Dark Light

Chapter 6: Another attack

Haruna blinked and her view came back. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep, but she guessed that was just how tired and broken she felt.

The rocky walls of the cave were illuminated by the sunlight that came from outside, and she tilted her head to catch a glimpse of the blue sky. She had been sitting against the cave wall and that's exactly where she fell asleep, in that very uncomfortable place and position with her sheathed sword right next to her. Well, it's not like she had a room and a bed anymore.

Rina's big swallow was lying nearby, along with the bag she had been carrying around, but there was no sign of the owner. The only company Haruna had inside that small cave was the young woman they found at the shore, and she was still unconscious. Rina lied her down with a rolled-up piece of clothing under her head, and placed a small wet cloth over the injury on the girl's forehead, that's all Haruna remembered seeing before drifting to sleep.

It was hard to get to that cave, and it took much longer than they would have been comfortable with, but now they were safe for the time being. They had to walk over several rocks to find that entrance, and for several times Haruna thought Rina was going to slip and fall with that girl over her shoulder, but it never happened.

Now she wondered where Rina could be, but the possible answer came to her mind quite quickly. She talked about food and clothes earlier, so Haruna figured she must be onto that.

What killed her brain cells right now was the unconscious sorcerer. Now that she had some rest and could think straight again, she thought everything was too strange. The young woman was covered in sand when they found her, still wet over her legs but completely dry from the chest up. That indicated she had been lying there for quite a while, and the attack on the city must've happened just a few hours before they found her. Haruna didn't think she was blacked out in the castle dungeon for more than half an hour, but even extrapolating it to a whole hour... From the time she woke up to the moment they found this girl, it wasn't enough time for her to get dry after a shipwreck.

This girl must've gotten there long before the attack. That thought made Haruna feel completely empty. Why was she there? Why was this lone sorcerer lying unconscious by Suzaku's shore? She kept staring at the girl, without an answer. She looked like just a regular girl, delicate skin, cute face and long brown hair. If it wasn't for the white and gold tunic and the sun medallion around her neck, Haruna wouldn't have paid attention to her figure at all. She would be just another pretty girl like so many in Suzaku city.

It was a bit weird though. The sorcerers of the Sun were supposed to be very specialized in sailing since they lived in islands and had to travel by ships and boats so often between temples and settlements. The ones Haruna saw before were all very tanned and had strong looking arms and hands, including the women. This one was just odd compared to what Haruna knew about the clan. But then, maybe she was just too young or something. As far as Haruna knew, the sorcerers who looked like pale and delicate slender things were the Moon ones because of their night habits.

Haruna wished that girl would just wake up, so she could ask her all the questions that were plaguing her mind.

If she could have that, if she could have explanations and facts then maybe, just maybe, her mind would manage to erase those insistent thoughts she was trying so hard to bury since she woke up in the dungeon the night before. Not only the thoughts of being defeated, not only the thoughts about her family's whereabouts, no... It was also a bit surge of thoughts about how she felt in that battlefield and when she learned that her efforts had been useless.

She killed people, she really did. For the first time in her life, for the first time after years of running hidden into the training grounds before becoming old enough to be officially training, for the first time ever, she actually fought a real battle. It was nothing like she thought it would be. It wasn't just a hard-earned glory; it was a terrifying struggle to survive. Now she wanted to know that sorcerer's story so her mind wouldn't have time to focus on the mixed disgust and pride that she felt every time she heard the sound of her blade slicing into flesh, every time the sensation spread through her hands as she pushed another dead enemy away. She didn't want her mind to focus on the fact that she had done all of that and they still lost the battle.