7By K.S. Raine aka Silent-Chan
Author's Notes:
Hello, hello again! I told you that I would be doing the sequal, would I not? ^.^ Yesh... I'm back once again.. to write! *brandishes broken pencil* Uh... It didn't agree with me so I had to make it see things my way. X3 Anywho, welcome to the first chapter of the sequal to For My Maiden! *cue dramatic music* Now called Returning To You, it is the mildly touching tale of two lost spirits just yearning... *record scratches* er... I'll let you guys figure it out. ^^ Now, I'm warning you now that I'm going to be a little evil in this story. A bit more dark than the lighter For My Maiden. I just hope that it won't drive you guys away. ^^;; But, yes, I'm done ranting now. On to the story! XD
Chapter One
"... everything was destroyed..."
"... poor child... alone."
"... no family nearby?"
"... no family whatsoever besides..."
Voices floated in and out of her thoughts like a hot, scalding breeze; each word seeming to bring her more and more out of unconsciousness. Finally cracking her eyes open, those speaking softly about her came to a sudden stop and stared anxiously at her. Each seemed to have a desire to speak, yet their lips opened and closed as though unsure of how to start. With aching muscles the girl sat up and brought a faintly burned hand, a sight that startled her, to her face.
As though just seeming the look that fleetingly passed over her features, the eldest man spoke gingerly, a withered hand reaching for her. "Ryne,... child,..."
"M-my hand... my b-body... burned...," the girl finally stammered, breaking out of her stupor as she ran bandaged, trembling hands over herself, "Kaasan... Tousan.. wh-where are they? Are they alright? Why aren't you speaking?! Answer me! Ojisan!"
The woman closest to the mattress gave a faint sniffle and reached over, enveloping the now shrieking girl in her arms as she strained to hold her down and calm her at the same time. Realization dawned too quickly, too soon; the burden being more than the child could bear. Tears flooded her face as she repeated called for her mother and father, hands blindly grasping at air as though they would just suddenly materialize and tell her everything is fine.
Having been restrained, her back against the hard, futon bed, she continued to wail and scream, the sounds continuing only until the doctor's assistant sedated her with a few, carefully mixed herbs and scents. Pitiful sobs escaped her lips for a moment or two before finally drifting off into fitful sleep, tears still streaming down her flushed face. Momentarily breaking out of slumber now and again, she barely did anything else.
One by one, those that were in the room left quietly. Reasons were different, their leaving, yet it was obvious that all could not bear to look at the child's writhing form. Her weak mewls for her mother kept floating through the room, the sound heart-wrenching enough to be brought to tears. Eventually, all were gone save for the healer...
... it pains me to see you in such pain, little one, they thought, silently stepping into the room after sliding the door closed, why it had to be this way... I don't know... I wish I could have done something for you...
Sitting down upon the small stool located to the side of the bed, the healer, a dark haired man, sighed heavily, burdened by more than what it appears to be. Reaching a warn hand over to the sleeping girl's face, he gently touched her cheek. A pained expression flitted across his defined features, weary blue eyes seeming to near tears. Taking in a slow, shuddering breath, he retracted the hand and laid it upon his lap.
Moments of silence passed as the sound of the door sliding open caught his attention. The sound of it closing and footsteps approaching filled the room as a soft, cautious voice spoke up.
"Niichan... daijoubu...?" a young woman asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, "... if you're worried about her, I just gave her some sedative herbs... it should help her sleep well... well enough anyway..."
"It's fine, Saya, I'm just watching her sleep..."
"Why are you sad, Niichan...? Shouldn't we be.. happy..?" she asked, smoothing out the blankets of the bed for the sake of something to do, "I mean... we've found her..."
"I wanted to find her happy and well... not sad... and broken...," he continued, voice shaking, "How can we ever tell her... about us... Tousan... it'll be too much... I don't even want to tell her..."
"NO!" Saya sobbed, suddenly standing, "This is unfair, Kiyoshi! She has to know! If you won't tell her Tousan or I will!"
"We can't... it'll be too much... please understand..." Kiyoshi pleaded, "I don't want to tell her... not now... later... when the pain of this burden lightens by just a bit... I don't want to see the same look on Tousan's face again... that same empty look he had when she died... if he saw... how beaten she is now... he'll be pained..."
Calming herself, Saya then gave a glance to the girl on the bed, a girl whose age didn't even seem to reach twelve summers. So young...
"Alright... Gomen...," she started, sitting down on the floor closest to her brother and laid her dark head upon his lap, "But... when the time comes.. we'll bring her back home... we'll be a family again..."
"Yes... when the time comes..."
"Dirty wench, stay in your quarters!" growled a menacing voice through the dark, "That was the fifth time this month! Those are expensive platters, not the horrid leaves you call plates!"
Heavy footsteps raced to the dark end of the manor, weak sobbing accompanying the curses and growls the man made. The sound of a frail body banging against the walls and furniture resounded through the area as what seemed like someone being dragged across the floor continued. Finally, the stomping came to a stop as the man heaved open a heavy iron door and turned smoldering eyes towards the beaten figure on the ground next to him.
"We have taken you into this household out of sheer generosity and all we had asked was for a little help from you and all you've ever done was break and ruin things!" he raged, grabbing the person by a shoulder and easily tossed them into the room, "Fifty lashes for your incompetence! If this happens again, you'll have no back to be lashed at!"
"Hazumi-sama, onegai!" the figure, recognized now as a girl, pleaded, "Sumimasen kudesai! Never again will it happen!"
"SILENCE! Many times you've pleaded this before me and many times have you broken it!" he screamed, grabbing a leather cord from a hook by the door, "This is a just punishment!"
Raising the whip above his head, he brought it down in a lightning swift motion that met harshly with the girl's thin clothed back. As though scrambling to get away, the girl only managed a few paces before thrown unto her stomach again, the leather strap continuously lashing against her back. Sobs and screams were torn from her lips as she clenched her eyes closed and tried her hardest to bear the most of it.
Scarlet liquid trickled from the pale skin to the concrete ground below her, old wounds tearing open and new ones on the limited space of her skin breaking anew. What seemed like hours to her passed in a few moments as fifty had been dealt. Satisfied, the man hung the cord upon its proper place and turned with a snort, slamming the door heavily behind him.
"Stupid girl... I knew there was something wrong with her the moment my damn wife let her come here..." he growled beneath his breath, his form disappearing from the area as the girl was now left alone.
Trembling, the girl moved to a corner of the room, covering herself with the dank blankets that they had kindly donated to her. Clutching the dirty sheets to herself, she heaved a ragged sob closed her eyes, attempting to sleep through the pain.
At that same time, large, horse-drawn wagons gathered near the empty housing close to the said manor. Cold, dark-blue eyes scanned the area, finally stopping on the darkest window of the otherwise majestic household. Narrowing into thin slits, he turned away and nodded to the men that carried his belongings, the group now beginning to transfer them inside the house. Overseeing their work for a little while, he then turned to the window again.
I've worked and strived to earn the best of everything in this human world... a life of luxury, one can say... but... for the many years you've suffered... the many hours that I could not help you... every moment that I could not hold you... All these will be for you... You'll live the life that you were meant to live... Ryne... just wait... you'll return to me..."
Amidst tears and bloods, a single, solitary word was uttered from broken lips...
"... Sai..."
tbc...