First things first, to clear up any confusion that may follow, this is from Corona's point of view when she was eight. As we are seeing this, she is recalling the event to Kurapika, but I thought it would be better if we see it as it happened rather than just hearing her account of it. Now that that's said, time to rant. When this story ends, which right now I'm in the process of deciding exactly when it will, I don't know what to write next. There are two ideas I have, and both are appealing and unappealing in their own ways to me. The first is a fanfiction about the MMORPG I mentioned before called Aura Kingdom. I've had the idea for it for a while, and am all too eager to write it, but the audience for it here is small. I feel like I would put all this effort into making it this amazing story, and barely anyone would see it. The other is actually another HunterxHunter story. I've never written two stories on the same anime before, but I have an interesting idea for basically a high school AU. Although I like that idea, and it's sure to have a greater audience, I like my Aura Kingdom idea better. What do you think?
Back to the ongoing story.
I pull my jacket tighter, wishing I'd brought my winter coat instead. I thought I'd be fine, though, since it's still fall. Besides, the jacket was easier to get since it was already out. I'd of had to go find the winter stuff to get my coat, and some of the servants would've probably noticed that. Maybe I should've taken that chance, so I wouldn't be able to sympathize with a chihuahua caught in a snowstorm.
Then again, if I'd hesitated any longer, I might've decided not to come to town. Although I've been to these parts before, this is my first time being here by myself. It seems...a lot bigger than I remember. And colder. I've never been here without a winter coat when it was this cold.
Shivering, I lift my head to the grayish black sky. People walk past me in streams, not appearing to notice the presence of little old me. I've noticed that lately. I've gotten really good at holding in my glow, so much so that I practice even at home sometimes. When I do, no one seems to see me. Without withholding it, everywhere I walk in that house, the servants fawn over me. But when I contain my glow I can dive right into the kitchen right before suppertime, and not a single one of the chefs or servants notice when I steal my meal away. And then, I can go and sit in plain sight to eat it and, even though they all panic looking for me, they never stop and look over at me.
I wanted to try it in public, too. That's why I made up my mind to finally venture here alone. It works, as I thought it would. I wonder what Father would say if he knew I could do this. It'd be nice if he was happy….but I think he's more likely to tell me that teaching myself to control my glow is useless, that I should spend my time on other things. I won't give this up, though! I work so hard for his sake! My glow is my own pleasure, and no matter what Father might say, I'm going to keep practicing with it!
I stand in the middle of the crowd, sidestepping those who nearly run me over without realizing. Well, now that I know it works, there's no point in keeping it going. I release bits of my aura with a sigh, the cloud of my breath mixing with the soft, glimmering glow.
Then a thought crosses my mind. If my sucking in my glow has the same effect as usual...does that mean forcing my glow outwards will too? I've never tried doing that around people before. All the animals ran when I did it in the forest, but will people react the same way?
Only one way to find out.
Sucking in a deep breath, I prepare myself before shoving all of my glow into the area around me. It extends past the edges of the walkway, spiking towards the clouds. As with the animals, there's an immediate reaction.
Unlike the animals, they don't all scamper away. All eyes turn to me within the second, many of them startling at the suddenness. The suddenness of what, they don't know. I'm the only one who can see my glow, but they can certainly feel it. Some of them stop for a moment before hastily taking off, but the ones who don't leave give me a wide berth to walk.
Actually, it's a bit warmer like this. I tone it down a bit, keeping it closer to my body while still spewing it out. I won't be able to uphold it for too long. Keeping it under strict control like this drains me quicker than letting it run loose does.
Before I get tired, I should probably find a place to go into. I don't have money, but a few minutes inside with a heater should be fine. I don't have to buy anything just for a minute or two of warmth.
Ah, but, where do I go? My feet begin to carry me and I begin my wandering, unsure what to do. No sooner than I've plunged back into the hordes of people do I realize I probably should've stayed in the place people had parted to give me. Now that I'm back among them, I can't see any of the signs.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I scan the area for a good vantage point. Maybe it's just because I haven't been in town often, but I feel like it's strange that there are no trees around. Guess I'll just have to find something else to climb.
The most obvious option stands to be a light post sticking up by the sidewalk. It doesn't have any branches, or ridges to help me up, but I think I'll be able to do it. This time, when I move to weave through people, they actually make allowances for my existence. If anything, they seem more aware of me than most of the other people on the streets. I make it to the pole in no time at all. After staring at it for a moment, I reach up and wrap my right hand around it. Then, I leap and grab with my left hand, hoisting myself upwards. My teeth clench with effort as I drag myself higher. I knew this would be worse than a tree, but this harder than I'd thought. I can't use my feet at all, 'cause they just slip off the metal. And not only that, but the metal is freezing! I only bear with it because after I climb this, I'll be able to go somewhere warm.
When I reach the top, I wrap my arm around the light and allow myself rest. As I do, I search for a familiar building. Well, I haven't been to all that many places…..There's the school, but I've only ever been driven there and back. I don't actually know where it is. Although all the other children there talk about going to doctors' offices, my doctor has always come to the mansion. I guess I've been to a dentist's before, but I don't know where that is, either. I've been to the mall, but…..I don't really know where anything is.
As I frown at the realization, my gaze comes across a vaguely familiar sign. That….I think that's one of the restaurants Father owns. I've been there before. If I go there, though, the people working will call him and I'll have to go back. That would be trouble, especially since they think I'm in bed.
"Young lady! Come down this instant!" I glance down to see a woman wrapped in a shabby coat staring right at me. It must be me she's talking to. I mean, there's no one else up here. She taps her booted foot impatiently. "Come here!"
I don't know her, but I am kinda curious as to why she's talking to me. She doesn't look to be someone my family would know, with clothes like that. If she doesn't know who I am, what business does she have with me? Someone like her, who doesn't have a lot of money? I unwrap my arms and hop down. She gasps as if someone was setting her house on fire and immediately kneels down in front of me, taking my hands in hers.
"You shouldn't do things so dangerous!" she exclaims. "Where are your parents?"
"At home," I tell the truth.
"A young lady like you shouldn't be wandering around by herself! Your family must be worried sick! Where do you live? I'll take you home."
I examine her. Her graying hair is disorderly, her coat has a sewn on patch that's discolored, and her shoes are worn. Father would be horrified if I took someone like her to the mansion. He'd scold me, not only for leaving, but for getting a poor person involved in our family.
There's that, and the fact that, "I don't want to go home."
The woman is silent for a moment. Then she sighs, "What is there to do? Listen, why don't you come with me for a bit? You must be freezing dressed as you are. I'll buy you something warm."
I'm not supposed to follow strangers….but if she'll buy me something, I don't see why not. I'm cold. She doesn't seem like a villain, either. I might as well take advantage of her offer, so I nod. She smiles and stands, releasing only one of my hands.
She takes me to a small diner, where we're seated at a two person table. She hands me a menu, motioning for me to open it. As I do, I take note of the fact that she doesn't touch the other one.
"Don't ask for anything too expensive," she warns me.
I cross my ankles, feet not quite reaching the ground. It's not like there's anything that expensive here. The priciest thing I see is a steak dinner. I don't want a full meal, though. I had dinner only a few hours ago, and every dinner the chefs at the mansion make is hearty. I won't be able to eat much.
"What's hot chocolate?" I wonder, eyes stopping on those words. Doesn't chocolate melt when warm? Is it just a bowl of liquid chocolate?
"You've never heard of hot chocolate?" the woman asks in disbelief. "I'll just have to fix that then, won't I?" She waves over a waitress and orders one hot chocolate. As she does so, I relax my aura and look around. I haven't been to this sort of place before. There're no tablecloths, the silverware is plastic in their napkins, and the lighting is poor to say the least. I'm pretty sure the dimness isn't for mood. Also, the waiters and waitresses wear mere jeans and matching shirts. It's kind of nice.
"Corona?" My name draws my attention to two men who've stopped by our table. Both are dressed in suits, but I recognize neither of them.
"Ah, do you two know this child?" the woman across from me smiles.
"I don't know them," I state.
"Your father sent us," one man explains. "He's worried about you. It's time to go home now, Corona."
Father's worried? That's not right. No one should look in on me after nine o'clock, so he shouldn't know I'm gone. Even if he figured it out, he'd be more angry than worried. Either way, these two are lying.
The woman turns back to me. "See, I knew they'd be worried. Your father must love you a lot, to get help from his friends to find you. Oh, but you should wait until your hot chocolate gets here, at least."
"Thank you for taking care of her, ma'am," the other guy thanks her, "but Mr. Hale wants her home immediately."
"I can find my own way home," I glare.
"Now, now, it would be dangerous to let you run around on your own, Corona. Just come with us." The one speaking grabs my wrist roughly, pulling me out of my seat.
Not seeing much of a choice, I wave to the concerned woman and follow the strange men out of the diner. I'll just have to get hot chocolate another time. I'm sure I could just make it, if I can't get it while I'm out. There should be chocolate bars I could melt in the kitchen.
When we're outside, they open the door to their car for me to hop in, but I just stand there and stare. "Who are you?"
"We told you," the man not grabbing my wrist says. "We were sent by your father."
"No, you weren't."
The men return my stare for a minute, before one of them smiles. "Clever girl. Hurry up and get her in the car." Without further ado, the man already in contact with me practically yanks my arm out of its socket as he throws me inside, the door slamming behind me. I rub my aching arm the whole way. Wherever they take me, it's far from Yorknew. I count hours before the door is opened again and one of the men yanks me out. When he tries to tie my hands using rope, I wrench away for the first time.
"Hey now," he growls. "Stay still and cooperate. Otherwise you'll get hurt."
"Where are we?" I demand. The area is surrounded with unfamiliar trees that spire upwards like spears. The only building in sight is a log cabin with boarded up windows, where oil lamps sit alight outside. These aren't the woods I know. They've successfully isolated me; I don't know anything about the area.
"Feisty little princess, aren't you? Just let me tie you up. We won't harm you, we just want some money from your daddy."
I refuse. "I don't want my hands bound."
"You don't want a bruise on that pretty face of yours, do you?"
"Of course not, nor do I want my hands bound. I will have neither."
He scowls. "Spoiled brat." He lunges at me, but I slip out of his reach and to a tree. Before I can scale high enough, however, a hand snags my ankle and pulls me back to the ground.
"You were warned, girlie." He says it exasperated, casual, but the back of his hand that comes across my face is anything but relaxed. I gasp, cradling my cheek in my hand as he shoves me back towards the cabin.
He hit me! He actually dared to hit me! I'm the daughter of- No! Forget that! Forget him! This guy hit me! It's my face that stings, that's undoubtedly red. How dare he!
Anger boiling in my blood, I stamp down on his shin. He underestimated me! I've been taking self defense classes for years! The sudden pain causes him to release me, and in that span of time I'm free I whirl on him and knock my fist into his neck. He crumples to the ground after gagging once, unconscious. I huff, then shiver. It hasn't got any warmer since they took me. If anything, it might've gotten colder.
I cup my hands to my mouth, puffing warm breath into them in an attempt to warm them. Then I recall the heat my glow offered when I forced it bigger. I immediately recreate the feeling.
"Hey, Tommy! You got that girl?" … "Holy shit! You little bitch!"
The guy's buddy practically trips over his feet to come at me. I go to grab his hand and stop it from latching onto me, but as soon as I close my fingers over his wrist his falls to his knees, screaming. The bones in my grasp crack in my grip, dislocating and shattering before I can release him. Clutching his broken bone, the man glares at me through his tears.
I glance between him and my own hand. That….that was….strange. Since when was I that strong? Or are his bones just that brittle? Either way, it's not normal. Could it be because of my glow?
It's then I realize I'm smiling,
Using the same move I'd used on the first guy, I whack this guy's neck. In response, he's thrust back, a snap resounding through the woods. Once he's collapsed to the ground, he doesn't move. As I examine the body, discovering it lifeless, his pal begins to groan awake.
Just...once more. I should test this out one more time.
Keeping my glow flowing steadily outwards, I raise my foot and bring it down hard on the stirring guy's head. Much like the bones in the other guy's wrist, his skull caves inwards against my foot. He jumps, then lies still.
I pull away my foot and wipe it in the grass, laughing. Who knew? This is way better than anything any of my teachers ever taught me! With this, I'm stronger than full grown adults!
I then recall my situation and search through the pockets of the corpses. It isn't long before I pull out a cell phone. I call the mansion and explain everything to the maid that picks up, leaving out the part about my excursion into town. They can just think I was abducted from my room.
While I'm finishing with the details, another man I've never seen before emerges from the cabin. I hang up and turn to him. When he sees the bodies lying at my feet, he whips out a knife and charges. I-
This chapter was nearly 3,000 words long, which is on the lengthier side of my chapters. I honestly just got caught up in it. I was just like, 'I want this to happen, but wouldn't it be cool if this also happened? I should include this, too!' Needless to say, I ended up including basically everything I wanted and it ended up fairly long. I hope you liked it! This is her first time killing anyone. Surprisingly, it was actually by accident. Not that she cared. She seemed to realize he was dead, I think, but this is probably her first time encountering death. When I write stuff like this it makes me realize just how detached she is from other people. I honestly don't think it would make much of a difference if it had been someone she'd known for years. Actually, I know it wouldn't have made a difference, because two years after this her mom was assassinated. Her reaction to that was cutting off all ties with her remaining family, and taking along the pin that killed her mom for her personal use. This is getting long, so I should probably wrap this up now. Well, I'll update soon!
Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!