The Sorceress and the Kitsune
Chapter 3
Hanako opened her eyes and yawned.
“Uhhhh... Where am I?”
She blinked to clear away the sleep and looked around to get her bearings. She was in some sort of circular room. There was a window. She was in a tower. She was in the tower of Vanessa’s castle.
Her first thought was that she was hungry! She hadn’t had a proper meal in almost two days. Her second thought was that she needed to get the hell out of there! Something was around her neck. She raised her hand and felt the collar. She felt around for some way to unlock or remove it, but found nothing. She tugged at it, tried to rip it off, but whatever it was made of felt as strong as the iron shackles she had been bound in, if not as hard and cold. She’d have to find a knife and cut it off.
For now she had to get out of there. She looked out the window. The position of the sun told her that it was early morning. With luck, the sorceress would still be asleep and she could slip out quietly. She crept down the stairs expecting to encounter a locked door. There was indeed a door, but it wasn’t locked. Either luck or another trap.
It didn’t take her long to make her way out of the castle. Once outside, she bolted for the gate and freedom! She half expected some barrier to stop her, but she passed through the gate unhindered and ran down the path into the woods.
Once in the woods, she slowed to a walk. It was a cold morning, made colder by her lack of clothing. She wrapped her tail around her midsection and pressed on. Something didn’t feel right. Last night she had been happy to be in these woods. She even wanted to build a den and hunker down for the approaching Winter. This morning however, the woods felt cold and uninviting. She felt strange being there, like she shouldn’t be there.
This was Vanessa’s doing. Hanako was certain of this. So she pressed on, deeper into the woods, towards... well where could she go? She could always go to the... She could go to... Oh this was ridiculous! There were several places where she was welcome! The elderly couple who lived... somewhere. It was... north of here? West? They had taken care of her when she was ill. They said she was welcome anytime. But where did they live?! It didn’t matter. All that mattered right now was getting away from the castle and Vanessa’s grasp.
Running through the woods, and so hungry! She stopped by a small lake to eat some cattails. It was late in the season and they had gone a bit woody, but they were still edible. She picked a few, peeled back the skin and took a bite. She soon spit it out. It was cold, woody, and tasted unappetizing.
Still even this late in the season there were plenty of things to eat. The squirrels had stashed loads of acorns and chestnuts. They were bitter, but easy to get. It didn’t take her long to find such a stash. She tried the acorns. Way too bitter! She found a few chestnuts, but ran into difficulty in removing the prickly skins. She had lived among humans too long and had forgotten her wild instincts! No... Vanessa had done something to her. She pressed on, determined to obtain a meal for herself!
With pricked and bleeding fingers, Hanako popped the chestnut fruits into her mouth and began to chew. They tasted lousy, but she forced herself to eat them. Her stomach became queasy. She continued to force herself to eat. She began experiencing waves of nausea, and used all her willpower to fight the urge to vomit.
“I... I have to get this into me! I’ll die if I don’t!”
Bit by bit she fought back the waves of nausea and soon forced herself to eat another chestnut fruit. She swallowed, then immediately vomited.
Frustrated and crying, Hanako laid on the cold, wet carpet of leaves. Instinctively she knew where she had to go, and she hated it! But she was so cold and hungry! She went back to the path and headed for the castle. Heading back was easier then going deeper into the woods. The path was clean and well maintained for being so old. She soon approached the castle.
Vanessa was waiting for her by the gate.
“There you are. I was worried about you Hanako.”
“No you weren’t! You did something to me. You knew I’d have to come back here!”
“Of course I did. For now, you belong here.”
“No I don’t! You’re just trying to make me believe that I do!”
Right then, her stomach growled loudly.
“Come, lets go inside. I’ve fixed you some breakfast. You’ll feel better after you eat.”
Hanako followed her inside. Her plan was to eat, and once she did that she’d bolt again. She’d head back to the town and try to find another thievery job. Failing that she’d find some place where she could stay and recover from what this sorceress had done to her.
Vanessa set a bowl or porridge on the table in front of her. Hanako sighed and started eating it. It tasted oddly delicious! Well actually it wasn’t so odd. Vanessa had obviously altered her tastes. The porridge was both sweet and savory, and it went down so smoothly. After the first bite, her stomach woke up and wanted more! She greedily ate the entire contents of the bowl, then licked it clean.
“Mmmmm... Mmmmm... Well that was good, but now I really must be going!”
Vanessa made no move to stop her. Hanako ran out of the castle, past the gate, down the path and into the woods. She had to make it to the town! Her belly was full so there was no excuse! She was still naked, but wrapping her tail around her would keep her warm enough. She pressed on towards the direction of the town... except that she didn’t remember exactly where the town was. It was... south? Or was it west? She picked a direction and headed that way.
This forest wasn’t that huge. As long as she headed in one direction, she’d eventually find her way out.