|
Untitled Document
Part 2: Banished
Bunny swallowed hard. She had not been in the presence
of the King since her birth. It was her birthday, and after she had her parties
and presents and things, she was now being escorted to the town square. The
King was to evaluate her there in front of all the people. Slowly she walked
up to the King and awaited his speech.
"I have heard a lot about you, Bunny Ketsotsu,"
he started, "Not all of it was good, either. But from what I can tell, you are
probably the most well mannered of the Clan, and have passed the evaluation.
Congratulations. I reward you for your achievements with an item that has saved
us in many wars..." He smiled as some soldiers rolled up a huge blanket-covered
object.
"An item so powerful it has been locked away
for centuries... behold, the Dung Catapult!!" he took off the blankets, revealing
the huge machine. Everyone gasped and started to clap and cheer. Bunny stared
in awe.
"I've... never seen such a magnificent weapon..."
She ran her paw over the machine. "It's beautiful... and whoever made it must
have been really good..." Her paw stopped at the base of the rope. Her eyes
went wide and her mouth dropped to see the string pulling apart. Her eyes looked
up just in time to realize where its ammunition would hit. "Oh my Go- LOOK OUT!!"
the string snapped and the catapult hurled its contents towards the King. Everyone
gasped as the King was pelted with- anyway, the crowd went silent and the Prince
could barely contain his laughter. The King wiped his face off and glared at
Bunny. His eyes strayed down to her paw, and noticed for the first time the
long, sharp retractable claws that Bunny unsheathed out of shock.
"Well, this just proves that no dark Zafara
can be trusted," the Prince snickered. The King's eyes were filled with fire.
"I am ashamed of you... You betrayed our trust and embarrassed me in front of
the entire town!!" he roared.
Bunny blinked. "What? I didn't mean to-"
The King stamped his feet and interrupted. "Now
you're lying!! I knew the day I saw you that you would be a thorn in the heart
of our pride..." Bunny's mouth was wide open and she was too shocked to defend
herself. "I should have taken heed of your righteous judgement, my son," the
King looked at the Prince, who put on a stern face upon glance.
"What do you propose that we should do with
her?" the Prince asked, trying not to smile.
"You know what we will do with her..." the King's
voice rose among the chatter of the crowd.
"She is to be exiled!!! To the Forest of Darkness!!
Anyone who weeps over her will be put in the dungeon!! Guards!!" the King roared.
Two guards ran towards Bunny, one unsheathing
his sword, and he hit her in the head with the hilt, knocking her out. Bunny's
mom, Teinei, screamed and ran out of the crowd towards Bunny, but was restrained
by two more guards as the original two guards dragged her off.
"Bunny!! BUNNY!!! No!! How could you!? Bunnyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!"
she screamed in tears as she watched her daughter be dragged off towards the
Haunted Woods. Teinei was put in the dungeon. Meanwhile the two guards walked
to the edge of the forest, and threw Bunny into the forest.
"Poor thing, I almost pity her," one of the
guards said.
"Yeah, but you can never trust a dark colored
Z'fara," the other one replied.
The two guards walked off, leaving the unconscious
Bunny in the woods.
~*~
"Uhhhh...?" Bunny's eyes fluttered open. "Why am I... lying here...?" She
sat up and looked around. She was in a clearing, a lake in the middle, and she
was surrounded with thick woods. She didn't see what the edge of the forest
was like, but she could tell she was much deeper into the forest than the guards
had brought her. They wouldn't have gone this far into the woods just to lay
her there. Bunny stared at the ground until her vision was hazy. Tears rolled
down her cheek as she thought about what happened. Then she noticed something
lying a couple feet from her. "What the...? Fruit...?" Bunny stared in confusion
at the basket of fruit in front of her. It didn't seem like someone lost it
by accident- it had to be put there on purpose. She got up slowly and walked
over to it. Her stomach growled loudly as she stared at a pear that had strayed
away from the basket. Her arm had stretched out and her paw wrapped around the
fruit, when she had another surprise. Her eyes widened as she saw someone sitting
at the edge of the lake.
Bunny came a little bit closer, being careful
not to make a sound. The girl at the lake didn't seem normal. Her hair was a
dark purple, in a long ponytail, almost reaching down to her feet. Half of the
braid had long, lime green streaks going down. She was dressed in black clothing,
wearing black shorts, a short, sleeveless black baby doll shirt, and black high
heels. But the oddest thing about her were those things sprouting from her back.
Wings! But they weren't like the wings the Faerie Zafara's had. They were more
like batwings, instead of butterfly wings. She was throwing pebbles at the fish
in the lake, but when Bunny took a step, her long, elf-like ears snapped up.
"So, you're awake." The girl turned her head to look at Bunny. Her eyes were
a blood red, like Bunny's, and she had jade bat earrings. Bunny stayed there
silent. Was the girl friend or foe?
"Are you feeling alright?" the girl blinked
in confusion. She had glittery aquamarine eyeshadow and shiny pink lipstick
on. Bunny gulped. She had heard stories about people like this girl. They called
them Dark Faeries. Everyone told her they were to be avoided at all times- but
Bunny never believed they were bad.
"Um... yeah... who are you?" Bunny took a step
back as the Dark Faerie got up and walked towards her. "You sure you're okay?
You hit your head on something hard..." Bunny just now noticed that she had
bandages around her forehead.
"Were you the one who patched them up?" Bunny
looked up at the bandages and then back at the Dark Faerie.
"I was..." she sat down, flicking her dark hair
back. Bunny pointed at the basket of fruit.
"What's with that?" she asked, assuming that
she was the one that put it there.
"It's... nothing..." the Dark Faerie glanced
at the lake again.
Not much for talking, is she? Bunny thought
to herself. Her paw reached out again and grabbed the fallen fruit. "So... what's
your name?" she asked, eyes locked on the girl, hoping for a reply. The Dark
Faerie stayed silent for a moment, then looked up at Bunny.
"It's Tron. Tron Bonne. And yers is..?" Bunny
felt her bloodstained eyes piercing her skin. She had never seen anything except
Zafara's all her life. Did other creatures act like the Zafara's? Or were they
different somehow?
"My... name is... Bunny..." she mumbled as she
sunk her teeth into the pear.
"What are you doing here anyway? Didn't your
mommy ever tell you how dangerous this place is?" the Dark Faerie said with
a grin.
Bunny stared at the ground for a minute. "My
mom's in jail." She felt hot tears burning against her eyes. Bunny swallowed
hard. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as she remembered the feelings
at the ceremony. Tron stared at her for a second.
"Why?" she spun around to sit facing Bunny and
waited for a reply. Bunny hesitated. Apparently Tron had no problem asking questions
Bunny didn't want to answer.
"It's a long story..." she tried to avoid the
question, but it didn't work.
"I got time. Tell me!" Tron grabbed an apple
and bit into it, waiting for an answer. Bunny sighed. She told Tron the story
of how she was born in the Light Faerie Clan with a dark coloration, and they
thought it meant she was evil. Tron cringed at the mention of that clan. Bunny
told her about her ceremony and how someone cut the rope so it'd make it look
like she attacked the King. She told her about the guards that knocked her out
and how she saw her mom being dragged to the jail.
Bunny recalled everything in graphic detail.
Tron listened, her eyes glistening with emotions. "The only people that truly
cared were my mom and the Blacksmith and his wife..." Bunny's eyes widened as
she suddenly remembered- the present! "The box!! Where did it go?" Bunny looked
around frantically for the box. Tron tilted her head in confusion.
"Box? You mean that box you were carrying when
I found you?" Tron held out the box for Bunny. "Yes! Thank you!" Bunny smiled
as she took the box and opened it. It was her birthday- she might as well. Her
eyes widened in shock as she saw a beautiful sword in the shape of a cross laying
in the box. It had emerald, sapphire and amethyst designs all over both the
hilt and the blade. At the tip of the blade was a small bat shaped amethyst
with ruby eyes. It looked like the birthmarks on Bunny's ears. The sheathe was
rather large but it could fit. A note was attached to the sword.
To Bunny Ketsotsu, my dearest friend. Happy
Birthday! For years I have kept this blade a secret, but I wanted you to have
it. You have a dream that you wish to make come true. I think this will help
you. Good luck my friend, and never give up on your dreams. Your friend the
Blacksmith.
Bunny smiled. She could always count on the
Blacksmith to cheer her up. It wasn't too happy of a birthday though. A tear
hit the blade and slid off as Bunny picked up the sword. She strapped it to
her back and smiled confidently.
"So it's yer birthday?" Tron interrupted her
thoughts.
She glanced over her shoulder and gasped. She
was reading Bunny's letter! Bunny snatched the paper away before she could read
any more. Tron just stared in thought.
"So yer an outcast. I always despised the Light
Faerie Clan anyway. Why don't you come with me for a while?" she smiled at her.
Bunny shrugged and finished the pear she was
eating. "I might as well. Don't have anywhere else to go..." She didn't know
whether to smile or frown.
Tron smiled again. "Well come on then."
She turned and started walking deeper into the
forest. "There's somewhere I need to go." Bunny followed, a smile on her face.
"I guess the stories weren't true after all." But there was something Tron knew
that Bunny didn't. She would become a legend.
To be continued...
| 
