XSweetXSourXSoulX: Who is this common enemy indeed? owo
silver-nightstorm: I like how you like how Loreli hasn't totally caved in to Madara's Madaraness?
xxyangxx2006: You know, I can't resist replying to something like that. So here's a reply! And thanks for reading xD
ChainedHs2rt: I'm glad to hear Loreli is an unique character in your experiences! I actually didn't expect her to turn out this way...but she did. I'm learning more about her as I write, too! lol
Till You Die
34 - Mistress of the Clan III
The Shujinchi Castle. Situated high above the reefs off the south coast of the Fire Country. Once, before a mysterious plague struck its inhabitants many decades ago, it had lit the beacon for trade ships coming in from the Water Country. Once, it had known fame and prosperity.
Those were days of the past, and long since had the castle limited contact with the outside world. Yet there it was, still; its glorious white walls standing bold and fearless above the jagged rocks of Dragon Peak.
Like a glamorous...
white...pearl.
"...Are you done with that yet?" she turned to ask her shinobi guard, Murata.
He was kneeling in the sand, freeing the last of the weapons still strapped to his shin. Tossing the blades to the small pile beside him, Murata rose to a full stand.
She saw the Uchiha elite swayed under the direct sun, but he caught himself at once.
"Are you quite alright?" Loreli asked calmly, knowing it was probably the effect of the chakra-suppressing pill the head medic prescribed for him.
His eyes, onyx black, went to her briefly. She was beginning to recognize the stoic glares typical to the clan of Uchiha.
"Now remember," Loreli told him. "No stealthy movements, no Sharingan under any circumstances, and no being glued to my side as though the walls are going to jump me at any moment."
"I must protest, my lady," Murata interrupted. "If the Sorairo knew their own weakness, precautions would have been taken."
She shrugged and glanced up at the Shujinchi Castle.
"As far as I know, the medics of the Sorairo have been banned from entering. Rumour has it that they had something to do with the plague all those years ago."
"It could be a trap," Murata stated insistently. This was probably the closest they have gotten to a conversation yet. It said something about how objected he was to this operation.
"...I'll protect you," Loreli stated with a small, helpless shrug.
"But if you cannot abide by my rules," she added coolly, "Don't think of coming with me."
"That won't be acceptable, my lady," Murata replied seriously.
"Then we're agreed." She reached down to pick up one of the discarded kunai from the sand. She beckoned him to lean forward.
The ninjutsu expert didn't even flinch as she cropped off the ends of his beautiful long hair.
"I don't care where your loyalty lies," Loreli said. "For the duration of this mission." She flicked the kunai up in a quick motion, pausing right before meeting his eyes. "You place your life in my hands...Understand?"
...His stoic onyx eyes watched her, unchanging; unblinking.
...
She pulled the blade away, tossing it down to the sand. "Good...You will do."
Loreli went to the bottom of the long, winding road up the cliff. She paused there, gazing up. It was going to be a tedious trek.
"Well," she asked, "are you coming or not?"
The sun. It was past midday already.
Loreli leaned against the support of her wood staff, simultaneously huffing and coughing her lungs out.
"-You're not-" huff "-telling anyone-" cough cough "-how much I struggled with this."
The captain of the guard came out to meet them.
"Hail, travelers. What business have you here at the castle?"
...She had waited until there wasn't even a single hitch in her slow, even breathing before she had approached the gates. Traveling healers did not appear on the verge of collapsing just by journeying up a cliff.
"I am no common traveler, Captain," she said smoothly. "I am the Lady of Stillwaters...surely you recognize one of your native country?"
Surprise was evident on the guard captain's tanned, sea-toughened face. He took in her stature and her features, but was quick to reply with a frown, "We heard the Hermitess was dead. All the search parties we send out-...Aren't you too young to be the formidable hermitess who can cure any ailment should any manage to find her?"
The young woman was silent for a moment, her lips sealed.
"She is dead." Loreli spoke calmly. "Fifteen years ago, during a ninja attack."
Her eyes lowered.
"I am her successor."
"You?" Incredulity coloured the captain's expression. "The reputation of the Lady of Stillwater is not something carelessly inherited!"
Perhaps it was in his threatening tone, or the way he stiffened up taller.
"Captain-" A shorter, lanky man came up to his side. "Whether she is who she claims she is or not...the man behind her," he warned, eyes directing at the shinobi guard behind her. "I sense an enormous killing intent from him. Unless I'm mistaken, he is a ninja."
Loreli closed her eyes briefly and breathed in softly. So much for hoping to pass the gate check without resorting to violence.
In one hand, she lifted her heavy wooden staff she had used to help her on the road.
And swung.
WH-ACK
"Didn't I tell you. to not bare your fangs at our hosts?" she darkly asked.
...Blood trickled down from the gash on Murata's left temple. He didn't react or activate his Sharingan, but his eyes watched her with something fearsome and sinister.
She smiled a tiny, cruel smile.
"My," she remarked in a coy, taunting manner. "That is a good look..." A haughty tilt of her head. "But remember who you owe your life to."
...
...She then dismissed him entirely from her notice, turning back to two stunned men.
"You'll have to excuse him, my good men," Loreli lightly drawled. Nonchalantly waving to her shinobi guard, "He is a rough one. I found him at the remnants of a battlefield and snatched him from death's grasp," she claimed.
"He absolutely...loathes me," she informed her audience with a small, helpless shrug. She could still feel his expressionless scowl burning into her back. By now he should have fully understood her intention. "But, there's not much he could do about it." Loreli smiled prettily.
"...Only I can keep making him the medicine he needs to stay alive."
The lanky one approached them. "Even so," he said. "all who possess ninja blood is forbidden to enter. "If you'll-"
She stopped his hand with her staff.
Cold voice. "Don't touch him, medic."
"This one lets me approach him because he needs me," she coolly remarked, indicating to Murata with an incline of her head. "But anyone else...well..."
"The last thing I need is to leave a blood-stained first impression on my hosts," said Loreli.
The captain of the guards signaled the medic back. A sea breeze blew over the small gathering before the gates.
"That is unfortunate," the guard captain stated abruptly. "We abide by strict rules here." There was the air of finality in that. "Even if you are the legendary hermitess you claim to be," he began, but she calmly interrupted.
"How strange..." Loreli commented, expression thoughtful. "I was under the impression that a secluded castle harbouring a lasting illness would not have its choice of healers flinging themselves against its gates."
A small sigh. She gave a small, helpless shrug and shook her head from side to side. "Alas...what can I say? And after I came all the way up here...Ah."
She gazed at them pleasantly.
"But, if there is a much easier way down, do let me know," she requested lightly.
"I have noticed the markings left by my predecessors on their way up," she elaborated, gesturing with her hands. "...But none going down. Perhaps they were shown another route upon their leave?" she proposed.
"Ah, speaking of which," Loreli deliberately carried on. "You men here appear in good health..." and with a tiny, cryptic smile "...hailing from a place rumoured to be devastated by a mysterious plague. How very fortunate."
Tension descended all at once, smacking her full force.
The guard captain held up a rigid posture beneath his armour.
"How much," he asked commandingly, "Do you know?"
...Aside from the guess that no healer had been allowed to return alive?
"My good men," Loreli replied confidently, "...I am here to help you."
"But..." A light sigh. "If possible, I want to avoid being brought through in chains—...I've an image to maintain, you see. Well...what do you have to lose, anyway...?" she asked. "Surely with no cure, you'll all eventually fall victim to the plague..."
The guard captain was motionless, frowning. The guards behind him, however, gave away telltale signs of discomfort by shifting.
"If you yourself do not have the power to make the decision," Loreli suggested pleasantly, "Fetch me the steward of the castle."
She waited...
"Are you thinking of letting her through, Captain?" the medic asked the guard captain in a covert exchange. But not quiet enough. "She is mad and potentially dangerous!"
"She is the Lady of Stillwaters," the guard captain replied, "she might be able to find a cure."
"But she is not the Lady of Stillwaters! She is her successor! The real Lady of Stillwaters would have been able to, but to think this girl—"
"The real Lady of Stillwaters," Loreli surprised them by randomly adding, "...would have been able to understand the dialect of the north, as well."
...She could have sworn that medic turned a shade paler underneath her veiled gaze.
"Enough," the captain of the guards ordered. "The steward will deal with this." He turned and signaled to the guards manning the gate. "Let them through!"
Well...that took longer than it should have.
Loud, dulling clanks and shouts sounded overhead as the heavy gates rolled back to allow them entrance. Wood creaked and hinges scratched, attesting to the infrequency of use these gates were exposed to.
Truth be told, she didn't know what she could expect to see behind those gates. But the view that met her eyes...
Chimes rang with the sea breeze, dangling from the ornate corners of the high towers. The walls and rooftops were a gleaming, pearly white, designed to keep its inhabitants cool during the Fire Country's hot, treeless summers.
The architecture and the upkeep... It was beautiful. What a shame that it wasn't a view open to outside eyes.
"This way," the guard captain beckoned, leading onward.
...It wasn't exactly a bustle, but there were people moving about. What a curious sight they must be, for many paused and parted a wide path, watching as they passed.
...So it wasn't that the castle had emptied during the past few decades. She supposed that knowledge was a relief...
"In here," the guard captain informed them, sliding open the screen door to a large chamber lined with shelves on two adjacent walls. "The steward will be with you shortly."
With a curt nod, the captain and the two guards at his side left.
The screen slid closed behind them.
...
A nice, spacious room. Just a little nostalgic.
...She went to the shelves, finding them stacked with medicinal supplies. Browsing through the items, she picked out a pair of tweezers and some sterilized fabric. They certainly live up to their reputation of being what was once a prosperous trade site: all their tools were made of silver.
"The Lady of Stillwaters," Murata's voice interrupted the silence.
...She turned slightly to look at him.
"She was a real person," Loreli said. "...Though her reputation has become quite overstated with time. It has gotten us in with fewer questions asked, nonetheless."
"Come here." The young woman waved Murata to her. "I will treat that wound."
"That is unnecessary, my lady," he replied bluntly, not moving a step.
...He was always that way. She couldn't tell if he were angry with her.
Lowly. "Don't be mistaken," she nonchalantly said. "You are bleeding on the floor. I cannot risk your exposure as a shinobi of the Uchiha clan."
Though she said it that way...by comparison, the hands which worked on his wound...were surprisingly gentle.
"Tell me," she said. "How many medics can you sense in the vicinity?"
His onyx black eyes slid stealthily to one side.
"One...Two full-fledged chakra signatures. Two vaguer presences further away. Any further, I cannot make out from here, " he reported.
"...Only that many, huh?" Loreli let slip a small, wry smile. "...If it's only this many...I suppose you men didn't need me to come."
She held up a hand, silencing him.
"...But since I'm already here...I will see it through," she said.
A knock on the wood frame interrupted them both.
The screen slid open to reveal a kneeling young girl, her face painted white.
"Pardon my intrusion, my lady," the servant girl said with head bowed low and eyes respectfully glued to the floor. "The lord steward is finishing up with some important matters and will attend to you shortly. He sends his regards, and some of our castle's finest herbal tea while you wait."
The servant girl picked up the tray left at her side and shuffled quietly into the room, leaving the tray on the flat wooden table in the center of the room. She then bowed and retreated, stopping outside the doorway to kneel and bow again in their direction before sliding the screen shut.
...
She went to it.
"My lady," Murata's voice warned. She glanced back at him.
...Ah.
"I just remembered..." Loreli replied, holding up the pair of silver tweezers between two fingers. "Silver...is said to have an interesting property, is it not?"
She seated gracefully herself before the low table.
Reaching for one of the ornate porcelain cups, she gingerly brought it over to her side. The tweezers dropped in with a plop.
She waited...
It wasn't mere extravagance. There was a reason why their tools were made of the finest polished silver.
...
Nothing appeared to happen at first. Then...slowly and mysteriously...the pure silver beneath the waterline bled into a pale, faint purple.
"Return to the stronghold," Murata said. "There is no reason for you to take this risk."
Footfalls.
Loreli smiled dryly. "...It is a little late for that."
The screen door shoved open with a loud bang.
The offensive sound was quickly succeeded by a blur of rustling metal and abrupt movement.
There must have been a dozen of them. Guards. Heavily armoured guards.
A grunt tore itself from Murata's throat as his shoulder and knee grazed the floor, his limbs restricted by the heavy metal chains wrapped around him. The guards were pulling on those chains, attempting to keep him immobile with all their strength as he put up a struggle.
"Don't."
It was the only word she said, but he stopped his moving at once.
"My humblest apologies for the rudeness." The elegant man wearing a nobleman's attire came forward from behind the guards. Motioning to her shinobi guard with a flick of his fan. "I was told this one is dangerous."
She made no indication of rising from her seat cushion.
"The lord steward, I presume?" Loreli drawlingly replied in greeting. "Upon whose accusations are you basing this treatment toward a guest?"
"I hope you understand, my lady," the steward replied. "I was informed that this man is potentially a ninja assassin." His grey, hawk-like stare rested on hers. "It is a risk we hope to avoid having in our castle."
...
She set down her cup; the tea remain untouched.
"Then let us be frank, shall we?"
Loreli looked up with her cool, half-lidded eyes.
"...If that man over there were a ninja...do you suppose he could be held down by mere chains?"
Alas, that didn't seem to rattle him in the least.
"Certain protocol I must follow," the steward replied easily. His fan slapped close in the palm of his hand. "I am not the one who make the rules here, dear lady."
...
"And I suppose poisoning your guests is also part of this protocol," Loreli observed pleasantly.
"That was but a simple test," the steward replied, as though it was a dismissible matter she should already know. "A healer of your caliber should have had no trouble detecting the presence of a common poison. I see that you did not disappoint."
The steward went on, starting to pace his side of the room, "For years we have offered a king's ransom for a healer with great enough aptitude to end our...predicament. The number of imposters we have had is rather...discouraging."
...
She was silent for a long moment as she contemplated.
...They were already suspicious of Murata's background; to leave the Uchiha shinobi with them wouldn't exactly be the wisest of choices. Nevertheless...the steward's talk of imposters was not lost on her.
"...Very well," Loreli finally said. "I'll hand him over for safekeeping. For now."
...She glanced over at her shinobi guard as they dragged him away. "Behave yourself. Understand?"
"I am grateful for your cooperation, my lady," the steward said, gesturing for the remaining guards to clear the room. "This is a matter better discussed alone."
He came over to the table, seating himself regally across from her.
"To the present date, no one aside from healers who passed the tests have learned of the task required of them," the steward informed her.
...
"And you killed those who didn't?" Loreli calmly asked.
...His fan snapped open with a flick of his wrist. "You are a shrewd woman," the steward replied, and it was neither in the form of a compliment nor insult. "Surely," he emphasized, "you realize the repercussions for your clan should I choose to reveal its name and bold actions to the other feudal lords. The world knows Shujinchi Castle has maintained its neutral stance for generations: it has no allies, nor should it have enemies seeking to infiltrate it."
Her grip tightened on the fabric of her robe.
"Oh...?" She gave a tiny, knowing smile. "This...coming from a castle with mysterious disappearances of its visiting healers over the years?"
That grip on the fan tightened, causing the folds to close a bit.
"I am due to report back in a few days," Loreli added in a nonchalant manner. "I guarantee you they will conduct a thorough investigation following my disappearance...and who knows what that will turn up?"
Slightly, just ever so slightly, she leaned forward and said to him: "If you want to go down together, you can be my guest..."
The two representatives of their respective strongholds stared each other down.
"Hm...I'll tell you something good..." Loreli was the first to speak. A tiny, cold smile."...I couldn't care less about all those healers who came before me."
"I have something you want...and I believe you have something I want. I am perfectly happy to deliver my end of the bargain first."
"Some other things..." Loreli observed "...are better left unsaid...don't you agree?"
His wary grey eyes peered at her over the screen of his folding fan.
"And what is this 'something' of which you speak?" his aristocratic voice inquired.
"Just the use of Shujinchi Castle's widely-famed royal library," she said. "Nothing you will be missing."
He appeared to ponder for a moment.
Snapping his fan shut. "Very well," the steward consented. "Should you succeed in completing the task set before you, Shujinchi Castle will forever open its gates to you and your descendants."
She inclined her head forward in a small bow. "You have my thanks, Lord Steward." And then, lifting her head and asking him in a light drawl, "Might I ask what this crucial task encompasses?"
"That information," the elegant man said, "will only be revealed after you pass all the tests. You have passed one of them; there are two others."
"And remember," he added, his hawk-like eyes slimming ever so slightly, "that failure is punishable by death. It is a consequence you willingly accepted by knowing the risks."
She smiled.
"Of course," Loreli conceded with a small chuckle. She looked up at him with her veiled, knowing gaze.
"Then I will be certain not to disappoint you."
...
A/N: This, and the next few chapters were originally planned to all fit into 2 chapters. But it costs me so much psychological fatigue to write them...I need to split them into smaller chapters TvT
My heaaaad...