Story

Flakes of white colored snow fell from the grey colored sky, as a huge black horse galloped down the snow covered ground, its hooves kicking up dusts of snow. Upon its back, a figure covered from head to toe in a royal purple cloak, laid unmoving; the horse seeming to be guided by fate towards the looming mansion before them. Slowing down to a trot, the stallion pranced up to the gate and let out a shrill cry, scaring the guard leaning upon the steel gates of the manor from his sleep.

"By God! What is this?" he exclaimed, pushing up the steel helmet from his eyes to stare at the majestic beast before him. Moving from his position he stared a bit closer at the horse, before noticing the person upon its back. He moved quickly towards the side of the horse and pushed back the heavy cowl, his eyes widening in surprise. Ringlets of azure colored hair fell into the pale feminine face of the rider, eyes closed and breathing shallow. "Well I'll be! It's a woman and she does not look to well�Come, boy!" Motioning towards the boy standing silently at the gate, he took hold of the horses' reins and led him through the opened gate, the horse snorting all the while.

"Well, m'boy, seems we have us a situation�run 'long and tell them maids up there that we have us a guest...and she isn't doin' to well�and make sure someone tell Lord Darren!"

The boy nodded his head quickly, before running along ahead of him through the snow covered courtyard. Watching the boy silently, the guard turned his attention to the woman and sighed softly, before gathering her carefully into his arms. "My, ain't ya a heavy one!" He grunted, making sure he had a sure grip of her, when he felt something land upon his armor covered shoulder; meowing softly. Blinking rapidly, he turned his gray eyes towards the strange black kitten sitting there, its eyes upon the girl. "I suppose you are with this one, eh?" The kitten mewed softly, rubbing its face against his own reddened one, before leaping down onto the girl's chest. Chuckling heartily, the man moved towards the great wooden doors of the manor, leaving the horse in the care of the stable hands.

"Excuse me, Lord Darren�"

Amorous cerulean eyes peered up from the book laid open upon a heavy oaken desk, to stare upon the boy standing before him. "Yes�What is it Torrez?"

Panting lightly, the boy brushed at the strands of brown hair that fell into his eyes and dropped to his knee before the man. "It seems that we have an unexpected guest...but this woman does not look to good, m'lord."

"A woman you said�" The man lifted a slender finger to his chin and tapped at it gently for a moment, before speaking once more. "I want you to bring her to me�I'll see what I can do."

Nodding, Torrez got to his feet and disappeared out of the room, leaving the young gentleman to himself. Silently getting to his feet, he moved towards one of the many windows that surrounded what seemed to be a library of sorts and stared out upon the blanketed courtyard, watching as one of his guards moved towards the manor, a bundle in his arms. After a couple minutes, Torrez appeared before the guard and spoke to him briefly, before the guard carefully placed the girl into his arms and return to his post, leaving Torrez to disappear into the manor.

"It is strange�hardly anyone ventures this far in such harsh weather�" He whispered to himself, lifting his eyes from the courtyard to stare upon the forest and mountains situated between him and the outside world. "�Very strange indeed�"

Hearing the door open and close behind him, he pivoted around in a swirl of clean white garments to stare first at Torrez, then down towards the black kitten, hissing lightly. "Hmm�place her on the couch�"

Nodding his head, Torrez moved towards the comfortable couch near Darren and carefully placed the girl upon it, lifting her head up a bit to place a velvety cushion underneath. The man moved towards the girl and stared down at her for a moment, through a veil of blonde hair, before bringing a hand to her face to brush the stray strands of hair out of her face. He moved his hand to her forehead and let it rest there for a moment, before turning his gaze upon the kitten, curled up on her chest, yellow eyes watching him closely. Chuckling, he reached a hand to the kitten and blinked, as it hissed at him and swatted at his hand, claws outstretched.

"Feisty one, you are�" Chuckling once more, he turned his attention towards the girl then to the boy standing silently beside him. "I'm not sure what is wrong with her�she is not dead, yet she feels close to it�"

Pulling his hand away from her head, he lifted up a corner of her cloak and reached for her hand, when the kitten jumped at him and meowed loudly, before taking the cloak in its tiny mouth and pulled it further back to show him the girls' upper arm. Eyes widening, Darren fell to his knees and peered closely at the wound placed upon her, its color a pale green.

"�She has been poisoned�by a blade nonetheless�" Torrez spoke, kneeling carefully beside his master, a hand moving to touch the skin around it. "Looks to be fresh�an hour or so ago�"

"Yes, I have noticed�go and bring me�" He leant over and spoke into the boys' ear for a moment, before pulling away and nodding, as the lad disappeared once more. Turning his attention to the woman, he sighed softly, letting a pale finger run along the wound, his eyes staring about her face and body. He slowly tilted his head to the side, his eyes landing on the strange amulet, placed upon her neck on a simple golden chain. Bending his head to stare closely at it, he brought a finger to the strange black stone embedded in the gold and let out a soft gasp, as he felt the cool blade of a sword placed upon his neck.

"�Step away from Lady Kairi�" An unwavering, yet stern voice spoke directly into Darren's ear, a black gauntlet hand keeping a firm grasp on the sword held to his neck. "Then no harm shall befall you�"

"�" Slowly and uncomfortably getting to his feet, he took a step away from the girl, the blade still at his throat. "Okay�who are you and how did you get into my home?"

Feeling the blade slowly move from his neck, he whirled around only to see no one standing there. Turning back to the girl, he blinked rapidly at the sight before him. Perched upon the back of the couch was a man, locks of black hair falling into his eyes�a strange one at that; dressed from head to toe in a black armor, peculiar feather like designs seemed to cover the whole of it�but what was really surprising to Darren, was the midnight black wings that sprouted from between the mans shoulders.

"�What in the world are you?"

The man let his gauntlet covered hand touch the girls cheek for a moment, before lifting his head up to stare at him, with eyes like those of the sky at that very moment�a dark, stormy grey. "What am�I?" He blinked at him and smirked lightly, letting a hand pat lightly at the purring kitten. "That is for Lady Kairi to tell if she wishes too�but the question is who are you�and why is Lady Kairi here?"

Darren stared at the man in disbelief; here was a man who had held a sword to his neck, then disrespects him in his own home. "�I�I am Lord Darren and how did this�Lady Kairi came here, I am not sure. All I was told was that she had appeared at my gates by horse�injured."

Letting out something resembling to a cat hissing, he leapt from the couch and stood there for a moment, before turning his back on Darren. "Injured..." Bending his head forward, he sniffed lightly at the wound and growled his feathers ruffling in anger, creating a sound like that of metal rubbing against each other. "Aidan�that was why she had sent me away�"

"Aidan�might I ask who is this man you are speaking of?" Darren stepped up next to the man and stared at the girl once more.

Turning his head towards Darren, he shrugged his shoulders, before quickly snapping his head towards the door, where Torrez stood, a hand on the hilt of his sword and a silver flask in the other. Quickly getting to his own feet, the stranger placed a hand on his own sword, his eyes never leaving the boy.

"Lord Darren!"

"Wait, Torrez! He means us no harm�he is with Lady Kairi."

Releasing the grasp on his sword, he glanced once at the wings upon the mans back, before walking toward Darren, handing him the flask he had asked for. "Here is what you had asked for, Lord Darren�"

"Thank you, Torrez�now you may stay or go if you like." Patting the boy on his head, he turned towards the man and bowed his head towards him. "If you do not mind, might I ask what you're name might be?"

Staring at the two silently, he let his hand fall from his sword and bowed deeply, in respect to the two. "I am�Antis; Lady Kairi's guardian. Now might I ask you�what do you wish to do with that flask you hold?"

"Well, Antis�Lady Kairi, is it? Well�that wound of hers is poisoned. It seems whatever this Aidan used to strike her, contained a type of poison that is normally placed upon a blade�swords, daggers or the like." He said to him, before lifting up the flask before them. "Now, the liquid inside this flask shall counteract the poison in her�"

"I don't need a blasted antidote! I'm fine," Said a somewhat weakened female voice from the couch.

Slowly, the blue haired woman pushed herself onto her elbows and groaned. "Damn that man to hell!" Breathing heavily, she first stared at Antis then to the two others in what seemed to be a library. "Antis�what are you doing here? Then again�I would like to know, where in the world am I. That blasted Lanais, always running off to a strangers place�I'll have to tell him off, yet again!"

Dropping to his knees before her, Antis bowed his head, before grasping her hands in his. "You need to calm down Lady Kairi�that wound to your arm is really vicious. I advise you to take the antidote that Lord Darren is holding�"

Turning her sapphire hues upon those of Darren's, she tilted her head to the left and frowned. "Fine Antis�if you think I shall get better, though I prefer it, if you fixed it yourself. I do not trust them�for all I know, he could be in allegiance with Aidan!"

Torrez gazed angrily at the woman and step forward. "Watch your mouth woman! Lord Darren took you into his care and this is how you repay him! We should just cast you back out of his manor and forget about you!"

Growling in anger, Antis got to his feet and spun around to face the boy, sword in hand and pointed directly at the boys' neck. "Now, you watch your mouth, boy! No one�I mean no one speaks to Lady Kairi like that�especially when I'm around!"

"That's enough!" Darren cried out, his eyes blazing in irritation. "Torrez, leave us now! I shall deal with these two by myself."

Staring down the length of the blade pointed at him, he narrowed his eyes at Antis and stepped back, bowing towards Darren. "Yes, m'lord�" Glancing from the silent Kairi to Antis, his frowned deepened as he slipped from the room without another word. Antis let his hand fall to his side, letting the sword slip back into the ebony scabbard at his side and turned towards Kairi who was moaning softly, a hand pressed to her heart and her eyes closed tight. He walked back to her side and pulled the gauntlet from his hand, only to press his hand to her pale cheek, his eyes closed and face screwed up in deep thought. Silently, Darren kept his distance from the two, his hand clutching the flask tightly. These two were definitely strange�the girl, very rude; her way of speaking very un-lady like, while her companion was another story. He was definitely not from here�his aura was�strange, it was like he was covered in a bright white light; this Darren could tell.

"Lord Darren�"

Snapping from his thoughts, Darren stared at Antis who was now standing before him, a puzzled look upon his face. "Oh�I'm sorry�what is it?"

"I first would like to apologize for Lady Kairi's actions and my own. We�well we haven't been around people much and our manners had started to slip away I suppose." He shook his head for a moment, before turning to the now sleeping woman. "The real question I would like to ask, was if you could spare us a room? We only need one and we shall only be here a day or so."

"It is okay�and yes, I suppose I can spare you two a room. We do not have visitors here often." Darren brushed at the hair that fell into his face and stared towards Kairi. "I shall have Torrez ask one of the maids to prepare a room for you two, but I must ask about tending to her wound before it worsens."

"Do not worry about that�I shall tend to it. She does not trust anyone, but Isis, Lanais and myself, so please excuse her harsh words. She has been through a lot and most likely going to go through much more�please do not ask me any questions. It is not my place to answer them�so I suppose when she gets better, you can ask all the questions you like�she should have calmed down by then."

Darren nodded his head. "I understand�now please excuse me, while I go about getting your room ready�and please, I'm sorry for any misunderstanding and about Torrez. He is very overprotective of me�"

"Yes�and has a very strong will and aura for a child�" Antis said, turning his back to him and moving back towards the couch. "He will be a great warrior, if he is not one yet�but his temper will get the best of him, if he does not control it."

Staring at him for a moment, he nodded and bowed to them, before disappearing out the door; leaving the two alone. Turning towards the door, Antis made sure that the man was gone, before gazing down at Lady Kairi, a hand patting gently at the purring kitten, sitting upon his knee. "So�Isis, it was you who directed Lanais here. You must have your reasons, but next time�bring her to me."

It had been an hour or so since Torrez had led them to one of the many bedrooms inside Lord Darren's manor and Kairi was still sleeping, more peaceful then before. Standing silently at the window, Antis kept an ever watchful eye on his sleeping charge, the kitten comfortably curled up on his right shoulder, purring contentedly. Giving a soft sigh, he turned his gaze towards the window, gazing part his own reflection only to stare off into the swirling mass of snow that appeared an hour or two ago.

"�Why did she send me away�if she did not, she would have never been harmed." He mumbled softly to himself, his hands clenching in anger. "I'm her Guardian�it is my job to protect her!"

"Mreowr�Antis, do not be so hard on yourself." The little black kitten purred, giving his cheek a small lick with her raspy tongue. "You do know it is not your fault�you know how Lady Kairi is�doing things for reasons we do not understand. Be happy that you were able to heal her in time�she shall be okay, except for the ugly scar left behind, maybe then she will learn and make better decisions in the future."

"I know Isis�but I could not help but feel partly responsible�" Turning his back to the window, he moved to a chair placed closed by her bed and sat down, his chin propped up on his clasped hands.

"Do not worry, Antis�it is not your fault, though it was very strange�"

"Strange�how so?"

"Aidan�he never once harmed her before�I could have sworn that man was developing feelings for our Lady Kairi. I could tell and surely you have notice the many time we encountered him." Chuckling, Isis shook her small head in wonder.

"The hell he does! Have feelings for me�pfft! That shall be the day�the day I shall serve his head on a silver platter! Yes! A silver platter it shall be�no! Better yet! Make it gold!"

Pushing himself off the chair, he moved to the bed and sat next to the now awoken woman sitting propped up against the silken cushions, her eyes glaring upon the two. "Eh heh�Lady Kairi, please�such words coming from a young lady�any lady your age has never spoken in such a way."

"Pfft! To hell with those so called 'young ladies', they are nothing but stuck up, self-centered dolls! Flouncing around and flirting with every man in sight, be they old or young! As for me�I, Kairi, shall never bother with such things�even with the joke called 'love'! It's for lonely fools, I say!"

"Oh, Kairi�" Shaking his head slowly, he chuckled at her actions, placing a hand amongst the messy curls atop her head and ruffled it, playfully. "Always the same, even when you were so close to death�you are a strange mistress indeed."

Peeking at him from under her ruffled hair, she smiled widely and pointed towards her cheeky grin. "Meh, its no fun if everything is not fun and games! How many times must I tell you, my dear Antis?" Grabbing a hold of his cheeks, she started to tug them in odd angels, giggling all the while.

Chuckling as well, Isis leapt from her spot on Antis shoulder and onto the bed. "I think the mistress will never change�that's what's special about her." Nodding her head, she sprang into Kairi's lap and plopped down.

Groaning lightly, Antis placed his hands over Kairi's and tried to smile as she continued to tug at his cheeks, when there was a soft knock at the door. Finally loosening her grip on his cheeks, she turned her gaze to the door then back to Antis, shrugging her shoulders. Pushing himself off of the bed, Antis made his way to the door and opened it slowly, to see Torrez standing silently, his hands clasped tightly before him.

"Lord Antis�Master Darren has sent me to see how Lady Kairi is and to see if she is well enough to join him for dinner�seems he has important matters to discuss with her."

Slowly slipping out of the bed, she made her way to the door; Isis curled up carefully in her arms. "Tell him, I shall join him�"

"Yes, m'lady�dinner will be ready in five minutes." He stared at her for a moment, before bowing at his waist and backed away, only to disappear down the empty hall.

"That boy�is strange�" She blinked over at Antis, before closing the door. "Sort of like you, if you know what I mean�his aura is like yours�" Sitting herself on the edge of the bed, she stared off for a moment, her fingers tapping gently at her cheek.

Moving towards her, Antis settled himself beside her and placed a hand on her other cheek, frowning. "Is something wrong, Lady Kairi? If you do not wish to eat with Lord Darren, then do not. It is up to you�and I'll be there right beside you, along with Isis."

"It's not that�just thinking about something, do not worry silly!" Giggling, she patted at his head and stood up, stretching her hands over her head. "Now what to wear�I believe my bag is still with Lanais�darn horse."

Shaking his head, he pushed himself off of the bed and made his way to the oaken cabinet in the corner of the room and opened it, showing her the rows and rows of dresses inside. "Seems that he had clothes placed in here, before we even entered�very expensive, they are�"

Walking up beside him, she placed the sleeping kitten upon the crown of her head and stared at the clothes, a hand trailing amongst the silken garments. "�like back home�" Frowning, she pulled her hand away and placed a finger upon her chin, staring from one garment to the next. "Antis�help."

"Eh�" Blinking at her, he shrugged his shoulders and peered at some of the dresses for a moment, before pulling out a dress of blue silk, made to hang off the shoulders; small blue stones were stitched in intricate patterns along the chest and the hem. "This one�I think it's�like you?"

Taking the dress from him, she stared at it for a moment, her eyes saddening a bit. It had been so long, since she wore anything this expensive�Quickly shaking her head, she looked up only to stare at Antis, who was in turn staring at her, a worried look plastered upon his face.

***Note*** Meh, sorry I took so long on this chapter&been kind of busy x_x Anyways, more to come, as you can see, not really done with the chapter ;_;