~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~18~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My body had acted on its own. I clenched my father's letter in my hand as I ran into a forest nearby, wanting to keep my distance from the main road. I did not look back at the prison behind me. As I made my way further into the forest, the large trees became more dense. They loomed over me providing shade and a false sense of protection. Every crunch of leaves, every creaky branch or bird's chirp convinced me that I had already been found. I was quickly running out of what little energy I had gained from sleeping through the night.

"He made me promise to protect you. But I'm not your savior, Yui. I can't protect you from myself, let alone my brothers. But I want to keep my word. Not for him. But for you." Shu's words played through my head. Why did he have to say that? A twinge of pain rippled through my chest. He, Ayato, Reiji, Laito- none of them could save me. They all told me in their own ways. Even if they did get to the bottom of why this all happened, the damage was already done. I had no family because of that man. I had no home because of that man. There was nothing left to do but forget and start over. And I would have to do it alone. Soon, all of this would only be a nightmare I once dreamt.

The ground was moist from an earlier storm and the fallen leaves were slick. When the ground suddenly declined, without much warning, I easily lost my footing. I tried desperately to grab onto a tree for stability, but my nails only scratched the bark as I fell. I slid against the wet earth down a steep hill. I could feel rocks and fallen branches scrape my skin and tear my dress.

I landed in a small clearing. The grass was higher here and littered around me were the stumps of cut down trees. I laid on my back in the grass with my legs and arms spread. I took a deep breath. I knew escaping would be difficult, if not impossible.The sun beat down on my face. As my hands sank into the tall grass, I realized I was no longer holding the letter. "No." I shot up and ran back to the hill where I fell. The letter was not there. I must have dropped it while trying to save myself from the fall. Climbing would be impossible and I was already bruised and exhausted and filthy. "I'm sorry, father."

Past the clearance, there was, fortunately, a naturally made path through the trees. I followed the path at a distance, still wary of being found. I wondered if they had noticed I was gone yet. The sun was still shining bright. It was likely all four brothers were still asleep. I wondered if Shu had noticed yet that I was not next to him.

After what felt like days, but certainly could not have been more than a few hours, of careful hiking I saw buildings in the distance between tree trunks. I could see chimney smoke floating into the clear sky. Finally.

As I exited the forest, the sheer size of the village I approached astonished me. Directly in front were brownish red brick buildings built so closely together that they practically formed a wall. As I made my way to the dirt road that led into the village, I could see that these buildings encircled a large town square. The square was packed with dozens of stalls and tables with hundreds of women, men and children rushing about. The noise of their chattering and bargaining mixed with the yells of sellers announcing their goods and the faint sound of children laughing and playing games. Underneath it all was the shuffling of shoes against the cobblestone pavement.

I was relieved it was so busy. It would be hard for someone to spot me unless they were already nearby. I made sure to avoid the more sparse areas.

Walking deeper into the town square, while dodging crowds of people going every which way, I could see that some stalls were more securely built and had white tapestries hanging over them to protect from weather. Others were plain wooden tables temporarily placed for the market. But each one was packed full of anything you could imagine. Some had rabbits and chickens hanging from the makeshift roofs. Others sold cheese and herbs and flowers. Baskets of produce sat outside a few stalls, fine trinkets and jewelry in others. Cows, sheep and pigs were tied with rope onto posts.

"Mommy look!" A child a few feet away pointed at me while tugging on his mother's skirt. She, like most of the other women around, was dressed in elegant attire. Her layered dress was extravagant with layers of lace dyed a deep red. She glanced my way and quickly pulled her son in the opposite direction.

My body froze. My heart raced. Had I been found out? I clenched my hands and checked my surroundings. Happy families, stray dogs, cows, businessmen and shop-owners enjoying their day at the market was all I could see. No vampires. No shadowy figures waiting to take me back. I was free. For the time being.

I looked down at my dress. Mud and grass stains decorated the edges of my tattered skirt. The bandages on my arm were just as ruined and coming loose. I had scrapes and cuts and bruises all over my legs and arms. I felt the debris from the forest not only coat my skin, but in my hair as well.

"Lovely girl!" I looked to my right where a tall woman stood in a more permanent-looking stall. "So pretty, girl! But your beauty is hidden in those awful scraps." The walls inside were lined with dresses and scarves and hats and jackets. Between us was a table with jewelry that sparkled in the sun's light. "Won't you try one of our garments?"

"They are very beautiful," I told her. "But-"

"A beautiful dress for a beautiful girl!" The woman grabbed a long blue dress from its hook and presented it to me. "This blue will bring out your eyes, my love. You will have the boys swooning."

"Thank you, m'am, but I-"

She put up a finger, "Do not say no! Not yet! I have a scarf here." She, with her finger still up in the air, placed the dress onto the counter on top of the jewelry and leaned down. I could hear rustling and then she appeared again with a white, long silk scarf. Small red roses adorned each end of it. "This is the softest silk you will ever feel, love. Come. Feel it." She beckoned me closer.

I walked closer. "I would accept it if I had any money, m'am," I explained.

"For you, I will give a discount. This dress was made for you!"

"If the discount is one hundred percent, I can afford it."

The woman's face turned grim. "Nothing is free, lovely girl."

"She has a point," a man chuckled. Goosebumps covered my skin as he appeared suddenly at my side. "Why come to a market with no money?" The man smiled down at me. His eyes gleamed as if he was amused by the interaction.

I took a step away from him, closer to the woman in the stall. "I came…" I started, my mind running through a million different reasons, "just to window shop?" It came out more as a question than a statement. I didn't think I would make it this far. I didn't think I would have to come up with a cover story.

The man took a step closer, closing the distance I had made. He swished the side of his gray unbuttoned suit away and reached into his pants pocket to pull out a wallet. "Well, this is my one good deed for the day, I guess." He pulled out some bills and handed them to the woman. She quickly snatched the money out of his hand and started wrapping the dress.

Although his words puzzled me, I decided I could use the distraction to escape the confrontation with the woman. I turned to walk away.

"The scarf, too," the man directed to the woman as he rested his hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks.

"S- sir?" My face flushed red.

"Now, now. How am I supposed to give you your present if you run away? You heard the lady. The dress was made for you! I wouldn't do it any favors."

The woman nodded in agreement as she carefully folded the scarf. "Yes, this dress is much too small for the sir. I do have larger sizes…" she trailed off.

"That is very, um, kind, sir," I stumbled through my words. "But I couldn't possibly." It had been so long since I talked with people other than my captors. Although it had been a while, I did know that it was simply not acceptable behavior to have a strange man buy me clothes.

After stuffing the scarf and dress into a bag, she started looking behind the dresses on the wall. "The gentleman would look lovely in green," she muttered to herself.

The man's hand stayed on my shoulder. "Am I supposed to just let a pretty girl like yourself roam these streets in a tattered dress covered in mud?" he asked as he grabbed the bag from the woman with his other hand. "Thank you, m'am. No dress for me today. I'm not in the boy-swooning business."

"I very much appreciate it, but," I started.

"I own a bar," he interjected. He removed his hand from my shoulder and interlaced his fingers with mine. "It's just this way."

"Wait, you can't just-" I began as he quickly walked away from the stall, tugging me along behind him.

"Come again, bye bye!" The woman yelled behind us.

Just who was this man? Did he know the brothers? It was unlikely. He was taking me further into the village, not towards the forest. "This, this is very inappropriate!"

The man swung the bag in circles as we walked past tall buildings whose porches were filled with its residents taking in the nice clear day. If I yelled for help, it would bring too much attention. "What is your name?" I asked. Maybe this strange man could be reasoned with.

I slammed into the man's back as he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Oh! Sorry," he grinned, looking back at me. "I was so excited to see you in the dress, I forgot to introduce myself." He lifted my hand to his mouth and placed a small, quick kiss on my fingers. "I'm Yamada. Local hero to sad, pretty girls."

I snatched my hand away, finally freeing it from his.

"And this is my bar," he motioned to a building just a few feet away. It looked like every other building, but had a small creaky sign hanging above the door. "Please come in. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of the crowd, but you look like an absolute mess. More importantly, you also look like you need food and rest." Without waiting for a response, he handed me the bag, turned away from me and walked into the building.

I gripped the bag. My stomach pleaded with me. My skin felt hot and sweaty from the sun. I could bathe, eat and sleep for just a few hours. Then I would continue on my way. Staying in this village, so close to their home, was too risky. But I wouldn't get far in my condition. I followed Yamada into the bar.