It had been five days since the disappearance of Lady Ameko Satoka. She felt pretty confident to say that few would recognize herself as that lady by now. Having made her way into the territory of a neighboring duchy, five days of hunting and skinning a few scarce animals, sleeping in the woods when she could, and chopping her hair to just below her chin made her look every inch the commoner. Now, she thought, it might be safe to venture into civilization in the morning. Which was good, because she was going to need it. Food in the wild was not as available as she had hoped, and her stomach was starting to pinch her back.
She had been travelling at night, as she was now, currently moving through a forest as quietly as she could, taking her time to avoid obstacles. Travelling during the day would be a welcome change as well; the silence of the night gave her too much time to think about what she was leaving behind. It's my punishment to myself, she reflected, looking up at the sky. I should have spent my time thus far becoming stronger and forging a world that I could exist in, not being content to rest under my father's wing. I have only myself to blame for not being strong enough to challenge the king.
Sounds in the distance caught her attention, and through the trees she could see a fire's flickering quite a bit away. It seemed to be a travelling group; it looked too big to be a single house, and the trees were too close together to be a village. It would probably be best to avoid it for another day or so, though if they were going her direction, it might not be a bad idea.
Another sound caught her attention, this time from behind her, and she looked up, squinting at the dark shape. She had time to make out two glowing eyes before it was on the move, bearing down on her with a surprising speed.
She cursed under her breath as she drew her sword, blocking its claws with a loud clang. She couldn't make out the shape of the thing in the darkness, only that it had claws and teeth both aimed in her direction. The thing let out a snarl as she ducked away from its bite, sliding to the side and letting its paws hit the ground. Unruffled, it swatted at her with the back of a furred paw, sending her skidding several feet back.
Shouts came from the direction of the fire, and she cursed again, deciding it would be better to get away and let them deal with the thing. It had other plans, bringing down its claws and teeth again, and this time its jaws locked on her sword. Heedless of the blood oozing out among its teeth, it struck her with its claws, tearing into her flesh and knocking her over, ripping the sword from her hands.
"Shit! There's someone out here!" a male voice shouted, something bright shining above her. "Get back!" A swoosh, and then a squeal. "Bring more torches, quickly!"
The light increased, and somewhere she could hear the vibrations in the ground as it turned and ran. "I need Aizaem," the male voice instructed, a man leaning in to peer at her face. "Hey, you're going to be okay. It's gone now. Can you tell me your name?"
She wanted to tell him that she didn't need his help, that she could take care of a wild beast by herself, but all that would come out was "Ame...."
"Okay, Ame, just stay with me," he told her reassuringly, taking her hand. "We've got help on the way. Just listen to the sound of my voice, okay?"
"It got away," a female voice said nearby. "We'd better station an extra watch tonight. That thing's got a taste for blood, it could come back."
"Yeah. I didn't think they'd gotten this far in," the man sighed.
"I'm here," another male voice said, and this was accompanied with a shooting pain into her abdomen, causing her to let out a weak cry. "Yeah, she's still got plenty of life in her. Move aside, hold up the light."
The pain continued, only seeming to increase, and she let out a groan, turning her head. "It's okay, just bear with it a little longer," he reassured, giving her hand a squeeze. Sure enough, the pain began to subside.
"Okay, it should be safe to move her," the second male voice instructed. "Let's get her back to camp while we can."
Something lifted her off the ground, and in her foggy state of mind, she couldn't protest. Letting her eyes close, she leaned against what was carrying her, feeling peaceful enough to drift into sleep.
I can smell the earth....
It was with a start that she woke the next morning, finding herself in a small room. A small room that seemed to be moving, the items attached to the wall swaying slightly. Feeling a moment of panic, she chided herself as she tried to remember what had happened. Pathetic. Even if it was at night, you could have outmuscled and outwitted a wild cat. I suppose it was that fire I saw that saved me, or rather the people that made it last night. So they are travellers. How long has passed? She could see sunlight coming in through a small window.
Next was to take stock of her belongings. She wasn't wearing the shirt she had been the day before, a new, clean one on her torso instead. Lifting it, she could make out a couple of faint scars across her abdomen. That was a pretty nasty blow for a cat's claws, she thought to herself as she located her pouch, the small bag looped around a post of the bed. A quick search found that nothing had been taken or moved around, so it'd probably had been left alone. Her sword was also nearby, resting on a table at the foot of the bed.
Steadying herself on the bedpost, she got to her feet, scowling at the lack of fortitude her legs were showing. A sudden stop of the cart sent her sprawling to the ground with a curse. She could hear shouting outside, and then the door opened, a man peering inside.
He was tall, though not as tall as her, and by the shape of his face she guessed he must be from the western duchys. Brushing his short brown hair out of his face, he sighed as he saw her. "If you're awake, you should be eating, not examining the floor. Hey, Nikado," he called out the door. "Your mystery girl is awake."
She had time to recognize the man's voice as the second one she had heard, whom she could assume was the group's healer. "She is?" came the other voice she had heard the night before, and then another man peeked in, this one a bit taller than his friend. He may have been a native of Rahiro or some nearby duchy himself, a leanly muscled man around her age with olive skin and dark blue eyes not too dissimilar from her own. "So she is! 'Lira, bring me some food for her," he called out the door before looking at her with a smile. "How do you feel? Better than last night, I hope."
"Thank you," she mumbled, embarrassed that she had needed the help as she pulled herself to her feet, taking a seat on the bed. "Your name is Nikado? And you are?" she addressed the doctor. "Are you Aizaem?"
"Ah, I see you were listening to me last night," the dark-haired man said, smile getting bigger. "Yeah, I'm Nikado, and he's Aizaem. And you're Ame, right?"
"...yes," she admitted, feeling more embarrassed at the fact that she couldn't even think up a decent alias. "You are travellers?"
"Yeah, this is a trade caravan. Ah, thanks," he told the woman that brought him a plate, Nikado putting it on the table for her. "There, you should eat and get your strength back. What were you doing out there by yourself? It's not safe to travel alone, nowadays."
"I can take care of myself," she muttered, pulling her legs back onto the bed so she could sit at the foot comfortably and eat.
"Not around here, you can't," Aizaem told her seriously. "This is monster territory. You're just lucky that thing caught you awake instead of asleep."
"Monsters?"
"You didn't know? They're not that frequent, but the chances of going without seeing one aren't good around here," Nikado told her. "Big, nasty things, much stronger and faster than a normal animal. It's suicide to face one alone."
"I see." So it wasn't a cat, then. It was some slight comfort to her ego.
"Where are you heading?" Aizaem asked her.
"I'm going to join the convents," she told him firmly. "I was on my way there before that thing showed up. There's one in Mayami, it's a good way's from here, though."
"Convents, huh," Nikado mused. "Not our normal territory, but we could ask Jer about it, don't you think, Aizaem?"
"If it'll convince her not to go running off on her own, then yes," the doctor agreed.
Nikado nodded in agreement. "You should stay with us, at least for a while. We're going in the general direction of the Mayami duchy."
"What are your skills?" Aizaem directed to her.
"I can hunt," she answered evenly, "and I'm good with a sword."
"Ah, great. She'll do just fine with 'lira and me," Nikado said cheerfully.
"What about me? What will do just fine with me?" a woman's voice spoke up, the one from earlier peering inside at Ameko. "So you're cheating on me now, is that it?"
"Oh, you're so funny. 'Lira, this is Ame, she'll be travelling with us for a while. Ame, this is Talira, my younger twin sister."
The woman huffed. "We do fine on our own, can't she help with the cooks or something?"
"Be nice," Nikado scolded. "She's going to be travelling with us. And besides, we can use the support."
"I don't need help," the woman scoffed, exiting the wagon again.
"It doesn't matter," Ameko told Nikado. "I'm willing to work whatever job is required."
"No," Aizaem said firmly as she moved to get up, "you're to stay in bed for the remainder of the day, and through the night. You won't survive tomorrow without rest, and I have no intention of letting you stay here longer because you're not listening to me."
"Isn't he a fountain of warmth and human comfort?" Nikado laughed. "At the least, let her sit by the window."
"That's fine. But I expect to find you on the bed when I check in on you again, not the floor," he instructed Ameko before exiting.
"I'll go grab you something else before we get moving again," Nikado told her. "Gotta eat well to recover your strength, after all. That was a nasty blow you took."
She looked at him for a long moment, unable to come up with any reply for some reason. "Thank you," she said at last, deeming that to be the most appropriate response. "I appreciate everything your group is doing for me."
"Hey, people gotta help out other people in times like this," he said with a casual shrug. "Well...not that they shouldn't help other people out all the time, but you know what I mean. I'll ask Jer about his routes."
"Is he your leader?"
"Huh? What, no. We don't have a leader," Nikado said with a wave of his hand. "Jer's our map guy. He and Aizaem inherited this caravan from their parents, but Aizaem's got the bloodline and a distinct lack of caring about other people's opinions, so Jer got the job. We all work together on stuff, no one really 'leads'."
"And what do you do in a crisis?" she countered. "Who makes the difficult decisions when you've no time to make a concensus?"
"Depends on the crisis," he said with another shrug. "We all have things we're good at. We know to listen to each other. I'm sure there's something you're better at than any of us." He gave her a smile. "I think you came to us for a reason."
"I came to you because an animal mauled me in the night."
"Monster," he corrected absently. "Ah, right, the food. Be right back." He slipped away, returning a short while later with another plate, as well as a canteen. "Here, let me send that one to be washed. You can just hold onto this one until we start again. Do you need anything else?"
"I should be fine."
"All right, I'll be right outside the window. Give me a wave if you need anything, all right?" He gave her another smile before shutting the door, and a short moment later she could feel the wagon moving again. Pulling herself up, she took a look out the window at her surroundings.
They must have come a fair distance in the time she had been unconscious, for the forest had dispersed, thinning out into scraggly trees and dry ground. Her setting was now completely unrecognizable to her, and she was forced to admit that if she tried to leave at this point, she'd just be lost. Although it irritated her that the decision had all but been made for her, she did have to admit that it was the most prudent choice at the moment. Although it put her at risk of exposure to people, it was a relatively undetected way of getting to her destination, and a safer one than travelling alone, if those types of creatures were roaming. "If I wasn't willing to off myself at home, I'm certainly not going to do it out in the middle of the woods where no one's around," she muttered to herself, scowling as she tore at a biscuit. It was a bit hard, most likely made for the road, but not inedible, and at this point it didn't really matter what anything tasted like. She had barely noticed it on the first round of food.
Looking out the window again, she could see Nikado, who appeared to be talking to someone further ahead. As he saw her, he gave her a wave. She snorted to herself, leaning back against the wall. There was something about him that was definitely irritating, she thought; possibly his strongarming her into the decision to stay, but possibly just the cheery attitude in itself. How could one be so stupidly happy in a place and a world like this? Classifying him as "stupid" in her mind and filing it away, her mind turned to other things as she considered her next move.
Getting to the convent was the priority. If she had to take a guess, she figured they were still somewhere within the Shurayaman duchy. The quickest way to the Mayami duchy would be almost directly south, straight to the mountains, but no doubt a trading caravan would meander its way on a more easterly fashion, where there was more flowing water and villages. If they were going to head into Mayami, the most likely pass was through the Outen cutoff, which would add several days as opposed to a more direct route. The question was, how long did she have? Did anyone know where she was? The solution to that was to get among the members of the caravan and listen to gossip, to see if anyone had heard anything about a missing daughter from a nearby duchy. The king was probably looking for her, so it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that someone was going to open their mouth and say something. The Outen cutoff was probably her best bet, she realized; in order to save any time by taking the more direct route, she would have to leave almost immediately, and she was in no condition to do so.
How effective was her 'disguise'? She looked around for something that could be used as a mirror, finally finding one among the things attached to the wall. Whatever she looked like, it would have to do; they had already seen her as she was, and any attempts at further disguise would be far too obvious. She did feel a little pleased at her reflection; the dirty girl in front of her hardly resembled a lady, and the cutting of her hair into its uneven bob even seemed to give her face a different shape. She wondered idly if she should cut it further, or perhaps shave it off. If her father realized the reason she had left (and she had good reason to think he did, given his body language when he had introduced her to Shiou), then he wouldn't make an effort to actively search for her and worsen her chances of a passable likeness being distributed.
Her father. Her chest tightened as she imagined his face, his strong arms and quiet voice. Since her mother had died so young, he had been the only blood relative she had known, and the two had always been close, so close that leaving him hurt physically. No doubt he was feeling similarly. Should we have let ourselves live this way? she wondered to herself, hand reaching in for the locket in her pouch. Allowing ourselves to grow so dependant on each other? Have we only weakened ourselves? Maybe it's better not to be attached to anyone? The convent's teachings, she knew, shunned all material or personal attachment. It sounded peaceful, she thought. Peaceful and pain-free.
"Ame?!" Nikado's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she realized the cart had stopped, the man shaking her shoulder as she uncurled from the tight ball she had been in. "Are you okay, are you in pain? I'll go get Aizaem."
"I'm not in pain. I was just resting," she said, gently but firmly removing his hand and pushing him out of her personal space. "There's no need to bother your friend."
"Are you sure? If you're hurt, it won't be good to hold it in," he said with a frown. "I think I should get him anyway."
"I said I'm fine and I'm not hurt. Take my words for what they are," she said, a bit of a snap coming to her tone. "I should know well enough whether I am in pain or not."
"All right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you," he said, raising his hands. "I'm just worried about you, that's all."
"I'm not a child; your worry is unnecessary."
"No, you're not," he agreed, "you're a grown woman who's very good with a sword, from what little I saw. We've stopped for the evening, so Aizaem said you could come outside if you don't exert yourself too much and you go to sleep early."
"Evening?" She looked out, and indeed the sun was already out of the sky, though it was still light. "All right. I will join you," she stated, getting to her feet. It felt good to stretch her legs, although they were still a little unsteady.
"There you go," he said with a reassuring smile, putting a hand on her arm and another on her back. In the close space, she had a moment to notice that his eyes were on a level exactly even with hers, and their dark blue shade was not dissimilar from her own. "I'll help you out, and by the way, I won't take no for an answer. These steps are tricky even for an adult; I've fallen over them a few times." Stepping out first, he put his hands around her waist, lifting her easily and setting her down on the ground. "There you a--"
She promptly gave him a stern tap to the forehead. "Kindly do not do that without prior notification."
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Geez," he grumbled, rubbing at his forehead. "Well, come over here and sit by the fire."
The fire was a large one, already surrounded by several people, some of which were using it to cook and some who were merely sitting by it and chatting. Her eyes darted around, trying to get a sense of how many people were there. Counting four wagons, she estimated there were around twenty people among the camp.
"Oh, it's her," Talira's voice sniffed from nearby. "Anko, that's the one I was telling you about. The dumbass that got mauled by a monster."
"'lira," Nikado sighed in exasperation, "she is not--"
Talira walked over to him, poking him in the forehead. "She. Is. A. Dumbass. Anyone who's travelling around this region alone, and at night no less, is a dumbass or just plain uninformed."
"I am uninformed," Ameko told her coolly, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I'm not from around here. There weren't such things where I come from."
"Then you should have taken some time to do your damned research," Talira said with a wave of her hand. "If you'd died, it would have been your own dumbassed fault."
"I'm quite aware of that," Ameko snapped. "I was in a bit of a hurry. Are you done now?"
"Hardly. What were you running from so badly that you wouldn't even bother to figure out what the hell you're doing?"
Ameko glanced over at Nikado. "A man. Are you satisfied *now*?"
"...why are you looking at me like that?" Nikado protested.
"Aww, poor little Nikado," Anko laughed, giving the taller man a pat on the head. "It's okay, we still love you."
"Sometimes I wonder about that. Women are positively cruel at times," he complained, looking around for a drink and some cups.
"On the table. And it's one of our charms, Nikado dear," Anko giggled.
"That makes me worry about men," he countered, "what terrible masochists we must be!"
"So where are we heading?" Ameko asked Nikado as he brought her back a drink.
"Oh, I asked Jer about that. He didn't seem opposed to heading out to Mayama, but the quickest pass through the mountains we can make is the Outen cutoff, and that's some days away," Nikado said apologetically. "How are you feeling? I saw you ate, at least."
"I feel fine. If it's walking we're doing, I will be able to keep pace."
"It's walking all day, darling," Talira drawled, draining her cup.
Ameko shot her a look. "I am fully capable of walking all day, thank you. I'm not a pampered noble."
"I'll say, not with that haircut, sweetheart."
"There is nothing wrong with my hair!"
"Ooh, I sense a deep and involved feminine friendship coming out of this!" Anko declared, clapping her hands together.
Nikado gave her a look. "I'm not sure to hope that you're right or not, but I don't think you are."
"Tut, tut, Mr. Nikado, do not underestimate the sharpness of feminine intuition!"
"I'm just saying there's not much to underestimate...." He moved away from the swat she aimed in his direction. "So is that okay with you, Ame?"
"I don't have much of a choice in it either way, do I?" she sighed. "I have to get to Mayama as fast as possible, but I have to get there in one piece, too."
"Hey, who's up for a little music?" one of the other men called over.
"Oh! Me! I want a dance~" Anko declared, flouncing off.
"What a cheerful woman," Ameko observed over the top of her cup.
"Better than staring at your dour face," Talira said with an irritating grin.
"Oh, stop it, you two," Nikado said with a frown, folding his arms around the cup. "Can't you try and behave for my sake?"
"I don't see why you're so interested in something you dragged out of the woods," Talira snorted. "She doesn't look very strong."
"Looks can be deceiving," Ameko countered. "It's probably a good thing, because I was going to say you don't look very smart."
"Is that a threat, darling?"
"'Lira!" Nikado snapped. "Behave. I mean it."
She looked at her brother for a moment, then waved a hand in a silent gesture of 'whatever', going over to follow Anko. "Sorry," Nikado apologized. "She's not usually so bristly."
"I don't particularly care. I don't need to get along with anyone here," Ameko stated. "She can hate me if she wants."
"I wouldn't call it hate, more like female dominance, and no you don't, but it makes things more pleasant. Come on, let's go sit by the fire and listen to the music," he invited.
"Why are you playing music?" she questioned as she allowed herself to be led to a chair, Nikado taking a standing position behind her. "Won't it attract those monsters?"
"Actually, the noise helps to keep them away, though the fire does that better. Still, if we give them the impression that we're numerous and loud, they tend to leave us alone. Are you sure you're up for walking tomorrow?"
"I suppose it will be up to the healer, but I am fine. So you don't ride the carts?"
"Oh, heavens no. That would put too much of a strain on our furry friends," he said, gesturing to the mules that were resting at a comfortable distance from the fire. "They've been with this thing longer than I have, so they've got seniority on me. Gotta be nice to them."
It was a stupid way of putting it, but she could agree that treating the animals well was important. "So everyone walks, then."
"Everyone that can. We only make exceptions for the elderly, very young, injured, and our night shift. Can't walk when you should be sleeping, after all."
"Night shift?"
"Yeah, there's three of us that are on patrol during the night. It's not safe to have everyone sleep at once, so it's the best compromise. So you said you're good with a sword, huh?" Nikado asked. "And you hunt, so I guess you use a bow, too?"
"Yes, though not in a combative situation."
"I'd like to see your skill in that," Nikado encouraged. "My twin and I are more knife people, so I've never tried my hand at something that big. Think I'd be any good at it?"
She snorted. "Not without practice, obviously. Even a prodigy isn't good at it when they start. How could I say whether you're going to be good at it or not?"
"Oh, well...I don't know, you're the expert," he deferred with a sheepish look. "Well, do you have anything you want to ask me?"
"Not particularly. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you just asked me something anyway," he giggled. "I'd like to hear about you, but it wouldn't be polite to ask, so I figured I could give you an opening to talk about what you liked."
She looked over at the group, considering what would get her the most information. The music had started, performed by a trio on the opposite side of the fire, and Anko was dancing with one of the male members of the group, a man she hadn't met yet. "Hm. What do you think of the world? What would you change, if you had the power?"
"What do I think of the world? That's an awfully bizarre question," he said, looking up at the sky. "Well, it is the only world I've ever known, but I don't think it's a bad one or anything. Sure it has its bad points, but what place doesn't? If I had the power...don't know, really. I've never considered the 'ifs'," he said thoughtfully, toying with the cup in his hands. "It's not a matter of having power or not having power. You have what you have. If you need more, you get more. I think people become as strong as they need to be. I think that's the case for me, too. I have the strength I need to protect my home, and that's good enough for me." He looked over at her. "Sorry, that probably wasn't very helpful. I'm not very good with words."
"No, it was quite helpful. I was wondering what an idiot's opinion of things would be."
"I just seem to make a terrible impression among all women," he lamented, holding our a hand for her empty cup. "I'm never getting married at this rate. Want a refill?"
"Sure, why not. It'll help me sleep." She looked over at him. "You want to get married?"
"You don't? Well, if you're going to a convent, I guess you don't," he mused. "I admire your dedication to your ideals, going to a strict place like that."
"It isn't dedication," she found herself saying. Damned drink. "It's just a place I have to go."
"You mentioned a man earlier," Nikado said slowly, looking at her. "Are you running from him? You could stay here," he offered. "It would be safe."
She handed him the cup. "I'm going to go sleep."
"Did I say something wrong?" he questioned.
"I don't have the freedom you do," she told him, turning her back. "There were certain things that were decided before I was born. Good night, Nikado."
"Ame, wait--" he protested, but she was already well on her way, and he sighed, cursing himself for a fool.
