So, there is a lot that is going to happen in the next few chapters. This is easily the most challenging part of writing this story- besides all the world building. I don't like the way that I have it set up, but I am unsure of how to rearrange it to make it flow more smoothly. I am also a huge jabber mouth and can't seem to write chapters that are less than 10k. I didn't want to burden you all with a longer chapter, that seemed unfair and insane. .
I do tend to write fast and furious and get it the story ALL out at once and look at major issues with it later, so if you see flaws please point them out, that is a kindness to me. I really have some of the most lovely people reviewing and reading this story and I appreciate it so much. I hope not to disappoint. (no pressure, inky, no pressure *hysterical laugh*)
Much, much love
Inky
This was a kind of torture she had never thought of.
With a cry Hinata flew into the kitchens. It had to be the kitchens because the overpowering smells of food being sauteed and boiled, steamed and simmered attacked her with the same force the three Chattels were using to propel her through the grounds.
Endless gardens, swirling artfully placed stones and smooth pebbles in shining watery ponds beckoned. The water glimmered and her tongue still coated with rot felt heavier and more grotesque in her mouth than ever before.
Bile rose in her throat and desperately she struggled in their grip, their nails digging into her arms and negating her access to the one thing she had been desperate for for days.
They were wordless, and that was more unnerving than vicious words or snapping orders. The women bent over the stoves and the crackling fires within the black metal shapes of stoves were more stout and less appealing than the three that held her. Over their brown dresses stained white aprons hung from plump waists and their age showed on their faces.
As did their unabashed hatred.
Hinata squirmed in her captors hands as she was dragged past tables heavy laden with fruits and vegetables, herbs growing from small ceramic pots leaking their aromatic fragrance into the air as she passed, tantalizing and unreachable.
At the back, in a dark corner a bamboo divider had been raised with paper screens in stained greasy patches. Behind it sat a vat of water looking about as close to boiling as water can get without being over the fire. It steamed aggressively. The wooden walls of the tub lined in copper shone and sweated with the heat.
Wide eyed Hinata started, at first glad to see the water and then decidedly panicked as the three Chattels took her by the arms and without so much as a word to each other let alone her threw her into the scorching liquid, clothes and all.
It burned in a way that she had not been burned before. Her gasping cries were those of the drowning but their grip on her body was furious and vindictive. Noises she had never made before ripped from her mouth, words that she was unsure were either pleading or threatening.
Their hands tore the clothing from her body, and submerged her head beneath the scalding liquid,dragging her up only to pull on her hair with their soap laden hands, scrubbing her skin with pumice stones like weapons meant to skin her alive.
It occurred to her after a few moments of panic that she was sobbing. Ashamed of herself and her terror Hinata buried her face in her hands, letting them rip at her hair with their combs and sandpaper the skin off her back.
The feeling of numbness caused by Sasuke's sudden chilly regard for her moments before had passed, shattering into her reality. She was a thing, owned and dirty and therefore getting washed. Of course they would treat her like less than a rag.
"What are you doing?"
The voice was female, sharp and with the tinge of authority. Unable to take more abusive hands than the three pairs she already had on her Hinata shrunk further into the water, hugging her naked body.
The Chattels stopped moving, their silence continuing on in its eeriness even in the chaotic clamor of the palace kitchens just on the other side of the dirty bamboo divider.
"Look at her!" The snap was decidedly stern. The Chattels jumped as one being. "Her back is bleeding for Veil's sake. Get out." When no one moved Hinata lifted her head.
The young woman was beautiful because she demanded you think so. She held herself with the same air as an empress, her back straight, her billowing blue robes like those of the boy with Lord Utterance, immaculate. Dark brown hair tightly bound, fanned into spikes at the back of her head.
But it was her eyes that decided who was in charge. Flashing dangerously she fixed the three girls with the searing burn of her displeasure. "Get out!"
The snap was like a whip and despite their sudsy hands and rolled up sleeves the three girls jumped to do as they were told.
"Damaging the property of a Fallen Star, like a trio of fools. Get out. I do not even want to see your faces. Imbeciles." Irritation dripped from her voice and the Chattels disappeared, heads down, brows furrowed with annoyance.
Left alone in the still scalding water Hinata stared at this new frightening creature , sniffing slightly as she rubbed the tears from her eyes lest someone see them. She wasn't sure why but the idea of the Scaled Worm knowing she could provide such nourishment for the star he was to bargain with gave her a bad feeling in her gut. Sasuke had avoided saying what she was for. And despite the fact that he had called her a slave they were still in this dangerous place together.
Or at least, she hoped that was the case.
Sighing deeply the young woman turned back to her, jaw flexing. "Do not mind them- or the others." she muttered. "They are sore. Word has not come back from their men and... if you and your master are here I reckon that means they will not be coming back."
Hinata stared, still dazed and uncomprehending. "I beg your pardon?"
"Never mind." Sighing again she moved forward, to a hip tall ceramic vase in the corner which she dipped into with a wide black lacquered bowl.
Handing her the dish she nodded. "I bet you those vipers did not offer you something to drink despite your journey. They would be so vexing."
Grabbing at the water with sudden ferocity Hinata gulped it down, feeling the coolness of it washing down some of the grit in her mouth and the foul taste of the Rot that lingered on her teeth.
The woman watched silently, her face betraying a tinge of pity. "You look fairly starved. How did he get you through that wasteland without killing you, I wonder?" It was more of a thought than an actual question and so Hinata didn't deign to answer, only stared at her bowl now empty with a soft mourning expression.
Taking the bowl the girl stood. "Come, you've been soaped and lathered until your skin will surely come off. Let us get you dressed and you can eat something. If you manage to keep the food down I will give you more water."
This seemed like an unusual amount of kindness and the sheer offer made Hinata's eyes water with tears. Desperately she hid behind a curtain of her dark wet hair and pressed a hand to her face, breathing in unsteadily.
When she finally lifted her gaze the woman was studying her intently, eyes searching hers with a sort of knowing-ness that made her shiver.
"Those pearls of yours give you away." She murmured, holding a bundle of neatly folded clothing in her arms. "We had stories of your kind in the mountains where I am from. There were tales of your eyes striking men down with just a flick of your lashes."
Hinata stared, swallowing thickly. "...No...I...I cannot-"
"Oh, I figured they were tales the moment I saw you." she cocked her head, frowning a little. "You were sent to hunt him, were you not?"
The drink seemed to have put some of the old calmness back into her bones and with a set of her jaw that took a little more effort than usual Hinata raised her chin and said nothing.
The silence stretched, taut with tension and despite the rising heat to her cheeks Hinata kept her gaze steady, clenching her teeth.
A smile finally broke out on the other girl's face and extending a towel towards the Hawk Eyed princess in the water she chuckled lightly. "I am Anko. Here, dry off and get dressed. When I heard you were Hawk Eyed I brought one of my tunics from home. I cannot wear them here so you would do well to take it. It's white." She offered the clothing as Hinata climbed out of the tub, eyes wide. "That is what you wear is it not, only white... and red, no? For blood."
Hinata stared at the clothing in her hands, her now clean fingers sliding over the smooth fibers of the homespun cotton.
"Yes." She admitted softly. "To never let us forget our slaying nature."
Anko blinked mildly at her before sighing. "If only that was why the Scaled Worm loved the color red so much."
"Hurry. You never know when your master is going to call you and likely as not he will not care if you have eaten or not. Get dressed and I will gather some food. Do not talk to anyone." Anko's face took on that stern expression which she had entered with, fixing Hinata with a firm unshakable look. "And try not to look at anyone either, for your sake more than theirs."
Unsure of what she meant Hinata did as she was told, wondering if Sasuke was all right and if things went sour with the Scaled Worm what would happen to her and Amaterasu.
There was never a feeling of elegance about the Veil. At home the cities were smooth and white and beautiful, their ancient carvings luxurious as time was something the people of Heaven were hardly short of. This allowed for the perfection of arts, the mastering of all hobbies, the thinking of brand new forms of expression.
However where life was a monochrome staleness in heaven on the Veil the primal savagery had it's own brutish beauty. The wild woods, the nightmarish wasteland and rot, the navy and violet expanse of the sky changing color from morning to evening.
That had a beauty he could not deny, like Hinata's blood smeared face in battle, like her tear stained lashes.
This however, this was a whole different thing.
Beauty was too delicate a word, too feather light. This was garish extravagance.
The coolness of marble was lined in bright red carpet trimmed in gold. Gilded overwrought frames hung from the corridor walls and giant arches lined the bright enormous windows letting in the light into the coolness of the palace.
It was a maze, going much deeper into the mountain than it appeared, twists and turns and staircases materialized and disappeared as they marched relentlessly on. Vases taller and wider than Sasuke decorated huge lobbies with smooth polished floors and chandeliers of precious stones.
Plants twisted around pillars from dark soil contained in glass boxes, displaying their intricate roots and the richness of the soil in which they were housed. Here the Rot and Dryness was but a distant memory. Here starvation seemed impossible.
Smells of fruit and citrus, of herbs and spices wafted from every hall, perfumes of flowers and the subtle heady touch of wood resin so natural in the forest seemed out of place in the palace of stone and jewels.
Sasuke was no fool, opulence was on show and it was not for the pleasure of the Scaled Worm, much less his subjects who skittered around in boring brown robes.
No. This was for Sasuke. For those who would come here to beg his indulgence. This was to show the monster needed nothing.
What have you brought me? He was saying.
What do you have that I could possibly want?
"My master was very pleased to see the descent of a Star onto the Veil. It has been rather a long time since he has had the pleasure of meeting with someone from the Heavens." Lord Utterance continued, taking another turn. Sasuke had lost track sometime ago of where they had entered and in the twisting maze wondered briefly how he would find Hinata if they did not acquiesce to his request to have her brought to him.
"I am not here on a social call." He snapped irritably. "When will i be able to speak with him?"
"Oh, soon enough. Please, I have prepared rooms for your comfort and pleasure. Dinner will be served in an hour and -"
"The girl." Sasuke's tone was bored, his gaze sliding down the long endless hall. Windows overlaid with the intricate patterns of the stars glimmered at the very end of the long corridor with the fading light of evening.
"Which girl the- oh. Your slave?" Lord Utterance blinked at him a moment before smiling shrewdly. "Would you like her brought to your chambers?"
There was the hint of impropriety in his tones, and for a moment Sasuke had the distinct and sickening feeling that this Lord's tongue was entirely too long for his mouth.
Unsure now of who and what he was dealing with he frowned deeply, allowing a small shimmering crackle of lightning to shift through the air. "No." Retracting his original request to have her brought to him he looked away carelessly. "Have her care for my horkney when she is done being washed."
Surprise fluttered on the Lord's face and he nodded. "Of course. Is there anything else that I can do for you?"
"Get your master to meet me sooner rather than later." Sasuke snapped irritably before turning away and dismissing him with a wave of his hand.
Lord Utterance moved in that way of his that suggested a bow with none of it's actual humility. "As you wish, sir."
The door closing quietly behind him made Sasuke swallow hard, looking around at the chamber and it's red and gold upholstery, it's shining floor, it's glimmering glass windows and the double doors leading to a marble balcony overlooking the vast waste land.
This was not what he had been anticipating. He was being blind sided and that he was sure had been the point all along. If the Scaled Worm proved to be evil it at least had thus far proved to also be clever.
Brow furrowed with worry he rather didn't want to think about Sasuke moved towards the bathing room adjoining his suite, desperate for something to do to distract him from the unfamiliar knot of nerves in his stomach.
The tunic Anko had given her was soft to the touch and well made. Intricate zigzag patterns of dark blue thread hemmed the sleeves and wooden buttons carved with miniature stars decorated their round honey colored faces.
Hinata stared at herself for a moment in the mirror that was propped against the dark rock wall well hidden behind the bamboo screen. It was speckled and warped but she could see the way the tunic hung on her body limply. She traced the bones of her hips and ribs over the cotton fibers.
The wasteland had taken much from her. Her cheekbones were sharp and angular where her face had always had a soft round shape and with her hair a dark black curtain coming along her shoulders she could see it had grown, reaching down towards the small of her back.
Still, considering she had been coughing blood only a day or so ago her heart pumped earnestly and her muscles teemed with energy. Most importantly her stomach twisted painfully inside her torso, aching with a hunger she had not felt for weeks.
The smells of cooking foods and the familiar clinking and chopping sounds of the kitchen made her think instantly of home. With the spring turning to heated summer the Villa would be buzzing with the Hawk Eyed Clan drying the loomloom butter and pounding the candy to powder with giant mortar and pastels. Herbs would be drying in the sun hanging like upside down bouquets along the veranda support beams. As the wind hummed it's song through the Hawk Eyed house the gatherers would sling their woven baskets onto their backs and their knives onto their hips to enter the forest looking for sustenance.
Pressing her lips together to keep them from shaking Hinata buried her face in her hands dragging in a breath as she strained to keep from thinking of familiar faces that broke her heart each time she pulled them from the dusty confines of her memory. At the sound of approaching steps she straightened, watching Anko enter burdened with two stacked trays.
There were foods aplenty on the red wood lacquered platter. Small dishes contained puddings made of nuts and sprinkled with seeds doused heavily in honey. Fruit rolled impatiently around the dishes in various colors and shapes including on made of many little pink and yellow lumps like a ball of confetti that smelled strongly of flowers and sweets.
A broth soup steamed from a black bowl, green beans and star shaped grains swimming in it's tiny ocean. A stew of cashews and onions was ladled over long green steamed stems of a plant Hinata did not know but that smelled strangely like ginger and chives. Many other dishes sat small and covered with their own ceramic tops, hiding their contents and beneath the lacquered red platter Anko showed her a giant slab of bright red stringy raw flesh.
Recoiling from the stench of the flesh covered in the long white streaks of fat and the hard solidity of bone protruding from one end Anko smirked knowingly.
"So, your kind truly does not eat flesh."
"...N..no." Hinata admitted, frowning. "I... I'm sorry, I cannot-"
"It's not for you. Your master has instructed that you will care for his beast. That wild thing they barely managed to get into the stables." Anko made a face. "How did you not get eaten by that demon?"
Hinata blinked slowly, suddenly eager to take the slab of flesh from Anko's pale hands. Deciding not to answer her question she took her own and Amaterasu's supper. "Please, lead the way."
Amused Anko smirked, turning to lead her out. "What a strange one you are."
There were clothes in the wardrobe in his room for which he was glad, as Hinata carried the pack with his only change and he had not asked for it before letting her be dragged away. The bow and arrow he tucked within the wardrobe and ignoring the weight of the wings tugging on his back he had arranged himself in a black tunic of a material he did not recognize. Soft to the touch but difficult to tear, as seen by the fact that his wings pushed through the back after a bit of struggle.
Still, he was rather pleased to be able to wreck something of the Scaled Worm's. Everything was entirely too pristine.
It didn't escape him after scrubbing off layers of dirt, sweat and blood that there were dark circles lining his eyes and a thinness about his mouth he did not recognize. His neck throbbed with every shift of his shoulders. When he finally managed to get into the tunic, adjusting the collar caused it to twinge a sharp slice of pain through from his jugular down to his finger tips.
Stunned more by the sudden occurrence rather than the pain he stared at his hand, studying the wide palm and long fingers, the nails chipped in places where he had struggled to find grips climbing into the crevice before the storm.
The wasteland had been no picnic. He still felt a touch of dizziness when rising too quickly and when he listened to his heart beat with his palm to his chest he could hear it's strange off beat, more worrying than anything else.
Still, when the knock came on the door and he found one of the girls standing there with her head bowed before him he had stepped out to follow her into the dining hall after getting lost in the maze of the palace at her heels.
Watching her walk in front of him had given him plenty of time to study the leather choker on her neck until he could see the raw painful scabs that seemed to permanently open whenever she moved her head. The leather was sharply edged not soft, it was at once an instrument of torture and a sign they were unlikely to be able to have fade once the scar took place.
It was a slave collar.
It made sense then when the woman did not raise her eyes to look at him nor said a single word, motioning with one hand towards the double doors of what he assumed was the dining hall he moved to step inside, glancing back at her just once before stepping through.
She had not expected that, it was clear as the shock washed away the loathing on her face. Her features so forgettable with so many others dressed identically had been twisted into hatred so intense it had made him pause, impressed, unnerved but mostly confused.
Before he could say or do anything she had vanished, rushing in a quick walk down the hall and Lord Utterance called from within the chamber.
Frowning, Sasuke stepped through the door, closing it behind himself.
The room was elaborate as the rest of the palace, longer than it was wide, with a table that could have seated all of the palace slaves and then some but was only set for two near the head of the table.
Tall backed chairs lined the empty expanse of the table but even as he approached Lord Utterance he could see they had made enough food to feed everyone as well.
There were water fowl and guinea, roasted pig drenched in fruit juices and turkeys stuffed with all manner of dried fruits and nuts then bathed in honey butter and herbs. Side dishes were numerous in beautiful lacquered black bowls speckled in silver and gold flecks like the heavens. Tiny star shaped white grains that smelled of roasted almonds and coconut butters steamed fresh from the pot. Soups sat in warm black cauldrons simmering with wide flat candles like pancakes beneath the cauldron's black feet, burning with dozens of wicks.
Fruits took up the space between all the dishes, elaborately placed on fronds of herbs and aromatic flowers. The smell alone was enough to hit him like a hammer.
Recognizing dishes that he had only ever seen at home he paused and settled slowly onto the chair that had been set for him.
The blonde young man from the entrance clad in blue came at his elbow with a decanter of something blood red and thick. Sasuke stared at it for a moment, anticipating with some growing distrust that it might be blood.
Lord Utterance watched as Sasuke turned minutely to the boy as he bowed, keeping the decanter carefully level.
"Would the Lord Star wish to have some wine?"
Smiling broadly now Lord Utterance motioned for the clear stemmed glass to his right. "Do not fret, Lord Star. Wine is made from the blood of fruits not virgins. It is a spirit. Would you deign to drink with me today?"
With a barely visible nod Sasuke allowed the man beside him to pour the wine, noting with some disgust that he did not wear the slave collar like all the women he had thus far seen.
"Excellent. We are celebrating, after all. My master the Scaled Worm is very eager to meet with you and whatever makes our master eager...?" He let the question hang and as the blonde man finished pouring the wine he pushed his spectacles back onto his face with one pale finger.
"What makes our master eager makes us eager." He recited dutifully, eyes kept carefully on the floor. Impressed that he could be revolted before a feast so awe inspiring Sasuke looked away.
"His eagerness does not match my impatience. Where is your master? I wish to speak to him tonight." He paused, allowing his black eyes to slide towards Lord Utterance. "Now, in fact."
Lord Utterance sighed, twining his fingers before his face as though contemplating a difficult problem. "I understand your desire, Lord Star. I cannot change my master's plans however. He is happy to have you as a welcome and honored guest of his domain. Until that time as he is able to meet with you."
Sasuke's simmering silence was reply enough and clearing his throat he motioned to the feast set before them. "Please, let us indulge in the hospitality of my master, yes?" With a clap more women appeared, their brown dresses and black collars making them a myriad of clones as they moved to stand beside the table, serving utensils moving to carve at the dishes to serve the two men.
"Is there anything I can do to make you stay more comfortable? Perhaps you would like Kabuto here to take a look at your slave? She looked fairly starving. Slaves are hard to come by, and he has a knack for setting ill people right." Lord Utterance paused as he chewed on his first bite of boar. "Or wrong, depending on what our master requests. Isn't that right, Kabuto?"
The young man bowed his head, hands tight on the wine, face impassive.
Still without having taken a single bite Sasuke stared in silence at Lord Utterance, mouth a thin drawn line of disinterest. "I don't much care. I suppose if he has the time he may as well."
Smiling wide, Lord Utterance gave a nod, chewing slowly before sipping at his wine glass. Sasuke watched, feeling his chest constrict as the red liquid flowed up into the Lord's mouth, leaving his thin lips a glistening red.
"It will be done."
If he had not felt close to starving Sasuke doubted he would have managed to eat anything at all. As it was he took a few mouthfuls of the things he found most familiar, including a grain he had been fairly sure only grew on his home realm before excusing himself with a shimmering hiss of magic that allowed no arguments.
Led back to his room by another silent brown clad woman bleeding at the neck he closed the door only to pace impatiently within the borders of the room's marble floor. Hand rubbing anxiously at his neck, he winced at the throbbing ebbing and flowing like the tide.
In the end he lay down for a moment on the overdone bed, throwing pillows on the floor with disdain, aiming to wait until the palace had largely gone to sleep before creeping out to see where Hinata had been hidden away and if she was safe.
It was a testament that he did not realize the depth of his exhaustion that he drifted off to sleep, and did not wake until the first rays of Solatta shone brightly through the window pane.
Amaterasu had been housed not in the stables so much as in a shed outside of the stables among the tackles and old riding saddles no longer used, too frayed and decaying for upkeep.
There was no light and so by the shining glow of the moon and stars and the twirling dragonflies outside the window in the bushes Hinata had sat on the floor of the shed with his silky bony head in her lap, mildly disgusted but still filled with affection as he chewed with unbridled gusto on the slab of meat and bone that Anko had provided.
Anko herself had been unwilling to near the shed, shaking her head with dislike. With a brief and not entirely sincere apology she had left her to her chore, citing that she did enough unpleasant things for her own master to go about taking on more unpleasantness from Hinata's.
Hearing people call Sasuke her master made her feel ill, almost as ill as listening to Amaterasu slurp thickly on the marrow within the bone of his dinner.
Looking up at the palace and it's glimmering lights against the dark of the moon Hinata wondered in which room he resided and if he was okay. Would anyone bother to tell her if something happened to him?
Would she then be enslaved to the Scaled Worm? Passed as booty from one winner to the next.
A trophy.
Half her food still sat untouched but despite her appetite there was no room in her small belly. In the end she had lain on the ground with Amaterasu in the shed and fallen asleep with the horkney as warmth. More protected and serene that she had been in weeks. Where before the wind blew to tear the very dreams from her mind and the temperature dropped dangerously on the Rot next to Amaterasu she was warm as an egg beneath it's mother.
A call, anxious and filled with consternation woke her when the sun was well past the horizon. Rasu growled deep in his throat and a soft snap of dislike from outside the little tackle shed replied. Hinata stumbled to her feet, dusting her clean clothes off with hard pats of her hands and straightening her hair with her fingers.
Standing outside, a good distance from the door of the shed was Anko in her immaculate royal blue. Her face melted into a sigh of relief at the sight of her.
"There you are." Anko grunted, eyeing the rumbling shadow of the horkney behind her. "I cannot believe you slept with that thing. I sent one of the Chattels to fetch you to your chambers last night."
Hinata pursed her lips nervously, closing the door on Amaterasu's face despite his mild whining protestations.
"I did not hear anyone." She admitted softly, smoothing the mildly ruffled white cotton of her tunic at her hips and thighs.
"Well, it didn't eat you at least." Anko grunted. "Good thing I gave that starved thing a great big chunk of flesh for it's supper. I need to escort you to see the healer."
In the brightness of day Hinata could see the corrals behind the tackle shed and the stables standing bright and white like the rest of the castle. Made of stone and wood and metal so permanent in comparison to her family's wood and paper ancestral home which always needed things replaced and rebuilt.
"A healer?" Hinata blinked in the bright light. "I am quite well, thank you..."
"I'm sorry, but I have been instructed to take you, I cannot disobey." Anko looked at her steadily and some of the steel with which she had faced the three Chattels the night before flared in her eyes. Seeing no escape but for to be forceful Hinata swallowed, thinking of Sasuke's instructions with a twist of her stomach.
"If...you insist."
"Come," Anko motioned. "Let's get away from that demon beast. You Hawk Eyed are keen on herbs and medicinal plants, are you not? Kabuto has plenty to keep you busy."
"I am afraid he is still indisposed, Lord Star."
Something about the easy way in which Lord Utterance replied to Sasuke's menacing look in the morning made him think that he had prepared his reply long before the dawns even broke.
"Is that so." There was no question in his tone, just fury.
"I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience to you of course, but like all the people who serve our Lord, I do not question him." Lord Utterance waved a hand at the vastness of the gardens in which they walked so slowly it was vexing Sasuke enough to have sparks of magic snap and pop through the air in intermittent snaps. "I am glad, however that you were willing to join me for this pleasant morning walk, Lord Star."
"What I desire is an audience with your master. I do not care for sight seeing." Sasuke snapped. His head was pounding, his neck throbbing an almost constant pulse of pain and a look in the mirror after waking had told him the rest had done nothing for him. The darkness beneath his eyes was the same if not worse and although always fair he was downright white now. His skin was translucent, shining faintly on his forearms where the silver blood pulsed through his veins.
The panic of waking and having not seen where Hinata was had thrown him out of his room in a fury and despite being mildly confused by the elaborate twists and turns of the palace he had eventually found himself back in the receiving hall he had first seen upon arriving. There Lord Utterance had stood, almost as though he were waiting for him to arrive to usurp him for the hell cursed walk.
"I do wish I could grant your request, Lord Star." Lord Utterance bowed his neck in a long swan curve, waving his hand with a flourish beneath the thick red silk of his robes."I do wish it so. Perhaps we can have some entertainment to take our minds off this waiting? Come, I believe I might have something that will be enough to distract."
Blood lust had not come upon him in some time so it's rush through his veins was dizzying. He watched as Lord Utterance wandered on chattering endlessly about something or other while Sasuke pictured in his mind the most painful way to rip him apart.
The Dispensary was a room somewhere near the bowels of the palace. There was no rhyme or reason to the way the structure seemed to come from the mountain side. Like the stalagmites in caves back home the palace was a mess of sharp icicle shaped towers. She craned her neck up trying to find the highest point and failing as she followed Anko in and through endless dimly lit corridors made of raw stone pulsing with the soil magic and the coolness of having never seen direct sunlight.
They arrived at a door that was unremarkable as the rest they had passed, stepping through without only a brief knock of Anko's knuckles on the wood. The room was small, but the blonde she had seen the night before beside Lord Utterance looked at home in it's chaotic dimness. He had made good use of the space by fitting every possible inch of wall with shelving. There were beakers and bubbling things in a myriad of strange colors on any available surface, including one black thing in a pot of ceramic white that looked oily and bubbled thickly like tar.
Herbs hung from the stone ceiling in bunches, along with drying roots and mushrooms that were placed strategically where the sun flooding in through the window reached them.
There was only one window flat against the long but narrow rectangle shaped room. It faced the sun rise and so the brightness of the morning light flooded through the carved wooden grate that had been placed in front of the glass.
Hinata studied the shadows it made on the ground and the walls, curving fiery swirls that covered her hands and face in a dark pattern.
"This is where Kabuto makes all his magic potions." Anko stated and the needling tone had the remnant touch of familiar teasing. The blonde, who was clearly Kabuto shot her a look that had no venom despite his frown. "Not mine, hardly any of it belongs to me."
"The discoveries do." Anko continued stiffly. "He cannot take those away from you."
Hinata watched in silence, blending into the room, moving slowly out of their way as Kabuto put his quill down among the disaster of his table. It was covered in parchment and pens, ink stones and diagrams. There were metal contraptions for measuring, an abacus in bright purple, blue and yellow beads.
This was the study of a scholar, and with curiosity she approached, riffling through some of the papers with her sharp gaze as discreetly as she could.
"There's nothing he cannot take away from me." Kabuto muttered very quietly and Hinata felt that he had not meant for anyone to hear the words.
"Regardless." Anko snapped, changing the topic abruptly so that Hinata glanced up at her, aware that she was now the displeased focus of attention. "She looks skinny as a rail to me. I bet you the star starved her through the trip in the wasteland. Why don't you get her something to help fatten her up a bit. I'll fetch some thing to break fast." She pointed at Hinata then. "Listen to Kabuto, he will get you feeling right as rain. All right? This is a blessing, that your master allowed him to see you."
Hinata frowned slightly, puzzled. "Sa- er..." she swallowed. "He said I could be seen by a healer?"
Anko shrugged. "Maybe he didn't. Maybe he just didn't care. Better for you that he not think of you at all, really." and without another word she disappeared.
Kabuto watched her leave with a soft sigh of mild irritation before turning to Hinata and patting the clear space at the table next to him. "Have a seat, yes?"
Uncertainly Hinata did as she was told and pulled herself onto the counter high table awkwardly, watching as he pulled instruments from a wooden box. There was a long cone shaped thing made of a metal that shone like Sasuke's silvery blood and reminded her of a trumpet. A long glass vial the size of a chop stick and filled with a bright orange liquid came out next as well as jars of things she recognized. Antiseptic oils and anti inflammatory droughts, suspensions for headaches and herbs that brought one back to clarity when sniffed.
"I am quite well, I assure you." She murmured finally when Kabuto took the cone in his hand and turned to her expectantly.
"The Rot has a way of waiting some time before attempting to take your life. Likely as not there's sand and the decay in your lungs." He motioned for her to let him put the cone on her back between her shoulder blades and she watched as he placed the small end to his ear.
"Breathe in deep."
Blushing, Hinata did so, aware of his hand on her shoulder making her fight the urge to push him off.
"Hm." Puzzlement tinged the quiet of his voice and she felt the circular pressure of the cone shift to a different place on her back.
"Breathe in again."
Complying Hinata eyed the door, hoping that Anko would return shortly.
"Odd." He said nothing more, but moved to the thin glass vial with the orange liquid, requesting she put it between her lips under her tongue.
The strangeness of the appointment didn't seem to stop there, and as he continued to poke and prod her with different strange object she sighed, relieved when Anko returned carrying another heavy laden tray covered in dishes.
"So?" She asked with a soft smile as she placed the tray beside Hinata on the table. "How bad is it?"
Kabuto frowned, scribbling things furiously into a leather bound notebook, pausing only to push his spectacles on his nose with his free hand. "It's not."
Hinata slid off the table and moved towards the food, her stomach once more asking for sustenance in a strangely unfamiliar pang of hunger in her gut. Ignoring thoughts of Sasuke's silvery veins beneath his skin she took a bun from the tray and took a bite shyly, watching Kabuto and Anko from beneath her bangs.
"What do you mean?" Anko blinked. "You gave her the drought already?"
"No." He shook his head. "There's nothing. Her lungs are clear, there's no fever, no infection." He glanced curiously at Hinata for a moment, watching her chew slowly, heat rising to her cheeks as he stared. "She's just... underweight."
"Anyone can see that." Anko grumbled, shoving a bowl of something that looked thick and creamy covered in honey and a sprinkling of seeds in a confetti of colors at Hinata. "Eat the coconut cream before it warms. It's best cold."
Sighing internally Hinata complied, picking up the wooden spoon and taking a dutiful bite she relished as the coconut and vanilla flavors exploded on her tongue.
"Is it the Hawk Eyed blood though, I wonder..." Kabuto muttered, mostly to himself as he continued to scribble, mostly ignoring Anko's searching looks. "No one comes off the waste without spitting up blood. I thought for sure she would be developing the cough by now- unless, did your master fly here?"
The two blue robed bodies turned to her and Hinata swallowed thickly, face burning. "No."
"We would have seen the approach long before we did then." Anko murmured, biting on a nail as she thought. "How very odd."
"People often arrive ill, then?" Hinata asked, for the sake of seeming surprised as them. Kabuto made an impatient noise of assent, bent over a book covered in letters and figures Hinata did not recognize.
"They crawl here." Anko continued, studying Hinata with a renewed sense of interest. "They come bleeding from the waste. Blood pouring from the mouth, ears and nose, coughing so hard the blood explodes right beneath their skin like fireworks." She touched her cheeks, as if remembering one such explosion of crimson under a layer of flesh.
Hinata stared, thinking of the darkness of her last week, Sasuke's silent unwillingness to converse on the topic and the faded and worn memories of him kissing the silver into her mouth.
"I am... I am very sorry to hear that." She whispered finally after a long silence with only Kabuto's pen scratching making any noise.
Anko cocked her head at her then, smiling sadly. "I think I rather like her, don't you Kabuto?"
The blonde stiffened as he looked up, flashing a look at Hinata that was brief before hiding behind adjusting his spectacles carefully.
"Certainly." He murmured, and Anko grinned devilishly. "It does help that she's rather pretty doesn't it?"
Hinata felt the sudden burning of her ears that signaled she was blushing hard and Kabuto himself had turned a soft rose petal tinge. Ignoring Anko's statement he began to put things back into the wooden box on the table after wiping them down in a acrid smelling solution when a knock on the door interrupted.
Puzzled, Anko peered out into the hall and a few tersely snapped words later she was glancing back inside.
"Lord Utterance and the Lord Star are viewing the gardens." She winced, adjusting the thick navy sash around her waist. In the movement Hinata caught the glint of a sword hilt hanging within the depths of the fabric and she straightened, curious.
"We best hurry then." Kabuto sighed, looking at Hinata expectantly. Confused again she stood. "Hurry?"
"To the gardens. I have a bad feeling they will want us with them when they reach the Killing Slab." Anko grunted irritably, storming down the hall so fast Hinata had to trot to keep up.
Lamenting the uneaten portion of her coconut cream she followed, finding the resentment of having to listen without question more and more grating as time passed.
"What... is the Killing Slab?" In her mind she pictured a block of wood thick and coated in the endless stain of blood from animal butchering. She had seen flesh foods all over the kitchens and so she figured somewhere on the grounds the same process she hated seeing in her Villa's courtyard must happen somewhere.
Kabuto and Anko glanced briefly at each other as they walked ahead of her. When Kabuto did not respond Anko sighed. "It is the training arena... for the Scaled Worm's guard."
Questions rioted within her mind then as they led her around the palace grounds over smooth grass lawns that seemed strange and unnatural to her eye and flower beds too pristine to be useful. There was nothing about flowers that Hinata disliked but the practical part of her mind could not fathom devoting endless rows of dark rich soil to the cultivation of blooms that did not provide something to people.
The Scaled Worm, clearly had no such worries.
Anko and Kabuto moved as though there were something tailing them and with Hinata close at their heels they passed through an archway of vines sprinkled with polka dotted blooms in blue and yellow. As they passed Hinata snatched her hand back from touching them, startled to see the vine creep eerily forward, twisting it's long elegant fronds as though to touch her back.
"Keep your hands to yourself if you don't know what you're looking at." Kabuto muttered not unkindly, his hand on her elbow, leading her through the cobblestone path behind Anko who was almost at a run.
"The gardens are beautiful but nothing in this place is kept here for the simplicity of looks. Everything has a purpose."
Hinata tried to look around, catching glimpses of fountain courtyards lined with benches and water lilies that floated on their rippling surfaces. Tall bushy trees made passages that twisted and turned, vine covered walls seethed and hissed as they passed, shifting as though tickled by the wind although there was hardly a breeze to be felt in the quickly sweltering heat of the two noon day suns.
"I think I hear them." Anko hissed back and Kabuto slowed to a walk, releasing Hinata as though suddenly remembering he had been tugging on her arm. Arranging his robes carefully about himself he followed after Anko and approached only a step behind her as they turned a corner past a brick wall shaded by a thick vine brown and leathery with fruit shining as marbles in the deepest red Hinata had ever seen.
Swallowing she followed after the other two and paused, staring. Where all the other clearings in the garden had been dotted with more blooms or fountains this one was spread wide and clear except for a thick marble slab half the size of the courtyard of her home and shining so bright it ached her eyes to look at it as it reflected the midday light.
Across it's pale expanse Hinata caught sight of two figures, one familiar with it's glimmering black feathers and the other decked out in the blood red silk that shifted as a soft breeze rippled through.
"Ah, Kabuto, Anko." The Lord Utterance called across to them. "About time."
The two now silent, stoic figures before her bowed from the waist down and moved rapidly to approach Lord Utterance. Hesitating, Hinata squinted across the wide plane at Sasuke who was ignoring her completely.
Moving the way she would if approaching a wounded creature she came up on his right, and tried to meld into the greenery behind her, frowning.
He was pale, so pale she could see the silvery patterns of his veins along his neck and jaw. In the harsh light of Solatta and Luminatus at full joy the dark circles beneath his eyes were unmistakable and frightening. Heart pounding Hinata swallowed, fists tight at her sides.
Thoughts flickered through her head as the others talked, Lord Utterance doing the bulk of the chatting. It was not until she was nearly pressed to the trunk of the tree behind her that she noticed the three Chattels from the day before, all six of their eyes fixed on her simmering with unveiled loathing.
Stunned by the expressions on their nearly identical faces Hinata jumped.
"Go on then." Lord Utterance was sighing, flipping a paper fan out of his sleeve and beginning the languid lazy motions of one overheated but too elegant to bother actually using the fan to any advantage. "Let us show the Lord Star some of the sport of our master, yes?"
Anko and Kabuto bowed, moving towards the smooth slab of marble robotically, removing their outer navy robes as they did so, tossing them carelessly off the arena.
With a gut wrenching tightness she stared as the sword at Anko's hip became visible without her flowing blue outer robe to hide it.
It's called the Killing Slab.
A twitch of Kabuto's fingers and a sizzling wave of electric heat through the air pulsed with energy . A sword much like Anko's own shimmered to life with a throb of gold sparkles at his hip. Unsheathing the newly minted weapon he faced the girl Hinata had thought to be his friend, face hard behind his spectacles.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he watched Kabuto. It was not an easy thing to create weapons by magic, able to hold shape and solidity. If mastered their wielders were formidable indeed. Unable to ever be unarmed, always capable of modifying their weapon to their need as the situation changed, only limited by their energy and skill.
"Kabuto is one of the Scaled Worm's most prized...trophies." Lord Utterance whispered, and his gaze remained fixed on Kabuto even as Hinata flinched from the statement, straining to stay as still as the tree behind her while ignoring the glaring death aimed at her from the women to her right and the prodding from Lord Utterance before her.
Sasuke took his time in replying, almost too long after as though he had not heard and then with a nonchalance that was heavily tinged with tiredness he murmured. "It is impressive that he can mold weapons... for a slave."
Lord Utterance laughed, glancing at Sasuke then shrewdly, mouth wide, teeth glinting wet with saliva in the brightness of the sun. "I do think I rather like you, Lord Star. I do think so. We were very short staffed not long ago and so it may seem as though my Lord keeps a rather unreasonable amount of bodies serving him in this place but really it has only this year been that he has outfitted the palace with proper slaves."
"Where does he steal them from?" Sasuke's question was bored. "Does he purposefully find them all to look the same?"
Again the laughter rang from Lord Utterance's lips even as Anko and Kabuto clashed. Hinata watched, listening to the words being spoken between the two men while her sharp eyes stared with growing alarm as Anko twirled, her blade sharp enough to hiss through the air, setting off sparks of broken magical molecules with every slam of her sword onto Kabuto's own blade.
Soft, and breathless like a rabid dog's pant she heard her earnest demand. "Kabuto, damn it, fight back." It had been a private comment. A whisper in the fray.
"Yes, Kabuto." Lord Utterance seemed unfazed by the fact it had been a private conversation. "Fight back."
The blonde grunted hard, breaking apart their stalemate with a clatter of metal and spinning sharply drove his elbow into Anko's side. The cry from her mouth was loud and she stumbled blocking his incoming blow at the last second and rolling out of the way to gather herself, sword shaking slightly. One hand remained on her torso where Hinata was fairly sure Kabuto had broken a rib, judging by her wince.
Lord Utterance paid them no mind.
"My Lord does not steal people like a common criminal." He shook his head mildly. "That is below him. He need not do so. They came to him."
"He has volunteer slaves?" Sasuke's sarcasm was acid in the ears. "How charming he must be."
The chuckle that escaped Lord Utterance again held both amusement and mild irritation. "They come and leave their women, their children and beg for his indulgence. These slaves you see are all part of an agreement. Their people failed to deliver on their end of the bargain and as such, their lives are forfeit."
Hinata glared at the floor, at the smooth cobblestone that lined the marble slab where two people who had been so friendly and amiable were now slashing at each other with swords.
Anko's cry made Hinata close her eyes, unwilling to see the carnage but from Lord Utterance's mild "Oh my!" And the splatter of blood on stone Kabuto had managed to land a blow that was less than playful.
"Oh, stop, stop." Lord Utterance continued as though Kabuto had simply spilled milk or knocked over a vase in his clumsiness. "Don't slaughter her. Look at that mess. Get her down. By the Veil." He sighed deeply and Hinata let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding.
Kabuto had slashed across Anko's side, her sword had clattered to the corner of the white marble and although it appeared from looking closely that it was but a flesh wound the blood still dripped down, garish and bright against the white marble.
It was imperceptible but Kabuto's frame shook minutely. With a flourish of his wrist the blade in his hand disappeared, exploding into sparks that drifted lazily away as he marched towards Anko and heaved her up into his arms.
"Put her over there somewhere." Lord Utterance grumbled, motioning under a tree. "Pity, I was rather hoping to get a bit of sport. Anko is not in her prime today, clearly." Lord Utterance sighed with disappointment, glancing at Sasuke who was perfectly still beside him, and in that moment the Chattels moved.
They had not lifted a finger through the entire ordeal but as one they stepped forward, catching the Lord's eye as they moved together like a brown centipede to stand beside Hinata.
Smiling Lord Utterance turned to Sasuke. "What about your...Hawk Eyed?"
From her periphery Hinata could see Kabuto look up sharply, staring at her even as his hands put steady pressure on Anko's side. Sweating and pale Anko herself glanced at Hinata, wincing.
Sasuke looked as though he only just realized Hinata was there, turning away with a bored expression. "What about her?"
"I hear that the Hawk Eyed are rather exceptional of fighters- next to the Stars of course. Shall we perhaps give her a go on the arena?"
Cold, thick and churning slid itself into her very marrow and Hinata clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering.
"It would hardly be fair for Kabuto." Sasuke sighed. "She is rested, whereas he has just maintained a sword for a strenuous bout."
"Fair? Well if we're talking fair then perhaps we should wager?"
"What sort of wager?"
"How about if Kabuto wins we do not discuss my Lord's absence again until he decides it is time for him to show."
Sasuke's scoff made Lord Utterance smile thinly. "If your slave girl wins... I show you some of my Master's most prized treasures."
"I have no interest in your master's knick knacks."
"Oh?" Lord Utterance mused. "Not even if they perhaps are from your home realm?"
Sasuke's long pause was accompanied by a flexing of his shoulders and Hinata stared at the tight grip of his hands clasped together behind his back. Breath still in her chest she waited, desperately hoping, praying for his voice to say the words he needed to say. Namely one. No.
With a feeling of the the world falling away beneath her feet Sasuke sighed. "Fine."
"If you think Kabuto needs rest then perhaps she needs a warm up, yes? They are not in Kabuto's league and therefore not in that of the Hawk Eyed but surely my three Chattels will do nicely?"
The girls moved forward, bowing low and it was only then that Hinata noticed the short swords strapped to their backs. Heart pounding so fiercely in her chest it was cracking her sternum Hinata sucked in air as quietly as possible, hands sweaty.
"Three against one?"
"Three slave girls against a Hawk Eyed. You never know. Perhaps she will impress me so much I may make a recommendation to my Master and then she could be of value to him and therefore to you." Lord Utterance raised a slim black brow. "What say you?"
The silence lingered for several breaths and sighing Sasuke turned away. "Is this what people of the Veil do for entertainment? I no longer wonder at it's dying."
"Come, come. I know of the slaying games in the Heaven's, Lord Star. I know of the tests your people put their children through. You yourself must have endured the horrors of the passage to full fledged adulthood." Lord Utterance laughed silkily. "Unless... perhaps you are concerned for her safety-?"
Sasuke's puzzled dark eyes fixed on the Lord's pale face confusedly. "And why would I care about that?"
"Excellent." Lord Utterance clapped his hands cheerfully. "Chattels, go on."
Sasuke turned swiftly then, moving to stand by Hinata as Lord Utterance shouted instructions at the three girls to mop up the blood left over by Anko.
"Hinata."
Pale lipped and wide eyed she stared at him, trying to understand what was happening, why he would say the things he was saying.
Sasuke searched her face for a moment, noting the clean clothes, the pale glow of her cheeks and the smooth curtain of her black hair. For a moment he had to keep himself from saying something damning, from running his hands though the long length of black at her shoulders.
Tiredness was eating at his bones, pain was throbbing at his neck and briefly he wished for the tears offered so willingly before on his tongue.
"A..are you ill?" Her eyes fluttered from him and then to the Chattels. Could the illness be confusing his mind, could he perhaps be feverish and unaware of what he was sending her out to do.
Ignoring her question Sasuke glanced back over his shoulder to see Lord Utterance waving at the Chattels, motioning for them to use Anko's discarded robe to scour the blood from the marble.
"Give me the knife." He extended his hand and Hinata's fingers flashed to her hunting knife at her back, wide eyed. "But... Sasuke, I-"
"I need you to lose."
"What? But... but they'll..." Hinata let her eyes dart to the girls, catching the sharp glare of hatred from one of their identical faces.
Eyes alighting on Kabuto approaching cautiously Sasuke froze, a frown on his face. Panic fluttered in his stomach at the confused look on the blonde's features.
"I said." He bit out sharply, drawing Hinata's attention back to him with a soft jump. "I need you to lose. I do not want you insulting our host and ruining any chance I have of bargaining with him. Do you understand?"
Hinata stared, unaware of Kabuto behind her, lips parted in growing despair. "I...I...but-"
"Get up there." Grabbing her arm roughly he propelled her towards the marble slab, hissing rapidly in her ear.
"You said you trusted me. Do as I say."
With the painful pulse of her blood pounding in her jugular Hinata stumbled onto the marble stone slab, scrambling to climb as he practically threw her forward, glancing back at Kabuto to see him frozen in place, face as smooth as an undisturbed pond.
Lord Utterance tsked softly under his breath as Sasuke walked back to stand beside him, straightening his tunic with hands he hoped were showing none of their shakiness.
Hinata kept looking resolutely forward, fighting the urge to stare at the one she had perhaps started to count as a friend. The sting of his grip on her arm ached as she faced the three glaring girls before her, their short swords drawn.
From behind her she could hear Lord Utterance make a sound of surprise. "You took her only weapon." It was not a question, more of an admiring statement.
"I do not feel like damaging the property of someone I intend to do business with." Sasuke replied simply.
Clenching her jaw tightly Hinata walked into the center of the marble slab, watching as the girls spread out around her, listening intently to the clink of metal in their hands, the hiss of their soft soled shoes on the stone, the rustle of their wide flowing brown skirts and their steady breath.
Closing her eyes to the brightness of the sun she dragged in a shuddering breath, picturing Hanabi's face, smirk wide arms crossed, shaking her head.
"Come now, Sister. This is child's play."
Beside her Neji appeared, jaw clenched and brows furrowed. "How many times have you skirmished with all our shadows? How many days of training have you endured? You are heiress. You are Hawk Eyed. "
Their voices whispered, together. "For our glory."
Body shifting slowly to center her point of gravity Hinata lifted her empty hands into the fighting stance of her Clan, tuning her senses to the pull of magic pulsing on the marble and beneath it in the soil.
And for those of the Hawk Eyed blood.
Opening her eyes she turned, fixing Sasuke with a look.
I can't.
The minute flex of his jaw was all she saw before the Chattels exploded at her as one and there was no one else to listen to, just the pounding of her heart, the breath in her lungs and the determination that she would not die.
TBC