The Moon Dancer

Chapter 9

The quiet lapping of water filled Ruhya's ears as her feet were cooled by clear waters of a small pond. The chill of the water contrasted the heat of the sun on her back. For the first time since coming to the palace, she felt at peace. Gone were the thoughts of fear and betrayal, the pain of the bite on her collarbone, and the chains around her ankles. Ruhya's body swayed to the rhythmic lapping of the water. Her mind formed a soft song and she quietly hummed to herself.

Kouta had left her at the pond while he gathered the sticks from his secret base. The sash from his robe weighed heavily on her face and was giving her a headache, but she was grateful for the darkness it provided.

Ruhya didn't realize how much the sash muffled her hearing until a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders. She screamed and lurched forward, almost falling into to pond. The hands pulled her backward and Ruhya let out a grunt as she hit the ground. Instinctively she opened her mouth to scream but hands quickly covered her mouth and muffled her screams.

"Shh! Don't scream, it's just me."

"Peli? Is that really you?" Ruhya asked in disbelief as the hands fell away from her mouth. She quickly spun around and threw her arms around Peli, smashing her face into his broad chest. Peli held Ruhya closely and patted her head. He could tell from her quivering that she was crying.

"Shh, don't cry. I'm here now."

"You said that you would protect me, where were you? I called out for you and you never came." Ruhya sobbed out as she weakly hit Peli with her fists. 

Peli sucked in his breath, he wasn't sure what to tell her. How could he explain that he had been sleeping? The one time Ruhya called out for him was the one time he slept in.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry Ruhya, you have no idea how sorry I am." Peli choked out, his voice thick with emotion, "But don't worry. I have a plan to get you out of here. You just have to wait a little longer."

Ruhya could only nod as she struggled to rein her emotions back in. Carefully she reached under the sash to wipe her eyes, but she kept one hand on Peli, not willing to let go of the only piece of home she had. She felt Peli's grip on her tighten, close to the point of hurting her. Suddenly he let go as the sound of footsteps could be heard. Ruhya squeezed his hand before letting go, and he was gone in a few seconds. They had not been together for more than 5 minutes, but it was enough to make Ruhya painfully homesick for the circus. 

A few seconds later Kouta came stumbling into the garden, his arms full of various sized sticks. The longest one dragged behind him, creating a groove in the grass. He reached Ruhya and dumped them beside her. 

"See, I told you I had a big collection of sticks!" Kouta stated proudly. Ruhya sniffled, taking a few seconds to compose herself, and then turned to Kouta with a large smile. 

Kouta placed each stick into Ruhya's hands and then told the story of how he found them. Several of the sticks had choppy ends and grooves as if someone had tried to carve them. Ruhya gently ran her hand over the end of a large stick, being careful as to not get a splinter.

"I saw some a big stick while I was walking over here, do you want to go get it with me?" Kouta asked. Not sure of what else to do, Ruhya nodded. Kouta helped her to stand and together they walked to the edge of the palace wall, unaware of the eyes that followed them.

***

Peli fought to keep his temper under control. He clenched his fists and took deep breaths, anything to quench the ball of anger boiling inside him. The memory of Ruhya crying in his arms and the painfully red mark on her neck caused a Peli to momentarily lose control.