A Guardian's Possession. Amy Blankenship

over the unstable ground and toward the unknown. Kyoko could feel the undergrowth of the forest tearing at her robe and skin. She ignored the branches as one scraped her cheek and others caught her hair and legs as her headlong flight continued.

      Her feet were screaming at her to stop as she continuously stepped on small pebbles and thorns. She could feel trickles of liquid running down her arms and legs but didn’t look to see if it was sweat or blood. If she stopped he would catch her!

      Looking back over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t being pursued, Kyoko realized in the darkness of the forest… he could have been right behind her and she would never have seen him. The thought was chilling and made her move faster.

      She didn’t really know where she was, but on instinct, she stayed straight and prayed she was getting farther from the castle and from the possessive guardian that Kyou had become. Her foot caught on something stiff and the ground came up hard and fast. The impact made her disoriented for a few seconds, her breathing fast and shallow.

      Staying on hands and knees, Kyoko tried to catch her breath and slow her pounding heartbeat. Her body ached and she knew there were more wounds on her knees… they stung as only skinned knees can. She listened to the sounds around her and noticed the sounds had stopped… that frightened her.

      Kyoko looked down at herself and saw that the white robe she had on was glowing in the moonlight. She gritted her teeth realizing that from a distance she would look like a light in the heart of darkness.

      Swiftly, with shaking hands, she discarded the shimmering white material knowing she would have no covering but also that she would have a better chance at not being detected and recaptured. Kyoko tossed the silky robe away and took off again through the darkness of the forest, praying that the reason the forest was quiet wasn’t because Kyou had followed her.

      More limbs cut into her bare skin as she ran but she paid no heed. Turning her head while she was running, Kyoko looked over her shoulder feeling like something was closing in on her. She didn’t see the ledge where the ground disappeared… coming back into view several hundred feet below.

      Turning her head back just in time to see herself take the fatal step, the next thing Kyoko knew, she was falling. She didn’t even scream as she fell… it would do her no good. The same feeling she had during the dream came back… she had fallen inside the dark cave but Hyakuhei had saved her.

      â€œHyakuhei,” she closed her eyes wishing he was there.

      Then she felt it, the arm coming around her from behind. She could tell by the touch that it wasn’t Hyakuhei and she screamed in panic. Thinking it was Kyou; she clawed at the arm not noticing the shirtsleeve was the wrong color.