Chihiro silently let small droplets stream out of her eyes.
She had done it! She had to abandon her family, now didn't she?
Although her family never listened to her and neglected her, it wasn't like they totally despised her and starved and underclothed her. She was perfectly fine.
She had to admit she was used to her family's ways. She kind of loved her family despite the arrogance they held sometimes.
And now she will never see them.
Tears of regret spilled out of her mesmerizing aqua eyes.
As the carriage came into the Seishin Kingdom, people were muttering over the victory they had at the war and all of them tried to see Chihiro's face.
She hid her face completely from view, firmly not allowing anyone to see her eyes.
The carriage stopped, and she was led out of it and into the palace in by the guards, the whole time she fixed her eyes upon the floor, annoyed by the fact that her creamy pale complexion of her peach skin and her waist-deep chocolate brown hair, her bangs that went to just above the eyebrows, and her fine face shape, and her petite form, and the fragrance she always gave off, the one that always smelt like jasmine, as a gift to her by a spirit who she helped when he was in disguise.
In her hand she had her long gold flute which had two peacock feathers at the end of the flute, and in her other hand she had her Artemis Rod, the two things the King and Queen of Seishin Kingdom allowed for her to take with her, since they found out that she had a strong attachment to them.
She was forced to kneel down flat on her knees in front of the King and Queen.
Kush and Haku had just come into the room, when they saw Chihiro being presented before their parents.
"It's Chihiro! Oh my god, she came!" Kush cheered. She couldn't wait to do so many things along with Chihiro.
Haku on the other hand was captivated. Call it love at first sight, he was drawn to her despite the fact Chihiro was human.
But that wouldn't matter anymore, since the king and queen were thinking of making her immortal and a spirit, one of them. Then it would be right to love her, right? Haku thought to himself, reassuring himself.
"Rise, my dear," the king warmly greeted Chihiro.
Chihiro slowly rose herself, just like the king asked her to. But she kept her face down, eyes hidden from view from everyone.
The king strode over to her and so did the queen.
"My dear, lift your face up, and show us your eyes, please," the queen gently urged. The queen pitied Chihiro as the poor little girl lived her whole life neglected and then taken away from her home as a sacrifice? It is too much to impose on the young princess.
Chihiro slowly lifted her face, showing her heart-shaped pale face for everyone to see in the court.
Once Haku saw her face, he sucked in a breath. She was mesmerizing! He never saw a girl adorn her face make-up free! She was so incomparable in contrast to the ugly suitors his father shows him. It is awful, lines and lines of girls, giggly and gossipy, waiting to be chosen (in their dreams), with thick layers of makeup covering their fat faces. And on top of that the girls would blush too much and hide their faces behind fans! How could you call that beauty?
"May we see your eyes, dear?" the king asked. The queen gently nodded, urging Chihiro on.
Chihiro hesistated, remembering the firm promise she made on never showing her eyes and face to anyone in a kingdom she has never been to.
But she doesn't care. It feels like the King and Queen don't have intentions of hurting her.
So Chihiro relented, slowly lifting her eyelids to obediantly show her pair of big eyes (the ones usually drawn for girls in manga/anime, not the usual tiny eyes) the color of deep, deep aqua.
Furious whispers filled the court, on she is a goddess sent from heaven, she is exotic, beautiful beyond compare, no one can match her in a thousand years, and so many endless commentaries.
"She is so beautiful, her eyes, I have never seen a shade this deep," the queen awed.
Haku saw Chihiro's eyes and his unsure love for her at first sight was definitely confirmed. He, unlike his normal self, was head over heels in love with her.
He promised himself, that at any cost, he would make her his, even if she didn't want to marry him. His heart stopped for a few seconds at the sight of her deep, aqua colored eyes.
Kush saw this and gave a whistle, "So hard-as-a-stone Water Boy fell love at first sight with MY little sister, is it so?"
Haku furiously blushed and shot back quietly, "She isn't your sister."
Kush frowned, "Yes she is."
Haku's brows furrowed, "Said who?"
Kush smirked, "I did, pea-brain."
"No."
"Yes."
"NO."
"YES I did. Jealous?"
"..."
Kush smiled to herself, "Love confirmed. You are SO jealous." She blocked out Haku's annoyed death glare and flickered to the scene.
After a while Haku got annoyed when Kush was ignoring him, and shifted his attention to Chihiro.
What the two siblings saw shocked them.
"Dear, shall we do IT?" the queen asked her husband.
"I think so, we shall?" the king.
Chihiro trembled in fear on what they might do to her.
"Don't shake, my dear, we aren't going to kill you," the king soothed.
Chihiro couldn't think anything else before the king put his right hand to cover Chihiro's eyes, and another on her left shoulder.
The queen and everyone else covered their eyes, for a bright light filled the spacious room.
When after several minutes, the light finally died down.
The whole room was stunned for a few minutes, after the King removed his hands from the young maiden's shocked face, and her left shoulder.
Her whole face was filled with fear and confusion.
The King smiled at her and explained to her.
"My dear, you are immortal. You are one of us, a spirit. As for your powers, you will have to find that out now. Kush!" the king called.
Kush stood straight from her slouch posture on a stone pillar. "What?"
"Would you be a dear and help her find out her powers that she possibly possesses?" the king asked.
"If it is Chihiro, then I will," Kush smiled.
Chihiro lowered her face, and walked over to Kush, unknowing what might become of her.
"Come on, sister. You are more powerful than you think you are. Let's find out what you possess," Kush warmly greeted Chihiro by hugging her, then taking her right hand, leading her down the hall.
Haku couldn't take it anymore, and wanted to follow those two. So he did.
"Hey, Idiot Boy, following me and Chihiro... get lost. Dad asked me to diagnose her powers, not you!" Kush glared at Haku.
"Who cares? I want to kill my time. This will help me do it," Haku sneered back at her. But the real reason was to see Chihiro more, and he knew it.
"Ugh that stubborn mule! Never mind! Just ignore him, Chihiro," Kush whined.
Haku smiled to himself, but nearly stopped living altogether when Chihiro, confused due to the racket between the two siblings turned around to look at Haku.
A blush broke out on his face and his heart pounded when she studied his perfect face and gave him a soft, confused stare, almost a question.
Chihiro, being the dense girl she was at the moment, shrugged it off when she saw that Haku had no answer and then turned around and resumed walking with Kush.
Finally, what seemed like forever, they reached the outside, in a lush forest, where there was a huge lake, greenary and tall trees.
Kush now twirled around and stood, nose-to-nose with Chihiro, diagnosing what kind of powers Chihiro might have.
After a minute, Kush's eyes widened. Chihiro asked her in a sweet little voice, the first time speaking in Seishin Kingdom, "Dear Sister, what is wrong?"
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! You are a rare one, Chihiro! You are an Elemental Spirit! You have the powers to possess the Four Elements of Life!" Kush explained.
"And not only that, a prophecy said that once in the Earth's Lifetime, a human will be born to become a spirit of the Elemental Powers! Oh Chihiro! You are it! You are the mere human that the Royal Line of Seishin Kingdom has been looking for! Oh, I am so pleased to be in your presence!" Kush curtsied.
Chihiro was shocked, "Me-?"
"Yes. Fate can be weird, and it chose you to have this beautiful destiny. Can you do all four elements? Please? Please? Pretty please?" Kush begged.
Chihiro unsure, said, "I can try... can you hold my Artemis Rod and my Gold Flute then?" she asked, handing the two things over.
Kush happily nodded her head, and held it as Chihiro focused on the first element, water.
She needed a source, so she headed for the lake, and with both arms she was able to bring a wave as big as she wanted, and lifted it out of the lake and let it crash the green land, and immediately froze it.
The next element, earth, she tore the ground open and closed it. She created huge mountain ridges and removed it. And better yet, the nearby volcano, she used her earth element to make it burst open with a pyrocastic flow of rocks dust and other particles, and healed back again.
As for fire, she created a dragon made out of flames completely, and conducted it into rings, and had it animate like a real dragon. Then she waved it off, dissipating the dragon, not touching the greenery.
And for air, she created a strong tornado that would be strong enough to rip land out by miles out of the Earth. But the moment she created it she undid it, letting gentle breezes whip her face softly.
Kush was amazed, and she fell to her knees saying that was awesome and that was the best thing she had ever seen.
Haku couldn't believe that a frail maiden could possess the powers his family has been looking for generations!
Chihiro was wide-eyed at her own powers-at-work! How could she be this powerful without her knowing it?
Was she really meant to become this elemental spirit like Kush said?
Maybe this was her fate.
"Chihiro, we should go inside. Mother and Father might get worried where we are," Kush nudged the shocked girl.
She snapped out, and willingly followed the princess to inside of the Kingdom.
"Mom, dad? Can Chihiro have that nice bedroom that is down the hall?" Kush begged for one hundred times in a row?
"Oh, all right, sweetheart," the Queen relented, but you could feel her smiling behind her fan.
"Yes! Come on, Chihiro! You are so gonna love your new room!" Kush cheered.
Chihiro gave a confused stare, when she began to fade.
"Oh, god! Chihiro, you're going to fade! Quick! Someone get me grapes!" Kush yelled at the top of her lungs.
A guard ran out of the room and came back with a bowl of grapes.
"Seriously? Grapes? Out of all of the foods we have, this is what you can think of?" Haku smirked, slouching on a stone pillar.
"Shut your face, water boy," Kush glared.
Haku froze when he heard the insult.
"That should shut that idiot for a while. Here, eat this bowl of grapes," Kush gave a bowl the size of her palm containing a small handful of sweet purple grapes.
Chihiro took the bowl and obediently chewed the grapes down, taking time for her to savor them. She became normal again.
"Phew. That was scary. Now that you are feeling much better, let's go and show you to your room," Kush smiled.
Chihiro nodded, and took Kush's hand, as the young princess guided Chihiro to her room.
Kush stopped right in front of it, and opened the door. But before doing that, she said, "Oh yeah, I need to give you back your Artemis Rod and Gold Flute, remember?"
Chihiro nodded, and took her weapon and flute back from Kush.
Then Kush opened the door, revealing a room of different shades of blue.
"Royal blue, my favorite color," Chihiro whispered.
Kush caught this comment and smiled to herself. Now she knows her sister's favorite color.
"Well, you can put your stuff here, and change if you want to. You should get to bed, it is almost nightfall," Kush yawned.
Chihiro sadly nodded.
"Okay," she said.
Chihiro smiled to herself when Kush closed the door, and almost laughed out loud when Kush forcibly dragged Haku with her, mumbling underneath her breath that the reason she won't let Haku in Chihiro's room is that he might do perverted things to the young virgin (Chihiro). Not that Haku had done it before, he never done anything like that ever, but Kush just won't trust him.
Oh, the relationship between those two siblings.
It's soooooo….. what should we call it?
Colorful. Yeah! It is colorful.
Chihiro smiled to herself as she laid her Artemis Rod in a nightstand drawer that is right beside her bed.
She went to the wardrobe and when she opened it, she was shocked.
The wardrobe was a walk in, and in it were dresses of all styles, all colors, all kind of fabrics for all kinds of wear.
She stepped into the nightgown section and pondered for a while until she relented on a baby blue colored silk gown, which had long sleeves and an elastic band at the waist-line. The gown flowed to her ankles.
She slipped it on, discarding the dress she had on.
She undid her braided hair which she usually adorned her hair as, and crawled onto her bed, bare foot.
She sat in it, and tucked the royal blue colors around her, and took her gold flute and began to play.
She played so harmoniously that her music floated to everyone in the royal court.
[ROYAL COURT]
"Oh, Haku! This lady is the perfect lady for you! She is pretty, has manners, and knows perfect arts!" The queen persuaded.
But in reality, the suitor was short, fat, giggly, blinked so many times that bits of makeup caked and flew off her eyelashes, and she covered her ugliness with a thick layer of obscured makeup. You wouldn't know what her true face looks like until she washes it off.
Haku didn't like what his mother was saying.
"Eww, god! I wanna puke!" Kush whispered, even putting her hands to her mouth.
"No, I don't want to marry that wart. Even she says that the suitor looks horrendous," Haku said, pointing a finger towards Kush.
"Are you sure?" the father asked.
"Yes," the two siblings confirmed.
"Sorry dear, but you have been politely turned down," the king looked with grief towards the suitor.
She wailed loudly and fled out of the doors of the kingdom, leaving it to slam behind her with rumbles. Hey they were giant doors.
"Finally, she's gone," Haku muttered.
Just then, they heard a sweet flute.
"Who is that?" The king muttered.
"I think that's Chihiro," Kush said after a minute of silence.
"How do you know?" the queen asked.
"You see, today when I took Chihiro out to see what kind of powers she had, I said I could hold her stuff for her. It was an Artemis Rod and a long Gold Flute," Kush explained.
"So I think that is her playing her Gold Flute," Kush concluded.
"I wonder why, why out of all of the instruments, why the flute?" the king breathed.
"It might help her bring out her sadness, as it is a sweet but sad sounding instrument," Kush pondered.
"It might," the queen agreed.
"This girl, I wonder what her life was like before she came here," the king wondered.
"I don't know, but if we push the poor girl, she might break down," Kush reasoned.
"Yes, I think it is best if we give her some time to settle down for herself," the queen agreed without a second thought.
Haku on the other hand, had sat down on his seat next to his father, relaxed his head on the seat, and closed his emerald eyes.
I never heard music this sweet, Haku thought to himself.
He took out a hand and ruffled his hair (the exact same hairstyle from the movie). This girl is interesting.
What kind of secrets does she hold?
All of these thoughts were in his head as he was silently lulled by the faint, yet sweet, sound of the flute.
Never in his life had he been this relaxed before.
Sure he had his fun in teasing Kush and Kush teasing him, and playing pranks on people that distasted him, but all of those times were fun pranks, done for some short laughs.
This sweet music will make a permanent impression in him.
He never even knew what love was, because whenever he thought of love, he thought of love as one sided.
He even experienced that when he went anywhere, girls would just melt at the sight of him.
But he knew they weren't truly in love with him for his heart. They were in love with him externally, like for example: looks, money, wealth, heritage, and on and on.
But this girl, Chihiro, didn't melt at the sight of him, rather it was the other way around.
She is powerful, yet she doesn't brag.
She is polite.
She is humble.
She is respectful towards others.
And all of these qualities drew him to her like a magnet would.
Sometime, sooner or later, they all will find out about her.
And when they do, secrets will spill out, like how blood spills out from a cut…
Sorry about the long wait, Spirited Away fans! I just had to rewrite this chapter because my computer lost memory on my recent changes on this chapter.
And that was so NOT fun, redoing the whole long thing.
Enjoy, and I promise not to keep you on a cliffhanger the next time! (laughes nervously)
Ja!
MetallicTitanium