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Hello, everyone. It’s a new AU story from yours truly. This one’s going to be Izumi x Meroko, with a few extra hints of other pairings that you’ll just have to wait to see. It’s set in one of those faraway-kingdom kind of things, with a royal family and a castle, but no magic. Does that make sense? Awesome.
Anyway, this one’s going to have a bit of action, because I realize that my action-writing skills are sucky and I need to practice them. It’s mostly a romance, though. There will be a tiny bit of sexual content eventually, but I’m hoping that I won’t get carried away and have to knock the rating up.
Well, this author’s note has been pretty long. So, without further ado, here’s your story.
It was a dream, it was a dream, she told herself, trembling. Just a stupid dream. You’re fine now; you’re in your room…
Speaking of which, what had she been dreaming about? It had been so vivid, but now that she had been awake for a few minutes, the details were slipping away from her.
I think I was being chased… Meroko’s forehead crinkled as she concentrated. In a dark forest…someone there…Did he have a sword, or was it just a knife? I don’t know…but I think he got his hand on my throat…
Suddenly, she froze.
The moon was almost a new moon—only a thin sliver of light remained in the sky tonight—but even in the wan light it cast through the window, Meroko could make out a dark shape above her, one that she hadn’t noticed before in her panic about her nightmare.
Her hand reached out towards her bedside table, groping for the lamp.
A cold blade pressed against her throat, and an icy voice drifted toward her in the darkness.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Meroko went deathly still. “Wh-who is that?” she whispered, her voice quavering. “Who’s there?”
The voice spoke again. “That’s not important, is it? What is important is that I’m the one holding a knife to your throat, and you’re the one who isn’t going to scream. You’re going to keep perfectly quiet. Because if you make a sound, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
Meroko’s breath caught in fear, and she tried to shrink back into the bed as much as she could.
“Do we have an understanding, then?” the voice asked.
It took Meroko a few seconds to answer. When she did, her voice was soft and scared. “A-all right.”
The figure appeared to nod. “That’s a good girl. Now hold still a moment.”
As the figure rifled around in the bag hanging over its shoulder, Meroko tried to slow the pounding of her heart and think. In her seventeen years, she had survived quite a lot, but never something like this. Now she was lying in bed with a figure sitting on top of her holding a knife to her throat.
I’m going to die, she thought miserably, closing her eyes tightly. Seventeen years of putting up with being a reluctant princess, and now I’m going to die…I know I said I didn’t want to be a princess, but this wasn’t what I meant…
“All right,” came the voice of the figure again. “Now listen very closely. I’m going to get up off you and do a search of the room. Don’t even think about screaming or doing anything funny. I’m still the one with the knife, and unless you’ve been trained with knives since you were three years old, I highly doubt that you’re faster than me. Even if I’m not on top of you, I can still kill you. Understand?”
“Yes,” Meroko whispered.
“Good.”
The bed creaked as the figure climbed off the bed and began walking around the room. Meroko sat up, watching him in morbid fascination.
Oh, God…He must be a thief. What should I do? I can’t just sit here and do nothing…but he’s still got a knife…
Biting down on her lip, she reached up to close a hand around the pendant around her neck.
A shuddering gasp tore from her mouth when her hand struck only bare skin.
The figure turned its head toward her. “What did I tell you?”
“My pendant!” Meroko whispered loudly. “You took my pendant!”
“So what if I did?”
“Give it back! Right now!”
“Why should I?”
“Come on, give it back!” Meroko said urgently, throwing the blankets aside.
“I still have a knife, you know,” the figure said threateningly.
“I don’t care!” Meroko’s voice was fierce. “That pendant is very important to me!”
The figure appeared to turn toward her. “You’d really put this stupid necklace above your own life?”
“Of course!”
A chuckle issued forth out of the darkness. “Stupid kid.”
Meroko’s face flushed with anger. “Stupid kid? I’m seventeen!”
“And I’m older than you are, but you don’t hear me bragging.”
Very quietly, Meroko edged an inch toward the lamp. If she could just keep him talking, maybe she could get to the lamp without being noticed. Then, at least, she’d be able to see who was threatening her.
“So why are you here?” she asked. “You obviously aren’t here for the pleasure of my company.”
“Humor, eh?” Another chuckle. “You’re my type of girl.”
“No way!” Meroko made a face. “Not even in your dreams.”
“Oh, you never know. I’m not such a bad guy.”
Meroko chanced edging another inch over. “Not such a bad guy? You were holding a knife to my throat!”
“Part of the job, dear.”
“What kind of job can you possibly have? I know I wouldn’t hire you.”
“Isn’t it obvious, what I do?”
Meroko glanced at the dark shape of the lamp out of the corner of her eye. Almost there. “You’re some kind of thief, right?”
“Correct.”
“So what do you want with me? I have nothing valuable.”
“Oh, cut the innocent maiden act,” the voice said impatiently. “You’re princess of the kingdom. Probably the richest girl in the land, not counting the queen. You have plenty of valuables. Why else do you think I’m—”
“Ha!” Meroko exclaimed, flicking the lamp switch.
The room was flooded in light, and Meroko finally got a full look at the person in the room. It was a man, with piercing amber eyes and a mop of blonde hair. He appeared to be a couple of years older than her, and was dressed all in black. A half-full bag hung over his shoulder, and the knife he had held to her throat minutes before was in his hand, glinting dangerously in the lamp light.
For the briefest moment, the man appeared surprised. Then all trace of emotion disappeared from his face, and he said scornfully, “So you turned on the light. Now you can see me. Big deal.”
Meroko squinted suspiciously at the bag the man was holding. “Is my pendant in there?”
“I’m not likely to tell you, am I?”
Meroko cast a pleading look toward the man. “Come on, give it back.” She pressed her hands together. “Please? It’s very important to me.”
“Why on Earth are you willing to place a stupid necklace above your own life?”
Meroko looked down. “It was a gift…from someone special.”
The man regarded her impassively for a moment. “It’s that important?”
Meroko nodded. “Yes.”
In a flash, the blonde man was standing in front of her, his face centimeters from hers. Meroko had to force herself not to scream.
His eyes searched her face. “Tell me something,” he murmured. “Would you really do anything to get this pendant?”
Meroko blinked. “Wh-what did you have in mind?”
He smiled. “Oh, you’ll see.”
Before Meroko could react, he had grabbed her face roughly in his hands and pulled her into a kiss. Meroko yelped behind his lips and tried to pull away, but he only drew her closer, his tongue trying to force its way into her mouth. She slapped her palms against his chest and kicked at every part of him she could get to, and after a few seconds, he pulled back.
“What the hell was that?” Meroko cried, moving back against the wall, trembling. “Y-You just kissed me!”
The man shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“What in the hell is the matter with you?”
Suddenly, the doorknob rattled, and both Meroko and the man looked at the door.
“Meroko?” a voice called in alarm. “Meroko, what’s going on? Open the door!”
Meroko stared at the door in shock for a few seconds, wondering how it had gotten locked—then her eyes flashed back to where the man had been.
She gasped. He’s gone! How—
Suddenly she noticed the window, which was wide open. No way…he got to the window that fast? Who is he?
“Meroko!” the voice called again, louder. “Open up!”
Remembering the person at the door, Meroko jumped from the bed and ran to the door, hurriedly unlocking it. She flung it open to see her maid staring at her, gray eyes wide with confusion and surprise.
“Oh, Madoka,” Meroko breathed, feeling relieved. “Hi.”
“What’s going on in here?” Madoka asked. “I heard yelling, and the door was locked…”
“Sorry about that,” Meroko said. “I was having a nightmare. And I don’t know how the door got locked…I guess I wasn’t thinking and locked it by mistake.” Madoka gave her a suspicious look, but Meroko added quickly, “I’m very sorry that I woke you up. I’ll just go back to sleep now.”
Madoka nodded. “Well…all right, then. I’ll see you in the morning, Meroko.”
“Good night, Madoka.”
Meroko turned and wandered back to the bed. Once Madoka’s footsteps had faded, she collapsed onto the bed and gave a great sigh of relief.
Thank God… she thought. I could have died…
Suddenly, she shot bolt upright. No! The pendant! He never gave it back!
Her hands flew to where the pendant usually was—and she gasped when her fingers brushed against it. She looked down, and sure enough, there it was—a round, dark blue gemstone set in a gold frame, with a thin gold chain.
My pendant’s back? Meroko lifted it up and stared at the little blue stone, confused. He gave it back to me? When did he…?
Her face suddenly went red as she remembered that kiss. I can’t believe that he kissed me!
She froze. Wait a minute…he kissed me! He stole my first kiss! Her face contorted with anger. He stole it! How dare he! My first kiss was supposed to be for—
She stopped. But he did give the pendant back when he could have stolen it…but still! He’s a thief! I’ll bet he’s taken something else from this room! And he took my first kiss!
Meroko let out a frustrated sigh and crawled underneath the covers. Oh, forget it. I’m tired…I’ll go talk to someone about it in the morning.
She reached out and turned off the lamp, then pulled the blankets up to her chin. Her eyes were closed, but it was a long time before she finally fell asleep.
How’s that for starting it in the middle of things? Instead of giving you the backstory first like anyone else, I start out with a princess that has a knife at her throat. How very charming.
Don’t worry, though. The backstory will come later, as will the identity of that man that Meroko wanted her first kiss to be with.
Before I end this, I’d like to ask anyone who hasn’t already read my other current chaptered fic, Fire and Rain, to go and read it. I still need opinions on the trilogy idea, so go and read and review, peoples!
RRE.