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(24) Trophy
She sat in the chair, bouncing slightly when the carriage would hit some rocks or ditches. Her sister was across from her, trying desperately not to look out the window and throw up. With a groan, the younger crawled across the carriage and onto the seat next to her. "Hey, Da?"
"Yes?"
"May I lay my head in your lap? Its nicer then any pillow in this… evil contraption of rattling doom."
"Yes, Xiao," she said between giggles. With a groan, the younger girl lowered her head. Slowly, Da started to play with the long, almost blonde hair as she stared out the window. The only other person in the carriage with them was their bodyguard sent by their to-be husband to insure safe passage. Cao Ren was his name, and he was related to their fiancé it seemed. The man was nice enough, but surely wasn't talkative. Da glanced his way before giving the quietest of sighs.
She couldn't say she was happy with the outcome of the agreement her father had made, but she was simply a courtesan, and a woman. She was a bargaining tool for her father and a prize for her husband. She and her sister weren't meant to have minds. It was not as if she had believed she would have been able to of chosen her husband, nor that it would have been true love of any sort. From what she had heard, too, Cao Cao was not a horrible husband. A strict man, who that the ends justified the means, but she could have gotten off worse.
Xiao gave a jerk, and then hid her face in Da's thigh, making the older give another small laugh. Ren glanced her way, efficiently silencing her, and then continued to glance out at the landscape. It was getting dark, which was of course the most dangerous of times. Da had never left the castle grounds before, having no need to, but had heard the stories on the trails. Manticores lived in the forests, with tricky imps and dryads. Even a few wendigo's had been spotted before in the more northern parts of the area, where of course Cao Cao's castle would be.
Xiao slowly stretched and rose from her position, rubbing her eyes and scratching her hair. "What's it doing?"
"Beg your pardon?" Da asked, turning to her.
"What time is it?"
"We are nearing night, dusk is almost over and done. The town is not too far, correct Lord Ren?"
"Correct, Lady Da," the stout man said gruffly with a jerky nod.
"See and you slept the whole way. You'll find no rest tonight, Xiao," Da teased.
"The fireflies are out," Xiao mumbled, pointing to the trees still rubbing her green eyes. Da turned and leaned on the window to see. The carriage moved to fast, but Da was sure that the light was a lantern being held by a dusky figure. She turned, and glanced at Ren from over her shoulder.
"Those are not fireflies, Lady Xiao," he said, staring out his window as well. "Those are will-o-wisps. Nasty little fairies they are. Trick travelers to follow them, deep into the forest, and when they are lost, in a dangerous predicament, the little fairy leaves them to find their own way. Most don't." Da gasped, and Xiao suddenly felt sober.
"That's mean," Xiao mumbled, rubbing her arms.
"Aye," Ren agreed with another nod.
"Is everything around here such a bully?"
"Most." The warrior gave a shrug. "You need to be careful in the more rural areas. But you ladies don't need to worry. Once we get closer to town the guards will start riding beside the carriage, and from there you shall be perfectly save from the heathens and monsters."
"What about right now?" Xiao mumbled, still staring out the window.
"She means no disrespect, Lord Ren," Da said quickly, slapping Xiao's arm.
"It is fine, Lady Da. Most do not ever feel save in the lands. The Wendigo are farther north, for they prefer the snowy lands. Manticores protect the forest, and so long as we do not enter that they should leave us alone. As should the others. On the trails it is only bandits we usually worry about."
"Usually?" Xiao hissed with a raised eyebrow. Ren gave her a glance, but did not respond. Xiao grabbed Da's hand, and they sat in silence. They all believed they were going to get to the soldiers without a fuss, but the horses in the front started to rear back and panic. Xiao gave a scream as the carriage jerked, and then somebody from the outside screamed. Ren gave them an order not to get out and disappeared out of the carriage. Xiao clung to Da's arm, staring out the windows. Neither was prepared for the carriage to tip over.
Xiao landed on Da, who was up against the door. The glass in the window had shattered, and Da was sure she was cut. Xiao carefully moved around Da, trying herself not to get cut. The older sister, though winded, was able to mutter small thanks as she herself sat up. "What happened?" Xiao mumbled, glancing up to the only exit.
"Nothing I sure Lord Ren cannot handle. In fact, I bet the other soldiers are on their way, soon to arrive to fight the threat," Da stuttered, trying to remain strong and optimistic. Xiao didn't say anything. The sound of somebody walking on the carriage had the two ladies gasping, grabbing hold of one another. The door opened, and a man sitting on his haunches leaned in to look them over.
His eyes were the darkest of shades, and his skin tawny. He had a strong jaw, with a brown goatee. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, his strong neck laced with necklaces. "Well look there," he said, his voice deep. "Forget the baggage."
"Really? I hadn't thought anybody was in there," another voice said. Not as deep, and far more refined, it only scared the two girls more.
"You didn't hear the screams?" the man looked up and a wolfish grin spread across his face.
"I was a little busy with the running horses coming my way."
"You just need to learn to multitask," the man shrugged with a laugh. He then looked back into the carriage, staring the two over. "C'mon. They probably aren't going to come out easily."
"Oh yes, dragging out thrashing girls from a little rectangular hole in a carriage with glass everywhere and a mechanical warrior probably waking up soon will be so much fun, Ce," the other voice said, sarcasm dripping from his words. The sound of another crawling on the carriage had the two jumping and glancing around.
"They're lucky you ain't fat."
"Shut up, Ce. How do you plan to get them out?"
"I don't know. You're the smart one. Figure it out. I just want my prize."
(25) Silvery lavender
It was a Wednesday, and I had just come home from school. I was slipping out of my school uniform and into my softball clothes. We were just practicing that Wednesday, so my clothes were loose and comfortable. My days had always been full, between school and extra activities. Scholarly clubs, dance on Mondays and Fridays, Tuesdays and Saturdays were gymnastics, Wednesdays and Thursdays had softball planned. Sundays were my music lessons, the violin at that point and time.
My sister had a similar schedule. She played softball with me, but spend little time on dance. She had choir and music lessons on Monday and Tuesday. She didn't enjoy dance as much as I did. She knocked on my door as I pulled on my shorts, walking in with a bounce in her step. She was always cheerful. I nodded as she chatted about her day, hands waving happily. Unlike myself, she had homework that night and was rather peeved. In union we walked down the stairs. We were closer than most siblings. She was and is my best friend.
We walked to the kitchen, checking out water. She grabbed an apple, complained about her history teacher. The doorbell stopped her rant. I walked to the door; our mother up stairs could be heard moving. I opened our large door, staring though our security door at the two men opposite of it. The man in the back caught my attention first. His hair was a dark black, long and smoothed. His expression was stern, hands clasped behind his back. He wore a dark blue, tailored suit. I imagined he was well built, what with his broad shoulders and all. His skin was tanned, giving him a bronze complexion exotic to our part of town. His eyes he covered with sunglasses, masking his identity.
The man in front, though, was the one who had me frowning. Hew was clean, with a same designed suit as the other man. He had mustache and goatee, which was dark compared to his paler skin. His brown eyes shone with a sort of intelligence foreign to me at the time, and his devilish smile made me feel sick. His hair was much shorter then the others, just as black though, and was smoothed back. A few strands falling over his forehead and past his eyes. He looked like a businessman, rich and cunning.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"I hope so," he said, voice demanding. He was a leader. "My name is Cao Cao. I was hoping to catch a word with Qiao Xuan." I had heard of him before. My father spoke of him sometimes when he was home. My father respected this Cao Cao, and I felt slightly ashamed for thinking badly of him.
"He is not here. My apologies, sir," my mother said behind us.
"Oh, I missed him?" the man said, though his devilish smile never lessened.
"Yes sir. He shall be home at nine tonight, should work not hold him longer," my mother continued, face smoothed of any expression.
"I had hoped to surprise my old friend. No matter. I shall give him a call. Sorry to bother you ladies." He gave a sweeping bow, the man behind him following his example. He then turned and left. I was quick to shut and lock the door. That was the end of it. My mother looked at us pointedly, glancing at the clock, and we ushered ourselves out. We got our water, our bags, and situated ourselves into my mustang. Father would have his reunion and that was it. At the time, I would have betted money on that. It wasn't until two years later, entering my sophomore year of college that, for a lack of better words, all hell broke loose.
Da sat up in her room, her math text book beside her and notebook in her lap. She chewed lightly at the tip of her pencil. It had once been a bad habit, but her mother had made sure she broke her of it. With a groan, she fell back and with satisfaction watched her few stuffed animals and many pillows all fall from there small pyramid. The sound of rushing feet up the stairs had her smiling and then her door burst open. "Sis!" Xiao launched herself at the bed.
"Yes Xiao?" Da said between giggles as she bounced.
"Mom and Dad are going out again. Some fancy restaurant this time. I think that Cao Cao guy is going to be there again too," Xiao whined, rolling onto her back and glaring at the ceiling. "I don't like him and his little mafia." Cao Cao went nowhere without some sort of man following him in a tailored suit and sunglasses usually.
"Be nice to him, Xiao. He has done nothing to earn your wrath. As for his little mafia, he's just that important to warrant some bodyguards. We should be honored that a man of his caliber is eating with our parents," Da said, making a point not to voice her own thoughts.
"I don't care what he does, which I have yet to learn ya know? He's creepy."
"We have known worse," Da mumbled, trying to fix her pillows.
"Don't even go there!"
"As my baby sister wishes." Da glanced over her shoulder to Xiao. "When are they leaving?"
"Soon. Mom said she was getting dressed. That means we have like forty minutes until the house is ours if she decides to be quick."
"When does mom decide she needs to be quick?" Da mumbled, petting her stuffed lion before setting him next to the tiger.
"Grocery store early Saturdays," Xiao laughed.
Both of them stood in front of the door and waved their parents off. Dusk was setting in, and the sky was bright with oranges and reds. Once inside, Da went to finishing her homework, she had to finish the math and start an English essay, and Xiao found the big screen TV in their parent's room. Da, when she finished, went and joined Xiao on the giant bed. Unlike Xiao, who was laying on her stomach doing the splits holding her head up with her hands, Da folded her legs under her and leaned back on the pillows in the most elegant of manners.
Both jumped when there was a bang on the outside. Glancing to each other, Da quickly was on her feet and at the door. Xiao sat up and turned off the TV, glancing out the window from where she sat. She didn't see anything, other then the night sky. She turned to Da, who was leaning on the banister to look down at the first level of the home. "What do you think it was? It was really loud. Could it have been a gun, Sis?" Xiao asked, stepping next to Da.
"Could have been. But like you said, it was really close." Da shrugged. She moved to the stairs, planning to go downstairs. A crash, the sound of shattering glass, had her stopping. Glancing up at Xiao, she gave a frightful shake of her head. Quickly Da grabbed Xiao's hand. "Get a bat," Da hissed.
"What?" Xiao whispered back, and there was a curse downstairs.
"Do as I say Xiao. Get one of our bats, a metal one, and stay out of danger."
"What are you doing?"
"Getting Dad's gun." Da spun around and raced back into their parent's room. Xiao glanced down the stairs before turning and racing to her room to do as Da said. The two again met at the top of the stairs. Da grabbed her by the hand and yanked her to stand behind. The two hid from the sight of the bottom level with the hall wall into their parent's room, Da holding the gun pointed between her spread feet.
"What do you think he's doing?" Xiao whispered with a small stutter.
"Probably ransacking the house," Da whispered back. "We don't want to put ourselves in danger. Hopefully we'll be able to stay out of sight, and thusly out of danger." Xiao nodded. Everything remained silent, and the gun started to feel heavy in Da's hands. She flipped her head to move some hair out of her eyes, taking deep calming breaths. Nothing moved downstairs. Xiao fidgeted behind her, and all of Da's senses were on overdrive. The bad board that led into their parent's room creaked.
Da spun around, but didn't want to raise the gun with Xiao standing behind her. Xiao made her move though. She swung her bat with the precision of a softball batter, and the sound was horrifying when it hit the man's face. He stumbled and fell back, staggering before leaning against the wall. Xiao was breathing heavy, almost loosing her hold on the bat. "Oh my…! Did I kill him? Da! I killed a guy!" Xiao screamed, face turning white.
"No…" Da mumbled, before pushing Xiao behind her. The man slowly rose from his position, the sounds of bones popping filling the silent hall. Silvery lavender, Da later would guess the lavender came from the bad lighting, liquid dropped from his wounds, oozing from his mouth and crawling down his face. "You… what are you?" Da mumbled.
"That was uncalled for, don'tcha think?" a man behind them, from the stairs said. He was rounder then the other one, who was tall and lanky. On his shoulder he carried a rifle. Da stuttered, pushing Xiao back as she pointed the hand gun from one to the other.
"She ruined by beautiful face!" the tall man yelled, hands rubbing at the, what Da chose to call it, blood.
"It'll fix," the round one said. "Now, you two. Think you could come calmly?"
"What do you want with us?" Da hissed.
"Shouldn't he be dead?" Xiao stuttered, holding Da's shoulder.
"We aren't at liberty to say. But you need to come peacefully. You two can't beat us," he said. Da glanced at the two, the gun shaking in her hand. Xiao let go of her shoulder, and put the bat against the wall so subtly is was surprising the action came from her. Da took an even, slow breath, and lowered the gun.
"Good girl," the tall man said, though he did not sound pleased. As the two stepped closer, Da let off four shots at them. One scream told her she had hit her mark, but neither stayed to look for it. Xiao had the bat back in her hand and swung for the fat man. He blocked it with his arm, but the two girls got through. Running down the steps two at a time, they rushed out the door. Da dug in her pockets, hoping she had her cell phone on her.
"What are we going to do?" Xiao screamed. Living on the rich side of the neighborhood had some ups, but running down the streets screaming rarely got anybody any notice down on there side. Da didn't respond, coming up empty handed. They would be lucky if anybody even was home, it being a party night where all the rich folk left to go eat together and talk about how much more awesome they were then other people.
"Don't stop running," Da yelled back. Xiao gave a small prayer for being in shape. They continued to run, slowing down until they thought they heard the sound of a gun shot again. When they came to an intersection, they were stopped by the bright lights of an oncoming car. The car swerved, and the window rolled down.
"Who are you?" Da hissed, already stepping back and looking for an alley to dodge them.
"Names Zhou Yu," the man in the passenger seat said, and Da was slightly surprised to see he didn't have on sunglasses. "Seems you're the Devils wants." He looked passed them.
"They're coming," Xiao hissed. "The tall one at least. I don't see the fat one."
"Listen, dolls," the man said, "we don't like them. Get in the back."
"Yeah right!" Xiao screamed. She was cut off from her rant when the bang of a gun had them the two screaming and covering their heads. When they looked up, there was a large bullet hole in the door. Another two shots rang, and the girls looked around. A girl, taller then the Qiaos with cropped brown hair ran around the car and shot at the skinny man, and passed him to the fat man aiming his rifle.
"Get in the damn car!" she yelled. Da, confused and running on adrenaline, opened the back door to the car, Xiao and the girl crawling in after her. "Step on it Ce!" the girl yelled, still shooting back.
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