She exhaled; breath staggering into the chilled air.
Rina imagined a jack-in-a-box, if she turned the wheel long enough her voice would return, it would pop out and frighten this terribly insane woman away from her…Only, the woman closed in. Hot air caressed her throat.
Her skin prickled.
The woman grinned.
Long hair fell over her shoulder covering Rina's sight, the curling strands slowly wrapping around her.
She was suffocating.
Rina forced her back.
The benign smile morphed into something cold and terrifying. She dug her nails deeply into fair shoulder blades, exposed by messy robes sloppily falling loose around her - if only she had paid attention to her mother's nagging.
The thought of her mother gave her strength; she was a woman made of water with a steel backbone.
The one light in the darkness. She threw her body back, feet skittering over the dammed pebbles. The woman followed her, tight grip keeping Rina upright.
"Stupid girl!"
Rina surged forward, curling her fingers in the lapels
of the blazer.
"You dammed crazy bitch!" Rina screamed.
They struggled, pulling and pushing. In the distance lights appeared, the deep voice of her uncle unmistakable. Rina crowed in triumph. She turned to the woman, but the momentary distraction cost her - the woman wound her arms around her neck, Rina coughed, pawed uselessly to find release. Her head swum with dizzying colours, knees giving up, she collapsed.
The mad woman towered over her. From the corner of her eye, the lamp light reflected on the surface of the pond. That was it! Rina used the last of her strength to throw her body back until she hit the surface of the water.
The chill of the water chased the dizziness, like an electric shock she was wide awake. The woman glared down at her from the bank, tall and menacing, half of her blending in with the shadows.
The voices grew louder.
Rina was an important asset to their family, possibly the next heir if her brother did not give up on art school. Even if she slipped out, the members of her clan would have her location pegged at all times. They gave her the false sense of privacy and they knew she knew, but everyone was content to let it be. Rina was far too popular with the public.
It was no wander that the search for her had begun within the 10 minutes she had not reached her destination.
Her dress grew heavy, her legs begun to feel like lumps filled with steel, she flapped her arms but the ache made it near impossible. She dipped once, twice, and the third time she could not find any strength to lever her body above water. Her vision darkness, her throat closed.
It was fine. Her uncle was coming
He extracted Rina from the pond with a ease that betrayed the heavy layers of her robes dragging her down. Hikaru tucked her in, his warmth a soothing balm, his strong, sure hands an anchor. His calm voice set the tension loose, and soon enough Rina allowed herself the peace of unconsciousness, knowing undoubtedly that she was safe.
She didn't need to fear when he uncles were there and if they watched her like hawks for the next year, she had no complaint. They had a team of bodyguards follow her everywhere, and when that took a strain on their finances her uncles and brother shadowed her. She was never alone for more than 5 minutes. When she took a bath, they sent a female member inside with her. It became cumbersome, yet she never complained. Better safe than dead.
Rina should have known, though, that a woman like that would not give up so easily.