Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ In the Arms of a Wolf ❯ Chapter 3

In the Arms of a Wolf

Chapter 3

Ailina walked swiftly down the halls. She wasted no time gathering a cloak, and her most prized possessions (for they had not yet been packed), however though most of her clothes had been taken away already, she found that her `old work' uniforms had been left lying at the bottom of her wardrobe. She lifted up a loose floorboard to find her aid kit and some rare medicinal herbs. She packed lightly and stuffed it quickly into a bag.

`I'll change a later, there's no time now. I have to get out now while all the servants and guests are in the main hall,' she thought to herself. In thinking this, she made one critical mistake. She forgot to search the manor with her mind to confirm this assumption.

Deshiru knew she was going to run for it. `She's a lot smarter than she looks. The eyes never lie. I'll have her, though. I always get what I want. It's too perfect to pass up. For once, my father asks me to do something like this instead of screaming at me for it. All I have to do is enjoy her, kill her, and throw her body somewhere off this property where she'll be found. It's be easy to get back all the money I paid for her and still be able to demand more for the insult of her running away. She's actually helping me by running away if any servants see her. The whole incident could be summed up as a fugitive being raped and killed by a bandit in the night.'

He thought more of Ailina as his thoughts turned more and more lustful and vile. He was fairly certain she would escape by means of the garden gates, so he positioned himself just beyond and to the left.

Ailina crept as silently as possible down the last corridor. When she reached the gardens, a sense of triumph set in. She was ready to climb over the gate when a pair of arms grabbed her from behind. She tripped over the length of the kimono and was forced to the ground.

She looked up and saw herself facing her suitor. "What are you-" she started. However she was interrupted by the sound of his cruel laughter. After he leaned down upon her, all she could see was him, and all she could hear was her muffled screams along with the ripping of cloth…

He leaned close to violently kiss her while he trying to tear off the rest of her sashes off her struggling body. What he didn't expect was the retaliation the girl- no woman put up after she caught on.

Ailina scratched at his face as fast as she could which gave distracted him long enough to use her knee. He rolled off her clutching his groin. Not taking any chances, she picked up a rather large rock from the garden and knocked him unconscious with fair ease. She gathered up her things again, climbed over the fence- slower and more carefully this time, and glided into the forest with the intent to stealthily follow along the edge of the forest until she reached Marusann's cottage.

Ailina finally reached Marusann's cottage sobbing silent tears of shock at her attack and her kimono was ripped to rags by Deshiru's aggressiveness. The only thing intact was her pack. Even her headband was starting to fall off, though she did not realize it.

Ailina knocked on the door as loudly as she dared and when it was opened she found her gaze resting on the bandits that were seated around the fire pit staring at her. At that precise moment, her headband's seams unraveled and it fell from around her temples revealing a pair of slightly longer pointed ears.

"Li…Lina," Kiro started, "Do you know you're an Elf?"

"Of course she knows, fool!" Marusann replied as she sprang up to get a blanket. "What happened to you child?"

"Ki...ki…Kiro?" Ailina started crying again. "Wh…What are y-you doing h-h-here?" she stuttered between sobs.

"Lina, Lina! What happened!? Who did that to you? I'll kill them!" Kiro growled angrily.

Genrou and Kouji just looked at Ailina. "She's an Elf!"

"Before you judge her by how she looks and what race she came from, consider the fact that she is the most powerful healer in these mountains." Marusann snapped at them. "Obviously it doesn't bother Kiro that much." She stated with approval and a hint of amusement.

"O..oh." was all Genrou could reply-which, for the young, fiery-haired bandit Boss was a great deal less than usual. He looked at her again and thought she looked stunning, elf or no elf, tears or no tears. He suddenly felt a surge of hostility towards whoever treated her such.

"Come on child. You can cry and tell Kiro and I what happened and then I can explain your heritage. Lets get you washed and have your clothes changed first."

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Ailina walked into the room wearing a clean but plain white bathing kimono with a clean white headband. Her face was downcast and Genrou looked into Kiro's deeply concerned face.

"Well, child?" Marusann prompted.

The white blonde locks parted like strands of soft moonlight as she lifted her face. "My father found someone proper for me. He tried to rape me when I was trying to run away. He caught me in the garden from behind. I kneed him." She looked at Kiro who beamed at her. She spared him a small smile. "Thank you, Kiro."

Kiro returned the smile gently. "I told you, you needed to learn how to defend yourself against aggressive males. Your too beautiful without being naïve."

She chuckled at him. "You were right. I'm sorry I didn't believe you." She looked at Genrou and Kouji. "Are these your friends, Kiro?" she asked suddenly shy.

It was Kiro's turn to chuckle. "This," he replied, gesturing to the fiery-haired, leatherbound bandit, "is Genrou. He is the boss of the Mt. Reikaku bandits. And this," he gestured to the blue-haired, tan-skinned man with a scar on his right cheek, "is Kouji, his second." Kiro raised his head proudly. Both men were very attractive, yet somehow Ailina didn't feel afraid of them.

Ailina looked genuinely shocked. "So you really are a bandit?"

Kiro looked indignant, "What do you mean, of course I am."

"Oh my."

Marusann smirked and looked at Ailina. "Remember that time when your father lost that shipment of gold to raiders on the southern trail?"

"Yes of course. I remember the bruise I got for being at the wrong place and the wrong time when Enjina couldn't buy her cosmetics. It was worth it though, seeing the whole family enraged and acting like small children, and Enjina looking positively hideous."

"These are the men responsible."

Ailina stared at them both before starting to laugh, a silvery, smooth laugh, and graced them both with a smile. "I thank you my lords for relieving my family of their dangerous purses for a few weeks."

Kouji stood up and gave her a bow. "Your very welcome, charming lady."

Ailina stood up and curtsied. "My father talks bandits as if they were hideous monsters. I should have known that this was an outright lie as well as everything else that pours from his foul mouth. Naturally, it would be the exact opposite."

Even Genrou couldn't help but smile at that.