It took a few attempts to open her eyes, the rolling in her head intense enough to feel as though they were being forcibly closed. When she did, she was staring up at what must have been a wooden roof, with light coming from the cracks of a partially drawn window blind. She may not have been too savvy to the ways of the world, but she at least knew what a carriage was.
What she didn't know was where the carriage was heading—though a quick inventory of her situation made it clear she had no choice in the matter. Both wrists were secured in padded cuffs, the restraints bolted firmly to the carriage wall. The empty space around her felt strangely significant.
The moments before she'd lost consciousness were coming back in fragments. She could only assume she was now a prisoner. The priestesses of the Moon Tribe had been explicit about the horrors that awaited captured Saintesses, drumming into her the importance of taking her own life before allowing such a fate. She hadn't even had the chance—a realization that filled her with an unsettling mixture of guilt and relief.
Did she yell? Did she thrash about and make a scene? A thought occurred to her then -- was it possible that she would be able to use her powers to cut these chains like she had done the priest's hand? If she were able to do that, perhaps once the carriage doors opened she'd be able to surprise whomever had her and escape. It wasn't a horrible plan.
She had never done something like that on purpose before, however she didn't think it would be too hard. It was, after all, as simple as opening and closing the portal on top of the chain. Perhaps it would have been easy in most other situations, but her spiking anxiety had her first few attempts at using her power flop spectacularly.
Okay, Yumi, she told herself, your situation doesn't change regardless of you being able to get out of these chains. Just makes you a little better off. Take a breath. And she did, centering herself before trying again. The edges of the world around her ripped, a portal opening between the links of the chain and instantly splitting them apart without her even needing to close the portal. She hadn't thought of that, but she supposed it did make sense. After all, she was displacing what was there with a whole other -- other what, exactly?
She didn't have long to think about that, though, as the carriage came to a sudden stop. She only had enough time to hone in and remind herself to charge whoever opened the door and push past them before the door did exactly that. She moved to shoulder check whoever it was, only for a hand to meet her forehead and push her back with very little effort.
"Alright, none of that now," a voice said, the contact of their gloved hand to her forehead shocking her into falling backward onto her rear. She glared up in annoyance at whomever it was, though her eyes had not yet adjusted to the sunlight that had accompanied the person.
He wore what looked like some sort of armor, similar to what she had seen Kotaka wear on numerous occasions. She could feel the tell-tale mana signature of the Devora. He must have been a warrior, at least to some degree, which made her plans of shoving past him far less likely. Still the almost taunting look in his eyes as he examined her sent an angry shiver down her spine.
His hands pulled the chain where it now dangled against the wall, observing with great interest the link that was clean cut with no discerning explanation as to how it had been done. Instead of looking annoyed, she was surprised that he looked almost impressed.
"Nice to see the great Saintess of the Moon Tribe has graced the land of the living. I suppose you thought no one would be able to feel the huge surge of mana it took for you to do this?" He turned around, gesturing something to someone outside the carriage. She peeked around him, realizing they must be setting some sort of camp up. What had to be at least a dozen warriors stood outside. "Now let's imagine you did manage to knock me over, somehow, even though you weigh about next to nothing and have zero muscle. What was your plan then, Saintess? Unless you feel confident about fighting twenty highly skilled soldiers, in which case I am open to letting you try." He smirked down at her, blue eyes gleaming, "I'm sure it'd be quite fun to watch."
His complete disregard of her and refusal to see her as a threat had her far more riled up than she would have expected herself to be. But then, she was almost surprised with herself to be attempting to escape at all. It was as she had told the priest, what was one prison exchanged for another? A huge surge of mana, he had said -- She hadn't even realized they'd be able to sense it from the outside. As if reading her mind, the warrior continued, "and then what? Where would you go? Do you even know where you are?" He seemed actually curious, but she didn't feel like gracing him with a response.
He sighed, running a hand through his purple hair. With a fluid movement he came into the carriage, lifting her by her arm and setting her back on the bench-like seat and taking a seat across from her in turn, crossing his arms and leaning back.
Yumi eyed him with suspicion. The door remained open so she could see the group of men pitching tents and someone starting a fire. So wherever they were, she reckoned, it was far enough from wherever they were going that they couldn't get there in a day. She eyed the bags of supplies that some carried off of their six-legged beasts, one of them being pulled away from the front of the carriage -- they had enough supplies for several days, it seemed. Her eyes narrowed as the wheels turned in her still groggy head.
The man across from her studied her with some seriousness, "Are you unable to speak?" He asked, placing a finger on his mouth as if to indicate he was deeply thinking, "Or perhaps you're shocked to silence by my charms. It does happen, I'm afraid."
"I'm afraid I must inform you that's simply impossible," she shot back "You would have to be charming for that to be the case."
At her response, she could hear at least one person laughing from outside the carriage. To her surprise, the man in front of her seemed to be more pleased than upset at her quip.
"Ay, she's got you there Shin," an older looking fellow peeked between them from the door of the carriage, "You're about as charming as an arrow in the back, and I would know. The little lady's tent is all set up, as it were."
"The little lady," the one called Shin intoned, "has seen fit to free herself from her restraints." At his words the other warrior looked down at the severed chain with some alarm, more so than Shin himself had. "Being as such, I suppose the little lady's tent is now our tent."
"You can't share a tent with," the man's voice lowered to a whisper, "with a saintess."
At that Yumi raised her eyebrow, noting the now annoyed look on Shin's face. "So it's a secret that I'm a saintess," she said, rather loudly. "Is that something you don't want your men to know? That I'm a --" her voice got louder as she spoke, until Shin leaned over and placed a gloved hand over her mouth.
The other man gasped with an amount of scandalization. "Lord Shin, that's blasphemy!"
"Lord Shin, so you must be of a noble house?" Yumi asked, though what came out was muffled and unintelligible. She could guess from the even more annoyed look on Shin's face that her taunting question came out just fine.
The other man, catching onto his slip up, attempted to correct it. "I mean, Captain Shin," which frankly just made it worse.
"Valdeer." Shin said, his tone dry. "How about you go find another cot to place in the lady's tent and I'll see if I can convince our guest to forget the last thirty seconds, hmm?"
"Yes, sir," Valdeer took the dismissal as it were, slouching away as Shin removed his hand from Yumi's face.
"Very covert operation you have going on. I particularly like the clear understanding of secrecy your man has."
"Yes, well," Shin leaned back again, a tired look replacing the annoyed one. "They say the stronger the man the weaker the brain."
"So which are you? Strong or daft?"
Her quick response had him laughing, which surprised her greatly and snapped her to her senses. She hadn't yet even figured out where they were going or what was happening to her once she got there but she had already begun arguing with who was obviously the head of the operation. At least she felt impressed with her own guts.
"Most of the men here are my men, and as such know that we have a saintess in our midst. There are however several demons here as hired mercenaries who cannot feel the mana resonance between Devora and saint." He assessed her expression, noting the confusion. "I'm going to guess you may not know this, but the majority of demons out there wouldn't have the same reverence towards a saintess that the Devora do. If you crossed an outsider the wrong way, you'd likely be captured and bartered off between tribes, or killed as some sort of statement."
At her frown he leaned forward for emphasis, "So, yes. You are welcome to loudly proclaim yourself a saintess in the camp. For extra oomph you could even put on a little show with your mana and really get their attention. Just know that there's only so much my men will do to protect the captured saintess of the enemy."
She swallowed, "so I am an enemy," she said, confirming his statement. Something crossed his eyes, perhaps annoyance though something told her it wasn't directed at her.
"At the moment," he replied cryptically. "But I'm sure you'd rather be my enemy than some sweaty mercenary's enemy. Trust me."
The irony of her captor asking for her trust was not lost on her, but she did suppose the evil she knew was better than that she did not. As she surveyed the men outside, she could easily tell which ones were other kinds of demons by their appearance -- some with spikes growing from them in places, one with four arms, some with long sharp teeth that extended past their lips. She shivered, "I've never seen... not-Devora before..." she admitted quietly, almost wishing she hadn't.
"Well then, it should be an easy choice," he pulled back his lip to reveal his teeth, "I'm a lot less pointy, I promise." Though he did have rather pointed canines which Yumi noticed with some trepidation.
Valdeer returned at that moment, "I've set up the tent with the spare cot, sir," he seemed almost uncomfortable at that fact. "Should we move the lady to the tent now or...?"
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"Dinner first, I should think," Shin stated.
"With the men?"
Shin gave Valdeer a look. "We're trying to keep up the appearance of a poor captured noble as a prisoner of war. It was enough that you lot convinced me to have padded shackles. If we escort her to the largest, fanciest tent in the compound and deliver her food personally I think that'd draw some attention." Valdeer bowed and left to inform the others. Shin stood and grabbed the chain to the shackles that remained on Yumi's wrists.
"Were you just going to wear these the rest of your life?" He asked.
"I hadn't thought that far yet," Yumi snapped at him, pulling against the chains hard in an attempt to wrench them from his grip. Shin's eyes flickered with amusement, but he pulled them hard, back the other direction, forcing her to tumble into him.
"Careful," he pulled the chains above her head, forcing her arms to follow suit. "I already knew you hadn't thought very far. I certainly don't mind the banter, saintess, but you are a prisoner."
The embarrassment showed strongly on her face, her cheeks painted red with it. She opened her mouth to quip back, but he had turned and begun leading her out of the carriage using the chain. She had to nearly jump to not trip coming out of it, her body still feeling weak from the events previous.
He led her through the camp, taking the more scenic route to their destination as if to show her off to those staring at them. The Devorian warriors whispered among themselves, some refusing to make eye contact, and the other demons, well...
She wasn't sure how she'd describe the looks that they gave her. But they made her stomach feel ill.
When they made it to the eating area, which was mostly makeshift chairs from stumps, supply bags and the like, she noticed a slight commotion around one particular seating arrangement—a low wooden stool that had been covered with several layers of woven cloth like cloaks and what appeared to be a small cushion fashioned from a rolled blanket. Two warriors were making final adjustments, stepping back with respectful nods as she approached.
Shin paused, his gaze flicking between Yumi and the clearly prepared seat, his eye twitched almost imperceptibly. Without a word, he strode forward, dropped himself into the cushioned seat, and stretched his legs out in front of him. He fixed the warriors with a pointed look, and they all quickly looked away and pretended to be in the middle of something else.
A wooden crate was dragged into the circle and Shin gestured for Yumi to take a seat. The wood was uncomfortable and rough on her bottom. "They really roll out the red carpet for their captain around here, huh?" She muttered at Shin, risking the sarcasm again in front of a crowd.
"What can I say? My men love me," he smugly retorted as he leaned forward to accept a bowl of soup that was handed to him. He took a spoonful of it and tried it before handing it to Yumi. She stared at the bowl momentarily, realizing that he was ensuring it was safe to eat before she ate any. The possible danger of her situation sunk in on her again, but deep down she wondered if the fear of death was something she needed to hang up on. Once they reached their destination she was dead anyway. And if she weren't, she would wish she was.
The soup was richer than she expected, with wild grains and some sort of flavorful meat. Yumi allowed herself to enjoy it, keeping her gaze at the bowl instead of at the curious stares she could feel boring into her. Once she was finished she looked up, and they looked away.
It felt awkward holding an empty bowl as the silence stretched on, her headache and sore body starting to get the best of her, so she was almost thankful when Shin, who had been deep in conversation with another warrior, turned his attentions on her.
"We still have a long trek ahead of us, and in the interest of not sharing a carriage with a saintess that smells of blood and smoke I suppose it's time we get you cleaned up."
Yumi looked down at her torn and scorched robes, realizing for the first time since she'd woken the state she must be in. Still, she didn't like the implications of his words. "I can stay in the carriage alone just fine," she said, affronted.
He gave the manacles and the broken chain attached to it a sardonic look, "Yes, we've proven that just fine, haven't we? No, I don't think you'll be given much privacy for some time." He stood, gesturing for her to follow him. When she got up with a huff he said in a lower voice, "you look like you're about to collapse and I'd rather not carry you."
She didn't like that he was right. She hoped that, at whatever destination they were traveling towards, she wouldn't have to meet this man again. He clearly had a habit of getting under people's skin for the fun of it.
They walked toward a large canvas tent set up in the center of the camp. "Valdeer," Shin called as if he knew the man would be watching, "Fetch some water and clean cloth. Something for the lady to wear as well. I'm sure we have some training clothes stashed away somewhere."
The inside of the tent was surprisingly spacious for what she had seen on the outside but was still rather cramped quarters. There was space for two cots and a small off-shoot room separated by a cloth that was vaguely opaque and looked like someone had tied it to both sides of the tent as an afterthought.
Valdeer arrived with the supplies just a few moments after they had stepped inside and left just as quickly. Shin unraveled the cloth and set the folded pair of clothes to the side. "Now, here's where things get a little tricky. I'm going to have to take off your restraints and you're going to have to resist immediately trying to run off."
"And where would I go?" She threw his previous words back at him, to which he smirked with some satisfaction.
"Good to see we're learning." he produced a key and grabbed the manacles, unlocking them and letting them fall to the ground. "Rather useless in the state you've put them in anyway." He sat on the cot on the other side of her, a fleeting look of uncertainty crossing his face just quick enough to wonder if she had been seeing things.
"What?" She asked as she rubbed her now free but very sore wrists.
"I do wish you hadn't prevented me from giving you more privacy," he responded as he tossed the folded training clothes at her feet. "But alas. You have water, you have rags, and you have clothes. I'm sure you're not used to bathing yourself but surely you can manage a wipe down."
"I'm not undressing here." She brought her arms to her chest, as if she were already attempting to obscure his view. "My current robes are just fine."
"They are tearing at the seams and half burned. You are more than welcome to stay in them but I promise that one more day of travel will have you changing your mind."
"One more day out of... how many days?" She probed for information about their destination, not sure if Shin was interested in providing it.
"If we continue making good time, five or less. However this lot rarely makes good time and I'm sure will be far too worried about the well-being of our guest to travel quickly."
She was sure he was being sarcastic, as the well-being of a prisoner was hardly anything she expected them to fret over. Yumi hadn't been allowed many books to study but she at least knew of the few Devorian tribes along their borders -- though unfortunately, she didn't quite grasp the reality of the distance between them. She'd never traveled outside of her village, only heard stories of Kotaka's travels in which he was gone for months at a time.
"I don't know where we're going," she admitted. "I don't suppose you plan to tell me, do you?"
"How about I turn around, you promise not to hit me over the head with that water basin, and I'll answer whatever questions you have while you clean up?"
The response surprised her, "Is that to your benefit?" She found herself asking, hoping in doing so she wouldn't convince him to change his mind.
"I'm a man of compromise," he said simply. "And I doubt anything you ask me would be something so horrible that I couldn't answer."
She thought for a moment, trying to find any evidence of deception in his face but not knowing the man well enough to say one way or the other. Seeing no other way to get information readily available, she agreed. "Fine. But don't turn back around until I say so."
Shin raised both of his hands and swiveled, his feet hanging off the other end of the cot. "I will have you know I do have very good ears. They're very attuned to the sounds of women running away."
"Is that really something you want to brag about?" She questioned, and the choking noise he made proved that he hadn't quite thought about what he had said before he had said it.
"Questions, saintess."
Yumi stared at him for a few moments to make sure he was still looking the other way and then undid her robes and started to wipe the soot off of her arms, "Where are we going?"
"Through the Prevost forest," a name she didn't recognize, of course, "to the domain of the Crane tribe," and a name that she did. The Crane tribe bordered the Moon tribe in the direction of the setting sun, and she had often heard Kotaka talk of the many skirmishes their borders normally had.
Bruising on her neck had her flinching, in the reflection of the tub of water she could see the marks the priest left -- red and angry. She thought about asking if that were where he was from, but it seemed like a waste of a question. "The priestesses that were in my residence?" Although it had been a long while since she had seen any of their faces, a part of her still cared about them.
"To my knowledge," he said without flair, "anyone within the main temple aside from yourself were killed."
It was the answer she expected but the confirmation twisted her gut into an uncomfortable tightness. A complicated guilt. "Why? To what end was the Moon tribe invaded?"
"Retaliation, mostly. Not sure what was expected when borders that had been defined for hundreds of years begin to get pushed like that. Endless patrols and fighting had to come to a head sometime."
A part of her cared, but a surprisingly larger part of her did not. She had spent her entire life being told that she was there for the people -- but in reality, she could count the number of times on one hand that she had been allowed to interact with the village at all. She wondered if she would even be able to grieve while she had a chance.
There was a moment of silence as she tugged on the rough, baggy training clothes. She hated to admit that being slightly more clean did feel rather nice. "Will it be quick?" She asked quietly, her mind far beyond the next five days.
"It's a pretty simple journey. The forest at the tail end will probably be the worst of it, with the bonasus pulling the supplies."
"That's not what I meant," she muttered, "Those big beasts, they're called bonasus?"
"You've never seen a bonasus before?" He seemed genuinely surprised at this.
"You can turn around," she told him, fluffing her long hair against her back. He did so and appraised her for a few moments. "No, I haven't. Are they very common?"
He thought on that for a moment, "Not particularly, but the Moon tribe had quite a few. Two of the ones in our convoy are spoils, in fact. What did you mean?"
"Pardon?"
Now face to face, she could see the discerning expression and gears turning behind his bright blue eyes. "You said that wasn't what you meant. What did you --" realization dawned on him then, and he stepped backward as if she had hit him. "You think --"
"Is that not to be expected?" Her voice was calmer than she would have expected, under the circumstances. "I am, after all, your enemy and prisoner," having his own words thrown back at him had Shin let out an exasperated huff of air.
"First of all, saintess," He clenched his fists at his sides, as if he were terribly offended. "No one here would have bothered going through the effort of healing you and dragging you back only to have you killed. It'd have been far less bothersome to just kill you in the temple with your people."
"Second," he started before she could interject, her eyes saying she clearly wanted to, "You're out of your mind if you think any tribe out there would kill the only saintess born to Devora in the last eight-hundred-and-some-odd years. Prisoner, yes, enemy, at your design, but with cooperation these are temporary labels." He sat back down on the cot as if she had winded him somehow, "I'm sure it won't be as privileged as the life you've led so far but you will be alive."
She wasn't sure if that was a blessing or curse. "Am I supposed to believe you?"
"Yes, though I don't expect you to and I don't blame you for keeping your wits about you. It's the smart thing to do." He stood, gesturing at the empty cot. "Your bed, my lady," he said with some sharpness. "I'll be keeping watch tonight in case... Well. I'll just be keeping watch. I'll trust you not to try and sneak off." It almost seemed as though he was escaping as he walked back through the entrance of the tent, leaving her there even though he had made a show earlier of having to watch her.
Yumi plopped down onto the cot -- it was surprisingly comfortable, more so than her futon with thin blankets that she had in the temple. She churned the information around in her head. If they weren't planning to kill her, what did that mean for her future? And what of her instructions to kill herself instead of being captured? She had been told it was due to the brutality of the enemy, but if she were the only saintess born in so long was it more so no one else could 'have her'? Her head pounded, having never really stopped since she had awoken in the carriage.
Shin had seemed genuinely offended at the accusation. He was a stranger to be sure, but she was starting to get the lay of his expressions well enough. Was it worth trying to run away, then? He could be lying. In fact, it was more likely than not, the more she thought of it. It'd be easy to keep a riled prisoner in line if they didn't expect the worst at the end of the road.
The sounds of the camp continued unabated—boisterous and alive despite Shin's dismissive order for her to rest. Warriors called to one another, creatures snorted, and someone played a stringed instrument in the distance. So different from the temple's stifling silence. Her thoughts gnawed at her, too numerous to catch before exhaustion pulled her under. Her last conscious realization was oddly comforting: if what Shin said was true, she had something she'd never truly possessed in all her years of captivity—a future, however uncertain it might be.
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