Hi, GoldenSkittle here!

So it's been a couple of months since I posted the first chapter. It's not that I've been really busy or anything, so I don't really have much of an excuse. It's just I've had loads of issues in terms of what to write for this chapter and it's left me feeling incredibly unmotivated. Originally this chapter was going to run a similar plot to the second episode of the anime, ending with Kasey accepting (or not accepting) to be priestess. However, a couple of days ago inspiration struck and I ended up with sixteen pages worth of writing to wade through.

I'm still not happy with it. It ended up being too dialogue driven and has far too much waffle for my liking. But please, bare with me! I had to get this big chunk of text out of the way before I move on to where things start getting interesting.

Spelling mistakes, poor grammar, OOC-ness, Mary Sue-ness, too much waffle or ideas for the plot development – Please, let me know! Reviews make me write faster. *wink*

Disclaimer: FY is not mine, and neither is Lost in Austen -Sigh-
Please Note: This chapter contains a lot of swearing. Hopefully I will keep it to a minimal in the future, but to be honest the only way I imagined Kasey to deal with half of what's happening is to swear like a sailor.
Edits: I have made some minor edits to what is now the prologue. The only real difference is that I've altered the ending to fit the beginning of this chapter and changed the name of Kasey's friend for plot-related reasons.

Chapter One: The Girl Not Quite of Legend

(Alternatively, 'the chapter where Kasey realises the obvious and swears a lot'.)

Kasey stared at the wall blankly, her mind unable to comprehend exactly what had just occurred. She could have sworn but five minutes ago she had been sound asleep on top of her bed. She could have equally sworn that there was a door before her just a moment ago. Yet here she was, in a dark, dank room, staring at a door that was, well, now just a wall.
Wait a minute, WHERE'S THE DOOR GONE? Oh god, Oh god
"MIAKA OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!"

"...Miaka?"
Her eyes caught sight the figure she had forgotten was slumped against one of the corners of the cell. The figure had stirred, eventually rising from off the floor and stretching out limbs that apparently refused to comply.

She froze at the realisation that someone else was with her. Furthermore, it had dawned on her not only the fact that someone was with her and that she didn't know where she was, but also she had no idea how friendly this person was...Or how they would act to her sudden appearance. As fear overset the initial confusion Kasey felt, the disgruntled figure turned towards her only to gasp, stiffen, then growl and swiftly take a combat stance.
"Who are you? Where is she?" The figure bellowed sharply, scaring Kasey back towards the wall. The figure was obviously a male, his strong tenor voice echoing thorough the musty air and assuring her that he was a very angry male at that.
Fuck.
Kasey gulped, or tried to, as her mouth had gone dry from fear and confusion. So it was more of a painful movement of the jaw than anything.
When she said nothing, the figure took the opportunity to move a little closer, no less defensive than before. With no natural light in the cells (well she assumed them to be cells from the faint outline of bars on the other side of the room); save for a candle in the corridors beyond, neither person could make the other out. For all they knew, a monster could have been residing on the opposite side of the room. This seemed to be the case for Kasey's cell-companion, who seemed a bit confused when he found a panicked girl stood only meters away, as opposed to a potential kidnapper.

"I'm not scared of you... but if you're going to hurt me just get it over with... I'm not scared or anything. "
She eventually proclaimed, trying to maintain a sense of bravado whilst shielding averting her gaze from him in case he went for the face. He smiled slightly at the girl's faux bravery. At least she wasn't going to scream and alert the guards he thought.
"You don't have to cower away like that; I'm not going to hurt you. I'd never hurt a girl, not even if I was paid. You have my word."
"Wait, what?"
Without thinking, she looked up at the figure before her, the sudden realisation of who it was shocking her so much she nearly cracked her head on the wall behind her.
"YOU'RE TAMAHOME!"

She let out a small gasp as she took in the site of someone she'd only ever seen on paper, surprised at how... normal he in fact looked. It was rather bizarre seeing a character from Ancient China- Although his hair was a dark teal colour; he seemed to look no different to any regular teenager in her own world, foreign clothes aside. He had an athletic build; Muscular certainly, but no overtly so considering he was supposed to be a skilled fighter. Even his hair looked like any other hairstyle she had seen males sporting in her world, if you ignored the rat tail at the back of his head.
In her world, he'd actually come across as rather attractive. She shuddered at the thought.
No, he's not my type... at all.

"Now that you know I won't hurt you I want some answers lady! You said Miaka's name before, so you must know where she is. You best spill it, okay!" He demanded; look equally as hostile as he did in a combat stance. Kasey felt her anger flare up instantly at his condescending tone, but dismissed it for fear it would land her in more trouble.
"Look..." She growled through closed teeth. "You won't believe me but there is a door in this cell that links to another dimension. Miaka came through and before I knew it I was on the other side, in here, with you. I thought she was going to let me look and then go back through, but she closed the door practically on my face and here we are now. That's what happened. I don't understand how or why, but I think that that the door is acting as a gateway that leads to my... bathroom." She spoke the last word slowly, her voice laced with confusion as she realised how ridiculous it sounded even to herself.
I swear to god, if this is a figment of my imagination then I should think about becoming a fantasy author.

Tamahome, replacing his look of confusion with complete and utter disbelief walk over the 'door' in question. After examining the space, he presumed to knock on wall in some humouring fashion, only to conclude that it was as he suspected, a wall. "That is the most ridiculous lie I've ever heard. Do you take me for a fool or something? What right minded person would even consider building a door in a cell anyway? Look lady, I don't know what planet you come from but in Kōnan the whole point of a cell is to keepcriminals in, not allow them an easy escape at their own convenience. And what's all this about you saying that your bathroom is on the other side? You have got to be– Hey, are you listening to me? "

She wasn't, but instead was staring at the space near his foot where she saw something that had not previously been there before. She recognised it to be a folded piece of paper with her name wrote on the front, the characters poorly drawn. "That's a note...There's a note by your foot. It's addressed to me... So that means...Maybe it's from Miaka! Pass it here quickly."
Without thinking, Tamahome bent down to pick up the piece of paper. He regarded it with suspicion, only to then flip it open and inspect its contents. After a few seconds, he turned it upside down, straining his eyes to make sense of it. Eventually, he shut the paper, obviously frustrated.
"Those are some funny looking characters. I assume you know how to read it then?" He held out the piece of paper for her to snatch it from his hands.
"It had my name on it, what gives you the right to read it?" She growled, flipping the paper open.
"Look lady, you may be dressed just as weirdly as Miaka but that doesn't make you innocent. If the letter is addressed from Miaka It's my business too. I was supposed to be looking out-"

Fixing him an irritated glare, she turned to face him, nearly crushing the letter in her hand. Temper be damned, she wasn't going to let this obnoxious idiot walk all over her. "Look lad" She seethed "I don't know what's going any more than you. In fact, here I am, in a completely foreign place and you take it upon yourself to make me feel like some... Villain! Well I'll tell you what mate, I wasn't the one placed in this cell, which as you said is a place for criminals... Quit shouting at me, it's hard enough trying to figure out what this kanji means and translate it to English without you going off at me! I don't need some condescending twat shouting at me..." She tried desperately not to punch him square in the jaw as she felt her anger burst from her. To her, violence was cathartic and lord, she felt better for shouting at Tamahome.
He deserves it. I swear he's not making it any easier for me to like him as a character.
"Wait a minute, I don't understand. What is 'kan-ji'? And what is this 'Eng-a-lish'? What is 'going off at me' supposed to mean? You can't read or something?"
"Of course I can read, idiot. English my home language. This is written in another language, Japanese to be precise."
"-Another language? How many languages are there where you people come from? Where are you from anyway? You're obviously not from this place... And you claimed to know Miaka too! How do you know Miaka and how do you know my name? Were you with Miaka and the other girl when -"
"You know, it's not very polite bombarding me with questions about where I'm from or about how I know your names. All you've been since I stepped into this disgusting cell is a whiny imbecile. Did you even consider that I actually have a name, instead of being referred to as 'lady'?"
"I was about to ask before you cut–"
"It's Kasey Valentine, nice to meet you... "

He was about to protest once more when he pinned him with a glare that threatened potential violence if he didn't shut up. Taking the hint, he was silent as she turned back down to look at the letter. "Right, I think I've got the gist of it... Right, Dear...
'Kasey-chan,
- This is strange, I know. I don't understand. I haven't known Tamahome long, but he's nice and he saved me. He'll be nice to you. Don't worry about this space –'
Space? I don't understand what she's trying to say. Is she on about her world or perhaps she's referring to my world?" She spoke to herself, trying to make sense of the contents of paper with only a few years experience in reading Japanese.
"...Your world? You're both from different-"Tamahome paled at the thought. He knew that Miaka was strange, but he thought she was just a foreigner. The idea that both girls were from a completely different dimension was a whole different world, literally.
"SHH. I didn't say I was finished, idiot.
'I've got everything covered! I'll look after things while you are away. Tell Tamahome thanks for helping me and good luck!
-It's your turn now, Miaka."
Tamahome looked over her shoulder as she read the final lines of the letter, almost as if by looking he was able to understand the contents more. When she finished, Kasey nearly dropped the letter as her hands began to violently tremble.
"...While I'm away? Oh god, what does she mean by 'It's your turn"? Shit! Shit, shit, shit!Oh god – Here I was thinking she was writing to say that she would get me out of here...I feel a little faint." She gagged the last phrase out, feeling the acidic sting of bile threatening to exit her throat. As if on cue, Tamahome placed a hand on her shoulder and led her to sit against the wall of the cell. She flinched at the sudden gesture, but did not protest.

After he had got her settled he picked up the letter and placed it in his pocket, shortly turning his attentions to the ill-looking girl.
"Erm... K-Kasey, are you okay?"

As much as he felt stupid for asking so many questions he felt like this whole day had been one confusing mess. He felt even worse looking over at the pale girl beside him, her wan flesh making her looking nothing short of ghostly. It was worrying to think that such a hot-headed girl, confident girl could look so venerable so quickly, and over a letter no less. How he felt was probably nothing compared to how she was feeling at the moment.
Poor girl, perhaps I was a little too harsh to judge. She doesn't seem to be a bad person - Irritating, but not a bad person. I suppose I should be nice to her, Miaka would have...
His thoughts briefly turned to the girl he had only known a few hours longer, still concerned for her even after the relief of hearing from her.
Miaka, it was nice meeting you. I hope you've found your friend like you hoped.
He set the memory aside; turning his attentions back to the girl he supposed was now his new companion. After a few more minute of silence, she eventually stated in a worryingly calm manner,
"I've been better...However, I think... I think I'm stuck here."

She was looking across the room forlornly, her eyes just making out the contours of the brick wall where the door had once been, where there was no longer an exit. Of course she wouldn't get out straight away. That would be too easy.
If she was any other girl she would have cried at the thought of being stranded in a foreign place, but she had never been the type to cry in front of others. She needed to stay calm and think of the positives. She wasn't alone, that was one. But with the way she was treating Tamahome she wouldn't have been surprised if he left her the moment he had chance. Maybe she should apologize?

"Look. I've been a jerk." Announced Tamahome suddenly, as if he had just read her thoughts. "I shouldn't have accused you of lying and I should have been more understanding of your situation... I'm sorry."
Kasey looked over at him slightly shocked. The last thing she expected was for this arrogant warrior to apologize and even more unexpected was that he had made her smile with the ridiculously childish pout that followed. "You know, you don't have to look so surprised" He scoffed, noticing the smile the crept across her pale features as he did so. He smiled back at her, showing there was no hard feelings.
"Tamahome..." She said in slight disbelief, "Thank you. I'm sorry for acting like a bitch." She turned away to laugh awkwardly. She had a habit of upsetting people and felt even more childish for getting so angry at him when he was probably just as confused as she was.
"Don't worry about it. There's no point dwelling on what's going on or what will happen. Instead, let's just focus on getting out okay? I said this to Miaka and I'll say this to you, I'm not going anywhere. "

He patted her shoulder reassuringly, like an older brother would to an upset sibling. It felt reassuring knowing that someone would stay with her. Dream, hallucination, or whatever the hell this currently was, Kasey knew that if she ever stood a chance of getting back to her world she would need all the help she could get. She had briefly studied ancient china in her youth, and knew that it was no safe place for young women to go it alone. In this era, slave trade and prostitution were a common-place. Even dressed in local garb, she was pretty certain it would only be a matter of time before she got attacked, raped, sold or all of the above. Tamahome had offered her his support, even if it was temporary. For that she was grateful – It even alleviated the feeling some of sickness that dwelled in the pit of her stomach.
He was right. There was no point dwelling on what had happened or what was about to happen. She would cross that bridge when she got to it. She didn't understand what was going on. But what she did know was that two characters from a story she knew intimately had come into contact with her, against all odds and beyond any realm of imagining. It was understandable for her to be so confused, right? But the story in itself was just the same; a girl crossing over into another world, not knowing where she was or what to do. In fact, Kasey was at an advantage. She knew the story. She knew exactly who she needed to find to get her out of this mess.
-Taiitsukun. She must know what's going on.

 Slowly, and using Tamahome's support, she stood up feeling a lot better about what was happening. Finding her bearings, she swept the dust which had gathered on her shorts and legs and smirked at her new companion.
"Right then Tamahome; let's get out of this shit hole."

"Sire, we have detained the girl and her companion as ordered, but why have you kept her in the cells for so long? Sire this girl has committed an act of treason. If she does not receive a fitting punishment promptly then what does that say about your ruling sire? "

"I agree Sire. To allow an attempted assassination to slip by will without fitting punishment..." The portly gentlemen wiped the sweat from his brows, obviously vexed at the thought. "We do not need to give the Kutō emissaries any reason to suspect that you cannot govern your father's kingdom."

Already bored with the monotonous droning of his trusted advisors, he thoughtfully peered into a mirror a lady in waiting had given him. A small smirk graced his beautiful features as he ran a finger along the length of his jaw. He was obliviously pleased with what he saw, but he was not pleased with were this conversation was heading.

"Sire, please, this is an important issue that needs dealing with post haste... Keeping her any longer could be a liability to the-"

"You both know about the girl of legend, do you not?"
He casually draped one leg over the other, the movement as elegant as his whole visage. He absentmindedly ran a finger along the gilded motifs of the mirror, studying the vile features of his most trusted advisors, who had remained loyal since his father's rein. He noticed their faces go a deathly shade a pale and chuckled lightly at sight. Eventually, the thinner of the two advisors managed to sputter inarticulately,
"Sire, surely you can't believe that mere slip of a girl to be the priestess of Suzaku?"

"We believe it to be so, yes. Her clothing is foreign, and the power of the red light she emitted was nearly enough to throw me from the palanquin. No ordinary girl could hold such power. Suzaku is with her we believe."

"It must be witchcraft! Dark magic employed to take your life sire. Treason I say! " Shouted the other advisor, his face gaining a dark red colour very quickly. He looked like a tomato, and a rather ugly one at that.

This was getting boring, he decided. Swiftly, he rose from his spot on the throne, slowly descending the dais as layers of court gowns grazed the floor behind him. He moved with slow, measured steps which had come from years of etiquette lessons, making him look every inch the ruler of an empire. He stopped at the bottom of the steps, casting both men a cold glance that spoke of an authority that could not be opposed.
"We will hear no more of the matter. Have them released from the prisons and brought up to the throne room this afternoon."

"Sire what do you plan-"

"If our suspicions are correct we intent to make her priestess as soon as possible."

The two men, unable to stop their ruler looked on with disbelief as he moved towards the door without saying another world, only to be stopped shortly at the sound of approaching footsteps. As the doors burst open a rather panicked guard ran in, red faced from running.
"Sire, the girl and her companion that were captured today have escaped. We were pursuing them across the south wing of the palace when they disappeared. We're yet to capture them Sire."

In other situations, he would have found news such as this to be a curse rather than a blessing, but this was rather a perfect opportunity that he was not going to let slip by.
Nodding to the guard, the emperor turned to make his way down the corridor, not giving the other two men occupying the room a second glance. "Make sure the girl and her companion do not leave the palace grounds." He commanded as he made his way slowly down the corridor.
"-Sire!" One of his advisors cried to the retreating figure from the doorway of the throne room, "Sire, we have other issues that still need addressing –"
"They can wait until tomorrow. We are going to investigate this situation after we have changed out of these dreadfully heavy robes."

As he continued to make his way to his chambers, ignoring the pleas of his advisors to return he couldn't help at chuckle at the girls' obvious spirit. To attempt to escape was foolish at best, and they would most certainly be caught even if they somehow managed to escape the palace. However, there was a fine line between bravery and foolishness and he already found himself warming up to the girl before he even had the chance to properly introduce himself.
But that will change soon enough, my priestess.

Kasey wheezed heavily as she leant again one of the corridors walls, glad she had managed to outrun the guards that had been following her for the past ten minutes. Her legs where killing her - The book certainly did not do justice to the complexity and vastness of the palace ground. She swore she had been on the run for a good hour and yet had probably traversed only a fraction of the complex. She winced at the thought of having to find Tamahome in such a huge place. That was if he hadn't already been caught or had not already fled without her.
This wouldn't have happened if we actually had a plan to stick to instead of both deciding at the same time to run in two completely different directions.
"Oh yeah, 'Let's focus on getting out now and we'll make a plan after'. That's all well and good until you realise that the palace is actually a difficult place to escape from and before you know it you are being chased down a corridor by five burly guards." She grumbled in annoyance.

All in all, the whole act of escaping was a bit of an anti-climax. Kasey had envisioned herself and Tamahome fighting. (Well actually, it would mostly be Tamahome fighting, she would stand behind him trying not to get hurt) their way out of the prison only to make an equally dramatic escape from the palace.
What actually happened was that Tamahome had easily called the cell guard over to quickly knock him unconscious and steal his keys. Once the door was open they had practically managed to saunter out of the complex with only a few minor skirmishes (More knocking guards unconscious from Tamahome) and sneak their way through part of the palace without a hiccup. It wasn't until they had arrived at the shrine of Suzaku (Which she realised from the large wooden doorways that seemed a little out of place in that particular corridor) that the guards had spotted them and she had ended up losing Tamahome when they fled. Still, negatives aside she couldn't help but smile to herself that just hours ago she was sat on her bed only able to read about things like this happening. Now she was experiencing this first hand and loving every moment of it.

After about ten minutes of sneaking around she eventually came to a halt at the edge of a path leading to a wide, stone courtyard. It was a rather large, wide, open space with very little greenery, which was a shame because it let in so much light that it would be a perfect spot to plant flowers. Deciding not to retrace her steps at the risk of bumping into some guards Kasey decided to slow down a bit and take in the beautiful spring air. Happy with her decision, she meandered her way across the open and quiet courtyard.
...Wait, Quiet?
It wasn't just quiet. In fact, it was completely empty with no so much as a single soldier on guard. Kasey couldn't help but scoff at the sheer lack of professionalism and competence in terms of palace security.
"This place is a joke, a wide open like this and not a single guard? If this is some elaborate trap then they were better off catching us as soon as we exited the prison. I swear, they're lucky I'm not some criminal mastermind otherwise I probably would have got away with assassinating the emperor, stealing from the treasury and having enough time to pop in for some lunch in the kitchens before they would even think to go after me."

She couldn't help but fume at how easy the whole thing had been, not that she wasn't thankful. It was just sort of unrealistic and altogether very suspicious. Still, it was a short-lived feeling, replaced by the wonderful caress of warm, spring sunshine. She smiled up at the sky, noticing the lack of airplane trails and rainclouds. Who cared if it was probably a trap, she missed the pleasant sunshine and warmth that springtime brought. Late autumn nights where freezing where she lived.
"...God! I could certainly get used to living in a place like this, and it certainly lives up to my expectations...This place in particular certainly looks out of the book alright. It almost seems familiar..."
Wait a minute.
A strange sense of déjà vu hit her.

She stopped dead in the middle of the courtyard, realising that she had walked straight into the plot of the story, without even realising (A rather bizarre concept now that she thought about it). What made her feel even more on edge was that she swore she could hear someone laughing not too far from her. A strong, masculine and oddly familiar chuckle that was both fearfully powerful and strangely endearing all at the same time. Then, for the third time that day, she realised who the person was.
Shit.

"Are you alright? You have been walking around this area for some time... There is a gate over in that direction. You could find your way out through there."
Shit.

Without thinking she had turned towards the suspect in question, her body moving against her mind's protests. What she was greeted with was a vision that would have had her fall to her knees if it had not been for the fact she had been paralysed at the same time.
Shit.

The man in question was casually sat on the some railings; fine white silk draped about him as if the fabric could easily mould into angels wings if he willed it to do so.
It was a terrible disguise, she admitted as she remembered this particular scene. Any intelligent person could tell that this man exuded regal bearing regardless of how he was dressed. Just like with Tamahome she couldn't stop staring though; there was something surreal about seeing somebody on paper in the flesh, and he was everything she had imagined and probably more. Certainly, 'beautiful' (Which he was often described as in the book) was the first word that came to mind and the best word to describe how he looked. He was handsome, certainly, but his features had a delicacy to them, as opposed to sharp and defined like Tamahome. It didn't help that he had such fine chocolate coloured hair that she was tempted enquire about products he used on it. (Do they use anything on their hair in ancient china?) Then there were his eyes, which were a beautiful golden colour: rich like his whole countenance. She felt like she could get lost in them if she looked for too long, her heart doing a little flip-flop at the thought.

"Erm... I... Thank you." She stammered, pivoting sharply round towards the exit. She thought about running, or fleeing from the courtyard, but settled on rather a rather jaunty, awkward walk, like a cockney with one leg shorter than the other. Apparently that was all her body would allow her to do, and of course she didn't get far before he spoke again, his voice acting as an effective immobiliser.
"I couldn't help but overhear what you said about palace security. You certainly have some very strong opinions about how the palace is run; perhaps you should discuss your complaints with the emperor, Miss."

"I said that out loud? – Oh sh-"
Quickly, she cupped her hand over her mouth, mortified with what she was about to say in front of the emperor.
Kasey, you've already insulted the man. I don't think swearing at him is such a good idea.
Laughing at her colourful use of language, he watched as she placed her hands by her sides, looking thoroughly embarrassed by what she had said. He, on the other hand found it rather endearing.

She had all intentions of fleeing before landing herself into a worse situation, where she had found her legs still wouldn't move. She glanced over at him with a mixture of awkward confusion and fear when she was met with a bemused stare.
"Tell me, are you the one they arrested earlier?"
Wait, he doesn't recognize that I'm not the girl that was arrested? Crap, what do I do? Can't let him know that I'm not Miaka... But I can't let him think I am her either.
"Ha-ha... Oh no, just passing by... Erm... Yeah, I'd love to stay and chat but I really have to be going! I've got...to be somewhere... Au Revoir!"
Merde.

"Don't worry I'm on your side... I'm not going to tell the guards, believe me... You have my word of honour. "
That sounded very familiar.
(A/N: I'm totally not quoting lines from the English Dub or anything...*whistles*)
So he does think I'm Miaka? Well as much as I'd love to pretend I'm the potential priestess I best evade whatever situation I'm most likely going to land myself in if by sticking around too long... MOVE LEGS, MOVE!

"I really have to..." She began; squeaking as he elegantly dismounted railings and walked towards her. From the glint in his eyes, he obviously was not going to let her escape that easily.
"There is a lovely private garden that's recently come into bloom. There are no guards - I promise that you will not be caught. I would be delighted if you would join me Miss." He said silkily, giving her what she assumed to be the emperor-equivalent of puppy dog eyes. A deep blush crept to her cheeks as he got a little too close to her, his face but inches from her own.
God I bet he uses that same stare to get women to come to bed with him.
WOW Kasey – Not the right time to think about that sort of thing. God he's attractive though.
Her face grew warmer as her thoughts began leading her down dangerous paths. She really needed to get her brain from out the gutter or she was pretty sure she would do something incredibly inappropriateto Kōnan's emperor. She nodded in response, feeling a little giddy.

It was only when he was leader her off that she realised.
Wait, didn't I just say I was going evade the situation?
- Kasey you idiot.
Shit, Shit, Shit.