Book 2: Falling from Grace

Chapter 10: Forest

Falling From Grace

Chapter 10

Forest

The smell hit them first, the scent of clean water. MK pulled out a water bottle and went to fill it but pulled back and fell onto his backside.

Lu watched him and looked into the water and growled. There was half a leg and an arm floating around with blood turning the water a murky brown color.

"He was hungry." Lu growled as he sniffed the air. "He got all wet too, washed his scent off, but Tang...it looks like he just stood here and drank some water."

"Good, Tang, don't eat meat." Pigsy thought about it and sighed looking at the female golden monkey that kept looking at the forest.

"What's wrong Tyla?" MK asked his adopted sister. She shook her head and started to run into the forest. The sun was setting soon, they would have to find a safe place to go...right?

(0)

Tang opened his eyes hearing music coming from the outside of a building. There were bars on the windows, but light came through. He wasn't alone in this one room. There was another person in the room with long braided black hair. She had to stand on her tiptoes just to see outside. She was shivering, but she still watched.

"You'll catch a cold that way." She jumped and recoiled away from Tang. Gathering her chains and going back to the corner and curled up against the wall. Tang looked down at himself, he too had chains around his feet. He noticed that every step she took was nothing but ice. "Alright, I guess you won't." He looked back up at the young girl well if she were a demon then age wasn't a sure thing. She could be twice the age he was.

"Are you really Tripitaka?" Her voice was so small. Like if she said this above a whisper someone would swoop down and take her life away. He nodded his head running his fingers through his oily hair. He wished suddenly that he had taken the offer to bath, but then again Bull would have seen him and that was unwanted.

She jumped and ran back into her corner as the door slammed open. Two guards walked in and took hold of Tangs chains and walked him out of the room. Tang looked over his shoulder at the girl. He was taken before a woman who was snacking on grapes. Leaning back in her chair and eating them.

"He's scrawny." She was the Queen Yuri he had heard so much about. "Go bathe him, he's covered in dirt." Tang wondered how dirty he really looked, but then again he was thrown around in a barn, slept on the ground, and lay in a moldy dungeon.

Yuri threw a small bag to Bull who caught it and walked off waving at him as he left.

The bath house was full of giggling women, and lots of baths. Tang walked into a corner with lots of pillows, and a curtain covering the large window. The room was rather cold, but the baths looked warm. Steam came from them. Tang looked down at the market so many people it looked like a party.

"Off..." Tang jumped at the voice and he turned to see a woman shorter than him grab his tunic and pull it up over his head. Tang stumbled back into another who grabbed his pants and pulled. He fell right into the water. Covering himself with a towel in the more important places he realized that he was being cleaned by a woman. He tried to voice his displeasure of being touched, but it sounded more like a stuttering teenager then someone not wanting to be touched. It only took a few minutes before he realized they were done and left him to his bath. He looked at himself and then around at the woman who now sat bowing to him

"Um...th..." His stomach growled loudly as he smelled the foods of the plaza down below. He blushed and cleared his throat. One sat up and snapped her fingers.

"Prepare food! Tripitaka is hungry!" Tang was hoisted out of the water by a rather larger, stronger woman and they dried him off.

Soon enough he stood in front of a large set of doors. The woman bowed to him as they left. None ever looking him in the eyes.

"You may go in..." A young girl told him. Her low crown marked her as a princess. Yuri's daughter perhaps, or at least someone that belonged to the royal family.