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.·¤**¤·.Eyes Clouded By Love.·¤**¤·.

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤ Chapter Five ¤

"And I hurt his hands so badly! I feel terrible about it now Gillian!" Seamy was telling the story about how she burned Beau's hands. Toki was in the cafeteria doing her last shift of work. It would be her last considering how soon she would be due for labor.

"Well Seamy I don't think you have anything to worry about. I don't think Beau's hands hurt anymore. They've been healing quite nicely."

Gillian was the town nurse and becoming doctor. She had short brown hair with green eyes that showed intelligence. She was also a good friend with many the women in Iron Town, and pretty young at that. Gillian also had not been proposed a marital contract on arrival. So basically Gillian and Seamy had a lot in common.

"Ok if you say so. You are the doctor." Seamy said still looking miserable.

"Well, not yet anyway." Gillian laughed, "Get some sleep Seamy. You have nothing to worry about." She shoved her outside as someone came inside with a slight burn. "Go have some fun girl! But Seamy I want you to watch out. Don't go out alone, there have been some disappearances of women lately!"

"Hey Seamy!" Karoku stepped up to her. "Have you seen Toki? She didn't show up today for Tatara Ba and there have been kidnappings lately."

"No I haven't seen her since yesterday, but don't worry Karoku, you and I both know that Toki is a very wise and hard to handle girl. So I doubt that anyone could ever kidnap her." Seamy laughed at the thought of someone trying to kidnap her friend. She could just imagine how Toki would beat them over the head with her very own fists.

"If you say so Seamy, but if you see her then send her to me right away." Then he added, "Please?"

"Sure no thing." Seamy turned towards her hut and saw a shadow leave it. Forgetting about the disappearances, she shielded her eyes to see who it was. But it was dusk and whoever it was she couldn't see them! "Hey! Get away from there! What do you think you're doing?!" Seamy went around the back to where she saw the shadow head towards. It gave her the chills when she circled back around and found nothing. So, Seamy headed inside to check out what the thief was doing in her hut. When she walked in everything looked normal except for some protruding object on her bed. It was a nicely wrapped pink box with a matching bow on it.

Now Seamy had grown up in a town where the woman worked without water or food for days at a time. So I bet you that she had never gotten a present before now, and she was totally ecstatic for it. She leaned over her bed and ran her fingers along the silky bow that felt like the fur of a wolf's pup. She slowly opened it looking around to see if anyone was watching her. She saw that there was a note, a water petunia, and some silk material that was neatly folded.

She looked at the material first which had golden and blue streaks along with strewn in silk flowers. It looked gorgeous and expensive. She opened the note…

True apologies to a beautiful and kind woman

Who's gown I ruined

Meet me by the river so I can be the first to see you in it

I promise that I won't push you in this time.

It was enclosed with Beau's handwriting, she was sure of it. It was a masculine hand that had written those words. She took out the beautiful material, which unfolded to be a kimono for dress and formal parties.

"Oh it's beautiful." Seamy crooned to herself. She read the note over about five times before she finally placed the flower in some water and put the kimono on. She walked outside and headed towards the river where people usually cleared near dusk. When she got there, there was no one in sight.

"I hope this isn't some joke." Seamy stated to herself, but then she heard someone shouting at someone else. She swore it sounded like Toki but all of sudden it stopped. Seamy followed to sound around the corner of this private bank to where there were lush fountains and gardens near the river's edge. There see saw three men holding a woman and one talking to the woman. They had her face near the water and every time she started to scream and curse they would stick her head under the water.

"Toki!" Seamy whispered to herself in fear for her friend. She realized that the men had kidnapped her and were holding her now while she screamed for help. "Hang in their Toki, I'll get help." Seamy thought it smart to get help before she headed in there herself. So when she turned around and started running she froze still. Standing not three feet in front of her were two malicious gray hounds as big as elks drooling and growling at her. One went for her ankles but she jumped out of the way just in time.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? An eavesdropper I suppose?" The sturdy man who had been laughing while Toki was being submerged was standing in front of her now with two other men.

"Boys get her." The man grinned evilly, "Look she's even dressed for the occasion."

Seamy darted past the three men and the all tried to grab her but they missed and she spirited towards Iron Town. Just then the dogs came towards her at a much faster speed, and this which made Seamy run faster and right into some one's chest.

She ran till her heart was about to give out and by the water in the distance she could see Beau sitting with flowers in his hand.

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"Ashy is it really you?" Kaya asked him with her arms around his. "I thought you were dead." Tears were brought to her eyes.

"Don't cry Kaya, you can see I'm alive and well. It's a truly long story… um… do you think that you could help my friend here." He pointed to San who was getting jealous that Ashitaka had another girl in his life. She pushed the spears away once untied and walked towards Ashitaka who was starting to be surrounded by people.

"I came here with Princess Mononoke, a dear friend of mine, and our three compainions. Yakkul you'll remember is the elk, and the two wolves in those bushes are Gyro and Inispa. All the crowd looked to see how their fair prince had found to become friends with wolves. Gyro and Inispa approached with the waiting Yakkul.

Malcolm came forward before San could reach Ashitaka and told him, "Ashitaka, you are wanted to be seen by the wise woman." Ashitaka nodded and followed Malcolm and followed with Kaya who held his hand the whole time.

"Piogi show the Princess to where Yakkul and her wolves can stay for the night!" Kaya rejoiced that her brother was home. And they headed towards the wise woman's hut.

San sadly followed the boy while Ashitaka was lead by many girls into the hut.

"Ashitaka, our young prince has returned Wise Woman." Kaya walked in first and presented her 'dead' brother.

"Ahh… let me see the boy." She was sick and near her death bed. When Ashitaka stepped into the light she smiled, "So you survived and went from boy to man? I'm impressed even though you are very lucky that we do not follow our old laws anymore and so you can not be dead to us anymore, even though you are dead you are reborn to us now!" She coughed and Ashitaka leaned near her bed while Kaya backed out of the tent.

Kaya left the tent and made sure that their guests were comfortable in their temporary home. She wanted to learn more about her brother's companion. She could learn the story of how he survived later on in the day. She walked to see that the wolves where playing together in one of the barn stalls. She steered clear not knowing if they were friendly or not. But passing by she saw someone sitting in the stall as well. It was the woman that her brother had traveled with. She was sitting in the corner holding the crystal dagger in her hands shining it in the light shining though one of the cracks in the boards.

"Hi there!" Kaya smiled to the woman who was sitting there. She gave a friendly smile and the wolves stopped playing to smell the newcomer. San was startled and when she noticed it was the beautiful girl that Ashitaka was holding hands with she didn't return the smile but kept playing with the dagger.

Kaya cleared her throat at the unfriendliness, "I see that Ashy still has the dagger that I made for him." When San heard this she wasn't too happy.

San stood up and held the dagger out to her, "Here it's yours then."

Kaya heard that the princess had a mellow and sweet voice, good for singing and she was also much taller. "Oh no I don't want it. I just wanted to have a conversation. So um… are you married?" She asked curiously.

"No, the man I want doesn't want me." She said sadly fingering the crystal.

"Oh and who wouldn't want you? Oh, you mean Ashitaka?" She said realizing the truth in her eyes. "So then who does he want?"

"You." San looked away almost with tears in her eyes. But she turned sharply when she heard the younger girl laughing at her.

"Y-y-you t-think that Ash-Ashitaka wants to m-m-m-marry me?!!!" She was laughing as San's face became tomato red with embarrassment. "Why in the world would you think that… Ashy is my brother!" Kaya starting to calm down and smiling looked at San. Who looked like a changed person. She was now more relaxed knowing that Ashitaka didn't love this other girl, but what boggled her mind was that if Ashitaka's sister was the princess then he was the PRINCE!

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"BEAU!" Seamy screamed as the two dogs chased her along with the men.

Beau saw her just as the two men grabbed her from behind and swung them on their shoulders. He stood up and ran towards Seamy, but the men took her off in another direction.

"Seamy! Oh shit." He went searching.

When they had stuffed Seamy's mouth with some dirty sock she wanted to spit out the disgusting taste. They carried her back to the camp where they held the very pregnant Toki as well.

"Seamy? Seamy! What are you doing here." Seamy gave her an exasperated look telling Toki that there was no way she could answer her.

"Oh right well…" Toki started but the man next to her slapped the back of her head which knocked her out.

And Seamy was shocked and angry at the men who had hurt her friend. So the three men took the kicking Seamy and tied her to a tree trunk just like they had with Toki. After a while she stopped fighting the bonds behind, keeping her wrists from getting loose.

She could feel the blood rushing out of her fingers and that the bonds were too tight.

Tears rushed to her eyes when she saw her unconscious friend; she prayed that this would be the end for her friend and the baby. Seamy looked down at her soiled new kimono that Beau had bought her. So much for that, she thought.

Two hours had passed by when Seamy was almost asleep on the trunk. She lost all feeling in her fingers and was almost out of hope when she felt breath behind her left ear. She turned her head away as if one of the men were thinking about sexual pleasures. But soon turned back when she heard Beau's voice. He had gone for reinforcements and came back with ten of the twenty blacksmiths. He whispered into her ear and she loved the feeling of the safety that he brought for her. She turned her head back towards him just to be a little closer but he had bent his head to undo her bonds.

Seamy tried to look like she was sleeping as Beau worked behind the trees, so that none of the five men knew what was going on. She felt the bonds become loose and two other men were working on Toki's, who had also woken and felt the breath of Karoku behind her neck. Seamy felt the bonds come off completely and flexed her fingers still in position. Beau wrapped his hands around hers and then reached around to pull the sock out of her mouth.

"What are you going to do?" She said worringly.

"Don't worry, the blacksmith's are very strong." Beau's voice seemed to drift further and further away.

"Please be careful Beau." Seamy whispered worried for the man she was falling so desperately in love with.

Seamy watched the men for the next half hour as none of them moved. Finally someone threw a rock from the bushes behind and it landed on one of the men's head and bounced off.

"Aw shit what the hell was that Henry?"

"I dunno. Go check it out."

All of a sudden the camp was bombarded with stones of all sizes, and the fire was put out by water so that the whole camp was pitch dark. Seamy and Toki started to run in the other direction but when she turned around Toki was being dragged away by the man called Duff. He went to the nearest river edge which overlooked the water by a good 30 feet down. Duff had become crazy, you could see it in his eyes.

"Seamy get away!" Toki yelled desperately.

"I won't leave you here with this asshole."

"Shut up bitch you're next." He walked towards the edge.

"The jerk store called me and they've sold out of you!" Toki then stomped on his instep and watched him tip backwards. When Toki thought that he would tumble over she turned around just to have her robe grabbed by the man and pulled over with him.

"TOKI!" Seamy dove and overlooked on the edge.

Toki was hanging there holding onto a gouge in the cliff. She stretched her other hand up and Seamy sighed with relief and held on to her friends hand for dear life, but she still hadn't had all the feeling return in her fingers and neither did Toki so she started to slip.

"Seamy don't let go. Whatever you do don't let go!" Toki started yelling.

Just when Seamy thought that she would let go and have to watch Toki fall to her death, Beau was at her side reaching for Toki's hand. Seamy smiled with relief that he was there to help and together they pulled her up and over the edge of the slope.

"Well gee this was an adventure." Toki sat down on the ground as they all did and started to breath. Karoku came over with the other eight men and had them all tied with iron handcuffs that the black smiths made iron hot.

Beau and Karoku helped up the two women start walking. With Lady Eboshi running down the hill with her arm in a sling and the other holding a gun they all happily turned towards their home.

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DISCLAIMER

All the characters appearing in Princess Mononoke are copyright of someone else. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters in Eyes Clouded By Love are the creations and the property of Telpelindewen. Even if they are out of character.

BLAH!!!!