"Shinobu!" He screams. His voice echoes against the castle walls.
'Thump, Thump, Tap, Tap, Tap!'
I try to drown it out with the sound of my feet slapping the ground and the blood rushing in my ears.
"Shinobu!" His voice grips the back of my neck as if to grab me with cold fingers.
[If only I wasn't here right now. If only I could fly away and never come back.]
'Click.'
I open the door to the library; the massive bookshelves surround a cozy loft. I used to hide here and read for hours until he found me.
'Thump, Thump, Tap, Tap, Tap!'
I run past the kitchen and the servants' quarters.
'Thump, Thump, Tap, Tap, Tap!'
The dining room and foyer fly by.
'Click.'
I open the door to the basement. The damp stairs fall down into the darkness.
"Shinobu!"
I jump into the abyss without another thought. Blackness envelopes me as I feel my way down. It almost feels safe, as if I can blend into the night and disappear forever. But I can't; a monster is chasing me. I have to keep moving.
I reach the bottom of the stairs and follow the wall on my right with my hands. The cold stone wall is my only guide. I don't come down here very often, so I don't remember what it looks like.
'Thump.'
Pain shoots up my leg as I smash my knee against the object in front of me. I cover my mouth with my hands not to let out any noise. The pain quickly subsides. I run my hands along the object in front of me and feel a wooden surface. If I remember correctly, this is a cabinet. I make my way around to the front of the wooden object and feel for the handles. Just as I suspected, I wrap my fingers around a protrusion and pull. A door swings out in front of me.
I crawl forward and feel my way into the cabinet. Dust and cobwebs cover my hands and face. I wipe my face with my forearm and move deeper into the cabinet. To my left, I feel a sack of some sort, so I move that in front of me to stay hidden. I don't think he'll look here, but I don't want to take any chances.
I curl up at the back of the cabinet and try not to move. I don't want to make any noise. Dust and grime cover my skin, bringing nausea along with the feeling of dirtiness. It's as if I've had something taken from me, something I'll never get back. Warm tears flow down my face, hidden only by the darkness. They mix with the dust on the floor of the cabinet to make a grimy pillow for me to rest my head upon.
Hours pass, or at least I think. This is the first time I've felt safe in a few weeks, so I quickly fall asleep. I slip in and out of consciousness as I'm risen by constant nightmares.
"Shinobu." His voice pierces through the soft wood of the cabinet. I can feel ice-cold fingers grab my neck as if to strangle me. My muscles tense as I struggle to make myself even smaller. I cover my mouth to soften my breaths, but the sound of blood rushing through my ears makes it difficult to tell if it's working.
'Thump, thump, thump, tap, tap.'
His slow steps grow ever closer. Panic rises through my stomach, which raises my heart rate even higher. The whole room feels like it's rocking. I'm sure he can hear the sound of my heart beating out of my chest.
'Thump, thump, thump, tap, tap.'
He's standing directly in front of the cabinet. I can hear his shoes scraping the ground only a few feet away.
[Please help! Someone, please help me!]
"Shinobu!"
The blond-haired girl sits up and looks around the damp cave. The room is filled with strange-looking wooden equipment, and a young boy looks down at her with his brow furrowed.
"Are you okay?" She looks up at him in a daze as she collects her thoughts. Her heart rate slows as fear leaves her body. "Shinobu?"
"Oh, no, I'm fine. Are you going to start working out already?" Shinobu stands up in a tizzy and frets over her belongings to shake off the awkward feeling still hanging in the air.
"Yeah, I picked up a bunch of wood for Josh so he can fix all the equipment. In the meantime, I figured I'd get a workout in."
"Alright, I'll join you."
"That's fine, don't push yourself too hard."
"O-okay, I'll do my best!"
The two children train together until Woohee shows up and Nick heads into town. The young fairy wearily floats a few feet away from Shinobu.
"I'm sorry to keep you here. I'm sure you have other things you want to do today." Shinobu says to break the ice.
"Woohee doesn't mind!" the fairy exclaims. Her trepidation evaporates as she flies up to comfort the blond-haired girl. Shinobu giggles softly at her antics. "Nick's friends are Woohee's friends."
"Thanks, that means a lot." Shinobu squirms around uncomfortably as Woohee silently smiles at her.
"Well, I should at least try to clean up while I'm here," Shinobu says, again trying to clear the air. She walks over to her bedding to find her blankets moist. The sharp smell of piss rises up from the ground.
[Oh no, I wet the bed again!]
Shinobu quickly balls up the blankets to hide her shameful accident.
"What seems to be the problem?"
"Nothing! Everything's fine!" She spins around to find Woohee's gentle smile replaced with the piercing red eyes of the fairy leader.
"I can tell you're lying, but to call it a deduction is an insult to reasoning." Inari snaps. Shinobu lowers her head and drops the blankets to the ground.
"I wet the bed again…."
"I have the same problem all the time in my village," Inari says lightly. "Although my fairies tend to wet themselves just because they're too lazy to get out of bed."
Shinobu laughs as Inari sends her a warm smile. The fairy leader then creates a magic circle in the air which pulls all the moisture from the bedspread; even the sharp smell is removed along with it.
"There, nothing to be ashamed of."
"Are you going to tell Nick?"
"Of course not. This will just be a secret between us girls." Inari winks.
"Thank you." Shinobu heaves a sigh of relief.