Unlucky

By : Dancing Lights

Hehe, I wanted to update fast. ;o;

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Haru walked downstairs, dressed in a plain sweater and a skirt. A scarf hung loosely around her neck. She had nothing better to do, so she decided to go find that blonde... and ask him why had he really taken her to his castle.

She walked out of the Inn, closing the door behind her. She tightened her scarf as the bitter cold air hit her skin. She was glad to have such long hair; it kept her neck warm. But the unusual thing was, her hair was a light pink. Her sisters' hair were jet black, like her fathers. 'Must've inherited this hair from my mother, I suppose...'

She wouldn't know. She hardly knew anything about her mother; except that she had been beautiful when she was alive. But she frequently imagined, in her mind, what her mother would have looked like.

She walked down the cobblestone street, eyeing the shops and watching people perform their daily duties. She walked for a while, until she reached the gate, the entrance – and exit – of Lilydew Town. She pushed it open, nodding to the guards and signaling that she was going out.

The road leading outside of town went into a forest. The trees were dark, and loomed over Haru as she approached the forest. "Hm..."

She would most likely find the castle if she walked for a while, she would probably remember part of the way, since Dark and Daisuke had taken her home on this road.

It was twilight, yet the forest was rather darker than everywhere else. Bushes rustled every once in a while, and birds (mostly crows) sang goodnight to the forest. But she wasn't nervous; there was really nothing to be afraid of here. Just a forest. 'Of course', she thought, 'There is a small chance I might get lost.'

She sat down on a fairly-large rock, contemplating on the subject. She looked around. "Hm..." Twigs, branches, dead leaves, a berry bush... wait. A berry bush? She stood and walked over to the bush. Plump, red berries grew on the plant. "Oh, I know."

She spent a few minutes picking berries and using her sweater as a basket. Then, when her "sweater basket" was quite full, she began to walk down the path again. Every few steps, she threw a berry or two behind her, to mark her path. "This is perfect. And when I find that castle, I'll just follow these berries in the direction I came from," she smiled gleefully.

But every plan has it's faults. After a while, her sweater basket has grown quite empty, and she still hadn't made it to the castle yet. "Oh, if I had known it was so far..." she pouted, plopping down on a log. She let out a sigh. There were no other berry bushes around, and she certainly wasn't going to leave the road. Her 'brilliant' plan had failed. Well, at least part of the path was marked, right?

She rested her chin in her hands. "Well, at least I'm off of work for today. So Gurei won't be pissed if I'm late back," she mumbled. "I wonder if his castle is close by. If it is, I can just... huh?"

She noticed something, between the trees. It was some sort of bluish glow. "What' s that?" Haru said under her breath, standing up and walking toward it. Hidden behind a cluster of trees was a dirt path. "Hm.. Well, it wouldn't hurt to see what it is."

She brushed off her skirt, and headed down the path toward the blue glow. The pathway ended, the trees opening up into a small clearing. The sky was barely visible here, like the rest of the forest. Not that it would help, anyway, it was near dusk already.

In the middle of the clearing was a small pond, that glowed in a bluish, ethereal light. All was quiet, not even animals stirred here. Tiny, seemingly weightless balls of light floated over the surface of the pond.

Haru knelt beside the pond, catching one of the lights with her hands. "It's cute." She whispered. She poked it with her finger. Well, I can wager that this is what most girls would say. Haru, being a girl, is no different.

The little light vanished, reappearing over the pond. Haru smiled. "Wow," she said. "I never knew something like this was here."

She looked at the pond once more, wondering how deep it went. She was slightly shocked when she couldn't see the bottom. But the longer she looked into it's depths, the more light-headed she felt. It was as if it were drawing her in, calling out to her.

Almost instantly, she felt the bitter cold of the water as she plunged into the bottomless depths of the pool, an unknown force dragging her down to her demise. She struggled, trying in her best attempt to swim to the surface, but to no avail. The water continued to drag her down.

Just give in.

A small voice whispered. Haru opened her eyes. She could see the surface of the water, and the world beyond it, becoming farther and farther away as she sank. No one else, from what she saw, was in the water with her.

'What?'

Yes... give in, just give in. This is what you want, isn't it? To die? To stay here...

'To die? But... that's not what I want!'

Don't deny your fate. You should stay here with us. You can never deny it.

'No! I want to live! I don't want to die! Let me out!'

Let yourself die here, the voice hissed.

"NO!" she screamed, letting out the last bit of air that would have saved her. 'Someone... help...' Was the last thought that went through her mind, before everything went black.