Akayuki (Red Snow)--Intro Part 2

Warning: This chapter contains strong language, mild violence, and references to sexual assault (not graphic, just accusations made). Reader discretion is advised.

Author's Note: This is the conclusion of the prologue. I broke it into two parts due to length.

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction. It is meant for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual persons living or deceased is purely coincidental.

~o~

Akayuki (Red Snow)

Prologue Concluded 

When he reached the nearest inn, he learned the truth about the girl he found in the snow.

“Her name is Nica,” the proprietress of the inn whispered to him once the girl had been put to bed. “She’s the heiress of the Akayuki clan. Have you heard of them?”

The stranger shook his head.

“Really?” the proprietress queried. “Where did you say you were from?”

He hadn’t said and he maintained his silence. He stared at the woman before him until she looked away, clutching the collar of her kimono tighter over her throat.

“She’s bad news. You should leave before she wakes up. No point getting dragged into things.”

The stranger considered the woman’s advice before shaking his head. He would not leave the girl.

Reaching into his traveling cloak, the stranger removed a small black pouch. The pouch bulged with coins. Gold coins.

He set a handful of the coins on the inn’s front desk, much to the surprise and delight of the proprietress.

She snatched up the coins and thanked him profusely.

He ignored her thanks and returned to the room where he had left the girl—Nica.

Nica still slept as the stranger slipped into the room, silently shutting the door behind him. He moved like a wraith, soundless.

He stood by the bed watching the snow-white beauty sleep the sleep of an innocent child. Yet this “innocent child” had been clutching a katana.

Akayuki, the proprietress had said. Red snow. A fitting name considering where he had found her and the condition she had been in.

“Freddy,” Nica murmured in her sleep. She reached out a hand from underneath the covers and the stranger took it. Her small, warm hand in his large, cold one.

Whatever disturbed her sleep ceased as they held hands.

Although, he did wonder who this Freddy is. It was the second name she had uttered since he had rescued her.

He held her hand until she pulled it away and rolled over so her back faced him.

When dawn arrived and she awoke, he looked into a pair of green eyes wide with fear.

He clapped a hand over her mouth before she could scream. He shook his head. She nodded to show she understood and he released her.

“Who are you?” she asked.

He shook his head. Who he was wasn’t important.

She looked around the room, not recognizing the sparse furnishings.

She looked back at him and glared.

“What did you do to me?”

He shook his head.

“Liar!” she snapped. “You took me from my home.” She looked down at the unfamiliar white nightgown she wore. “And you undressed me.”

He made no reply. The truth was: The inn’s proprietress had changed Nica’s clothes. He doubted Nica would believe him if he shared this information with her, though.

As if in confirmation of this theory, Nica narrowed her eyes on him.

“Did you take advantage of me?”

He gave her a blank look.

A look of rage flashed on her face and she reached behind her, snatched up the bed pillow, and chucked it at him.

He caught the pillow and returned it to the head of the bed. She continued to glare at him.

“Who are you?”

He looked at her, not answering.

“You’re not going to answer me, are you?” she asked.

He turned and withdrew from the room.

“Hey!” she called after him. “Wait!”

He closed the door and sought out the inn’s proprietress.

The middle-aged lady greeted him from the kitchen, where she stood by the stove stirring a pot of steaming soup.

“Good morning,” she greeted him, the bare minimum of politeness in her voice. “Has the heiress awoken yet?”

The stranger nodded and pointed to the soup pot.

Thankfully, the proprietress understood his pantomime.

“The bowls are in the cupboard behind me. Upper cabinet.”

He nodded then crossed the kitchen and, locating the correct cupboard, took out two sapphire blue bowls that he carried back to the proprietress.

A bowl at a time she ladled out two portions of the steaming soup while at her request he sliced a loaf of fresh baked bread.

“You are good in the kitchen,” she commented as they made up trays with the bowls of soup and plates of bread with pieces of fresh fruit and yellow cheese on the side. He added a mug of steaming green tea to both trays, tea he had brewed himself and later poured.

The proprietress carried Nica’s tray to her room while the stranger carried his tray outside. He sat on the back porch in spite of the early morning cold and ate and thought over his tea.

When he finished his meal, he returned his tray to the kitchen then visited Nica’s room. He knocked on the door. The inn’s proprietress answered, a scowl on her face.

“She demands I send for a doctor.”

The stranger’s right eyebrow arched in a questioning gesture.

The proprietress glared at him.

“I checked myself, last night, but I want to ask you before I send for the doctor. Did you…?”

The proprietress let the question, the accusation, hang but he didn’t answer.

He pushed the woman aside, much to her indignation, and entered the bedroom.

Nica sat in bed, her breakfast tray balanced on her knees, a glare directed at him as he approached the bed.

“Come back for seconds?” she sneered.

He narrowed his eyes on her. She didn’t back down.

“Tell me who you are,” Nica demanded. “You’re not one of us—Akayuki. So, are you from Aoi Tsuki (Blue Moon)?”

The inn’s proprietress gasped in horror at the mention of the rival clan.

The stranger maintained his silence.

Nica’s fury boiled over.

“You raping Blue Moon bastard! I’ll lop off your balls and feed them to the dogs. I’ll…”

He lifted his right hand then and slapped her face.

Nica’s eyes widened in surprise. She cupped her stinging cheek in her hand and looked up at him.

“How dare you!” the proprietress snapped at his back. “To strike the heiress of the Red Snow. You Blue Moon dog, get out of my inn!”

He threw the woman a glare over his shoulder and she clammed up.

He faced Nica once more and waited for her to make the next move.

She studied his face before asking,

“You’re a ronin, aren’t you?”

The stranger nodded then reached into the traveling cloak he hadn’t taken off since arriving at the inn and removed a single red leaf. He briefly pressed his lips to the leaf before offering it to Nica. A brief smile appeared on her face as she accepted the leaf. She studied it for a moment, twirling it between her thumb and index finger by the stem.

He watched and waited once again.

“I’m sorry,” Nica said at last. She looked up at him. “You did nothing wrong. I deserved that slap.”

He made no response but he heard the inn’s proprietress sigh with relief behind him.

“Would you be interested in working for me, Mister Ronin?” Nica asked, offering the red leaf to him. “I could use a bodyguard.”

He didn’t hesitate. He reached for and took the leaf from her. She smiled at last.

The contract had been made.