======================================= Angel of Chronos: CHAPTER ONE |>õ<| / \ --- IN CHAINS ======================================= by: Spatula Gurl (Rated G) "...behold the gentle, flutter of wings, Hear its silent plea..." Hurried footsteps echoed along the hallway. The quick, swishing sound of silk and satin against the marbled floor accompanied the short gasps for breath. "M'lady, please!" Minako glanced back once, and, seeing the maid closing the distance between them, raised her skirts and finally broke into a run. The maid, catching a look at the exposed calves of her lady, gave a small gasp of surprise, and soon she too, followed suit and ran after the blonde whirlwind. Minako soon turned at the curve past the kitchens and shouted to the maid, "I do not wish to see him, Cora. Tell him that I am not here! Tell him I have gone hunting, or--or something of the sort. No, tell him I have gone with my father and will not return 'til a fortnight!" "But m'lady...!" Cora's protest died on her lips as she soon lost sight of her mistress. The only visible trace was the havoc the young countess left behind in the kitchens. She sighed. The sight of the tumbled mess, the clattered silver and the spilt wine was very familiar. She bent down to help clean up one broken plate and shook her head resignedly. At the sound of someone chuckling beside her, she glanced sideways only to see John, the head cook, grinning amusedly. "Our young lady is one spirited vixen, isn't she?" he said, his grin growing wider. "Do not start with me now, Old John," Cora retorted, dusting her skirts as she stood up with one hand on her hip. "She is always like this whenever Sir Richard or Sir Ryuzo comes calling. When will she stop running away? When she is too old to be nothing but an old maid, with nary an heir?" It was John's turn to sigh and shake his head. "Lady Minako has always been a free spirit. You can never chain stern stuff of that kind. Until it is her wish to wed, there is nothing we can do." He turned silent for a moment, his eyes turning fondly toward the direction where the young lady took off in such a hurry. "I am uncertain whether or not to pity her. She is happy and content the way she is here." Then he added, his paternal affections surfacing, "But I do hope she will find wherever it is her heart lies. And I pray to the heavens...may it be the best path for her." Cora turned away, and scoffed, "John, you sentimental old fool." And, before he had a chance to say anything, she turned her heels and walked away, hiding the moisture forming at the corners of her eyes. Minako watched as the ripples grew larger and larger, each new ring disturbing the calm stillness of the lake. She threw another stone, and then another, and watched them in the same quiet manner with her knees folded up in front of her. "If you keep doing that, the water may just rise to eat you up for a change of diet," a soft, elderly voice spoke behind her. Minako whirled around suddenly, finding an old woman standing calmly behind her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she exclaimed, "Annie?! I did not know you were familiar with this place! What are you doing here?" Anne, the old woman, approached her slowly in cautious steps. "To find you, of course," she replied with a slight smile. "I am not going back until Sir Richard leaves," Minako answered huffily, her back turning rigid. But Anne said nothing. She simply walked towards the girl until she was standing right beside her. "You will spoil your gown if you sit on the ground like that," she finally said in the same soft voice. Minako sighed, but refused to look at the elder. "Did Cora send you here?" she asked, ignoring the earlier statement. "No, my dear child," Anne replied, shaking her head. "I have simply come for a talk." "If this is about Sir Richard, Annie, then I wouldst we talk some other day. I would just like to be alone for now. I do not wish to see him." Anne smiled again, if patiently. She looked down at her young ward, and said, "Sir Richard left but a few moments ago. I understand Cora gave him one of your alibis." Minako blushed scarlet at the reminder, but continued to remain silent for a few more minutes. The old woman sighed now, easing herself carefully beside the younger female on the soft, mildewed earth. "Minako..." "I hate it, Annie," Minako replied in a hoarse whisper, unwanted tears forming in the clear, blue eyes as she turned her face towards the elder. "And I hate him. Why does Father insist so much that I marry? I am barely aged a score. I do not like being coerced into a situation I am like to suffer from!" Anne was silent. She reached out with a comforting arm, but Minako shied away slightly, ashamed that her eyes were brimming with tears. "I hate it," she whispered. "But you know I tried, did you not? By God, you know I tried. But I cannot be expected to surrender myself to a life I know I do not want. I cannot readily offer myself to be a sacrifice..." She wiped her eyes hastily. "Why does he do this to me?" "My dear," Anne whispered in the same low voice, "Your father loves you. You know that." "Yea, I know he does," she whispered back. "But I do not understand why he insists on this matter so much when it can be settled whenever the right time comes. I am only nineteen, for God's sake! I do not want to force myself on any situation. I want to have love," she admitted, with a hollow laugh. "I am foolish, I know. But I want to have love the way he had before Mother died." "But we cannot all be that fortunate, my child," Anne said sadly. "And we women almost never get the best of chances in this world." "Why is he so eager to have me married, anyway? 'Tis unreasonable, this farce he persists in believing." She turned to Anne with pleading eyes and lowered her voice not higher than a whisper, "What about you, Annie? Do you know anything about it?" The woman's brown eyes flickered for a moment, but she turned away before Minako could sense anything. "Why do you not trust your father? You know he only wants the best for you. He just wants to see you settled down on your own before time passes him by. He would never intentionally hurt you." "Well, he is hurting me now," Minako muttered furiously as she stood up. "You are right about one thing, Annie. Women never get the best chances in this world." She looked at her elder, whose eyes only bore sadness, before she turned and walked away. A cold breeze came by as she said her parting words, "I only wish that someday, things would be different..." ___________________________________________________________________________ Send comments to: Spatula Gurl