DISCLAIMER
Don't own InuYasha or any of the characters! Only own Rose and so forth! And YAY! Kikyou is still alive! ... WTF! I just realized that I haven't mentioned Kikyou in ANY of the chapters! (ponders for awhile)
Chapter X: Resurfacing the Past
As the great Lord of the West, the mythical 'not suppose to exist' white cheetah, the hanyou, fox kit, two-tailed cat demon, and group of humans race back to the castle, General Damsei and his men are fighting off two giant demons; a black phoenix and a black lion. The phoenix is about twice the size of the real form of Sesshomaru, and the lion about the same size as Rose in her other form, the cheetah. Many of the youkai soldiers have fallen under the flames of the phoenix, while the lion watches from the sidelines.
" You sure that this will lure the cheetah back here?" the lion asks the phoenix impatiantly in language that can be only be said in their other form.
" Yes, Malshano. This is what she hates the most, as you know," the phoenix replies as he unleashes more flames.
" Begone, trespassers!" Damsei yells as he slashes at the phoenix with his Terrin swords with flames engulfing then. It merely makes the phoenix laugh as the general has been sent flying by the beat of the wings. " Fine, let's play it this way," the general said as he stands back up and throws a Fire Pillar at the one called Malshano. The lion only dodges, and yet not attack back. By this time though, the group has arrive to the scene, and only Rose reconizes the lion. The view of the other attacker is blocked from her. She growls as she stops a few feet from him.
" Malshano! Why do you continue to persue me? Leave, now!" she said with malice in her threat, stepping forward with a slight limp from her right hind leg. Malshano looks at her, having a catty-smirk on his face.
" So nice to see you again, cheetah. Ready to die?" he asks as he crouches, ready to leap and tear her apart. Bad idea, for Sesshomaru has pounce on him and growling, his acid saliva dripping beside Malshano's head.
" I forgot to mention that the lord of this castle is pissed-off," Rose said as she bounds past him to try and stop the other attacker, leaving Malshano in the paws of Sesshomaru and InuYasha's group.
" Rose!" Damsei said when he caught Rose's scent, and apparently taking her new form with ease. " The other one is already in the gardens!" Rose growls in knowledge as she zips by the injured general. Sesshomaru and Malshano, meanwhile, were... ah... duking it out? Nah, doesn't sound right for a giant dog and lion... okay, fine, fighting tooth and claw with fur flying, one trying to get away to give chase to Rose, the other wanting nothing more than to rip the other limb-from-limb.
" What is a lion demon doing here?" Miroku asks as InuYasha and them finally arrive.
" Isn't it obvious? It wants to take over the territory," InuYasha said as he removes the Tesuiga from the sheath.
" Heh... you stupid dog demons and mortals," Malshano said as he suddenly shoves the great tai youkai off of him and bounds off where Rose went. " Once I kill the cheetah, you are next in line to die! She's bound to be easy to take down because of Cosmos, so expect your deaths soon!"
" What he say?" Kagome asks InuYasha, since he, Sesshomaru, and Shippou are the only ones who can understand.
" He said as soon as he kill the Rose girl, we're next. And soon, if she meets this 'Cosmos'."
Sesshomaru has already got back up and went after Malshano.
" Let's go!" Sango said as she follows the big leader, the others behind her.
And with Rose, she finally reaches the other side of the castle, where the gardens are at. The first sight she sees... is her worst nightmare.
" LADY ROSE!" the kids cry out as Cosmos flies towards her, flames coming from his wings.
" You finally arrive," the black phoenix, Cosmos, said as he lands ontop of one of the watch towers, clutch in one of his talons is the children. " What's this? Scared of me, still?" he taunts, Astor following the conversation. Rose has froze in her tracks, unable to move. Her eyes are wide from fear and some other emotions, and her ears laying against her skull. " To be expected. And hoped for, as well. Malshano will take the pleasure of killing you in your state."
" Mmmyesss, with great pleasure," Malshano said as he runs up behind her and knock her to the ground. She doesn't even fight back. " Sad that you won't be able to put up an actual fight, like your late family did. They may have won then, but as you are, we stand victorious!"
" Rose! Please move, anything!" Astor yells, but even his cry doesn't reach to Rose.
A roar is suddenly heard, and Cosmos finds himself on the ground before anyone can look. The children went flying through the air, but luckily Sango and Kirara catches them.
" HOW DARE YOU INVADE MY TERRITORY," Sesshomaru roars again as he slashes at Cosmos's back, leaving great wounds in the muscles. Cosmos fights against the dog on his back, and he only got out of the grasp when Malshano manages to shove Sesshomaru off. " You'll PAY for touching what belongs to ME!"
" Lord Sesshomaru!" General Damsei said as he rushes as much as his injuries allows him over to the outrage dog. Sesshomaru glances at him, then back at the two demons. Damsei stands by him, swords ready once more.
" It appears that we are not welcomed here, Malshano," Cosmos said as he laughs and takes off for the skies. Malshano looks back at the still-paralyzed cheetah, wanting to kill her now, before spreading his own wings - one of a silver angel, the other a golden dragon - and goes after Cosmos.
Sesshomaru, after calming down by the fact that the children are alright, returns to his more frequent appearance. Rin and Astor, meanwhile, were trying to get Rose out of her shock-state, as it seems to be.
" Lady Rose? Are you okay?" Rin said as she approaches the big, over-sized cheetah and touches her muzzle lightly. Not even a flinch. Astor joins her and they continue talking to Rose, hoping she'll somehow hear whenever she finally comes out of her own hiding place in her head.
" What do you think is wrong with Lady Rose?" Damsei asks Sesshomaru, who is giving Rose a cold, expressionless look.
" Don't know, but she is due to punishment for disobeying me."
" Disobeying?" As soon as Damsei spots InuYasha, he then understands. " She stopped you from making your kill," he states. When Sesshomaru didn't answer, Damsei takes it as a 'Yes, and she will pay dearly for it'. " But, mi'lord, may I make a suggestion?" He waits for a answer, and all he got it none, which means go ahead. " Find out what is the matter, with meeting Cosmos. As you and I both know, she does not freeze this easily, even if we've known her for a short amount of time. Whatever Cosmos did to her, she obviously remembers and fears him for it. Besides, that's a punishment right there, if she's not even responding to he children."
" How can that be a punishment?" Sesshomaru said, curiousity getting to him.
" I believe that she's trapped in her memories, from how her eyes are glazed over."
Well, the term is WAS glazed over. She finally blinks to see the children petting underneath her eyes, talking to her. She shifts to her more normal form and sits up, shaking her head.
" Lady Rose!" Astor said as he hugs her around the neck in a tackle. " What happened? Did that lion do something to you to be paralyzed?"
" N-no, it was nothing he did..." she answers quietly. " But I am sorry for scaring you two like that."
" Seems that the human kid took to her instead of you, Sesshomaru," InuYasha said with a smirk as Rin also hugs Rose, making Sesshomaru turn the 'DEATH' glare onto him. " Whoa, think I struck a nerve?"
" You will leave my territory, now," Sesshomaru said as he turns around, facing Rose and the children. " You and your human companions."
" We ain't leaving without that jewel shard!" InuYasha spats as he turns to Kagome. " Where is it?"
" Um... Inside, I think, because the feelin' is now stronger," Kagome said nervously.
" See? Now where's the shard bein' kept at?" InuYasha said as he turns back to Sesshomaru. Guess who keeps walking away? " HEY! Come back here and give up that shard!"
" Well, if it isn't InuYasha-sama!" Kasiya said as she slowly exits the castle. " Who would have figured that an attack on the castle would bring you here?"
" Kasiya?" InuYasha said as he stares at the caretaker of even him, whenever she managed to get out of the castle and assist his mother, Iszu (Yeah, I know, this ain't his mother's name, but HELL! I got no satillite to refer to, people! No internet right now, no actual TV shows... #sighs#)
" Lady Rose!" Koira said as the neko youkai rushes out with little caution over to Rose, who finally stands up, but stumbles. " What happened to your leg? It's bleeding!"
" It is only a cut..." Rose said softly as she looks down at her feet.
" Are you okay after that lion demon attacked you?"
" If she hasn't froze up, she would have saved the children herself and driven the two threats off before they made even more damage," Sesshomaru said coldly as he stands in front of Rose and Koira. Everyone but Rose looks extremly uncomfortable, while she continues looking down at the ground, looking miserable. He expected her to outburst, look angry, or even refuse to show any emotion while glaring him in the eyes, but she surprises him once again. She, instead, starts to cry.
" If it was anybody else but him, yes, I would have..."
" Alright, everybody inside. General Damsei, have your men help the injured to the medical wing, state," Kasiya orders as she herds the children and guests, while Koira helps Rose, inside. It only leaves Damsei and Sesshomaru outside, watching them go.
" She's a puzzle box, that Rose," Damsei said as he goes to rally up the soldiers left standing to get the injured ones to the said wing. The Great Lord of the West is, believe it or not, feels somewhat sorry for her. But, of course, it quickly evaporates when he thinks back to when she stopped him from killing the hanyou, who is now in the care of Kasiya! And that equals no killing him in front of his caretaker... That's enough to have him fuming for the rest of the afternoon, which all of the servents and soldiers could tell, since they quickly scatter from his sight.
Much later in the day, as Kasiya and Kagome were taking care of the injured, the children and others are munching on their dinner, minus Sesshomaru, Rose, and Koira.
" Can't believe that Sesshomaru hasn't chased us out as of yet," Sango said. She sits between Miroku and InuYasha, where beside him is an empty seat for Kagome. On the other side of the table, Astor, Rin and Shippou sits there, chatting on what happened, near the end of the table where Sesshomaru and Rose usually sit themselves at. Rin and Astor glances at the doors every now and then, waiting for them.
" Yeah yeah yeah, he's just waiting for you to relax so that he can slit your throats during the night," InuYasha growls as he shovels meat into his mouth.
" Such a nice image," Miroku said with a sigh as he eats in a more fashioned way. " You know, InuYasha, he could have poisoned your meat. I'm surprised you didn't think of that."
InuYasha chokes on a rather big piece of steak.
" Why can't you two be nice for one minute...?" Kagome said as she plops herself into the chair next to InuYasha, thumping him in the back so that he can breathe again.
" Kagome!" Shippou said as he looks up from his dish of rice and chicken.
" Is Lady Rose and Lord Sesshomaru coming, too...?" Rin asks.
" I don't know," Kagome said as she helps herself to some chicken. " But then again, I think Rose said that she isn't going to be eating. Yeah, I'm positive that she said that before walking out of the hospital wing to her own room. Kasiya have managed to make Rose let us bandage her leg, wrist, and shoulder that had a burn on it. But she refused to have us check her back, which was bleeding a little bit before she went out."
" Probably from when Naraku held us captive," Rin said as she sips some water from her cup. " But why hasn't that healed up like when the scorpion demon stabbed her and her horn glowed? My arm was healed where the scorpion scratched and poisoned me, as well as Astor's wounds from the bear demon and Sesshomaru has his arm back."
" WHAT?" InuYasha yells when the words struck home. His friends sighs.
" As usual, you miss everything new," Sango said. " But Rose is the one that gave Sesshomaru his arm back?" she asks Rin. Astor answers this time.
" A-about right after she killed the scorpion youkai that tried to get us, she healed all of us, as well as add Master Jaken's Staff of Two, now Three, Heads more powers. I-I think that was accidental, though."
" What sort of demon are we facing here?" InuYasha grumbles as he glares at his food, before eating again.
" I hope that Sesshomaru-sama gets here soon," Rin says cheerfully, making InuYasha's group groan quietly at the thought.
The mentioned person is too busy glaring coldly at his bedroom wall. (( Hahahahaha, this is quickly turning into a soap opera. Sorry, let's try making it go back to the ususal as much as we can.))
" She deserves to be punished," he said as he folds his arms, closing his eyes and thinking. He doesn't have to worry about someone hearing him, for his room is sound-proof and unbreakable to all outside; For more than one reason. " Of all of the times she has disobeyed me, as well as being very disrespectful to a lord, she deserves sever punishment. As well as not saving the children, but allowing her weakness to stop her! But..." He thinks about what his most trusted general said. About how being trapped in her own memories is as sever as any torture can be. " I, Sesshomaru, am to believe that memories is far worse than physical pain?" Shakes his head. " No, even my best general can't tell me that she has enough punishment as it is. Memories is not enough for her to understand that she is and always will be under myself and the other lords. She will learn this soon enough."
Standing up from his bed, he walks over to the door that's connected to the room Rose resides at. But, even though his room is sound-proof to the others, it doesn't mean that it's the same to him when inside the room. He hears a faint banging on the other side of the door. He opens the door slowly and peers inside... to find...
A CLIFFIE! (knives, pitchforks, and any other sharp objects have been thrown at her) WAIT! (objects stop in mid-air, inches from Rose's face) Now then, this WOULD'VE been a cliff-hanger, but I've took pity on you people and continued the chapter. (the objects return to their rightful owners) And PLEASE tell me if I should turn this fic to M, because I'm considering about this issue. And if you lemon-haters don't like the idea but I do it anyway, I WILL LET YOU KNOW IF THERE'S A LEMON IN A CHAPTER, WHERE IT STARTS AND WHERE IT ENDS! I swear I will! (waits for polls to be turned in)
... a rather pitiful sight. There, in a corner, sits Rose, banging the side of the head against the stone wall that is to the outside of the castle (considering that she can't bang her forehead against it, because of the horn), her knees drawn to her chin and her arms wrapped around them. Sesshomaru smells tears as he steps in and walks over to her. She doesn't even notice as she continues the slow process of banging her brains out.
' Why must Cosmos haunt my waking second, as well as the hour I actually sleep every two to three weeks...? The guilt... sadness... anger... the memories of that day... they're bad enough...' Sesshomaru catches from her thoughts. ' But now... what would have happened to the kids if Sesshomaru and Sango weren't there? I'm...' Thud. ' a...' Thud. ' damn...' Thud. ' idiot...' Thud.
' She's punishing herself,' Sesshomaru thought in somewhat amazement. He decides to take the chance of making his presence known. " Rose."
She stops banging and turns her head at the mention of her name, looking up to his face. " ... how are the children?" she asks as she then stands up to face him.
" They're doing alright, they're now eating dinner," Sesshomaru answers nonchalantly as he continues looking at her tear-stained face.
" ... you are here to punish me," she said after a few minutes of silence. " I deserve it for freezing like that... The kids are first priority, and yet I withdrawn into myself at the worst possible moment..." Her head lowers to where she is once again staring at the floor. This makes Sesshomaru rethink about punishing her at the moment.
" That is only one reason," he said slowly. " And you have already punished yourself for that one reason."
" So this is now about how I do not follow orders, as well as kept you from making your kill..."
" And being disrespectful."
" Cannot change who one is..."
" That is true," he said with a silent sigh. " But I haven't come to punish you." He adds mentally, ' Not right now, anyway...' " I merely want to know what happened. What caused you to just freeze, or what did the phoenix, Cosmos, do to you for the near-instint reaction at his appearance?" He watches for her reactions.
At first surprised, with eyes wide with a mix of reproach and confusion. Second, opens her mouth a few times, no sound coming out of it. Clamps it shut and stare at the floor again. Then she looks back up, finally fixing herself to be more calm and mannered.
" Alright... the reason why I froze is because he caused me great pain, and not physically. No child needs to go through what I have, though it happens everywhere. Right now, I... I do not want to talk about the deed he has done, but he caused me enough pain to my heart to have me go as stiff as a statue everytime I see him, and even at the mention of his name." She takes a deep breath as Sesshomaru processes what she said. " Hope that answers your question, because if I go any further, I am afraid that I will break again and cry."
" That will do," Sesshomaru said as he draws his hands into the sleeves of his yukata. " It's perfectly alright, and I thank you for putting your faith, however little, into me."
Rose smiles slightly. " Even though you are quite, ah... obstinate, you are indeed fair about these things, great Algonquian." When he looks confused about the choice of words, she laughs softly. " Obstinate means 'hard to get along', and Algonquian is 'white dog'."
" Ah. Is that as much respect I shall be getting out of you?" he asks seriously, while at the same time, amusingly.
" At the moment, yup," Rose answers with a slight humor in her voice. She sighs sadly as she looks through the window to outside. " Your beautiful gardens are ruined..."
" The staff can repair it in a matter of weeks," he said dismissivly as he turns to leave. " You can expect that your duty to teach the children will resume tomorrow. You can expect a new student..."
" Because of your half-brother and his companions is staying on Kasiya's request. You mean Shippou."
" Yes..." ' As much as I despise InuYasha, I cannot do anything to him because of Kasiya. He can only stay because of my caretaker's request...' " But as for tonight, you can either stay here or come to dinner. I know for a fact that Rin and Astor are asking where are the two of us are at." As soon as he reaches the doors, planning on head straight to the dining room, Rose makes her decision and rushes to join him. Wordlessly, they make their way to where everyone else is at. And they both, without reading another's mind, hopes that he or she makes it through dinner... Netherless to say, Rin and Astor were happy to see them sit at their usual spots, and it's InuYasha's dismay that cracks the others up. Other than a wise crack from the hanyou (" Lookie here, the couple has arrived! Are you mates, yet?" that left Rose very confused by his words) and a 'sit' from Kagome after she drags him away from the table, it was uneventful.
Rin and Astor, when it was time for bed for them, manages to have Rose come with them and tuck them to bed in this time. It is usually Kasiya and Sesshomaru who does that task. And guess what they each asked for her to do for them?
" How am I supposed to tell you a story," Rose said to Astor, " and sing you a song?" to Rin.
" I can wait for mine!" Rin said as she smiles brightly, making it impossible to say no to a face like that.
" Alright then, if that is okay with you and Astor," Rose said as she looks at them both. They both nod, and Rin already goes into her room to get ready for bed. Astor leads Rose into his room and he changes clothes (with Rose looking elsewhere to maintain privacy). " What do you want me to tell you tonight?" she asks as the inu kit crawls onto his overly-large bed.
" Something exciting, as well as it has a lesson and happy ending," Astor said as he motions for his protector to sit on the edge of the bed, next to him. " Do you know a story that I might like?"
" Hmmm..." she said as she retreats to her thoughts for the moment, practically going through what stories she does know. " Well, there is one that might suit this. It is a story that happened to a girl named Michele. No, it has no actual fighting against a dragon or demon or anything," she adds. This puzzles Astor, since what story without those be a great story? " This one can be as frightening as facing a monster. But let us start the story and not ruin it for you.
" A girl named Jessie. Someone who has found out about a guy that really liked her. Where I came from, there's something called a 'Dance', which you might call a ball or ceremony. She was excited about it when this guy, Cale, asked her to go with him there that was to happen a week later that he asked. So, being a girl, she made sure to have her mother help her with actually finding a beautiful dress, or a sort of kimono.
" Days passed, and she couldn't sleep without thinking about the dance and Cale. But, the unexpected happened. On the day OF the dance, guess what was wrong."
" A attacker? Her parents suddenly saying no?"
" Nope. When she woke up, the world was suddenly spinning in front of her eyes. She couldn't move her head from her pillow. Her mother came in to see why she isn't already up, but when she felt Jessie's forehead, she knew something is wrong. Her mother exclaimed that she had a very high fever, but Jessie felt cold. She was rushed to the nearest doctor, which then she was transferred to another city for the best doctor there was. Her temp was practically one-hundred-four degrees! It was a extremely serious infection that could have, if it wasn't treated, claimed her life."
Astor, when the tale began, was expecting it to be boring, but how it was develpoing, he is now at attention. " That does sound as bad as being attacked..."
" And it can happen to anyone," Rose said sadly as she thought about something else, but goes back on track. " But, as you can guess, the treatment worked, and while it took days for her to recover, she couldn't believe that she missed the dance. She felt like she has let Cale down for not showing. Of course, her mother have made sure to let him know about the no-show. But Jessie worried all the same. She was positive that he was furious about it, especially since he hadn't checked in on her anytime. But as it is, at least she IS alive to see the other dances.
" On the day that she could return to her own home, one of the healers came in and told her to put on a robe while holding it out. This really puzzled Jessie, but she did as asked."
" Did Cale finally went to see her?" Astor said.
" Even better than that. Him, Jessie's two best friends and their dates, and her parents came into the room. " Would you care to dance?" he asked Jessie. " Just because you missed the dance doesn't mean we can't have our own right here, right now." Music from a tiny group outside played, and this really brought Jessie to tears as she accepted and, though can't walk all that well, just enjoyed being in his arms and swaying, while the other, even her parents, danced around them. " I'm so glad you're okay," he said to her. " I made trips to your house while your dad was there to check up on you." " They didn't tell me," she said in surprise as she tried to comb through her hair with her fingers. " Don't worry," he said with a smile. " You look beautiful." Jessie thanked God, who I believe in, for that moment." Astor simply stares in astonishment, which later turns into a yawn. " Alright, now that you had your story, go to sleep," Rose laughs as she starts to get up. Astor grabs her hand and pulls her back to to hug her around the neck again, surprising her tremendously.
" Don't ever die by those men, or by anything else," he said as he buries his face into her shoulder. " You really scared me, I thought I was going to watch another person in my life die..."
" Don't worry," Rose said softly as she hugs him awkwardly at first, then relaxes. " I don't think that I will be letting myself be an easy target again anytime soon."
" You better not be," he said as he pulls away and lays back down, yawning once more. Seconds later, he is out like a light.
Rose quietly sneaks out by going over to the door that connects to Rin's room and enters to find the girl, who is eagerly (and tiredly) waiting for her, already in bed. " What took you?" she asks as Rose went over to her and sits on the edge.
" You know stories takes a little bit of time to tell," Rose said as she pulls the cover to Rin's chin. " You really want to hear my horrible singing?"
" Please sing anyway!" She makes puppy-dog eyes, as well as lookg pitiful. Rose couldn't, again, resist. Rose nods with another small smile as she clears her throat and sings softly (to hide any sudden change of pitches without warning, which happens often to her)
" Somewhere, a voice calls,
In the depths of my heart
May I always be dreaming,
The dreams that move my heart
So many tears of sadness
Uncountable though and though
I know on the other side, of them,
I'll find you
Every time we fall down to the ground,
We look up to the blue sky above
We wake to its blueness,
As for the first time
Though the road is long and lonely
And the end far away, out of sight,
I can with these two arms,
Embrace the light
As I bid farewell, my heart stops,
In tenderness I feel
My silent empty body begins
To listen to what is real
The wonder of living,
The wonder of dying
The wind, town and flowers,
We all dance in unity."
Rin starts to drift to sleep, Rose notices, and continues with the song. She hums for a minute.
" Somewhere, a voice calls,
In the depths of my heart
Keep dreaming your dreams,
Don't ever let them part
Why speak of all your sadness,
Or of life's painful woes
Instead let the same lips sing,
A gentle song for you
The whispering voice,
We never want to forget,
In each passing memory
Always there guide you
When a mirror has been broken,
Shattered pieces scattered on the ground
Glimpses of new life,
Reflected all around
Window of beginning, stillness,
New light of the dawn
Let my silent empty body,
Be filled and reborn
No need to search outside,
Nor sail across the sea,
Cause here shining inside me,
It's right here inside me,
I've found a brightness,
It's always with me."
'Always With Me'
in
Spirited Away
Rose starts to creep out of the room when she sees that Rin finally fell asleep, humming the last parts. She gets out of the room and closes the door, without waking Rin. She turns to find Sesshomaru and Kasiya standing there.
" Jeez, are we trying to scare the skin off of me?" Rose said, though she remembers to keep her voice down.
" We were merely checking up," Kasiya said cheerfully. " The soldiers are now out of the wing, and security and guards has been tripled on Lord Sesshomaru's orders."
" Great. Well, I will be going to my room now," Rose said as she tries to escape the two's sight. Sesshomaru steps aside, but Kasiya went with Rose. " Yes, Kasiya?" Rose asks when she notices the water phoenix.
" I want to know how you manage to have the kids just be drawn to you. I find it amazing that despite your cool exterior, the kids just know that you cannot resist them."
" To this day, I still do not know. It has been like that ever since I was eight, with the much younger kids. Maybe it was because that I had practice with my nieces, most likely, that I grew to be patiant with children."
" One thing you have to be with the kits," Kasiya said as she smiles with her eyes. " Sorry for being a pest, and I thank you for answering."
" No problem," Rose said, but Kasiya already walks away. With that done, Rose opens her too-big-for-her-liking doors and lays on the bed, drifting to sleep voluntary for the first time in months, the nightmare not showing until hours later.
For Sesshomaru, he finds how Rose can handle kids much better than her fears slightly confusing. Despite that, he finds that she is a perfect mother to his 'adopted' human, Rin, as well as Astor. But... with how much she is still unwilling to follow his orders, other than teach the children, she is also someone who could bring disruption to his servents, and the children, turning them against him if she has the chance and will to do so. So, he then decides that he will follow Kasiya's advice, and 'get to know her better'.
YAYIES! I finished the chappie! And I must say, the length is not at all shabby - ten pages! Consider this a apoligy for not updating as I like to. Again, no internet. Bye until next chapter!