Shadows and Sunlight

by Aurialis

One dark night, Maka is kidnapped by strange monsters and is taken away to a castle in the forest. She struggles to escape from them, despite their strange kindnesses, not seeing the snake in the grass. This is my entry for Reverb 2015, and a link to the art can be found on my profile (it is fabulous go check it out - one of them is the cover). Rating for some violence only.

2. Chapter 2

When Maka woke up, she was alone in a sparse room, lying on a reasonably sized bed. The walls were made of large stone blocks, making the room feel like that of an ancient castle. The girl started to get up, but when she heard the lock click, Maka fled back under the covers, slowing her breathing to fake sleep, praying her rapidly beating heart didn't give her away. The door swung open, creaking, as a figure stepped inside. It was a woman, or at least, it looked like one, save for the crimson antlers that stabbed the air above her head and the pitch black markings that were etched across her skin, swirling across the smooth, pale surface. Maka peeked out from beneath her eyelashes and saw, to her horror, that the woman's irises were a dark burgundy and the sclera a solid gray.

Setting down a tray of food on the bedside table, the woman, if one could call her that, gently brushed Maka's hair out of her face, testing the girl's nerve and acting skills. Sighing sadly, she left quietly, leaving the blonde bewildered. After a while of lying around to make sure the woman wouldn't unexpectedly come back, she managed to get up and eat, wincing at the bruises spotting her skin. After finishing the oatmeal, which was surprisingly good and filled her stomach comfortably, Maka examined the bandages wrapped expertly around her feet, eyes wide with surprise at the care, wondering if she dared test her walking abilities.

Gingerly examining her feet through the bandages and sensing no pain, the girl tried standing. Her feet ached a little, but she managed to walk to the dresser and back with some clean clothes. If she had to stay captive, better to be ready than in her filthy nightgown, loath as she was to accept anything from her captors on principle. It was easier to walk in the padded and worn boots, thankfully, inciting the girl to try the door, which was unlocked, surprisingly enough.

"Clumsy idiots," she scoffed, stepping into the hall cautiously. Closing the door behind her, she started wandering, trying to find the way out. The stone walls didn't change at all, though there were large windows on the left hand side of the corridor. Looking out, she saw that the green surrounding the castle was rather messy, with untrimmed grass and wild bushes all across the grounds. Further beyond stretched out a dark green forest, only the edges illuminated by the sun shining far above her head. As Maka became aware of footsteps behind her, she frantically started checking doors, praying one of them would be unlocked. To her relief, one of them was, and she managed to duck inside just in time before the footsteps rounding the corridor. Nearly stumbling on the steps, Maka realized she had found the entrance to the servants' staircase, the treads narrow and twisting away into the darkness. Maka peered through the crack between the door and the wall curiously, wondering who it was now. The strange woman? The blue-haired monster?

This time, it was a different person. His face- Maka had never seen anything like it before.

The monster looked mostly like a human, save for his sharp, pearly white fangs and stark white hair that spiked up in fascinating ways. Eyes the color of bloody meat looked ahead lazily as he slouched down the corridor, his drooping features indicating sleepiness despite it being only early afternoon. Maka breathed out in relief as he passed her, nothing in his gaze or expression hinting that he noticed her. Stepping back for a second, she grinned victoriously. Escaping would be even easier than she thought, if all of her captors and their friends were so absent-minded.

All of a sudden, the door flew open and daylight flooded into the tiny room, burning Maka's eyes. She blinked away the black spots and squinted, recognizing the dark figure as the one who had just passed by. Her heart pounding, she tried to stammer out excuses as he reached in and grabbed her arm, pulling her up and dragging her out, barely giving Maka a second to catch her balance as he led her back to her room. As she was thrown inside, the girl spun around and tried to keep the door open, but the young man managed to slam it shut before she could reach it.

"Let me out!" the blonde screamed furiously as she heard the lock click, only inciting her anger even more. She yelled herself hoarse and banged her fists on the door until they bruised, probably until long after the man had gone, before giving up and collapsing on the bed in frustration, tears of fury and helplessness threatening to slip out. It looked like they were just going to leave her here until Papa scrounged up whatever money they had and handed it over, or until her captors decided that this was too much trouble to be worth it.