(A/N: Thankies for the reviews! ^^
Neko Oni: I used my brother for a model when I was thinking about how kids would act. That child is insane. @__@ This chapter's your fav.? ^^ Well, here it is.
Lei-chan Kon: I dun remember which chapter you were from either. @_@ Oh well, suppose it doesn't matter now, ne? ^^;;; Aww...I'm sorry I'm being so slow about reposting! But I've been busy with work and vacation and shopping and getting back to school...-____- I'm glad you like the fic and I'll try to post it as fast as I can! ^^
Now, on with the fic!)
Dawn Of Terror
Chapter 5: Bound
~*
It was a dark Monday night. Rei yawned, waiting patiently outside Kai's door. The six-year old was doing his homework, as he'd been instructed to do before the adults went off to have their 'serious conversation'. Apparently, they, being Mariah and Kai's Grandfather, were in some sort of argument. Whatever that meant.
Rei yawned again, his tail flicking idly from side to side, like some sort of fluffy pendelum. What on Earth was taking Kai so long?! Not being the most patient four-year old in the world, Rei climb up on his hind paws, leaning against the door. "MEW!" he yelped loudly, hoping Kai would hear him and open the door.
Sure enough, it worked. The heavy oaken thing opened, leaving the surprised Rei to slid down it, his claws leaving scratch marks in the door. Kai looked down at him. "What do you want?" "Kai-chan!" Rei purred, rubbing his head fondly against Kai's leg.
He purred, then lay down on his back, paws up in the air, looking up at Kai. The bluenette sighed. "Grandfather said I can't let you until I'm done my homework."
Rei rolled back onto his feet. "But Kai! Waiting is so boring!"
"Sorry. Orders are orders."
With that, he started to shut the door. "Kai! I'll be quiet! I promise!"
The bluentte giggled a bit. "You? Quiet? Rei-chan, you make more noise than then entire household!"
Rei frowned. "I do not!"
Kai smirked. "Yes, you do. And now, you're distracting me." He sighed. "I still have to finish my math."
"I can help!" Rei volunteered instantly, eyes lighting up happily.
Kai shook his head. "You've never been to school, Rei. What do you know about numbers?"
"Lots of stuff!"
"Like what?"
Kai shot him that 'look'- the one that told him he'd just stepped over the line and it was time to put up or shut up. "Uh...uh...," the neko-jin tried desperately to cover.
He really DID know next to nothing about numbers except for how to count to ten and back again. But he didn't want to look stupid in front of Kai. "Well?"
"I...uh...uh...um..I know about...err-"
"See Rei? You can't even add!"
Rei sulked. "So what? At least I don't have to have Mariah make my meals for me!"
Kai stuck out his tongue. "Only peasants have to make their own meals."
"Pea-whats?" Rei looked at the older boy confusedly.
Kai sighed and rolled his eyes. "Honestly Rei! You don't even know about social class!"
"Who what now?! Speak English!"
Kai smacked him playfully upside the head. "Silly cat. Nothing in that head of yours but fluff."
Rei grinned. "That's me! Fluff-for-brains!"
"You don't even know when you're being insulted!"
Kai sighed. "I really have to do my math now. Grandfather will KILL me if I don't."
Rei's eyes got wide. "He can't do that! No! Then you'll be dead! And I'll have no one to play with!"
The neko-jin latched onto his leg fearfully. "Don't go away Kai-kun! Please!"
Kai tried desperatley to dislodge the clinging kitten from his leg. "REI! It's just a figure of speech! Let go!"
"A what?"
"Figure of speech. Don't you know anything?"
Rei frowned, letting go of Kai. "I'm not stupid, Kai-kun."
Kai rolled his eyes. "Just get in here so I can shut the door."
Rei grinned and scampered into Kai's room, instantly leaping up on the bed and curling up. His tail lay acorss his nose. "It's cold in here. Don't you have the furnace on, Kai-kun?"
Kai shrugged and went back to his homework. Rei pulled one of the bedcovers over his head. His teeth were chattering. "Kai-kun! I'm cold!"
"Rei! Do you want to go back out in the hall?"
Rei shut up. But only for a few minutes.
Kai finished his homework, then neatly evened the stack of papers. Turning around to put them in his school bag, he noticed Rei had removed most of the sheets from his bed and was currently making a 'nest' on the floor with them. What was left on the bed was mussed beyond believe. "REI! You baka! What are you doing?!"
Rei squealed and ducked under the blankets, peeking out from under them. Kai growled. "Rei! Put my bed back together! I have to sleep in that!"
Rei stuck out his tongue. "NYAH!"
"REI!"
Kai lunged at the blankets. Rei squealed with glee, then scampered out from under them. He ran half way across the room, then turned back to taunt Kai. "Betcha can't catch me!"
Kai growled and launched himself at Rei. Rei pranced away, letting Kai slide under the bed. Kai growled, then quickly formulated a plan. He stayed still, waiting for Rei to come back. After all, they did say curiousity killed the cat. After a moment or two, Rei came waltzing back, peeking under the overhanging bedcovers. "Kai-kun? Are you okay?"
Kai grabbed at Rei. The neko-jin yelped and turned to scamper away. Kai latched onto his tail. "MEW!" Rei yelped, then dug his claws into the carpet as he was dragged backwards.
"MEW! MEW! MEW!"
Kai dragged the other boy under the bed, smirking triumphantly. "Gotcha!"
"Kai! Let go of my tail!"
"No," Kai said, smirking. "Not until you say your sorry."
"MEW!"
It was then that Mariah walked in, closely followed by General Hiwatari. "Kai? Have you seen- KAI! Let go of Rei's tail!"
Kai instantly released his captive and Rei dashed out from under the bed, to hide behind Mariah's legs. Kai stuck his head out from under the bed. "Suck-up," he muttered.
"What have I told you about that-"
"Be quiet Mariah. It's his pet- he can treat it the way he wants."
"Yes, Lord Hiwatari," the Chinese woman said meekly, hanging her head.
General Hiwatari turned to his grandson. "Have you finished your homework yet, Kai?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Good."
The General smiled slightly, but the expression faded as he looked about the room. "What happened in here?"
Kai lowered his gaze. "Rei made a mess and made fun of me, so I chased him."
Hiwatari turned to Mariah. "I told you. He has to have his feet bound. He's always messing things up."
Mariah turned several shades of white. "But Lord Hiwatari, Sir, he's a boy! We can't bind his feet!"
The elderly man snorted. "I won't jave a slave running amuck in this house. Bind his feet. Or I'll find someone who will."
Mariah swallowed hard. "Yes, Sir."
She looked down at Rei. The kitten bit his lip when he saw her woeful expression. She looked a little sick. "Come here, Rei. It's time for bed."
The neko-jin scampered out of the room ahead of the servant, who had to hobble along becuase of her own bound feet. It had been considered good practice to bind the feet of Chinese women in those days. Never had a boy's feet been bound though, slave or not. Rei dashed ahead of her, then stopped every few feet to look back at her and wait for her to catch up. She hobbled along as fast as she could, knowing the young neko-jin wasn't very paticent, but her feet pained her and she moved sluggishly.
At last, they reached Rei's room, which was located on the top floor as well, with the Hiwataris' bedrooms. Rei leaped up onto his bed, curling up. Mariah leaned out the door and called to one of the young Japanese maids to bring her some linens. Then she hobbled over to Rei's bedside and undressed the boy and redressed him in his pyjamas. The maid bustled in with a pair of sheers, a tape measuerer, and several cotton sheets. Mariah sat down on the edge of the bed, setting the sheers to the material. Rei watched in fascination, wondering what on Earth the woman was doing.
"What are you going to do with those?" he asked when she finally finished cutting up the linens.
"We're going to....," she paused for a moment, thinking about the right thing to say to a four-year-old. "...mummify your feet."
"Why?"
Mariah swallowed. "Because the Lord said to."
She picked up one of the linen strips and started to wind it around Rei's foot. The neko-jin winced. "Ouch! Why are you hurting me, 'riah?"
Mariah bit her lip and continued wrapping. "There," she murmured finally, then moved to the other foot and repeated the process.
Rei looked down at his bandaged feet. "Can we take them off now?"
Mariah bit her lip and shook her head. "No, Rei-chan. We can't take them off."
"Well, when can we?"
Mariah looked down at him sympathetically. "Don't you understand? You're not ever going to take them off."
"Ever?!" Rei yelped, looking down at his feet.
"Never. Only when you wash them."
"But 'riah! That's a long, long time! Forever?"
Mariah sighed. "Yes, Rei. It is a long time. But Lord Hiwatari wants your feet bound. It's better to have a home. You'll still be able to walk, but you'll have to learn how to walk on bound feet. It's not so bad..."
She looked down at her own bandaged appendages. 'What am I saying?! It's horrible...'
Rei yawned. "'riah?"
"Yes?"
"Nighty-night."
She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, Rei."
~*
Mariah sat down on her stool, soaking her feet in the hot water that one of the maids had brought in. The white wraps lay on the floor, where she'd discarded them.
Carefully lifting one of her feet out of the water, she inspected the pitiful stump. Her toes had been folded under the pad of her foot, reducing the length of her foot to three inches. It was good practice, yet painful.
She envied the Japanese girls, with their natural, long stride, so care-free and painless. She herself had to hobble about, and she always heard the Japanese maids snickering behind her back at her dainty, swaying walk. Tears came into her eyes. She couldn't put Rei through this. She couldn't, she wouldn't. If Rei had been a girl, it would have been a different story. But a boy...?
It hadn't been heard of.
~*
It was late in the afternoon when Kai got home. The weather was warm for May, and the heat shimmerd on the air. Kai was glad to be home. Throwing his book bag down on the foyer floor, he dashed upstairs, to Rei's room. "Rei-chan! Let's go out and play-"
He stopped dead as he walked into the room through the wide open door. Mariah had Rei slung over her shoulder and was hauling him back to bed. He was sobbing loudly, his cries mixed with screams of agony. The maids were all gathered around, ready to help at any second. Mariah put Rei down on his bed and instantly, several of the maids looped ropes about Rei's wrists and ankles, then tied him to the bed. They backed away. Mariah sat down on the bed. "Rei-chan-"
"It...it hurts!" he hiccuped pathetically, looking up at her as his tears subsided.
"Of course it does. You have to LEARN to walk on bound feet...and you have to spend several weeks in bed before you can even think about walking-"
Kai cleared his throat. "WHAT is going on here?" he asked, tapping his foot and glaring, trying his best to look intimidating.
Mariah didn't reply. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!" the little boy screeched, loosing his temper.
Mariah started. "Master Kai! I didn't see you there! Forgive me-"
"Shut up and tell me what's going on!"
Mariah looked from Rei, then to the maids, then back to Kai.
"We bound Rei's feet."
Kai looked at her confusedly. Mariah sighed. She lifted up one of Rei's bandaged legs, displaying it to Kai. "See? We wrapped up Rei's feet and bent the toes under."
Kai was still looking at her funny. She sighed and started to unwrap her own foot. When the bandages at last came free, she watched the revulsion grow on their faces. Finally, Kai found his tongue. "W-what happened to your foot?!"
"It's been bound and the toes have folded under."
"Doesn't...did it hurt?"
"It still does."
Kai swallowed, then looked at the horrified Rei. He had gone several shades of white. His eyes were wide and his jaw was slack. He was staring at Mariah's foot in disbelief. "My...my.."
Mariah started to wrap her foot back up. "It's considered good practice for women to bind their feet."
Kai snapped back to life. "But Rei isn't a girl!"
Mariah shrugged. "Your Grandfather wanted it done."
Rei had tried to get up now. He placed his feet on the floor carefully, then screamed when he had to put all his weight on them. "REI!" Mariah yelled, plucking the neko-jin up off the floor.
"You can't get up! You have to stay in bed!"
Rei was crying again. "Why does he have to stay in bed? He's not sick."
Mariah sighed. "Kai, go, play somewhere else."
"No. I want Rei to play with me."
"He can't. Now, Kai. Go-"
"I said I want to play with Rei!"
Mariah sighed. "Kai, you're making this difficult! Rei can't play! Now, GO!"
Kai frowned and dashed off. Mariah sighed and turned back to Rei. "Lie down and try to get some sleep. Okay?"
She got up and left the room, the maids following in her wake. The door slammed shut behind them.
~*
Rei twitched in his sleep, unnatural sounds reaching his sensitive ears. He groaned and rolled over, swatting at the area the sounds were coming from. "Psst, Rei!"
The neko-jin cracked open an eye, only to see Kai sitting on his legs. "Kai-kun? What are you doing?"
"Getting rid of these stupid things," Kai muttered, pulling at the tightly wound cloths around Rei's feet.
Rei winced at bit. "Don't pull so hard-"
"Shh! Be quiet! We're not supposed to be awake!"
Rei glanced over at the clock. It was 11:37. "Are the grown-ups still up?"
"Yes," Kai hissed through his teeth, yanking on the bindings.
Rei bit his lip. Finally, the bandage fell away from Rei's feet. "Move your toes," Kai commanded, wrinkling his nose and turning his gaze away.
Rei wiggled his toes and sighed in relief as they came unglued from the sole of his foot. Kai looked back. "Don't let them do that again. Okay?"
Rei nodded. Kai smiled. "You're my friend Rei. I don't want to see you get hurt."
~*
Lord Hiwatari slammed his fists down on his desk. "What do you mean, YOU don't want to have his feet bound?! You've got no authority here, neko-jin!"
Mariah nearly flinched. "I'm saying that he shouldn't have his feet bound! It's not right!"
Hiwatari sighed. "Mariah, did you know that every single household has their slaves' feet bound? It doesn't matter their gender- it's status!"
"But he's a boy! He should be able to run free!"
"Be quiet! He's a slave and he should have his feet bound!"
"But-"
"Silence! How are we supposed to sell him off if he hasn't got bound feet?! If he runs off, we pay the prices! And now a days, people won't pay for a slave with unbound feet!"
"Sire! He can't-"
"Shut up Mariah! It's not your place!"
Mariah bit her lip and sat back in her chair, eyes watering. "I can't do this to Rei. I can't...I can't let him bear the same pains as me- I hated them so much for what they did. I can't let him hate me."
Hiwatari remained silent, lips pursed. Setting down his quill, he looked straight at Mariah, eyes narrowed. "His feet will stay bound, Mariah."
She stared at him for only a moment, then tore her eyes away, unnerved. "Yes, Milord."
Neko Oni: I used my brother for a model when I was thinking about how kids would act. That child is insane. @__@ This chapter's your fav.? ^^ Well, here it is.
Lei-chan Kon: I dun remember which chapter you were from either. @_@ Oh well, suppose it doesn't matter now, ne? ^^;;; Aww...I'm sorry I'm being so slow about reposting! But I've been busy with work and vacation and shopping and getting back to school...-____- I'm glad you like the fic and I'll try to post it as fast as I can! ^^
Now, on with the fic!)
Dawn Of Terror
Chapter 5: Bound
~*
It was a dark Monday night. Rei yawned, waiting patiently outside Kai's door. The six-year old was doing his homework, as he'd been instructed to do before the adults went off to have their 'serious conversation'. Apparently, they, being Mariah and Kai's Grandfather, were in some sort of argument. Whatever that meant.
Rei yawned again, his tail flicking idly from side to side, like some sort of fluffy pendelum. What on Earth was taking Kai so long?! Not being the most patient four-year old in the world, Rei climb up on his hind paws, leaning against the door. "MEW!" he yelped loudly, hoping Kai would hear him and open the door.
Sure enough, it worked. The heavy oaken thing opened, leaving the surprised Rei to slid down it, his claws leaving scratch marks in the door. Kai looked down at him. "What do you want?" "Kai-chan!" Rei purred, rubbing his head fondly against Kai's leg.
He purred, then lay down on his back, paws up in the air, looking up at Kai. The bluenette sighed. "Grandfather said I can't let you until I'm done my homework."
Rei rolled back onto his feet. "But Kai! Waiting is so boring!"
"Sorry. Orders are orders."
With that, he started to shut the door. "Kai! I'll be quiet! I promise!"
The bluentte giggled a bit. "You? Quiet? Rei-chan, you make more noise than then entire household!"
Rei frowned. "I do not!"
Kai smirked. "Yes, you do. And now, you're distracting me." He sighed. "I still have to finish my math."
"I can help!" Rei volunteered instantly, eyes lighting up happily.
Kai shook his head. "You've never been to school, Rei. What do you know about numbers?"
"Lots of stuff!"
"Like what?"
Kai shot him that 'look'- the one that told him he'd just stepped over the line and it was time to put up or shut up. "Uh...uh...," the neko-jin tried desperately to cover.
He really DID know next to nothing about numbers except for how to count to ten and back again. But he didn't want to look stupid in front of Kai. "Well?"
"I...uh...uh...um..I know about...err-"
"See Rei? You can't even add!"
Rei sulked. "So what? At least I don't have to have Mariah make my meals for me!"
Kai stuck out his tongue. "Only peasants have to make their own meals."
"Pea-whats?" Rei looked at the older boy confusedly.
Kai sighed and rolled his eyes. "Honestly Rei! You don't even know about social class!"
"Who what now?! Speak English!"
Kai smacked him playfully upside the head. "Silly cat. Nothing in that head of yours but fluff."
Rei grinned. "That's me! Fluff-for-brains!"
"You don't even know when you're being insulted!"
Kai sighed. "I really have to do my math now. Grandfather will KILL me if I don't."
Rei's eyes got wide. "He can't do that! No! Then you'll be dead! And I'll have no one to play with!"
The neko-jin latched onto his leg fearfully. "Don't go away Kai-kun! Please!"
Kai tried desperatley to dislodge the clinging kitten from his leg. "REI! It's just a figure of speech! Let go!"
"A what?"
"Figure of speech. Don't you know anything?"
Rei frowned, letting go of Kai. "I'm not stupid, Kai-kun."
Kai rolled his eyes. "Just get in here so I can shut the door."
Rei grinned and scampered into Kai's room, instantly leaping up on the bed and curling up. His tail lay acorss his nose. "It's cold in here. Don't you have the furnace on, Kai-kun?"
Kai shrugged and went back to his homework. Rei pulled one of the bedcovers over his head. His teeth were chattering. "Kai-kun! I'm cold!"
"Rei! Do you want to go back out in the hall?"
Rei shut up. But only for a few minutes.
Kai finished his homework, then neatly evened the stack of papers. Turning around to put them in his school bag, he noticed Rei had removed most of the sheets from his bed and was currently making a 'nest' on the floor with them. What was left on the bed was mussed beyond believe. "REI! You baka! What are you doing?!"
Rei squealed and ducked under the blankets, peeking out from under them. Kai growled. "Rei! Put my bed back together! I have to sleep in that!"
Rei stuck out his tongue. "NYAH!"
"REI!"
Kai lunged at the blankets. Rei squealed with glee, then scampered out from under them. He ran half way across the room, then turned back to taunt Kai. "Betcha can't catch me!"
Kai growled and launched himself at Rei. Rei pranced away, letting Kai slide under the bed. Kai growled, then quickly formulated a plan. He stayed still, waiting for Rei to come back. After all, they did say curiousity killed the cat. After a moment or two, Rei came waltzing back, peeking under the overhanging bedcovers. "Kai-kun? Are you okay?"
Kai grabbed at Rei. The neko-jin yelped and turned to scamper away. Kai latched onto his tail. "MEW!" Rei yelped, then dug his claws into the carpet as he was dragged backwards.
"MEW! MEW! MEW!"
Kai dragged the other boy under the bed, smirking triumphantly. "Gotcha!"
"Kai! Let go of my tail!"
"No," Kai said, smirking. "Not until you say your sorry."
"MEW!"
It was then that Mariah walked in, closely followed by General Hiwatari. "Kai? Have you seen- KAI! Let go of Rei's tail!"
Kai instantly released his captive and Rei dashed out from under the bed, to hide behind Mariah's legs. Kai stuck his head out from under the bed. "Suck-up," he muttered.
"What have I told you about that-"
"Be quiet Mariah. It's his pet- he can treat it the way he wants."
"Yes, Lord Hiwatari," the Chinese woman said meekly, hanging her head.
General Hiwatari turned to his grandson. "Have you finished your homework yet, Kai?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Good."
The General smiled slightly, but the expression faded as he looked about the room. "What happened in here?"
Kai lowered his gaze. "Rei made a mess and made fun of me, so I chased him."
Hiwatari turned to Mariah. "I told you. He has to have his feet bound. He's always messing things up."
Mariah turned several shades of white. "But Lord Hiwatari, Sir, he's a boy! We can't bind his feet!"
The elderly man snorted. "I won't jave a slave running amuck in this house. Bind his feet. Or I'll find someone who will."
Mariah swallowed hard. "Yes, Sir."
She looked down at Rei. The kitten bit his lip when he saw her woeful expression. She looked a little sick. "Come here, Rei. It's time for bed."
The neko-jin scampered out of the room ahead of the servant, who had to hobble along becuase of her own bound feet. It had been considered good practice to bind the feet of Chinese women in those days. Never had a boy's feet been bound though, slave or not. Rei dashed ahead of her, then stopped every few feet to look back at her and wait for her to catch up. She hobbled along as fast as she could, knowing the young neko-jin wasn't very paticent, but her feet pained her and she moved sluggishly.
At last, they reached Rei's room, which was located on the top floor as well, with the Hiwataris' bedrooms. Rei leaped up onto his bed, curling up. Mariah leaned out the door and called to one of the young Japanese maids to bring her some linens. Then she hobbled over to Rei's bedside and undressed the boy and redressed him in his pyjamas. The maid bustled in with a pair of sheers, a tape measuerer, and several cotton sheets. Mariah sat down on the edge of the bed, setting the sheers to the material. Rei watched in fascination, wondering what on Earth the woman was doing.
"What are you going to do with those?" he asked when she finally finished cutting up the linens.
"We're going to....," she paused for a moment, thinking about the right thing to say to a four-year-old. "...mummify your feet."
"Why?"
Mariah swallowed. "Because the Lord said to."
She picked up one of the linen strips and started to wind it around Rei's foot. The neko-jin winced. "Ouch! Why are you hurting me, 'riah?"
Mariah bit her lip and continued wrapping. "There," she murmured finally, then moved to the other foot and repeated the process.
Rei looked down at his bandaged feet. "Can we take them off now?"
Mariah bit her lip and shook her head. "No, Rei-chan. We can't take them off."
"Well, when can we?"
Mariah looked down at him sympathetically. "Don't you understand? You're not ever going to take them off."
"Ever?!" Rei yelped, looking down at his feet.
"Never. Only when you wash them."
"But 'riah! That's a long, long time! Forever?"
Mariah sighed. "Yes, Rei. It is a long time. But Lord Hiwatari wants your feet bound. It's better to have a home. You'll still be able to walk, but you'll have to learn how to walk on bound feet. It's not so bad..."
She looked down at her own bandaged appendages. 'What am I saying?! It's horrible...'
Rei yawned. "'riah?"
"Yes?"
"Nighty-night."
She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, Rei."
~*
Mariah sat down on her stool, soaking her feet in the hot water that one of the maids had brought in. The white wraps lay on the floor, where she'd discarded them.
Carefully lifting one of her feet out of the water, she inspected the pitiful stump. Her toes had been folded under the pad of her foot, reducing the length of her foot to three inches. It was good practice, yet painful.
She envied the Japanese girls, with their natural, long stride, so care-free and painless. She herself had to hobble about, and she always heard the Japanese maids snickering behind her back at her dainty, swaying walk. Tears came into her eyes. She couldn't put Rei through this. She couldn't, she wouldn't. If Rei had been a girl, it would have been a different story. But a boy...?
It hadn't been heard of.
~*
It was late in the afternoon when Kai got home. The weather was warm for May, and the heat shimmerd on the air. Kai was glad to be home. Throwing his book bag down on the foyer floor, he dashed upstairs, to Rei's room. "Rei-chan! Let's go out and play-"
He stopped dead as he walked into the room through the wide open door. Mariah had Rei slung over her shoulder and was hauling him back to bed. He was sobbing loudly, his cries mixed with screams of agony. The maids were all gathered around, ready to help at any second. Mariah put Rei down on his bed and instantly, several of the maids looped ropes about Rei's wrists and ankles, then tied him to the bed. They backed away. Mariah sat down on the bed. "Rei-chan-"
"It...it hurts!" he hiccuped pathetically, looking up at her as his tears subsided.
"Of course it does. You have to LEARN to walk on bound feet...and you have to spend several weeks in bed before you can even think about walking-"
Kai cleared his throat. "WHAT is going on here?" he asked, tapping his foot and glaring, trying his best to look intimidating.
Mariah didn't reply. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!" the little boy screeched, loosing his temper.
Mariah started. "Master Kai! I didn't see you there! Forgive me-"
"Shut up and tell me what's going on!"
Mariah looked from Rei, then to the maids, then back to Kai.
"We bound Rei's feet."
Kai looked at her confusedly. Mariah sighed. She lifted up one of Rei's bandaged legs, displaying it to Kai. "See? We wrapped up Rei's feet and bent the toes under."
Kai was still looking at her funny. She sighed and started to unwrap her own foot. When the bandages at last came free, she watched the revulsion grow on their faces. Finally, Kai found his tongue. "W-what happened to your foot?!"
"It's been bound and the toes have folded under."
"Doesn't...did it hurt?"
"It still does."
Kai swallowed, then looked at the horrified Rei. He had gone several shades of white. His eyes were wide and his jaw was slack. He was staring at Mariah's foot in disbelief. "My...my.."
Mariah started to wrap her foot back up. "It's considered good practice for women to bind their feet."
Kai snapped back to life. "But Rei isn't a girl!"
Mariah shrugged. "Your Grandfather wanted it done."
Rei had tried to get up now. He placed his feet on the floor carefully, then screamed when he had to put all his weight on them. "REI!" Mariah yelled, plucking the neko-jin up off the floor.
"You can't get up! You have to stay in bed!"
Rei was crying again. "Why does he have to stay in bed? He's not sick."
Mariah sighed. "Kai, go, play somewhere else."
"No. I want Rei to play with me."
"He can't. Now, Kai. Go-"
"I said I want to play with Rei!"
Mariah sighed. "Kai, you're making this difficult! Rei can't play! Now, GO!"
Kai frowned and dashed off. Mariah sighed and turned back to Rei. "Lie down and try to get some sleep. Okay?"
She got up and left the room, the maids following in her wake. The door slammed shut behind them.
~*
Rei twitched in his sleep, unnatural sounds reaching his sensitive ears. He groaned and rolled over, swatting at the area the sounds were coming from. "Psst, Rei!"
The neko-jin cracked open an eye, only to see Kai sitting on his legs. "Kai-kun? What are you doing?"
"Getting rid of these stupid things," Kai muttered, pulling at the tightly wound cloths around Rei's feet.
Rei winced at bit. "Don't pull so hard-"
"Shh! Be quiet! We're not supposed to be awake!"
Rei glanced over at the clock. It was 11:37. "Are the grown-ups still up?"
"Yes," Kai hissed through his teeth, yanking on the bindings.
Rei bit his lip. Finally, the bandage fell away from Rei's feet. "Move your toes," Kai commanded, wrinkling his nose and turning his gaze away.
Rei wiggled his toes and sighed in relief as they came unglued from the sole of his foot. Kai looked back. "Don't let them do that again. Okay?"
Rei nodded. Kai smiled. "You're my friend Rei. I don't want to see you get hurt."
~*
Lord Hiwatari slammed his fists down on his desk. "What do you mean, YOU don't want to have his feet bound?! You've got no authority here, neko-jin!"
Mariah nearly flinched. "I'm saying that he shouldn't have his feet bound! It's not right!"
Hiwatari sighed. "Mariah, did you know that every single household has their slaves' feet bound? It doesn't matter their gender- it's status!"
"But he's a boy! He should be able to run free!"
"Be quiet! He's a slave and he should have his feet bound!"
"But-"
"Silence! How are we supposed to sell him off if he hasn't got bound feet?! If he runs off, we pay the prices! And now a days, people won't pay for a slave with unbound feet!"
"Sire! He can't-"
"Shut up Mariah! It's not your place!"
Mariah bit her lip and sat back in her chair, eyes watering. "I can't do this to Rei. I can't...I can't let him bear the same pains as me- I hated them so much for what they did. I can't let him hate me."
Hiwatari remained silent, lips pursed. Setting down his quill, he looked straight at Mariah, eyes narrowed. "His feet will stay bound, Mariah."
She stared at him for only a moment, then tore her eyes away, unnerved. "Yes, Milord."