Author's Note: Short chapter ahead, but it's better than nothing. After all, I am posting during final exam week! Now that's conviction.
The three traveled back to the castle in silence. Mina couldn't care less about the tribute by this point; all she could do was stare at Sesshomaru's burnt arm, glaringly obvious considering his sleeve had flaked off bit by bit. And at the same time, she noticed that Sesshomaru continually glanced down at her, although Mina hadn't any idea what he could have been thinking.
Perhaps he was wondering what in the world had gone his head to justify such an irrational action!
Mai did not care about the couple in the least bit. She stared off into the distance, letting out the occasional dreamy sigh. Mina didn't understand the madness that this girl had to be suffering from—it had to be madness, why else would someone willingly go through such an awful thing? She chalked it up to an upbringing in a completely different (and mad) culture.
Whatever the case, she didn't feel bad for the girl any longer.
When the triage did make their return to the castle, Sesshomaru did not land in the castle grounds as Mina had expected. Instead, he continued on past the grounds and out into the forest. They landed at some point and walked through the maze of trees until Mina began to recognize where they were headed.
Her stomach clenched into a knot and she had to remind herself that nothing bad would happen this time. This time, Mai would be tribute. Mai would suffer. Sesshomaru would not leave her again. He had just saved her life, he wouldn't dare abandon her. Not after all they had been through.
But no matter how many logical arguments she made, her stomach would not settle and the nausea grew with each step closer to the decrepit cabin. Sesshomaru tore his gaze from Mina and instead stared forward the entire way. He didn't even seem to notice the way Minako's knees trembled when the cabin came into sight.
A light flickered from within, reflecting on the broken glass of the windows. Mina's stomach clenched so tightly that it took all of her might not to double over in pain. Her head was spinning, images of dark places and sick, wet, chewing sounds filling her mind and overwhelming her senses. She fell back as the other two filed into the small room.
Vadoma waited inside. She seemed to grin from ear to ear, and her stomach protruded out as if she had been pregnant for months. When Mai stepped inside, the wyrm looked the girl up and down before nodding.
"The perfect surrogate. I take it the family is pleased?"
"Indeed," Sesshomaru said.
"And I take it you stupidly brought your intended as well," she commented, nodding to the disgusting burns on his exposed arm. "The Guardian won't let any dragon hanyou leave, you realize."
"I noticed."
Vadoma instructed Mai to lay back on a table before disappearing behind a curtain. She continued on as she did whatever mysterious business she needed to. "And I suppose they want me to bring my child back as proof? I know all about their rituals. I accept. Not a trifle in my schedule. Alexia could use the social interaction, anyway."
"So you've named her?" Mai piped up. "What a beautiful name."
"Isn't it?" Vadoma smiled, stepping out from behind the curtain. She held a large bowl in her hands and her stomach seemed flat. Mina felt bile rise in her throat at the realization of the bowl's contents.
The wyrm's bangles clinked together as she gingerly set the bowl down and suddenly procured a small knife from her heavy layers of clothing. Without any warning, she pressed it against the girl's stomach, blood pooling out as she drew a slit down her gut.
And horrifically enough, Mai couldn't have looked happier. Of course, she flinched, but that was only out of instinct. Mina found herself leaning back against Sesshomaru, unable to stand on her own.
Vadoma reached into the bowl and delicately withdrew a writhing little white blob. It hissed as she pressed it into the wound, pushing it deep within Mai's womb. When she pulled back empty-handed, she reached back into the bowl and went on to slather the black ooze onto Mai's stomach. When she wiped it all away, the wound seemed to have closed itself up.
Mina trembled uncontrollably, watching with horror. Mai beamed, accepting Vadoma's help in standing up and then hugging the wyrm tightly, her now inflating stomach creating some distance. The room seemed so dark, and darkening. Mai's stomach seemed to move, and she could almost hear the monster inside. Hissing, moving, eating, crunching.
That sick wet sound of being eaten from the inside out.
The room was so dark, she could hardly tell the difference as she hit the floor.