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.·¤**¤·.Eyes Clouded By Love.·¤**¤·.
¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤
¤ Chapter Six ¤
"So are you telling me that Ashitaka is a… a… prince here?" San asked.
"Yes he is. If you're his girlfriend," Kaya started but saw no surprised looks from the woman of the wolves. "Then why didn't he ever tell you?"
"I dunno." San looked tired and didn't want to pursue the issue any longer. "My title is Princess Mononoke but everyone calls me San."
"Well it's nice to meet you San, I am Kaya. I hope that my brother treats you well." Kaya turned around and handed back the dagger which San tied around her neck again.
Kaya walked out just as Ashitaka walked in and hugged her. He walked… no he waltzed over to San's straw place.
"Come sleep with me in the guest house San." Ashitaka held out his hand, which she grabbed to help pull her self up. She patted the heads of the pups on her way out and walked hand in hand with Ashitaka out of the barn.
When they were outside San took a deep breath of the fresh unpolluted air.
"Ashitaka…why didn't you tell me that you were a prince?" She looked at his happy face.
"I thought you knew." He frowned.
"How should I know?" She asked confused.
"Well you said you found out a lot from Yakkul, San." And they walked indoors to the bed covered in bear furs.
"Well I never asked anything personal, but I wish you had told me." She looked down and Ashitaka tipped up her chin with his hand.
"What would it have changed San?" He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her body and moved in to kiss her for the first time since a year or so ago, when she pulled her face back.
"Well then I wouldn't have thought that you had some woman here that you were in love with!" San sad bravely.
"Who?"
"Kaya."
He burst into a fit of laughter. "But she's my sister!"
"Ah, but you never told me that." San turned her back and Ashitaka rolled his eyes.
"Do I sense a bit of… jealousy?" He asked happily.
"NO! Well… okay maybe a little bit." Ashitaka smiled knowingly as San confessed the truth.
"So how can I prove that I have no interest in any other woman that way?"
"Well… there are words… but I'd rather you'd just shut up and kiss me." San turned back around and twined her fingers behind Ashitaka's neck
"Well when you put it that way…" Ashitaka and San kissed since the last summer that he had visited. He wasn't sure that she had liked it and hadn't done it again since, but when San crushed her lips more fiercely to his he knew he should have done it sooner.
Outside the window was Kaya and a few of her friends.
"I told ya so." Kaya turned and galloped off with a wink at her friends.
She headed towards the barn where Roe her own red elk was waiting to be ridden.
"Sorry girl, no rides tonight. I have a date!"
When she turned around she saw her brother standing there waiting for her with his arms crossed.
"Kaya you're too young to date!" He said like the mocho brother he was.
He had grown a lot and kept his brown straight hair short. He had developed muscles by some work or labor.
She rolled her eyes at his brotherly comment, "I am not. Besides you know him."
"Who?"
"It's Malcolm. I've been friends with him since you left." She petted Roe's nose and walked outside with Ashitaka.
"Ashy you have to tell me everything when I get back."
Just as she ran off waving and ran to a man standing at the other side of the shadows where she jumped in his arms and kissed him straight on the mouth Ashitaka said loudly, "Please tell Miko and Fern to not snoop around our windows! And that goes for you as well!" With that he smiled and went back to where San was sleeping soundly on the bed for two.
Instead of joining her on the bed, he slept with the furs on the hard ground where he preferred it. Later that night San joined him there and she had another nightmare just to be cuddled by her 'boyfriend' who soothed her soul.
Kaya came and woke them early, San embarrassed to be found sleeping with the prince on the floor. Ashitaka went out with Kaya to tell her everything that had happened in the past three years while San went to the river with Gyro and Inispa to wash and eat.
When she came back Ashitaka was just finished his meal and walked to meet San and the two wolves.
"Did you and Kaya have that long talk?" San asked tiredly.
"Yeah we did." Ashitaka pressed a kiss to San's forehead when he saw how tired she was.
"Hmm… that was lovely. What was that for?" She asked and leaned her head against his chest.
"San you need sleep. I can see the dark circles under your eyes." Gyro pressed on Ashitaka's hand for attention as well, and so Ashitaka scratched him while he talked to San.
"I can't help it Ashy. These dreams they won't let me. Maybe I could see your wise woman or one of her predecessors?" San's weight was getting heavier.
"Sure I've already asked her about it and she told me that it was a path given to us by the gods. And not only you but me as well." When he realized that San was asleep against him, he carried her into the guest house where the wolves followed and people looked on. He told the wolves to lay with her until she had woke again. And they told him to place her on their fur.
San snuggled into a further sleep as Ashitaka closed the door to the house they were staying in. He needed to think and headed towards the waterfall that he visited so often as a boy.
When he saw Malcolm that morning he and Ashitaka had talked about what had been happening in the village since he left three years ago. Malcolm told the prince of how he planned on one day proposing to Kaya, and showed him the ring he held in his shirt front pocket. Ashitaka was a little taken aback that Malcolm had been so trustful so early but he was a good choice for his younger sister and encouraged him to continue with his sister. They had met right after Ashitaka had left. He was from another village far away where they had kicked him out for stealing. Malcolm had witnessed the last farewell between Kaya and Ashitaka, and he could have turned her in knowing that she wasn't supposed to talk to him but he didn't. And so they became great friends and soon developed crushes on one another. Malcolm's bad ways dispersed into thin air and it replaced with happiness and joy.
Ashitaka headed towards the waterfall and removed his shirt and shoulder connected plate. The water was freezing but Ashitaka didn't hesitate. He headed to the medium height waterfall and stood right under it to think as he did a boy. He stood with his arms crossed like an Indian chief of a mighty tribe. He hated the cold but the noise of the water calmed him enough to think of San's nightmares and what they meant.
She had said that Moro would guide her down to the path to where the old Forest Spirit's island stood. And there were footprints on top of the water. It was two sets, a mans and a woman's. Then when she saw the island it had become much larger after the death of the spirit as it was today. She saw two shadows standing upon it. And when she turned around she jumped for there was a Kodama and its head started to spin faster and faster. But then poof the dream was over and she was awake.
Ashitaka stood under the water until Kaya had sent Miko to retrieve him before he turned into an icicle. He returned to find that San was still asleep and so he went in and sat down beside her where she woke and they had few words before Ashitaka dragged her out into the sunlight and threw her into the freezing water. She screamed and the two pups and Kaya, Malcolm, Ashitaka, and San all played in the river until supper.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seamy and Beau sat in Gillian's hut. She had been woken in the middle of the night to find her two good friends with deep circulation marks of the rope that tied their wrists. She heard the whole story from Karoku and Toki as Beau and Seamy sat with his hands holding hers.
"Beau, I'm sorry about the kimono." She looked down at the soiled and ragged dress.
"Do you really think that I would've cared about the kimono when your life was at stake?" He asked her. She had tears in her eyes and as they fell he wiped them away.
"Why the tears Seamy?"
"If you weren't there then I don't know what I would have done. She traced the line of purple that the ropes had made.
"But it doesn't matter now." He told her, "Because everyone's all right."
"You're my hero." She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder.
He became stiff with fear that he was going to do something wrong, and was shocked that this beautiful female had chosen him out of all the other males around. He soon relaxed and he held her bruised wrists in his own healing hands. He brought the wrist to his lips where he kissed the purple spot.
From the other room Gillian, Toki, and Lady Eboshi all watched.
"Well what do you know. It brought those two together." Gillian smiled.
"I knew that he would warm up to her eventually. What do you think milady?" Toki looked towards Lady Eboshi who just smiled.
"I'd think I'll start to make that marital contract starting now." And she left the tent.
Beau and Seamy just sat there the whole night talking and using the other for support. And everyone else just left them alone. Beau and Seamy held hands all through the night and when they awoke they weren't embarrassed at all, but in love.
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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!!!!