"Burn the abomination!" The cry issued from the mouth of a woman of about
middle age. Unfortunately neither life nor time had allowed her to age
gracefully. Although she wouldn't admit it she felt profound jealousy
because of the youthful beauty of the creature in the cage, and thus hated
it all the more. Other cries came from the mob gathered around the wooden
cage, "Save the children!" and "Kill the monster" rang down the streets.
Someone heaped armfuls of straw onto the small wooden cage. The creature
inside it, to the first glance a girl of about 16, huddled in a corner, her
eyes wide with terror.
As one looked closer one saw that she had claws at the end of her graceful fingers, irises which, if not for the fright would be slits, and atop her head perched a pair of velvety ears, like those of a cat. A luxurious tail wrapped tightly around the girl's waist as she pressed herself into the corner of the cage, trying to get as far away from the mob as possible. Normally she would be quite pretty, but in her current state with her matted hair, ripped and disheveled clothing and a number of bruises and cuts adorning her body and face she looked more pathetic than cute.
The roar of the crowd changed into an angry murmur as a villager approached the cage with a torch he held high aloft. Preparing to turn the straw into a funeral pyre for the prisoner he screamed "Die monst---" he fell to his knees, dropping the torch, as he tried futilely to will his body to breath. A sudden oppressive silence came over the mob as a blacked cloaked figure, a sword at his side, strode forward. The figure's green eyes reflected the torch light, and perhaps something more, as the villagers looked at them it appeared as though hellfire played and danced as the light reflected on their wet surfaces. The villagers parted to let him pass into their midst. As he walked he had his hand in front of him, thumb held an inch or so from his forefinger, as he squeezed them together the man on the ground began to writhe in agony and accidentally kick the torch onto the straw. As the fire licked towards the cage the cloaked figure began to run forward, releasing the man on the ground. The girl in the cage screamed a high pitched wail as the flames crept closer and her hair started to singe. Shoving the straw aside with his hands, burning them in the process, the man grabbed the bars of the cage and ripped them apart. He reached in and wrenched the cowering girl from the corner of the cage.
As she felt the hands grabbing at her the girl reacted instinctively, clamping her jaw onto her savior's wrist as she reached around him and ripped gashes in his shoulder. He did not seem to notice this pain as the blood flowed liberally down his arm. As he pulled her away from the growing inferno she regained some of her wits and she began to run away from the flames and the man holding her. The warrior's hand reached around the girl's waist and pulled her close to him. She struggled to get away but realized the all the villagers were moving away from the man. He bent down and placed the girl's arm around his neck and reached his right arm around his shoulder and his left under her knees, he lifted her off her feet and carried her through the crowd which nervously parted to let him pass. Inwardly his desires battled for dominance, he wanted to find out who was responsible for nearly killing the girl; however he also wanted to help calm her as quickly as possible. The dampness of her tears against his chest decided the matter. He carried the girl through the crowd of villagers towards his dark tower past the far edge of town. The anger of the crowd was palpable as he denied their bloodlust the life of the girl.
He walked beyond the village, his tower sat far enough into the woods as to be hidden from view of the houses. The cat-girl clung to him as he gently carried her. The fear and tension which had built up over her days of captivity released its self in a torrent of tears against her savior's chest. Although she had tried valiantly to bite back the tears her jaw had begun to quiver and after a single drop ran down her eye the rest soon followed; she found she was too tired to fight any more battles. She cried even as the man's strong voice spoke, "You are safe now." Although they came softly his words touched her core, she began to sob against him, clinging to him as he carried her far away from the smoke and flames.
The girl became aware that the man had stopped walking and was settling her down onto something soft. She stopped crying and blinked her eyes, wiping the last of the tears away with the back of her hand. She found herself on a bed with luxurious white silk sheets, which the dirt and blood from her body had already begun to stain. The girl began to sit upright when she felt a hand gently restrain her. "Lie still, I need to clean your wounds." The voice spoke softly but with a gentle force. She felt the sting of alcohol being wiped gently across the scrapes on her forehead and flinched a bit at the pain. As she looked up she saw the warrior gazing down at her, she began to speak but he silenced her with a finger on her lips "Shh, just stay still, the villagers won't dare come for you here, you are safe now." He proceeded to clean and bandage her wounds as she let herself lie on the soft bed. Once all the open wounds had been bandaged and cleaned the man helped the girl sit up, he sat behind her and she leaned her back against him. He reached out a hand and picked up a bowl of warm milk and a spoon. Placing the bowl in the girl's lap he began to feed her the milk. She sipped slowly but gratefully, a tiny purr resonated in her chest. Once she had finished the bowl she turned her head to look at the man who had saved her life. She never even questioned where the food had come from.
She found the he had a strong jaw line, and compassionate eyes. She reached up and touched his cheek, she was about to kiss him when her fingers traced a small tattoo on the right side of his neck. At her touch he moved back as if he had been bitten by a snake. His head turned so she couldn't see the mark. The man's expression changed to one of infinite sadness for a moment before he looked up at her and said, "Now you need to sleep." Although she wanted nothing more than to hold him close she was too tired to argue, and as he stood he gently let her lie back down, he pulled the sheets over her battered form and smiled at her. She was about to thank him for everything he had done when he once more placed his finger on her lips, "Sleep, you are safe now." She closed her eyes and immediately darkness closed upon her mind as weariness overwhelmed her.
The warrior regained his composure; absentmindedly he rubbed the mark before altering the collar on his shirt to hide it. He finally noticed his own wounds, the girls teeth had punctured deeply into his wrist and his side was stained with blood. He pored a little of the alcohol on his wounds and wiped them clean. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and directed his energy towards the wounds. They began to close, faster than would be normally possible. As he recovered he heard the angry noises of a mob rising from the front door to his tower. As the tower was fairly small it only had three stories and a basement, he currently stood on the top floor, his bedroom. Beneath him lay the floor with a small stove and oven and open space for meditation. On the second level there was an open area for sitting and entertaining guests, as well as an a portion which was screened off. On the ground level chairs and couches sat against the wall in what he considered his parlor. Underneath the ground, dug into the rock he had his private practice chambers where he would meditate and perfect his combat. As he strode down the spiral staircase going through the middle of the rooms, each circular and about 30' across, the noise grew louder. As he swung open the carved stone door, reinforced with precious iron he surveyed the villagers amassed outside.
He stepped out and surveyed the angry unwashed crowd gathered around his tower, some trampling his gardens, the dumpy woman from before stood on some of his precious black roses. It had taken the villagers a good amount of time to amass the nerve, and the numbers, to approach the warrior's home. As a result they stood with torches holding back the gloom in front of a dark tower waiting to recover 'their' prisoner. A burly man stepped foreward, armed with a sharpened pole which he leveled at the warrior as he yelled "We demand you give us the creature! It must be destroyed or it will come for us all!"
The warrior lowered his gaze, again the flames seemed to play upon his eyes, and looked down on the man with the pitchfork. A smile, totally without humor or compassion broke across his face as he asked, "If I do not?"
The man's voice became dangerous, "Then you are in league with the monster, and you too must burn. Give us the creature!" He advanced so the tip of his pole was about five feet from the warrior's chest.
"I refuse." The burly farmer advanced on the warrior, stabbing at him with the spear. The warrior hit it with the back of his hand, sending the tip wide. Then he leveled his palm at the farmer and said "I'll burn in hell first." The farmer was knocked back by a force which appeared as only a ripple in the air, barely visible in the flickering torch light. "If any of you lay a hand on her I will burn you to ash," the warrior stated, more a fact than a threat. He turned and walked inside, leaving the villagers to tend to the severely wounded man.
They soon decided that they should find somewhere else to be, and dispersed. Only the woman remained, she yelled at the closed door "Sir Aedriel, mark my words, you will bleed for helping that abomination."
**********
The moon slowly glided across the dark sky, followed by the sun, after a time the sun too set. Then the celestial dance completed yet another cycle, finally when the silver orb of the moon first rose in the crimson light of the dying sun the girl began to stir. All this time the warrior had stood vigil, tending to the damaged form of the girl, sleeping at the foot of the bed, not leaving for a moment more than was necessary. When she began to stir her face softened and she finally looked at peace. The black robed warrior threw open the curtains to the room and softly left the room. He walked down the spiral staircase to the third level of his tower. In this room he had a small stove and some supplies to cook with, also there were some chairs and books lined the walls. The room was circular, as was the tower, being about thirty feet across there was ample space. He began to prepare some food.
As the moon reached its zenith the girl awoke to the smell of cooked meat. She stretched her sore muscles and opened her eyes. As her memories returned she quickly sat up and looked around. She found the warrior kneeling next to her, a tray of food on his lap. Her mouth began to water as the girl looked at the contents, there were strips of cooked meat, a rich soup and fine rice on the side, a rather large glass of sake accompanied the meal, this was obviously the food of the nobility. Although she was famished she hesitated to eat because she couldn't be sure if the wonderful food was for her. She felt very weak and had hold herself up with a hand on the bed.
The warrior smiled slightly "Eat, my beautiful one" he said softly, taking a carved pair of chopsticks and picking up a piece of meat and feeding it to her. After she had eaten a bit and looked a bit less shaky he handed them to the girl, positioning them properly for her.
The girl ate so quickly she almost seemed to attack the food she started with the meat and, once she had finished she drained the soup. After she had stopped and breathed she took the cup of sake and began to sip. Looking at the plate with only the rice left she blushed slightly, it was a social fax pox to eat the meat before the rice, as doing so showed a certain amount of greed. Once he realized why she was turning pink in the cheeks the warrior nodded kindly at her and her blush deepened more. She began to sip from the glass, savoring the wine, she had almost never had anything of any quality before and this glass certainly was far better than the little bit of 'good' wine she had tried at a festival once before. It also seemed to have more alcohol than any sake she had ever tried, but she continued to sip from the glass as she said "Thank you my lord." She was unsure how to address someone of his obvious status, the fact that he was being so informal as to speak directly to her, a person of no rank, complicated the matter even more. His kindness confused her slightly, he had even called her 'beautiful one,' surely this wasn't how most lords acted.
"My name is Samurai Aedriel Hanwa, please only call me Aedriel. What is your name, beautiful one?" The warrior bowed slightly as he spoke this, a gesture of respect to the girl, one which she was unaccustomed to, this deepened her blush even more, and the sake did not help either. Samurai Aedriel was obviously of foreign blood, a true rarity. His face was angular, the muscles well defined, his body seemed to carry no fat, this separated him from many other people of class, as did his sleek build and strong muscles.
"Sir Aedriel," The idea of not using a title when addressing a noble put her ill at ease so she used a more informal one, "I have not been given a name, people simply call me 'hey you' or 'cat' when they want to talk to me, which isn't very often." She purred slightly as his earlier compliment, calling her beautiful, sank in. It was totally different than being called a monster.
Aedriel paused a moment, surprised that the creature before him had no name; he smiled, pointed his index finger and gently extended it to her face, touching her small nose. He said "Well then beautiful one, I dub thee Ms. Karina." She smiled and purred even louder at this, the kind respect he showed somehow made her feel lighter, perhaps it was due in part to the sake, although she didn't think so.
Feeling like she was floating, Karina softly whispered "Thank you Aedriel."
His eyes drifted down from her face to her shapely body and he asked, "Would you like a bath? In order to get at the rest of your wounds I had to remove you garments, and it seemed to be futile to repair them so I had them destroyed. Please wear this." He reached down, next to the bed and lifted up a fluffy yukata, silver colored with a blue waistband. It was obviously far better quality than the cloths she had ever owned before; she could only nod in her stunned amazement at the gift.
It was then that she realized she wore nothing other than the sheets, which had fallen to her waist when she had sat up. Also that Aedriel had cleaned of her wounds and somehow most were gone. She became suddenly aware of all of her small physical flaws, she knew that her waist was a bit too thin and she knew he could clearly see her ribs under her skin. It embarrassed her that he had seen her without her clothing, ragged as it was. Her hands flew to clutch the sheets around her shoulder, shielding herself from his view. She held the sheets around herself in a cool, silken embrace. Karina broke eye contact with Aedriel by turning her head to the side in a vain attempt to hide the embarrassment which so clearly showed on her cheeks. She knew that the idea of a stranger seeing her totally exposed and touching her after she had fallen asleep should disturb her. Yes somehow it didn't. Instead, she experienced an odd sort of feeling, warmth she hadn't felt before, and a small desire to be held close to him. Something deeply ingrained into her said that it was indecent for her to allow herself to become so close to a stranger, even more so because she was the one who wanted to be close, however, this was only a sense among a myriad of feelings. She pulled away from him and almost fell backwards. When she looked down she realized that the thin silk did little to conceal her figure, not only were her ribs slightly visible but even a casual glance could see the exact shape of her breasts, down to the nipples. She turned her back to Aedriel and a slight, irrational anger rose within her for an instant, not because he had seen her nude, but because he seemed unaffected by her lack of clothing, one way or another.
Aedriel smiled gently at Karina's reaction and wrapped the yukata around her shoulders and he gently tied an obi around her waist. He then helped her to stand, his arm around her shoulders for support. Karina smiled slightly as she felt his warmth and power so close to her. She stood on weak legs and leaned her head on Aedriel's shoulder as he helped her down the spiral staircase through all the floors on his home and into the room below.
Beneath the tower was a natural cavern which had been expanded by skilled stonecutters. The room had smooth walls about 40' apart. As Karina looked across the room she saw a pool of water on the far end. About 10' across, a large opening in the stone behind it led into a separate cavern, as she squinted into this room she could only see the reflection of torchlight on water. Steam rose off the water and the room was fairly warm. Aedriel guided her to the water and helped her in. She sat on a stone ledge, her shoulders and head above the warm water. "I have something I need to attend to," Aedriel told her, and turned to leave the room.
Karina waited for him to return as she sat in the warm water and he did not re-appear. While she sat Karina thought back to the events of the recent few days. She asked herself why this lord was being so kind to her; he had risked an angry mob of villagers to rescue her. Few lords would do that without guards, even for a family member, yet he had risked his life to save a total stranger, a monster. Although the girl knew there were many places she could be, far worse than in the company of a kind lord questions still plagued her. Why did he seem so strangely reserved when speaking to her? Why did he recoil when she touched his tattoo? What did the tattoo mean? He was a lord so why didn't he have servants hanging around him? The most disturbing thing of all for her was only a glimmer from her memory, the rage in his eyes as he freed her. What could throw a trained warrior into such anger as he had been in when he stole her from the villagers.
After he had been upstairs and not returned for a time she crept up the stone steps leading to the first floor. She moved in total silence, wet robes helping to muffle her sound as she padded upward.
Upstairs Aedriel faced questions of his own. He had hear a knock on his door and realized while saving the girl he had probably attracted attention, powerful attention. The warrior realized that he had allowed much of his energy to become visible as he had saved Karina, the rage had removed the constraints which normally consealed his true power from casual view. He would have been noticeable by almost anyone trained in the use of ki within a mile. As he approached the door he realized that he couldn't sense anything on the other side. That was very bad, as few people would be able to completely hide their auras from his senses. He slowly opened the door and, to his surprise saw a small, old man standing there. "May I help you?" He asked.
The man introduced himself as a Shinto priest and exchanged the necessary formalities with Aedriel for several minutes, giving no hint as to his purpose. Until finally he said, "I am to be of service to you." The old man stated this as if it should be obvious.
"I see." Aedriel didn't move from the doorway but the man walked in anyway.
At this point Karina moved into earshot and began to carefully listen to what transpired between her guardian and the priest. She made totally certain that she could not be heard and sat ready to run back downstairs.
"Where is the demon?" The man asked simply.
"Demon?" Aedriel feigned confusion while drawing his energy around him like a cloak.
"Yes, the demon you prevented from being destroyed and then brought here. Where is it? I am here by order of my shrine, I am to exorcise the foul presence. Some of the villagers said that you tended to it as if it were a human. I know not what purpose you have with it but I want the monster."
"Oh, that demon. I hardly find her presence vile. In fact, she is quite pleasant."
"The exorcism is a simple enough process." The old man's voice became more urgent as he said "We felt a presence coming from this village, the aura of a powerful demon."
"Would it not be wise to check if the demonic presence in the village was from my guest? Then consider exorcising her. I would let you perform the ritual were it not for the fact I am honor bound to protect her as my guest, that and I am certain she is not the demon you felt."
"You consider this demon to be a guest! This is unacceptable. I will have to perform the exorcism on you to ensure that your closeness hasn't allowed your soul to be in danger, why I can even see a demon mark on your neck." He pointed at Aedriel's tattoo.
Aedriel's eyes blazed as he slapped the pointing hand away. "My mark has nothing to do with the girl. I have had it for over a hundred years; it is nothing recent, nor anything that you need to be concerned with. I see no reason to comply with the orders of your shrine. Please leave my home. Now," he growled.
The priest replied "as you wish then, however, I will complete my mission."
Aedriel guided him to the door and, as soon as the priest had left he slammed and locked it. Karina's eyes filled with tears as the conversation finished. She felt totally betrayed, the man who saved her and called her 'beautiful' thought that she was a demon. He was no better than the scared villagers. All of his kindness had been empty flattery; he was protecting her only because of his stupid warrior's honor. And now she knew why he had seemed so dangerous in the village, HE was the demon. He didn't even deny he had the demon's mark, and said he had had it for a hundred years while he didn't look a day over twenty five. Although he was a foreigner, that couldn't explain why he looked so young. She was certain kindness couldn't motivate a demon to help her so he must have had some thing in store for her. She shuddered to think what it was. As tears blinded her eyes she stifled a cry and fled away from Aedriel, back down the stairs, not even realizing there was only one exit.
Aedriel suddenly became aware of Karina's presence from her small cry. He quickly raced down the stairs to find her. When he did not see her in the water he crouched on the ground and opened his senses and to tried to locate her. To Karina it looked as though he was smelling her out. Aedriel felt her aura, concealed fairly well by something, perhaps her force of will. She had gone into the second portion of the spring, through the doorway like gap in the stone wall and was hiding in the chamber there, barely peeking out at him. He quickly walked to the water, unsure of what was wrong. She swam and waded the twenty feet to the back wall of the chamber. It took all her will not to cry out as she saw his form coming towards her. As he dove into the water and emerged only 10' from her she screamed and covered against the wall, trying to press herself into it. She threw her hands over her face to protect herself from the attack she expected. Visions of claws rending her apart, ripping and tearing through her body came into her mind, yet nothing happened. Instead she felt an arm gently pulling her away from the wall and another bringing her hands away from her face.
She unclenched her eyes and looked at him, pleading "please don't hurt me." Tears streamed down her face as she repeated that phrase twice more. She tried in vain to pull away from him; soon her struggles became only half- hearted squirming as she realized that it was futile.
"What's wrong? What scared you, my beautiful one?" He asked softly, his eyes seemed to glow with a light greater than the torches should have allowed. She cried out as though a part of her soul had been ripped apart as he called her 'beautiful one.' Aedriel pulled Karina closer and she began to struggle again, digging her claws into his flesh, but he held her against him as she cried, soon she relaxed against him. "What is wrong, my," he paused and instead of calling her 'beautiful one' again he said "Karina. You seem fond of drawing my blood, look; the water near us is pink."
This slight distraction caused her to stop crying long enough to clear her eyes and see that the water was indeed turning a light shade of pink as blood streamed out of the ten small wounds on his body. Aedriel willed the scratches to close and they did so, although his cloths hid this from Karina's view. "You lied to me. You said I was beautiful but you think I am a demon, I heard you talking to the priest," the words came out very shaky.
"I know you are not a demoness. Do you know what my profession is? I hunt evil. I am something of a hunter who kills monsters, I am very good at what I do." He spoke softly, soothingly. Her eyes came up and met his eyes, were entrapped by his gaze. She looked scared of him suddenly.
"You aren't going to kill me?"
"You are not a demon, for you are far too innocent. You are not a monster, for you are far too beautiful." He hugged her tightly for a moment, his hand on her waist, his other hand stroking her hair. She purred, and turned her head in embarrassment, she didn't know what to say or what to do, she had never let someone get so close to her, yet she didn't want to move away. She found herself nuzzling his neck. Something inside her said that it was wrong to be so close to a man, really a stranger, but she simply let herself be carried off by her feelings.
"Aedriel, there is something I have to ask you, I need to know, are you a demon? You have your mark, you said it was over a hundred years old, but you don't look more than thirty. And you knew the presence in the town wasn't me." She spoke softly, more than a little afraid. "Who was it, Aedriel, what was the presence?"
His hand stopped stroking her hair, his arm moved away from her waist. He pulled back and turned away from her, the way his once proud frame stooped as he waded away answered her question in a way no assurance or admission could. Even though the water was warm enough that mist rose off it the girl felt a coldness from somewhere in her heart. She wanted to do something, anything, to comfort him, but she didn't know what she could do. She stood there, and a tear rolled down her cheek and plinked into the water at the same instant as a drop Aedriel flicked from his eye.
Vainly Karina reached out a hand, as if to hold onto the figure, she brought it back in, fingers clenched and held her hand next to her heart, again, in the guttering light of the torches she began to cry.
Aedriel slowly trudged up the stairs, stepped out of the tower and into the night. He walked behind his home into the forest. In an ancient, hidden gateway he found a door well shielded from prying eyes that opened into a small room. He stepped inside and heard the trickle of water, he knew there was a small basin of natural water, like a deep puddle in the floor, to one side. He reached down and pulled out a bottle, kept cool by the icy water. He poured the ruby liquid contained within into a bowl and dipped his fingertips into it, coating them with liquid. He looked at his hand, although there was no light in the room he could sense the heat perfectly. Blood he thought, so appropriate, she was right to run from me. I am a monster, worse than the ones I hunt, at least they do not pretend to be human; perhaps I should satisfy my honor and simply end it all here. He licked his fingers clean of the blood before draining the blood. He savored the vintage like a fine wine tester gauging the year of a wine. Human blood, female, she was a virgin, this was forcibly taken from her. It is very good; she had a touch of royalty and was totally innocent. The creature who took this from her at least was open with what he wanted, I don't even know. Aedriel had taken the blood from a foreign Raksasha who had captured a noble's daughter. He had rescued the daughter and killed the demon. He had asked the girl if he could keep the blood the demon had drained and she consented. He kept is as a reminder of what he was, and for those days when he needed something to give him magical strength. He finished off the rest of the bottle.
Karina felt a pain she had never felt before. Because she had never been close to another person she had never felt loss. She felt a pain unlike any ever before; just as a warrior who is blooded for the first time remembers those drops forever she would always cherish the tears she now shed. She left the warm waters and walked up through the tower, looking onto each floor for her savior who she had spurned. Once she reached the top floor, his bedroom, where she had slept while recovering, and saw that he was not there she let out a primal cry of anguish. The girl climbed up the last set of stairs to the roof, where she looked upon the moon, a source of comfort for her when she was alone, constant it hovered in the sky. Karina knelt, still looking at the moon and prayed, "Lady who lives forever in a silver castle on the moon, aid me now, help me find my love." The last word came out as a slip, she had intended to say 'lord,' but she did not retract her statement, once the words were out she saw that they stood better without a change. It seemed for a moment as if the light of the moon grew brighter, the cat-girl looked at the ground beneath her and saw what looked like a trail of crystals, each spaced several feet apart, then she realized that they were tears, glimmering brightly in the moonlight. Each one easily seen as a facetted gem may be seen in the sun, she climbed easily down the ivy growing on the side of the tower and followed the trail to a door well hidden in the trunk of a large tree.
Inside, she saw a kneeling figure with a knife raised high, steel glittering in the moonlight which filtered through the branches. She jumped at the figure as it brought the knife down. The cold blade caught her in the cheek, scoring a deep blow. Aedriel's eyes saddened and dimmed as he saw what had happened.
"What are you trying to do?" She asked pleadingly, hoping he would give her an answer different than the one she knew was coming. The pain from her new wound never reached her mind, it was shut out by another, greater agony.
"My purpose is to kill the tools of evil." Aedriel looked at her sadly, "As you said, I am a monster. I could see the fear in your eyes as you looked upon me. You are right to hate me."
Karina knew not what to say, nor what to do to respond to the warrior. However, an instinct older than her, older than even the warrior, took over. She held him in an embrace and pressed her lips onto his. She answered him in a way no assurance or admission ever could. They sat on the cold stone floor, amidst the cold blood of battles gone as Karina's hot blood flowed onto them. After a time they pulled apart, each amazed at what they had done, Karina surprised she had been so forward and brash as to kiss him, Aedriel amazed that he had touched one so innocent when long ago he swore he would never do so again. Karina broke the poignant silence, saying "By the peace of the lady, who forever dwells on the moon, sleep Lord Aedriel Hanwa." The moon seemed to change its almost harsh brightness in the sky to one just as bright but much softer, much more soothing. Aedriel felt his will leaving him and darkness claimed his mind. He fell asleep in the arms of the girl. While it was not the true darkness he had wished for, he now wanted to rise again after succumbing, so he could see this ethereal beauty at least one more time. Karina was overwhelmed by the surreal feeling of the scene, it seemed too strange to be true, so she reacted as she would in a dream; she nuzzled her head into Aedriel's chest and fell asleep by the light of the soothing moon.
***
Karina woke first, basking in the warmth and closeness she felt. As her memories gradually intruded on her consciousness she awkwardly got up, unsure of how to deal with waking up on top of a man. She quickly rolled off him and stood up, she was shocked when she looked around at the room, in the room there were a series of weapons, horrible daggers, jagged swords and curved knives. Also a number of carved sculptures stood on shelves on the back walls, as did several emblems of noble houses on ripped cloth, all these things seemed to be some sort of sick souvenir. Also, a set of robes belonging to some sort of shaman or wizard sat folded in the corner, blood stains obvious. A painting hung on the inside of the door, it portrayed Aedriel with a blazing sword to mach his eyes. He was poised in front of a moon, however, instead of standing on anything he was held aloft by a pair of leathery wings. The eyes drew her, the figure was cruel and terrible, yet somehow stunning and beautiful. Karina reasoned that because Aedriel had fallen asleep before Karina there was no need to let him know that she had lain with him for the night. Yes, that would save any unnecessary complications, she decided.
She felt a presence behind her and whirled around to find Aedriel standing behind her. He briefly touched his lips to the nape of her neck before walking from the room as if nothing had happened. Karina clenched her hands and was about to tell him off when a slight rush of pleasure bubbled up, "Bastard," she murmured before walking from the room and shutting the door. She smelled the wonderful aroma of cooking food coming from the tower as she entered and climbed to the kitchen/dining room on the third floor. She got a good look at the rooms as she went upstairs, the first floor was designed to be traditionally Japanese, pillows and all, the second had about a third of the area walled off with double paper screens, the other portion had a very homelike feel to it, as it was adorned with many large pillows and some soft futons for reclining. There was a small desk and bookshelves on the walls. A few watercolors hung over the windows, allowing a glow from the sun to enter but no direct light. The third floor had the kitchen and eating area. She knew the fourth level to be Aedriel's bedroom, and the top of the tower was open, and allowed for wonderful views of the surrounding country. A beautiful woman who Karina had only seen once from the fringes of the village was busily preparing food.
Aedriel smiled at the women, he introduced Karina to his maid, Sakura. The two women smiled warmly enough at each other; however coldness was in their eyes as they looked over each other. Karina inwardly admitted that Aedriel had good taste in picking his companions, Sakura was in her early twenties, had luxurious long hair, a generous, athletic figure and long shapely legs. Sakura's eyes had an exotic look to them as she gave a knowing look to Aedriel. Also, Karina couldn't help but notice that the maid's outfit was very revealing. She wore a short kimono, with the obi, a large blue bow, pushing her breasts up into a low cut top, the outfit complimented her figure magnificently, and made Karina wonder if bed-warming was part of a maid's duty. However, Sakura also felt a bit of jealousy as she looked at Karina, who had a much more innocent, youthful, demeanor. Her short hair and cute features would make her very desirable. Sakura knew that Aedriel would look upon Karina's unusual features as interesting facets, beautiful in and of themselves, rather than flaws. She had seen Karina follow Aeden into the woods last night as she returned to the tower from her days off. She also knew that neither of them had returned until now, and wondered if the affectionate cat-girl had found a way to repay Lord Aedriel for his kindness.
Aedriel smiled at Sakura as he saw the two women examining each other. He broke the tension by saying "Sakura, I trust your vacation was restful. You seem in high spirits."
"Lord Aedriel, it was wonderful. Thank you for giving me the week of to attend the festival. Breakfast is almost ready," The maid smiled brightly and bounced energetically before giving a deep bow, a deliberate display for Aedriel.
"Thank you, it smells wonderful as always, Sakura." He bowed back. He took Karina's hand and guided her to a low table. They sat down and shortly Sakura bought them a traditional meal of fish and rice. Karina began to eat hungrily. "Sakura, please, join us for this meal." Sakura complied once asked but she would not sit and eat with Aedriel until he asked her to. Sakura was painfully aware of how scandalous it was for Lord Aedriel to be eating with a servant, but Aedriel did not care. Sakura insisted on referring to him by title or as 'master' even though he had offered to let her simply use his name. She had a taste for maintaining custom so Aedriel's request for her to join him at meals became a sort of ritual between the two of them, as intricate and significant as any other ceremony Sakura could perform. Sakura smiled at Karina, making her aware of how awkward her table manners were when compared with Sakura's studied grace and delicacy. Aeden shot Sakura a cold glance and she stopped grinning at Karina. Instead she sulked for the next few minutes.
Aedriel had acquired Sakura from a lord as payment for services rendered after he had ridded the lord's castle of a particularly nasty spirit. The lord had trained Sakura as a body guard and maid. She had also been taught the arts, protocol, ceremony and many other things necessary for a high ranking servant or assistant. As she could read and also could help him with the intricate protocols and rituals of noble courts he found her invaluable. However, the lord for whom she had been trained intended to use her for a baser purpose and had his harem train her in the skills of a concubine. Aedriel had requested her once she told him this and begged for his help, and because the lord couldn't come up with an acceptable answer as for why he so strongly desired to retain her he was forced to give his prize to Aedriel before ever tasting of her. Aedriel had made a powerful enemy through that maneuver; however, he considered it well worth it. He had never asked her to use her last bit of training, however, she made it clear through her actions, choice of uniforms and instance in helping him bathe that should he ever wish it she would be eager to do so.
***
Two days passed pleasantly, Karina grew more comfortable around her new home as she explored the gardens and relaxed in the spring. She did not manage to learn anything new about Aedriel's past as he would change the subject and Sakura would flatly refuse to tell her anything. She found herself adjusting to the schedule Aedriel followed; he would watch the dawn and then fall asleep until the afternoon. He seemed to dislike the mid day light and heat, preferring the cool night. Karina was troubled by nightmares; she tried to sleep among the pillows of the second floor, but would wake with memories of the cage and the villagers all around her. Aedriel seemed to sense her pacing below, he would take her up to his room and sit on his bed with her, gently stroking her hair and speaking softly to her as she leaned against him. She would fall asleep and wake to find herself in Aedriel's bed, with Aedriel on the floor, Sakura seemed to know about this and resent it slightly.
The three found themselves at their breakfast, at about noon; Sakura had once again prepared a delicious meal. As Aedriel sipped from the sake cup in front of him he blanched. Karina had found that she had a taste for sake in the past night and was about to drink her cup when Aedriel knocked it from her hand. With the tone of a shogun giving orders to a rank and file troop he nearly shouted, "Karina, leave, go downstairs and wait for me. You may not eat or drink anything until I tell you so. I must speak with Sakura now."
She sat, visibly shaken at his force. "What happened, did I do something wrong?"
"Go NOW!" He almost shouted. She ran from the table.
"What's wrong, master?" Sakura asked, she was obviously very edgy, it took a lot to get Aedriel this excited.
"Smell the sake; do you notice how it smells like almond? Show me the bottle this is from. I think you were almost poisoned." Sakura looked at Aedriel's half empty glass and turned pale. She rushed to get the bottle. Aedriel turned it end over end before finding what he was looking for. In the very base there was a slight hole which had been covered with a tiny bit of tree gum. "The poison was inserted in here. Please, take Karina down to the spring and guard her there. We have some supplies hidden which should be safe to eat." When he saw Sakura's expression he added "Explain what is going on. Oh and Sakura, I see more than I let on, this is not the time to be playing games with her, got it?" Sakura ran from the room and Aedriel staggered to the wall and braced himself upon it. Damn, this is a good assassin. I know the poison won't hurt me but Sakura or Karina... I can only hope the assassin doesn't know that poison doesn't affect me. He sank against the wall and weakly drew his shorter katana. He heard a footstep on the floor by the window across from him.
"I expected more from you, Lord Aedriel. Now all I have to do is kill you and then finish your concubine and the monster cowering in the basement." The voice was obviously female.
He pretended to have a great difficulty standing as he lurched towards the assassin. Aedriel made a weak slash at her with the blade and she easily dodged. She raised her wakazashi high and focused herself for the killing stroke, one which would cut his katana in half, slash his neck open and remove his shoulder. Aedriel continued to feign weakness as he watched her timing. She brought the sword down at the same time as he slammed his fist into her solar plexus and hit the side of her blade, deflecting it instead of blocking as she expected he would. As her short blade smashed harmlessly into the stone floor and shattered into pieces, a shard nicked his leg. Although the cut was small enough it felt as though his leg had been slashed though. More importantly, it would not respond to his commands. "A weapon blessed by the priests to be bane to all spirits," the assassin sneered as she drew a dagger.
Aedriel made a gesture as if striking her with his palm and he yelled. Although he was too far away to hit her physically, the assassin none the less felt as though she had been pushed backwards, off balance. Aedriel lunged towards her, using his good leg. She couldn't recover in time to dodge as the fell on top of her. Aedriel slipped a small stone into one of her pockets and a rolled up piece of paper down her shirt, between her breasts. She didn't notice the light additions to her equipment in the heat of battle. The stone had the simple design his neck adorning it; the paper had characters in a language which Aedriel knew the assassin couldn't read. He slammed his fist into her kidney and heard the assassin scream in agony. She managed to throw him off and started to run from the door, she obviously couldn't take him in a fair fight. As she fastened a rope to the window Aedriel saw a dagger flashing at the assassin from the staircase, it was all he could do to grab it with his mind and deflect it into the window. The assassin rappelled down the rope and ran away into the forest.
Aedriel turned to Sakura, who was standing on the stair case. "Why are you not following your orders?" He growled at her. He took a small knife and cut into his own wrist, while murmuring a language almost never spoken upon this island, he allowed several drops of blood to fall to the ground, where they bubbled and boiled and disappeared. The wound then closed, and a scream could be heard from the woods.
"Why did you deflect my knife? What was the scream?" Sakura asked, trying to change the topic of the conversation. The silence and anticipation as Aedriel focused on healing his wounds was terrible for her, as she realized her was furious with her.
Aedriel stood and walked past her silently.
"What did I do? Please tell me," She begged of him.
"You endangered yourself and Karina, the scream was because of a simple fire spell I slipped the assassin," he growled as he brushed past her, his anger plainly obvious.
"Master, please don't do this. Don't be like this," She followed him down the stairs, like a child after an angry parent. As Aedriel neared the first floor, fuming, he saw that the front door was open. He began to run, with excruciating pain from his still wounded leg; somehow he couldn't get it to close like a normal wound would. He almost flew down the rest of the stairs and into the basement anyway. There he saw Karina sitting with the Shinto priest from before. She was sipping from a glass of tea, as if in the traditional ceremony. Aedriel yelled for her to stop, but she looked at him only after draining the glass. Something, seemed off when he looked at her eyes, she seemed transfixed. Aedriel rushed the priest, attempting to cut him in twain with his katana. However, the sword only cut air and cloth. The man seemed to vanish, leaving his robes falling from where they had been when he was in them. Aedriel saw a small fox running from underneath the robes, towards the door, past Sakura and out. Aedriel knew he could chase it down if he tried, but Karina's situation was more pressing.
The fox paused at the top of the stairs and looked as though it were laughing at Aedriel. Aedriel smelled the cup and realized it smelled like almonds. He looked at Karina, who seemed to be in a daze, he touched her cheek, trying to get her to regain her awareness but she continued to look blank. As he watched he felt poison being absorbed into her body, her heart slowed, and in a few moments Aedriel knew that there would be enough in her system to kill her. He shot an anguished look around the room before trying an act of pure desperation.
He nicked his wrist and allowed a few drops to fall into her mouth. Although his flesh appeared human his blood obviously wasn't, it ran much thicker and tasted extremely bitter. Karina instinctively swallowed the blood and then began to retch on the floor, she lost consciousness completely, but Aedriel could sense her heart weakly beating. He realized that nothing else could be done for her now, so he turned to Sakura, who fell weakly to her knees in front of him. "Lord Aedriel, I drank a sip of the sake, I thought it wasn't affecting me, but I can now feel it. I am sorry but my services to you may be at an end," She apologized, unable to get up.
Aedriel shook her shoulders, "no, they are not, you will recover. I wish for you to stay with me."
"You want me even after I failed you? Lord Aedriel, I am sorry." She broke down, into tears, too weak to stand or even lift her head. "Please hold me before I die," she begged.
"You are going to pull through, sleep for now." He pulled her close to him and she smiled with what little strength she had left. Aedriel began to throw his life force into the two beautiful women; he fell from his kneeling position onto his back as all his energy was consumed keeping three hearts beating. He muttered an incantation which sealed the room and consumed the last of his energy. He too passed out, his life force almost totally drained. The results were up to the fates now.
***
Karina woke first, and found Sakura lying on top of Aedriel, both of them apparently asleep. She wondered if this was a hint as to why they sent her from the room. Oddly, she couldn't remember what had happened after Aedriel almost chased her down the stairs. What was this bitter taste in her mouth? She roughly kicked Aedriel in the side he weakly opened his eyes. The pain reflected in them made her wish she hadn't. "Are you all right?" his question came as a pained whisper.
"What happened? Aren't you being a little, um, immodest, sleeping with her in front of me?" Karina asked, slightly offended, slightly intrigued, and although she wouldn't admit it to herself, slightly jealous.
Aedriel laughed weakly and coughed, even though his ki was leaving his body to sustain Karina and Sakura, it now left slower than he could replenish it. He was beginning to recover and soon he would no longer need to sustain either girl. Unfortunately, his reserves were totally depleted. He hauled himself to his feet and lifted Sakura, then began to walk towards the pool in the back of the cavern. He stepped out of his boots before getting into the water. He put Sakura down on a submerged stone, letting her gradually awaken.
"Aren't you going to apologize for being so rude to me last night?" Karina demanded.
"No."
Karina stalked off, indignantly. That bastard, he won't even apologize. He didn't even seem ashamed when I caught him sleeping with Sakura, disgusting. What happened to me last night, anyway? Damn him, he wouldn't tell me. Why did he seem so tired? Sakura couldn't possibly have…no. She couldn't possible have wiped him out so completely, could she? The thought of Aedriel alone with Sakura in the bath prompted Karina to stop once she reached the stairs. She somehow hated the thought that the two of them might end up doing something in her absence, so she decided that she would go and, as she put it, chaperone. She walked into the stairway, looking back at the water to make certain Aedriel wasn't peeking at her. She continued a little further up and then, once the water was totally out of sight, stripped off her silk kimono and wrapped a large towel she had acquired at the base of the stairs around her body and returned to the water.
She found Aedriel still looking totally exhausted as he reclined in the water. He wore his black yukata in the water, front pulled open to expose his chest. It was a bit unusual that he didn't simply remove it and wear a towel around his waist like Sakura, however, as he was a lord and a foreigner he could pretty much do as he pleased without anyone correcting him. She saw Sakura leaning against his chest, her fingers gently intertwined with his raven hair. Aedriel sat there, his eyes closed as he basked in the warmth. Her other hand gently traced its way down his chest, towards his thighs, gently slipping fingers inside his robe. Aedriel did not respond as Sakura traced a path along his body, however, as she parted the yukata below his waistband his hand grabbed her wrist and pulled it away. Under the surface of the water, in the dim light, Karina couldn't see exactly what their hands were doing; she only saw where their arms were. Karina sat down heavily next to Aedriel, on the opposite side as Sakura.
"Aedriel, isn't that a little inappropriate to do with a servant?" Karina inquired, as he saw his arm move so his hand would be on top of Sakura's. "You will interfere with her professionalism."
Aedriel lifted his eyebrow slightly at this, not realizing that Karina though he was holding Sakura's hand onto himself instead of slightly away.
"Yes, master let me do my job." Sakura whispered in his ear.
Karina moved closer to Aedriel, determined to get Sakura to back off slightly. She leaned against him and also intertwined her fingers in his hair. She gently snaked her tail around the back of his yukata, unconsciously trying to pull him closer. She felt a well muscled thigh and gently tickled it with her tail. Sakura looked for Aedriel's other hand, and smiled, thinking she could finally get what she longed for. Aedriel realized that he would not get the rest he needed here, so he said "I am going to my chambers, when the two of you finish with your entertainment here you should probably get something to eat, Sakura please cook a meal for the two of you. Neither of you are to disturb me, do you understand?" He stood, Karina felt the thigh she had been tickling move slightly, lower into the water, and Sakura realized that she could see both of Aedriel's hands, yet the tickling continued. The warrior walked upstairs, close to falling asleep every step of the way. He shed his yukata before flopping on a pillow, pulling a sheet over himself and falling asleep.
In the water the two women pulled away from each other. Karina clutched her tail as if it had been burnt. Sakura leered at her, and said "You chased him away, I almost had him."
"Almost!? You seem to have already had him. At least I'm not throwing myself at him like some sort of rutting deer."
"Or a cat in heat? I wonder what you were trying to do with that tail of yours. I don't hang on him like some sort of child. Besides, you don't want him, do you? It takes a bit more than hugging to keep a man. If you don't want to give up something of yours then you probably won't keep him." Although Sakura knew this wasn't true, well with most men it was, but Aedriel was the exception, however she loved the look on Karina's face as she squirmed uncomfortably and tightly crossed her legs. "I though so," she continued.
"Whore," Karina spat, she was entertained to see Sakura turning pink.
Sakura jumped at Karina and tried to grab her tail, but somehow ended up with Karina's towel instead. Karina turned bright red and she used one hand to cover her breasts and the other to shield her groin. "I wonder what he sees in you. After all, you still have a bit of a small figure."
Karina grabbed at her towel with the hand which had covered her breasts. When Sakura held it away she went after Sakura's towel, pulling it free of her waist, Sakura had been wearing nothing above that. Karina looked as Sakura turned red and dove to get her towel back. Karina held it up and ran from the water towards the stairs. Sakura chased her and soon the two were running up the spiral staircase. Once Karina was on the top floor, she spotted Aedriel's yukata and ran to put it on. Sakura advanced another few steps, still holding Karina's towel. As Karina backed up, she felt her back foot step on something soft and slightly damp. Aedriel groaned, opened his eyes, he was already feeling much better, he had recovered some of his energy and could now move without too much effort. He looked at Karina, his yukata just now being pulled up over her waist. He looked at Sakura, totally nude and holding a towel, he asked them "I know when I left the two of you were feeling each other, but how did that get up here? Sakura, you do have your partition on the second floor, if you would like me to expand it to accommodate a, guest I will do so. "Karina, if you wish to wear my yukata, you are welcome to it, but I would ask you to get another one for me from my dresser. Perhaps you would prefer on of the kimonos I have acquired for you, they are next to the bed," Aedriel said, holding the sheet over him so that nothing below his neck could be seen. Sakura noticed a look in Aedriel's eyes, a glint of desperation, and rushed to get a pair of kimonos, one for her self and one for Karina, and then she took a dry yukata and tossed it to Aedriel. Once she did this, she dressed slowly, showing off a bit. Karina covered herself with the kimono before rushing to put it on. Aedriel had managed to dress himself under the sheet, so he stood up and adjusted his yukata before walking down the stairs.
As one looked closer one saw that she had claws at the end of her graceful fingers, irises which, if not for the fright would be slits, and atop her head perched a pair of velvety ears, like those of a cat. A luxurious tail wrapped tightly around the girl's waist as she pressed herself into the corner of the cage, trying to get as far away from the mob as possible. Normally she would be quite pretty, but in her current state with her matted hair, ripped and disheveled clothing and a number of bruises and cuts adorning her body and face she looked more pathetic than cute.
The roar of the crowd changed into an angry murmur as a villager approached the cage with a torch he held high aloft. Preparing to turn the straw into a funeral pyre for the prisoner he screamed "Die monst---" he fell to his knees, dropping the torch, as he tried futilely to will his body to breath. A sudden oppressive silence came over the mob as a blacked cloaked figure, a sword at his side, strode forward. The figure's green eyes reflected the torch light, and perhaps something more, as the villagers looked at them it appeared as though hellfire played and danced as the light reflected on their wet surfaces. The villagers parted to let him pass into their midst. As he walked he had his hand in front of him, thumb held an inch or so from his forefinger, as he squeezed them together the man on the ground began to writhe in agony and accidentally kick the torch onto the straw. As the fire licked towards the cage the cloaked figure began to run forward, releasing the man on the ground. The girl in the cage screamed a high pitched wail as the flames crept closer and her hair started to singe. Shoving the straw aside with his hands, burning them in the process, the man grabbed the bars of the cage and ripped them apart. He reached in and wrenched the cowering girl from the corner of the cage.
As she felt the hands grabbing at her the girl reacted instinctively, clamping her jaw onto her savior's wrist as she reached around him and ripped gashes in his shoulder. He did not seem to notice this pain as the blood flowed liberally down his arm. As he pulled her away from the growing inferno she regained some of her wits and she began to run away from the flames and the man holding her. The warrior's hand reached around the girl's waist and pulled her close to him. She struggled to get away but realized the all the villagers were moving away from the man. He bent down and placed the girl's arm around his neck and reached his right arm around his shoulder and his left under her knees, he lifted her off her feet and carried her through the crowd which nervously parted to let him pass. Inwardly his desires battled for dominance, he wanted to find out who was responsible for nearly killing the girl; however he also wanted to help calm her as quickly as possible. The dampness of her tears against his chest decided the matter. He carried the girl through the crowd of villagers towards his dark tower past the far edge of town. The anger of the crowd was palpable as he denied their bloodlust the life of the girl.
He walked beyond the village, his tower sat far enough into the woods as to be hidden from view of the houses. The cat-girl clung to him as he gently carried her. The fear and tension which had built up over her days of captivity released its self in a torrent of tears against her savior's chest. Although she had tried valiantly to bite back the tears her jaw had begun to quiver and after a single drop ran down her eye the rest soon followed; she found she was too tired to fight any more battles. She cried even as the man's strong voice spoke, "You are safe now." Although they came softly his words touched her core, she began to sob against him, clinging to him as he carried her far away from the smoke and flames.
The girl became aware that the man had stopped walking and was settling her down onto something soft. She stopped crying and blinked her eyes, wiping the last of the tears away with the back of her hand. She found herself on a bed with luxurious white silk sheets, which the dirt and blood from her body had already begun to stain. The girl began to sit upright when she felt a hand gently restrain her. "Lie still, I need to clean your wounds." The voice spoke softly but with a gentle force. She felt the sting of alcohol being wiped gently across the scrapes on her forehead and flinched a bit at the pain. As she looked up she saw the warrior gazing down at her, she began to speak but he silenced her with a finger on her lips "Shh, just stay still, the villagers won't dare come for you here, you are safe now." He proceeded to clean and bandage her wounds as she let herself lie on the soft bed. Once all the open wounds had been bandaged and cleaned the man helped the girl sit up, he sat behind her and she leaned her back against him. He reached out a hand and picked up a bowl of warm milk and a spoon. Placing the bowl in the girl's lap he began to feed her the milk. She sipped slowly but gratefully, a tiny purr resonated in her chest. Once she had finished the bowl she turned her head to look at the man who had saved her life. She never even questioned where the food had come from.
She found the he had a strong jaw line, and compassionate eyes. She reached up and touched his cheek, she was about to kiss him when her fingers traced a small tattoo on the right side of his neck. At her touch he moved back as if he had been bitten by a snake. His head turned so she couldn't see the mark. The man's expression changed to one of infinite sadness for a moment before he looked up at her and said, "Now you need to sleep." Although she wanted nothing more than to hold him close she was too tired to argue, and as he stood he gently let her lie back down, he pulled the sheets over her battered form and smiled at her. She was about to thank him for everything he had done when he once more placed his finger on her lips, "Sleep, you are safe now." She closed her eyes and immediately darkness closed upon her mind as weariness overwhelmed her.
The warrior regained his composure; absentmindedly he rubbed the mark before altering the collar on his shirt to hide it. He finally noticed his own wounds, the girls teeth had punctured deeply into his wrist and his side was stained with blood. He pored a little of the alcohol on his wounds and wiped them clean. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and directed his energy towards the wounds. They began to close, faster than would be normally possible. As he recovered he heard the angry noises of a mob rising from the front door to his tower. As the tower was fairly small it only had three stories and a basement, he currently stood on the top floor, his bedroom. Beneath him lay the floor with a small stove and oven and open space for meditation. On the second level there was an open area for sitting and entertaining guests, as well as an a portion which was screened off. On the ground level chairs and couches sat against the wall in what he considered his parlor. Underneath the ground, dug into the rock he had his private practice chambers where he would meditate and perfect his combat. As he strode down the spiral staircase going through the middle of the rooms, each circular and about 30' across, the noise grew louder. As he swung open the carved stone door, reinforced with precious iron he surveyed the villagers amassed outside.
He stepped out and surveyed the angry unwashed crowd gathered around his tower, some trampling his gardens, the dumpy woman from before stood on some of his precious black roses. It had taken the villagers a good amount of time to amass the nerve, and the numbers, to approach the warrior's home. As a result they stood with torches holding back the gloom in front of a dark tower waiting to recover 'their' prisoner. A burly man stepped foreward, armed with a sharpened pole which he leveled at the warrior as he yelled "We demand you give us the creature! It must be destroyed or it will come for us all!"
The warrior lowered his gaze, again the flames seemed to play upon his eyes, and looked down on the man with the pitchfork. A smile, totally without humor or compassion broke across his face as he asked, "If I do not?"
The man's voice became dangerous, "Then you are in league with the monster, and you too must burn. Give us the creature!" He advanced so the tip of his pole was about five feet from the warrior's chest.
"I refuse." The burly farmer advanced on the warrior, stabbing at him with the spear. The warrior hit it with the back of his hand, sending the tip wide. Then he leveled his palm at the farmer and said "I'll burn in hell first." The farmer was knocked back by a force which appeared as only a ripple in the air, barely visible in the flickering torch light. "If any of you lay a hand on her I will burn you to ash," the warrior stated, more a fact than a threat. He turned and walked inside, leaving the villagers to tend to the severely wounded man.
They soon decided that they should find somewhere else to be, and dispersed. Only the woman remained, she yelled at the closed door "Sir Aedriel, mark my words, you will bleed for helping that abomination."
**********
The moon slowly glided across the dark sky, followed by the sun, after a time the sun too set. Then the celestial dance completed yet another cycle, finally when the silver orb of the moon first rose in the crimson light of the dying sun the girl began to stir. All this time the warrior had stood vigil, tending to the damaged form of the girl, sleeping at the foot of the bed, not leaving for a moment more than was necessary. When she began to stir her face softened and she finally looked at peace. The black robed warrior threw open the curtains to the room and softly left the room. He walked down the spiral staircase to the third level of his tower. In this room he had a small stove and some supplies to cook with, also there were some chairs and books lined the walls. The room was circular, as was the tower, being about thirty feet across there was ample space. He began to prepare some food.
As the moon reached its zenith the girl awoke to the smell of cooked meat. She stretched her sore muscles and opened her eyes. As her memories returned she quickly sat up and looked around. She found the warrior kneeling next to her, a tray of food on his lap. Her mouth began to water as the girl looked at the contents, there were strips of cooked meat, a rich soup and fine rice on the side, a rather large glass of sake accompanied the meal, this was obviously the food of the nobility. Although she was famished she hesitated to eat because she couldn't be sure if the wonderful food was for her. She felt very weak and had hold herself up with a hand on the bed.
The warrior smiled slightly "Eat, my beautiful one" he said softly, taking a carved pair of chopsticks and picking up a piece of meat and feeding it to her. After she had eaten a bit and looked a bit less shaky he handed them to the girl, positioning them properly for her.
The girl ate so quickly she almost seemed to attack the food she started with the meat and, once she had finished she drained the soup. After she had stopped and breathed she took the cup of sake and began to sip. Looking at the plate with only the rice left she blushed slightly, it was a social fax pox to eat the meat before the rice, as doing so showed a certain amount of greed. Once he realized why she was turning pink in the cheeks the warrior nodded kindly at her and her blush deepened more. She began to sip from the glass, savoring the wine, she had almost never had anything of any quality before and this glass certainly was far better than the little bit of 'good' wine she had tried at a festival once before. It also seemed to have more alcohol than any sake she had ever tried, but she continued to sip from the glass as she said "Thank you my lord." She was unsure how to address someone of his obvious status, the fact that he was being so informal as to speak directly to her, a person of no rank, complicated the matter even more. His kindness confused her slightly, he had even called her 'beautiful one,' surely this wasn't how most lords acted.
"My name is Samurai Aedriel Hanwa, please only call me Aedriel. What is your name, beautiful one?" The warrior bowed slightly as he spoke this, a gesture of respect to the girl, one which she was unaccustomed to, this deepened her blush even more, and the sake did not help either. Samurai Aedriel was obviously of foreign blood, a true rarity. His face was angular, the muscles well defined, his body seemed to carry no fat, this separated him from many other people of class, as did his sleek build and strong muscles.
"Sir Aedriel," The idea of not using a title when addressing a noble put her ill at ease so she used a more informal one, "I have not been given a name, people simply call me 'hey you' or 'cat' when they want to talk to me, which isn't very often." She purred slightly as his earlier compliment, calling her beautiful, sank in. It was totally different than being called a monster.
Aedriel paused a moment, surprised that the creature before him had no name; he smiled, pointed his index finger and gently extended it to her face, touching her small nose. He said "Well then beautiful one, I dub thee Ms. Karina." She smiled and purred even louder at this, the kind respect he showed somehow made her feel lighter, perhaps it was due in part to the sake, although she didn't think so.
Feeling like she was floating, Karina softly whispered "Thank you Aedriel."
His eyes drifted down from her face to her shapely body and he asked, "Would you like a bath? In order to get at the rest of your wounds I had to remove you garments, and it seemed to be futile to repair them so I had them destroyed. Please wear this." He reached down, next to the bed and lifted up a fluffy yukata, silver colored with a blue waistband. It was obviously far better quality than the cloths she had ever owned before; she could only nod in her stunned amazement at the gift.
It was then that she realized she wore nothing other than the sheets, which had fallen to her waist when she had sat up. Also that Aedriel had cleaned of her wounds and somehow most were gone. She became suddenly aware of all of her small physical flaws, she knew that her waist was a bit too thin and she knew he could clearly see her ribs under her skin. It embarrassed her that he had seen her without her clothing, ragged as it was. Her hands flew to clutch the sheets around her shoulder, shielding herself from his view. She held the sheets around herself in a cool, silken embrace. Karina broke eye contact with Aedriel by turning her head to the side in a vain attempt to hide the embarrassment which so clearly showed on her cheeks. She knew that the idea of a stranger seeing her totally exposed and touching her after she had fallen asleep should disturb her. Yes somehow it didn't. Instead, she experienced an odd sort of feeling, warmth she hadn't felt before, and a small desire to be held close to him. Something deeply ingrained into her said that it was indecent for her to allow herself to become so close to a stranger, even more so because she was the one who wanted to be close, however, this was only a sense among a myriad of feelings. She pulled away from him and almost fell backwards. When she looked down she realized that the thin silk did little to conceal her figure, not only were her ribs slightly visible but even a casual glance could see the exact shape of her breasts, down to the nipples. She turned her back to Aedriel and a slight, irrational anger rose within her for an instant, not because he had seen her nude, but because he seemed unaffected by her lack of clothing, one way or another.
Aedriel smiled gently at Karina's reaction and wrapped the yukata around her shoulders and he gently tied an obi around her waist. He then helped her to stand, his arm around her shoulders for support. Karina smiled slightly as she felt his warmth and power so close to her. She stood on weak legs and leaned her head on Aedriel's shoulder as he helped her down the spiral staircase through all the floors on his home and into the room below.
Beneath the tower was a natural cavern which had been expanded by skilled stonecutters. The room had smooth walls about 40' apart. As Karina looked across the room she saw a pool of water on the far end. About 10' across, a large opening in the stone behind it led into a separate cavern, as she squinted into this room she could only see the reflection of torchlight on water. Steam rose off the water and the room was fairly warm. Aedriel guided her to the water and helped her in. She sat on a stone ledge, her shoulders and head above the warm water. "I have something I need to attend to," Aedriel told her, and turned to leave the room.
Karina waited for him to return as she sat in the warm water and he did not re-appear. While she sat Karina thought back to the events of the recent few days. She asked herself why this lord was being so kind to her; he had risked an angry mob of villagers to rescue her. Few lords would do that without guards, even for a family member, yet he had risked his life to save a total stranger, a monster. Although the girl knew there were many places she could be, far worse than in the company of a kind lord questions still plagued her. Why did he seem so strangely reserved when speaking to her? Why did he recoil when she touched his tattoo? What did the tattoo mean? He was a lord so why didn't he have servants hanging around him? The most disturbing thing of all for her was only a glimmer from her memory, the rage in his eyes as he freed her. What could throw a trained warrior into such anger as he had been in when he stole her from the villagers.
After he had been upstairs and not returned for a time she crept up the stone steps leading to the first floor. She moved in total silence, wet robes helping to muffle her sound as she padded upward.
Upstairs Aedriel faced questions of his own. He had hear a knock on his door and realized while saving the girl he had probably attracted attention, powerful attention. The warrior realized that he had allowed much of his energy to become visible as he had saved Karina, the rage had removed the constraints which normally consealed his true power from casual view. He would have been noticeable by almost anyone trained in the use of ki within a mile. As he approached the door he realized that he couldn't sense anything on the other side. That was very bad, as few people would be able to completely hide their auras from his senses. He slowly opened the door and, to his surprise saw a small, old man standing there. "May I help you?" He asked.
The man introduced himself as a Shinto priest and exchanged the necessary formalities with Aedriel for several minutes, giving no hint as to his purpose. Until finally he said, "I am to be of service to you." The old man stated this as if it should be obvious.
"I see." Aedriel didn't move from the doorway but the man walked in anyway.
At this point Karina moved into earshot and began to carefully listen to what transpired between her guardian and the priest. She made totally certain that she could not be heard and sat ready to run back downstairs.
"Where is the demon?" The man asked simply.
"Demon?" Aedriel feigned confusion while drawing his energy around him like a cloak.
"Yes, the demon you prevented from being destroyed and then brought here. Where is it? I am here by order of my shrine, I am to exorcise the foul presence. Some of the villagers said that you tended to it as if it were a human. I know not what purpose you have with it but I want the monster."
"Oh, that demon. I hardly find her presence vile. In fact, she is quite pleasant."
"The exorcism is a simple enough process." The old man's voice became more urgent as he said "We felt a presence coming from this village, the aura of a powerful demon."
"Would it not be wise to check if the demonic presence in the village was from my guest? Then consider exorcising her. I would let you perform the ritual were it not for the fact I am honor bound to protect her as my guest, that and I am certain she is not the demon you felt."
"You consider this demon to be a guest! This is unacceptable. I will have to perform the exorcism on you to ensure that your closeness hasn't allowed your soul to be in danger, why I can even see a demon mark on your neck." He pointed at Aedriel's tattoo.
Aedriel's eyes blazed as he slapped the pointing hand away. "My mark has nothing to do with the girl. I have had it for over a hundred years; it is nothing recent, nor anything that you need to be concerned with. I see no reason to comply with the orders of your shrine. Please leave my home. Now," he growled.
The priest replied "as you wish then, however, I will complete my mission."
Aedriel guided him to the door and, as soon as the priest had left he slammed and locked it. Karina's eyes filled with tears as the conversation finished. She felt totally betrayed, the man who saved her and called her 'beautiful' thought that she was a demon. He was no better than the scared villagers. All of his kindness had been empty flattery; he was protecting her only because of his stupid warrior's honor. And now she knew why he had seemed so dangerous in the village, HE was the demon. He didn't even deny he had the demon's mark, and said he had had it for a hundred years while he didn't look a day over twenty five. Although he was a foreigner, that couldn't explain why he looked so young. She was certain kindness couldn't motivate a demon to help her so he must have had some thing in store for her. She shuddered to think what it was. As tears blinded her eyes she stifled a cry and fled away from Aedriel, back down the stairs, not even realizing there was only one exit.
Aedriel suddenly became aware of Karina's presence from her small cry. He quickly raced down the stairs to find her. When he did not see her in the water he crouched on the ground and opened his senses and to tried to locate her. To Karina it looked as though he was smelling her out. Aedriel felt her aura, concealed fairly well by something, perhaps her force of will. She had gone into the second portion of the spring, through the doorway like gap in the stone wall and was hiding in the chamber there, barely peeking out at him. He quickly walked to the water, unsure of what was wrong. She swam and waded the twenty feet to the back wall of the chamber. It took all her will not to cry out as she saw his form coming towards her. As he dove into the water and emerged only 10' from her she screamed and covered against the wall, trying to press herself into it. She threw her hands over her face to protect herself from the attack she expected. Visions of claws rending her apart, ripping and tearing through her body came into her mind, yet nothing happened. Instead she felt an arm gently pulling her away from the wall and another bringing her hands away from her face.
She unclenched her eyes and looked at him, pleading "please don't hurt me." Tears streamed down her face as she repeated that phrase twice more. She tried in vain to pull away from him; soon her struggles became only half- hearted squirming as she realized that it was futile.
"What's wrong? What scared you, my beautiful one?" He asked softly, his eyes seemed to glow with a light greater than the torches should have allowed. She cried out as though a part of her soul had been ripped apart as he called her 'beautiful one.' Aedriel pulled Karina closer and she began to struggle again, digging her claws into his flesh, but he held her against him as she cried, soon she relaxed against him. "What is wrong, my," he paused and instead of calling her 'beautiful one' again he said "Karina. You seem fond of drawing my blood, look; the water near us is pink."
This slight distraction caused her to stop crying long enough to clear her eyes and see that the water was indeed turning a light shade of pink as blood streamed out of the ten small wounds on his body. Aedriel willed the scratches to close and they did so, although his cloths hid this from Karina's view. "You lied to me. You said I was beautiful but you think I am a demon, I heard you talking to the priest," the words came out very shaky.
"I know you are not a demoness. Do you know what my profession is? I hunt evil. I am something of a hunter who kills monsters, I am very good at what I do." He spoke softly, soothingly. Her eyes came up and met his eyes, were entrapped by his gaze. She looked scared of him suddenly.
"You aren't going to kill me?"
"You are not a demon, for you are far too innocent. You are not a monster, for you are far too beautiful." He hugged her tightly for a moment, his hand on her waist, his other hand stroking her hair. She purred, and turned her head in embarrassment, she didn't know what to say or what to do, she had never let someone get so close to her, yet she didn't want to move away. She found herself nuzzling his neck. Something inside her said that it was wrong to be so close to a man, really a stranger, but she simply let herself be carried off by her feelings.
"Aedriel, there is something I have to ask you, I need to know, are you a demon? You have your mark, you said it was over a hundred years old, but you don't look more than thirty. And you knew the presence in the town wasn't me." She spoke softly, more than a little afraid. "Who was it, Aedriel, what was the presence?"
His hand stopped stroking her hair, his arm moved away from her waist. He pulled back and turned away from her, the way his once proud frame stooped as he waded away answered her question in a way no assurance or admission could. Even though the water was warm enough that mist rose off it the girl felt a coldness from somewhere in her heart. She wanted to do something, anything, to comfort him, but she didn't know what she could do. She stood there, and a tear rolled down her cheek and plinked into the water at the same instant as a drop Aedriel flicked from his eye.
Vainly Karina reached out a hand, as if to hold onto the figure, she brought it back in, fingers clenched and held her hand next to her heart, again, in the guttering light of the torches she began to cry.
Aedriel slowly trudged up the stairs, stepped out of the tower and into the night. He walked behind his home into the forest. In an ancient, hidden gateway he found a door well shielded from prying eyes that opened into a small room. He stepped inside and heard the trickle of water, he knew there was a small basin of natural water, like a deep puddle in the floor, to one side. He reached down and pulled out a bottle, kept cool by the icy water. He poured the ruby liquid contained within into a bowl and dipped his fingertips into it, coating them with liquid. He looked at his hand, although there was no light in the room he could sense the heat perfectly. Blood he thought, so appropriate, she was right to run from me. I am a monster, worse than the ones I hunt, at least they do not pretend to be human; perhaps I should satisfy my honor and simply end it all here. He licked his fingers clean of the blood before draining the blood. He savored the vintage like a fine wine tester gauging the year of a wine. Human blood, female, she was a virgin, this was forcibly taken from her. It is very good; she had a touch of royalty and was totally innocent. The creature who took this from her at least was open with what he wanted, I don't even know. Aedriel had taken the blood from a foreign Raksasha who had captured a noble's daughter. He had rescued the daughter and killed the demon. He had asked the girl if he could keep the blood the demon had drained and she consented. He kept is as a reminder of what he was, and for those days when he needed something to give him magical strength. He finished off the rest of the bottle.
Karina felt a pain she had never felt before. Because she had never been close to another person she had never felt loss. She felt a pain unlike any ever before; just as a warrior who is blooded for the first time remembers those drops forever she would always cherish the tears she now shed. She left the warm waters and walked up through the tower, looking onto each floor for her savior who she had spurned. Once she reached the top floor, his bedroom, where she had slept while recovering, and saw that he was not there she let out a primal cry of anguish. The girl climbed up the last set of stairs to the roof, where she looked upon the moon, a source of comfort for her when she was alone, constant it hovered in the sky. Karina knelt, still looking at the moon and prayed, "Lady who lives forever in a silver castle on the moon, aid me now, help me find my love." The last word came out as a slip, she had intended to say 'lord,' but she did not retract her statement, once the words were out she saw that they stood better without a change. It seemed for a moment as if the light of the moon grew brighter, the cat-girl looked at the ground beneath her and saw what looked like a trail of crystals, each spaced several feet apart, then she realized that they were tears, glimmering brightly in the moonlight. Each one easily seen as a facetted gem may be seen in the sun, she climbed easily down the ivy growing on the side of the tower and followed the trail to a door well hidden in the trunk of a large tree.
Inside, she saw a kneeling figure with a knife raised high, steel glittering in the moonlight which filtered through the branches. She jumped at the figure as it brought the knife down. The cold blade caught her in the cheek, scoring a deep blow. Aedriel's eyes saddened and dimmed as he saw what had happened.
"What are you trying to do?" She asked pleadingly, hoping he would give her an answer different than the one she knew was coming. The pain from her new wound never reached her mind, it was shut out by another, greater agony.
"My purpose is to kill the tools of evil." Aedriel looked at her sadly, "As you said, I am a monster. I could see the fear in your eyes as you looked upon me. You are right to hate me."
Karina knew not what to say, nor what to do to respond to the warrior. However, an instinct older than her, older than even the warrior, took over. She held him in an embrace and pressed her lips onto his. She answered him in a way no assurance or admission ever could. They sat on the cold stone floor, amidst the cold blood of battles gone as Karina's hot blood flowed onto them. After a time they pulled apart, each amazed at what they had done, Karina surprised she had been so forward and brash as to kiss him, Aedriel amazed that he had touched one so innocent when long ago he swore he would never do so again. Karina broke the poignant silence, saying "By the peace of the lady, who forever dwells on the moon, sleep Lord Aedriel Hanwa." The moon seemed to change its almost harsh brightness in the sky to one just as bright but much softer, much more soothing. Aedriel felt his will leaving him and darkness claimed his mind. He fell asleep in the arms of the girl. While it was not the true darkness he had wished for, he now wanted to rise again after succumbing, so he could see this ethereal beauty at least one more time. Karina was overwhelmed by the surreal feeling of the scene, it seemed too strange to be true, so she reacted as she would in a dream; she nuzzled her head into Aedriel's chest and fell asleep by the light of the soothing moon.
***
Karina woke first, basking in the warmth and closeness she felt. As her memories gradually intruded on her consciousness she awkwardly got up, unsure of how to deal with waking up on top of a man. She quickly rolled off him and stood up, she was shocked when she looked around at the room, in the room there were a series of weapons, horrible daggers, jagged swords and curved knives. Also a number of carved sculptures stood on shelves on the back walls, as did several emblems of noble houses on ripped cloth, all these things seemed to be some sort of sick souvenir. Also, a set of robes belonging to some sort of shaman or wizard sat folded in the corner, blood stains obvious. A painting hung on the inside of the door, it portrayed Aedriel with a blazing sword to mach his eyes. He was poised in front of a moon, however, instead of standing on anything he was held aloft by a pair of leathery wings. The eyes drew her, the figure was cruel and terrible, yet somehow stunning and beautiful. Karina reasoned that because Aedriel had fallen asleep before Karina there was no need to let him know that she had lain with him for the night. Yes, that would save any unnecessary complications, she decided.
She felt a presence behind her and whirled around to find Aedriel standing behind her. He briefly touched his lips to the nape of her neck before walking from the room as if nothing had happened. Karina clenched her hands and was about to tell him off when a slight rush of pleasure bubbled up, "Bastard," she murmured before walking from the room and shutting the door. She smelled the wonderful aroma of cooking food coming from the tower as she entered and climbed to the kitchen/dining room on the third floor. She got a good look at the rooms as she went upstairs, the first floor was designed to be traditionally Japanese, pillows and all, the second had about a third of the area walled off with double paper screens, the other portion had a very homelike feel to it, as it was adorned with many large pillows and some soft futons for reclining. There was a small desk and bookshelves on the walls. A few watercolors hung over the windows, allowing a glow from the sun to enter but no direct light. The third floor had the kitchen and eating area. She knew the fourth level to be Aedriel's bedroom, and the top of the tower was open, and allowed for wonderful views of the surrounding country. A beautiful woman who Karina had only seen once from the fringes of the village was busily preparing food.
Aedriel smiled at the women, he introduced Karina to his maid, Sakura. The two women smiled warmly enough at each other; however coldness was in their eyes as they looked over each other. Karina inwardly admitted that Aedriel had good taste in picking his companions, Sakura was in her early twenties, had luxurious long hair, a generous, athletic figure and long shapely legs. Sakura's eyes had an exotic look to them as she gave a knowing look to Aedriel. Also, Karina couldn't help but notice that the maid's outfit was very revealing. She wore a short kimono, with the obi, a large blue bow, pushing her breasts up into a low cut top, the outfit complimented her figure magnificently, and made Karina wonder if bed-warming was part of a maid's duty. However, Sakura also felt a bit of jealousy as she looked at Karina, who had a much more innocent, youthful, demeanor. Her short hair and cute features would make her very desirable. Sakura knew that Aedriel would look upon Karina's unusual features as interesting facets, beautiful in and of themselves, rather than flaws. She had seen Karina follow Aeden into the woods last night as she returned to the tower from her days off. She also knew that neither of them had returned until now, and wondered if the affectionate cat-girl had found a way to repay Lord Aedriel for his kindness.
Aedriel smiled at Sakura as he saw the two women examining each other. He broke the tension by saying "Sakura, I trust your vacation was restful. You seem in high spirits."
"Lord Aedriel, it was wonderful. Thank you for giving me the week of to attend the festival. Breakfast is almost ready," The maid smiled brightly and bounced energetically before giving a deep bow, a deliberate display for Aedriel.
"Thank you, it smells wonderful as always, Sakura." He bowed back. He took Karina's hand and guided her to a low table. They sat down and shortly Sakura bought them a traditional meal of fish and rice. Karina began to eat hungrily. "Sakura, please, join us for this meal." Sakura complied once asked but she would not sit and eat with Aedriel until he asked her to. Sakura was painfully aware of how scandalous it was for Lord Aedriel to be eating with a servant, but Aedriel did not care. Sakura insisted on referring to him by title or as 'master' even though he had offered to let her simply use his name. She had a taste for maintaining custom so Aedriel's request for her to join him at meals became a sort of ritual between the two of them, as intricate and significant as any other ceremony Sakura could perform. Sakura smiled at Karina, making her aware of how awkward her table manners were when compared with Sakura's studied grace and delicacy. Aeden shot Sakura a cold glance and she stopped grinning at Karina. Instead she sulked for the next few minutes.
Aedriel had acquired Sakura from a lord as payment for services rendered after he had ridded the lord's castle of a particularly nasty spirit. The lord had trained Sakura as a body guard and maid. She had also been taught the arts, protocol, ceremony and many other things necessary for a high ranking servant or assistant. As she could read and also could help him with the intricate protocols and rituals of noble courts he found her invaluable. However, the lord for whom she had been trained intended to use her for a baser purpose and had his harem train her in the skills of a concubine. Aedriel had requested her once she told him this and begged for his help, and because the lord couldn't come up with an acceptable answer as for why he so strongly desired to retain her he was forced to give his prize to Aedriel before ever tasting of her. Aedriel had made a powerful enemy through that maneuver; however, he considered it well worth it. He had never asked her to use her last bit of training, however, she made it clear through her actions, choice of uniforms and instance in helping him bathe that should he ever wish it she would be eager to do so.
***
Two days passed pleasantly, Karina grew more comfortable around her new home as she explored the gardens and relaxed in the spring. She did not manage to learn anything new about Aedriel's past as he would change the subject and Sakura would flatly refuse to tell her anything. She found herself adjusting to the schedule Aedriel followed; he would watch the dawn and then fall asleep until the afternoon. He seemed to dislike the mid day light and heat, preferring the cool night. Karina was troubled by nightmares; she tried to sleep among the pillows of the second floor, but would wake with memories of the cage and the villagers all around her. Aedriel seemed to sense her pacing below, he would take her up to his room and sit on his bed with her, gently stroking her hair and speaking softly to her as she leaned against him. She would fall asleep and wake to find herself in Aedriel's bed, with Aedriel on the floor, Sakura seemed to know about this and resent it slightly.
The three found themselves at their breakfast, at about noon; Sakura had once again prepared a delicious meal. As Aedriel sipped from the sake cup in front of him he blanched. Karina had found that she had a taste for sake in the past night and was about to drink her cup when Aedriel knocked it from her hand. With the tone of a shogun giving orders to a rank and file troop he nearly shouted, "Karina, leave, go downstairs and wait for me. You may not eat or drink anything until I tell you so. I must speak with Sakura now."
She sat, visibly shaken at his force. "What happened, did I do something wrong?"
"Go NOW!" He almost shouted. She ran from the table.
"What's wrong, master?" Sakura asked, she was obviously very edgy, it took a lot to get Aedriel this excited.
"Smell the sake; do you notice how it smells like almond? Show me the bottle this is from. I think you were almost poisoned." Sakura looked at Aedriel's half empty glass and turned pale. She rushed to get the bottle. Aedriel turned it end over end before finding what he was looking for. In the very base there was a slight hole which had been covered with a tiny bit of tree gum. "The poison was inserted in here. Please, take Karina down to the spring and guard her there. We have some supplies hidden which should be safe to eat." When he saw Sakura's expression he added "Explain what is going on. Oh and Sakura, I see more than I let on, this is not the time to be playing games with her, got it?" Sakura ran from the room and Aedriel staggered to the wall and braced himself upon it. Damn, this is a good assassin. I know the poison won't hurt me but Sakura or Karina... I can only hope the assassin doesn't know that poison doesn't affect me. He sank against the wall and weakly drew his shorter katana. He heard a footstep on the floor by the window across from him.
"I expected more from you, Lord Aedriel. Now all I have to do is kill you and then finish your concubine and the monster cowering in the basement." The voice was obviously female.
He pretended to have a great difficulty standing as he lurched towards the assassin. Aedriel made a weak slash at her with the blade and she easily dodged. She raised her wakazashi high and focused herself for the killing stroke, one which would cut his katana in half, slash his neck open and remove his shoulder. Aedriel continued to feign weakness as he watched her timing. She brought the sword down at the same time as he slammed his fist into her solar plexus and hit the side of her blade, deflecting it instead of blocking as she expected he would. As her short blade smashed harmlessly into the stone floor and shattered into pieces, a shard nicked his leg. Although the cut was small enough it felt as though his leg had been slashed though. More importantly, it would not respond to his commands. "A weapon blessed by the priests to be bane to all spirits," the assassin sneered as she drew a dagger.
Aedriel made a gesture as if striking her with his palm and he yelled. Although he was too far away to hit her physically, the assassin none the less felt as though she had been pushed backwards, off balance. Aedriel lunged towards her, using his good leg. She couldn't recover in time to dodge as the fell on top of her. Aedriel slipped a small stone into one of her pockets and a rolled up piece of paper down her shirt, between her breasts. She didn't notice the light additions to her equipment in the heat of battle. The stone had the simple design his neck adorning it; the paper had characters in a language which Aedriel knew the assassin couldn't read. He slammed his fist into her kidney and heard the assassin scream in agony. She managed to throw him off and started to run from the door, she obviously couldn't take him in a fair fight. As she fastened a rope to the window Aedriel saw a dagger flashing at the assassin from the staircase, it was all he could do to grab it with his mind and deflect it into the window. The assassin rappelled down the rope and ran away into the forest.
Aedriel turned to Sakura, who was standing on the stair case. "Why are you not following your orders?" He growled at her. He took a small knife and cut into his own wrist, while murmuring a language almost never spoken upon this island, he allowed several drops of blood to fall to the ground, where they bubbled and boiled and disappeared. The wound then closed, and a scream could be heard from the woods.
"Why did you deflect my knife? What was the scream?" Sakura asked, trying to change the topic of the conversation. The silence and anticipation as Aedriel focused on healing his wounds was terrible for her, as she realized her was furious with her.
Aedriel stood and walked past her silently.
"What did I do? Please tell me," She begged of him.
"You endangered yourself and Karina, the scream was because of a simple fire spell I slipped the assassin," he growled as he brushed past her, his anger plainly obvious.
"Master, please don't do this. Don't be like this," She followed him down the stairs, like a child after an angry parent. As Aedriel neared the first floor, fuming, he saw that the front door was open. He began to run, with excruciating pain from his still wounded leg; somehow he couldn't get it to close like a normal wound would. He almost flew down the rest of the stairs and into the basement anyway. There he saw Karina sitting with the Shinto priest from before. She was sipping from a glass of tea, as if in the traditional ceremony. Aedriel yelled for her to stop, but she looked at him only after draining the glass. Something, seemed off when he looked at her eyes, she seemed transfixed. Aedriel rushed the priest, attempting to cut him in twain with his katana. However, the sword only cut air and cloth. The man seemed to vanish, leaving his robes falling from where they had been when he was in them. Aedriel saw a small fox running from underneath the robes, towards the door, past Sakura and out. Aedriel knew he could chase it down if he tried, but Karina's situation was more pressing.
The fox paused at the top of the stairs and looked as though it were laughing at Aedriel. Aedriel smelled the cup and realized it smelled like almonds. He looked at Karina, who seemed to be in a daze, he touched her cheek, trying to get her to regain her awareness but she continued to look blank. As he watched he felt poison being absorbed into her body, her heart slowed, and in a few moments Aedriel knew that there would be enough in her system to kill her. He shot an anguished look around the room before trying an act of pure desperation.
He nicked his wrist and allowed a few drops to fall into her mouth. Although his flesh appeared human his blood obviously wasn't, it ran much thicker and tasted extremely bitter. Karina instinctively swallowed the blood and then began to retch on the floor, she lost consciousness completely, but Aedriel could sense her heart weakly beating. He realized that nothing else could be done for her now, so he turned to Sakura, who fell weakly to her knees in front of him. "Lord Aedriel, I drank a sip of the sake, I thought it wasn't affecting me, but I can now feel it. I am sorry but my services to you may be at an end," She apologized, unable to get up.
Aedriel shook her shoulders, "no, they are not, you will recover. I wish for you to stay with me."
"You want me even after I failed you? Lord Aedriel, I am sorry." She broke down, into tears, too weak to stand or even lift her head. "Please hold me before I die," she begged.
"You are going to pull through, sleep for now." He pulled her close to him and she smiled with what little strength she had left. Aedriel began to throw his life force into the two beautiful women; he fell from his kneeling position onto his back as all his energy was consumed keeping three hearts beating. He muttered an incantation which sealed the room and consumed the last of his energy. He too passed out, his life force almost totally drained. The results were up to the fates now.
***
Karina woke first, and found Sakura lying on top of Aedriel, both of them apparently asleep. She wondered if this was a hint as to why they sent her from the room. Oddly, she couldn't remember what had happened after Aedriel almost chased her down the stairs. What was this bitter taste in her mouth? She roughly kicked Aedriel in the side he weakly opened his eyes. The pain reflected in them made her wish she hadn't. "Are you all right?" his question came as a pained whisper.
"What happened? Aren't you being a little, um, immodest, sleeping with her in front of me?" Karina asked, slightly offended, slightly intrigued, and although she wouldn't admit it to herself, slightly jealous.
Aedriel laughed weakly and coughed, even though his ki was leaving his body to sustain Karina and Sakura, it now left slower than he could replenish it. He was beginning to recover and soon he would no longer need to sustain either girl. Unfortunately, his reserves were totally depleted. He hauled himself to his feet and lifted Sakura, then began to walk towards the pool in the back of the cavern. He stepped out of his boots before getting into the water. He put Sakura down on a submerged stone, letting her gradually awaken.
"Aren't you going to apologize for being so rude to me last night?" Karina demanded.
"No."
Karina stalked off, indignantly. That bastard, he won't even apologize. He didn't even seem ashamed when I caught him sleeping with Sakura, disgusting. What happened to me last night, anyway? Damn him, he wouldn't tell me. Why did he seem so tired? Sakura couldn't possibly have…no. She couldn't possible have wiped him out so completely, could she? The thought of Aedriel alone with Sakura in the bath prompted Karina to stop once she reached the stairs. She somehow hated the thought that the two of them might end up doing something in her absence, so she decided that she would go and, as she put it, chaperone. She walked into the stairway, looking back at the water to make certain Aedriel wasn't peeking at her. She continued a little further up and then, once the water was totally out of sight, stripped off her silk kimono and wrapped a large towel she had acquired at the base of the stairs around her body and returned to the water.
She found Aedriel still looking totally exhausted as he reclined in the water. He wore his black yukata in the water, front pulled open to expose his chest. It was a bit unusual that he didn't simply remove it and wear a towel around his waist like Sakura, however, as he was a lord and a foreigner he could pretty much do as he pleased without anyone correcting him. She saw Sakura leaning against his chest, her fingers gently intertwined with his raven hair. Aedriel sat there, his eyes closed as he basked in the warmth. Her other hand gently traced its way down his chest, towards his thighs, gently slipping fingers inside his robe. Aedriel did not respond as Sakura traced a path along his body, however, as she parted the yukata below his waistband his hand grabbed her wrist and pulled it away. Under the surface of the water, in the dim light, Karina couldn't see exactly what their hands were doing; she only saw where their arms were. Karina sat down heavily next to Aedriel, on the opposite side as Sakura.
"Aedriel, isn't that a little inappropriate to do with a servant?" Karina inquired, as he saw his arm move so his hand would be on top of Sakura's. "You will interfere with her professionalism."
Aedriel lifted his eyebrow slightly at this, not realizing that Karina though he was holding Sakura's hand onto himself instead of slightly away.
"Yes, master let me do my job." Sakura whispered in his ear.
Karina moved closer to Aedriel, determined to get Sakura to back off slightly. She leaned against him and also intertwined her fingers in his hair. She gently snaked her tail around the back of his yukata, unconsciously trying to pull him closer. She felt a well muscled thigh and gently tickled it with her tail. Sakura looked for Aedriel's other hand, and smiled, thinking she could finally get what she longed for. Aedriel realized that he would not get the rest he needed here, so he said "I am going to my chambers, when the two of you finish with your entertainment here you should probably get something to eat, Sakura please cook a meal for the two of you. Neither of you are to disturb me, do you understand?" He stood, Karina felt the thigh she had been tickling move slightly, lower into the water, and Sakura realized that she could see both of Aedriel's hands, yet the tickling continued. The warrior walked upstairs, close to falling asleep every step of the way. He shed his yukata before flopping on a pillow, pulling a sheet over himself and falling asleep.
In the water the two women pulled away from each other. Karina clutched her tail as if it had been burnt. Sakura leered at her, and said "You chased him away, I almost had him."
"Almost!? You seem to have already had him. At least I'm not throwing myself at him like some sort of rutting deer."
"Or a cat in heat? I wonder what you were trying to do with that tail of yours. I don't hang on him like some sort of child. Besides, you don't want him, do you? It takes a bit more than hugging to keep a man. If you don't want to give up something of yours then you probably won't keep him." Although Sakura knew this wasn't true, well with most men it was, but Aedriel was the exception, however she loved the look on Karina's face as she squirmed uncomfortably and tightly crossed her legs. "I though so," she continued.
"Whore," Karina spat, she was entertained to see Sakura turning pink.
Sakura jumped at Karina and tried to grab her tail, but somehow ended up with Karina's towel instead. Karina turned bright red and she used one hand to cover her breasts and the other to shield her groin. "I wonder what he sees in you. After all, you still have a bit of a small figure."
Karina grabbed at her towel with the hand which had covered her breasts. When Sakura held it away she went after Sakura's towel, pulling it free of her waist, Sakura had been wearing nothing above that. Karina looked as Sakura turned red and dove to get her towel back. Karina held it up and ran from the water towards the stairs. Sakura chased her and soon the two were running up the spiral staircase. Once Karina was on the top floor, she spotted Aedriel's yukata and ran to put it on. Sakura advanced another few steps, still holding Karina's towel. As Karina backed up, she felt her back foot step on something soft and slightly damp. Aedriel groaned, opened his eyes, he was already feeling much better, he had recovered some of his energy and could now move without too much effort. He looked at Karina, his yukata just now being pulled up over her waist. He looked at Sakura, totally nude and holding a towel, he asked them "I know when I left the two of you were feeling each other, but how did that get up here? Sakura, you do have your partition on the second floor, if you would like me to expand it to accommodate a, guest I will do so. "Karina, if you wish to wear my yukata, you are welcome to it, but I would ask you to get another one for me from my dresser. Perhaps you would prefer on of the kimonos I have acquired for you, they are next to the bed," Aedriel said, holding the sheet over him so that nothing below his neck could be seen. Sakura noticed a look in Aedriel's eyes, a glint of desperation, and rushed to get a pair of kimonos, one for her self and one for Karina, and then she took a dry yukata and tossed it to Aedriel. Once she did this, she dressed slowly, showing off a bit. Karina covered herself with the kimono before rushing to put it on. Aedriel had managed to dress himself under the sheet, so he stood up and adjusted his yukata before walking down the stairs.