Prologue – Arrival
Dear Mr. Sena;
In preparation for your arrival, I have arranged lodging and transportation following your arrival in Zokugaku. A carriage shall arrive for you and your luggage in the morning, and you should arrive at my castle by evening.
Safe travels,
The Count
Sena sighed, folding the letter and returning it to its place in his breast pocket. He would be happy to finally arrive at the Count's castle – if only for want of a proper bed - if the countryside so far had been any indication. The further east he traveled, the more…medieval the landscape became.
Zokugaku was, by far, the worst. The leader of the village – self-appointed, if Sena was any judge – had been no end of trouble to him so far. It seemed like the only thing keeping them from robbing Sena blind was the fact that he was a guest of the Count's.
Sigh.
Sena wasn't regretful of the fact that he'd accepted the mission to visit the Count and deliver the papers as was necessary – quite the opposite – however, he was beginning to wonder if they'd simply pushed the unwanted duty onto him, the veritable gofer of the company. Mamori would scold him if she found out.
Sigh.
He just hoped he could get this over with and go home…
"Listen up, shorty." A voice prompted.
Startled, Sena jumped, before turning to the owner of the voice – it was the leader, one Hibashira-san.
"Y…yes?" Sena stammered.
"It's just fair to warn you – you go to that castle, you ain't comin' back." He stated, perfectly calm.
"P…pardon?" Sena said, feeling a chill creep up his spine – whether from the taller man's statement or simply his nearness, one couldn't say.
"Least, no one ever does. 'Sides the Count himself." He added as an afterthought. "'Course, very few people ever see the Count and live to tell about it…"
Sena was now decidedly frightened.
"You shouldn't try to frighten him, Hibashira-kun." Prompted the driver, appearing from around the corner, where he'd been placing Sena's luggage into the carriage. The driver was easily the largest man Sena had ever seen – Sena found himself wondering how the poor horses could pull the man – with a head shaped like a chestnut. He seemed very kind, and Sena trusted him almost immediately.
"Don't listen to him, Sena-kun. The Count is a good person. It's been his dream to go to England for awhile now, and he'll be more than happy to have you at his castle."
"I'm not sayin' he won't be happy to have 'em, fatty. I'm just sayin' he's not comin' back out." Hibarshira snorted.
Sena laughed nervously, "Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine." I hope. "We should be on our way, shouldn't we, Mr…?"
"Kurita. You can call me Kurita, Sena-kun." He smiled, and Sena immediately felt at ease. If such a kind-looking man could trust the Count, surely all the rumors (there had been quite a few) that Sena had heard in the villages must simply be peasant superstition.
Feeling much better, Sena said his goodbyes to Hibashira-kun and the other villagers who saw him off – and they were few – and got into the carriage. It promised to be a long trip.
It was.
Kurita-san was pleasant enough company – he yammered on endlessly about nothing at all, and was cheerful to a fault – but the carriage was uncomfortable, and once night fell, Sena could hear wolves in the distance, and began to worry.
Fortunately, as soon as Sena began to honestly fear for his life – were those eyes in the bushes? - the carriage pulled into the courtyard, clattering noisily on the cobblestones.
"It's very late. Are you sure the Count is okay with this?" Sena said, watching the larger man take his luggage from the carriage – he'd refused any sort of aid on Sena's part.
"Oh, he'll be fine. The Count is a bit of a night-owl, you see." Kurita replied. A wolf howled in the distance as he said this, and Sena once again felt a chill run down his spine.
"Welcome!" A voice boomed.
Turning, Sena saw the easily most demonic man he'd ever seen standing at the top of the staircase.
Count Hiruma.
--------------
End Prologue
--------------
Author's Notes: A short chapter, but it IS a prologue...
My writing's SO rusty. I apologize.