Lulu's POV:
"What was that?"
I thought I heard something moving in the trees just now, followed by a loud CRUNCH, so I stopped and looked but didn't see anything.
Whatever it was, it sure did startle me!
One of the matron's Yako-nin grabbed me by the arm.
"Quit dawdling!" she gruffly ordered.
"Ow! That hurts...!" I squirmed in her grasp, but she was too strong. "Why are you being so rough all of a sudden? And why are you in such a hurry anyway?"
The other one grabbed me by my other arm, starting to drag me along against my will. "Don't ask so many questions, brat!" she snapped, in a cold voice. "You know the price of disobeying the matron's will: exile, or DEATH."
None of this felt right. I mean, how could I know if they were telling the truth?
Why was I so gullible…?!
"I don't like this—any of this!" I yelled at them. "I wanna go home.
