THE HIGHWAYMAN
Original Poem by Alfred Noyes
Fic by The Moose of Death
Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, "The Highwayman," or any of the characters. This is just for kicks, y'know?
(A/N: In case you didn't know, a highwayman was an 18th century British bandit, or something along those lines. This is slightly an alternate universe fic because I needed to combine the original poem with the setting of InuYasha. Also, anything in italics was from the original poem.)
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PART ONE
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding–
Riding–riding–
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
His silver hair glistened in the dim light and flowed lightly in the breeze, though he rode fervently on horseback to the home of his love. His baggy red kimono fluttered with every gallop of the horse as he wore his Tetsusaiga firmly on his belt and snapped the reins fiercely. He could scarcely see a thing under the faintly lit sky, jeweled with stars, but could follow the scent of his love anywhere in the world.
His mount cleared the fence that closed off the farmer's land, and he trotted the rest of the way to the small, quiet house. He stopped next to the closed shutters of a window and whistled a tune. They slowly opened, and in the frame was the farmer's daughter, Kagome–the farmer's brown-eyed daughter–who was tying a dark-red love knot into her long black hair.
But in the darkness, around the corner, a figure watched. It was Kouga, the stable-hand, who listened with a pale expression of anger and sorrow. He, too, loved the farmer's daughter and hated to see her swoon for such a rogue. As his eyes fixed on the two young lovers, his ears were fixed on their lips.
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night. But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light. Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day, then look for me by moonlight–watch for me by moonlight! I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."
He stood straight in his stirrups and, though they could hardly touch, reached out for her hand. She untied the ribbon in her hair and tossed it to his palm. The blood rushed to his face as the aroma of his love overcame him so thickly he could almost kiss its waves, the heavenly fumes that danced in the moonlight. He tugged his reins and galloped away.
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PART TWO
He did not come in the morning, nor did he come in the noon, and just before the dusk came, men came marching to the farm. They were soldiers from the nearby feudal lord, looking for the highwayman, the robber who terrorized the roads. They heard from a mere stable boy where to find the bandit, and made haste.
They said nothing to the farmer, but ate his food and tied up the people instead. They gagged his daughter and tied her feet and her hands behind her back. She sat in the light from the doorway as two soldiers towered over her chuckling. She saw there was no escape, and that Death's presence lingered with the soldiers. But most of all, she could see outside the doorway the road that her love would ride.
They sat her up against the wall, laughing all the while. "Keep a look out!" they jested, lingering in the room, waiting with their swords unsheathed. She fixed her eyes on the road, and suddenly his words came to her:
"Look for me by moonlight–watch for me by moonlight! I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."
She twisted her hands roughly, but the knots held tight. As her wrists writhed behind her back, her fingers became wet with blood and sweat. The hours crawled by and it all seemed like an eternity to her. She felt the hour of midnight in the air and struggled as fiercely as ever. That was when she felt the rope give way. She cheered inside, but kept silent and still, lest the soldiers in the room noticed her breakthrough.
As she worked on the fetters at her feet, she heard a sound that sent chills to her bones.
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot.
Horse hoofs reverberating in the night. Did they hear?
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot.
All too late, yet all too soon! She could not see him but she heard, which also said the same as the soldiers. They stood ready with their swords and bows, fifteen strong waiting to pounce. She readied herself for a drastic maneuver.
She broke the bonds at her wrist and freed her mouth as she stood up tall. The soldiers turned her way, but she paid no mind.
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot.
Nearer he came! Her eyes grew wide and she drew one last breath. Her voice cried out in the moonlight, "RUN INUYASHA!" with a shout that shattered the moonlight. And the soldiers' swords shattered her breast in the moonlight as they drove their steel through her chest.
She had warned him–with her death.
He turned and followed her scent. He heard the cry, as though she stood next to him. And he came upon the hill and looked into the doorway of the home. He saw her sitting there, bowed with her black hair flowing down, drenched with her own red blood. His face grew gray to realize how the farmer's daughter, Kagome–the farmer's brown-eyed daughter–had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
He raced down to the house like a madman, shrieking curses to the sky. The road kicked up behind him with white clouds of smoke, as he waved his sword high above his head. The ground beat furiously with horse hooves as he sped closer and closer to the home. The soldiers aimed their arrows steadily and carefully.
He charged with insanity in his eyes, speeding closer and closer to the murderers. The archers kept their wits about them as the manic eyes of a vengeful lover fixed on theirs, and they shot him down on the highway, down like a dog on the highway, and he lay in his blood on the highway, with thoughts of Kagome as his last.
And still of a winter's night they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of the moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding–
Riding–riding–
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
His mount clears the fence that closes off a farmer's land, and he trots the rest of the way to the small, quiet house. He stops next to the closed shutters of a window and whistles a tune. They slowly open, and in the frame is the farmer's daughter, Kagome–the farmer's brown-eyed daughter–who ties a dark-red love knot into her long black hair.
THE END
Yes, it's short, but sad and sweet. This is probably one of the ONLY times I'll write a romance fic, cuz Alfred Noyes' poem just screamed out for me to do it. And if you get the chance, go find the original poem and read it! It'll blow you away.