(no subject)
Title: Aya (Part III)
Author: Raya
Theme: TBD
Genre: General/ Drama
Version: Manga (Crystal Tokyo, Koi no Senshi 'verse)
Rating: PG
Word Count: TBD
Disclaimer: Lady/ChibiUsa and Diana were created by Takeuchi Naoko. I am merely giving Lady flashbacks that that lovely lady would not recognize.
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Aya
Fraying
Lady tripped as the fog enveloped her and hid everything from sight. The smooth, flat grassland that she had been running across was now rocky and barren. She finally stumbled into a tree, and used its scrawny trunk to bring herself to a stop.
The teenager paused a moment to catch her breath, and then rubbed absently at the goosebumps on her bare arms brought on by the sudden chill as she gazed intently into the thick blanket of white around her. The fog thinned enough to reveal that she was standing beside a narrow dirt road. The rutted lane was lined by rocks and dark, spindly trees. As the sound of the mysterious wind whistled by again, she cringed closer to the tree beside her, seeking shelter under its bare branches.
"Scared, are we?" a thin, weak voice called. As Lady spun around, she heard a creaky laugh. "Well, an' so you should be. Such a sweet, innocent little morsel."
A stooped old woman stood next to a jumble of boulders a short distance away, her long, black dress only a few shades darker than the stone behind her. A grey shawl that looked like a stray patch of fog was drawn over her head. Her hooked nose was the biggest the young princess had ever seen, and it drew her eyes like a magnet.
"If'n you're smart, you'll keep runnin'," the woman continued. Lady's gaze moved to the crone's beady eyes as she heard the sneer in the stranger's voice.
"Why?" the princess asked as she moved closer. Odd as the woman looked, rude as she appeared to be, there was something about her that drew the teenager slowly to her side. "What is it?"
The old woman's laugh cackled out again. "You don't want to know. You don't want to know, but soon you'll be findin' out. It don't stop once it's started. Once it's set on the hunt, it won't quit until it catches its prey."
Lady frowned. "I... Prey? Is it going to eat me?" She looked around uneasily, and then gasped as the ground under her feet rumbled and rolled. Arms flailing, she struggled to keep her balance.
"Watch out!" the crone cried. She staggered as Lady fell into her, and then they both collapsed to the ground. "Rude child. Watch where you place those hands."
"Sorry, sorry!" Lady said hastily as she shifted her hands from the woman's oddly firm breasts and tried to sit up.
"And so you should be," the woman grumbled as she pushed the teenager away and slowly climbed back to her feet. "Really. You never did learn any manners, did you, even in all this time."
"Heh?" the princess complained as she jumped up and began to brush off her uniform. She glared at the woman, who looked younger and less frail than before. The hooked nose, which had looked so out of place in the old, wrinkled face, now made the middle aged woman seem rather majestic. "I said I was sorry."
"Heh," the stranger replied as she settled her shawl over her grey head once more. "Cheeky as well as rude. Same as ever. I don't know what they see in you. I really don't."
"Who?" Lady asked curiously as she bent down to retrieve the woman's sack.
*rrrrrruuuuummmmmbllllllle* *whoooooooossssshhhhh*
The princess jumped and stared fearfully into the fog. A flicker of something dark caught her eye, a thin, sinuous shadow in the fog that wound its way behind the jumble of boulders and out of sight.
"Gettin' closer," the woman said as she gave Lady a sly look. "Circlin' 'round and 'round. If'n your gonna run, best be doin' it now. Not that'll do you any good. It is time. Past time, if'n you asked me." Her smile gentled a little as Lady backed slowly away towards the road, her pink eyes darting around as she looked for a hint of that dark shadow. "You're goin' then? Forward, or backward, or anywhich way?"
Lady stiffened as she spotted the shadow again, winding its way towards her. That was it. That was what was chasing her. She spun around and began to run down the road.
"Backward it is," she heard the woman say in a rich, alto voice. "Guess you'll do after all." Unseen behind her, the woman smiled fondly after the fleeing teenager. "Yes,... you will do." The words were a bare whisper in the fog as Lady dashed around the bend.
A sudden flash of light made the princess cry out and fling an arm up in front of her eyes. She tripped over a rock and fell to the hard, sunbaked earth.
I should've worked through lunch, but this just tempted me so much... I hope you enjoyed! To re-read the first two, click on the Aya tag.
Mata ne!
Author: Raya
Theme: TBD
Genre: General/ Drama
Version: Manga (Crystal Tokyo, Koi no Senshi 'verse)
Rating: PG
Word Count: TBD
Disclaimer: Lady/ChibiUsa and Diana were created by Takeuchi Naoko. I am merely giving Lady flashbacks that that lovely lady would not recognize.
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Aya
Fraying
Lady tripped as the fog enveloped her and hid everything from sight. The smooth, flat grassland that she had been running across was now rocky and barren. She finally stumbled into a tree, and used its scrawny trunk to bring herself to a stop.
The teenager paused a moment to catch her breath, and then rubbed absently at the goosebumps on her bare arms brought on by the sudden chill as she gazed intently into the thick blanket of white around her. The fog thinned enough to reveal that she was standing beside a narrow dirt road. The rutted lane was lined by rocks and dark, spindly trees. As the sound of the mysterious wind whistled by again, she cringed closer to the tree beside her, seeking shelter under its bare branches.
"Scared, are we?" a thin, weak voice called. As Lady spun around, she heard a creaky laugh. "Well, an' so you should be. Such a sweet, innocent little morsel."
A stooped old woman stood next to a jumble of boulders a short distance away, her long, black dress only a few shades darker than the stone behind her. A grey shawl that looked like a stray patch of fog was drawn over her head. Her hooked nose was the biggest the young princess had ever seen, and it drew her eyes like a magnet.
"If'n you're smart, you'll keep runnin'," the woman continued. Lady's gaze moved to the crone's beady eyes as she heard the sneer in the stranger's voice.
"Why?" the princess asked as she moved closer. Odd as the woman looked, rude as she appeared to be, there was something about her that drew the teenager slowly to her side. "What is it?"
The old woman's laugh cackled out again. "You don't want to know. You don't want to know, but soon you'll be findin' out. It don't stop once it's started. Once it's set on the hunt, it won't quit until it catches its prey."
Lady frowned. "I... Prey? Is it going to eat me?" She looked around uneasily, and then gasped as the ground under her feet rumbled and rolled. Arms flailing, she struggled to keep her balance.
"Watch out!" the crone cried. She staggered as Lady fell into her, and then they both collapsed to the ground. "Rude child. Watch where you place those hands."
"Sorry, sorry!" Lady said hastily as she shifted her hands from the woman's oddly firm breasts and tried to sit up.
"And so you should be," the woman grumbled as she pushed the teenager away and slowly climbed back to her feet. "Really. You never did learn any manners, did you, even in all this time."
"Heh?" the princess complained as she jumped up and began to brush off her uniform. She glared at the woman, who looked younger and less frail than before. The hooked nose, which had looked so out of place in the old, wrinkled face, now made the middle aged woman seem rather majestic. "I said I was sorry."
"Heh," the stranger replied as she settled her shawl over her grey head once more. "Cheeky as well as rude. Same as ever. I don't know what they see in you. I really don't."
"Who?" Lady asked curiously as she bent down to retrieve the woman's sack.
*rrrrrruuuuummmmmbllllllle* *whoooooooossssshhhhh*
The princess jumped and stared fearfully into the fog. A flicker of something dark caught her eye, a thin, sinuous shadow in the fog that wound its way behind the jumble of boulders and out of sight.
"Gettin' closer," the woman said as she gave Lady a sly look. "Circlin' 'round and 'round. If'n your gonna run, best be doin' it now. Not that'll do you any good. It is time. Past time, if'n you asked me." Her smile gentled a little as Lady backed slowly away towards the road, her pink eyes darting around as she looked for a hint of that dark shadow. "You're goin' then? Forward, or backward, or anywhich way?"
Lady stiffened as she spotted the shadow again, winding its way towards her. That was it. That was what was chasing her. She spun around and began to run down the road.
"Backward it is," she heard the woman say in a rich, alto voice. "Guess you'll do after all." Unseen behind her, the woman smiled fondly after the fleeing teenager. "Yes,... you will do." The words were a bare whisper in the fog as Lady dashed around the bend.
A sudden flash of light made the princess cry out and fling an arm up in front of her eyes. She tripped over a rock and fell to the hard, sunbaked earth.
I should've worked through lunch, but this just tempted me so much... I hope you enjoyed! To re-read the first two, click on the Aya tag.
Mata ne!