My body ached and the blood rushed out of that whole in which his sword had pierced my left side.

"Your no samurai, your a girl with a sword!" his words echoed in my mind each time filling me with more hate for the bastard. I stumbled into a bar. All the men look at me, probably because I’m half-naked or maybe because I'm so dam bloody. The man at the counter hesitates to take my order. He knows who I am. I’m so tired and week that I guess I passed out before I got my shot of liquor. The only things that I can remember are small fragments of the rest of the night. The man in the red shirt was arguing with the man in the gory gray shirt over who would get to fuck me first. God why don’t they kill each other over it, that’s what they do where I come from. A place that used to be so beautiful, but so fueled with hate more criminals left that place than any other city in the world, which can only be expected in a place with no law. A child couldn’t be raised right in that place, the city of Aliburna. I also remember the rain splashing down on my feverish body, and a man. His face and overall appearance was blurry to me like the faces of your anonymous friends in a dream. Mysterious he was, but I didn't really care.

"Put me down," I said in a frail voice, and he gently set me on the ground. He stood at about 6 foot or maybe taller with short, thick white hair, that seemed to curl a bit in the sticky rain. I wobbled to my feet and smacked him. I must have hit him pretty damn hard, because he stumbled backward. I continued my assault, mostly blows to the stomach. I was so mad at the fact that he didn’t leave me to die in that bar, and somehow he backed me up agents a wall. His warm body pressed gently agents mine. Why was he backing me into the wall? I’m the attacker, it's not the other way around? I think too much when I get into predicaments like this, and end up doing something stupid. I stopped hitting him. He was the first person to have saved me, let alone take my beating like a dog and still have the ability to over power me.

"Please, Your safe with Me," he said like he had the whole thing planed out. Thinking he could woo me. No one can ever woo me, because I have no heart to woo. I think I drew blood on his nicely sculpted chest before I passed out again. I guess you can call me feisty, and man I’m stupid.

I have been awake in his place for a while now, if this is his place. I’m Just laying here staring at the white ceiling. There is a sheet covering my otherwise naked body and white gauzy bandaging is wrapped neatly around my wounded waist. I thoughtfully sat up and pressed the back of my hand to my forehead trying to push thoughts of anything back into my memory. The door handle creaks and I hear yelling.

"What’s going on?" I quietly say to myself starring intently at the door. He walks in and carefully slams the door, like he thinks I’m still asleep. He turns around and looks at me with a strange look. Like he is saying I can see your boobs.

"You know you’re not dressed?" he finally squeezes out.

"Yeah, you bandaged me up right?" I crudely snapped back. I guess I still can’t control my anger issues.

"Yes I did." he said with a chuckle and nervously scratched his head.

"Then you have seen everything I have nothing to hide." I reply in a nicer tone and stair at the white wall across from me.

He let out a sigh grabbing a blue shirt out of his closet he pushed it over my head. I’m now wearing an ugly blue T-shirt that's way to big. I would prefer to be naked than wear this unsightly thing.

"Sorry but I just think it would be better if you were wearing something." He said as he walked to the window to stair out at the exquisite ocean that licked the sandy white shore of the bay.

"My name is Vincent Adelmond. " He said and looked at me.

"Oh," I’m still focusing on the repulsive blue coloring of the shirt.

"You know when someone introduces themselves it only proper to answer back with your name," He said and smiled a great big phony smile.

"Oh" I’m really not paying any attention to him.” I’m Rose!" I say quickly trying to correct that foolish "Oh," and stair up at him.

"Just Rose?"

"Yes, you have a problem with that!"

"No, no. I was just wondering is all,” He said. “Ill get you some pants and you can join me for lunch. Well breakfast in you case," he said went back to his closet and pulled out a pair of rutty old jeans. I wanted to say, "They better not be the same color as this T-shirt" or, "while you’re in their, get me a prettier shirt 'cause this one is atrocious." but I didn’t.

"If you want you can stay here for as long as you need. This place is pretty big so It won’t be hard finding you a room." Vincent said as he handed me the pants and closed the door as he left the room.

Now that he is gone I began going over what had just happened. He was nice to me. Just like last night when I was beating him up. Now that I think about it, I feel strange like this hole thing is too good to be true or something like that. I pulled the pants on, let go of the waist and watched them fall to the ground. Vince has a bigger body than I, thought he looks so skinny. Maybe these aren’t his pants. Maybe I’m still dreaming. I bend down, and a sharp pain struck my side, reminding me of him, the man that stabbed me the other day, who put me in the condition that Vincent must have found me in. His name is Cameron, but he is known as C-Blood. That’s because he kills all his victims in cold blood, no honor or remorse. This is the third time he has tried to kill me, without successes. Ha! What a looser.

to be continued ... in ch 2 :D

Story and characters © Nicole Waller, Pink