The Prisoners of Malsshinyor
Two armed guards and a young boy paraded solemnly into the throne room of the high Lord's palace. The young boy, clearly terrified, darts his eyes this way and that for any means of hiding himself. While the guards are dressed in silver colored outfits resembling armor from the Feudal Era, it is obvious that they are not of the type. They reach the base of the platform of the throne and shove the boy down onto the floor.
" King Drasmond. We have found a witness to the weapon's whereabouts." One of them barked. The king, a tall black haired man in his late forties at least, regarded the boy with an icy disposition. " What's your name?" he hissed. The boy kept his head down to hide the fear. " My name is Tama, sir." He said shakily.
" What era are you from?" The king asked. Tama lifted his head in confusion. " Era? I don't know."
" Describe it." He rephrased patiently.
" Well, I live in Japan and there's a lot of fighting going on. We lived near a clan of demons that destroyed our tribe and –"
" That's fine. The Feudal Era. I see. Now, while you lived there, did you happen to see a young girl about three years of age, with silvery hair and golden eyes?" he asked. The boy inhaled. " Y-yes. She lives in my village with her parents, two demons who argue a lot. I think her name is Miharu."
" Very good. I am through with you. Guards, take him below. He can meet the other prisoners before he becomes one of the kikuurama."
The guards grabbed his arms and dragged him bodily out of the room. Tama protested at first, but after a hard clout on the head, he kept quiet as they led him out of the throne room and down a dark passageway through a stone entrance in the wall. He tried to remember all the twists and turns that they took, but he eventually lost track.
They came to a large iron door and the guard to his left raised his hand to a certain stone on the wall.
Correct Identification. Please enter. A disembodied voice said. Tama gulped as he was led inside. The iron door slammed shut behind them and they were bathed in darkness. All at once, a light above them snapped on followed by another, then another in rapid succession down a long and dingy hallway. This hallway, they led him down quickly. They paused at a door which one of the guards opened at a touch of the hand. It slid open on a hatch and they shoved him in. He sat up and turned to look back at them.
" You will become a Kikuurama in two sun's time." They declared. The door slid shut and locked in place. Tama kneeled on the floor, staring at the door.
" What's a…whatever that is?" he murmured.
" It is what they call a weapon." A small voice said behind him. He whirled around. " W-Who's there?" he called. He could see a pair of dark eyes staring back at him. The figure moved into the dim light from the door and sat down in front of him. It was a young girl, about ten or eleven years old. Her black hair was dusty and matted with knots and broken in areas. Her dark eyes were filled with a bleak sadness and dull, like a gem of Tiger's Eye that hadn't been polished in ages. Tama blinked. " Who are you?"
" I can no longer remember my name. They took it from me and call me, Khiinli. I have tried everything to remember my name."
" I'm Tama." He said. He couldn't help but stare. She was so pitiful, sitting there in a ragged checkered cloth that desperately needed repair. She was so young, yet she seemed to have experienced more than her share of misery and pain by just sitting in the same cell as he. She gazed at him blankly. " You will be made to forget your name, as I have. You will be turned into a Kikuurama, like me. Unless you want to forget, don't make my mistake. Write your name somewhere and read it every day, or you will be eliminated." She spoke with the voice of a zephyr, just barely audible. He nodded and looked around for something with which to write. He spied a stone sitting on the floor and using it as a chisel, got to work scratching his name into the stone in the wall. T-A-M-A, he wrote. He felt that he was fortunate to have such a short name. He sat back and admired his work. He turned to Khiinli. " So, Khiinli, how long have you been here?"
" It does not matter, only that I will never leave." She said. " No one cares about me. Not anymore." She gazed up at the door sadly. " They used to, but they left me to be this."
Tama's eyes widened. " Khiinli, I'm sure that someone cares about you. Everyone has at least one person who does." He said cheerfully. Khiinli turned her head slowly to face him. " I do not. I care nothing for those who do not care for me. I wish them all death." She said icily. Tama gasped. " Surely you don't mean that. I mean, my mommy and daddy care for me, and yours do too."
" Mah-me? Dah-dee? These terms are unfamiliar to me." She said.
" What? You don't remember your parents?"
" Pah-rents? What is that?" she asked, showing the first sign of actual emotion he'd seen yet.
" They're the people who know you first." He said. " They play games with you and talk to you and teach you all about growing up. My dad taught me to ride a horse and catch fish! Maybe, when we get out of here, I'll introduce you to them and—"
" Rebel!" she exclaimed suddenly. He stopped. She stood up, her face glazed over with fear and hatred. " You are a rebel. You wish to overthrow King Drasmond. I must stop you."
She suddenly dashed forward and took a swipe at him with her fist. He jumped out of the way and gasped as she stopped and turned to him. Her eyes were a luminous green.
" Ahh! Khiinli, what's wrong with you?" he gasped. She smiled evilly.
" I am a Kikuurama. A weapon for King Drasmond." She said. She came at him again and this time, he attempted to defend himself. His hand shot out and caught her around the waist. Though she was about his age, she was much smaller than he and he held her easily. She struggled furiously. It seemed to him all of a sudden that she feared him.
" Ugh, let me go!" she cried. Suddenly, her eyes sprang open and she screamed, " Lord Sesshomaru!"
A/N: This may be the last chapter for a few days. I've been getting weird migraines and I think it's because of the sudden change in temp outside. It went from 0 below to like the mid 40's. Also, a sudden writer's cramp is making it so even publishing my stories isn't putting me in the right mood. Blech. I am so glad I have loyal reviewers though. They're what perk me up every day. My penpal Kinkatia usually always has something to say that always cheers me up. So thanks to Silentmoondemon, Shadowdragon2005 and Kinkatia for staying with me!
