I was considering leaving Fan Fiction and did- for awhile. But, upon stumbling across my old work, I decided to revisit the world of Fandom- and contribute something new. This has prompted the creation of a story based in the realm of fantasy and adventure, touching on themes of hardship and growth. I'm excited to see how it will all play out, which is always a good way to begin, and hopefully others will enjoy what I have to write. Readers- and reviewers -are a large part of the process, so I can only do what I do and hope, in some small way, that it is appreciated. I was astonished, and immensely grateful, with the response my last work- A Heavy Burden -received, so if I receive even a portion of what I did before, I'll be more than satisfied.

This story will have its dark moments, but it will not rely as heavily on the angst as A Heavy Burden did (pun somewhat unintended). Its also going to have some action in it- fights and what not -which I'm not too experienced with, so I'm no sure how it will turn out, but I think it will be a fun project. We shall have to wait and see ;)

*I do not own Maria Sama Ga Miteru, or any of it's characters, sadly. Also, I may have to change this rating to M later, depending on what direction I go with the story- how detailed I am, aspects of various fights, romance possibly, etc. I'll let you know. For now, it remains T.

Anyway, after a long, mostly pointless ramble, here is the prologue!

Let me know what you think.

Prologue

We Have To Try

"The others have been talking. There's going to be an escape."

The whisper was so soft it was barely audible, even though a cupped hand and an earnest deliverer aided it. The deliverer in question, a young girl named Yoshino, vibrated with palpable excitement. The words she spoke tripped off her tongue in their haste to be voiced and her lips practically caressed her friend's ear as she leaned forward in eager anticipation, fingers shaking and her eyes oddly bright.

For a precarious moment she threatened to bump heads with her companion as she plopped- a bit overzealously -onto the ground at her side, loosing her balance and tipping forward like an ungainly colt. During the last half-second she managed to right herself before contact could be made, saving them both the headache.

Quite literally.

Upon hearing this pronouncement an equally young girl- around the age of fifteen or so –whipped her head around so fast she felt her neck crick. She ignored the pain this caused as her wide, owlish gaze fell on her friend, dark and startled.

"Really?" she whispered in return, the word, in its surprise, slightly louder in volume than the one's her companion had spoken. The beginnings of hope and unmistakable longing crept into her tone even as her facial features- a furrowed brow and a lower lip worried between small teeth –conveyed a certain amount of disbelief.

"Really," Yoshino confirmed, unable to repress the grin that spread across her face. "I heard it myself. The plan's not half bad, actually. I think we could pull it off."

They sat for a moment in silence after that, each absorbing the impact of what she had said. Escape, a forbidden word in the camp, was one rarely used, and never lightly.

Both were contemplating the possibilities of this discovery. Even Yoshino, the more obviously effected of the two (at least, in a positive light) wasn't without a certain amount of trepidation. She would be a fool to feel otherwise, what with the very real chance of failure (and consequent punishment) lording over them.

But even more so there reigned in her a wild sense of optimism that even the strongest of doubts could not crush. It swelled in her chest so greatly and so completely that she could practically taste it in her mouth, light and airy and sweet. It swam through her veins and traversed the paths of her airways, each breath she took now somehow more important than those preceding it. The will to be free, to try and to succeed and to be gone from this place- it was unbelievably uplifting. It was the reason she could not wipe the wide grin from her face, nor vanquish the gleam in her eye, hope radiating from her very frame.

Her companion was not as obviously uplifted. Not initially. In her silence there was an air of caution, of fear and a certain amount of doubt. She had seen others try to escape- try, and fail. She knew the consequences that followed.

She shuddered in remembrance, cringing inwardly at the terrible images that flashed through her mind- bloodstained and gruesome -before she shied away, forcibly pushing them from her mind. For a long moment a blackness seemed to hang over her, the set of her hunched shoulders and downcast gaze impossibly grim.

But then she glanced over at Yoshino, filled with unbridled desire- positively trembling with it. She looked around, slowly, at the squalor of the tent that was their shared living quarters- if you could even call it that, so despicable the conditions were -cramped and dirty and morose, all the life sucked from its dark recesses. And she could not help but wonder…

What would it be like to sleep out in the open? To slip in the rain and know she would not be punished for it?

What would it be like, she thought, to stay up as long as she liked (and sleep in even longer) no schedule dictating when she moved, how she moved, her appearance or even, heaven forbid, the way she looked at her supposed superiors?

Suddenly, Yoshino's enthusiasm seemed catching. Suddenly, she wasn't quite as terrified. Undoubtedly a part of her was, and would always be while trapped in the confines of the camp. But the rest of her...

Well, that was another story altogether.

It was this undisputed majority that caused her to look her friend in the eye, her expression fierce and determined. It led her to lift up her chin; defiantly, and a light to dance in her brown eyes- a light not so dissimilar to Yoshino's own, and to speak, plainly and without pretense:

"Well," Fukuzawa Yumi, girl of fifteen years- three of those spent as a slave –said, "then we have to try."

Her sudden, wicked grin was identical to the one her best friend wore as the gears began to turn in her mind, the future suddenly not quite as bleak as it had seemed just a moment before.

Not much to go off of I'm afraid, but that's what I have- just the bare basics (if that). It is a prologue. Thanks for reading- let me know what you thought, if you would be so kind. I'd appreciate it :)