Seclusion | 孤独 | Obi

| eight |

Obi was impressed after watching the red- haired miss converse with Lord Haruka outside the second Prince's office. She was determined and her eyes were hard. They almost reminded the assassin of the little lady he had met only prior moments before. He felt excited to see her again, that is if he did- he wanted to think positively as you had came across as protective towards Shirayuki.

After being called and caught by Prince Zen, Obi was forced to become a guard of the his and more specifically the Prince's aide. Obi had wanted to question Lady Shirayuki about the little Lady he met with the eyepatch but he was certian that was beyond his boundries. 

As of now, Obi was told- or rather demanded that he leave Prince Zen and Shirayuki to themselves in the woods outside the castle as the red haired girl was very interested in herbs and flora of the like, so he had been reduced to watching people among the castle and avoiding Lord Haruka as that man had been scolded for hiring an assassin in the castle.

Obi was perched on the roof of a building, the same building that the girl he met had jumped from, the horse steps embedded in the dirt below had been blown away by the weather though instead of the ground, he saw a horse - the colour resembling the girl's hair that he remembered so fondly.

The horse caught his attention, making a small smile grow upon his lips though he still hid slightly as to not startled the majestic animal. It ate grass from the ground beneath peacefully and Obi made sure to check the surroundings for another majestic animel in the trees, "Kuro.."

A hooded figure limped towards the horse. The horse, Kuro, watched the person but only went back to eating. The hooded figure's clothing was ripped and tattered as if they had been trampled in the dirt, there was blood too. Obi couldn't help but jump towards a closer tree to make sure this person was who he thought it was, who he hoped it was.

"Kuro, let's go.." The voice was clearer, it was feminine and it also made Obi sure it was you, he also noticed your messy brown hair that had escaped the hood. There was traces of blood in your tresses and as if Obi had lost control, he jumped right to the ground beside you.

He got a closer look, your breathing was irregular and there were scratches littered across your face. Your eye that wasn't covered was turning blue underneath and the eyepatch looked as if it was tightly redone to keep it secure. Your hood was sprayed with small stains of deep red blood and your thick clothing was covered in brown stains of dirt as they were half ripped and dragging on the floor behind you.

It was horrifying to see. You had spat after taking an intake of air, red liquid landing on the floor and when you turned around to lead Kuro to the nearby lake, you almost choked on your breath at the face of Obi.

"Are you okay there miss?"

A quick pull of Kuro's mane made you flinch and yelp in pain, your wrists were still in pain from when you had been tied and held captive with Prince Raji in Tanbarun. The leather rope had dug into your skin and you had no remedies to heal the tender skin properly- you only relied on time.

"Leave me be."

You raspy voice sent daggers in Obi's chest. He was oddly comfortable and more angry than upset wih the current situation. He didn't understand how this would happen, he didn't get why you had turned out like this after two days apart, "Come with me, I'll get you some medical assistance." 

He turned to leave with his hands behind his head but stopped short when you turned the other way, the way you were intially going as you headed for the lake, "Hey, I said foll-"

"And I said leave me alone. I don't associate with people."

He could've laughed as he found you really peculiar, "Lady Shirayuki has herbs and remedies that can help, especially with your wrists- that looks really painful."

You covered your arms in an instant and kept your gaze at the ground. Shirayuki. You despised that name yet you also didn't, your mixed emotions caused you great distress- probably why you had lost your battle with those filthy bandits only moments before. You knew well enough that your wrists were close to becoming infected, they probably already were.

You wanted to see Shirayuki, you wanted to ask her so many questions. But you didn't as well. Obi noticed your internal conflict and had taken steps towards you but he didn't realise that you had already known. The moment his arm almost reached you, a knife was at his neck.

Oddly enough, he wasn't expecting that. The way you thrusted your arm so fast had made the robes fall short on your arm, making him clearly see the true extent of the damage in your arms. The scratches on your face and the blood in your long hair that ended at your lower waist, it looked really painful, "Okay, you can stay put and I can bring Shirayuki to you- of course Prince Zen will have to accompany us as he won't dare to leave his princess alone with us."

You were gobsmacking. Princess?

"Actually- not a princess but it's definitely possible."

Blushing furiously, you didn't realise that you had spoken out loud and looked away from Obi's small smile, he took a few steps back and watched you a little longer before turning to climb a tree and jump towards the roof where he had unknowingly trusted you to do as he said. 

You were scared, only having a few minutes to decide whether you should stay or leave before Obi came back with Shirayuki. A rustling in the bushes behind you made you turn within half a second with the blade held up again. It had been a few minutes and Obi wasn't back, feeling extemely hungry and in pain as your body ached- your immediate response was to fly in this fight or fly moment.

Swerving around with Kuro, you turned away from the bush to rush off with the horse in tow before a yell made you stop, "Wait!"

It was that voice, the same one that was the most overpowering when you had been caught stealing from the people in Tanbarun. The same that had defended you with that bright red hair, she was here, behind you.

"Shirayuki, wait!"

The voice of the Prince was with her and you shook in your spot, hiding behind the large body of Kuro that chewed at the grass beneath him, "You're that girl, right? The one that took the apples before I ate them- you saved me."

You had hesistantly raised an arm to keep the hood secure over your face, fear building within you when you weren't comfortable with any of these people, unluckily for you- the raising of your arm had caused your sleeve to rid up your elbow as the dried blood mingled with the semi-dried blood around your wrist, emmiting two gasps from the people behind.

"Master, this lady needs medical help- I was looking for you and Miss Shirayuki but it seems you got to her first." 

Out of nowhere, Obi was beside you in between his master and yourself. Gasping as a hand made contact with your own, you flinched away and subconsciously raised your knife once again.

It wasn't fair- none of this was fair. Why was Shirayuki treated with such kindness and royalty when you had only just survived a fight against bandits.

The both of you weren't normal but why was she so much more fortunate.