17 _ An Apparition.
After their dealings with Xiu , Lucian decided that they should make camp before continuing their journey the next day. Choosing a suitable spot that was well hidden and gave them the upper hand in case of unknown attacks. Lucian , in company of Hikaru , set out to look for dry wood to enable them make a fire that would keep them warm that night.
Now the girl was all by herself . She had earlier spotted a nearby was a brook of rushing water. It had been so long that she had immersed herself in cool refreshing water. Since the two men were not around , she decided to take advantage of this situation to have a thorough , cleansing bath.
Walking to the slow flowing stream , The girl had put her feet in the water ,enjoying the feeling of the wetness of her feet when she caught her image mirrored back to her. In that sudden moment, she thought back to her past. The Raging Inferno, The blood curdling screams ...
The smell of death and Fear .
Her mind drifted back to the dark days in her past. Things had been bad for her : The torture , the filthy clothes and dungeon , beatings for the slightest offence , starvation or inedible food. The agonizing seclusion.
She was grateful to Lucian and his friend for freeing her from that miserable cage and was ready to repay her debt to him whatever way she could.
The girl balled her hands up into fists. She promised herself that she would never return to that hellhole. She would kill or die to stay free. If ever She was recaptured, Li Huang would gladly see her suffer.
Her path was set now -- Run , Stay ahead and Survive.
Standing up , she stripped off her clothing and stepped into the water. The tepid liquid wrapped around her soothingly quenching the fire of her thoughts . Closing her eyes , the girl took in the fill of silence and solitude that now was hers...
And hers alone.
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Beads of perspiration formed on Lucian's brow as he set down the pieces of wood. He looked around. Hikaru was not back yet and the girl was nowhere to be sighted. Not wanting to take any chances , he took up his weapon and proceeded to check his surroundings. It could be possible Dai Xiu made good on his threat and had abducted her.
As he moved through the bushes , he heard gentle humming coming from a different direction. Prepared for anything , he held his sword and crept stealthily through the leaves and creepers. Lucian took coverage behind a thick tree and when he looked towards the creator of such melody , he was immediately spellbound.
It was the most beauteous thing he had ever had the pleasure of setting his eyes on. The girl was submerged in the centre of the stream, her smooth back faced towards him as she washed her arms.Her pure skin shone as beads of water study to her skin giving her a godlike glow. Although Jian was appealing in terms of physical beauty , she could not be compared to this female before him. It was not just her appearance but something about her just pulled at him.
It was unnatural to think this way of someone whom you had just met two days ago but how could he help himself from this burning sensation inside him?
The girl spoke as she stared ahead. "Have you seen enough to meet your satisfaction?"
"How did you know that I was near?" Lucian inquired.
"Sharp hearing." The girl answered and shrugged her shoulders. "And You were not exactly being discreet." The girl moved her way up and Lucian got a clear view of her voluptuous figure. Lucian averted his gaze as he turned away from her. The girl emerged from the water and bent over to retrieve her clothes.
"So what do you need Lucian?" She directed her question to him as she slipped into her dingy shirt and wore her waistcoat over it.
"Nothing. I did not see you and I decided to check around." He said sounding distant. Lucian walked back to camp , think as he moved along . He was still befuddled about the strange girl. Just before the bandits attacked , somehow she already knew they were approaching. In the midst of all that noise , how could she head to round a of beating hooves almost a 100 yards away?
It just made no sense.
Here he was trying to outrun his problems when she came along with hers. They shared a common pain. Both wanted to escape the suffocating grip of their past and in the process find meaning to their respective lives.
Lucian wanted to help her but how could he , when he had not even finished taking care of his own issues?
The sun began to recede paving way for the moon to shine over the earth. Night fell and so did the frigid cold follow. Hikaru back with the wood he found in the forest quickly started a fire , striking two stones together till a glossy white image of the declining sun lay on a piece of rotten wood. Almost at once a thin trickle of smoke rose up and made him cough and reached. He continued the blow gently so that the smoke drifted away, finally a flame appeared , enveloping a small twig , grew and reached up to a branch which explodes with a sharp crack. The flame lapped higher into the sky.
Satisfied at the results of his work well done , Hikaru decided to take a quick rest to gain some repose before their journey continued.
When Lucian finally returned, he discovered that he was not alone. His friend was seated directly opposite of him, His eyes shut as his hand clutched his Sword.
The girl was kneeling by the fire , warming her hands over the crackling embers. Her eyes moistened from the sudden outburst of smoke when an unexpected breeze passed by. She had bound her long flowing hair behind her with a strip of cloth as some errant strands of framed her
An eerie silence strayed between the two as neither knew what to say to the other.
"Thank you for helping me back there , again." She said as she pushed some more wood into the fire. She felt a soft tap at her back and she turned to face the man that had saved her life more than once and was possibly giving her a chance at a new one.
Lucian was holding a dagger in his hand. It was exquisitely executed. Carved into it was the mighty Golden dragon in all of it's overwhelming splendour , tiered with Stones of the blood and Silver linings.
She shook her head. 'I can not..."
"I may not be around every time you need saving. It would be better if you had your own defence and If you do not know how to use it , I will teach you." He urged her.
The girl smiled warmly at him and reached to collect his gift when their hands touched. In that moment, her mind went black , oblivious of her surroundings in reality. Dazed, Glints of images flashed through her mind as if she were living them . She was in a castle with numerous doors. She ran around frantically trying to open them but they all led to the same place. Ahead she saw a glimpse of a bright light and the girl ran towards it. Opening the door , she found herself in a bedchamber. Watching , she saw two people , Oblivious of her presence , busy indulging in amatory ecstasy with their bodies united as one in sensuality
She knew this one of her vision but she could not help but feel a sense of intimacy . The girl circled around the room to get a closer look at the moaning duo. Their faces were blurred and she edged closer to see who they were.
She gasped moving back.
No....
How could it be...
Flashes of overlapping images filled her mind as she felt her thoughts clouding her, drowning her from inside. She tried to call for help but no sound came from her throat. She was choking . The girl closed her eyes and blinked. When she opened them again , Lucian was leaning over her, shaking her to life and Hikaru held some smouldering wood and was forcing her to inhale the acrid smell.
She coughed and Hikaru sighed. "Thank heavens."
"You just stopped talking and collapsed? What is wrong with you?" Lucian asked as he pulled her up.
"You are the only ones that can help me..." She evaded his question as she put the dagger he gave her in her waist band.
"What do you mean ?" Hikaru noted that she had smartly dismissed his subject on her queer behavior since he found her.
She sat up and gazing into the heart of the flames as she watched it all burn. "My name is Kaya Takashi ..."