Chapter one:
Premonition
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha
November 5th, 3000 B.C
The sun was bright over the land. Though the sun was blazing high in the sky, a fresh breeze washed over the land of Agyptia, cooling the earth. It was a bit late in the afternoon, nearly time for the midday meal.
The farmers of Agyptia had already begun to work their lands, inspecting their crops and killing any beasts that wandered onto their land with the intent of feasting on the crops or live stock. The maids were up as well, going about their daily routine of cleaning the homes of their masters', hand washing clothing, watching the children and opening the shutters of the numerous windows of the house with intent of letting cool air inside.
One Agyptian woman, however still lay abed. A soft knock on the door did not wake the sleeping woman.
"Mistress Jamila," the maid, Khepri, called through the door.
No answer. Reaching out, she turned the gold encrusted door knob, and slowly opened the door. The maid could see the silhouette of her mistress through the white, see through canopy surrounding the large, feather stuffed bed. She lay buried under thick piles of pearl white quilts, gold lining the edges. The bed frame its self was made of solid gold with some of the best jewels in all of Agyptia.
Khepri sighed in envy as she looked around the large room. The stone floors were clean and free of any dirt or mud; the walls were painted a rich sky blue, thirty white candles encased in gold colored glass lined the entire room, though none were lit at the moment, various expensive vases sat atop tables made of pure gold. A large golden vanity sat near one of the large floor length windows, with various types of brushes, combs and cosmetics sat on top of the glorious piece of furniture. It was one of the most glorious rooms in the palace, as well it should be. It was the room of the Queen Jamila and the Pharaoh Bomani.
"Mistress Jamila," she called again.
The woman in bed stirred with a big yawn, stretching as she opened her eyes.
Standing in the doorway, the maid lifted a hand, focusing on the canopy curtain. She moved her hand from left to right. The curtain followed the motion, moving seemingly upon its own accord to reveal the waking woman.
"Is it morning all ready, Khepri?" Jamila asked sleepily.
"Yes, Mistress, it is nearly time for the Midday meal," she said walking over to the dressing room, the curtains covering the windows opening as well, bathing the room in sunlight.
Raising a hand once more, she used her energy to push open the curtain covering the large dressing room. Walking inside the room, walked over to one of the shelves where rows upon rows of clothing lined the walls. Picking out a long, thin, short sleeve linen shirt made of the finest material, the edges hemmed with gold, a sheer cloth extending from the gold hemming of the shirt, and a skirt made of the same style and material.
Clothing in hand, Khepri walked back into the main bedroom. Jamila sat up in bed, hand to her mouth as she let out a large yawn. Khepri placed the clothing on the foot of the bed as Jamila crawled out of bed and stood.
Stretching, she reached down to caress her large belly. Jamila smiled. It would be any day now. She was now in her ninth month of carrying. This would be her first child to reach term, having lost three children before birth, she was very hopeful for this one. She could feel her little girl's power even at her underdeveloped state. Though her husband, Bomani wished for a son, Jamila was convinced it was a girl. She had even chosen a name. Kamilah, which mean; perfection. Her child would be perfect.
Khepri walked over to her. Jamila let her arms hang at her sides as Kamilah pulled off her robe, leaving her naked to the afternoon sun. Khepri inwardly sighed in envy once more. Queen Jamila was everything she had always wanted to be. Barely following the customs of Agyptia, Jamila seemed to be a law onto herself. Her hair was the most obvious.
Long, impossibly black hair flowed down her back, it was soft and silky and never seemed to be infested with lice as some of the other women who did not shave their hair and wear wigs. Most women of Agyptia shaved their heads and wore wigs, not only to keep cool under the intense sun, but to rid themselves of lice and other such bugs, as well as saving them the trouble of grooming and caring for the hair. Khepri wished to grow her hair out once more, but servants were not allowed to for fear of offending their Mistresses and Masters.
Jamila's skin was a tanned brown, not darkly so as Khepri's skin was. Even her eyes were slightly different, something unheard of among the Agyptians. All Agyptian's eyes were a deep dark, greenish blue. Jamila's eyes were a shade lighter and shot through with little specks of gold, the green in her eyes a bit more dominant than the blue.
Her name, Jamila, meaning beauty, suited her well. Khepri's name, morning sun, was pretty common. Standing next Jamila, Khepri felt plain, though she knew she was decently pretty she still felt plain around her Mistress.
Even with a huge belly, she was a gorgeous woman, but that was to be expected of a member of the Olufemi clan, Olufemi meaning beloved of the gods. In addition to the Agyptian trait of telekinesis, the Olufemi clan was also known for their hereditary transmission of supernatural powers from generation to generation. For example, Jamila's grandmother, Akila, meaning intelligent, could see into the future; Jamila's cousin, Eshe, meaning life, could hypnotize people and make them zombies; Haqikah, meaning honest, could cure any illness with her magic. In addition to this, the Olufemi clan's specialties are brainwashing and assassination.
Many of its members, especially the women, have some supernatural traits that none of the Agyptian's themselves had, not only that, but the clan guarded one of Agyptia's most important items.
The Book of the Dead.
The Book of the Dead was a collection of chapters made up of magic spells and formulas. Reading from the book was forbidden unless the individual reading from the book was a member of the Olufemi clan. Violating the rules of the proper use of the book was grounds for immediate punishment. In the few cases where an individual was brave enough to commit such a crime, said individual usually received death by torture if they were lucky, if not, the curse of the book would dish out punishment instead.
Pulling herself away from her thoughts, Khepri followed her Mistress into the cleaning area, a golden water basin built into the wall. As Jamila cleansed herself, Khepri grabbed a fluffy drying cloth from a shelf in the dressing room, returning, she handed it to Jamila to dry herself.
Once done, she tossed the cloth into the basket used to hold dirty cloth until the washing maid came by to collect and wash the contents of the basket. Grabbing the clothing she had laid on the edge of the bed, Khepri helped her Mistress dress.
"I wish to visit grandmother Akila this eve, Khepri, please see to the preparations while I consume the Midday meal,"
"Yes Mistress," she said.
The top fitted loosely over her breasts, the sheer material attached to the bottom of the top covered her extended belly. The skirt was long and flowing, hip length slits running along the sides of the material revealing a health amount of skin. Sitting at her vanity, Jamila allowed Khepri apply kohl to her eyelids, and brush out her hair.
Khepri would never admit it aloud, but brushing out her Mistresses hair was a pain in the ass. Sometimes she wished that her Mistress would just shave her head and wear wings like a normal woman. She sighed inwardly. There was no help for it. Her Mistress would have her way and to hell with the opinion of anyone else. As Jamila looked over her work, Khepri walked back into the dressing room and pulled down a heavy wooden chest before returning to the vanity.
Opening the chest, she pulled out Jamila's royal head piece and placed it atop her head. Jamila fixed the golden head piece to her liking as Khepri pulled out another piece of jewelry. Within minutes, Jamila was adorned in many pieces of jewelry made of pure gold, diamonds and rubies.
Once that was complete, the two went downstairs to the dinning hall. As the Queen took her seat at the table, the kitchen servants brought out the Midday meal. While Jamila ate her breakfast, Khepri went to make preparations for their trip to the Olufemi Palace. She found the stable hand, Akiiki in the stable brushing down a large black stallion.
Wearing a linen kilt and nothing more, Khepri sighed in appreciation of his well muscled bronze chest. Akiiki was a childhood friend of hers. Wild yet friendly, Akiiki was friend to any and all, thus was why he had been named Akiiki, Akiiki literally meaning friendly.
Her parents and his parents had been neighbors for more than ten years. Akiiki was three years older than her. At nineteen years old, Akiiki was consider a man grown, while Khepri, sixteen years old was consider a woman grown as well. The two were well passed the age of marriage. The average female married at twelve and had at least two to three children by the age of sixteen. Though males had more leeway, Akiiki was about two years over due.
"Khepri," he said as she entered, "It is very nice to see you,"
"Nice to see you as well," she said, a pretty blush coming to her cheeks.
She had had a crush on him for the last two years, and to her frustration, Akiiki was completely and utterly oblivious.
She sighed.
She could not expect anything less from the teen, he had always been so.
"What brings you here? Does the Queen wish to take a trip outside the palace?"
Khepri nodded.
"She wishes to visit her grandmother Mistress Akila in the Olufemi Palace this eve," she explained.
Akiiki nodded.
"I shall have everything ready within minutes,"
"Thank you," she said as she turned and headed back inside.
She sighed again. Akiiki was so completely clueless it was sad. He did not even see her as a woman but as a childhood friend. When would he realize she was a woman not the childhood friend he had grown up with? Perhaps never.
With their transportation taken care of, Khepri headed back inside to the Queen, who had just finished her meal. Khepri helped her Mistress stand, and the two walked to the main gates of the palace, where Jamila took a seat on a cushioned chair near the entrance. Two slaves approached the seated female, large fans in hand. Immediately they began to fan the Queen.
"My husband was not abed when I awoke," Jamila said to Khepri, "Where has he gone?"
"The Master left earlier than normally again, Mistress. He is meeting with ambassadors who are offering tributes from foreign countries again,"
"Hm," Jamila said softly, her hand drifting down to caress her belly as the child shifted in her womb.
Her husband had been meeting with those foreigners an awful lot this week, and to be honest, she had a bad feeling about those men. They were demons; however, they preferred to be called, Youkai. From what Bomani had told her, the Youkai claimed to come from an island called Japan. Jamila did not trust those men. She had never heard of a Youkai in her entire, long, long life. Sure Agyptians and Youkai had a few things in common such as above human abilities and longevity, however, that was not enough to convince her that these, demons were not out to cause harm.
If her suspicions were not good enough, then there were the reports given to her by the numerous slaves she had spread around the city. She had heard from one of her slaves that one of the men that came with the group had been going around the city asking questions.
This would not have been so significant if they had not been asking questions about the Book of the Dead.
Not even the people of Agyptia were allowed to ask such question.
Her instincts were screaming at her. These men were not good men. They meant to do harm to them somehow. She had voiced her worries to her husband, but to no avail. He merely patted her hand and told her that there was naught to worry about, that the foreigners were good men, that they were merely here to learn and hopefully become friendly.
Neither Jamila, nor her clan was so sure that they were as innocent as they seemed.
She wished her husband would listen to her, but he was a man after all. Men tended to do the opposite of what a woman asked, even if the woman was right. It was the way of men unfortunately. She just hoped that the price they would have to pay would not be too high.
As the carriage arrived for the Queen, two mdjai walked along side of the carriage. Dressed in white linen kilts lined with gold trimming, head pieces and swords strapped to their backs. The mdjai immediately walked over to the pregnant Queen and helped her up and into the carriage. One of the mdjai held out a hand to Khepri which she accepted and was assisted into the carriage, after which, the mdjai grabbed onto the handles on the side of the carriage, their feet resting on the built on foot rest.
The horseman took up the reins and flicked the once. The white stallions began to trot forward, pulling the carriage at a slow pace. As they traveled through the city of Sha'alka, the people stopped what they were doing to turn and look upon the Queen of Agyptia.
They traveled no more than an hour before the Olufemi Palace came into sight. Second only to the Pharaoh's own palace, the Olufemi Palace was as large as it was dazzling, standing almost as tall as pyramids. It was a rich, pure white stone structure, the roof made of pure gold. It was unheard of, having a roof made of pure gold, however, the Olufemi Palace was thousands of years old, and no one could quite remember how the roof had been created.
As they approached the golden gates, Jamila's cousin Eshe sat waiting for them, a bright smile on her face. She wore a long, flowing, sleeveless linen dress with the usual hip length slits on the sides, around her waist dangled a gold chain with a ruby attached to the chain. She wore a short, chin length wig with gold beads weaved into the strands of hair, dark kohl decorated her eye lids laminating her blue eyes, her skin a dark tan. She was as pretty as her cousin Jamila.
"Cousin," she greeted as the two women stepped from the carriage with the help of the Mdjai.
"Cousin Eshe," Jamila said with a smile, embracing the younger woman.
The two embraced and walked towards the entrance doors. Khepri watched as the women, followed by the mdjai walked through the palace doors, the mdjai took up positions on each side of the palace doors as the women disappeared inside. She sighed. It would be a long wait. She preferred not to follow her Mistress inside. She had only been in once and prayed she never had to again.
The shadows in that place moved. The palace itself seemed to be alive and breathing. It scared her to death. Almost as much as its inhabitants, almost, but not quite. There seemed to be this energy, not necessarily good, and yet not necessarily evil either. It was just……there, all consuming, suffocating. She had wandered the halls aimlessly, her eyes wide, terrified of anything and everything, her heart pounding so loud in her ears, her breath hitching in her chest. Eventually, she had been found by a servant, huddled in a corner.
Khepri folded her hands across her chest in unease. This place, it was beautiful and yet it always gave her the chills, as though this place was not as beautiful and dazzling as the outside made it seem.
When she had expressed her reluctance to enter the structure again to her Mistress, she had been surprised when the Queen had nodded in understanding, as if she knew what it was that had scared her servant so. That quick understanding had made her feel more ill at ease than reassured, as if Queen Jamila knew exactly what the palace contained. Whatever it was, Khepri did not want to know.
Inside the palace, Jamila walked with her cousin Eshe down a long hall. The palace welcomed Jamila, the energy surrounding the place crackling against her own. Jamila smiled. She so loved to visit her childhood home. The Olufemi Palace had been around long before she had ever been born, and ever since she had been born, its energy had always wrapped around her in a loving embrace. The palace was like a second mother, especially after her own mother had perished.
Though Agyptians lived long, centuries long, they were not immortal, they could be killed. Her mother had been killed by a wayward man trying to steal the Book of the Dead. The fool had taken the Book after killing her mother, and then read from the Book intending to use its magic to enslave the Earth. The man was not a crazed individual, but a smart and cunning man with an overwhelming ambition. He had not been wrong in think the Book held such power. Thought they tried to keep its contents a secret, sometimes the secrets leaked and that was the end result of such a thing.
After mother's death, Jamila had been entrusted with the Book, and when her daughter was born, the Book would pass on to her.
"Grandmother is expecting you," Eshe said as the two headed to the east wing of the palace.
Jamila placed a hand on her belly, rubbing gently.
"She is going to read my daughters future is she not?" Jamila asked.
"Yes," she said as they walked up to tall double doors.
The doors opened on their own accord and the two entered the room. The room was well light with hundreds of candles encased in gold colored glass, bathing the room in a golden hue. A large rug took up most of the room. Embodied into the rug was the picture of a sun rising up over a pyramid. A young looking woman sat on the floor above the sun, her luminous blue eyes shimmering in the candle light.
She looked a lot like Jamila expect for the fact that her skin was a darker tan and she wore a wig. The woman sitting on the rug looked no older than her late twenties; however, if one were to look into those deep blue eyes, one would see that she was a lot older than that.
"Grandmother," Jamila said with a smile, coming over to take a seat with the woman.
"It is wonderful to see you Jamila dear," Akila said to her granddaughter, "Eshe, please, come sit with us,"
Eshe came and sat next to the two women.
Akila looked down at her belly, a smile on her face. She looked up at Jamila.
"She is due any day now," Akila said.
Jamila nodded, caressing her stomach.
"Yes, any day now. I can feel it. Her energy is growing with each passing day.
"Then let us begin," she said.
It was an age old Olufemi clan tradition to read the future of a child only days before the child was due. Though Akila could see the future, she was only able to see a fraction of the future, not the whole picture. When looking at a child's future, she merely looked for any hardships the child would endure so that the child and parents would be able to properly prepare for said event.
Akila leaned forward and placed her hands on Jamila's stomach, blue eyes glowing brightly, instantly a picture of the child's future came to her. The energy in the room suddenly felt heavy and suffocating. The two watched in confusion as Akila's eyes widened enormously, a small line of blood dripped down her nose as the future was revealed……
Akila stood before a large door. This was not strange at all. The door was before her was called the Door of Knowledge. Reaching out she touched a hand to the door. The door creaked loudly as it opened.
A bright light shined brightly in her face. Taking a step, she walked into the light. Instantly, she felt scorching heat on her face, her eyes widened in shock. It was a village, some foreign place she was not familiar with. The people lived in wooden structures instead of stone houses like the Agyptia people, green trees and rolling hills made up the land, not the stone roads and endless sand she was accustomed to, even the clothing of the people was different, the screaming women wore long dresses with long sleeves, while the males wore a similar shirt and balloon like bottoms. Where ever this place was, it was not Agyptia.
The people were running and screaming, all going in the same direction. A loud, animalistic roar pierced the air, chilling Akila to the bone.
She felt an enormous amount of energy coming from the direction the people were running from. It was not something she had ever felt before and yet, it felt familiar. Another roar pierced her ears; a pained scream followed the roar. As the crowd parted, Akila could finally see what it was that had the crowd so terrified.
A girl in a white sleeveless, blood soaked dress stood over a man screaming in terror, raising a sword, the girl brought the sword down on the man. The man lifted his arm in an attempt to defend himself. To no avail, the sharp jagged blade cut through skin, muscle and bone with ease. The man's screams were silenced as the blade slashed through his arm and face, lodging into the ground beneath him.
The girl was so thin and small and yet she committed such a heinous act without flinching. She leaned over the man, her long dark hair covering her face. Pulling the sword from the body, she straightened, a low, inhumane growl rumbling from her chest.
Akila took a step back. That girl was no ordinary girl.
The girl looked up, sky blue eyes illuminated. She had never seen eyes like that; however she could not doubt the girl's heritage. Her tanned skin, midnight dark hair, blue eyes; that girl was an Agyptian!
Looking at her face, she saw Jamila inside there. This child, she belonged to Jamila, her great granddaughter. Akila was horrified at the sight before her as she stared into the light blue eyes of her great granddaughter. Those eyes…….so light they were nearly white, glowed with an unfathomable evil. Dear Gods what was this child! This child could bring down the world as they knew it! The power thrumming through her was unimaginable. It was evil. As the girl bared her teeth, white gleaming fangs stood out.
This child was no child, she was something else entirely.
The girl kneeled down in the thick pool of blood pooling beneath the dead body.
As the girl leaned down, mouth open, eyes hungry, Akila pulled herself from her trance, unable to watch the gruesome scene anymore……
"Grandmother," Jamila called to the woman that sat stunned before her.
Akila stare unseeingly at the two women, her hands shaking in front of Jamila's extended belly.
"Grandmother," Eshe said, reaching out a hand to touch the older woman's hand.
Akila looked over at Eshe.
"Are you alright?" Eshe asked in concern.
"Yes…..yes I am fine," Akila said taking a breath.
"Your nose is bleeding grandmother," Jamila said.
As if still in a trance, Akila wiped the blood from her nose before slowly turning to face Jamila. Seeing her grandmother so shaken, Jamila reached out, patting one of her clammy hands.
"What is it grandmother? What did you see?" Jamila asked, starting to worry when her grandmother said nothing and continued to stare.
"Jamila…..that child….she….Gods help her child!" she stood, pulling Jamila up with her, "Come, we must pray! We must pray to the Gods to save your child!"
Jamila gasped as her grandmother's grip on her arm turned bruising. That was the least of her problems; she was more worried about what her grandmother had seen and what did she mean to save her child? Was her baby going to die?
"Grandmother!" she cried out, planting her feet into the ground, "What is wrong? Tell me what you saw!"
Akila stopped, silently starring at her worried granddaughter. No longer did she see her beloved granddaughter, but the monster that was her great grandchild. Her heart clenched as she looked at Jamila's swollen belly.
"Oh sweet mercy child, why?" she said softly.
"Grandmother, please, just tell us what you saw," Eshe said.
Silence filled the room.
"Your child….she is……evil….She was killing……eating her victims………"
Jamila took a step back, her eyes widening. She shook her head, a protective hand coming to her belly.
"Nay….that cannot……she is not….."
"Yes, child, she is and she can! I have seen so with mine own eyes," she said, tears forming in her eyes, "That child is the spawn of an evil that you cannot even begin to imagine!"
Akila grabbed Jamila's forearms, pulling her close, her eyes wide with fear.
"You must pray," she whispered fiercely, "Everyday before that child is born…..and everyday after…..pray child!"
As her grip turned bruising once more, Eshe pulled her grandmother away from the pregnant woman. Akila struggled as Eshe pulled her out of the room.
"Pray!!" Akila screamed, "Pray for that child's immortal soul! Pray to the Gods!"
Jamila stood rooted to the spot for long moments, not sure what to do, what to say. Backing against a wall, she slipped down to the floor, her hands on her belly.
Her child……evil?
It could not be so. It had to be a mistake.
Tears formed in her eyes. This had to be some sort of nightmare. Even as her mind tried to find an explanation that would discredit her grandmother she knew she could not. Her grandmother was never wrong. Her child was an evil child. Her little girl…a murderer.
A murderer that would commit the ultimate sin; killing was already enough of a sin, but….eating them. It was an insult to the Gods themselves!
She shook her head as tears began to fall. No. She would not let this be. She would protect her child, even if she had to protect her from herself. She would pray. She would pray everyday if she had to. She would pray until the day she died! All she had ever wanted was a child; she would not loose this one to evil.
Standing, Jamila hurried out of the Palace to the carriage, wiping her face clean as she stepped through the double doors and out into the evening sun. Khepri was waiting for her; the poor maid was dying in the intense heat. She sat along the stone wall that offered a bit of shade.
"We leave now," Jamila said crisply as she pulled her self into the carriage before either of the mdjai had a chance to assist her.
Khepri stumbled to her feet in surprise.
"Yes Mistress," she said as she scrambled into the carriage next to the distressed woman.
Khepri was completely confused. Usually the future reading of a new child was a joyful occasion, she had not seen her Mistress this was before. Not even when she had gone to seek comfort from her clan when she had conceived and then lost the children from before. She wondered what had upset her so. Had the future princess' future been less than good?
Judging by the way Jamila shakily rubbed her belly, she could safely assume that was the case. She hoped her Mistress was not going to loose another child. The broken hearted wails Jamila had let loose each time a child of hers had died was still fresh in her mind.
She did not think her Mistress could endure such a tragedy again.
"Tomorrow, we are to visit the temples for prayer. I will be spending my entire day at the temple," Jamila said as she stared into the distance.
"Yes, Mistress," said Khepri.
The temples? Now Khepri was really curious. Her Mistress spending the entire day there? Never had she done such a thing. Whatever had happened must have really scared her enough to send her running to the temple. Khepri looked at Jamila's shaking hand caressing her belly.
What had Mistress Akila told her about the child?
They arrived back to the Palace within an hour. The Pharaoh had still not returned from his duties, so Jamila dined alone. Though she had no taste for food, she ate merely to sustain the life inside of her.
Once she had eaten her feel, she bathed and dressed for bed. As Khepri brushed and braided her hair, Jamila stared into the mirror, her hands cradling her belly. Khepri watched her Mistress. She was behaving very, very strangely and she wondered if she should report the behavior to the Pharaoh? She wasn't sure.
She sighed. She didn't want to get in trouble for speaking of things that she did not know of. She would leave things as they were for the time being.
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Hope you all enjoyed the story. This story will probably be updated slower than my other story 'Angel'. I'll try my best to juggle both stories however. Please review!
Laters
~Sessakag