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Zerie's Shadow- Chapter 5 |
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CHAPTER 5
I Am ~ 私です
As I went downhill in the night, I had felt as if I were being watched. At the bottom of the mountain was a clearing of lush grass and a small stream that would flow softly and silently. I washed myself of redness as the moon turned back to its normal silver colour. I looked down the hill to a road that led to a lit up cabin. It had a sign on it and chairs outside. I decided to investigate.
When I was face-to-face with the cabin, I stopped to listen to the shouts, chatter, and laughter of the people inside. I walked up to it and began to think of what may have been inside. I opened the door; everything suddenly went quiet, except for the high pitch meow of a kitten, which soothed my stiffness. There was a bar inside, and about five tables with chairs around. Behind the bar was a girl holding the kitten. A few men were there, staring at me. I was a stranger, after all. I was becoming more and more cautious, for those could have been survivors of that small army which attacked James and I. Walking to the bar, I sat down to rest. I was tired, and it was the middle of the night. Someone touched my shoulder, and without hesitation, I jumped out of my seat and pulled out my claymore. The man had a katana, which reminded me of the man who attacked before. He drew that blade the same time I did. I could tell he had experience. He had no emotion in his eyes.
I charged first, slicing diagonally, of which he dodged, going behind me. I swung the claymore around in a circle. He seemed to know it was coming, since he dodged again, this time jumping. I held stiff in that position, glaring at him. He stood erect, quietly sheathing the katana. “Why do you fight?” he asked, his eyes closing. He let down his guard before looking to me very calmly. “Why? Why do you pressure me to fight you?” I widened my eyes with shock. I had no answer. “You are too beautiful for me to attack you,” he said while I thought to myself, Why? Must I… He walked outside and sat in a chair. Not too long later he walked back inside, but I had not moved. I was still thinking, ‘Why?’ My hands grew weak from holding the claymore how I was. I dropped it to the floor in front of me, my hand resting on the hilt. He walked to the kitten that was meowing again. By now, everyone around me seemed to continue with their own business. As he pet the kitten, I stood up, sheathing the claymore.
I walked to him, hugging him from behind, and whispered in his ear, holding back tears again, “For the right to live as a human should.” He smiled and turned to me. “I give you that right,” he responded as he took a lock of my long hair and kissed it in his hand, before he offered me a seat back at the bar. He asked a man behind the bar for a drink and then turned back to me.
“So… What do you call yourself?” I looked to him with a questioned look, so he simplified it for me. “What is your name?” I smiled. “I am Zerie Suna.” He grinned. “I am Kato,” he replied.
Kato reached for his cup to drink. I shifted my gaze to the other men in the place. Kato sighed. “Would you like me to get you a drink as well?” I got up out of my seat and left the cabin. Kato got up just after I did. He met me face to face on the porch of the cabin. He stopped me from walking any farther. “What’s wrong?” I looked away from him, ignoring him. “You can tell me.” He saw my shoulder wound from the earlier battle. “You’re bleeding.” Then to my leg, which was in worse shape than the other. “You are bleeding too much. Come.” He took hold of my wrist and pulled me into the nearby woods. I tried to resist him, but his grip was firm.
In a clearing some ways away from the cabin was a tent and other camping equipment. Kato brought me into the tent and sat down. He let me go to dig through a pile of stuff. I watched him with curiosity as he placed a small box in his lap, opening it. He took a wrapping of gauze out, a wash cloth, and a brown bottle along with some other bandages. All of this was unfamiliar to me.
I sat down next to him to get a better look at the strange objects. He took off the claymore and sheath, putting it under the pile. I didn’t know why he did that, but I ignored it altogether. He took the cloth and cleaned some dripping blood from my skin. He held it under the shoulder wound. He then took the brown bottle and dashed out liquid onto the bloody hole in my skin. I screamed. That was more painful than when I got the wound. I quickly stood up and took a few steps away from him with my other hand covering the cut, and tears again welling in my eyes.
He laughed. “I know it hurts. But look, it kills bad stuff.” I glimpsed at the site where the liquid was poured. It was white and foamy. “Come back,” he said. “I will make it feel better.” Something was telling me to run, but my heart told me to stay and let him help. I sat back down, tears rolling down my face silently. He put a couple of patches of gauze onto the wound, which didn’t hurt as bad. Then, he wrapped the bandages around my arm tightly and tucked it. “Poor girl. You had no idea that was coming, did you?” My foot wasn’t as bad. That wound scarred quickly, though. “Now give me your leg,” he said. I shoot my head, knowing the firey liquids would be poured there as well. He sighed.
Kato stood up after he dropped the box. “Go if you want.” I lowered my head, looking to my lap. “I cannot go anywhere. I have no place to go to, and there are people after me.” “Well…” He was thinking of what to do. “I suppose you could stay here… I mean, until we find a place for you to go.” I looked up to him with glittering eyes and a smile. “Thank you.” I slept inside the tent that night. Kato stayed at my side. He had promised to protect me, so I was at ease.
That next morning I awoke after Kato. He had already left the tent. I looked outside, to see him sitting at a campfire… cooking. “What is that?” I asked, referring to a burning piece of meat on a stick. Kato looked to me, then to the food. “Oh, this? It’s fish. I went fishing.” I sat beside him at the fire, watching the fish. “Looks good, but it won’t taste as good for me. I prefer mine uncooked.” Kato grinned with pride. “I know, and I saved these for you.” He handed me a basket of fish, still wet and fresh. I smiled, getting ready to snatch one from the top. I stopped and looked to Kato, bewildered. “How did you know?” “What? Your favorite food?” My eyes widened, freezing at the thought. He knew. He knows who I am. “How?” “I have a friend who knew you. Oh yea, and you had a visitor.”
I looked around slowly. “Who?” I remember Talc saying a dog had been there since I stayed with him, and I remember the feeling of being watched going down the hill. Was it the dog following me? I’ve never seen it before. “A…dog?” Kato nodded. “What did he do?” I asked.
Kato sighed. “The dog was sniffing the ground. He followed a scent to you. He opened the tent and lied on your legs just before I fell asleep. When I woke up, he was gone. He acted as if he were your blanket.” I remember seeing a dog when I was with my brother, but that was it. I remember back then looking up to the skies and witnessing an icy dragon. After that dragon came, I had the feeling I was always being watched. It must be him. But…I thought it was a dream. “I think I know why…” Kato looked to me in a curious manner. “Fire is the enemy of ice.” Kato chuckled a bit. “The dog was keeping you warm because you burned villages made of ice? Hah!” I shook my head. “No. The dog is keeping my blood warm to keep the fire within me alive so I may defeat the Lord of the Icy Realm.” “The what now?” asked Kato.
“The Lord of the Icy Realm is a winged serpent dragon who watched the night skies. He lives in an Icy fortress hidden in the desert. The dog wants me to melt the ice.”
“This is all confusing me.”
I sighed. “It’s confusing for me as well, as well. I thought the Lord of the Icy Realm was just a legend.” I started to eat.
“Are you going after him? I should go too. You may need my help. After all, I did promise to protect you,” insisted Kato.
“I will go. I want you to come with me.” My grin was reassuring.
“We will leave tomorrow, then. But…for today, Zerie, let us just relax.” I nodded with a mouth full of food.
 Amazing Q · Tue Jul 28, 2009 @ 12:48am · 0 Comments |
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