Shirayuki Hime
Chapter 9
"The biggest problem is their superior…hey! Hey!" Ikkaku snapped his fingers several times in front of Yumchika's face.
"Jesus!" cried Yumichika. "What are you putting your dirty hands in my face for?"
Ikkaku folded his arms and frowned at him, and Kenpachi did not look too pleased either. "Have you been listening? You're the queen, as you're so fond of reminding us. The queen needs to be involved in the war meetings."
Yumichika shook himself a little, rubbing his temple. "You're right. I'm sorry. I've just been thinking about how to handle Snow White."
Both brothers rolled their eyes. Ikkaku decided to play along. "Okay. Why don't you enlighten us?"
Yumichika smiled vaguely, his eyes distant. "I think I'd like to kill her in some exquisite way. She is, after all, beautiful, and I have difficult sullying things of beauty, if I can help it." He smirked at his brothers. "I have a few ideas, but I think I'll be using demon magic. And so flawlessly, she'll never know it's there."
The brothers, unsurprisingly, only feigned interest.
…
The children were hesitant to leave Rukia with her one good leg (and Hanatarou catatonic), and considering the danger from the queen, but she assured them she'd be fine, and told them they would only have enough to eat if they kept working. That convinced most of them. Ishida, Rose, and surprisingly Hitsugaya and Nova looked back at her a few times as they were going. She merely smiled and waved them off.
Rukia sat down heavily at the table. So much had happened. She was still terribly worried about Renji, but she trusted that Byakuya would come back soon with news. A couple of hours after the children left, she was surprised to hear a voice outside.
"Excuse me! Anybody home?"
She went out and opened the door to find a stout-looking farmer's wife standing there holding something white in one hand. She was a little plump and sweating; farmer's days started early too.
"I thought so," she said, smiling broadly. "I knew I'd seen a pretty girl around here before. My name's Millie, I'm from the farm down the way a bit." She indicated a somewhat populated area over the ridge. "Do you think I could come in for a bit, sweetheart?"
Rukia nodded hesitantly, thinking it unlikely a woman as…rural…as this could be an assassin for Yumichika. She smiled and let her inside. "Shall I make you some tea?" she asked politely.
"Oh no, dear," said the woman. "I've got to be back in a tick. I had a favor to ask, you see. Well, my daughter's getting married, and I'm trying to make her dress. She's about your size, and I don't know any other young girls, so I wondered if you could try this corset on for me?"
Rukia looked at it with interest. It was modest, but sturdy-looking, and had beautiful lapis lazuli trim. "Happy to help," she said, smiling.
The woman helped her get it on, and as she was tightening it, Rukia made conversation. "How old is your daughter?"
"She's sixteen this past February," said the woman brightly. She yanked on the strings.
Rukia gasped a bit; she did not have much spare flesh on her to begin with, so a corset (even if on the tight side) probably wouldn't do much. But she didn't want to be impolite.
"Actually, I just turned sixteen a few months ago," Rukia said. The woman tightened the strings again, and now Rukia's breath was getting labored. "It's…funny to think of marriage…at our age…"
The woman nodded. "Yes, I imagine so. But we all have our trials to go through, my dear. Tightening up the laces, as they say. Ha ha!"
She yanked them even tighter. Rukia was starting to get scared. She could only breathe in little gasps. "I…don't think…"
The woman pulled them tighter again. Rukia struggled to breathe, only able to take in the smallest breath at a time, and her breathing was growing faster. Then, her consciousness started to fade. Moments later, she collapsed against the wood floor.
"What a beautiful way to die," the woman commented, now speaking in a man's dulcet tenor. Then she merely walked away.
Moments later, a horse approached. It was Byakuya. He was just in time to see the woman walking away, and a flick of azure light that touched the hem of her skirt as she walked. His eyes widened. He raced into the house.
"Rukia?" he cried, then saw her lying on the floor, her face blue, her waist tightened almost into nothingness by a tiny corset. He immediately pulled a knife from his boot and sliced through the strings.
Rukia coughed and gasped, taking in breath like a sweet nectar. Byakuya grabbed her into his arms, partly because he thought it might help her breathe to be elevated, but mostly, if he was honest, because he was scared.
"Rukia," he murmured. "Can you hear me?"
Several tears dripped down her cheeks, but she nodded. "Thank you…" she rasped. "Thank you…thank you…"
She snuggled against his chest. His heart started pounding. He grew a little bolder, and caressed her hair.
"A woman…she looked so plain, I never thought…"
"Shh," Byakuya said, softly brushing her hair from her cheek. "Don't speak. You were blue a moment ago, just take your time."
Rukia chuckled. "You're always seeing me in such unattractive conditions. You were beautiful even when you fell off your horse." Byakuya blushed, though he normally didn't like getting compliments. "So beautiful…my heart almost stopped the first time I saw you." She laughed again. "I wonder what Yumichika's mirror would say if he asked it now."
Byakuya was drawn from his embarrassment to a moment of confusion. "Mirror?"
"Oh, perhaps we hadn't mentioned that. Apparently, it's the reason he's trying to kill me."
"Why would he kill you over a mirror?"
Rukia swallowed, her breath almost back to normal now. "It's a magic mirror. It always tells the truth. So he always asks it who is the fairest in the land, and until recently, the answer was always himself."
Understanding passed over Byakuya's features. "And now…it's you…"
Rukia sighed. "That's what Renji says, but…somehow I just wanted it to be a better reason than that. Beauty won't bring my father back, though I think part of Yumichika believes it might."
Byakuya, who knew the pain of losing one parent, but not two, shifted slightly, bringing her closer. "How old were you when he died?"
"Seven," Rukia answered, and her gaze grew somewhat distant; a trace of happiness, with sadness intertwined. "Yumichika loved him so dearly. Of course I did too, but Yumichika's love seemed so tempestuous. He was tortured when Father died. I felt such pity for him…even though at times I wished someone would feel it for me."
Byakuya closed his eyes, appreciating the feeling of her tiny body against his. "You say he hated you. So who did you talk to when your father died?"
Rukia paused with a small amount of surprise. "I don't know…Renji, I suppose." Byakuya's grip unconsciously tightened. "And some of the kitchen staff were quite friendly. But I didn't mind being by myself." Rukia gasped. "What am I thinking? How is Renji?" she asked, now looking up at him with large, pleading eyes.
Byakuya cleared his throat, trying to hide his blush at her closeness. "When I left him, he was already threatening my life for leaving you behind."
Rukia laughed in disbelief. "I'm so glad. Thank you so much, Your Highness. I owe you so much."
Some of Byakuya's passion cooled at being treated so distantly. "I hope we are friends now, Princess. There is no need to address me so formally, or to make note of acts of kindness. These need no recognition between friends."
His heart hastened when he saw Rukia blushing in his arms. "Friends…I see…that's better than 'servant', so I'm happy if that's the case."
Byakuya sighed. "I never said I wanted a servant."
Rukia frowned and bit her lip. "Then…if I may ask, what changed your behavior, once you found out about my birth?"
Byakuya felt a little uncomfortable now, and was actually trying to remember his father's words, since he wasn't good at explaining things like this. "Although I didn't want a servant…it is true that what I wanted was more like a companion. A conversation partner perhaps. Though that position would of course be inferior to me, I would liken it to courtier rather than servant."
"I see…" Rukia murmured.
However, in his head, Byakuya was thinking, 'You do?' since even he wasn't quite sure what he was trying to say.
"It wasn't that you disliked me because we were equals, but that it would have been rude to ask someone in my position to be subordinate to you."
Byakuya blinked. "Yes," he murmured.
Rukia hesitantly smiled. "I'm glad. We only just met, but the thought of being hated by you was painful."
Byakuya's heart ached, and he pulled her closer, drawing her head against his neck. "I don't think I could ever hate you."
Rukia paused for a moment. She seemed embarrassed, but not unwilling. But then she murmured, "Because I look like your wife?"
Byakuya gasped. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten that he said that. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I meant to tell you before, but didn't get the chance. You're only similar to my wife on the surface. Even one layer under the skin, you are completely different."
Rukia frowned, though he could tell she was blushing. "Is that a good thing? It doesn't sound like it."
He couldn't help a chuckle, and only as he did it did he realize how long it had been since he had laughed. In a bold move, he pressed his lips to her hair. He heard her breath catch. "It's not bad," he said.
They remained like this for some time, both with tinges of pink over their white cheeks, but eventually Rukia spoke again. "Where will you stay tonight, Your Highness?"
Byakuya's eyebrow twitched. "We are equals, you may call me by my name. And I shall stay here, in case something should happen at night."
Rukia sighed. "It's uncomfortable, and I don't think a prince should be staying in a place like this."
"And a princess should?"
Rukia thought about that. "I suppose…but I-"
"Don't say another word about it, you will not change my mind."
Rukia sighed. "Hiyori's going to pitch a fit."
…
Sure enough, later that evening…
"Now we have to suffer this giant, stick-up-his-ass turnip again!" Hiyori shouted, aiming most of her volume at Byakuya.
Ishida yanked her over toward himself and Rose. "Hiyori, you heard what happened today. It would never have happened if someone was staying with her during the day."
That made Hiyori pause with a pout, folding her arms and glaring at Byakuya. Then she addressed him again, "You're useful now. So you can sleep on the floor."
Byakuya nodded, though clearing hiding his annoyance. "Much obliged."
Hitsugaya snorted. "You should be. That's the fastest I've ever seen her change her mind."
"Except about a certain redhead we know," Rose added suggestively, and the others laughed. This earned him a sharp whack up the back of his head by a blushing Hiyori.
And the peaceful rowdiness returned to their little hut. Byakuya was clearly the only thing out of place, seeming to suck energy away from the corner he was standing in. Though oddly, he seemed to get along with Hitsugaya.
Rukia insisted on cooking, in spite of her leg, and she cooked rabbit stew that night. However she looked hesitantly at Byakuya as she was serving and then said, "There's not much better food for you now, perhaps you should go into town tomorrow and buy things you like."
"Ruki-Ruki's blushing!" cried Yachiru, laughing. She had quickly downed the stew, and at that point she leapt onto Byakuya's shoulder like he was a jungle gym. To his credit, Byakuya just closed his eyes and ignored her.
"Oh, Yachiru…" Rose said, sighing and covering his eyes.
"Byakushi!" cried Yachiru, now straddling his shoulders and starting to play with his hair.
Those in the room who noticed braced themselves for a tempestuous reaction, but fortunately it didn't come.
Byakuya did sigh lightly. Then he said, "If I recall, from your introductions, this girl is older than you, is she not, Rukia?"
Rukia winced, seeing the rat's nest that Yachiru was making of Byakuya's hair, though he calmly kept his eyes closed and his body still, almost as if he was meditating. "Yes…Now, um, Yachiru-chan? Do you suppose you could play with my hair instead? And I'll do yours, how about that?"
"Shut up, dork," Yachiru said with a big grin.
Again Rukia was caught off her guard by Yachiru's occasional aggressiveness.
Ishida sighed. "You can just pick her up and put her down, Your Highness. I think she'll stop if you do that."
Byakuya smoothly did so, evidently more annoyed than he let on, reaching behind his head to grab her under her arms, then gently bring her back down to the floor. "Aw, Byakushi got angry," Yachiru said, laughing.
"That was your fault," said Ishida, returning to his food.
But Byakuya accepted a bowl of stew, even though Rukia was somewhat embarrassed to be serving such haphazard food to a prince.
But everyone settled down for the evening, Rukia in her rocking chair, Byakuya on the floor near the door. Rest came easily to the children who had been working hard all day. Not so easily for the other two. Unknowingly, they were thinking about each other long before they finally slept.
The next day, Rukia was getting used to the children's schedule, so she was up just before them, and had food ready only a little later than usual, as a result of being slow-moving. They noisily ate, thanked her, and headed off for the day. Byakuya, a heavy sleeper as always, did not seem bothered by the noise.
It was then that Rukia happened to glance up at the window sill. To her surprise, there was a note, and something wrapped in pretty fabric. She was amazed she hadn't noticed it while she was preparing breakfast, it was so beautiful. She picked up the note first. Inside it said this:
"Rukia,
While I was absent from you briefly,
I saw this, and thought of you.
It was my mother's. I would be very happy
If you would use it.
Byakuya"
Rukia's heart pounded. She gently lay the wrapped item on the table and opened it. Inside was a beautiful ivory comb. She blushed with a smile, and reached to touch it. Her fingers brushed over the spines. Within seconds, she felt very ill, and her vision started to go black. That was the last thing she remembered.
