It was a completely normal day for Kiki. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and all was right with the world. Walking along the path back to the pens, she struggled not to spill the bucket of water she was carrying. In fact, she was concentrating so hard she wasn't looking in front of her and accidentally knocked into someone, falling over and spilling the water everywhere. "What the...!" The voice of the person she'd knocked into exclaimed. Kiki stood up hurriedly, looking anxiously at whomever it was. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and I......" the words died in her throat.
Standing in front of her was a man-no, a boy with jet-black raven hair that draped across half his face. His skin was pale like the snow, his one visible eye as cold as the ice that came along with it- and it was fixed on her in irritation. He wore a white robe emblazoned with a black cross- the mark of a high priest. With shock, Kiki remembered Aphmau saying the high-priest of O'khasis was in town. She also realized that she'd been staring at him and said quickly, "I'm so very sorry, I was concentrating on not spilling the water and didn't see you there." Here she paused, mustering her nerve. That blue eye was becoming a little unsettling.
"Pardon me for asking, but are you the high priest of O'khasis?" He looked at her for a few seconds longer before saying in a voice laced with barely-concealed malice, "Yes, I'm the high priest of O'khasis, Zane Ro'meave. May I ask who you are so that I may have your lord reprimand you?" Kiki drew back at this angrily. "Excuse me, your high-and-mightyness, what happened was a complete accident. Your clothes are barely drenched and you have no cuts or bruises upon your pail delicate skin, so forgive me when I say I did nothing wrong and Aphmau would be a fool to punish me." She paused before saying,
"And trust me, Aphmau is no fool." At this Kiki fell silent and just glared at the insolent priest in front of her. As his unsettling blue eye continued to gaze at her, she had another outburst.
"And please, Mr. Ro'meave- I would appreciate it if you stopped staring at me like I'm some interesting beetle that has crossed your path." Zane's one eye widened in surprise, then he started laughing- a loud, clear laugh that changed him from a dark and forbidding priest into someone you wanted to laugh along with and get to know. Against her will, Kiki felt the edges of her mouth curl up in a smile. After trying to fight it, she gave in an laughed a long with him. The pairs laughter filled the air, supercharging it with a sense of innate happiness. Finally, their laughter subsided into giggles and eventually stopped. As Kiki looked up at Zane, she realized his entire demeanor had changed. His visible eye, at first filled with cold ice and malice now held a sense of mirth and warm light. "Pardon my rudeness. May I know the name of the girl who dares talk back and mock the high priest of O'khasis?" Zane said with a smile.
Kiki grinned back as she replied, "Oh, it wasn't that hard m'lord. And my name is Kiki."
"Kiki" he echoed, and she felt a small chill at the way he said her name. "Well then Kiki, perhaps you and I could go retrieve that water of yours, and then you could show me around Pheonix Drop some?" He said. "I'd be happy to, Mr. Ro'meave." Kiki said with a smile. He snorted and said, "Oh please. Mr. Ro'meave sounds so formal. Call me Zane." "Alright then Zane, let's go. No sense in letting the grass grow under our feet." Kiki said as she walked off, not waiting for him to catch up. He had to run to catch up, and when he did Kiki herself broke into a run yelling, "You're gonna have to move quicker than that, church-boy!"
"Did you just call me church-boy?!" came the shocked exclamation from behind her. "Ok, I was gonna let you run on and win but now you've got yourself a race!" He took off running after her, laughing as he ran. It was a strange sight for the residents of Pheonix Drop, seeing Kiki the animal girl and Zane the threatening high-priest chasing after each other like children through the streets. Kiki led Zane on a merry chase, not only through the town but the woods as well. Eventually, even Kiki got tired and stopped in a clearing. There, she sat down on a log breathing heavily as Zane came crashing through the bushes. He sat down next to her and said through equally heavy breaths, "You.. run... like a deer." Kiki laughed again as she turned to face him, but stopped in surprise as Zane took her hand, leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Kiki froze in shock, then kissed him back. It was a kiss that shook Kiki down to her very core. As quickly as it has begun it was over,though, as Zane broke the kiss and leaned back against a tree. He was smirking at Kiki, and the only eye visible through his hair was full of mischief. She was blushing red as her hair, and didn't say anything. They sat like that in the clearing for awhile before heading back to town.
Years later, Kiki still remembers that day. Once in awhile, she takes out her photo she still keeps of him; with his blue eye full of laughter and a tricky smile playing on his lips. Even after all he had done to the town and to her, she still can't let him go. For on that one special day in the woods, even though Kiki won the race, Zane had won her heart.
And she'll love him always.
A/N: My entry for the writing contest. It's a few words over but I hope that doesn't matter too much. I tag the great Senpai~MermaidsDontDoHW
