This story is basically about Kaguya's oft overlooked competitive streak. She likes the idea of the world being in terms of winning and losing, and treats everyone with that in mind. It's not exactly good for her...
Border of Victory and Defeat
"Princess Kaguya."
The Lunar princess paused mid-stroke. She'd been writing – well, perhaps there was a better word. She'd been practicing traditional calligraphy, drawing the characters in spirals that started large then shrunk, until each tiny twitch of the brush was a stroke its own. So the voice that gave her pause also ruined a good half hour's work, and Kaguya's childlike face took on a sulky expression.
"What is it? I'd hope it's something important. I was busy."
Creeee-eak. Creeee-eak. The old wood of the study floors heralded each of the servant's steps as whoever it was drew close. Shortly Kaguya could feel them looming over her shoulder, staring down at what she was 'busy' with. Tilting her head (she hoped) imperceptibly, the princess chanced a peripheral look at this nosy person.
The first thing she noticed was the giant, loose braid that hung about the woman's shoulders, and presumably down her back. Silver-white locks that took decades to grow, Eirin Yagokoro wore it proudly. Long hair had always been a status symbol of the Lunar elite, and Kaguya herself was no exception – her own (black as dark space) hair was like a sweeping curtain or cape around her.
Kaguya didn't try to glimpse the famed pharmacist's face, for she'd certainly meet the older woman's eyes. She'd seen them before anyway, and a stare down currently wasn't in her interest. The goal here was to make Eirin feel like SHE was the intruder and would be lucky if the crown princess even spared her another word.
"Uzumaki, uzumaki, uzumaki...the word 'spiral' in a spiral, princess?"
Eirin's voice was colored with a tint of suppressed laughter and Kaguya could feel her shoulders slowly slump. This battle was lost already!
The hall they walked down was painstakingly hewn from Lunar rock, unlike the creaking wood floor of Kaguya's study. Wood, anyway, was just another status symbol, reserved for the rooms that served the royal family. Trees were a burden to grow, and importing from their lesser neighbor the Earth was out of the question.
Many times as a child Kaguya had slowly tread this same hallway, staring at her reflected face upon the polished stone. Sometimes she could see words written in the traditional script, barely legible through the mirror effect. These words seemed nonsense, repeating in strange swarms, until you noticed they swirled and banked and made shapes that corresponded to each word. The same sort of thing the young princess had been creating minutes ago, before Eirin ruined it to drag her off to...where? Kaguya pried, trying to keep her voice from turning petulant.
Eirin's even steps seemed to go off beat. A stumble? Did the old woman require a cane? No. Apparently Eirin wasn't prepared to answer a basic question of where she was leading the younger Lunarian.
"Well, Princess..." Eirin trailed off.
Not only her steps faltered. Kaguya enjoyed a mental image of normally graceful Eirin scrambling to string words together into a satisfactory answer, each character shaking and falling apart as she worked.
"...It will all be clear when we arrive, which will happen no sooner if we stay in this spot."
Oh, smooth, Eirin. Kaguya nodded and waited until Eirin had looked away to continue leading before the princess indulged in a grin. She would be counting this as her victory.
...The Hourai Elixir. So, this was why Eirin was reluctant to indulge their destination, lest errant ears know what they had done.
Eirin stood with her back pressed to the door, eyes trained on Kaguya – or was she looking at the cask Kaguya held? Briefly the young princess wondered if Eirin had sipped some of the elixir herself. Certainly, she would have! ...wouldn't she? She found herself suddenly fixated on this idea, clinging to it. Of course Eirin would join her in eternity. Of course Eirin would never pass up such an opportunity. Of course Kaguya would not be alone to face the rest of time. Besides, she was Luna's beloved and most innocent princess, destined for the crown. She had an entire planet's population to serve as her company.
The room that served as the audience to the elixir of immortality's creation was less a room, more a hole. It was a droll and stuffy nook roughly carved into the mountain that the palace had been founded on, or perhaps even the last remnant of a natural cave. Since the door had been sealed the only light left was a scattering of obviously homemade candles dripping with wax. Ha, of course crafting candles would be an easy thing for Eirin...
Kaguya suppressed the urge to shiver as a gust of cold air kissed her cheek. Despite the lack of light sources this closet at least had good ventilation. Then she shook her head. Enough time wasted. Her mind was made up.
Kaguya inched towards a low lying table strewn with notes and dirtied glass vials to deposit the heavy container. It made a low scraping sound as it touched down. It was a familiar and somewhat comforting noise of stone against stone. As her delicate hands moved to unfasten the lid, from the direction of the door came a discomforted noise, dying in the throat of its maker even as they cried out.
Even as she stared at Eirin with eyes demanding an answer for this outburst, the older woman shook her head and quietly apologized for interrupting. They both knew why she cried out. Eirin, bless her, thought this was a BAD idea and had been vocal about her thoughts on the matter many times. Yet the command of royalty was always above the advice of a servant. That would never change, and neither would Kaguya's decision. The only thing the princess would change was Eirin's own refusals to sample her own masterpiece. As her lips touched the medicine that would halt time's march, Kaguya finally acknowledged she was ultimately alone in this.
Many years later, the Hourai victim named Mokou would say this:
On the first taste, you will no longer grow up or age.
On the second taste, you will no longer fall ill.
On the third taste, you will be immortal in the truest sense.
Kaguya had a rather different experience than this. She would say:
On the first taste, you'll wish you could not smell that awful musk.
On the second taste, you'll wish you could not feel it crawl down your throat.
On the third taste, you'll simply retch.
You won't take a fourth taste, since you'll be too busy wishing you could not taste at all.
In fact, she took great pains to tell Eirin this, right before her knees turned to jelly and dumped her on the floor, unconscious. Her last thought was that this was... definitely a draw, and only because of the whole passing out part!
When Kaguya woke, she was feverish. She lie in an unfamiliar bed, and she felt practically drenched. It was no surprise that her first reaction was a very unhappy wail. The stricken princess couldn't sustain the noise for long, however, and her prize: a fit of hacking coughs.
"Eirin, Eirin, where aaaaare-" She paused to gulp for breath. "Where ARE you? L, liar!"
Clank. That was a medical tray hitting a table with a bit more force than recommended when handling fragile instruments. Eirin spoke with an even voice usually reserved for a medical emergency or someone who had gotten on her bad side. To most it was an unnoticeable change from the doctor's regular speaking voice, but most weren't born a sickly child with Eirin Yagokoro as their personal nurse... Kaguya realized she had not understood the words.
"H...huh?"
There was that feeling of being loomed over. But the Lunar Princess kept her eyes tightly shut as they'd been since she first stirred. It was far too bright in here, and she was certain Eirin would just have an expression perfectly tailored to make her feel guilty, anyway.
"Princess. I need you to look up at the ceiling and keep your eyes...open."
"But Eiriiiiiiin..it's too bright." Kaguya didn't even try to filter out the petulance that time.
"The lights won't do any harm to you. Not letting me do a proper check-up, however, could do a whole lot of harm."
She held out for a few more seconds, before firmly deciding that opening her eyes didn't count as a loss at all, at least in her current state. The sudden flood of light faded after a few painful seconds, and the trembling patient was able to see her worried attendant. The normally elegant Lunarian was in a state of disarray, with red clinging to the rims of her eyes and loose strands of hair twisted all about her.
Kaguya's cooperation was rewarded with a weary smile and a soft pat on the head. The former was a happy sight, the latter an semi-annoying remnant of Eirin's bedside manner from the princess's childhood. This time, at least, Kaguya refrained from scolding her for it. Instead the spoke of...other things.
"What was wrong with the elixir, Eirin?" she asked, voice calm and kind. It wouldn't help any to intimidate an already agitated Eirin with outright demands.
Her tired smile faltered as she formulated an answer. The silence between them drew on and on, until Kaguya could clearly hear both their breathing.
"...from what I could tell, nothing. But, seeing as it's a completely new medicine that we've just created..." Eirin trailed off, suddenly unable to look at her. Kaguya frowned at the avoidance, trying to figure out a reason for it. All she could think of...
I'm out of time. Posting the first half up here so that I may reference it from other places than this computer.