Chapter 1
The battlefield is the cruelest of places. There is nowhere to run. No matter where we look, reality is there, in our face.
“I’m going to die.”
Even if no one says it, the cries, whether they sound courageous, or desperate, they all say the same thing. You only have to hear it.
It is at the battlefield reality is the harshest, yet less sudden. You know it’s coming – the end. I wonder what those soldiers see as they finally stop running, as the sword of truth and the end pierce their body and soul.
Is reality really cruel? Or are humans just too foolish?
*
“?-sama, your bath is prepared.”
Sitting on my knees on the soft silk cushion, I slowly opened my eyes as I gracefully lifted my head, still heavy from the decorative ornaments; dream still fresh in my mind.
The lake. My death.
“My lady?”
Smiling gently, I bowed my head slightly in response. The maid put her long, kimono sleeves together and bowed as well, leaving as she slid the door closed.
Soaking in the warm rose filled water, submerging my head half-way through, the dream that had seemed so real replayed in the back of my mind. What would people say if they knew? Would they even believe that a mere girl could see the future?
No.
That they may believe. What they wouldn’t believe is that I could. How could they believe anything I said?
But…maybe this is a vision. No one comes here, after all.
No one.
*
Dreams cannot go on forever. That is the rule. But…when it does, what happens to those left behind?
Dreams are never clear. How can they be? We run past them. And with time, we forget.
The wooden plaques swaying with the wind from the hold of the strings carry the name of men who fell in battle, whose dream has ended. Only their names remain to hold the memory of their existence, but no one lingers long enough in a moment to notice them. They remain there, lonely, forgotten, and just like the one whose name they carry.
But…what happens to those who can’t forget? Who can see the dream more clearly?
I have seen my death in that vision, but I was not able to catch a full glimpse of reality. Trapped in the middle, I saw as each soldier on those wooden plaques died. It repeats and repeats itself in my mind, yet I have never actually seen those places, or those men. It’s just a dream within a dream.
Only I can’t forget it, or run from it. I’m trapped.
I’m trapped in this mansion whose grounds I have never left. While scenes I should not have seen play in the back of my mind, leisurely and with the grace a noble should have I stand before the railing of the wooden veranda, looking at my peaceful garden, listening to the sound of the water, watching the small pond filled with sweet flowers floating and giving it color and scent.
Birds freely fly in the sky with wings. They are so much better at running. They soar so high…And humans can only watch, just like that man…the man who stands in my garden, the man I have never seen in any dream. With a soft smile, he watches the bird fly away, not at all noticing my presence. But, why was he here?
No one ever visited this part of the mansion.
No one ever visited me.
“??-sama! Where are you? ???-sama is looking for you.”
The young man’s head snapped up at the sound of the voice, finally noticing my presence. Before he could react to it though, the owner of the voice approached him, saying: “What are you doing here? ????-sama is looking for you and…he looked around, noticing my presence. Immediately, he tensed. Getting closer to the young man, voice softer, he continued, glancing my way nervously: “You shouldn’t be here…in this place. It’s…” he glanced at me, gaze staying a bit longer this time. “Anyway, we should get out. No one comes here.”
He was right. No one came here. Ever.
Then, what was he doing here? He was obviously lost. That was it.
And so I watched as the young man was dragged away, all the while glancing back my way as I retreated closer to the wall and farther from the rail, into the cool shadow. That was where I belonged – in the shadows.
[A.N.: Sorry about all the question marks instead of names...I still need to search for names that fit (of course, japanese names). Oh, but this doesn't necessarily happen in old Japan. Maybe a parallel world? It has elements of Japan, maybe Chinese ones too, and magic and goddesses and stuff, so...look forward to it! ;D Thanks for reading. XD Please comment with your opinion, vote if you liked it, and fan me if you loved it!]
