The Innkeeper's Daughter
By Maraba L.
Author: Maraba L.
E-Mail: woad_isatis@yahoo.com
Last Modified: 10/20/00
Title: The Innkeeper's Daughter
Type of Work: Fanfiction: drama/romance
Spoilers: none yet
Warnings: mature subject matter, lemonish (later chapters), language
Keywords: Chichiri, Tasuki
Chapter 1
Chichiri rose early the next morning, long before dawn. For most of his adult life, he had grown accustomed to having his days bracketed by devotions and that was a habit his time with the seishi had not disrupted. The monk stretched for a moment, then knelt before a small, impromptu altar, his breath falling easily into the ancient disciplined patterns essential for his centering work. His mind and body flowed smoothly from one level of trance to a far deeper focus and he frowned as he became glaringly aware of the disharmony of his surroundings. He knew that places often held an unconscious imprint of their occupants and his mental alarms were going off at what he sensed at this inn. Making a mental note to investigate further, he allowed his consciousness to return to the pattern and rhythm of his breath, not ceasing until the first warmth of the sun penetrated the small window.
After over an hour spent in meditation, he rose gracefully, stretching again before settling himself at the small desk in the room and proceeding to draft a missive to the Empress explaining their delay and providing a full report of their travels thus far. He was nearly finished when there was a small, hesitant knock at the door.
"Come in, no da." The monk looked up, knowing from the auric signature, blazingly palpable to his mage gifted senses that it was Isatis. On impulse, he removed his mask, feeling oddly strange wearing it before her just as the door opened a bit and the waif-like girl slipped quietly in, her arms full of bedding and towels.
"I've brought you fresh bedding." She explained shyly, her eyes on the floor. "And towels. Breakfast should be ready in a half an hour or so." She sat the linens down and quickly moved to strip the bed.
"Arigatou, no da." The monk studied her curiously as she worked, noting how slender she was and again, how shabby her clothing in comparison to her sister's. He frowned slightly, recognizing from her demeanor all the signs of abuse. Isatis finished her work quickly and approached the desk, lingering more than she normally would have, drawn to the monk in a way that she could never have expressed in words.
Chichiri looked up at her and smiled. " Sit with me awhile, no da?" doing his best to project reassurance. "I was just finishing up a letter." He smiled again.
The girl glanced nervously at the door then nodded, taking a seat opposite him. " I...have finished my work for the morning....I can stay a little while." She said hesitantly, her voice little more than a whisper.
"You work at your father's inn too?" the monk asked gently, not wanting to frighten her, having noted her nervousness.
At his question, Isatis nodded a little, "Hai...I take care of the cleaning in the morning. I...my father doesn't...I don't work downstairs with the customers." She shrugged shyly, her eyes straying to his letter and glowing with a palpable hunger.
Chichiri noticed the path her gaze had taken and cocked his head curiously, "Can you read, little one?" he asked softly, noting her wistful expression.
Isatis shook her head, "Only a little and I don't write very well. My father said that schooling would only be wasted on me. I...I'm not very bright." Her cheeks flushed with shame and she looked away.
The monk frowned at her words but he merely said, " I doubt that. Would you like to learn?" At her surprised glance he continued. " My friend and I are going to be staying here for a little while and I can teach you, no da." He smiled disarmingly.
She nodded once, shyly. " I...I would like that...but I don't want to be I the way." Her eyes were wide and almost pleading as she glanced down at his papers again.
Chichiri laughed, " You won't be in the way! It will be a delight, no da. We can start this afternoon if you like...maybe outside." He filed the expression of relief that flashed across her features away for future reference. "I'm sure you know somewhere quiet, no da."
She nodded, " But I have nothing to trade." She replied quietly.
The monk smiled gently, " There is no trade needed....teaching you will be gift enough." He had the pleasure of seeing her blush again. He knew the girl was full of questions that she would never, ever ask him and this would give him the opportunity to get to know her better. The flame of magic in the girl was strong, and almost completely untrained and his heart went out to her. He knew well how such a gift could devour its bearer unless the will was honed to harness the power.
There was a sound outside the door and Isatis jumped up. "Gomen...I..I must go. There is a stream about half a league into the forest to the west of the inn...I can meet you there around noontime." She bowed to him politely and he nodded.
"I would like that, no da." Frowning as she scurried quickly out of the room. He took out another piece of parchment and began making notes.
Isatis slipped quietly out of the room. She had almost made it to the stairs when rough hands slammed her against the wall and a low, female voice hissed, " What were you doing in there, sister?"
Isatis looked up into the cold eyes of her sister and shivered, "N..nothing...simply changing the bedding."
Rowan sneered, "Taking a terribly long time to change bedding." She slammed her against the wall again. "All I'd have to do is tell father that you were bothering the customers," she grinned viciously, " And you wouldn't be walking for a week, you pathetic bitch."
Isatis glared up at her sister, " I wasn't bothering him! He was asking me...about the inn." She improvised quickly, knowing better than to tell her sister of Chichiri's offer. "I wasn't bothering him!" the girl flushed again at her sister's brutal sneer.
"Are you smitten, little sister?" she hissed softly, a malicious light shining in her eyes at Isatis's blush. "Do you really think that he could ever want you around, little sister?" Rowan sneered. " Do you really think that any man would ever want YOU around?"
Tears came to Isatis's eyes and the girl shook her head in a silent 'no.'
"You are such garbage. I don't know why father even bother's to keep you here." Rowan drew back her hand to slap the younger girl when a hard male voice interrupted her.
"What's going on here?" Tasuki came up behind her, eyes blazing at the scene before him. He walked quickly over to the two girls, taking a stance between Isatis and her sister, turning cold eyes on the elder girl. Part of him noticed a strange heat emanating from Isatis, but his practical mind dismissed it in light of her sister's thwarted attack.
Rowan bit back a snarl and turned a deceptively sweet expression on the seishi, "Nothing, just having a friendly conversation with my sister." Her eyes hardened as she met Isatis's frightened gaze.
Tasuki snorted, " That didn't seem 'friendly' to me. I suggest you leave her alone. Now." He stared at the girl coldly. He didn't generally believe in striking women, but was truly itching to make an exception with this one.
Rowan snorted, "You should be thanking me...she was harassing your friend, probably acting like a little slut."
"I see only one person here acting like a slut." He said coldly, eyes flashing.
"And Isatis was hardly bothering me." A second voice, calm and very controlled interrupted the growing cabal as Chichiri came to stand beside his friend. "I had questions and your sister was kind enough to answer them for me." He smiled impassively, "I hardly call that 'harassing.' She was most proper, I assure you."
Rowan looked from one to the other then turned cold eyes on her sister, " I have work to attend to." She turned and swept down the stairs angrily.
Isatis moaned softly as her knees went weak and both men moved to catch her before she collapsed. They eased the girl to the floor gently and Chichiri put his arms around her as she started to shake.
"Did she hurt you?" Tasuki demanded, eyes still blazing. " I saw her getting ready to slap you." Isatis only shook her head, still shaking violently.
"Shhhh." Chichiri soothed gently, "It's alright, she's gone now. Your safe right now." He stroked her hair softly, his brow quirking as he felt the girl ground her fear, fighting for calm. Grounding was a very basic exercise but not one she was likely to have learned by herself. Someone had taught her a little something at least, the man noted, his curiosity piqued.
"Th..thank you." The girl whispered softly, her eyes staring after her sister.
Tasuki hunkered down next to her, eyes softening as he observed the strain and fear in her eyes. " How often does she hit you?" he said quietly, voice brittle with anger.
Her words tumbled out before she could stop them, " All the time! She and father...all the time!"she curled up tightly, wrapping thin arms around her legs. " I try to stay out of their way but it doesn't help. I'm afraid all the time. Father's friends...I'm afraid of what he will let them do." She shivered again. " They... their thoughts are wrong, foul...I stay away as much as possible. When.." she broke off, biting her lip.
"When...?" Tasuki prompted with surprising gentleness but the girl only shook her head. He looked at the monk , confused. Chichiri however was not.
"When you are older," the monk whispered softly, " you will leave." At the girl's small nod, he continued. " How long have you had the magic open?"
Isatis's response was immediate. Her head snapped up and she stared from one man to the other, eyes filled with pure terror. "I...I have no magic!" she gasped hoarsely, her heart beating very quickly, her body very, very tense. Again, she flushed with a very strange heat, a sign, Chichiri realized, of the magic in her blood seeking form and focus.
Chichiri sighed sadly and smiled at her, " I have it too, Isatis. It is a gift."
The girl shook her head violently, " I have no magic!" she again insisted, scooting away from them, pulling herself quickly to her feet. Sounds from the dining room filtered up through the stairs and Isatis was obviously torn between the desire to flee and the possible chance of meeting her sister again.
"We're not going to hurt you." Tasuki held out his hands disarmingly, as the girl looked from one man to another like a deer caught in a hunter's sights. "All the seishi have magic...no one will hurt you for that."
"I...I have to go." She stammered, fleeing down the stairs before either man could stop her. Tasuki ran a hand through his hair as the monk signed and leaned back against the wall.
"What the hell was that all about?" the red-haired seishi looked at his companion in consternation. "What the hell is going on here?"
Chichiri replaced his mask carefully, taking a deep breath before replying. " I do not know, Tasuki-kun, but I do know that I feel the hand of Suzaku hammering at my back whenever I am near that girl." The monk looked at Tasuki, the pleasant visage of the mask not deceiving the ex-bandit. " And I do not think it has only to do with the magic."
Tasuki pulled himself to his feet, extending a hand to help the monk up. " What did she mean about her father's 'friends'?' the frowned thoughtfully. "Chichiri, something very screwed up is going on...I want to check it out." He said firmly as the monk nodded in agreement.
Chichiri looked down the stairs, where Isatis had fled, " And I have a meeting with our young mageling...if she keeps it, no da... though I think she will." He turned back to his friend. "Be very careful. I do not like what I am sensing here, Tasuki." His expression was grim but the younger man merely nodded, fingering his fan.
By Maraba L.
Author: Maraba L.
E-Mail: woad_isatis@yahoo.com
Last Modified: 10/20/00
Title: The Innkeeper's Daughter
Type of Work: Fanfiction: drama/romance
Spoilers: none yet
Warnings: mature subject matter, lemonish (later chapters), language
Keywords: Chichiri, Tasuki
Chapter 1
Chichiri rose early the next morning, long before dawn. For most of his adult life, he had grown accustomed to having his days bracketed by devotions and that was a habit his time with the seishi had not disrupted. The monk stretched for a moment, then knelt before a small, impromptu altar, his breath falling easily into the ancient disciplined patterns essential for his centering work. His mind and body flowed smoothly from one level of trance to a far deeper focus and he frowned as he became glaringly aware of the disharmony of his surroundings. He knew that places often held an unconscious imprint of their occupants and his mental alarms were going off at what he sensed at this inn. Making a mental note to investigate further, he allowed his consciousness to return to the pattern and rhythm of his breath, not ceasing until the first warmth of the sun penetrated the small window.
After over an hour spent in meditation, he rose gracefully, stretching again before settling himself at the small desk in the room and proceeding to draft a missive to the Empress explaining their delay and providing a full report of their travels thus far. He was nearly finished when there was a small, hesitant knock at the door.
"Come in, no da." The monk looked up, knowing from the auric signature, blazingly palpable to his mage gifted senses that it was Isatis. On impulse, he removed his mask, feeling oddly strange wearing it before her just as the door opened a bit and the waif-like girl slipped quietly in, her arms full of bedding and towels.
"I've brought you fresh bedding." She explained shyly, her eyes on the floor. "And towels. Breakfast should be ready in a half an hour or so." She sat the linens down and quickly moved to strip the bed.
"Arigatou, no da." The monk studied her curiously as she worked, noting how slender she was and again, how shabby her clothing in comparison to her sister's. He frowned slightly, recognizing from her demeanor all the signs of abuse. Isatis finished her work quickly and approached the desk, lingering more than she normally would have, drawn to the monk in a way that she could never have expressed in words.
Chichiri looked up at her and smiled. " Sit with me awhile, no da?" doing his best to project reassurance. "I was just finishing up a letter." He smiled again.
The girl glanced nervously at the door then nodded, taking a seat opposite him. " I...have finished my work for the morning....I can stay a little while." She said hesitantly, her voice little more than a whisper.
"You work at your father's inn too?" the monk asked gently, not wanting to frighten her, having noted her nervousness.
At his question, Isatis nodded a little, "Hai...I take care of the cleaning in the morning. I...my father doesn't...I don't work downstairs with the customers." She shrugged shyly, her eyes straying to his letter and glowing with a palpable hunger.
Chichiri noticed the path her gaze had taken and cocked his head curiously, "Can you read, little one?" he asked softly, noting her wistful expression.
Isatis shook her head, "Only a little and I don't write very well. My father said that schooling would only be wasted on me. I...I'm not very bright." Her cheeks flushed with shame and she looked away.
The monk frowned at her words but he merely said, " I doubt that. Would you like to learn?" At her surprised glance he continued. " My friend and I are going to be staying here for a little while and I can teach you, no da." He smiled disarmingly.
She nodded once, shyly. " I...I would like that...but I don't want to be I the way." Her eyes were wide and almost pleading as she glanced down at his papers again.
Chichiri laughed, " You won't be in the way! It will be a delight, no da. We can start this afternoon if you like...maybe outside." He filed the expression of relief that flashed across her features away for future reference. "I'm sure you know somewhere quiet, no da."
She nodded, " But I have nothing to trade." She replied quietly.
The monk smiled gently, " There is no trade needed....teaching you will be gift enough." He had the pleasure of seeing her blush again. He knew the girl was full of questions that she would never, ever ask him and this would give him the opportunity to get to know her better. The flame of magic in the girl was strong, and almost completely untrained and his heart went out to her. He knew well how such a gift could devour its bearer unless the will was honed to harness the power.
There was a sound outside the door and Isatis jumped up. "Gomen...I..I must go. There is a stream about half a league into the forest to the west of the inn...I can meet you there around noontime." She bowed to him politely and he nodded.
"I would like that, no da." Frowning as she scurried quickly out of the room. He took out another piece of parchment and began making notes.
Isatis slipped quietly out of the room. She had almost made it to the stairs when rough hands slammed her against the wall and a low, female voice hissed, " What were you doing in there, sister?"
Isatis looked up into the cold eyes of her sister and shivered, "N..nothing...simply changing the bedding."
Rowan sneered, "Taking a terribly long time to change bedding." She slammed her against the wall again. "All I'd have to do is tell father that you were bothering the customers," she grinned viciously, " And you wouldn't be walking for a week, you pathetic bitch."
Isatis glared up at her sister, " I wasn't bothering him! He was asking me...about the inn." She improvised quickly, knowing better than to tell her sister of Chichiri's offer. "I wasn't bothering him!" the girl flushed again at her sister's brutal sneer.
"Are you smitten, little sister?" she hissed softly, a malicious light shining in her eyes at Isatis's blush. "Do you really think that he could ever want you around, little sister?" Rowan sneered. " Do you really think that any man would ever want YOU around?"
Tears came to Isatis's eyes and the girl shook her head in a silent 'no.'
"You are such garbage. I don't know why father even bother's to keep you here." Rowan drew back her hand to slap the younger girl when a hard male voice interrupted her.
"What's going on here?" Tasuki came up behind her, eyes blazing at the scene before him. He walked quickly over to the two girls, taking a stance between Isatis and her sister, turning cold eyes on the elder girl. Part of him noticed a strange heat emanating from Isatis, but his practical mind dismissed it in light of her sister's thwarted attack.
Rowan bit back a snarl and turned a deceptively sweet expression on the seishi, "Nothing, just having a friendly conversation with my sister." Her eyes hardened as she met Isatis's frightened gaze.
Tasuki snorted, " That didn't seem 'friendly' to me. I suggest you leave her alone. Now." He stared at the girl coldly. He didn't generally believe in striking women, but was truly itching to make an exception with this one.
Rowan snorted, "You should be thanking me...she was harassing your friend, probably acting like a little slut."
"I see only one person here acting like a slut." He said coldly, eyes flashing.
"And Isatis was hardly bothering me." A second voice, calm and very controlled interrupted the growing cabal as Chichiri came to stand beside his friend. "I had questions and your sister was kind enough to answer them for me." He smiled impassively, "I hardly call that 'harassing.' She was most proper, I assure you."
Rowan looked from one to the other then turned cold eyes on her sister, " I have work to attend to." She turned and swept down the stairs angrily.
Isatis moaned softly as her knees went weak and both men moved to catch her before she collapsed. They eased the girl to the floor gently and Chichiri put his arms around her as she started to shake.
"Did she hurt you?" Tasuki demanded, eyes still blazing. " I saw her getting ready to slap you." Isatis only shook her head, still shaking violently.
"Shhhh." Chichiri soothed gently, "It's alright, she's gone now. Your safe right now." He stroked her hair softly, his brow quirking as he felt the girl ground her fear, fighting for calm. Grounding was a very basic exercise but not one she was likely to have learned by herself. Someone had taught her a little something at least, the man noted, his curiosity piqued.
"Th..thank you." The girl whispered softly, her eyes staring after her sister.
Tasuki hunkered down next to her, eyes softening as he observed the strain and fear in her eyes. " How often does she hit you?" he said quietly, voice brittle with anger.
Her words tumbled out before she could stop them, " All the time! She and father...all the time!"she curled up tightly, wrapping thin arms around her legs. " I try to stay out of their way but it doesn't help. I'm afraid all the time. Father's friends...I'm afraid of what he will let them do." She shivered again. " They... their thoughts are wrong, foul...I stay away as much as possible. When.." she broke off, biting her lip.
"When...?" Tasuki prompted with surprising gentleness but the girl only shook her head. He looked at the monk , confused. Chichiri however was not.
"When you are older," the monk whispered softly, " you will leave." At the girl's small nod, he continued. " How long have you had the magic open?"
Isatis's response was immediate. Her head snapped up and she stared from one man to the other, eyes filled with pure terror. "I...I have no magic!" she gasped hoarsely, her heart beating very quickly, her body very, very tense. Again, she flushed with a very strange heat, a sign, Chichiri realized, of the magic in her blood seeking form and focus.
Chichiri sighed sadly and smiled at her, " I have it too, Isatis. It is a gift."
The girl shook her head violently, " I have no magic!" she again insisted, scooting away from them, pulling herself quickly to her feet. Sounds from the dining room filtered up through the stairs and Isatis was obviously torn between the desire to flee and the possible chance of meeting her sister again.
"We're not going to hurt you." Tasuki held out his hands disarmingly, as the girl looked from one man to another like a deer caught in a hunter's sights. "All the seishi have magic...no one will hurt you for that."
"I...I have to go." She stammered, fleeing down the stairs before either man could stop her. Tasuki ran a hand through his hair as the monk signed and leaned back against the wall.
"What the hell was that all about?" the red-haired seishi looked at his companion in consternation. "What the hell is going on here?"
Chichiri replaced his mask carefully, taking a deep breath before replying. " I do not know, Tasuki-kun, but I do know that I feel the hand of Suzaku hammering at my back whenever I am near that girl." The monk looked at Tasuki, the pleasant visage of the mask not deceiving the ex-bandit. " And I do not think it has only to do with the magic."
Tasuki pulled himself to his feet, extending a hand to help the monk up. " What did she mean about her father's 'friends'?' the frowned thoughtfully. "Chichiri, something very screwed up is going on...I want to check it out." He said firmly as the monk nodded in agreement.
Chichiri looked down the stairs, where Isatis had fled, " And I have a meeting with our young mageling...if she keeps it, no da... though I think she will." He turned back to his friend. "Be very careful. I do not like what I am sensing here, Tasuki." His expression was grim but the younger man merely nodded, fingering his fan.