Hey guys~ This is definitely AU based on a Middle Age setting with monarchs, dukes, knights, heirs and the whole shebang
Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, I do not own Mai Hime nor any of its characters used in this fanfic.
Stealthily and silently crossing from one round expanse of marble column to another, the notoriously successful thief immediately pressed against the shadows of the column when her sensitive hearing picked up unexpected footfalls from the opposite side of the massive foyer. Her pulse drummed like a wild animal and cold sweat tickled down her neck as she unconsciously touched the stolen piece of treasure hidden in her chest behind her black robe-like attire that ended mid-thigh and belted at the stomach with a wide piece of cloth the color of dried blood. Her upper body was finished with matching ribbons that tied the sleeves of the robe tightly around her wrists and her legs were fitted with skintight leggings and soft black flats.
When the approaching steps paused, the robber tentatively brushed aside a loose strand of cobalt hair and steeled herself to peek around the column.
Sighing, the blond haired servant in white robes quietly mumbled to himself about the lateness of the night and the needs of his ever demanding mistress. Tiredly making his way across the foyer to the kitchen, the servant suddenly halted midway. Out of the corner of his hazel eyes he thought he saw something move. Turning fully to face the four massive columns that surrounded the two grand flights of stairs leading to the second floor, the servant pondered if the flicker of movement he saw was a trick of the torchlight that decorated the walls of the villa.
No. Something definitely moved. Taking a deep breath, he lifted a foot to take a silent step forward toward the columns not 20 paces away, but before he could set his foot down a small brown creature skittered across the outskirts of the foyer. Staring dumbly after the disappearing mouse, the servant slowly recovered and laughed at himself for almost raising an unnecessary alarm.
Oh, his mistress would have had his hide instead for her late night meal. As he turned around to resume his track to the kitchen, he froze and his body turned rigid. Only his eyes quivered as they caught an unexpected pair of stunningly bright emerald eyes.
"Shit." The trespasser hissed behind a piece of triangular black cloth that hid most of her face.
Taking advantage of the servant's moment of hesitation, the bluenette instinctively crouched low to the ground and propelled herself forward. In a blink of an eye, she crossed the distance to the servant, covered his mouth with a hand, and kneed his soft abdomen. The servant doubled over in pain and slowly blacked out.
Grimacing, the attacker hooked an arm of the unconscious servant around her shoulders and hurriedly rushed to the side of the foyer, through a small door, and down the servants' staircase that descended to the lower quarters of the villa which housed numerous rooms like the kitchen, the storage, as well as the servants' lodgings.
At the bottom of the steps, the masked thief halted and strained her ears for the slightest sounds. When she was satisfied that no one was about, she continued on in the cramped hallway until she paused outside a rather wide wooden door that she assumed must lead to the storage room. Slightly panting under the weight of her victim, she stood nervously against the wall next to the door while slowly nudging it open with her foot. When the door was a quarter of the way opened, she held her breath and waited for any startled movement or noise from within.
After an eternity of silence, she finally let out a breath of relief and cautiously held her victim in front of her by the collar of his robe and pushed into the room. Glancing around the storage piled with barrels of liquor, salted meat, pickled veggies, and other whatnots, the bluenette dropped her victim against a barrel and quickly made her escape back into the cramped hallway.
Again making sure that her stolen treasure was tucked safely behind her robe, the intruder slid along the stone wall, searching for the exit the servants used to go in and out of the villa unobtrusively. She had used that same door to come in, but if the villa upstairs was like a maze, the servants section of it was a web produced by ten desperately confused and intoxicated spiders. Any one of these doors or stairs can lead her back into the actual villa; the web was intended for servants to better serve and navigate the structure discreetly after all.
Biting her lips and cursing herself for not remembering the way, she took a deep breath and wiped her sweaty hands against her thighs. Think. Damn it. Think! Arriving at a fork with both paths identically decked with a few wooden doors and dim torches, the desperate bluenette looked back behind her at the similar doors that she had just passed. The longer she stayed there the greater the chance that at least one servant will walk out of any one of those damn doors and see her.
Left. She decisively pushed herself from the wall only to quickly attach herself to another as she swiftly but silently looked for the exit. All these doors looked almost exactly the same, but she knew that the exit itself had a peculiar iron handle and a lock, and it was that which she desperately searched for right now. Aware of the night slowly slipping away, the lost intruder abandoned the wall and openly ran down hall after hall until she finally found it. The door. The lock and the peculiar handle.
She stared at them from the other end of a cramped hall. Sweat glued her robe to her back and her muscles ached from prolonged tension. It hurt to keep her breathing quiet and shallow. Her bodied cried for more air. Clutching the treasure against her hammering heart, the bluenette slowly made her way down the hall, confident that she'd escape with her stolen good. And then she heard them. Whispers behind closed doors. It came from the door closest to the exit. As she approached, she debated on whether unclasping the lock and opening the outer door would alert the people behind the other door. Fuck. Just my luck. Settling herself with her back against the gate to her escape, she hesitated with her hand on the lock. In her indecision, she found herself intrigued by the whispered conversation happening behind the door to her left.
"Lady Fujino! Please! I can't…I simply..can't anymore!" a panicked high-pitched voiced cried softly.
"Ara, Erstin. Perhaps I am pushing you too far?" A ridiculously seductive voice asked in mock innocence.\
"No, no of course not. I just...need a break."
"Why of course. How unthoughtful of me. After tonight, I will be away for a while."
The eavesdropper felt blood rush to her face so fast she had to brace herself against the door. Her pulse pounded loudly in her ears and again she contemplated if risking escape was a better idea than staying there.
"I'm sorry, my Lady. I've told you all that I've heard. Mistress Haruka is really scary. Really. I'm afraid."
"Erstin, please rest assure. I promise to compensate you and your family well for all that you have done; after all, your family has generously assisted mine for so many generations now." Again. Ridiculously enticing and velvety.
"It has been an honor, my lady. But there really is nothing more…wait. Oh!…There's one last thing I recently overheard…Mistress Haruka mentioned something about needing to meet with Princess Mashiro…soon."
"Ara? I see…that is quite valuable information." A moment of silence and then a softly murmured, "Please do not underestimate my gratitude for your help, Erstin…"
Gritting her teeth together, the bluenette had heard enough. Time was against her. Delicately lifting the lock with her fore and middle fingers, she gently unlatched the lock and let out a quiet sigh of relief everything clicked in place almost soundlessly. Now for the hard part… Clutching the handle with both hands, the intruder ever so slowly opened the heavy wooden door. Thanking the gods for the well oiled hinges, the relieved bluenette quickly slipped out with a last look at the empty hallway. The whispering continued behind the closed door and the invader took that as a good sign as she silently closed the door behind her.
The night was beginning to brighten in the east when the beautiful bluenette shook out her hair and pulled her mask off in the safety of the empty streets of Fuuka city. Her porcelain skin glistened with sweat but she ignored it as she positively glowed from feeling her new prize beneath her robe. She dared not take it out yet though. It was still too risky while she was out in the open and so close to the Lady Haruka's villa. Glancing around the abandoned streets, the notorious thief snuck into a dark and empty alley between two closed down shops and quickly changed out of her sweat-stained attire and into a common blacksmith apprentice garb, completed with a loose white, sleeveless shirt; tan trousers; black boots; and a tight-fitting, black leather apron. Expertly fitting her discarded clothes in a pack and swinging it behind her back, the emerald eyed apprentice swiftly replaced her stolen prize into her apron and continued the short walk back to Kaiji Sakomizu's Lone Wolf blacksmith shop.
The well weathered cobbled path weaved through the numerous timber and stone buildings of Hime's prosperous capital: Fuuka. The buildings patterned the city with a rainbow of colors and designs, and the structures grew more complicated and glamorous the nearer they were to Garderobe Palace. The palace was nestled on the grandest hill surrounded by the rest of the city. Looking up at that massive, glittering pale anchor of the country , the bluenette ran a hand through her silky hair and sighed. One day... Don't get too comfortable, Garderobe. You bet your shiny ass, I'll be coming for you too. Smirking, she returned to her track and by the time she arrived to the entrance of the modest two story blacksmith building, the first touches of the rising sun had begun to paint the eastern sky in a deep sea orange.
Upon quietly entering the shop, she could hear feet shuffling upstairs where she shared residence with her blacksmith master, Kaiji, and fellow apprentice, Masashi Takeda. Quickly realizing that she had no time to rest due to her unusually late (even for her) escapade, the bluenette silently ran up to her room right next to the stairs before anyone could see her. Noiselessly closing her room door behind her, she yawned as she put down her pack and withdrew the stolen piece of treasure from her apron. Laying it on a sturdy but small table in the middle of her cramped space, the girl removed the cloth wrapping and revealed a dull and rather unremarkable dagger sheath with only a single ruby impressed near the opening. The dagger itself had a metal hilt that was shaped in an elongated body of a wolf with the head roaring at the pommel. Grinning uncontrollably and with unexplainable nervousness, the apprentice pulled out the dagger from the sheath to expose an ebony blade so dark that it seemed to suck in the morning light creeping through the room's one dusty window.
"Dang…" the mystified bluenette mused and held the dagger with her strong hand while reaching for a nearby iron buckler with her left hand. Placing the buckler on the table, she tested the blade's strength and sharpness against its surface. Her eyes widened at the result—the dagger sunk into the buckler like fingers dipping into wine. Barely able to resist squealing in excitement, she carefully restored the dagger and hid it in her boots with a satisfied pat.
"NAAAAAAAAAATSUKI!!!! You better be up and ready soon! We have a big order to complete today!" Master Kaiji hollered from the shop downstairs.
"Aw eff." The bluenette Natsuki complained to herself as she stifled another yawn. "OH SHUT IT, OLD MAN. I'M COMING!" True to her words, Natsuki quickly washed her face using the cold water from a pan next her bed and within minutes descended down the stairs to the actual shop where the forge, the tools, and the finish products are located.
"G-good morning, Natsuki." Her fellow apprentice stuttered. He had spiky brown hair and forest green eyes set in a tan and serious face.
"Morning." Natsuki greeted out of habit as she eagerly sat down at the counter to breakfast. Dipping her bread in well seasoned soup, she soon wolfed down over half of the serving while her companions stared.
"You never fail to surprise me with how much you eat in the mornings, but you look especially weary today. Another sleepless night?" Master Kaiji asked, auburn afro and chubby cheeks slightly shaking with worry.
Before Natsuki could answer between her mouthfuls, Takeda jumped in with a share of his own anxiety, "Should I get a healer?? You really do look awful. Wait! No that's not what I mean. You're extremely stunning but you don't l-look healthy. Yeah. Healthy. You look like you had a rough night. Y-you know you can always find me during y-your sl-sleepless—" Stammering to a halt at Natsuki's locally famous Ice Princess glare, Takeda meekly settled down and resumed eating.
"I'm fine. Sleeping's overrated anyways." Natsuki grumbled even as her body betrayed her and she had to clamped her jaws down tightly to keep from yawning. "Let's get the day over with, old man." She got up and gathered some untempered swords to the forge.
Eyebrows furrowed in concern, Master Kaiji hesitantly said, "Alright, but be careful today, Natsuki. You already look exhausted when the day has hardly begun. I don't want you to hurt yourself, especially during this busy season when every ones on edge about robbers and hooligans and such. The nobles, especially, are investing in a good deal of weapons."
"Don't you mean one specific robber in particular, Master? I hear the Masked Duchess has the upper-class shaking in their breeches and hiring all the mercenaries left in the city and surrounding areas." Takeda added conversationally as he started cleaning up the counter for business. The "infamous" Masked Duchess was so aptly named because she seems to be able to saunter into and out of any villa and confiscate any property at her own discretion and pleasure. However, the common people secretly revered and respected her daring and her seemingly total disregard for class and power. The people enjoy how condescending nobles and snobby merchants are constantly looking over their shoulders with weary eyes telling of many sleepless nights. Everyone knew that the Duchess only sought after the most expensive and rare items in the city, so the common people themselves were generally safe from her grasp. Her "adventures" and relentless evasions of the queen's guards were the talk of the streets and, oftentimes, the subject of songs and stories sung and told at the local pubs.
"Ah, her too. I need to thank her for much of the business that I have been getting from the rich and the wealthy; though, I'm not sure how she'd take my gratitude, seeing that I'm supplying her enemies with weapons. GOOD weapons too." Master Keiji chuckled heartedly.
A ghost of smile graced Natsuki's lips as she hammered a heated blade into shape. The sun soon climbed to its peak and Natsuki continued to pound out Lone Wolf's renowned blades that were due by the end of the day. Although the bluenette had not apprenticed under Master Keiji for long—only two and a half years—she was talented and a quick learner. In fact, her skills surpassed her senior Takeda who shamefully had a year on her. Master Keiji never regretted taking the bluenette under his wing almost three winters ago when he found her in a cold, damp alley, bleeding and unconscious with only torn scraps of rags on for clothes.
Being the ever passive and patient man he is, Master Keiji restrained from pressing the girl about her past and instead only happily offered solace and help when she asked. Though he never learned much about her, he did appreciate what she brought to him. Patrons. Unbeknownst to her, she attracted a considerable size of clientele who not only appreciated the young apprentice's skills in smiting but also her uniquely piercing emerald eyes, her flowing silky azure hair, and her perfectly proportioned and toned figure. From poor peasants to nobles of the Royal House, her admirers would often stand outside the shop gawking and whispering as they watched her tend to the furnace or gracefully shape heated metals or, if they were lucky, attend the counter to check the books and finalize orders. Oftentimes, the bluenette would be too focused on her task to notice them but when she did…they would flee like flies before her piercing glare that is rumored to freeze the blood and petrify the mind. Yet fortunately for Master Keji, they continued to come and patronize for the slimmest hope to warm the stubborn girl's cold, stone heart.
"HEY, YOU! You, with those baggy eyes and ashen skin!" A pretty redhead hollered from the counter at the storefront. She wore a fashionable long, red gown that hung loosely from her shoulders and tied at the waist by a simple golden cord. Under her gown, she had on a pair of heeled sandals.
Instantly recognizing the familiar voice, Natsuki gritted her teeth and determinedly ignored the girl as she turned her back to the counter and continue her smiting.
Unperturbed, the young redhead snickered, "Puppy, I must agree. Your buttocks are considerably more pleasing to the eyes than your flat—"
"NAO!" With almost inhuman speed, the bluenette flew over the counter and covered the other's mouth before she could finish her sentence. The two tumbled to the ground with Natsuki on top struggling to silence Nao's mirth.
When Nao finally recovered enough to speak, she amusedly said, "Really pup. Is this how you like it? I would prefer more…private environments, myself. But if you insist, who am I to refuse the Ice Princess?"
Natsuki blinked, uncomprehending.
Nao pointedly tilted her head up at the surprised crowd surrounding the front of the shop and then at her stomach where Natsuki sat straddling her. The redhead watched comprehension strike Natsuki as suddenly as hammer against anvil; her body tensed up, her eyes grew to saucers, and her countenance reddened against the onslaught of said hammer. So embarrassed was the bluenette that she stayed rooted where she was, staring with horror and helplessness at the lime green eyes below her.
Er…maybe I had gone too far. The redhead stared regretfully back and lifted the shocked girl to her feet as she got up herself. Stalking out to the still staring crowd, Nao yelled, "ALRIGHT, NOTHING TO SEE, YOU NOSY LOTS. GET OUTTA HERE BEFORE I BEAT YOU TO A PULP WITH MY PINKY!"
Watching Nao threaten and wave her hands wildly at some persistent idiots, Natsuki soon recovered from her shock only to replace it with anger. The fuming bluenette bore holes in the redhead's back as she patiently waited for her to finish.
When Nao nervously returned to the store, she found a sneering Natsuki with a very large club in hand. "Uh…that's bigger than your last club." The redhead dumbly remarked…before she ran like all hell broke loose.
"Geez, you didn't have to chase me down HALF the city. I SAID I was sorry." Nao complained, rubbing her bruised shoulders. Indeed, the two girls where having their midday meal at an inn on the other side of the city opposite from where the blacksmith shop was located. They sat secluded at a table in the far corner of the inn's almost empty common room.
Glancing up from her honey roasted chicken, Natsuki said evenly, "Taunt me again and not even the city gates will stop me. I'll exile you, spider."
Waving away the threat, Nao asked, "So how do you like the Night's Edge? I hear Haruka is raising hell and turning the city inside and out, looking for it. Or, more accurately speaking, for the Masked Duchess. In fact, I'm surprised we didn't see her or her guards during our long-ass marathon. They must have been on the other side of Fuuka, I guess."
Natsuki dryly responded, "Nao, when someone's not hunting for me then that's when you need to worry." Conscious of the stolen dagger in her boot, she added, "I can definitely see why it's called the Night's Edge. The blade is not only pitch black but it seems to suck in light too. Haruka should have taken better care of hiding it…not that it would have made a difference." Natsuki chuckled to herself.
Crooking her eyebrow at Natsuki's merriment, Nao said, "I take it you're not planning to sell this particular bad boy? I have a client who's willing to buy it for at least $2 mil."
"Hmm…" the bluentte mused, "Naw, not this one. The blade can cut through anything. ANYTHING, Nao. May the gods take me if I have ever seen or heard anything of its kind. No, I'm not selling it, especially for a meager $2mil."
Sniggering behind her hand, Nao commented, "Meager!? Wow, pup. You really have come a long way to laugh at $2mil. You can buy a whole villa by the harbor with that, you know. Bah, doesn't matter. I recently heard of a better prize than your dagger. Worth over $5 mil. Wanna hear?"
Intrigued, Natsuki leaned in as her well connected agent revealed her next target and victim: A legendary Naginata in the safekeeping of the Duchess Shizuru Fujino.
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