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A story I'm working on




Graveyard Ghost

I smile as I watch the village around me burn to the ground as I sit in a tree who’s once brown bark had turned grey, green leaves had turned black, and the red-pink blossoms where now a blood red. Mothers where calling out to there husbands and to there children, others crying over there dead love ones, and the rest calling out to the lost souls that where swirling around me like a whirlwind. I hum a haunting melody chilling everyone to the bone a sound that should never come from any being. “Petty humans you dared to try to dig up my grave and chop down my tree to extend this village.”
The humans run calling out to me telling me to rest in peace and to leave this earth. I just laughed I would never rest in peace, after all that I had gone through. I turn and walk away from the devastation and turmoil behind me. Through the ages I had destroyed many petty villages that at first had been small but when they expanded they would come to destroy the graveyard….My graveyard. And because of a stupid curse I would stay on this earth for all eternity as a tormented ghost never to be reunited to the one person I loved.
It had all started over three hundred years ago….

A young girl, with a worn out dress, brown hair, and pail skin walked near a peaceful, beautiful village full of flowers and grass. The girl had anything but a peaceful look to her face, it was stern and her eyes portrayed sadness, none of the normal child innocence.
“Sunya get that water and be quick about it girl or no food for you.” An angry semi-attractive middle age woman yelled from a nice looking castle set apart from the village.
“Yes ma’am.” Sunya walked at a brisk pace towards a small stream, with an worn out looking bucket. She knelt next to it her dress coming up just enough to show her ankles. Her ankles had bruises and ring cuts in the shape of chains. When the bucket was full she slowly got up and walked as fast as she could while carrying water. When she arrived back at the hut the woman snatched the bucket away pulling her inside the castle throwing her to the wood floor kicking her in the side.
“Worthless girl you took far to long. Making me wait.” The woman scowled down at Sunya curled around her injured side. “Get up girl.”
Sunya slowly got to her feet knowing what was going to happen.
“Strip and turn around.” Sunya untied her dress letting it fall to the floor turning around. Her thin back was covered in long faint scars in every direction and bones showing though her skin. “Hands behind your back now.” She slowly obeyed hearing the rattling of chains. She felt the cold iron clasp around her small skinny wrists and ankles bracing herself for the pain. “For taking so long your punishment is thirty lashes and ten cuts. Start counting.”
There was a crack and Sunya started counting screaming out each number in pain as tears left streaks down her cheeks. When the woman was done Sunya collapsed crying in a pool of her own blood. “Go to your room and clean up then wipe up this floor. Where having guests tonight so there is a new dress in your room, get dressed in it and be in the dinning room on time. You are to be on your best behavior for if you are not….” The woman smiled evilly unclasping the chains. “oh and do something with that mat you call hair.”
Sunya nodded before slowly getting up and putting on her dress before stumbling to her shabby room. Despite her pain she could not help but to be excited and happy it had been two years since she had gotten a new dress. She looked at the tan tattered covers of her bed and found a plain midnight blue dress. She quickly put bandages around her small frame and rushed to clean up the blood at the front entrance then, she put on her new dress, lacing it in the back, that was long enough to cover her bare feet and the scares from the chains on her ankles, and combed her hair with her fingers. Sunya then quickly opened the door wanting to get to the dinning room before her mother, the girl shook her head at that thought the woman had no right to be called a mother. As she stepped out and went to the main entrance at a fast jog as the front door opened and she ran into a boy about five years older than her, that was being pushed in by his father, and fell down.
“I’m so sorry.” Sunya said quickly getting up bowing her head and backing away meekly.
The man was glaring at his son as the boy stared at her stunned for a second before his father snapped at him. “Kamn, you know better, haven’t I taught you to help a girl up when she has fallen and to accepted her apogee.” He continued in a kinder voice to speak to Sunya. “I apoagize for my son’s behavior. You don’t have to bow to us just tell us your name.”
Sunya raise her head but keep her eyes trained on the floor. “My name is Sunya and you must be the guest my mother was expecting.” Sunya spat out the word mother as if it where poison. The man and boy noticed this but kept quiet about it.
“Sunya that’s a lovely name. You may call me Mr. Takenaru. Would you mind leading us to the dinning room, we are late as is and it wouldn’t do well to make Ms. Gawein wait.”
Sunya trembled like a leaf nodding “No it wouldn’t.” She quickly walked towards the dinning room. The two males fallowed, Kamn continuing to stare, both wondering what had her so shaken. Sunya entered the large dinning room with a long table that was used for large gatherings and a small round table used for every day meals. Gawein was sitting at the small table her eyes glaring at her like twin coals.
“Your late.” Gawein said sharply as Sunya sunk back.
Seeing Sunya shrinking away Takenamaru decided to make himself known. “Ms. Gawein, you look lovely tonight. Please excuse your daughters tardiness, we bumped into her at the entryway and detained her.”
“Very well. Dinner will be here in a moment please do sit down.”
Sunya made a move to pull out her chair but Kamn stopped her. “Here allow me to help you my lady.” He pulled the chair out and Sunya nodded uncomfortable with being helped and being called lady.
“Thank you.” She said in a small voice sitting down. Kamn pushed her chair in before sitting on her right side and his father on his right and her mothers left.
“Now that where all comfortable Lady Gawein, would you be so kind as to tell us why you called me and my son here?” Takenamaru asked politely.
“Lets have dinner before we discuses business.” With that she clapped her hands and two servants came out putting down a meal full of vision, stake, roasted duck, and fruits. Everyone except Sunya piled a good portion of food on their plate before waiting for Gawein to take a bite before digging in. Sunya on the other hand barely put any food on her plate and eating slowly her body not being able to handle much food.
Kamn noticed this and bite his lip before deciding to ask her what was wrong. “Sunya, why aren’t you eating? Are you sick?”
Takenamaru looked at her just as concerned as Kamn while her mother glared at her daring her to speak. Sunya shiver from the look her mother gave her daring her to say a word about the abuse she had suffered. “No, I’m fine, I’m just not hungry right now.”
Kamn shook his head knowing that she was not completely telling the truth and asked again. “Are you sick?”
Sunya instantly grabbed at the excuse, which was not so far from the truth. “Yes, but it would have been rude for me to miss dinner.”
“Oh you needn’t have come here for our benefit. Go get some sleep, Kamn can escort you there while your mother and I talk business.”
“Yes father.” Kamn got up at and pulled out Sunya chair waiting for her to get up offering his arm. Sunya took his offered arm and left the room.
As soon as the children left Takenamaru turned his full attention to Gawein all of the kindness seemed to evaporate as he spoke. “Now what was it you wanted to talk about?”
“About the promise that my husband made with you about our children where to be promised to each other.” Gawein spoke in a acid tone.
“You want her to be married now? How old is your daughter now?”
“Ten, she is at the legal age to be married.”
“Yes, very well but under one condition. My son must get a week with her starting tomorrow to see if she is educated. If not she will be taught by my own tutors before they are married.”
“Deal.” Gawien smiled.
~**~
Sunya walked through the halls allowing Kamn to help her to her room. When she opened up the door to her shabby room Kamn gasped. “I this really your room?”
“Yes it is.” Sunya motioned for Kamn to help her to the bed her blood loss finally becoming to hard on her body.
Kamn helped her gently onto the bed looking at her seriously. “Your room is worse than our servants. What does your mother do to you?”
Sunya looked away from him and sighed. “If I tell you, you must swear that you will tell no one and take no action agents my mother.”
Now it was Kamn’s turn to sigh. “Fine, I swear I won’t tell, but if what she does is unacceptable to our class I’ll get you out of here.”
“Ok, it is easier to show you.” Sunya lifted up her dress showing him her ankles that had bruises and ring cuts in the shape of chains. The after he had a good look at them she slowly stood up and turned around unlacing the back letting the dress fall to her waist showing him the bandages. “I am a slave in this house.”
“Why have you told no one? People would help you.” Kamn said lacing the dress up.
“I am forbidden to approach the village and the last guest that I told was…..She was killed by my mother. I was forced to watch as the lady was tortured to death, then I was beaten till I was half dead.” Sunya collapsed crying as Kamn hugged her till she cried her self to sleep. Kamn placed her small body on her bed before exiting. He walk to the dinning room and entered and was hard pressed not to strangle the woman that stood next to his father.
“Son, Ms. Gawien and I have decided that Sunya will be joining us for a week to let you two to get to know each other, she has been promised to you.” Takenamaru said.
“Of corse father, when will she be joining us?” Kamn was overjoyed though he did not let it show.
“Tomorrow morning when we leave. We will be staying in the local tavern.” Takenamaru said agitated.
“Yes father.” Kamn walked out smiling to himself, his father, fallowing close behind.
“So what did you find out?” Takenamaru asked when they where safely inside the tavern.
“She is in bad shape.” Kamn sighed locking the door and windows.
“How bad?”
“Real bad and before you ask I can’t tell you.”
“Lets get some sleep the sooner we leave tomorrow the better.”
“Yes father.” Kamn put out the candle and got in bed falling into a troubled sleep.
~**~
“Wake up you lazy girl.”
Sunya winced in pain getting up seeing her mother standing over her.
“Listen here girl you are to only wear the long dresses and you will allow no one see the marks.” Gawien stood over Sunya as she nodded her head in understanding. “Get up and get ready your leaving at dawn.”
Sunya watched as her mother stormed out of the room. She quickly packed the very few items she had running to the front door ignoring the pain in her back.
She quickly found the tavern where Takenamaru and Kumn where waiting for her.
“Ready to go Sunya?” Takenamaru asked gently.
Sunya nodded meekly. “Yes sir.”
Kumn quickly opens the carriage door and takes Sunya’s hand helping her in, waiting respectively for his father in and getting in sitting next to a nervous Sunya and across from his father.
Sunya looks around nervously, having never been in a carriage before. “Is something interesting Sunya?” Takenamaru asked curiously as Kumn looked her curiously.
“No….nothing sir, sorry for bothering you.” Sunya shrank back into the cushioned seats staring out the window watching the scenery pass as the carriage rattled down the uneven dirt road.
Kumn watched Sunya’s wonder when she first entered the carriage and briefly wondered if her mother had ever let her in anything this nice or out of the castle for that matter. These thoughts alone where enough to make his blood boil and his hatred for the woman deepen. He glanced at his father for a moment seeing his fathers eyes matching his own and could only imagine the hatred his father felt.
The carriage slowly rattled down the dirt road as the occupants inside road in a deafening silence, each person lost in there own thoughts. Towards noon the carriage stops in a majestic filled with flowers of every color and spring green colored grass, covered in dew that sparkled in the sun creating little rainbows of light. The trees surrounding the field were the prettiest shades of green. But there was one tree in the center. It was tall and its branches raised proudly to the sky. The leaves were every shade of green and had small red-pink buds on it.
Takenamaru and Kumn got out quickly and helped an awestruck Sunya out of the carriage. “Do you like it?” Takenamarua asked.
Sunya quickly snapped out of her daze and nodded. “Yes sir.”
“Good. Why don’t you and Kumn sit under the red cherry tree?”
Both children nodded as Kumn quickly pulled Sunya away from the carriage and into the field as butterflies and other insects flew up. Kumn looked back at Sunya seeing her look around nervous as he had her sit in the shade of the red cherry tree.
“Is something wrong?” Kumn asked.
“No this place is wonderful, but I’m not used to being pampered. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but I feel like I should be making lunch.” Sunya said bowing her head.
“You don’t need to cook or clean any more. Plus we already had one made.” Takenamaru said sitting next to the two with a basket full of food. Takenamaru laid out sliced ham, cherries, and apples. After they ate they got back in the carriage and rode in silence the rest of the ride.