NORI

Chasing Yesterday

By: Lucas McDrake

Chapter 3-Power

I was roused by someone shaking me. I slowly opened my eyes, and looked at my shaker. It took me a few moments to make sense of the small person standing on my bed.

"Get me a cup of tea," the little doll ordered.

I was still a little too groggy to quite comprehend this. "Huh?"

Suddenly, the little doll pulled out a pole from behind it's back, and whacked me on the nose.

"Ow!" I shrieked, holding my nose with both hands.

"In the name of Rozen," he muttered. "Get. Me. A. Cup. Of. Tea!"

I looked at my alarm clock. It displayed 9:46 in neon green numbers. "It's time for bed," I groaned, dropping my head on my pillow.

"I always have a cup of tea before I go to bed," he hissed at me, holding up his pole threateningly.

"Who are you to order me around?" I asked, defiant.

"Je-Muzu, seventh of the Rozen Knight dolls," he yelled. "Your new master. Now go, and fetch me a cup of tea."

"Why?" I asked.

"I always drink tea before going to bed!" Je-Muzu screamed at me. He whacked me on the chin, and then jumped off the bed, and onto his suitcase that lay on the floor, sitting on it as he watched me expectantly. "Go," he repeated, pointing at the door, and raising his pole menacingly.

I glared at him, then got out of the bed, and muttered, "Fine."

As I closed the door behind me, I stewed my irritated thoughts of that infuriating doll. Who did he think he was? Oh, yeah. My master. Sure.

I'd show him.

I walked into the kitchen, where the kitchen staff was cleaning dishes from dinner.

"Could I get a cup of tea?" I asked one of them.

She stared at me peculiarly. "We don't have tea here. It's against policy."

I sighed. "I meant herbal tea," I explained. "Don't you have any herbal tea? I can't get to sleep."

She rolled her eyes before muttering, "Whatever you say."

A few minutes later, she brought me a cup of steaming herbal tea. "It's lavender chamomile flavored," she stated. "I heard it's the best for helping people get to sleep."

"Perfect," I declared, smiling at her. "Thanks."

"No problem," she mumbled, turning back to her work.

I walked back to my room, stewing my thoughts once more. Rozen Knight dolls? What the heck were those? Guessing by the way he'd said 'in the name of Rozen', Rozen was his maker. Seventh doll...that suggested that there were at least seven dolls....'knight' was probably just a term to portray their gender-I hadn't seen anything to prove that Je-Muzu was worthy of being called a knight so far...

I quickly came to my door. I entered, and found Je-Muzu still in the same place as I'd left him.

"What took you so long?" he complained, quickly running up to me, jumping up as he grabbed the tea, and taking it back to his suitcase.

"That wasn't very long," I argued.

He took a sip, and swallowed. Then, he stared at it peculiarly. "It tastes funny," he stated. He glared at me. "This isn't tea."

"It's tea," I dejected. "Perfectly good tea."

"I wouldn't say perfect...but, I guess this is all that you stupid humans have," Je-Muzu concluded.

I gawked at him. "Excuse me?"

"You're excused from my presence," he muttered in a monotone, taking another reluctant sip of his tea.

"I meant we humans aren't stupid," I hissed.

"Where's your proof?" he asked.

"I..." Blank for ideas, I sat down on my bed.

"I said you were excused from my presence," he reminded me.

"This is my room," I explained.

He looked up at me. "Hmph," he huffed. "My servant has a room."

I detected his sarcasm. "This is my room. And I'm not your servant."

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked, glaring at me. "My servant is rebelling on the first day of her job."

"I'm-" I started.

"Silence!" he yellled. " I need to concentrate on sleep," he whispered, setting the cup of tea on my desk. "Take that back," he ordered.

I was so angry at him. He thought I was his servant. "I'm-"

"Silence!" he repeated, glaring at me. "Servants only speak when spoken to."

I was about to argue further, but then he snapped his fingers, saying, "I wish it didn't have to come to this. My servant should be more obedient."

My mouth suddenly shut of it's own will, and I couldn't find the willpower to speak.

I gawked at him, and he answered my unspoken question. "I have complete power over you," he explained, then pointed at the ring on my finger as he continued, "When you kissed my ring, you signed a contract that binds you to me for as long as I wish." Climbing into his suitcase, he added, "You are my servant. End of discussion."

As he closed the suitcase on himself, my knees buckled. What will I do now? I asked myself. Unable to talk, I was forced to believe Je-Muzu's words. His proof laid in the fact that I couldn't speak.

A tear cascaded down my cheek. What else could he do? Could he control my thoughts? Could he control what I said, and did?

My worst fears now paled in the shadows of this new disturbance in life.

And the plot thickens! ^_^ Hooked yet? Yes? No? Maybe so?

Btw, this is Chapter 3 instead of Chapter 2 because I was planning on switching pov every chapter, but couldn't find the inspiration on how to start out Vivi's pov. So, Nori is odds, and Vivi is evens...

...anyone confused yet?

Okay, I'll wait for another two reviews before adding another chapter. Ask any questions that you may have concerning this story!

^_^

(cue for reader to press review button, and give at least one word summarizing their thoughts on chapter above/story)