Kylaia al Jmaa
A.k.a. the Unicorn
NOTE: For you see, my fair ladies, and others (mainly small, yellow, brown striped rodents) that I own little in this story. This story is purely a remake of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
PART 11-The Encounter
Her house disappeared from sight, and Kylaia al Jmaa smiled, weirdly. The smile contorted her face, but she continued to smile, even laugh. She almost put feeling behind her distorted features. She slowly made her way to Osaka. She swung into an inn, near Osaka. She slid off Nightstar, and led her into the stable, and into a stall. She then pressed a coin into the stable boy's hand and proceeded to enter the main building. Liam stopped her, who went to see his horse, or so he said.
"You don't wear breeches in the Yamani Islands," Kylaia said coldly. She fingered the blood red silk.
"I didn't know the proper clothing," Liam, replied. Kylaia turned around, and started to walk away from Liam. "Do you where I could buy the proper clothing?"
"A kimono," Kylaia remarked. "There is a clothing store about five buildings down, they sell kimonos."
Liam replied, "Thank you." Kylaia nodded stiffly, and retreated into the inn. It was like Liam followed me, Kylaia thought. Liam went to the store Kylaia mentioned, and she went inside to pay for a room. The innkeeper led Kylaia to a room. When the man left, she pushed the small table, a cot, and a dresser next to the wall leaving an open space to practice her glaive in. She grabbed her glaive, and walked towards the back garden to practice. The ebony wood met her fingers, and cold stripes ran under her hand. Eighteen inches of silver blade extended from the silver filigreed wood, sharp. One drop of blood welled up on her finger, and dropped, darkening the dirt, and disappearing the space of a second. She gripped the glaive with both hands, swung, and slashed a nearby flower. Its pink petals fell gracefully to the ground. Kylaia picked one up, and ground it under her fingertips. A pink residue stained her pale digits. She let glaive move, snake through her fingers, on its own. It led her in a complex dance. Kylaia closed her eyes, and when she opened them she was on the ground, her glaive on her lap. She shook out the kimono, and stared at the sight that met her eyes. Shadowy blue expanses awaited her, shot with pure, innocent, brilliant white droplets of light. She breathed in the silence, the night. Pallid squares of corruption suddenly spotted the garden, momentarily blinding her.
"Who's out there?" a man yelled. Kylaia walked forward, annoyed, and showed herself. "Some man, I think he identified himself as the Shang Dragon, told me to leave you on the grass." Kylaia continued to be motionless, her face stony. The man walked back into the building expecting Kylaia to follow, but not minding if she didn't. She stayed where she was standing. The waxen squares disappeared and she returned to her speculation. Her eyes shut. A rainbow of color swamped over her vision, an again found herself sprawled on the lawn, vulgar, uncivilized. Kylaia ran to her inn room, needing to wash and change. She came down to breakfast late and awaited the insults. Liam followed her, and she almost spat on him. It was like he had a right to talk to her because they were acquainted? She found solace in slashing small beautiful pink flowers into small pieces and crushing the rose petals under her heel of her kid slippers. She imagined each flower was her brother, the petals were all the things dearest to him, the leaves were his thoughts and the stem his soul. She let her glaive's blade sink into the stem, and the juices run along the metal, collecting on the wooden staff, and falling to the ground, becoming part of the dirt. Kylaia ripped each leaf apart separately, relishing the quiet rip and the ragged edges on her hand. The leaf juice wet her hand, and she ripped the leaf again. Tens of green shards fell around her feet, littering her sanctuary. She had control. Liam found her piling her lap up with mashed petals, her fingertip salmon with foliage.
"You must stop," Liam quietly said to her.
"Why should I?" replied Kylaia.
"The garden will look like a ruin. They must have taken years to make," he explained.
"As it will take me years to ruin my brother," she said.
"Why?"
"Because he took everything from me. Everything."
"Thoughts?"
"Yes, years I have planned his downfall. I don't care anymore if my parents worship him, and pay no attention to me do I have to see them ever again in my life? No. Did you have any trouble proving that you are more than pond scum? Did anyone stop you?"
"You did."
"How could I, your inferior?"
"Because you could always beat me. Even when I lost, you showed your disgust or anger, and had more impact than any victory."
"Because of you." Old anger collected, towards Liam. The rage that she had when she was always second best.
"Your brother is nothing to do this, is he?"
"Yes, he is the reason. He took everything. My parents think he's one of the great gods and treat him like one, and I'm equal to a blade of grass, the one Mayall steps on everyday. A bother."
"You are their daughter."
"They aren't smart enough to hold that opaque of a mask. They aren't smart enough to cover love." Liam walked away, his moth open in shock and disbelief. Kylaia continued to rip the plants apart until confetti of hundreds of flowers lay at her feet, and on her lap. "And he isn't as smart as my parents are."