... When He came for Her
The deep forests of the east lay in silent tranquility while waiting for the sunrise... the calling of a new day. Morning dew glittered on soft, green grass and on moss, and on the hillsides the mist hung over the ground, a carpet of graceful white streaks... ready to reveal the treasure beneath with the first rays of the morning sun. Humans may have called it a being of magical entity, a dance of the morning fae maiden.. ? It was just a morning fog though, but then again... you never knew.
Stepping softly over stone and underbrush, with the grace that a deer possessed, Sesshoumaru trekked steadfast and onward towards his destination. These woods, so old and so familiar, held a wisdom he felt many years before... The sights and smells awoke memories of his childhood trainee days. He wondered what he would say, should he come to cross paths with his old mentor. The old veteran was, after all, one of the uncrowned kings of these unsettled, wild lands. To be honest, he wished to be spared the encounter. Absently he wondered why, but no answer came to mind. In silence he continued his walk without rest, a vigil in the quiet before dawn.
The smell of drying herbs and a fire on embers reached his acute sense of smell long before he saw the outline of her dwelling. He remembered when he'd first stumbled across her den so many years ago. Him: just a young pup, and she: seemingly so much older and wiser, with a handful of fascinating stories to tell. He wondered if she had changed as much as he. He doubted that. He hoped not.
As it were, he found he had been right in his doubts. She had hardly changed at all. Sitting on her feet by the ember fire she watched him enter the little clearing in the woods that was her home as if she had been expecting him. She was always calm like that. Stopping a good ten meters away, Sesshoumaru gazed at the woman... her appearance had not changed, such is the curse of immortality. Only the muffled sound of waking birds and the soft creaking of the tall treetops above was heard. The forest lay heavy around them. Kagome gazed back at the silver-haired youthful lord as calmly and expressionless as he watched her. His once childishly ever-curious amber eyes were hidden beneath a stoic mask of relaxed control. She smiled somewhat. How she knew this day would come.
"I have come for you."
His voice spoke softly yet the message was declared strongly, straight to the point and with no hesitation, nor a tremor in his voice. So much unlike his old mentor, who never seemed to like to talk at all. Speaking frankly, even less. Kagome rested her eyes to the glowing coals for a moment before once again turning them upon the royal figure in front of her. From a young pup, to which she watched over growing up, and into a handsome man. Appropriate, addressed to a regal lord of the western lands, accordingly. The first birdsong pierced the once-silent forest as the sunrise drew nearer. She gathered her skirts and stood up proudly, her back erect and eyes level with his.
Walking infinitely softly across the damp ground she crossed the short distance between them and came to stand before him. Looking up at his face she answered him in a voice close to a whisper, her words playing lightly like the morning mist.
"If my lord wishes it to be."
He looked down onto her. When had he grown past her, once-thought, indomitable height? There was nor an indication he could find of time having passing for her too. For a moment he doubted his choice to take her away. Mayhap it was selfish of him. Perhaps it was stupid, even. For, the forest was her home and her home was the forest. A fairy of the forest was not supposed to leave the forest of which it was born. It was not meant to be. Both he, and she, knew that it was a matter of years before she would perish without the living green of her home. He turned those thoughts away quickly and bowed his head in a small nod. He didn't care. If this was all they had, then [by Kami!] he would seize the chance for this moment.
The dancing maiden of the morning mist retreated before them and the fog lifted in the first ray of morning as Sesshoumaru turned his face northwest and began the long walk towards his own homelands. A few steps behind him followed a beautiful ebony-haired woman without question. And in the deep shady forest a fire of embers slowly burnt out, leaving a thin streak of smoke trailing up towards the rose sky. From a hilltop far away, He watched his once young pupil walk away with his most-coveted prize. He was somehow little surprised.
author's lament
o woe is me... !
alrite, so I -was- planning to get Tatsutahime out first, but I suppose one-shots are too delectable and nummy. And so, I have added yet another useless one-shot to my growing collection. A moment of intuition struck me while I was eating breakfast. Yes, I seem to get more and more of these ideas that can't get out of my head... maybe I'm delusional? [actually, I think I was already. XD.] Oh yes, I'd like to thank the nice ppl who voted for me in the SSpark awards. It is really an honor, ne? Lastly, if I come out with another one-shot before the updating of R.O.M. or Tatsutahime, I give you my express permission to shoot me. ;;
ah! ah! before it is forgotten... I have made an account on fictionpress.com [under "kijotenshi"], and u can find yet another one of my pathetic one-shots there as well.
... bon voyage, mon ami.