Of Departure and Performance

"You are sure that you heard correctly?" Izayoi stared at the piece of paper before her, her hands poised midway in the air, allowing the ink to drip unto the paper that she had so meticulously wrote on for the past hour. She was entranced by how the liquid spread out like a black void, crawling slowly over the rough fibers of the paper and swallowing the words of repentance.

"I am afraid that my hearing has not failed me, my lady," Izayoi's personal attendant whispered nervously. She was the only one allowed to visit her lady freely and frequently, bringing food and all sorts of news. Currently though, the attendant was hoping she didn't need to act as the harbinger of bad news.

Ever since Sesshoumaru's surprise visit, the guards outside Izayoi's room and around the perimeters of the castle had doubled. The amount of priests had also doubled. But none was worse to Izayoi than the decision her father made regarding her future. Said woman's lips quivered pathetically as she tugged at the collar of her kouchigi*. The room suddenly seemed much more stifling and morbid. Finally, with trembling voice, she managed to ask, "Is it so that I am bound to Sir Takemaru once I finished repentance?"

"Yes, my lady," the attendant replied quietly, her voice equally deflated. Being her lady's long-time friend, she had long suspected that the keen 'interest' her lady took in the demon lord was not purely gratitude, but another level of affection. Of course, she had never dared voice it out for fear of creating more scandalous rumors of her lady. After all, the walls of the castle have ears.

"But why?" Izayoi stared hollowly as the ink continued its gluttonous pathway across the paper, as if mocking all her efforts that she had spent on copying the scrolls. Does it matter anymore that she copied these characters when her future was shattered by her father's decision? Takemaru had no property, wealth or resource. He was not of noble blood, which made him lower on the hierarchical rank than her. There was no reason why her father would marry her to Takemaru.

But the attendant apparently had the reason: "The lord claims that all other royalties have retracted their proposals once they learned of your meeting with the demon lord. He was worried that your status as an unmarried woman will prevent him from getting an heir to his inheritance. It seems that the next best option is Sir Takemaru," the attendant chose her words carefully. She sidestepped the fact that rumors were already circulating around the court about Izayoi's 'affair' with the demon, created by none other than the counselors themselves. They are men who are eager to watch the downfall of Izayoi's family so that they can acquire the wealth and position quicker.

Frankly speaking, he was tired, tired of all the formalities and tension. The past few days were filled with sleepless nights thinking about a certain young woman and replaying the same scene over and over. Sometimes in his dreams, there would be a younger girl in place of princess. Both females looked immensely alike and it troubled him. The dreams were trying to tell him something… Touga stopped his line of thoughts and eyed the human messenger before him. He had to admit that the messenger was a brave young man to have braved a visit the Western Land by himself.

"- and so, my lord wishes that we reach an agreement," the messenger said in a gusto. He insinuated ever so slightly with his tone what the consequences would be if Touga do not accept the 'agreement'.

No need to say, Touga was none too pleased when he found a human messenger two days later in his courtroom, bringing him news about a 'mysterious silver-haired dog demon' that visited the lady. He had already guessed whom the human was referring to, but could not fathom why this mystery demon would chance a visit to a human dwelling, unless…

"My lord requests your response," the messenger tentatively repeated, seeing that Touga was not replying to him.

"Give me one day to consider your lord's proposal before I give an answer. In the meantime, you may stay on my palace grounds without interference from the demons," Touga answered. He did not expect things to deprecate from bad to worse so quickly.

As the human messenger retired, Touga faced his advisors, all of whom have already gathered inside the courtroom the whole time the human messenger was relaying his message. "So, what say you to the proposition by the human lord?"

The human lord – Izayoi's father – had decided to draw a clear boundary around his land and asked that the demons do not trespass beyond that point. In order to ensure that both sides do not renege on their agreement, the human lord had requested that they set demon sentries on the demon's side of the boundary and human sentries on the human side of the boundary. If anyone violated the treaty, it will be a full-out war between humans and demons. And if Touga declined the offer, there would undoubtedly be a war.

"I believe that we do not have a choice, the humans made it clear," one of the advisors growled.

"Personally, I don't see any disadvantage stemming from this treaty, m'lord. We keep out of their lands and they keep out of ours," a second advisor volunteered. "In fact, they agreed to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with us as long as we keep our part of the treaty."

"That lord has yet to specify what this 'mutually beneficial relationship' is," a third one replied. "My lord, I request that you give further consideration to this treaty. Enemies could use the human lands as a shield and hide behind it, and we would not be able to pursue them once they pass the boundary. The human lands will become a haven for them." Several advisors nodded grimly.

"I understand that," Touga rubbed his temple, "but the human lord has made it explicit that should we deny his proposal, he would declare war on us. The last thing I need on my hands is another war when our troops have just recovered from the previous battle. They are still weary. The rebel demons and demons from mainland** might decide to take advantage of our vulnerable position. I cannot afford to have another war." There was murmur of agreements amongst the advisors as they realize that they were offered no choice in the matter. The human messenger was summoned for and left the next day with a message for his lord.

"What? We bowed down to the humans' demands?" Touga's wife whirled around to face her husband, their cold war temporarily forgotten. For once, her cool façade receded into a terrifying snarl.

Touga had taken on himself to tell his wife about the news, lest she decided to amputate another messenger. "Indeed, but we wouldn't have been in such a difficult position had it not been for someone," Touga growled towards Sesshoumaru with a glare that promised a long talk with said son later that night. His wife saw his glare and gripped his chin forcefully, staring into his equally fiery eyes.

"Don't you dare accuse our son for your weakness with humans. Everything would have been fine if you left that human woman to die," she spat the word human like it was something vile. "But no, you have to save her and look where it land us in," she mocked. "I have enough of this." Just as sudden as the outburst of her temper, she regained her composure, flung her hair back and stepped towards the sliding door.

Touga reached out his hand and grabbed his wife's with slight force. "Where do you intend to go?"

"I will leave and return to whence I came from. I would not have my blood relatives ridicule me for marrying a husband who bent down to the humans' whims. Until you set things right, I shall remain in my own land, now unhand me." The demoness hissed as she looked about ready to kill.

Touga was so shocked by his wife's response that he involuntarily loosened his grip. With a quick flick, his wife whipped her hand away from his grasp and flew through the door, transforming back to her elegant canine form once in the air. This was the first time that she had been enraged enough to leave her husband. But he knew better than to stop her, she would only vent her rage on him before leaving again. When his wife decided to leave, she was too stubborn to listen to anyone else. He sat there, shocked, completely oblivious to the amber eyes that watched everything with keen interest.

"I must go," Izayoi gripped her attendant's shoulders tightly, causing the smaller girl to wince. "I cannot marry Sir Takemaru. I am afraid I will go mad with grief if I do marry him."

With each day Izayoi's repentance period came closer to an end. She was not ready to face the fact that she will be married right away to her family's bodyguard. No, she was not even ready to face the truth that she had no more choice in the matter. She was brought up believing that she had the choice to choose her suitors, but all of her ideals perished the night the attendant told her about her father's decision.

It did not help that Izayoi's dreams were constantly plagued with the image of a fair-haired man with firm jaws and impressive brows. He was magnificent in her dreams, coming to rescue her from her confinements within her own home. He would take her to an unknown land, sheltered and secluded from the outside world, and they would settle down. Then they would have a small family, and their land would grow prosperous with food. It was such a happy and carefree sensation that Izayoi often awoke with tears streaming down her face and a gentle smile on her features. What did she do to not deserve a life of freedom?

"You…you cannot leave my lady," the attendant nervously casted her eyes towards the doorway, making sure that no one heard. "It's impossible with the amount of people they stationed around here."

"I have to. I can tolerate being scolded, talked about behind my back, but I cannot stand having a man whom I don't love beside me for the rest of my life," Izayoi's dark brown eyes pleaded her attendant.

"But you can learn to love him," the attendant suggested meekly. Even she thought that she didn't sound convincing at all.

The lady shook her head sadly, "I have always believed in marrying a man of my dreams, regardless of what he is. If I were to marry Sir Takemaru, I would be going against my own believes, my own dreams and everything that I stood for. I would lose myself." A lone tear streaked down her cheek.

Scared and worried at the same time, the attendant patted her lady soothingly. "Worry not my lady; I will try to find a way for you to escape from here."

When the attendant had said that she would find a way, Izayoi did not expect her to come up with a solution two days later. As usual, Izayoi was copying the last of her scrolls of atonement under the feeble candle light, her eyes betraying her dread when she was finally done with this deed. She tried writing slower and more elaborately to postpone the date for her release. That was when the attendant slipped into her room in the dead of night.

"My lady!" The attendant hissed softly, finger gently prodding her lady. She had observed the sentries around the castle carefully for the past two days, and noted down the time they changed shifts. That way, it was easier for her to go into her lady's room in the middle of the night without rousing the suspicions from the guards. Even though she was given the privilege to visit her lady freely, it would still be hard to explain if anyone asked her why she would visit her lady in the middle of the night.

"What is it?" Izayoi asked hurriedly once she got over her initial shock of her attendant's surprise visit.

"A messenger returned today and reported that the demons of the Western Land have agreed to a treaty with your father. In order to celebrate this event, the lord wanted to hold a banquet in four days. This would provide you with a chance to escape."

Izayoi's eyes gleamed optimistically in the dark. "A chance to escape?"

"Yes, but it would be very perilous. If you are caught, I'm afraid…" The attendant did not finish her sentence. Both of them knew that if Izayoi dared foolishly escape again, her father would churn up a heavier punishment that might involve heads falling towards the ground. When her lady nodded for her to continue, the attendant sighed. "During the banquet, as a sign of peace, the lord will invite other human lords along with the lord of the Western Land. The castle grounds will be crowded with people. People would be entering and leaving the entrance, and the sentries would have to let down their guards somewhat with so many people. You could disguise as a servant and find a way to slip past the scrutiny of the guards. From there on, you can escape.

"Once you escape, I can arrange for one of my trusted friends to have a rendezvous with you in the forests surrounding the castle. She lives in a small village five miles east of this castle. You would need to travel by night to avoid being caught. With the bustling in the castle ground, the lord would likely take around one hour before he noticed your absence. You would need to sneak out and be on your way within that hour," the attendant halted, drawing in her breath.

Izayoi almost felt like clapping her hands in glee, but instead opt to embrace her attendant warmly. "Thank you, thank you so much!" She whispered fiercely.

The attendant offered a feeble smile before pushing herself slightly away from her lady's enthusiastic hug, "My lady, while it seems like there is a chance for you to escape, there are fallbacks." At her lady's curious gaze, she sighed, "Let's assume you do escape from this place. Wither would you go thence? What would you do? My lady, the outside world is filled with perils unknown to you. It is not fit for a lone woman to strive in this world. I fear for you."

There it went again, the talk about how she was not meant to survive outside because she was a lady. The talk about how women cannot stand for themselves. All her life she had been told again and again that her status as a woman would hinder her. It was truly infuriating.

"Perhaps so far no women have managed to survive outside on their own, perhaps no lord's daughter had dared defy her father, but there is always a first. I am willing to be the first to seek out my own path." Izayoi said, her heart beating wildly. She had never said such a daring thing before, but now she had her frustrations to fuel her towards her own goal.

The attendant saw the fire burning behind Izayoi's eyes and closed her eyes, hoping that what she was doing was right.

4 days later, the day of the banquet

The castle ground was transformed in the four day period. It no longer carried that foreboding sense of dullness that permeated from every pore of the structure. Instead, the castle was re-decorated from the inside out into a grand building that would be the subject of many poets' works in the future. The wooden frames were re-painted with dark red dyes to better enhance the festive mood and give it an appearance of affluence. The wooden floor were wiped so many times that it gleamed in the dark. The interior of the castle donned on lavish tapestries, each woven with thousands of threads to create intricate patterns. Sounds of pans and plates clashing emanated from the kitchen area where servants and cooks avoided tripping each other while rushing about their chores. Outside the building, the gardens were replanted with blossoming floras of every type: peonies, chrysanthemums, irises and much more. Their colors created stark contrast against one another, each emitting their own unique fragrance.

By now, most of the human lords have gathered about the main chamber. They were mostly tensed with the idea that a demon lord will be amongst them that night. This will be the first time in history that a human lord willingly invited a demon lord to feast together. Most of them didn't even know what a demon lord would look like.

A gasp followed by awestruck silence ensued when Touga made his entrance. He had transformed into his canine form and flew to the human castle, accompanied by demon escorts. His humongous body casted a large shadow over the castle ground before he took a dip and landed in a cloud of smoke in the gardens. The smoke cleared to reveal his majestic figure.

The humans remained dumbstruck. Never had they met before a being of such grace, which exuded an aura of immense power and demanded respect immediately.

It took a moment before Izayoi's father regained his senses. He forced a smile unto his face as he stepped out of the chamber. "Welcome, Lord Touga, the feast is about to begin."

On the other side of the castle, two shadows crept along the grounds, their bodies sticking closely to the castle walls. So far, none of the servants have spied them yet.

"We are almost there," the attendant whispered to her lady behind her.

Izayoi merely nodded. She had casted down her precious kouchigi and instead changed into a plainer kimono that her mother had gave her before she died. She tied her hair into a tight-fitting bun so that no one could see the glossy strands and suspect her. Over her head she wore a dark red veil to hide her delicate features. With luck, they would make it out of the castle grounds without anyone noticing.

Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. Just as they were nearing the exit, the head servant*** spotted them and motioned for them to come closer. "Hark, you two there! What are you doing creeping around?"

Izayoi panicked. What if she was found out now? Will her father enact an even heavier punishment? Her desperate eyes sought out those of her attendant's.

The attendant looked scared for a moment, before she regained her composure and gave Izayoi's hand a gentle squeeze. She motioned secretly for Izayoi to remain silent as she led them both towards the head servant.

"What are you two doing out here?" The head servant demanded as he crossed his arms.

"My apologies sir, but I found one of the performers lost. He was scared that the leader will punish him and therefore requested that I bring him back stealthily to the camp." Izayoi shot an alarmed look at her attendant. Did her attendant just say that she was a performer? A male performer nonetheless?****

The head servant scrutinized the pair suspiciously. After deciding that Izayoi's slightly more elaborate costume was proof that she was a member of the performance troop that the lord hired, he nodded his head. "Get him there and then report immediately to the kitchen. They need more help there!"

"Yes sir," the attendant bowed and led Izayoi away towards the performance rooms.

"What am I going to do now?" Izayoi whispered frantically as they approach the performers' rooms where they prepared for the dance.

"We will have to change our plans," the attendant whispered fiercely back. "I cannot lead you back to the exit since it will rouse suspicions. For now, stay within this vicinity. There is another exit near the South wing where the performers' make-up rooms are. The sentries there change their shifts around every three hours." She stopped and glanced up at the sky to approximate the time. "I think in another half an hour they will change their shifts again. You can escape then. Once you are outside, follow the castle walls until you reach the previous exit that we are going to go through. Head straight into the forest and my friend will be waiting there."

"But this will only leave half an hour's time to leave the castle perimeters," Izayoi's voice was laced with worry.

The attendant turned around to face her lady. "I fear that this is our only choice currently. We will be tight on time and it will be dangerous. Are you willing to risk it, my lady?"

The simple question weighed heavily in the air, but Izayoi only took a moment to deliberate, "yes." She had gone so far to prove her dream and all would be wasted if she turn back now on a moment's whim.

"Then stay here and observed the exit carefully. I must part now before the head servant become too suspicious. May we meet again," the attendant said. They shared a silent hug and parted ways.

Alone now, Izayoi tried to keep her calm. She tried convincing herself that she would make it out of the castle grounds safely. She eyed the sentries there. They did not notice her, which meant that she was safe for now. Just another half an hour…

"Hey you, the one with the veil!" Izayoi's heart nearly stopped beating when she realized that someone was talking to her. A young man with a cheery disposition stepped into her line of vision. "Are you one of the performers?"

Izayoi nodded mutely. The man before her eyed her closely, "You know, I have never seen you before in the troop. With such a feminine face as yours, one would think that you are the head performer for the princess's role in the snow crane. Who are you?"

"I…" Izayoi sought for an answer in her mind. She only knew about the performers in her father's castles, not the ones being invited tonight, "I am a member of the royal entertainer. Perhaps that is why you have not seen me before." She hoped that she fooled the young man.

Sure enough, the young man's eyes flashed and he grinned, "I knew it! That explains why I have never seen you before! It is an honor to meet a member of the royal entertainer; after all, my troop and I are only wandering performers that chanced to be in this area during the banquet. And to think that I am lucky enough to be talking to a performer of such high rank! I have to say, your voice is just the perfect pitch for the princess's role – though I have no idea how you gave such a feminine twist to your voice – and your appearance and make-ups are superb! I take it you must be the performer for snow crane?"

Poor Izayoi was too overwhelmed by the young man's blabbering. She replied an uncertain "yes" without knowing what she was getting herself into. She was dimly aware of being ushered into the rooms to meet other performers who swarmed her. They were all exclaiming over her 'beauty' and pitch change. Nor was she aware of being ushered into another room to change by herself.

When the princess was finally conscious again of her surrounding, she found herself walking with a few other men. She also noticed that she had changed into a beautiful kimono of flowing white with several layers of kimono underneath the white one. In her hands was a parasol.

"Where- where are we going?" Izayoi finally found her voice again.

"Why, the stage of course! I am surprise you could still joke before your performance. I always find it unnerving, especially in front of so many lords," the young man she met earlier was beside her, his face painted in white. He wore a wig and had make-up put all over his face so that he looked like a woman.

The group made it to a wide platform with painted sceneries in the back. A few ways off, a red curtain draped over the stage, covering the audience from the actors.

The stage…

"Wait, but I can't –" Izayoi could barely say anything before the curtains pulled back, revealing her to the audience. She met the gaze of her father and a two pairs of amber eyes.

And a long long author's note:

* kouchigi: a seven layered kimono worn by court ladies on normal occasions. On more formal occasions, they wore the junihitoe, a 12-layer dress

** Mainland: refers to China

*** Head servant: Since there are so many servants working, there is usually one (or more) head servant that acts as a manager. Their job is to direct the servants about their chores and overlook the servant population

**** Male performer: In ancient times, only males are allowed to perform. For female roles, the male performers usually wore extensive make-up and clothing to signify that they are acting as females. Henceforth most of the performers are amazed at how closely Izayoi resembles a female as they didn't know that Izayoi is indeed a girl.

Finally another chapter done! I was busier this time around working on my manga, which I just finished inking the first chapter. I can't wait till I finished toning all the pages!

Ahem, now back to the story: you might have noticed that I picked up the pace slightly and rushed the story a little. I looked back and thought that I spent too much time writing about the details and not the actions. I was actually having a hard time deciding how I was going to let Touga and Izayoi 'mate'. If I followed the traditions of the era back then, it would take chapters before they even muster enough courage to hold hands (after all, men and women aren't that direct during that time). So being the omnipotent author that I am, I decided to click fast-forward and move the story on. Yes, they have already fallen in love though they are in denial. Yes, their relationship is going to accelerate from this point on. And let's just hope it doesn't spiral out of control...

I don't particularly like how I crafted Izayoi in this chapter. She seems too much like the hyper, cliché heroine who defies everything instead of the calm, collected woman she is in the anime. But once again, this is because I want to pick up speed with the plot. If she is calm, she would have just accepted the marriage with Takemaru and that would be the end of the story already, no? ):

Thank you so much for the reviews, Alic.P and metsfan101, you guys made my day!

Further reviews appreciated! =]