The Story of a Girl – Betrayal
Dawn was breaking over the horizon when Yuriko stopped to set up camp by a brook. After Akira’s capture, she had returned quickly to the tavern to collect their belongings and left the city. It was far better for her to stick to the forests than to remain in the city where she might be recognised and caught. Even after days of travel she was still reeling in shock by her uncle’s betrayal.
Shortly after Akira sat down to speak to Hakumo, Geigamon’s guards had appeared from nowhere and seized him. Most of the customers from the tea house had fled the scene when the guards arrived. Not wanting to appear out of the ordinary, Yuriko had been forced to leave as well. She skulked around the tea house surreptitiously keeping an eye on the entrance until she saw the guards leaving with an unconscious body. Hakumo had followed in their company so there was no denying his part in the capture. Yuriko trailed them from a distance until it became clear that they were headed for the palace. After that, she circled back to the tavern to collect their belongings.
With her uncle no longer trustworthy, Yuriko had nowhere else to go and no one to turn to. She had never felt so alone or afraid. As she sat by the brook, silent tears began to form tracks down her face. It was not until she had lost Akira that she realised how much his presence had reassured her. What would she do now?
She turned the book that her father had given her over in her hands then flipped to the last page with writing. New words had formed, detailing the betrayal. On the last written line were the same words that had appeared when she first read the book after her family’s death: seek the three sisters. But how could she look for them if she did not even know who they were?
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