Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is still not mine. Not that there's
much of that at this point. Let's see: the chapter title belongs to Simon
& Garfunkle as the last did. The two people I'm about to mention belong to
DL. And lastly, something Catherine says later is based almost completely
on something from Tamora Pierce's "In the Hand of the Goddess".
Casting Shivering Shadows on the Houses Through the Trees
... Catherine was lying in an unfamiliar room, and had the odd sensation that she was many years younger. There were two oddly dressed adults arguing at her bedside.
"Are you sure? I mean, she's just a child!" The woman seemed horrified.
"Of course I'm sure. It's obvious she's their child! How could the prophesy not be referring to her?"
"Just give her a chance! You can't honestly mean to banish her!" All of a sudden a beeping sound cut through the dream. The man looked at a watch that suddenly appeared on his wrist...
"Beep. Beep. Beep." Then, Catherine realized that the beeping wasn't coming from her dream at all! It was her alarm clock! Damn. She never seemed to be able to finish the dream, though she'd had it several times recently. A few times she could remember that the man said something important, but no matter how hard she tried, she could never seem to remember what happened.
With a sigh, Catherine got up. Time for another day of school. Listlessly, she pulled on clothes, and dragged her tired feet down the stairs to breakfast. She ate quickly, so that she'd be able to lag on her way to school.
Catherine walked along the road slowly, admiring the slowly changing leaves. A bird was singing sweetly in one of the trees. Catherine smiled. Then, she remembered – she had chorus today, not gym. That was good. She loved chorus.
Catherine had a beautiful voice, too mature sounding for her body. She was a first soprano, and could sing higher than anyone else in her class. That was one trait she was happy to have inherited, though she didn't know which side she'd gotten it from.
Catherine knew so little about her history it seemed as though she had just been left on the orphanage doorstep. That was part of the reason she wanted to see the rest of her dream – it seemed as though it was a memory that was being uncovered. She idly wondered who her parents were anyway. Not that she thought she'd ever meet them; she given up the childhood dreams of being a long lost princess waiting to be found long ago. She just wished she knew.
Lost in her thoughts, Catherine never noticed the gang of seniors falling in step behind her until it was too late. "Hey, Shorty!" Catherine jumped, but quickly regained her cool. Never let the enemy know you're afraid. Never. Catherine learned that lesson early.
However, Catherine's cool demeanor couldn't last for too long. The boys backed her into an alleyway. She quickly counted – ten of them. Not the best odds for a fully awake, fully warmed up person, even with their lack of technique and talent. Catherine noted that one had a bruise on his cheek, and another with a black eye. So that's what this was about.
The older boys circled Catherine, and she turned slowly, taking in the physical signs of their fighting ability. "So, this is how many big, buff boys it takes to hurt one shrimpy sophomore girl?" Catherine tried to either distract them longer or goad them into attacking her before they were really ready with her taunts. It didn't work.
One of the boys spoke; apparently their leader. It wasn't either of the boys she'd fought with before. This one was tall and lean, with a natural fighter's stance. He had tightly curled black hair. Catherine thought he seemed familiar, but couldn't quite place him. "You humiliated two of my friends yesterday. Now it's our turn." The older boy grinned, a Satanic gleam in his eye. Now, Catherine turned sheet white. The boys was obviously crazy, and most likely quite sadistic as well. And she certainly couldn't defend herself against this many!
However, she got her feelings under control and got into a slight fighter's crouch. She saw the leader nod subtly, so when the first wave came, she was ready. Catherine spun on one leg quickly, the other leg out. That kept them from coming too close all at once. Once she'd made a full circle, she lashed out at the boy directly in front of her. Charging him head on, she rammed him directly in the groin. When he bent in pain, she leapt onto him and then up to kick the next in the face.
However, even with all of her skill and speed, it wasn't long before the remaining boys got her against the wall above the ground so her feet were dangling. The leader came forward as two of the other boys held her.
"Tired yet?" He asked, still smiling. Definitely sadistic, Catherine thought with dread. However, she was determined to fight until the last. She spit in face. He punched her in the ribs. He laughed at her pained look and her inability to even curl up in a protective ball. He then smiled once more, and sardonically bowed his way back, allowing the boys she'd fought to come to the front.
Catherine gulped, and braced herself for the pain. The first one she'd knocked out the day before came up first. "You bitch! Did you really think you could get away with that?" He smirked, and then punched her hard in the mouth.
Catherine spit out a few bloody teeth, careful not to show her pain. "Oh, aren't you brave! Hitting a girl much smaller than yourself, and no less, when she's being held still by two other 'brave' warriors! They'll write epic poems about you for sure!" She let her contempt into her voice. In honor of her efforts, Catherine got another tooth knocked flying.
Then the next boy came up to her. He had a bandage on his nose, and she could see an ugly bruise on his neck from where she'd chopped him. He didn't waste time talking as the other had. He simply punched her once with each arm, creating twin rings of pain around each of Catherine's eyes.
At that point, they and the rest of the gang took turns hitting her, and near the end, Catherine could barely tell who was who in the haze of her pain. Then however, she saw their leader's startlingly handsome, cold face looming in front of her. "Had enough?" He mocked.
Catherine didn't even have the strength to look up into his eyes. "Well, obviously you haven't, since you won't even answer me. In that case..." Catherine could just barely see him motion for something from his cronies. "A present. Just so you won't forget us." The older boy ripped open her shirt. Catherine braced herself to use the last of her waning strength to clench her legs together. However, it seemed that the sadistic thug had nothing that simple planned for her. She thought in half delirium that in this, it was good that she was so small and underdeveloped.
It wasn't until she saw the five glowing points of the tongs that Catherine even realized they'd built a fire.
...
Catherine woke up many hours later, when the sun had already traveled past its zenith. She started to move, forgetting why she'd taken a nap in the middle of the road. All of a sudden, she cried out in pain before biting her lip, and the memories of the morning came back to her.
She gingerly moved her right hand, which was thankfully undamaged. With that hand, she ever so gently felt her face, taking account of her two black eyes, a most likely broken nose, and a split lip. Her hand moved carefully down her neck, which was apparently all right.
Then, she touched her chest and her body exploded in pain. From her light touch, she gathered that after branding her with tongs shaped pretty much like a burning hand, the thugs cut little circles around each of the burns with their knives so they would bleed for a long time and heal messily.
Catherine squeezed her eyes shut in an effort not to cry. She gritted her teeth and let her hand drift down. She estimated that at least two ribs were cracked or broken. She could feel several big bruises on her thighs and lower legs. All in all, until someone found her in this embarrassing position, Catherine was going nowhere.
She supposed she was lucky; judging by the position of the sun, she'd been unconscious for most of the day, and school would be getting out soon. So, then Catherine did the only thing possible in her position – lie there and wait.
When she finally saw someone walk by, she yelled. It hurt, but it would be worth it. When her rescuer came into sight, she nearly sent him away. It was the skinny boy she'd saved yesterday. Before he got too close, Catherine feebly tried to cover her injured chest, which still lay exposed.
Then, the boy reached her, and his face turned sheet white. "What happened to you?" The boy asked in horror.
Even in her injured state, Catherine could not help but be sarcastic. "I fell into a pool of roses. What do you think happened to me? The boys I defended you from yesterday brought friends. Now, are you just going to stand there like a lump, or will you help me?" She looked up at him, exasperated.
He looked at her, seeing the wisdom in her words. "Right. I come from a line of doctors, so I have a bit of antiseptic in my backpack. Do you mind if I..." He gestured at her chest, obviously embarrassed.
"Go ahead." Catherine spoke resignedly. "Not like there's anything for you to see anyway. What's your name anyway? Usually I ask before I let a man put his hand up my shirt." She attempted a feeble smile to indicate her joke, but it changed to a grimace when her expression moved her split lip and broken nose.
"Oh, sorry. Fie. A Scottish name, not that my parents are from there, they just like the name. It means 'Dark of Peace'. Kinda cool, I guess. I get a lot of teasing about it, though. My last name's Dante. Like the guy who wrote The Inferno. Get teased about that too, from the more learned. But I should get to doing this. What's your name by the way?" Fie knelt down next to her.
"Catherine. Catherine Night. Glad to meet..." She gasped as he wiped a small cut on the edge of her eye with his antiseptic wipes. However, she said nothing and allowed him to go on. He worked his way down her face, pausing to comment that her nose was broken. Catherine just rolled her eyes.
Finally, Fie finished Catherine's face and gently pulled her shirt away from her wounds. When he saw them so close, he gasped in horror and sympathy. Catherine decided it was good his parents were doctors, because if he weren't used to seeing blood and injuries, he'd probably have thrown up on her. However, seeing her disgusted look, Fie just continued to clean. Finally, he was done.
Then, Catherine looked at him. Always practical yet cynical, she asked "And how am I to get home? I can't go back to the ..." She suddenly remembered he didn't know she was an orphan. "To where I live like this."
Fie never hesitated. "My parents don't ask questions." He pulled out a cell phone and called his parents. Within a couple of minutes, Fie's parents pulled up in a jet black van. They easily picked up Catherine and bundled her into the back seat, at which point Catherine lost consciousness once more.
Author's Notes: Please review! I want to see what you have to say. A note to anyone who read the first chapter before I updated: I changed Fie's age. He is now fifteen as well. Any ideas on who he is? Or about Catherine's parents? ('Specially her mom, no one's suggested anything) I want to see what you think.
To my reviewers:
Ironi Numair: Thanks for the compliments! I am so honored, because you are one of my favorite authors on fanfic. I'm still looking for my spelling mistakes; the only free time I've had, I've used to write more, but I'm not ignoring you. Your logic is not weird, you're on the right track about Catherine's identity.
Pen D. Fox: Thanks so much for reviewing! You're one of my other favorite authors. Thanks for your correction; I found the mistake today.
Jade Limill: You're on the right track too! I won't tell you exactly though, cause I'm evil and I'm gonna keep you in suspense until the next chapter if you haven't figured it out from this one. ~_^ Can't say anything about what you've written, if anything, because Fanfic wouldn't let me do an author search today. I will though, I promise.
Casting Shivering Shadows on the Houses Through the Trees
... Catherine was lying in an unfamiliar room, and had the odd sensation that she was many years younger. There were two oddly dressed adults arguing at her bedside.
"Are you sure? I mean, she's just a child!" The woman seemed horrified.
"Of course I'm sure. It's obvious she's their child! How could the prophesy not be referring to her?"
"Just give her a chance! You can't honestly mean to banish her!" All of a sudden a beeping sound cut through the dream. The man looked at a watch that suddenly appeared on his wrist...
"Beep. Beep. Beep." Then, Catherine realized that the beeping wasn't coming from her dream at all! It was her alarm clock! Damn. She never seemed to be able to finish the dream, though she'd had it several times recently. A few times she could remember that the man said something important, but no matter how hard she tried, she could never seem to remember what happened.
With a sigh, Catherine got up. Time for another day of school. Listlessly, she pulled on clothes, and dragged her tired feet down the stairs to breakfast. She ate quickly, so that she'd be able to lag on her way to school.
Catherine walked along the road slowly, admiring the slowly changing leaves. A bird was singing sweetly in one of the trees. Catherine smiled. Then, she remembered – she had chorus today, not gym. That was good. She loved chorus.
Catherine had a beautiful voice, too mature sounding for her body. She was a first soprano, and could sing higher than anyone else in her class. That was one trait she was happy to have inherited, though she didn't know which side she'd gotten it from.
Catherine knew so little about her history it seemed as though she had just been left on the orphanage doorstep. That was part of the reason she wanted to see the rest of her dream – it seemed as though it was a memory that was being uncovered. She idly wondered who her parents were anyway. Not that she thought she'd ever meet them; she given up the childhood dreams of being a long lost princess waiting to be found long ago. She just wished she knew.
Lost in her thoughts, Catherine never noticed the gang of seniors falling in step behind her until it was too late. "Hey, Shorty!" Catherine jumped, but quickly regained her cool. Never let the enemy know you're afraid. Never. Catherine learned that lesson early.
However, Catherine's cool demeanor couldn't last for too long. The boys backed her into an alleyway. She quickly counted – ten of them. Not the best odds for a fully awake, fully warmed up person, even with their lack of technique and talent. Catherine noted that one had a bruise on his cheek, and another with a black eye. So that's what this was about.
The older boys circled Catherine, and she turned slowly, taking in the physical signs of their fighting ability. "So, this is how many big, buff boys it takes to hurt one shrimpy sophomore girl?" Catherine tried to either distract them longer or goad them into attacking her before they were really ready with her taunts. It didn't work.
One of the boys spoke; apparently their leader. It wasn't either of the boys she'd fought with before. This one was tall and lean, with a natural fighter's stance. He had tightly curled black hair. Catherine thought he seemed familiar, but couldn't quite place him. "You humiliated two of my friends yesterday. Now it's our turn." The older boy grinned, a Satanic gleam in his eye. Now, Catherine turned sheet white. The boys was obviously crazy, and most likely quite sadistic as well. And she certainly couldn't defend herself against this many!
However, she got her feelings under control and got into a slight fighter's crouch. She saw the leader nod subtly, so when the first wave came, she was ready. Catherine spun on one leg quickly, the other leg out. That kept them from coming too close all at once. Once she'd made a full circle, she lashed out at the boy directly in front of her. Charging him head on, she rammed him directly in the groin. When he bent in pain, she leapt onto him and then up to kick the next in the face.
However, even with all of her skill and speed, it wasn't long before the remaining boys got her against the wall above the ground so her feet were dangling. The leader came forward as two of the other boys held her.
"Tired yet?" He asked, still smiling. Definitely sadistic, Catherine thought with dread. However, she was determined to fight until the last. She spit in face. He punched her in the ribs. He laughed at her pained look and her inability to even curl up in a protective ball. He then smiled once more, and sardonically bowed his way back, allowing the boys she'd fought to come to the front.
Catherine gulped, and braced herself for the pain. The first one she'd knocked out the day before came up first. "You bitch! Did you really think you could get away with that?" He smirked, and then punched her hard in the mouth.
Catherine spit out a few bloody teeth, careful not to show her pain. "Oh, aren't you brave! Hitting a girl much smaller than yourself, and no less, when she's being held still by two other 'brave' warriors! They'll write epic poems about you for sure!" She let her contempt into her voice. In honor of her efforts, Catherine got another tooth knocked flying.
Then the next boy came up to her. He had a bandage on his nose, and she could see an ugly bruise on his neck from where she'd chopped him. He didn't waste time talking as the other had. He simply punched her once with each arm, creating twin rings of pain around each of Catherine's eyes.
At that point, they and the rest of the gang took turns hitting her, and near the end, Catherine could barely tell who was who in the haze of her pain. Then however, she saw their leader's startlingly handsome, cold face looming in front of her. "Had enough?" He mocked.
Catherine didn't even have the strength to look up into his eyes. "Well, obviously you haven't, since you won't even answer me. In that case..." Catherine could just barely see him motion for something from his cronies. "A present. Just so you won't forget us." The older boy ripped open her shirt. Catherine braced herself to use the last of her waning strength to clench her legs together. However, it seemed that the sadistic thug had nothing that simple planned for her. She thought in half delirium that in this, it was good that she was so small and underdeveloped.
It wasn't until she saw the five glowing points of the tongs that Catherine even realized they'd built a fire.
...
Catherine woke up many hours later, when the sun had already traveled past its zenith. She started to move, forgetting why she'd taken a nap in the middle of the road. All of a sudden, she cried out in pain before biting her lip, and the memories of the morning came back to her.
She gingerly moved her right hand, which was thankfully undamaged. With that hand, she ever so gently felt her face, taking account of her two black eyes, a most likely broken nose, and a split lip. Her hand moved carefully down her neck, which was apparently all right.
Then, she touched her chest and her body exploded in pain. From her light touch, she gathered that after branding her with tongs shaped pretty much like a burning hand, the thugs cut little circles around each of the burns with their knives so they would bleed for a long time and heal messily.
Catherine squeezed her eyes shut in an effort not to cry. She gritted her teeth and let her hand drift down. She estimated that at least two ribs were cracked or broken. She could feel several big bruises on her thighs and lower legs. All in all, until someone found her in this embarrassing position, Catherine was going nowhere.
She supposed she was lucky; judging by the position of the sun, she'd been unconscious for most of the day, and school would be getting out soon. So, then Catherine did the only thing possible in her position – lie there and wait.
When she finally saw someone walk by, she yelled. It hurt, but it would be worth it. When her rescuer came into sight, she nearly sent him away. It was the skinny boy she'd saved yesterday. Before he got too close, Catherine feebly tried to cover her injured chest, which still lay exposed.
Then, the boy reached her, and his face turned sheet white. "What happened to you?" The boy asked in horror.
Even in her injured state, Catherine could not help but be sarcastic. "I fell into a pool of roses. What do you think happened to me? The boys I defended you from yesterday brought friends. Now, are you just going to stand there like a lump, or will you help me?" She looked up at him, exasperated.
He looked at her, seeing the wisdom in her words. "Right. I come from a line of doctors, so I have a bit of antiseptic in my backpack. Do you mind if I..." He gestured at her chest, obviously embarrassed.
"Go ahead." Catherine spoke resignedly. "Not like there's anything for you to see anyway. What's your name anyway? Usually I ask before I let a man put his hand up my shirt." She attempted a feeble smile to indicate her joke, but it changed to a grimace when her expression moved her split lip and broken nose.
"Oh, sorry. Fie. A Scottish name, not that my parents are from there, they just like the name. It means 'Dark of Peace'. Kinda cool, I guess. I get a lot of teasing about it, though. My last name's Dante. Like the guy who wrote The Inferno. Get teased about that too, from the more learned. But I should get to doing this. What's your name by the way?" Fie knelt down next to her.
"Catherine. Catherine Night. Glad to meet..." She gasped as he wiped a small cut on the edge of her eye with his antiseptic wipes. However, she said nothing and allowed him to go on. He worked his way down her face, pausing to comment that her nose was broken. Catherine just rolled her eyes.
Finally, Fie finished Catherine's face and gently pulled her shirt away from her wounds. When he saw them so close, he gasped in horror and sympathy. Catherine decided it was good his parents were doctors, because if he weren't used to seeing blood and injuries, he'd probably have thrown up on her. However, seeing her disgusted look, Fie just continued to clean. Finally, he was done.
Then, Catherine looked at him. Always practical yet cynical, she asked "And how am I to get home? I can't go back to the ..." She suddenly remembered he didn't know she was an orphan. "To where I live like this."
Fie never hesitated. "My parents don't ask questions." He pulled out a cell phone and called his parents. Within a couple of minutes, Fie's parents pulled up in a jet black van. They easily picked up Catherine and bundled her into the back seat, at which point Catherine lost consciousness once more.
Author's Notes: Please review! I want to see what you have to say. A note to anyone who read the first chapter before I updated: I changed Fie's age. He is now fifteen as well. Any ideas on who he is? Or about Catherine's parents? ('Specially her mom, no one's suggested anything) I want to see what you think.
To my reviewers:
Ironi Numair: Thanks for the compliments! I am so honored, because you are one of my favorite authors on fanfic. I'm still looking for my spelling mistakes; the only free time I've had, I've used to write more, but I'm not ignoring you. Your logic is not weird, you're on the right track about Catherine's identity.
Pen D. Fox: Thanks so much for reviewing! You're one of my other favorite authors. Thanks for your correction; I found the mistake today.
Jade Limill: You're on the right track too! I won't tell you exactly though, cause I'm evil and I'm gonna keep you in suspense until the next chapter if you haven't figured it out from this one. ~_^ Can't say anything about what you've written, if anything, because Fanfic wouldn't let me do an author search today. I will though, I promise.