Chapter 1: Coerced
A/N: This is the revised version of the first chapter, for I despised the first version. I also put in an author's note. Yay. It is totally rewritten, so it'll be a lot better!
So, if you're reading this… for the sole reason that you might be…
R & R? Please?
Have fun reading!
Not Falling in Love
Ps. Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never will. I'm not the great IC. Don't sue… though, if you do sue, obviously you have a very boring life and nothing better to do than beat the crap out of someone who is only trying to extend the story a little beyond the end of the penultimate book before the last comes out with a bit of imagination.
The snow was all around me, like some white blanket, only much colder.
The coldwhite.
Maruman hated it, just like he hated the moon.
With a mittened hand, I swept all of the snow off the stone bench, and sat on it. The stone was icy cold, and I shifted uncomfortably. I drew my hood over my head tighter, clenching my teeth to stop them chattering.
The green bushes of the greenthorn maze were directly in front of me, garlanded with white. The roses were looking a mite bit dead.
Winter was all around me. I hated winter. It was by far the longest season in the mountains that surrounded Obernewtyn, but it was the season I hated the most. Sometimes, I almost longed for the Days of Rain.
Just thinking about the mountains set off another thought. The weaponmachines.
Where, among the white-capped peaks, were the machines of destruction lying, waiting to be used for their dread purpose?
For a moment, the thought almost convinced me that I saw brown smoke on the horizon, just like the vision I had seen through Marisa Seraphim's diary. I shivered at the memory. There were so many horrible thoughts in that little book, so many horrible thoughts that I could unlock.
Those thoughts that were imbued on the pages could bring about the destruction of the world. Again.
It was by the grip of the same fear that I had convinced the community here to burn the front doors. Those doors were once intricately carved, by a Twentyfamilies gypsy, with symbols that were meant for one person. Who was namely me.
I had put the idea forth to Guildmerge, who had initially rejected the idea, but then in desperation I had put forth a case, saying that we could burn them for the gold inlaid between the symbols. For that reason, they agreed. So after the burning of the doors, all of the Guildmasters and Guildmistresses had golden armbands and I was eased of the fright that someone might be able to either find the map inside the doors or be able to read the symbols.
I rubbed my armband unconsciously.
The bush that concealed the entrance to my not-so-secret sanctuary rustled. I hastily stood up, trying to look busy. But for no need, for it was merely Maruman.
"Greetings," I sent, sitting back down with a whoof.
"Greetings Innle," he replied, his one eye regarding me passively. He tensed his hind legs, and jumped up onto my lap. I stroked his funnily shaped head softly. "Why are youout in the coldwhite? Inside is muchwarmer." His tone was arch. Maruman was becoming an old cat, and preferred the comfort of indoors more often these days. Also, with his age, his fey trances were coming more often and were now even more severe. He would wander back, lucid after a period of madness, with large amounts of fur missing, thin as a stick and half-dead. It was worrying me. Another thing to add to the list. I sighed.
"Outside is much calmer/quieter than within," I said, biting the inside of my cheek.
"Marumanyelloweyes doesnot think this is so," he sent back, somewhat mischievously. I sighed again.
"I had a quarrel/fight," I sent dejectedly, desisting from stroking his head and putting my hand inside my cloak. Truly, it was a bitter winter's day.
"With who? Funaga or beast?"
"Rushton," I replied, sighing yet again. Maruman didn't seem to mind.
"Ah," he sent, refusing to add anything. We sat there for a while, in silence, and it had begun to snow lightly.
I found myself musing over the beginnings of the fight. Being cooped up together with one's love is not always a bad thing. But we had been trapped indoors for the whole winter, with nothing being able to be done out on the outdoors due to the freezing snow. A few things were simmering quietly between us, and one was the Empath Guildmaster. The other was the obvious gaps that he was beginning to sense in my stories, for example the mysterious healing of my maimed legs. And today, it had come to a confrontation, with Rushton accusing me of keeping secrets from him. It wasn't far from the truth. Unable to give an acceptable answer, I had just merely grabbed my cloak and had swept out of the room, into the hall and finally outside. I just couldn't bear to lie to him. So I walked out.
"Donot wait overlong to apologize to Rushtonlove," he said, rubbing his head against my knee.
"I know," I said, feeling a tear slip out of my eye. It almost froze immediately. I brushed it away and let my face fall into my woolen palms.
The bush rustled again, and this time I didn't stand up, but Maruman jumped off my lap, and onto the ground, slipping behind the bench, out of sight. I just sat there, head in hands, not being bothered to look up. Someone sat beside me, and I knew immediately who it was.
"Hello, love," Rushton said, slipping an arm around my shoulders. I leant against him. Maruman made a disgusted mental noise and I bit my lip to stop laughing. He hated any signs of funaga affection.
"Hello," I replied softly, hoping that he was not still mad at me.
"It's quite cold out here, you know," he said, shivering a bit. This time, I did laugh. Softly, though.
"Oh, but I hadn't noticed," I drawled sarcastically, managing to coax a chuckle out of him. It was then that I noticed something amiss. Rushton never laughed like that. That chuckle was more than a little strained, if a bit hoarse. When Rushton actually laughed, it was merry and infectious. And then, I saw what the other hand held.
A knife.
Oh Lud, Rushton was trying to kill me!
I threw a quick probe at his mind, finding an alien consciousness wrapped around his defenses like a malicious snake.
I whipped the probe back into myself, and let it sink quickly through the levels of consciousness. I went down so fast I was nearly catapulted into the deadly mindstream. Alarmed, I stopped my headlong descent and found what I was looking for. The dark power.
Mentally, I grabbed and rope, and pulled it up with me, the power unraveling like a black cord behind me.
I didn't have time to think. I let the power pour from me into Rushton's mind. The alien mind wrapped around him took the brunt of the power, but without any physical contact the owner of the mind whip-lashed its consciousness away. But I couldn't stop the flow once it had started, and it was now directed at Rushton himself!
Desperate though I tried, I couldn't stop it.
The knife fell from his nerveless fingers, sticking into the ground point first, the hilt quivering.
Rushton fell off the bench, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
Maruman came out of his hiding place, and sat by Rushton's head.
"Belovedloved tried to kill/murder you," he observed.
I collapsed on the bench, crying.
End A/N:
Ok. Two things:
Is it Marisa Seraphim?
What do the animals call themselves? Is it just beast?
Now review! Or you won't get any more!
Awww… writing that made me awll sad!