//------------------------------// // Escaping the Castle and off to Freedom! // Story: Imperfect Replica // by Ocelot the Devil //------------------------------// Escaping the Castle and off to Freedom! A soft groan escaped the lips of the young girl with short raven hair who was lying on some kind of couch made out of crystals. She sat up slowly while rubbing both her eyes and hair but let out a pained noise due to feeling a bump on her head. How did she get a bump? Actually the better question was – where in the heck was she exactly? Looking around, it seemed she was in a room made of crystal. That didn’t help her. Who the heck had a room made of crystal? Every piece of furniture and wall were all made out of crystals… except for books and whatnot. It was… an interesting design and concept. Though she didn’t pursue the topic further. Seeing that the where was a bust, she decided to move on to trying to figure out the why. She tried to run a hand through her hair, but due to accidentally touching the bump on her head, she let out a pain noise that was very quiet and soft. Not knowing where she was, she was trying to be as quiet as possible. Her parents had taught her at a young age to never let her pain be broadcast. “How did I get here… why do I have a bump on my head… and why do I feel like a girl?” These were the questions that came from her mouth when she gasped and remembered everything: She awoke in a forest of some kind, walked down a path to get to a nearby village and then… then… she held her head to think what happened next yet the pain was too much for her to handle. “Ahhhh… my head. That knockout was really nasty… Wait, that’s it! I got knocked out by something that was purple!” She told herself after concentrating and realizing it. And then she remembered something else – she was born a boy and not a girl! Whoever gave her/him or whatever that bump was definitely not a nice person. Conflicting emotions rose up within her. On one hand, she was glad to remember everything. On the other, she wondered if it might not have been better to not remember she had been a boy. She hated being a girl! It was just so wrong! “This sucks… I don’t want to be a girl. I wanna be my true gender…” He/She admitted sadly yet no tears came out this time. Fate must really be laughing at his/her current status and gender. Just when things seemed to be getting better, when Haruhi was about to adopt him/her, this had to happen. “At least things can’t get much worse,” She should have never invoked those words. “Right… first things first, I need to find a way out of this ‘place’ or wherever I’m in right now. After escaping into the outdoors, I have to avoid attention as much as possible…” He/she paused before looking at his/her figure. “Hmmm… for the time being, I’ll settle into the role of a girl. As for my name… Izzy isn’t just a boy’s name but also a girl – Isabella, I guess? Nah… too common. I’ll need a new name to fit into whatever country or world I’ve found myself on.” The boy formally known as Izzy who had transformed into a girl told herself before going silent to think of a new name. She thought quietly in her mind but paced back and forth. “Hmmm… what could be an appropriate name for my new look… come to think about it, I do resemble a Japanese-styled anime character. Shame I don’t watch much of it… ugh, never mind that. I need a name and fast.” She told herself. Suddenly, her ears picked up footsteps… or hooves nearby. The raven-haired girl turned around to look and see where the noise came from but there was nothing much to her confusion. “Strange…” She commented. “Ya say ya found her in the forest, Twi?” A southern voice spoke which startled the girl. Where was the voice coming from? She hadn’t heard any footsteps. Were these people riding horses indoors? “Yeah… apparently, she was lost and confused. It pains me that I had to knock her out cold with my book but I panicked and didn’t think of other alternatives.” Another voice spoke but her words pissed off the raven-haired girl when she learned that this was the culprit who gave her the bump and took her hostage. Just where did this woman get off bashing a kid in the head with a book?! “That’s… a little extreme, Twilight. I won’t lie that the poor thing is probably confused and hurt at the way you knocked her out.” An elegant voice scolded this ‘Twilight’ while pitying the girl. “Oh, my… she’s hurt? The poor thing…” A gentle voice spoke – its tone was that of a worried mother. “Relax, Fluttershy… I’m sure the newbie is fine. Granted, you did perform a classical ‘me’ on her with that book knockout, Twi. That was dumb.” A tomboyish-voice spoke while voicing her agreements with the elegant and gentle individuals. The girl with raven hair was beginning to get a little bit impatient at the fact that she had no idea where the voices were coming from. At least a couple of them were scolding this ‘Twilight’ for knocking her out… that was something. At least they weren’t all monsters. “I know, I know! Look, what was I supposed to do? Drag her back to Ponyville while she was lost and confused? I panicked okay, give me a break?” Twilight’s voice pleaded with them to back off. Ponyville? Where was that? She’d never heard of any town called Ponyville before! She’d been knocked out, left unconscious for who knows how long, and kidnapped. She could be halfway across the country for all she knew! This had to be a bad dream. She was a boy and she hadn’t been kidnapped! She pinched herself to wake up yet nothing was working… this wasn’t a dream at all! It was a nightmare… one big terrible nightmare. Her heart started to beat faster and panic consumed her every thought. “I need to leave and fast!” She told herself quietly and began looking for an exit else instead of the crystal-structured front doors in front of her. “No… if I exit through the front door, this ‘Twilight’ and her companions might be waiting for me… then I would be in big trouble. Think, darn it… think! A w-window! That’s it!” She said to herself and looked around for a nearby window to jump and escape – provided that the ground was very low so as to make sure that when she landed her bones wouldn’t be broken. “Window… window… Ah-ha! Found one!” She said happily before walking over and checked to see if it was closed – it wasn’t. She poked her head out of the window. It didn’t look to be much more than a two story jump. Sure, that was scary and she might get hurt, but she couldn’t exactly stick around here. She had heard horror stories of human traffickers. Boogiemen who she had been sure were just made up to scare little kids...until now. She began sticking her right boot out when she stopped and realized something – even if she were to escape, the inhabitants would ultimately track her down when they entered the room and saw the open window. She needed to buy some time in order to get a head start. Pulling her boot away, she reentered the room and got an idea immediately. Concentrating with all her might, she began pushing the couch all the way to the front door and blocked it – a small distraction but it should buy her some time. “But even if I did block the door with the couch, they’ll use brute force to enter and I need all the time I can get… I need to lock it somehow. If only there was a key or someth-” The girl stopped when her eyes widened at that fact that she just remembered a certain giant key that appeared in her hands when she awoke in the forest earlier. “Hmmm… I wonder if it's still there.” She asked her before pulling out her right hand and concentrating. In a sudden flash, the giant Key that she had summoned before reappeared in her hands. “Yes!” She yelled in joy before she heard hooves from the other side. “I think I hear some noises coming from the guest room. Seems like she is awake… let’s treat her with some respect and give her privacy. She’s no doubt confused as to where she currently is. Girls, be on your best behavior.” Twilight’s voice spoke and the girl began to panic. She looked at the key before pleading. “Please… work your magic or whatever and lock this door… please.” Her wish was granted in the form of a pure light coming from the tip of the blade as it launched straight at the keyhole of the front door. The familiar sounds of a locking mechanism were heard as the beam of light disappeared soon after. The raven-haired girl tried the handle yet it wasn’t budging since the door wasn’t only locked but also blocked by the couch. Perfect! Smiling to herself, the girl looked at the key. “Guess you can be useful after all… I think I’m gonna keep you around for the time being.” She said to the weapon before dismissing it. Everything was in place and it was time to leave! Rushing back to the window quickly, she began sticking her right foot first before the rest of the body followed suit. Sitting on the windowsill, which was surprisingly comfy, she looked down at the ground before gulping a bit. “I hope I don’t break my feet or worse – my neck.” She told herself. Surprisingly, the windowsill was also made of crystals and it was strong enough to support her from the looks of things… wherever she was, it was a really strange place. “H-hey! Something’s wrong with the door! I can’t seem to open it! It’s like it's locked or something!” The voice of Twilight spoke as the raven-haired girl looked in the room again – more specifically, the handle. It was twisting and turning… seems like the key had done its job. “This should buy me some time… now let’s get out of here.” The girl told herself before taking a deep breath and jumping down. She landed on the soft green grass field and used her feet to balance herself as to not fall forward or backwards. Granted, it did make her a little disoriented but that was fine. Thankfully she had remembered to bend her knees as she landed. The last thing she needed was broken legs. Shaking her head quickly, she released a sigh of relief at the fact that she was free from her ‘prison’? Twilight may have called it a ‘guest room’, but a gilded cage was still a cage. Probably something she used to trick stupid kids into trusting her. Taking some steps back, she analyzed the building she had been kept in – the castle was sitting atop by a crystalized tree and crystalized branches; there was a banner with a flag on it, a balcony and a tower or two. Overall, it was an interesting castle and didn’t resemble a prison like she thought but looks could be deceiving. She had been taught that by Haruhi back when she had still been a boy. Still, she’d never heard of anything like this castle. Something like it would definitely be talked about at least a little… a sinking, terrible suspicion started to take root in her mind, but she refused to acknowledge it until she had more information. “I wonder if Haruhi’s worried sick about me right now or crying in bed… wait for me a little longer. I’ll be back home soon and then we’ll be a family… hopefully.” She told herself and closed her eyes for a moment to remember the school’s guidance counselor and the only person who cared about him in his old life. Hopefully this whole ‘being a girl’ thing was temporary. How would she face Haruhi looking like this? A minute later, she sighed before developing a serious look. “Right… now that I’m out, it’s time to find a safe place to hide while I plan my next move. But where?” She questioned herself. An empty house in town wasn’t an option since she was sure that every lodging was inhabited by someone; the forest was a good choice but it was also dangerous too… hmmm, maybe an empty cave? It was spacious and lots of room to breathe. The girl thought it over before sighing. “Not like I have any other choice… plus, I wanna avoid contact for a little while until I’m ready. They won’t be able to find me in a cave… at least for a little while.” She said. With her mind made, she took a deep breath and began walking away from the castle before stopping, turning back and speaking again. “Just in case my captors try to track me down…” She summoned the key again and walked over to the front door of the castle quietly before using its power to lock its main doors and keep the inhabitants inside… at least for a while. It won’t be forever but at least it will buy her some time. Dismissing the key, she turned around and quickly tip-toed away from the castle to new locations… (Nightfall – Later…) It was cold, spacious and large… but more importantly, empty. It was a perfect place – as far as temporary hideouts go; a cave that would serve as her home base until she could figure things out. The raven-haired girl released a sigh and she piled the sticks together before sitting down and rubbing the sticks together. Thankfully there had been plenty of vines to make a bow type fire starter. Before she was sent to this world and transformed into a girl, Haruhi taught her some skills in camping in case she went on an outing in the forest with the rest of the class. Even if she was 14 years old, she was pretty smart for someone her age. Haruhi taught her some things that her parents didn’t bother or cared to explain – camping, sewing, cooking, reading… She was lucky that she was familiar with how to camp properly. If she wasn’t, then things would get… complicated and she would be feeling the cold weather in this cave she was staying in. Granted, she was wearing a black coat but would it keep her warm? She didn’t want to find out if she didn’t have to. Some two/three minutes later of rubbing the sticks together, smoke began coming out from the stacked-up sticks much to the girl’s surprise. “Okay… come on, fire! Don’t fail me now!” She said and gently blew on the proto-fire, praying the fire would start properly. Soon, a small fire began which turned into a big one and covered all the sticks. The girl fist pumped into the air in victory. “Yes! I started the fire… now I can warm myself and eat.” She had managed to catch a single fish in a nearby river. It wasn’t big, but it would fill her belly for the night. She was lucky to have caught what she did. With no bait, she had resorted to sharpening a stick with a rock and doing some spear fishing. It was a lot harder than those survival shows on TV made it out to be. She did her best to clean the fish, but without proper tools, there wasn’t much she could do. Humanity had survived before eating uncleaned fish and she hoped she wouldn’t be an unlucky one who died of some fish disease. Once she was satisfied she had done all she could, she skewered the fish on a stick and stuck it over the fire for it to cook. She left the fish to cook for quite a long time. Without a clock or watch to keep time, she could only make rough guesses. Better to overcook than to risk eating it raw, so she left the fish until it just started to burn. Once she had let it cool enough to eat, she took a bite. Hmmm… salty – that’s it. Hopefully it wasn’t poisonous. It would be just her luck if it was. Since she wasn’t in a rush and eager to catch some sleep later, she ate her dinner slowly while being careful of any bone pieces inside the fish. Sucks that it was salty though… she could really do with some water right now. She could go back to the river and drink from that, running water was usually safe, but didn’t feel the need to risk the forest at night just to satisfy a minor thirst. The girl wondered if the castle’s inhabitants had already escaped. Probably… which meant that there was a massive man-hunt for her… or should she say ‘woman-hunt’. She grimaced at the thought. Everything about being in a girl’s body felt wrong. She thought about going to the police or something, but if the kidnapper owned a castle like that then Twilight might be able to buy her way out of trouble and she’d be back at square one. As long as she stayed well away from civilization and avoided contact, she would be fine. Perhaps she would be able to find out where she was and get home… to Haruhi in her true gender. Assuming her paranoia wasn’t right and she wasn’t really in another world altogether. A little later, she finished her fish except for the head and threw it away before sitting at the campfire and heating her body in the black coat. It was relatively warm which was good – at least she won’t freeze to death while resting in this cave. Half an hour later, she put out the fire and put on her hood to cover the face. “Well… my tummy is full and I feel very sleepy. Time for some shut-eye.” She said and blocked a yawn using her gloved hand. Finding a suitable patch of rocky ground that was comfy, she laid down and closed her eyes. Just as she was about to fall into a deep slumber however… Xion… The girl’s eyes snapped open as she looked around for the voice that spoke that name… Xion? What kind of name is that? Xion… Xion… There it was again! Where was that voice coming from? There was nobody in the cave except for her. Had she finally snapped? That was exactly what she needed, to go crazy in the middle of all this. She laid back down onto the comfy stone patch but didn’t close her eyes yet. “Xion… what kind of name is that… is that… supposed to be for me?” She questioned herself softly. Xion… it was a rather bizarre name. She had no idea what it meant to be honest. Maybe it did have a meaning but whatever it was she hadn’t a clue. “I guess… the name must be related to me in someway though I’m not sure what exactly.” She commented. Then something occurred in her mind… if this name was related to her, maybe she could use it for the time being? Until she got her gender back along with her true name… It was worth a shot. “Well… I guess I’m Xion now.” The girl now calling herself Xion released a soft sigh before speaking her last words for the day. “At least it isn’t any worse… I could have transformed into a monster.” Once again she uttered those cursed words. Then she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep completely. Her first day in this new world had officially ended… and tomorrow a new one would begin.