Snow White with the Red Hair: The Valkyrie

The Chase

The four all lost sight of the girl as she disappeared into the darkness, but her muddy footsteps were left behind. Eventually, however, they were lost. She'd managed to climb a tree with Shirayuki on her shoulder and get over the castle walls. Obi followed the path she took, using the shadows as his ally. Zen and his aides took horses, searching what extent of the kingdom they could. They were beginning to lose hope, when they caught the shimmer of silver in the forest.

To her mistake, the kidnapper had left her glaive uncovered. It shimmered under the moonlight that just barely peeked past the storm clouds.

Obi was already ahead of his three comrades, swinging along the trees to catch up to the girl with extra weight on her shoulder. She hadn't stopped once; her endurance and stamina wasn't human.

The horned female didn't expect to be intercepted by anyone, so when Obi leapt on top of her from the tree above, her eyes widened slightly and Shirayuki was tossed into the muck. She swung her leg around her head, boosting some mud into the air as she stood up firm and strong. Obi did a backhand spring; aces already drawn between his knuckles.

There was a silence between them as they stared into each other's eyes. Obi's gaze was furious; blazing with a sort of fire. The horned female's was dead; as if she had nothing to live for or possessed no soul. Lightning struck as thunder boomed in the distance, creating the setting for their battleground.

"Would you truly die for a worthless girl?"

"If she's so worthless, why do you want her so badly?"

"I do whatever Madame tells me to. It is what makes Madame happy. Whatever Madame decides is right. I am grateful for Madame."

She sounded possessed. Those words that came out of her mouth... they made it seem as though that was all she'd ever been taught. Only to please her Madame. Nothing more. Nothing less. Like a little rag doll.

These thoughts made Obi loosen the hold he had on his aces; his shoulders tensing a little less.

"Is that all you do? Serve your 'madame?'"

"Yes. If it is what she wants, then it is what will be." She twirled her glaive around her back; the weapon now in her grasp, hugging against her shoulder blade. "Dare to challenge that, and pay for it."

"Shirayuki!" Zen, Kiki, and Mitsuhide leapt off of their horses, quickly unsheathing their swords. "You're surrounded. Give us Shirayuki and you'll face a lesser punishment." The prince gave this order with vast authority and demanding, but almost nothing could phase her.

"I've killed many before you for the sake of Madame. Human lives are expendable. You are all like wooden logs to me; I can slice right through you with my glaive." Her words felt like venom to the ears. She was a snake, ready to bite when threatened.

"Well unfortunately for you, we're not your basic wooden logs!" Zen lunged forward, swinging his sword towards the dark haired girl. She easily evaded; the prince's eyes widening. In all the battles he's ever been in, he's never seen anyone move so quickly. Except for Obi, of course. He swung again and again, each swing missing its target.

"Your fighting technique is rather sloppy." She commented. "You allow rage to fuel you when it is what makes you weaker. Be angry with me as much as you want; it's not going to change anything." Now, with it being her turn, she swung the glaive upwards, effortlessly knocking the sword right out of his grasp. He stared at his empty hand and then at her. "You are weak."

She dragged her glaive across the mud, sure to take the prince's head off, when Mitsuhide slid in front of him, stopping her blade from swinging any farther with his own.

"It is futile to resist. If Madame wants her, then she shall have her."

Mitsuhide struggled to hold back her glaive while she found no challenge in it. Her strength was superior to his. He was losing so quickly. But then Kiki came in for an attack from behind. Her crimson irises narrowed as she stopped the struggle against Mitsuhide. The girl stabbed her weapon into the muddy ground, using it as a pole to launch herself away from the chaos.

Obi stayed back, observing the fight. He figured it would be useless to waste his aces if she could avoid them so easily. Instead, he thought of her motives; her words, techniques, and style of doing things. She was a calm fighter; someone who was so emotionally detached to everything that nothing could hurt her, phase her, or make her feel fear. Except for...

Her madame.

He slipped through the shadows, quickly and quietly. Though she knew plenty about fighting, she made the mistake of being distracted. Obi took Shirayuki from the mud, holding her for a brief moment; gazing at her helpless figure. He wiped her face a bit before breathing in deep, hoping he wouldn't regret whatever he was about to do. An ace unsheathed and he yelled, "Stop!"

The fighting ceased and they all turned their heads in his direction. The former assassin was holding an ace to Shirayuki's throat; the blade pressed close to her skin.

"Drop the glaive. Surrender now or Miss dies."

"What?" Mitsuhide questioned.

"No!" Zen exclaimed.

"You would not dare to kill the person you are trying to save. You do not have the stomach. Just put the ace down and allow me to leave with her. Maybe then I shall spare your lives."

"I have the stomach to kill anybody I have to. That includes Shirayuki."

"You are bluffing."

"I'm not!" He pressed the blade closer. The girl's eyes widened when she saw a small stream of red trickle down her neck like paint. "Lay down your weapon and surrender, or she dies. If your madame wants her so badly, how do you think she would feel if she were dead."

She tensed.

They'd gotten the upper hand on her. She had already failed her mission, seeing as how the girl was to be captured without a scratch. Madame would punish her anyways. But this girl was something she truly wanted, and if she couldn't have her at all, it would make her extremely unhappy. That was the last thing the crimson eyed girl wanted.

She bit her bottom lip harshly. So much that she had pierced through a couple layers of skin; blood dripping down her chin. Her grip tightened on her glaive before she loosened it and dropped it on the ground before her.

"Now kick it over here." Zen demanded. Sighing, the girl did as she was told. As the weapon rolled to Mitsuhide's feet, Kiki slid her sword around her throat.

"Say your prayers."

"You are foolish if you think your precious little redhead will ever wake up without me."

"What do you mean?" Zen grabbed her at the collar, holding her covered face close to his own. "Tell me!"

"Madame has instructed me to give all her captives a poison dart infused with magic. There is no cure found in simple herbs. The poison should reach her heart within the hour. Kill me, and you will never have the cure. She will die with me!"

Zen released her then. He was torn. What could he do knowing this new information?

"She could be lying, Zen. She's just trying to survive and eventually get what she wants." Kiki suggested. "All the better reason to have her killed." The sword was pressed closer to the captor's throat. Her eyes returned to its neutral gaze, daring the prince to give the order for her death.

"Go on prince. I would be happy to share a death with the one you hold so dear. It is your choice. Make the correct decision if you ever want to see those pretty little green eyes open again."

Zen clenched his jaw, tightening his fists. He glanced at the unconscious Shirayuki before sighing, turning his back away to the other girl.

"Bind her and take her to the castle with us. If what she says is true, then we have no choice."

"But Zen—" Mitsuhide started to speak, when the prince lifted his hand to silence him.

"Please. This decision is hard enough as it is."