Disclaimer – I do not own Bleach, Wheel of Time, or any of the creations from the great minds of Tite Kubo and Robert Jordan. I am merely a humble fan, molding their ideas into creations of my own in hopes of entertaining others. While I do own my OC's and ideas, I'm not making any money off them. So please, enjoy the story, but don't sue me. XD
Sorry I took a few months to post this, I totally forgot about it. ^^; I got caught up writing The Color of Trust again, surprisingly enough.
Gawd, going back and re-reading the early chapters of that to refresh my memory was just painful.
If you read it and you're still with me, I love you, you brave, brave soul.
So anyway, I know I normally answer all my messages when I post a new chapter but I have to make a tiny exception tonight.
I'm visiting my friend in Arkansas right now and she's planning on having her baby early tomorrow morning,
so I can't really stay up any later than I am right now. (I should have gone to bed 3 hours ago!)
I'm supposed to be in the delivery room with her and I'm spastic enough over that.
Children in general scare me, so being present for a birth is enough to make me swallow my tongue
shortly before passing out cold. I really, really hope I don't get sick or anything...
Pointless ramble is pointless, sorry.
I just wanted to give ya'll a heads up in case you're waiting for a reply from me. I'll get to you, promise!
Chapter 10 – Nightmares Come to Life
"Man," Renji muttered to himself. "I still can't believe it."
As it was not the first time he'd shared this particular thought, Zhai rolled her eyes skyward. For whatever reason, Renji's opinion of his Captain was ridiculously high. He acted as if the man were a god. She couldn't help but see the irony there. Idly, she wondered if these death gods had a god of their own. She imagined untangling yards of tangled fishing lines was easier keeping up with that.
"You had best come to terms with it, Renji. Or at least keep it to yourself. It isn't something we want reaching the ears of others."
Flushing, the redhead nodded and the two continued to make their way deeper into the Squad Six barracks in silence. Zhai made a note of how many people greeted him as they moved, and at how pleased they appeared to be by his presence. A number of women seemed a little too pleased, in her mind. Clearly he was well liked among his peers. From all she had heard of his captain, she imagined that Renji's outgoing personality was a breath of fresh air to them. The man certainly did seem quite admirable, from what she knew of him thus far. They had plenty of time together while she was recovering in order to get to know one another. It also helped that his emotions were easy to read. He didn't make much of an attempt to hide them, internally or externally. That was definitely a change from what she was used to.
All her life, she'd been surrounded by people who were taught to withhold their emotions. On the seas of the Aryth Ocean, or within the Tower itself, it had all been the same. That is likely why she stuck out like a sore thumb in both places, though not the only reason. While she was perfectly capable of keeping her emotions under wraps, she disliked having to do so. Some things should be held back no matter what, but why should something such as joy remain hidden from others?
So many Aes Sedai were colder than the winters on Aile Dashar, by all appearances. Sometimes she wondered if that was how Nelisande hoped to be. The woman had too much spirit for that, but she certainly made an effort to maintain the fabled Aes Sedai calm at all times. So long as anyone was looking. At least she had shared her joys privately among close friends. If only she would cease her foolish efforts to ignore her feelings for that massive Warder of hers. If any sister had the right to wed their Warder, it was she. The two had been betrothed from the start!
While Nelisande had been off bonding her second Warder, Zhai and Renji had spoken to Kamavon at length about that. It seemed the only topic that actually grabbed his attention, and they were desperate to hang on to that. The man was clearly smitten and she had an inkling that Nelisande felt more for him than she dared admit. To herself or anyone else. Anytime Zhai had tried to bring it up before, she was shot down instantly, then given a lecture on the foolishness of getting attached to anyone you were going to outlive by a hundred years or more.
However doomed that relationship might be, Kamavon at least stopped his endless pacing when Zhai brought it up. At first, he resisted, clamming up as mule-headed men were prone to do. After a while he came around, though. Both of them offered up suggestions on winning her over, some of which seemed to scandalize the poor man. Shienarans had strange ideas as far as courting went, in Zhai's opinion. In the end, they'd both been forced to hold him down to keep him from rushing off after Nelisande, and not to profess his love for her. That had killed any friendly discussion, sure as peaches were poison.
Another of the barrack inhabitants called out to Renji. She'd been listening to them all despite her pondering but this one in particular caught her attention. It was the first person to actually make any note of her trailing behind the tall Lieutenant.
"Hey, Abarai! Long time no see. Who's the little lady; a new recruit? Heya sweetie, love that walk o' yers. Why don't ya come over to my division later? I'll show ya a good time."
She had enough time to feel indignant before watching her Warder casually backhand the man with enough force to send him skidding into the wall. Renji never even slowed, continuing on as if nothing had happened. The bond told her that he felt as though it was just a matter of course. 'Interesting.'
"Not a friend of yours, I take it?" Zhai kept her voice low. If her gait was attracting attention, her accent might do the same.
"Tch. Just some idiot from Squad Eleven. I transferred from there not long ago but I didn't really know 'em. Most of the squad is like that; towards women, I mean. No girls in that division unless you count Lieutenant Kusajishi, and I'm pretty sure they don't. He wasn't interested in talking to me anyway. Really, I'm surprised no one else has said anything about ya. Keep rolling your hips like that and he won't be the last."
Looking over his shoulder, he shot her a cocky grin and earned a glare for his troubles. Why were shorebound men so fascinated by the way she moved? She was no different than any other Atha'an Miere. Light, even the men among her people had a similar swagger to their walk. Live on a ship long enough and you learn to sway with him. It was as simple as that.
"There is nothing wrong with the way I walk," she hissed back at him.
That only made his grin widen but at least he did not argue. Shrugging his shoulders with feigned indifference, they kept on, passing through one building and into another. Renji's quarters were placed above the Squad offices, where he and his Captain typically spent most of their days. A convenient enough location as far as work was concerned. It was separated from the rest of the soldiers quarters, so at least he had a semblance of privacy. They were fairly spacious apartments, too. While Zhai had not seen the inside of any of the soldier's rooms, she wagered that Renji's were three times the size of theirs. His rank afforded him a bit of prestige.
She began exploring it at her leisure as soon as he let her in, not waiting for him to remove his shoes and show her around. He didn't seem to mind, either. In fact, he appeared to be lost in thought. Zhai hadn't paid it much mind until she caught a glimpse of him watching her as she turned a corner. Hand resting against the doorframe, she angled herself back towards him with a quizzical look painting her features. The man felt...mischievous.
"What is it, Renji?"
"I've been leading you around all this time, so I never really got a good look."
Casting about for whatever it was he might be talking about, Zhai's confusion grew. "What do you mean?"
Shrugging again, the man put on such a look of innocence that she became convinced he was up to no good. Letting go of the doorframe, she held her hands on her hips and fixed him with a look that dared him to step one foot wrong. A threat that obviously was lost on him.
"At the way you walk, dummy. It is pretty nice to watch."
Eyes flattening, Zhai spun back around and vanished into the room. From the sitting room he called out, perhaps hoping to avoid any retribution.
"That was a compliment, you know!"
The room she'd entered was his bedroom and the rush in which he'd last left it was quite obvious. Sheets in a tangle, clothing strewn carelessly about. A lone sandal caught her eye. Whenever an initiate of the Tower was sent to the Mistress of Novices for punishment, it was often doled out in the form of a worn old slipper. Having your bottom paddled with it hurt much more than one might expect, as she'd learned early on. 'A sandal should be about the same,' she surmised.
"Whatcha got there?"
The question was issued from directly behind her, which made her all but leap out of her skin, dropping the sandal in her fright. Nelisande had mentioned something about how quickly these people moved, but this was impossible! Whirling to face him, she hoped that her eyes would belie what his voice and the bond had already proven. Only, no one was there. A tap on her shoulder sent her heart right back into her throat.
"Blood and ashes!" Zhai whispered the curse as if it were a prayer.
He was still standing there when she spun around, this time. He was too busy holding his sides and laughing at her to move. At least he was really there, and she was not taken by the Dragon. Grinning broadly and waggling his fingertips, he apologized half-heartedly. "Sorry, I just couldn't resist, it was too easy. You should have seen your face! It was priceless."
The man had to see just how unamused she was by his antics and failing that, he certainly felt it! That did not quell his laughter any sooner, though. Taking advantage of the fact that his eyes were squeezed shut, Zhai crouched down and casually felt behind her for the dropped sandal. Standing again, she tucked it behind her back until he wore himself out. He should have known something was up but he was too busy trying to restrain those renegade bursts of laughter that one experienced usually when trying very hard to stop. Only, she didn't believe he was making much of an effort.
A well placed punch to his short-ribs should have been enough to double him over –she'd Nelisande do that to a man once; it really was quite effective– but it felt as though she'd rammed her fist into a stone! It barely even earned her a grunt from him. His laughter started up again, albeit a mite weaker than before, but she was not about to give up that easily. Obviously, a paddling wouldn't do much to faze the big man. If his bottom was as firm as his stomach... Well. Probably best not to think on that.
Instead of continuing on with her initial plan, she opted for a repeat of her first attack. Only this time, she sent a fist of air to do her dirty work. And this time, she met with success. How very satisfying it was to see him doubled over, gasping. Pleased with herself, she settling down on the messy bed and waited for him to recover. That, he did rather quickly. Disappointing and yet not.
"Guess I deserved that," he mumbled, plopping down along side her.
He rubbed the tender area for a moment, eyeing her warily as if he expected her to strike again. That smirk she had grown accustomed to was back, signaling that he might be considering earning another one after all. For some reason, that made her laugh. Not much bothered Renji Abarai. Not for long, at least.
"You did," she agreed after a moment, giving him a lopsided grin.
"Though I could tell it didn't actually make you angry."
Her smile froze.
"In fact," he continued, "It felt to me like you liked it."
On that note, her smile completely melted away. Standing abruptly, she began smoothing the unusual pants she wore, even though did not appear to be wrinkled. "Yes, well...," she began, halting when she realized that rather than sound as though she were merely trying to change the subject, it sounded more like she was agreeing with him. 'Light!'
"What's this?"
Whether Renji was trying to change the subject as well, or he was genuinely curious, she was grateful for the shift. His question was in regards to the sandal she'd forgotten about, which he plucked out of its hiding spot.
"I believe it's a shoe, Renji." Zhai made her reply without turning to look at him yet. Not until she could be certain her cheeks were not red would she turn around.
"Gee, really? I mean what were you doing with it tucked back there? I saw you pick it up earlier... What, are you a closet sandal collector? You can have it, really. I don't even know how it got all the way up here."
Features and coloring back under control, in her opinion, she turned and gave him the sweetest smile she could muster. "Why, I had intended to make you howl with it."
Renji's expression switched between confused and bemused, neither of which gave her as much satisfaction as she'd hoped for. He inspected the sandal, glanced at her, then back at the shoe as if he would find answers that way. When he realized he wouldn't, or stopped caring in general, he tossed it carelessly over his shoulder and shrugged.
"So, you mentioned something earlier about a deal you wanted to make with me? Care to fill me in?"
Zhai resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. The man could not know it, but the new topic could not have been more ill timed. In truth, she had already begun to rethink her decision. She shouldn't have mentioned it to him to begin with. What had possessed her, anyway? To think that an agreement typically only made between a husband and wife would work between Warder and Aes Sedai. It seemed like a good idea, at first. When an Atha'an Miere couple were wed, they both took a vow that would help keep the lines of marriage and duty clean and clear. One may rule in private, the other in public. A simple idea, really. In theory, making such a bargain with her Warder would have made her rule in public clear, but gave him the right to rule in private. Something she thought might help acclimate him to the changes in his life that had already begun. It made good sense until you took into account that it could easily be abused. After his earlier comment, she questioned the wisdom of it. There was simply no point in making a bargain that would not be in her favor.
"I've changed my mind," she replied, hoping he left it at that.
"Liar! Tell me what it was."
Smiling thinly, she was more than happy to point out the impossibility of that. "I cannot lie, Renji. I thought I told you this already. Aes Sedai are all bound by the Three Oaths, one of which is a vow to speak no word that is not true."
"Get real. No oath can stop you from lying."
Zhai smirked at that for two reasons. One, if he bothered to feel for it, he would realize he could sense the truth in her. Two, the Oath Rod may stop them from lying, but every Aes Sedai knew how to dance a fine jig around the truth. There was a saying she'd heard once, although she was certain if the person who said it had known what she was, they'd have never cracked their teeth. "The truth an Aes Sedai tells you is not always the truth you think it to be." There was a third reason too, now that she thought on it. She had evaded the topic successfully and sidetracked him with another.
"Renji, the Oaths I took are bound to my soul just as tightly as you are. Tighter, really. Since I have not been a full sister for long, they are so fresh that my skin feels like it is three sizes too small. Can you not feel it through me? I try to ignore it but nevertheless, I feel it every single day and will continue to for a while yet."
In a way, she reveled in that uncomfortable sensation. It reminded her that she had succeeded in becoming Aes Sedai. With, or without her shawl –which had been lost in the explosion, sadly– she still had a daily reminder of that accomplishment. Finally having a Warder of her own produced a similar result; one infinitely more gratifying despite the awkward moments that popped up now and then.
"I can feel it, now that you mention it. Huh. That kinda sucks. So anyway, what was the deal you had thought up?"
"Would you kindly point the way to your bathing room? I'd like to take a real bath."
"Sure," he replied, an impish grin firmly in place. "Just as soon as you tell me what I want to know."
Her hands twitched irritably on the creases of her hakama. The man was like a dog with a bone; he just wouldn't let it go. It was good that she had opted against making that bargain. She could already see that he would make full use of his end. Well, he would get tired of asking eventually. She'd not made a full tour of the apartments just yet, so she would begin searching for it in the rooms she had not yet reached.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?"
Renji leapt up when she began to move towards one of the doors that led out of the bedroom. When she did not stop, he ran ahead to block her path, using one arm to bar the door. She barely paused, sliding right under that pathetic barricade and through the door. 'Ha!' Internally she cheered over finding what she sought so easily. Behind her, she heard a grumbled oath, but that only made her want to laugh.
"I'm not leaving until I get an answer," he declared, although his voice lacked conviction.
"As you wish," Zhai replied smugly, already untucking her shirt.
He lasted longer than she expected. Faced with her bare back and soon to be bare bottom, Renji decided it was best to leave after all. Growling wordlessly, he stalked out of the room before she could finish untying the knot on her sash. This time, she really did laugh.
-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-
Physically drained and emotionally spent, Nelisande settled down for the night not long after sunset. She felt as though she'd run a hundred miles, between Byakuya and Kamavon. Did other sisters have problems like this with their Gaidin? Doubtful. Still, she wished for another Green sister to talk to. Merise seemed exceptionally skilled in taming her Warders. Adelorna or Myrelle's advice would have been welcome as well. Those two successfully managed three a piece. Adelorna Bastine was currently the head of the Green, so her words would have carried more weight than any. 'If wishes were wings, pigs would fly,' she thought. Wishing for their aid would do her no good. She would just have to learn to manage as best she could on her own.
Yawning, she cleared her head of all the stray thoughts floating about. It was difficult to sleep with a mind that did not want to shut down for the night. Even in clearing her thoughts, one remained steadfast. The desire to be back home, in the White Tower.
It felt like only a few seconds had passed after she'd closed her eyes before she opened them again. Oddly enough, she was in the Tower. Standing on the green tiled hallway that she knew to be the Green's wing, no less. Depictions of great battles adorned the walls here and each door was decorated with a weapon of some sort. The door nearest her had a large sword carved into it, the blade pointing upwards. Red, gold and black lacquer reflected from a light source Nelisande could not see. Adelorna's room, she knew. The Captain-General of the Green Ajah was always given this room. Before Adelorna was Kerene Nagashi, but she had never really known the woman.
The Gaidin usually lingered out in these hallways, when they weren't in the room of their sister, yet they were not in evidence today. 'How strange.' Of course, it did not occur to her how strange it was to suddenly be back home. Not right away, at least. She had to witness an Accepted appear a few feet ahead of her, then vanish, before she realized it was a dream. It was the first time in her recollection that she had actually been aware that she was in a dream, while dreaming. It made her question the limits of this new experience. If she could dream her way into the Tower, what else could she do?
For fun, she closed her eyes and thought hard on being in Fal Dara Keep, in Shienar. It wasn't her home, but it was originally Kamavon's. Inwardly she frowned at that thought. Why had she wanted to go there? If she was going to take advantage of his unusual opportunity, why not try exploring the world she was currently trapped in? Without opening her eyes, she focused on the Kuchiki manor instead. It could be that she was limited to only going to places she had been in before, but it would be interesting to find out. Assuming anything she saw proved to actually be true when she woke. Assuming she could remember any of it.
She actually felt the world shift around her, then come to a grinding halt a moment later. Upon opening her eyes, she almost giggled in delight in finding herself standing before the main gate of Byakuya's massive estate. The guards that were normally stationed there were nowhere in sight, but she was getting used to that now. For whatever reason, no one else was in this dream but her. Not for more than a few seconds, at least. Dreams could be strange things, unpredictable and rarely making any real sense. Why should this one be any different?
Looking up at the looming walls, she wished she could stand atop one to get a better view of the surrounding area. As it turned out, in this dream of hers, wishes really were wings! No sooner did she think it, did she find herself standing precisely where she wished. Using that strange yet exhilarating new ability, she skipped from roof to roof, hopping all across the Seireitei without taking a single step on her own. Anytime movement caught her eye, she would pause to watch, but by the time she found the source of most of those, they vanished. After a while, she began wishing they would stay. Wish however hard she might, they always vanished after a moment or two. Maybe she couldn't wish them to stay, but perhaps she could wish her way into following them wherever they actually went. She was determined to succeed.
"The next one that shows up, I shall follow, no matter what!"
When a rail thin man with a shock of silver hair appeared before her, she hastily reached out and took him by the wrist, planning to literally force him into drag her wherever he went. For half a heartbeat, he seemed not to notice. Then the world suddenly changed. She wasn't standing out in one of the open roads as she had been. Wherever she was, it was dark. The man she'd grabbed was still there but now he most certainly noticed the strange woman clutching his wrist. All she could really make out was the white of his coat and hair, but she knew he could see her now.
"An' who're you? Whatcha holdin' on ta me for?"
A light appeared out of thin air beside him, moving towards her before halting in front of her face. Instinctively, she held one hand up to shield her eyes but she refused to let go of this stranger. She had an unsettling feeling that something bad might happen if she did, foolish as that sounded.
"Wha's tha' matter? Cat got yer tongue?"
Ignoring his questions for the moment, she took her time studying him. At first, she'd assumed he was an older man. That would explain the hair and his thin frame, which could have been the gauntness that comes with age. Now that she had a clear look at him, she could see just how wrong she'd been. There was no telling what his real age was –the beings of this world seemed to age much like Aes Sedai, only slower– but his face was youthful and the trim physique looked natural.
The wide grin on his face, however, brought up mixed feelings. At first blush, it seemed warm and inviting, yet she could not shake the grip of terror that took hold of her mind when looking at him. His face made her think of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn, which was not the most comforting thought. The snake and fox like creatures were where the name of the game 'Snakes and Foxes' came from. This man somehow reminded her of both. Could it be that he was one? She'd actually laid eyes on an Aelfinn herself, once. While this man reminded her of one, his manner of dress did not fit. That, and there was no uncomfortable sensation of him rummaging through her memories. She would never forget that horrid feeling.
"Who are you?," she finally asked, although she was tempted to inquire 'what' before 'who'.
"I asked first."
"You may call me Amalisa, if you wish," she said after a moment. The likelihood of this unusual man remembering her after he woke was nonexistent, but it was best to err on the side of caution. She used her cousin's name as an afterthought. She had just been thinking of Fal Dara, which was Amalisa Jagad's home.
"An' ya won' let go o' me...why?"
"I'm lost," she replied simply. It was, after all, the truth. She couldn't very well tell him the whole of it.
The strange man hummed to himself for a moment before lifting the arm she held so tightly up above his head. Momentum pulled her along at first but determination is what held her there. Latched on with both hands now, she stubbornly held on. He was a bit shorter than Kamavon but not short enough to keep her feet from coming off the ground. It was astonishing that such a slender man could have the strength to do lift her so. She couldn't see much of his figure through all the bulky clothing he wore, but she could feel his arm well enough and while it had a certain firmness to the muscular structure, it was far too thin to provide him with the strength required for such a feat.
Without so much as a warning, he dropped to a crouch, in turn dropping her in a heap on the floor. That jarred her teeth but she doggedly hung on. Letting go was beginning to look preferable, despite the unknown and possibly false sense of dread that warned her against it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she started trying to wish herself away. It had worked before. Only, it was not now.
A metallic scraping had her eyes snapping open instantly. The fox-faced man had drawn his sword on her! He held it calmly at his side but that did little to put her at ease. It looked shorter than most swords she had seen before; more like a long dagger in her opinion. The atypical guard managed to appear both simple and ornate at once. Ornate, simply because she'd never seen one in such an unusual shape. It looked like an oddly shaped 'S'; it hardly appeared practical. If hit at just the right angle, a blade could slip right past it. She'd like to think it was merely decoration but these people were all warriors, men and women alike. It would be worse than foolish to assume otherwise with this man. Particularly since he seemed to be wearing the same white coat as Byakuya and Retsu. One, she had come to understand, that denoted a captain. Only, this was a dream. The man could have dreamed he was of a higher rank without actually being it. Light, he probably wasn't even a real person!
"Yer startin' ta annoy me."
That certainly could not be good. 'Leave... I have to leave! Why can't I leave this flaming place?' Nelisande's now panicked mind raced, pleas and curses adding themselves to the chant she refused to stop thinking. 'I want to leave, I want to leave, Light, please let me bloody leave!'
"Ya wanna leave, eh? I can help ya there."
It took her a moment to realize she'd actually begun whispering that mantra. The malevolent aura that had been warning her from the beginning of this encounter rose sharply. She had to wonder if she'd misunderstood, and in holding on to him as she did, sealed her own fate. This was just a dream though. A nightmare but a dream all the same. The danger she felt wasn't real, it couldn't be! Perhaps if she tried pinching herself? Well, that would involve letting go and she was still reluctant to do that.
"Yes, you can. Pinch me, if you would."
The man tittered, his smile deepening. "How's about I tickle ya instead?"
She nearly told him to give it a try, before she realized just what he meant by it. One moment that sword was at his side, the next the point of it was digging into her cheek. Every muscle in her body froze. She didn't even breathe. It wasn't pressed into her skin very far, just the tip had broken through, but it was enough. It was considerably more than a flaming pinch too, so why was she still here?
Belatedly, it occurred to her that she could still sense Saidar here. A moment of internal struggle passed while she tried to calm herself enough to embrace it. In that time, the blade had begun tracing a light line down to her jaw, then over and down. A thin trail of blood sprung up in its wake as cloth and skin gave way to steel. Serenity was all but impossible to achieve in her current state but she knew it must be done. Her final testing for the shawl had been worse, hadn't it? She heard him chuckle and say something about a doe and being trapped by lights, which made no sense at all, but she ignored it. Ignored it, like she ignored the blade that was more than halfway down to her hip. She sat, eyes staring past him, focusing on a rosebud. She was the rosebud.
Light trickled down to that lone flower, encouraging those petals to open. Nelisande was the rose, the light Saidar and she was almost there. It should not have taken less than a heartbeat for her to take hold of the Power, but in her current condition she was lucky to form this much concentration. The blade slid across her hip, stinging all the way. 'Burn me, he is fast! No. Mustn't think about him.' The light drew closer, until the trickle became a torrent, filling her to the brim. Her eyes refocused, her senses heightened. The smell of her own blood hung in the air; a faint, almost metallic scent. One she probably would have never noticed, had she not been holding the Power. The thin line that had been traced down from cheek to thigh burned like fire.
He'd stopped that maddening descent, she realized. Finally looking at him instead of through him, she saw his arm was held above his head, poised to strike and yet not. He was watching her. Head cocked to once side and lips twisted in puzzlement, he was just staring curiously at her. Why? Taking advantage of the lull, she sent a thick strand of air to hold his sword arm back before anymore damage could be done. Why had he stopped? Had he sensed a change in her? She doubted that he was through having his fun. Light-forsaken bastard, how dare he do this to her? Splitting the flows of air, she sent a second to coil around his throat. Neither the constriction on his throat or having his sword arm disabled seem to bother the man. She still held onto his other arm but she finally felt in control here. It was safe to let go.
Earlier, she'd thought he minded her of a snake, despite his physical features resembling more a fox than anything. He proved now why that sense had stuck with her. When his arm came free of her weight, he threw the sword from his right to his left. Since Nelisande had only bothered to wrap the cord of air around his bicep, rather than restricting the entire arm, he was left with all the mobility he needed. It happened so fast, she didn't actually see it. One minute it was in his right hand, where it had been all along. And then it was gone, reappearing in his left. The curiosity she'd seen on his face moments before had vanished. If anything, the man appeared almost delighted. Frightfully so. Looking at him now was like seeing a snake coiled and ready to strike, knowing she could do nothing to stop it.
"Shoot ta kill, Shinsō," he said, that smile twisting into a savage grin.
Fear struck her heart. Less than a heartbeat later, like a snake's fang, the blade struck her leg.
Numbly, she stared down at the sword. Had it gotten longer, or did she imagine that? Shock. She was in shock. Sucking in a deep breath, she tried to ignore the pain and focus. She clung to Saidar by the tiniest of threads, for a wonder. That was both a blessing and a curse. Saidar amplified her pain along with everything else. It was almost enough to make her let go of the Source altogether. Desperately she weaved, splitting cords of air as fast as she could. At last, a web of air formed between them after what felt like an eternity, when only a scant few seconds had passed. Nelisande put every ounce of strength into using that to push him as far away as possible as quickly as possible and hold him there. That should have dislodged his weapon too, put it remained, leaving her to yank it out and cast it aside. The bloody sword clattered across the ground as it spun away, flinging blood in all directions. Down the hallway, its owner cackled gleefully as he snapped the air-formed chains that bound him within seconds of the weave taking hold. Impossible!
She needed to put distance between them, and fast.
Strange how her mind continued to work, running on instinct. Tears streamed down her face, the rawness in her throat said she had screamed somewhere along the way, but she pushed it all down. Somehow, she stood and began stumbling in the opposite direction. Her leg groaned at every step, trembling and forcing her to lean on a wall to keep herself upright. As much as she wanted to stop, she had to keep going. Stopping just wasn't an option.
So on and on she went, chased by cheerful taunts. Chased by a madman. He was in no hurry to catch up, from what she could tell. Whoever he was, this was just a leisurely stroll for him with a guaranteed prize waiting at the end. That prize being her head. Was he herding her a specific direction? He sounded confident. Was she going in a circle? She'd been taking a series of right turns, just eager to get away and not precisely paying any mind to the direction. Away was the only requirement she had right now. Far, far away.
This whole thing was maddening. Why had she not woken up yet? Why? What kind of nightmare was this? Her head was getting light, her vision fuzzy. Too much blood had gone into making a clear trail for him to follow. If he didn't kill her, the blood loss would.
"Don' give up yet! I'm jus' startin' ta have some fun!"
A panicked wail escaped unbidden at those words; one she would have denied to the end, if she could have. If the end wasn't just around the next corner. She couldn't even make herself stand and fight. And she called herself a Green! Aes Sedai did not whimper and quail like frightened milkmaids; least of all members of the Battle Ajah. But she was going to die here. The Light preserve her soul, she was going to die!
"Pull yourself together, you milk-hearted chit! Even if you weren't Aes Sedai, you're bloody half Aiel. Act like it, burn you!"
Scrubbing away her tears with the back of her hand, Nelisande did her best to straighten after her brief self-chastisement. Turning, she prepared to face her attacker head on. She still had to use the wall to support herself, but she'd found her courage at last. Through gritted teeth, she began forming weaves that had only one purpose. Destruction. Seconds ticked by as she squinted down that darkened hallway, awaiting her quarry. Inwardly, she chuckled at that notion. She was the true prey here, but she couldn't allow this man to kill her so easily. If all else failed, they'd both be going down in a blaze.
Her leg began to throb, the longer she stood waiting. She didn't want to risk taking her eyes off the hallway long enough to bind it but if he did not come soon, she would have to. That courage of hers began to waver, as well. Fear of the unknown poisoned her mind with every passing moment. She wanted to scream at him, tell him to show his face, yet she was unwilling to give away her location. As if he would not see her moments after rounding the corner.
For all her preparation, she never saw the hand reaching out of the dark until it had covered her eyes and yanked her backwards. Cold steel came to rest against her throat before a singsong voice whispered beside her ear.
"S'prise."
-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-
Byakuya had been resting for a few hours in bed with his eyes closed, going through all the motions but not actually sleeping. His mind was hellbent on finding a way around the collar that wretched woman had so neatly snapped around his neck. He'd debated going straight to Unohana but he wasn't sure he could trust her now. No matter what he wanted, he'd become an accomplice to these humans. Retsu would be sympathetic, but if anything she'd use this change to get the upper hand. To allow her an indefinite amount of time to study these humans with him housing them. He refused to give her that edge. Besides, she had not learned anything yet as far as his Lieutenant was concerned. If she'd found a way to break him free, she would have notified Byakuya immediately.
Kurotsuchi was completely out of the question. Aside from the man being completely insane, he was dangerous. It wouldn't matter to him that a life hung in the balance; even if that life belonged to a fellow captain. In the name of science, Mayuri Kurotsuchi would commit any crime, do any deed to further his research. Why they had ever allowed that criminal to hold rank at all was beyond him. The man belonged in a cell, safely locked away from everyone else.
Much of his day, Byakuya sat in front of the simple shrine created for his late wife. Hisana's tiny smile had stared back, failing to calm his turbulent feelings, for once.
The only thing that brought him any comfort on this day was the bundle of sensations in the back of his mind, however ironic that was. Some hours after the human woman departed, he'd felt a tumultuous wave of emotions from her. Shock, horror, a touch of fear and a mass of shame and outrage. It seemed someone in her little party had said or done something that upset her, and greatly. While he knew it was beneath him, he couldn't help but feel a smug sense of satisfaction. The woman deserved every bit of it and more. He wondered if the irony had been lost on her; having herself so thoroughly humiliated after doing the very same thing to him. She had to know he felt it, too. More salt on the wound. He was almost curious to know just what had transpired. Almost.
The tiniest of smiles appeared on his face as he lay abed, fingers interlaced across his chest. There was some justice in this world after all. Why, even now she seemed upset over something. It was faint, almost muted, but there was something there. Even as he made note of it, that sensation flared up, exploding in the back of his mind. Eyes snapping open and breath coming in a deep gulp, Byakuya sat bolt-upright in bed. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. One moment she felt merely upset, in the next his mind screamed danger. To her and to himself, should she die.
As he doubted her bodyguard had turned on her, it could only mean that somehow, someone had infiltrated his home and was attempting to assassinate her. A thing he might not have objected quite so much, if his own life weren't at stake. Of course, in merely succeeding in breaking into his stronghold, that person had earned death. How did they get past his guards? At least he could not be faulted for slaying a trespasser; an assassin, at that. Finally, the law made something convenient.
Tossing back the covers, Byakuya hastily picked up Senbonzakura from the stand the zanpakutō normally sat. Bare feet slapped across the tatami mats as he hurried out, the only noise he could hear at the moment aside from the occasional chirp of crickets. Sliding open the door, he leapt out into the night.
-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-
The wing of his home where he'd been housing the riffraff was as far away from his own bedroom as could be managed but a flash step or two covered the distance in seconds. Without bothering to announce himself or knock –why should he, in his own home?– Byakuya threw back the door to their rooms and strode in. His arrival startled the tall man that normally kept himself right on his master's heels. Lord Shinowa, he thought it was. The man went so far as to draw his sword, before he realized who it was. The fool.
"Someone is hurting her," Byakuya stated, cooly detached. As if there there wasn't an invisible noose tightening around his neck that very moment.
"There's no one in there, I already looked. Just a bad dream, that's all."
Hoping that his eyes conveyed just how stupid he felt the other man was, Byakuya pushed past him and entered the woman's bedroom. The fool actually protested such a thing but he was having none of it.
Inside, he could see her writhing uselessly in bed, head jerking from side to side as if caught in a terrible nightmare. There really wasn't anyone else in the room. Behind him, he heard the other man repeat that it was merely a bad dream, and to leave her be. He almost did. It wasn't as though she'd actually woken him up and he didn't honestly care if she slept peacefully or not. It was the scent of blood that caught his attention, furrowing his brow in confusion.
Giving the woman's face a closer study, he saw only sweat matting strands of red hair against her face. Then her head turned, twisting to the side to reveal a thin line of blood. Before his very eyes, he watched the line move, going down and over her collar bone until the covers hid it from view. 'Impossible!'
Dropping to a crouch, he placed his zanpakutō on the tatami beside the bed and grabbed the woman's head to stop her thrashing. His eyes had not deceived him, the wounds were real. 'How far down did they go?' That much he could guess just by following the sensations coming from her, now that he thought about it. It was nearing her hip and continuing downward at a steady pace. 'Where are these wounds coming from? What, or who was inflicting them? No nightmare could cause this. It had to be an illusion-type zanpakutō. How else could wounds appear with no enemy in sight?' Throwing back the blanket that covered her, he could see the trail of blood continuing, soaking through the thin white cloth of her shift.
"What do you think you're doing? Step away from her!"
Byakuya ignored the other man completely. It was about that moment that he felt a stabbing pain; in her leg, not his. The woman howled, jerking herself nearly to a sitting position despite his grip on her. He'd heard many cries of pain before, but this one nearly made him shudder. The pain, he could deal with. It wasn't truly his pain, though he certainly felt it clearly enough. The overwhelming panic rushing through the bond they shared was both feverish and infectious. The woman was experiencing this all first-hand, which was enough to created such frenzied hysteria. What truly struck him was her sense of helplessness. She was trapped, dying at the hands of an unseen enemy and she knew there was nothing she could do.
"The Dark One's touch," the man behind him whispered. "The Dark One has reached into her dreams, somehow."
Doing the only thing he could think of, Byakuya began trying to wake the woman. Shaking her did no good, little wonder. She'd been flailing about before he'd reached her and if that did not wake her, having additional help wouldn't matter one bit. Not to be thwarted, he struck her across the face, careful to avoid the open cut that began mid-cheek on one side. He should have felt some measure of indemnification, since he felt she deserved more than a full-armed slap across the face. Well, it wasn't full-armed. That would have possibly snapped that thin neck of hers. He still struck with perhaps a bit more force than necessary, yet it gave him no pleasure.
It took more than one for her to finally break free of whatever had hold of her and he could not shake the relief he felt the moment her eyes opened seconds after her screams began anew. Watery with tears, her eyes had a haunted look to them. Groping blindly, her hands reached out to latch on to her rescuer. That meant him, unfortunately. For a moment he stood frozen, uncertain of what to do. Instinct said to return the embrace, awkward as it was. That was something easily quashed, as he had no use for such an instinct. He'd need to hold her up to heal her but it there was no need to make it personal. He had no interest in giving the woman comfort. Being supported or not, she managed to bury her face in his chest, tears and blood alike staining his clothing. The woman shook like a leaf in a high wind. Why was her loyal servant not offering to take her off his hands?
Casting a glance in the other man's direction, he found only a cold stare. Directed at him, no less. What had he done to the man to engender such hatred? His mistress was the one that had brought misery to Byakuya, not the other way around. Well, that didn't matter to him. He could care less about the opinions of others, least of all some pathetic human.
Left with no choice, he slid his arm behind the woman to at least hold her steady enough for him to heal her. Obviously, she wasn't going to be healing herself just yet. As proficient in kidō as he was, Byakuya did not bother with the incantation, getting right to work. Healing kidō was not something he used on a regular basis, to say the least, but he took pride in his abilities. Even if it was rarely of use to him, the fact remained that it could be, and that was enough motivation for him to perfect it.
At least she held still, for the most part. Her body trembled, racked with sobs and shaking from the stress of what had occurred. Whatever it had been. Her fingers were actually starting to dig into his skin, so desperate was she to keep hold of him. It did not let up once the wounds were healed, either. Clearly she did not want to be left alone so soon after the attack. What had it been? It infuriated him that someone had been able to infiltrate his home and nearly succeed in killing one of his guests. However unwelcome they were, this was his home and the intruders success in invading it a black mark to his name.
Attempting to lay her back on the bed met with failure, the redhead shook her head furiously against his chest. He thought he heard a murmured protest but she didn't really need to speak. If her gestures had not made her wishes clear, the jumble of emotions that belonged to her did the job nicely. Resisting the urge to just drop her, Byakuya shifted them around carefully so he could at least sit on the pillow beside her bed. It was more comfortable than his previous position. The man behind him growled a soft oath for some reason, then stalked out of the room. Well, he hadn't expected any help from him. From the way he was acting, Byakuya came to the conclusion that the two humans had argued amongst themselves earlier and both were still put out. Lord Shinowa in particular. Again, he wondered just what had been said or done to have so neatly wiggled under her skin. It might have been advantageous for him to learn. But he should not care and he did not. He was merely curious.
Withholding a sigh, he decided to try and get some information out of the woman. Her sobbing had finally slowed and he could sense her trying to rein in her emotions. That was a good sign. As much as he hated to admit it, she typically seemed to keep a firm grip on them.
"Tell me what happened."
He probably should have added a touch of warmth to his words, to at least encourage her to be more responsive but he was too stubborn to do that. Bad enough that he was sitting here, holding this human. Cradling her like a damn child. His mind called it repulsive, which he knew it was, yet it didn't feel quite that way. That puzzled him more than anything. He despised this woman, didn't he?
"C-couldn't...leave. Couldn't...wake up! No matter how hard I tried, no matter what he did, I could not wake up!"
"He?"
"That 'Finn man, the Light consume him! I cannot tell if he was Aelfinn or Eelfinn. He looked like a fox but moved like a snake."
A shiver shook the woman's mind and body when she spoke. He had no idea what she meant but there was little doubt her experience had been a traumatic one. For a human. Her wounds had been intended to instill fear and inflict pain. The deep stab wound in her thigh had been meant for pain, at least. The line carved from her cheek to leg was just her attacker toying with her. The more she told him, however patchy the description was, the more he gleaned from the tale. He had a feeling she was withholding some information, like a clear description of the attacker. The details that would help identify the man either escaped her, or she was blocking them out. Or she was intentionally keeping them to herself. Well, expecting her to give him her full trust was asking a bit much, wasn't it?
It was a man. 'There is at least no doubt about that', he thought sardonically. A thin man, with a sadistic streak and sick sense of humor. Quick reflexes, confidence and a unusual way of speaking. Likely everyone spoke in an unusual way to this human, so he couldn't really count on that. Confidence suggested someone of higher rank; a seated officer maybe? Or just a very skilled killer. If he was a hired assassin, it could be that he was ordered to torture her before killing her. He'd never heard of a zanpakutō that could invade the dreams of others and make them real but that didn't mean there wasn't one. There were few enough people that knew of her existence, and fewer still who might have something to gain in the event of her demise. That was something to think on.
"I am in your debt, Byakuya."
Gray eyes widened in surprise. Now that was unexpected. The woman had to know he only acted in the interests of self-preservation. Had the experience addled her wits?
"While I know your motives were not entirely pure, I am quite certain I would have died if you had not intervened. It is your duty as a Warder to guard me against such dangers but I have not yet given you much reason to want to. You might have decided death was a better alternative than serving a woman you despise."
One delicate brow lifted. Did his opinions of her come across that vividly?
"I am no coward," was all he said. Suicide was a coward's way out. He might be willing to die for his beliefs but he would never just give up.
"No, I didn't take you for one."
Interesting. That meant someone else suggested it to her. It was probable, at least. Since the servants would now cut out their own tongues than speak to Nelisande or her companions, that left Unohana and Abarai. Retsu knew him well enough and would never think so little of him. That left Renji. Now why would he think such a thing of his superior? It mattered not, but he would still need to see if he could stop the boy from leaking information that did matter. It was probably too late for that, however. By all accounts, the Lieutenant of Squad Six was quite taken with his captor. A razor-thin shred of fear crept into Byakuya's mind as he thought that. Abarai had become attached to the girl, literally and figuratively, almost immediately. He had to wonder if the bond between them had somehow twisted the boy's mind, or heart, to show favor to the woman who'd stolen his soul. More than once, Byakuya had felt a strange sense of complacency come over him, or pleasure, as a direct result of the woman who'd invaded his. Suicide almost looked tempting, if the same became of him with Nelisande as it had with Renji and the other human. Almost. It would never come to that, thankfully. He had enough control over himself to prevent such a thing.
"Silver penny for your thoughts?"
Shifting against him, she pushed stray hairs out of her face and looked up at him curiously. It hadn't taken her long to master her emotions. They felt more solid than she looked, yet he supposed that part couldn't be helped. Her eyes were still red but she'd dried her tears and stemmed the flow to prevent any more. While her grip had loosened, she still had not let go of him. That made him uneasy. Especially since she seemed to be making herself comfortable. One of her hands must have slid underneath the opening of his nemaki earlier, explaining why her nails had been doing such a fine job of gouging. He'd hardly noticed then but now that her hand lay flat against him, he couldn't seem to stop noticing. It made him more than just uneasy. Closer to nauseous. It didn't help that she picked up on his discomfort and smiled for it. Gods he hated that smile.
The delicate chimes of a jigokuchō entering the room spared him from replying and gave him a reason to disentangle himself, thankfully. Fluttering its way across the room, it finally came to rest atop his outstretched fingers. While he was grateful for the interruption, the very sight of the creature had him concerned. For what reason would he be sent a missive at this hour? It could not be good, he was certain. Otherwise, they would not have bothered him with it until tomorrow.
As the Hell Butterfly relayed its message to him, there was a sharp pang in his chest. It felt as though someone had latched onto his heart and squeezed it. This could not be!
-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-
"Why is it your friend is so uptight? It's more than just being nobility or Aes Sedai, isn't it?"
Zhai flattened her eyes at Renji, and not for the first time tonight. The man had a serious lack of tact at times. A quality she found both endearing and frustrating.
"Stop looking at me like that, Zhai. I'm being serious. The big guy is nuts over her for some reason and she just ignores him. I don't get that. When I talked to him earlier in the week, he got real touchy over the subject of marriage, too."
"And just what had the two of you discussing marriage?"
"I... Uhh... What the hell does that matter? You're just trying to avoid answering me, aren't you? He said you'd do shit like that."
"Am I not allowed to be curious as to what sparked this line of questioning?"
"Well yeah, but– Will you quit that already? Geez... It's like wrestling with a grease-coated snake."
Clutching at her sides, Zhai laughed at that comment until her eyes watered. It was certainly one of the more creative ways she'd heard it put. Renji just sat with his arms and legs crossed, waiting her out with a false show of impatience. The man was simply terrible at disguising his true feelings. That glare he was giving her was just as transparent.
Winding down, she put some thought into Kamavon's actions. It was saddening, really. It quickly put a damper on her mirth and stole her smile. Sighing, she finally gave Renji a real response. "I do not understand why Nelisande keeps him at arms length. It is not my business, or yours, really. I sympathize with Kamavon; he is a dear friend, but I do not think anything I say or do will help him. Not anymore. Nelisande bonding a second Warder is a clear sign that she will not acknowledge whatever feelings she might have for the first."
Sighing himself, Renji unfolded his arms long enough to scratch at the side of his head. "What do you mean, a clear sign? He told me there is this one chic– erm, Aes Sedai, that is married to all three of her Warders. What difference would having two make?"
It was a struggle for her not to sniff in distaste. She knew precisely whom he was referring to. Myrelle Berengari. The trollop likely was married to her three. Even outside of her own Ajah, Myrelle was well known for her abilities to bring back Gaidin from the deathwish, as it was sometimes called, they experienced upon their Aes Sedai's passing. Every last one of those three had belonged to another Aes Sedai before her. It was widely suspected that part of the "treatment" they received was being taken to the woman's bed. Not that there was anything wrong with an Aes Sedai coupling with someone, Warder or otherwise, but to be regularly bedding all three? It set Zhai's teeth on edge.
"Myrelle Sedai is an...exception."
To say she disagreed with the woman's behavior would have been putting it mildly. However, it wouldn't surprise her if Myrelle actually made her Ajah proud. Whatever her methods, she had success where all others had failed. The fierce Altaran woman certainly embodied the Green's principles, too. Biting her tongue, Zhai continued before Renji could question the sudden sharpness in the bond.
"In most cases, few as they may be, if a Green intends to marry her Warder then she will not bond a second. In doing so, Nelisande has cast the man's feelings right back at him. That is what I understand, at least. You have to remember I am not a member of that Ajah. There is no possibility for taking on a another Gaidin, in the Brown."
"Oh. Well, I guess that explains why he isn't a real fan of the Captain. Aside from the strangling bit."
Unbidden, Zhai's hand rose to her throat. She'd seen the bruises, once they'd appeared on Nelisande's neck. The woman had to have nerves of steel to withstand that assault as calmly as she apparently did. Kamavon was the only one of the two who seemed shaken by it. She had to wonder, though... Why had Nelisande not used the bond to compel him to release her? Or had she, only to see it fail? That was another question altogether. Could these beings even be susceptible to the light compulsion the bond could provide?
The soft jingle of what sounded like tiny bells caught her ear and pulled her attention to the window from which they came. Renji's gaze followed hers, and the pair watched a pitch black butterfly flit its way into the room with them. For a moment, Zhai could only see the bright pink that outlined its wings. Not far from going to their blankets for the night, they'd only left one small light on, leaving the area by the window darkened.
Slowly but surely, the delicate insect made its way over to Renji, fluttering just a few inches from the man's nose before he offered his hand as a perch. The look on his face after it landed her could only be disbelief, followed closely on its heels by dread. Was it an ill omen, of sorts?
"No fucking way...," he whispered.
A/N: Well, I hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter. Thank you WannaBe/oOLadyLuckOo for helping me proofread this chapter (and every other chapter of every story I've ever written LOL). Think I'm going to go do a faceplant in my pillow now. If you have any tips/pointers for improving my style feel free to send them my way. Thanks and take care!
Lagniappe:
For a better understanding of what takes place within Nelisande's dream, search "tel'aran'rhiod" in Google. I don't intend on delving any further into it, so going through all the trouble of describing it here would be a waste of time.
Aile Daishar - The northernmost island off the coast of Saldaea; believed to be controlled by the Atha'an Miere/Amayar (not sure if that's been confirmed or not so I used creative license here).
Taken by the dragon - A phrase that means "crazy or insane"; a reference to Lews Therin, aka the Dragon, who went mad and used the Power to begin the destruction of their world known as The Breaking.