CHAPTER
*
"Yukiyo! YUKIYO!"
The young girl at the well dropped her bucket, splashing water all over her bare feet. She clumsily picked it up and ran as fast as she could, through a trickling stream to the edge of the village. The old woman was standing there between two willow trees, waiting for Yukiyo to come.
"Yes, Lady Aiko?" Yukiyo panted.
The old priestess's lined face crinkled into a smile. "You didn't need to hurry, Yukiyo. What were you doing away from the house?"
"I was - was getting water from the old well," Yukiyo said breathlessly.
"Ah, I see. Well, the water can wait for awhile yet. I need to grind some herbs, but my fingers are stiffened. Would you do it, child?" Aiko asked. Her hands were gnarled from arthritis and a lifetime of work, and when it was damp she had difficulty working.
Yukiyo spent the next hour grinding dried leaves to a fine powder. The old woman ventured out of the hut and came back with more firewood. "Having you here is such a comfort, Yukiyo," Aiko said warmly. She dropped some of the firewood into the hearth. "And you're learning your lessons quite well."
Yukiyo glowed at the praise. "Really?"
"Of course, child. Now finish grinding your herbs, and once you've fetched the water, you can spend the rest of the day as you wish." The old priestess warmed her stiffened fingers over the fire. "You've been working hard, and you deserve some rest."
Delighted, Yukiyo began grinding the herbs even harder. Aiko was a kind woman, but she needed help most of the time, and so Yukiyo had little time to herself. She had lived with Aiko for almost eight years now. Her parents had been killed by bandits when they had tried to protect their farm, and Yukiyo had been found huddled in the wreckage of her house.
Every family in the village had been too poor to take care of another child. But the priestess Aiko had volunteered to raise Yukiyo herself, and train her to be her successor. Aiko had been the one to dry Yukiyo's tears, and had taught her everything she knew about herbcraft and demons. There weren't many nearby, but Yukiyo knew that the village had to be prepared if anything dangerous came.
After storing away the herbs, Yukiyo ran outside with the bucket. She barely heard Aiko call after her, "Be careful, child."
*
The old well was set deep in the woods, in a clearing surrounded by trees and streams. Even though there was a well in the village, Aiko said that the forest well was the best. "The water there is purer -- much better for my medicines," she said one day. "It's worth the trouble of getting it."
Yukiyo sat down on the crooked stones and looked down. Then she tied the bucket to the frayed rope, and started to lower it in.
"Well, if it ain't a little wench," a voice called.
Yukiyo froze, and slowly turned around. Someone stepped out of the bushes -- a man, with a dirty, scarred face and a battered sword at his belt. He grinned at her. "A pretty one too. You'd be even prettier if you were a bit older, but beggars can't be choosers."
Yukiyo clutched the bucket like a shield. She wanted to scream, but her voice seemed to have vanished.
"Well come on, little lady," the bandit said, leering. "Or do my friends and I have to persuade ya?"
A second man -- squat, ugly and also grinning -- stepped out of the bushes. A reed-thin one with a long nose followed. "I'll help ya," the squat man said, "if I can have her when you're done."
"Deal," the scarred man said. He took a step toward Yukiyo.
Yukiyo was never entirely sure what happened next. It seemed as though the tree behind her exploded into a thousand fragments, and a voice shouted a word she couldn't make out. The bandits were hammered by the fragments of it -- right before the shattered trunk began to lean and fall. The thin one pointed up at the treetops with a cry. The three men began to stumble away, gibbering and howling like frightened children.
Yukiyo had fallen to the ground when the tree exploded. For a moment, she was too terrified to move. Then someone stepped away from the wreckage of the tree. At first, she thought it was a boy or young man. Then she saw that it wasn't a human being -- but a demon.
TO BE CONTINUED
*
"Yukiyo! YUKIYO!"
The young girl at the well dropped her bucket, splashing water all over her bare feet. She clumsily picked it up and ran as fast as she could, through a trickling stream to the edge of the village. The old woman was standing there between two willow trees, waiting for Yukiyo to come.
"Yes, Lady Aiko?" Yukiyo panted.
The old priestess's lined face crinkled into a smile. "You didn't need to hurry, Yukiyo. What were you doing away from the house?"
"I was - was getting water from the old well," Yukiyo said breathlessly.
"Ah, I see. Well, the water can wait for awhile yet. I need to grind some herbs, but my fingers are stiffened. Would you do it, child?" Aiko asked. Her hands were gnarled from arthritis and a lifetime of work, and when it was damp she had difficulty working.
Yukiyo spent the next hour grinding dried leaves to a fine powder. The old woman ventured out of the hut and came back with more firewood. "Having you here is such a comfort, Yukiyo," Aiko said warmly. She dropped some of the firewood into the hearth. "And you're learning your lessons quite well."
Yukiyo glowed at the praise. "Really?"
"Of course, child. Now finish grinding your herbs, and once you've fetched the water, you can spend the rest of the day as you wish." The old priestess warmed her stiffened fingers over the fire. "You've been working hard, and you deserve some rest."
Delighted, Yukiyo began grinding the herbs even harder. Aiko was a kind woman, but she needed help most of the time, and so Yukiyo had little time to herself. She had lived with Aiko for almost eight years now. Her parents had been killed by bandits when they had tried to protect their farm, and Yukiyo had been found huddled in the wreckage of her house.
Every family in the village had been too poor to take care of another child. But the priestess Aiko had volunteered to raise Yukiyo herself, and train her to be her successor. Aiko had been the one to dry Yukiyo's tears, and had taught her everything she knew about herbcraft and demons. There weren't many nearby, but Yukiyo knew that the village had to be prepared if anything dangerous came.
After storing away the herbs, Yukiyo ran outside with the bucket. She barely heard Aiko call after her, "Be careful, child."
*
The old well was set deep in the woods, in a clearing surrounded by trees and streams. Even though there was a well in the village, Aiko said that the forest well was the best. "The water there is purer -- much better for my medicines," she said one day. "It's worth the trouble of getting it."
Yukiyo sat down on the crooked stones and looked down. Then she tied the bucket to the frayed rope, and started to lower it in.
"Well, if it ain't a little wench," a voice called.
Yukiyo froze, and slowly turned around. Someone stepped out of the bushes -- a man, with a dirty, scarred face and a battered sword at his belt. He grinned at her. "A pretty one too. You'd be even prettier if you were a bit older, but beggars can't be choosers."
Yukiyo clutched the bucket like a shield. She wanted to scream, but her voice seemed to have vanished.
"Well come on, little lady," the bandit said, leering. "Or do my friends and I have to persuade ya?"
A second man -- squat, ugly and also grinning -- stepped out of the bushes. A reed-thin one with a long nose followed. "I'll help ya," the squat man said, "if I can have her when you're done."
"Deal," the scarred man said. He took a step toward Yukiyo.
Yukiyo was never entirely sure what happened next. It seemed as though the tree behind her exploded into a thousand fragments, and a voice shouted a word she couldn't make out. The bandits were hammered by the fragments of it -- right before the shattered trunk began to lean and fall. The thin one pointed up at the treetops with a cry. The three men began to stumble away, gibbering and howling like frightened children.
Yukiyo had fallen to the ground when the tree exploded. For a moment, she was too terrified to move. Then someone stepped away from the wreckage of the tree. At first, she thought it was a boy or young man. Then she saw that it wasn't a human being -- but a demon.
TO BE CONTINUED