In the denseness of the forest, a leather-clad warrioress pushed her way through enchanted foliage, panting in the thick, humid air. Her name was Constantainia, and she was from Axis, with no real clue of how or why she was here, in this place of the rising sun. Her sword in its sheath bumped against her back as she trampled all sorts of roughness on the alternately green-and-brown-and-other-colored terrain, and her three-layered, up-flipped hair with a swirl of magenta only made the air hotter. She was told that the wolf princess, a warrior queen, was here in this crowded place. The only human in the woods, she was impossible to miss. Yet Constantainia had been out searching for hours, and was no closer to discovering the girl--or young woman, which ever she may be—than she was when she'd left Iron Town. A twig cracked behind her. Constantainia slid her sword from it's home and held it ready to slice her intruder. Two paws were coming her way, some two-legged creature with light steps. The slender figure of a young woman bound in wolf skin emerged from behind a tree. The girl looked at Constantainia with her clear, organic-brown gaze.
"Who are you?" the young woman asked with absolutely no sincerity.
"I'm Constantainia. I'm looking for the one they call Princess Mononoke."
"I am she." She young woman said, tightening the grip she held on a spear made of shiny rock.
"I've traveled a long way to meet you. I want to battle with you. I've been told you're the best."
"I'm not interested in fighting. I've fought enough. You can fight a samurai."
"I've fought all that are worthy of me. Now I need to battle with you."
"I won't accept the challenge. Leave my forest. There was much blood shed here years before, and nothing has fully healed, myself included." The princess' steady gaze withered just a bit, gently dampened by glazing tears.
"I'm not the sort to beg, princess, but have mercy and duel with me, a short duel, so I may know I fought the best of this world."
The princess took the last few steps that were between her and the unwanted visitor. "Leave this place. I will not have hatred absorbed into my precious trees and burn them with a splash of hot blood. Go to Iron Town. There are humans there. You may fight them." Princess Mononoke stepped around Constantainia, who took in a whiff of her sweaty hair that lay in a maze of frothy tangles. The young woman wasn't anywhere near Constantainia's true age, but she learned from the villagers that the girl was probably just over twenty. Constantainia's blood boiled.
"I'll spill my own if you'll not fight!" she threatened harshly. The Princess faced her with a critical uncertainty. She sighed.
"You're such a violent human."
"Yes, I am. Fight me, and I'll leave."
The princess hesitated for another second, then removed her cape, revealing her short, form-fitting, one-shouldered wolf skin dress. She scratched her tangled hair, her strange band coming down to her forehead in a V. Slim red streaks on each of her cheeks were drawn from blood, Constantainia thought. The Princess jabbed her spear into the ground and drew a small dagger. She flipped it once or twice in her hands, then stooped down in a ready position.
"Can your dagger defeat my sword?" Constantainia said menacingly. The princess responded my narrowing her eyes ever so slightly and stooping lower. Constantainia shed her sheath and dove sword-first on the princess of beasts.
For two days solid, they fought. The ching and clash and smash of sword-on-dagger wasn't cooked up into the hatred that the Princess feared, but instead gave her an unexpected rejuvenation and riled her up for more. Stone and steel crashed against each other over and over again, throwing sparks in the faces of their mistresses, both blinding their eyes and magnifying their passions for bloodthirsty, human-on-human contact. The two grinded closer together, Mononoke and Constantainia's faces being drawn closer, teeth clenched in dire, animalistic need to be the victor. One of them finally slipped the tiny fraction-of-a-fraction-of-an-inch, and both jumped back and immediately lunged forward, and stopped. They panted heavily, a shard of stone against the new comer's throat, and cold, razor-sharp steel laying on the princess' windpipe. Both then abruptly collapsed, Mononoke falling against a tree, and Constantainia against a rock, still engaged in the chore of breathing. Mononoke grasped her dagger hard and forced a smile.
"You're a brilliant warrioress. I've not fought better, not even the one called Lady Eboshi can match you. But you have so much pain, pain you try not to let cloud you, but you are quite weak against it. I hope he whom you love is not the source."
Constantainia was impressed. "You have a profound ability to read people. Almost as profound as the fact that a human girl can live so harmoniously among the beasts of the forest."
Mononoke's eyes glazed with anger. "I'm a wolf."
Constantainia stopped panting. "You're a human. Who told you you were a wolf?"
Mononoke stood up tall, and replaced her dagger. "I'm a wolf. I'm the Guardian of the Forest. No human will guard the forest as I will. I may look human to some, but I am a wolf. Leave this place. Be with your kind." Mononoke turned to leave.
"And yours?"
The princess stopped. "I'm going to them." She took another step, then looked over her shoulder. "Are you going to the place they call Iron Town?"
Constantainia perked up. "Yes…why?"
The princess hesitated, then spoke softly, "Please tell the human boy Ashitaka that I said hello."
"How do you know him? He never mentioned you to me." Princess Mononoke didn't seem to hear her as she walked away slowly.
"Princess Mononoke!"
She stopped, and faced Constantainia. She smiled a sweet, human smile. "Call me San."
In a steak of silver, Princess Mononoke, San, was gone. Constantainia was alone again in the thick foliage, again draped in wonder and curiosity, still unsatisfied.
AN: Well, what do you think? I hate to ruin the mood with this stupid lil note, but I must write it. It's my first Miyazaki Fanfic, and I could have put it on Media Miner, but it's easier on ff.net. Thankx for reading. Peace.
Xoxo,
Alexandria the Great, Queen of Geats