playing over her lips. The little girl walked over to Ryann and sort of stood there with her head rolled to one side in a silent question.
"Come sit down," Ryann said, patting the ground in front of her.
Trichina sat down where told to but still had a query in her icy globes.
"We're going to play 'bang, snap, clap'," Ryann said, her eyes reflecting anticipation and excitement.
Trichina cocked her head to the side again in confusion.
"Ok, repeat after me, bang," Ryann, said.
Trichina's gaze fell to the ground.
"Miss Ryann, she won't speak.." Alyssa jumped in.
Now Ryann's eyes reflected confusion. "Why?"
Alyssa got a sad look but tried to hide it for the children.
"When she came to us, we found her on the western boundary. She had deep wounds all over her body. We later found out there was a nearby village attacked by the dog demon clan of the west.." she explained, fighting back tears. "We think the demons killed her family and friends and this is why she doesn't speak."
"I see," Ryann, now sorrowful and angry for the little girl sitting in front of her.
"Well, since you do not want to speak I shall teach it to you by sight," Ryann said matter-of-factly.
Trichina's gaze came up.
"Miss Alyssa, would you come here for a few minutes?" Ryann asked, her eyes playing some sort of game.
Alyssa sat down next to Ryann, now smiling in place of the grimace.
"Ok listen to this and repeat it in the exact rhythm," Ryann explained.
Alyssa nodded, getting more excited every second.
"Bang, snap, clap, ba-bang, snap, clap, snap, bang, snap, clap, ba-bang, snap, shh.
She repeated it.
"Ok now when you say bang, hit your chest in between your collar bones. When you say snap, snap and when you say clap hit my hand like this," Ryann continued explaining.
Ryann kept a bent elbow and had her hand straight vertical and Alyssa hit it.
"Now you say it once and then when you say shh, you put you finger to your lips and then repeat the movements without the words, and then you do it again but with your left hand, and then again with both hands," Ryann said.
"Ok I think I have it."
They played it with a few mess-ups.
By the time they were done, the children had gathered around them, observing.
"Would you like to play with me Trichina?" Ryann asked the little girl who now had a small shy smile on.
Trichina nodded, slightly nervous.
Ryann said the words as they played, slowly at first and then got faster and faster.
The little girl's face lit up as she giggled along with Ryann.
All the kids begged to play.
"Well come on its not hard, just play with each other," Ryann said happily.
They all began to play the game for at least an hour, switching partners ever now and then.
Soon, they started tiring out from the game.
Alyssa looked up and said, "Kids, it's nap time."
"Awwwwwwwwwwwwww," was heard in stereo.
"Shh, shh go to sleep now," Alyssa said trying to coax them into a slumber.
The children began to lay down grumpily rubbing their eyes, insisting they weren't tired.
Alyssa started singing 'Hitori', one of Ryann's favorite folk songs so she joined her.
Hitori
de sa bi shi
Fu ta ri
de mah he ri ma sho
There by the river
Sits a pretty maiden,
Watching the water
Move along
She sees a lovely
Blossoming cherry tree
And her heart is
Filled with song
Some day
I will go
to my home that
I love so
Once more
I will be
'neath the lovely
Cherry tree
Hitori
De sa bi shi
Fu ta ri
De mah he ri ma sho
Now as the moonlight
Dances on the river
Sadly the maiden
Must depart
Each gentle breeze that
Sighs through the Cherry trees
Echoes the song
That fills her heart
Hitori
De sa bi shi
Fu ta ri
De mah he ri ma sho
By the time the finished the end of the song, all the children were asleep.
Alyssa and Ryann smiled at each other and then swept over the children with their eyes, making sure all of them were napping.
Lord Griffin started patrolling the castle alone, telling himself he wasn't going to go see what Ryann was doing, so he walked to opposite the castle from children's care.
He visited everywhere in the castle sooner or later besides children care so he should go there next but he wouldn't go see her so he sat in a garden in the courtyard.
Not going to go see her, not going to go see her, not going to go see her.
He repeated it over and over in his head.
Not going to go see her, not going to go see he-
His thoughts were broken when he heard two heavenly voice singing.
"Hitori
de sa bi shi
Fu ta ri
de mah he ri ma sho
There by the river
Sits a pretty maiden,
Watching the water
Move along
She sees a lovely
Blossoming cherry tree
And her heart is
Filled with song"
Who is that? He wondered
He followed the melodic singing to the day care and poked his head in to find Ryann and another woman singing.
Each gentle breeze that
Sighs through the Cherry trees
Echoes the song
That fills her heart
Hitori
De sa bi shi
Fu ta ri
De mah he ri ma sho
He recognized the ending of the song and saw Ryann and the unfamiliar woman stand so he moved away quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself.
Ryann heard swift footsteps outside the door as she stood up from her kid check with Alyssa. They walked out of the small shack like building in the corner of the courtyard and sat in the nearby garden.
"There so sweet," Alyssa said quietly as she looked at the bright mid-afternoon sun.
"Yeah, I can't wait until I have kids of my own," Ryann said leaning back.
"Ooh, does that mean you've already found 'the one'?" Alyssa asked excited.
"No, not really I'm single," Ryann said, slightly sighing.
"Really?" Alyssa said, trying to hide her astonishment, but not doing a very good job.
"Yeah...They all see a pretty face and I don't want some one to want me just because I am easy on the eyes," she said, slightly agitated.
"I see," she said nodding her head. "I thought I had found him once but he ended up cheating on me," she said sadly, down casting her eyes.
Ryann reached over and hugged Alyssa, "I'm sorry."
"It's OK, I've pretty much gotten over it," Alyssa said hugging back, holding back her tears.
"You can never get over something like that."
Alyssa looked at her astonished. Everyone always said something like; 'you'll get over it.' and never anything like what just came out of Ryann's mouth.
"Wh-what?" she stuttered, breathlessly.
"It's love…everyone needs love to be complete. Without love, apart of you is always missing. I don't think he was the one though. The gods don't pull away soul mates once they've found each other," she said with and edge of matter-of-factly.
Alyssa started turning red and Ryann saw this and spoke again.
"Alyssa, I know you think he was the one but trust me you will find 'the one' some day soon," she said grasping Alyssa's hand.
She cooled down and smiled sadly. "I don't think you understand."
Ryann smiled back and said, "Meh, who needs sad things of the past anyway."
They sat there talking for awhile chatting about everything and then Kamaru came up.
"I think he likes you," Alyssa said blustering with gossip.
"You think so?" Ryann asked.
"Definitely, everyone says that," the long black haired female smiled slyly.
"I think he's kind cute."
"Me too!" Alyssa squealed.
They giggled.
"Well I suppose its time to wake up the children, it's time to leave," Alyssa said with a sigh and a big stretch as she stood up.
The girls walked over to the shack and slowly woke up the children, one-by-one.
"Miss Ryann, will you be here everyday?" a sleepy Tyler asked, rubbing his eyes.
"I'll try," she answered smiling taking his hand.
"Where to?" Ryann asked Alyssa.
"We just meet the parents at dinner," she answered moving out the door.
"Ah I see," Ryann said, following her.
The kids would try to run ahead of the two older girls but they would stop and wait. Finally, after doing this a few times they all began to skip towards the servants' kitchen and dining area.
The parents came over one by one to pick up the kids before dinner; all the children would wave goodbye and give a small hug before they left.
Hehe this chapter took forever to write…but oh well! Lol well in the next chapter it gets the inu family involved (finally) lol mk well c ya ppl later!