Crow Feathers
Enigmatic
Ruka was speechless. He didn't believe in pathetic notions such as "passing through walls" or other psychic abilities that were only present in one in a generation. For minutes he and the little girl standing near him stared, astonished, at the cold figure who was watching them in return.
"How...??" For once in his life, Ruka didn't have a clever comment to say. Neither did Kaori, but then again, she was a servant. Servants only spoke when spoken to. Ruka tried again.
"However did you get from my chamber to... down here?"
"Apparently, your bed seems to be connected to the ground. The canopy posts are rooted to the stone. What odd masons you hired when this Manor was built, fixing oaks in the floor. I doubt it was by accident." The woman replied, with a sort of superior, knowing smirk on her face. Upset by the smirk, Ruka suddenly scowled and asked, "What is it you know that I don't?" From childhood, he and Hideaki had prowled the manor from the highest towers to the deepest cellars, and he had never, not once, come by this odd place. So how was it that, on her first time in Manor Tsuchiya, the enigmatic female wound up where he had never been before?
"Didn't you hear me? I said that your bed was attached to the ground."
"What in the heavens does that have to do with anything?"
She only folded her arms and laughed, "Don't you have political enemies?"
Ruka thought about that question for a bit. Then an idea struck his head. However, before he could open his mouth and answer, Kaori, forgotten a while before, started to cry. She collapsed onto her knees, her thickly plaited hair falling across her shoulders, and placed her face in her hands. She cried as if she was ashamed of her actions, of her life, and of every single thing in the world.
"I... I..." As she attempted to get words out, she abruptly choked and then wailed even harder, the tears welling up in her cupped palms and then spilling over them, onto the dark, cold stone floor. "Don't kill me just yet, S-S-Sir!! I-I c-c-can explain everything... everything."
In the matter of a mere day, Ruka was more confused than he had ever been all the days of his life tied together. He could only listen.
* * * * *
"AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!" Shiori stomped her foot angrily and pounded her fist on the nearest table with amazing force. "This is... this is... DAMN IT!!!! CURSE IT!!!" She could find no adjective suitable for her momentary thoughts. Suddenly, she took her fury out on a poor, unsuspecting page passing by as she hollered her lungs out at the boy, screaming nonsense about how fate didn't love her, how she had done nothing to get on God's bad side (which was quite untrue, considering all the things that she had done in her wicked, scheming existence), and about other things that weren't worth mentioning, nor appropriate either, due to the profane language that flew out of her mouth at incredible speeds.
"Lady Shiori! What are you doing in the Count's chambers? And whatever are you doing to Mitsuru?" Hideaki stormed over to Shiori, his face as purple as a ripe plum. "You are forbidden treat Mitsuru like that, even if he is just a page!"
"As a matter of fact, Baron Hideaki, Ruka personally invited me to his chambers for a slight conversation. I was upset by the fact that Mitsuru so impudently interrupted things. Adding to that, I was also displeased with the fact that Count Ruka was unable to attend to me while he was away with... other things." Shiori said all of this smoothly, as if she were a distressed maiden and Ruka was a careless count who could care less about the world.
Hideaki, however, did not heed Shiori's false words. He folded his arms and muttered, "Shiori, your lies won't work on me. I know you, you traitorous woman! I know what it is that you do!"
"Hmph," Shiori scoffed, with her nose in the air as she picked up her skirts dandily and stormed away, leaving Mitsuru staring after her wide-eyed.
"Baron, Sir, if I may ask..." Mitsuru whispered anxiously, turning to face Hideaki.
"Don't ask, Mitsuru. It's really none of your business. She's not worth your time." With that, Hideaki walked away. Mitsuru followed suit, and quickly closed the Count's door. He sorely hoped that he wouldn't run into the maroon-haired woman again. She was quite frightening.
* * * * *
"Ah... I see now, Kaori..." Ruka uttered, his eyes narrowed, his arms crossed. The woman next to him watched the still-whimpering Kaori's frame shake uncontrollably.
"F-Father only told me the d-d-day he passed away, Count Ruka... I-I couldn't tell you earlier; I apologize deeply! P-Please kill me quickly!" Kaori's hair was slightly tangled from all the salty tears that had seeped into them, intertwining the strands and giving the hair a messy, pathetic look.
Ruka stared down at her, unforgiving, and just as he opened his mouth, the beautiful woman spoke up rather abruptly. Her emerald-teal eyes gleamed as she spoke, her words crisp and well chosen.
"Count, you are angry towards her because of her father's treachery towards you and your family. However, she is merely a servant. Can you really be so cruel as to condemn her to a fate of death? She is also only a child. She did not know better," the woman spoke, but she never quite got to finish, because Ruka broke in angrily.
"First of all, I had never said that she was to be executed. I am not as low as that. Second of all, who are you to contradict me, when I do not even know who you are? And finally, please wait to speak until after I am finished." Furious, Ruka slitted his deep marine eyes and gave off a glare.
Speechless for a few moments, the woman eventually sputtered, "Why, aren't you haughty, Count! You could have given me the chance to complete my words! Instead, you give me an arrogant face and lash out without thought! Heaven has improved my mind; I see that Earth has not improved yours, the mind of a man. Up in Heaven there are no 'classes' or social status! Only the seraphs and those who hold a seat of honor are the high angels; they make all the decisions. They command respect, but neither act foolishly, nor imprudently. But men, I cannot say..."
Quickly Ruka realized the mistake of his rude, hasty reply that had instinctively taken over his good thought. He quickly recomposed himself, and responded, "I apologize, wise lady. If I may be forgiven for my words..."
"Oh, you're a sly one, are you not? But don't worry yourself about showing grave respect to an angel; choose your words carefully when speaking to a woman. I am an angel no longer."
"Then, pray, good lady, what may your name be?"
She paused temporarily at his request. After some hesitation, she said, in a deep, low voice, "My name? It once was, and still is, Arisugawa Juri."
"Welcome, Lady Juri, to Manor Tsuchiya." Ruka smirked, holding Juri's hand up to his lips as a gesture of greeting.
At that, Juri's faced remained stony and impassive, but her eyes laughed.
Author's note: Whoa... talk about a writer's block! I was so caught up on some of my other fics and a ton of schoolwork (aren't we all? ^o^) that I couldn't work on this for a while... I'm truly sorry, for those of you who were waiting for chapter 2. (a very little amount) I also tried to make it remotely practical, after reading Dianna Silver's long review... I tried making it better, but eh, I guess it didn't turn out all that well! Anyway, please review after you read. * cough no flames cough* ^_^ Okay, please take time to read and review some of my other fics too! (if it's not too much trouble)
Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that I will explain the situation with Kaori, Ruka, and the odd chamber in chapter 3. I apologize for the slow pace of this story; I guess it's just the way that I set things up... -_-
Enigmatic
Ruka was speechless. He didn't believe in pathetic notions such as "passing through walls" or other psychic abilities that were only present in one in a generation. For minutes he and the little girl standing near him stared, astonished, at the cold figure who was watching them in return.
"How...??" For once in his life, Ruka didn't have a clever comment to say. Neither did Kaori, but then again, she was a servant. Servants only spoke when spoken to. Ruka tried again.
"However did you get from my chamber to... down here?"
"Apparently, your bed seems to be connected to the ground. The canopy posts are rooted to the stone. What odd masons you hired when this Manor was built, fixing oaks in the floor. I doubt it was by accident." The woman replied, with a sort of superior, knowing smirk on her face. Upset by the smirk, Ruka suddenly scowled and asked, "What is it you know that I don't?" From childhood, he and Hideaki had prowled the manor from the highest towers to the deepest cellars, and he had never, not once, come by this odd place. So how was it that, on her first time in Manor Tsuchiya, the enigmatic female wound up where he had never been before?
"Didn't you hear me? I said that your bed was attached to the ground."
"What in the heavens does that have to do with anything?"
She only folded her arms and laughed, "Don't you have political enemies?"
Ruka thought about that question for a bit. Then an idea struck his head. However, before he could open his mouth and answer, Kaori, forgotten a while before, started to cry. She collapsed onto her knees, her thickly plaited hair falling across her shoulders, and placed her face in her hands. She cried as if she was ashamed of her actions, of her life, and of every single thing in the world.
"I... I..." As she attempted to get words out, she abruptly choked and then wailed even harder, the tears welling up in her cupped palms and then spilling over them, onto the dark, cold stone floor. "Don't kill me just yet, S-S-Sir!! I-I c-c-can explain everything... everything."
In the matter of a mere day, Ruka was more confused than he had ever been all the days of his life tied together. He could only listen.
* * * * *
"AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!" Shiori stomped her foot angrily and pounded her fist on the nearest table with amazing force. "This is... this is... DAMN IT!!!! CURSE IT!!!" She could find no adjective suitable for her momentary thoughts. Suddenly, she took her fury out on a poor, unsuspecting page passing by as she hollered her lungs out at the boy, screaming nonsense about how fate didn't love her, how she had done nothing to get on God's bad side (which was quite untrue, considering all the things that she had done in her wicked, scheming existence), and about other things that weren't worth mentioning, nor appropriate either, due to the profane language that flew out of her mouth at incredible speeds.
"Lady Shiori! What are you doing in the Count's chambers? And whatever are you doing to Mitsuru?" Hideaki stormed over to Shiori, his face as purple as a ripe plum. "You are forbidden treat Mitsuru like that, even if he is just a page!"
"As a matter of fact, Baron Hideaki, Ruka personally invited me to his chambers for a slight conversation. I was upset by the fact that Mitsuru so impudently interrupted things. Adding to that, I was also displeased with the fact that Count Ruka was unable to attend to me while he was away with... other things." Shiori said all of this smoothly, as if she were a distressed maiden and Ruka was a careless count who could care less about the world.
Hideaki, however, did not heed Shiori's false words. He folded his arms and muttered, "Shiori, your lies won't work on me. I know you, you traitorous woman! I know what it is that you do!"
"Hmph," Shiori scoffed, with her nose in the air as she picked up her skirts dandily and stormed away, leaving Mitsuru staring after her wide-eyed.
"Baron, Sir, if I may ask..." Mitsuru whispered anxiously, turning to face Hideaki.
"Don't ask, Mitsuru. It's really none of your business. She's not worth your time." With that, Hideaki walked away. Mitsuru followed suit, and quickly closed the Count's door. He sorely hoped that he wouldn't run into the maroon-haired woman again. She was quite frightening.
* * * * *
"Ah... I see now, Kaori..." Ruka uttered, his eyes narrowed, his arms crossed. The woman next to him watched the still-whimpering Kaori's frame shake uncontrollably.
"F-Father only told me the d-d-day he passed away, Count Ruka... I-I couldn't tell you earlier; I apologize deeply! P-Please kill me quickly!" Kaori's hair was slightly tangled from all the salty tears that had seeped into them, intertwining the strands and giving the hair a messy, pathetic look.
Ruka stared down at her, unforgiving, and just as he opened his mouth, the beautiful woman spoke up rather abruptly. Her emerald-teal eyes gleamed as she spoke, her words crisp and well chosen.
"Count, you are angry towards her because of her father's treachery towards you and your family. However, she is merely a servant. Can you really be so cruel as to condemn her to a fate of death? She is also only a child. She did not know better," the woman spoke, but she never quite got to finish, because Ruka broke in angrily.
"First of all, I had never said that she was to be executed. I am not as low as that. Second of all, who are you to contradict me, when I do not even know who you are? And finally, please wait to speak until after I am finished." Furious, Ruka slitted his deep marine eyes and gave off a glare.
Speechless for a few moments, the woman eventually sputtered, "Why, aren't you haughty, Count! You could have given me the chance to complete my words! Instead, you give me an arrogant face and lash out without thought! Heaven has improved my mind; I see that Earth has not improved yours, the mind of a man. Up in Heaven there are no 'classes' or social status! Only the seraphs and those who hold a seat of honor are the high angels; they make all the decisions. They command respect, but neither act foolishly, nor imprudently. But men, I cannot say..."
Quickly Ruka realized the mistake of his rude, hasty reply that had instinctively taken over his good thought. He quickly recomposed himself, and responded, "I apologize, wise lady. If I may be forgiven for my words..."
"Oh, you're a sly one, are you not? But don't worry yourself about showing grave respect to an angel; choose your words carefully when speaking to a woman. I am an angel no longer."
"Then, pray, good lady, what may your name be?"
She paused temporarily at his request. After some hesitation, she said, in a deep, low voice, "My name? It once was, and still is, Arisugawa Juri."
"Welcome, Lady Juri, to Manor Tsuchiya." Ruka smirked, holding Juri's hand up to his lips as a gesture of greeting.
At that, Juri's faced remained stony and impassive, but her eyes laughed.
Author's note: Whoa... talk about a writer's block! I was so caught up on some of my other fics and a ton of schoolwork (aren't we all? ^o^) that I couldn't work on this for a while... I'm truly sorry, for those of you who were waiting for chapter 2. (a very little amount) I also tried to make it remotely practical, after reading Dianna Silver's long review... I tried making it better, but eh, I guess it didn't turn out all that well! Anyway, please review after you read. * cough no flames cough* ^_^ Okay, please take time to read and review some of my other fics too! (if it's not too much trouble)
Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that I will explain the situation with Kaori, Ruka, and the odd chamber in chapter 3. I apologize for the slow pace of this story; I guess it's just the way that I set things up... -_-