Parental Heritage
Chapter 2
The Lord's wooden-sided, weather proofed tent loomed as a large shadow in the snowstorm. The two tents beside it, one on either side, weren't quite as big but still marked high ranking masters, both of whom served as Touya's bodyguards and advisors. The two tall, muscle bound men now stood outside the door, arms crossed and jaws set, eyeing Yui as she pulled the reluctant Ayame behind her.
"State your purpose, Maiden," one of them said. The other remained silent.
"I am delivering the Lord's new mate to his quarters," Yui replied, tugging on her charge's arm.
"DELIVERING?!" Ayame shouted, both appalled and shocked. She ripped her arm free of the other Maiden's grip and jerked her robe sleeves up. "What am I? THE MAN'S SUPPER?!"
Yui's blue eyes went wide and her hands flew to her mouth. The men's jaws dropped, shocked at the girl's utter lack of respect.
"Ayame, please-"
"Oh don't 'Ayame' me. Where is that Kami-forsaken pig? I've got an icicle to pick with him!"
"That 'Kami-forsaken pig' happens to be standing right behind you," came a deep voice. Ayame whirled around, her crystalline staff appearing in her hands as she set her sights on the Ice Lord himself. "If I were you, I would have more respect for me," he added, gripping the staff and swinging it away from his face.
"Respect? RESPECT?! How the hell do you want me to respect you when you yourself refuse to respect ME?!" The staff was jutted against his chin again, a pair of clear blue eyes glaring behind it. A point slowly began to form on the end of the staff, and Yui and the two men watched in amazement when the icy pole became a spear. Touya's eyebrows went up when the point was set right against his windpipe, and he chuckled as he ran a hand down the slick shaft.
"Going to kill me, my Lily of Ice?" he asked smoothly, challenging her glare with a humored glint. "Or do you wish to know why I was in your village first?"
The girl's glare remained, but the urge to find out the details got her mind kicked into gear. She gave him a curt nod and lowered her spear, which was melting back into a staff and slowly disappearing. At a short wave of the Lord's hand, Yui and his guards disappeared. Touya strode to his tent flap and pushed it aside, turning to give Ayame an expectant look. She sneered and marched in, part of her staff now a slim ice dagger in her hand.
"Make it good, Touya."
"Oh, believe me, Ice Lily, I will."
"You can stop calling me that right now."
Despite the Lord's cold exterior, the tent was cozy against the oncoming winter night. A fire burned in a small stove in the middle of the large room, its heat somehow making it to even the furthest corners. The tent itself was only the one room, with a thick canvas curtain sectioning off a large bedroll and a small bedside table. Several rugs covered the cold floor and, to Ayame's invisible relief, a tray with two cups and a steaming teapot sat on a side table next to the fire. She had gotten cold after she called her staff, a disadvantage when using her spirit energy in a weapon creation, though she avoided showing any outward signs of being so.
Two straight-back chairs, one with an ice blue tasseled throw blanket over it, stood at ready next to the table. Touya pulled the blanketed one out and motioned for Ayame to sit, which she refused to do.
"I will not sit and act like this was a well to do tea party," she spat. "I came in here to find out why you took me from my home, and what you were doing in my village in the first place."
Touya raised an eyebrow and sighed, sitting in the other chair and reaching for the teapot with a smirk.
"You're home is on Koorime, Ice Lily."
"Don't call me that, and I've never seen Koorime. My home was with the villagers, taking care of them whenever they needed it. It was my duty and my place and now-"
"Your duty and place, Ayame, is with me and the rest of the Ice clan now. Your home is Koorime, no matter how long you spent in that miserable village."
Ayame's eyes narrowed at the interruption and mockery of her village. She was about to retort when Touya held a hand up in warning.
"Do not test me. I am not going to tolerate your behavior. You will do as I say when I say it from now on. Your orders will not come from anyone else and you are not to listen to anyone else. You will stay here unless told to do otherwise, and you will sleep in my bed, with me, unless told otherwise. Do you understand, Lily?"
Her jaw dropped at the open display of arrogant forcefulness. She was stunned momentarily, unable to speak, and she would have fallen to her knees had her rebellious side not told her it'd be submission. Instead, Ayame settled for a snapping closing of her mouth and a heated scowl aimed for the Lord's forehead.
"I understand perfectly. I am to be a silent slave for your pleasure, is that right? Well, my Lord, there are a couple things that you should know. One, I don't take orders from anyone. Two, I am not your mate and three, I want my own tent as far away from you as possible. If I am to be stuck here with your arrogant ass, I might as well be halfway comfortable."
Touya looked up, the one eyebrow still perched right below his headband.
"And if I don't give it to you?"
"You can bet your lordship that I'll make your life a living icy hell. I am not to be disrespected either, Touya."
"Ayame?"
"What?"
"You're very pretty when you're making a demand, you know that?"
Ayame stopped dead in her words with her mouth hanging open like a gutted frozen fish. Then, she blushed crimson and gave the Lord the hardest scowl she could muster.
"And your looks are best compared with those of an octopus pike!" She turned with a hiss and stormed out of the tent with a whip of the flap. Lord Touya chuckled and placed his half-empty teacup down on the tray.
"An octopus pike? Well now, that's a comparison I've never heard before."
Yui watched as Ayame paced back and forth along the back of the tent, hands clasped behind her back and sputtering as she fumed. Yui had to admit, the girl knew how to land a good insult.
And she supposed that it didn't help that her new friend never got an answer to her question, either.
"That good for nothing arrogant frozen ass! Who does he think he is?! KAMI?! MAY HE FREEZE TO DEATH FROM HIS OWN FROSTBITE!!"
"I suggest you keep your voice down, Ayame," Yui said when the Maiden went red in the face. "There are Apprentices trying to sleep for tomorrow night."
"Keep my voice down? What for?! This way, the WHOLE CAMP can know how I feel about their so called LEADER!"
No matter how the younger Maiden tried to calm the older down, Ayame continued to fume over the current Ice Lord's controlling and arrogant ways. Yui had tried to explain countless times that he was indeed Lord around here, but the other wouldn't hear of it. Kyra had even tried his hand at calming her down but he got a staff to the stomach and kicked out the door for it.
Ayame finally stopped her pacing and plopped down on the couple's bed, flattening her palms against the sides of her head with her eyes squeezed shut. Yui wasn't sure if it was safe to approach, but decided that a hug would be the best way to soothe the angry girl. When she went over to put her arms around Ayame, however, she received a surprise when the forced mate plunged her head into Yui's arms and began to sob. The clatter of Ayame's tear gems against the cold ground sounded like hail on a wooden roof, and the girl's sobs the howling wind that drove it.
"I…I just…don't…" the captive attempted. Yui shushed her and held her tighter, stroking her hair from reflex and comfort.
"Ssshhhh…you're going to be fine, Ayame. Don't let him get to you, all right?"
"How…how can I not let him get to me?" Ayame replied with a sniffle. "I don't get why I had to be his mate. Why not someone else?" She almost broke down again but she blinked back her tears and continued. "Why couldn't it have been some other girl?"
"Because 'some other girl' wouldn't be much of a challenge, now would she?" Yui responded with a soft smile. "Ayame, you must understand that Lord Touya is one of the most powerful Shinobi lords right now, whether you acknowledge that fact or not. Even amongst the most talented Ice Masters that serve under him, there is not one who has a spark of rebellious streak in him. He obviously saw a challenge in you that he had never seen before. You should be proud, Ayame. No one else has enough guts and willpower to stand up to him like you did."
At this point, Ayame's sobs had quieted and left her altogether. She sat with her head pressed against Yui's breast, staring absently at the small fortune in tear gems that now littered the floor. She sniffed and rubbed her nose, sat up, and gave Yui an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Yui," she said miserably.
"There's no need to be sorry, dear. Just…be careful when you're with the Lord. He won't kill you if you get too out of hand, but someone else might."
Unbeknownst to the two women, a tall man with black hair had stopped to listen in on their conversation, frowning slightly and then smirking when Ayame had started sobbing. He listened when Yui told her that it was going to be all right, and he chuckled softly when the last words left Yui's lips.
"Yes, someone might indeed try it," Riesho said with a dark look. "But the question is, who?"
A few days after the news of the incident between Touya and Ayame spread throughout camp in a tidal wave of chuckles, the orders were given to pack up and head out. Most of the Apprentices that had traveled with them had finally passed their final steps of Mastery and it was time to head back home. Numerous cheers were set up after Touya proclaimed them true Masters, and after a great deal of partying and merrymaking, the first few tents were taken down and packed onto several sleek dogsleds. When Ayame asked Kyra what the sleds were pulled by, he gave her a grin and pulled out a harness the size of a pony's.
"These are pulled by our Snow Wolves. They've been prowling around camp and keeping intruders at bay, which is why you've never seen them before. As you can see," He held up the harness, "they're fairly big animals. It takes only one to pull a loaded sled with passengers. You'll be riding with Master Touya, of course, so when they've been called back to camp, I suggest making friends with his as soon as possible."
"Why is that?"
"Because Master Touya's is the alpha male of the pack, and has been since the pack was first formed. Once you gain his trust, no one will ever get close enough to hurt you."
"That's reassuring. I think." Ayame looked off towards the rest of the camp or, at least, what was left of it. The few tents that remained upright were in the process of getting cleaned out and their contents put onto sleds. Tent canvases were pulled taught over the various items and lashed down with thick rope, the leather traces and harnesses oiled and shined to a brilliant glow. Each of the sleds was as big as a horse cart and each were adorned with a saddle like seat that branched off the back runners. Ayame noticed with a scowl that Touya's sled, much like Kyra and Yui's, had a second seat installed in front of his meant for a passenger.
Me, in other words, she thought with a huff.
At nightfall, all the tents were taken down and packed away and everyone was ready to go. Ayame noticed for the first time that there was a different group of demons with them and when she asked, Touya gave her a disdained explanation.
"Those are Earth Masters and Apprentices," he said with a gruff tone. "Unfortunately, they have to travel back with us so their main band can come get them. They're lead by a Master by the name of Riesho. Stay away from him, and his band, at all costs."
"Why? What's wrong with him?"
"He wants to see me stripped of my power and killed."
"What's so bad about that?"
Touya gave the Maiden a warning look and Ayame gave it right back plus a grin. He was going to respond had Kyra not shown up and saluted him.
"Sir, we're ready to call the Wolves in," he said quickly, out of breath. Yui had obviously sent him on the run. Touya gave the man a dismissal nod and gave his troublesome 'mate' a 'we'll continue this later' look. He then turned and went to stand in front of his silver-lined, ice blue sled to take a deep breath and put his fingers to his lips.
The ear-splitting whistle ricocheted off of the mountainsides and made Ayame clamp her hands over her ears. The echo faded off, and she thought that nothing was going to happen until a lone, long, chilling howl arose from the forest beyond the valley. Touya nodded in approval and went to pick up the harness attached to his sled.
"READY YOUR TRACES!" he boomed as another howl overtook the first. There was a scurry to pick the harnesses up as yet another wolf song joined the second. Ayame wasn't quite sure what was happening until the fourth howl sounded just beyond the tree line. Then, to her amazement, a large pack of gigantic, pure white wolves came bounding out into the deep snow. Their leader sounded another cry and leapt ahead, his long and lithe form creating a spray of snow as he charged forward.
They kept coming faster and faster until Ayame was sure that they weren't going to stop. She backed up, ready to call her staff, and began to tremble as the lead wolf seem to zero in on her and go yet faster.
Then, before she could blink, the entire pack came to a screeching halt, creating a miniature blizzard as the snow spray hit the awaiting demons. There was a flurry of excitement and activity then, and many happy calls to the pack like they were old friends. The leader had slowed down and now trotted to each Snow Wolf, touching noses as if making sure everyone had made it. When he made sure that each Wolf had a sled, he gave himself a good shake and trotted over to the last wolf-less sled. Touya's.
"Ayame, this is Solitaire," he said as he patted the Wolf's nose. "The alpha male and leader of his pack."
Ayame did a quick study on the huge beast, noting that when he sat, his head was level with the Lord's shoulder and he was missing an eye. The other, a gold brown in color, was trained on her with an almost curious gaze.
"Solitaire? Why'd you name him that?"
The corner of Touya's mouth pulled into a smirk as he went to harness 'Solitaire'.
"I named him that because it's my favorite card game. You may call him Solo for short, if you wish."
Only he would name an animal after a card game, the Maiden thought with a scowl. She gave the great white beast another studious look over and then went to stand in front of him, hands on her hips. Solo licked one corner of his mouth and bent his head down, leveling his gaze with hers. Ayame recalled Kyra's advice and allowed the Wolf to sniff her over. When he was done, he put his nose right in her face and quirked his ears. Ayame was puzzled.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked, somewhat hesitant.
"He wants you to pat his nose," Touya replied. "He's decided that you're safe and mean no harm. Now he wants to be friends, more or less."
"Um, okay." Ayame tentatively reached a hand out and gave Solo's muzzle a soft pat. He responded by pressing his nose into her hand and giving her a small lick. Touya had stopped harnessing Solo and watched with a bit of a curious and surprised look.
"I've never seen him take to someone that quick. You're a better find than I thought."
"I should have stayed unfound," Ayame shot back. Touya gave her a challenging grin before he called out the next orders.
"HARNESS UP AND BE READY TO GO IN TEN MINUTES!"
The Maiden shook her head and gave up on ever outwitting the Ice Lord. But, she thought with a secret smile, that doesn't mean I have to give up on being a thorn in his ass.