Disclaimer: I only own the twins and An. Oh, and I guess I own the
Stargazing festival (hee hee!) They did have one in Hong-nan, in chapter
38, but they never mentioned one in Qu-Dong. Yay! Also, I am finally
updating! *huge applause* Yes, yes, I know its been long, but I have been
really busy lately. So, here is the next chapter. I---
Soi: Hello! *bursts through door*
Liss: What?! You're back! Oh, thank god! *runs over and hugs Soi*
Soi: *embarrassed and baffled*
Liss: *realizes what she is doing and quickly gets off* Oh, um, I mean *cough* when did you get back? *turns to readers* She ran away and was gone for days. She actually showed up at my friend Hills's head, and I heard she made quite a ruckus in there. *turns back to Soi*
Soi: *blushes* Well, uh.......
Liss: And Hoto and Tomo were really upset! *turns to readers* They live in Hills's head. So Hills sent Soi back in the mail but she got lost!
Soi: Yeah......anyway, I'm back now. And I see you're glad to see me!
Liss: *face vaults* Riiiiiiiiiiight. About that......you do know that I'm still gonna hurt you, right?
Soi: *lowers head and nods*
Liss: Good. Just in time for the story. *turns to readers* Okay, well, I'm going to let you read the story now. Soi! *pulls Soi into back room by her ear* *sounds can be heard followed by horrific screams*
Liss: *pops head out of room* I mean it. Start reading! Now!
~*~*~*~*~*
It was the night of the Stargazing festival, and so far, everything had been going well. Late evening, Soi went down to An's quarters. An had not been there lately. Another servant had told Soi that she had been called out on a "special duty". So the other servant had been taking care of Soi's twins.
Soi came down and knocked on the door. The servant answered and Soi crept in to get her children. She had told the emperor that she would be out searching for spies, and would meet the others at the festival. Only Amiboshi knew the truth. He watched her mount her horse with the two bundles in her cloak and ride away.
Soi arrived at the festival near the middle of it. The sky was dark and clear, and the stars were clearly visible. Though Qu-Dong was a poor country, the people were dedicated to the festival, and they did their best for it. There was music, dancing, food, and contests. The streets were crowded with people, and little children ran around between their legs.
Soi crept through the crowds and up to a vender that was selling cloth. Soi looked at him through her cloak hood, and he nodded. She followed him back through the building behind the cart and finally came to a woman. She stood up and Soi pulled back her cloak hood. The woman smiled.
"Soi-sama, what a pleasure! Hello! Come sit!" she said, motioning to a small wooden chair beside her. Soi shook her head.
"Sorry, Hoshi, no time. I just came to give you something." Soi stepped forward and unwrapped her girls from her cloak. Hoshi gasped.
"Oh, Soi, are they yours?" she asked, touching Keiko. "Now they are yours," Soi said, pushing them to her friend. Hoshi looked up at her with big eyes.
"But you have wanted children for so long. Why give them to me?" she asked. "You have wanted them longer. And they can't stay in the palace. The emperor will.....Just take them, please," Soi said through tear-filled eyes. Hoshi finally held out her arms and took the twins. Soi stepped back. "Thank you, Hoshi." She took one last look at her children and turned to leave. She stepped through the hallway and was about to step outside when a dark figure stepped in front of her.
"Soi," it said in an icy, smug tone. Soi's heart froze. The figure stepped inside and Nakago's face was revealed. He shoved her back through to the house and other guards followed him in.
"Keeping secrets from me, eh?" he smiled. "Get the children," he ordered. The guards walked up to the frightened Hoshi and grabbed the crying babies from her.
"They're yours, too, you know," Soi said defiantly to Nakago. He turned back to her. "Good. Then as the father, I have the right to decide what to do with them. Come. We shall see the emperor now." He dragged Soi down the hallway. She tripped over something heavy there, but Nakago continued to pull her back out into the festival. He turned back and called down the hall.
"Take care of the woman." The guards grinned and advanced on Hoshi. She frantically looked around for her husband. Before the guards covered her view, she saw his body lying in the hall.
~*~*~*~*~*
Nakago pulled her down the long hallways in the palace with amazing strength. Soi struggled, but it was no use.
"How could you do this? I thought you loved me," she said, trying to keep her voice level. He laughed.
"Oh Soi. So naïve. You never knew. I never loved you. I think you're a disgusting bitch. I was just using you." They came to the throne room and Nakago shoved Soi down to her knees in front of the emperor. The emperor looked down at her, a disgusting look upon his face.
"So. You lied to me. You never met a Suzaku man. That was just an excuse. An excuse for how pathetic you are." He leaned back. "Now, Nakago has informed that you are keeping children here. Without telling anyone." He smiled. "Well, they are both female. I will have some use for them when they get older." Soi looked down, she the one now disgusted. All her efforts, all her work, in vain. Her girls were going to become concubines to this perverted man. She closed her eyes and tried, but failed, to keep her tears hidden.
"For the crime of lying directly to your emperor, you will be sentenced with death." The emperor clapped his hands and the guards raised Soi, her head still down. They started to escort her out.
"Thank you for your loyalty, general," the emperor was saying. Nakago held his head high, pleased. He stole a look at Soi. She looked back at him, such a forlorn look on her face that for a second he felt sorry. But, the feeling being new to him, he quickly shook it off.
~*~*~*~*~*
Soi sat in the dungeon. She was long beyond tears. She now sat, thinking and plotting revenge. How could he do that? She thought he loved her. His words couldn't be true, but they were so sharp, so clear.......they must have been. Soi hung her head in shame. How could she ever have loved him? He was a hideous person. He murdered countless people for no reason and had absolutely no sympathy whatsoever. But, she thought, he did have a rough childhood (understatement of the year). Maybe it wasn't his fault......but no! He made the choice. He chose to do this job, and he could have denied it.
The sound of head hitting stone awakened Soi from her thoughts. Another sound just like it was heard and the sound of footsteps echoed through the dungeon. A moment later, it was the sound of metal scraping metal, and the door opened. Through the dim light, Soi could see the face.
"Hey," said Amiboshi, kneeling down next to Soi and starting to unlock her chains. "Thanks," she said, rubbing her freed wrist. She and Amiboshi stepped out of the cell.
"They took them to the concubine's room," Amiboshi said. They headed there and stopped before the door.
"I'll go in and distract them. You get them out," Amiboshi said, starting for the door. "Hold on there, Sherlock (I don't care that he didn't exist then! Just work with me here!) ," Soi said, putting her hand in front of him. "I'm the girl, here. It would make more sense for me to go in. Plus, they don't know I've been sentenced." She strode inside.
"Okay, ladies," she said, clapping her hands together. "The emperor has decided the you, uh, are to be moved to different quarters. Please follow me this way, and, uh, don't worry about your belongings." The ladies scrambled about. Soi opened another door for them. They hurried inside, and Soi slammed the door. "Hey! This is a closet!" came a muffled cry. Soi motioned to Amiboshi, and he came in and got the twins. He sneaked out again and Soi opened the door.
"Oh, I'm sorry, ladies, wrong door! Oh, hold on for a second!" she ran to the door to the hallway and stuck her head out. After counting to five, she came back in. "I'm sorry. The emperor has just informed us that you will not be moving after all. So sorry. Goodbye!" she said and quickly exited.
"Smooth," Amiboshi said. "Why, thank you," Soi said smiling and took Kimi. She rubbed her cheek and wrapped her back up in the blanket.
"Ok. We have to get out of here," she said. The quietly sneaked through the thousands of hallways till they came to the front entrance. They opened the doors and left. Hurrying across the courtyard, Amiboshi and Soi heard a shout. They turned and saw the guards following them.
"And we were so close," Soi said. "It's not over yet," Amiboshi said. Her led her to the stables and Soi quickly mounted Moonbeam. She took Keiko from Amiboshi and tucked her safely into her cloak. Amiboshi mounted a horse too and threw open the door. There 50 guards in armor greeted them. Nakago stood at the head, smiling.
"Still the same old nai------" But he didn't finish. Amiboshi had charged and began slashing. Before they knew it, 10 men were down. Soi didn't wait. She backed up, and charged forward. Moonbeam made a gigantic leap and landed on the other side of the guards. She too began to fight, but with difficulty. She didn't want to harm her children. But, together, she and Amiboshi killed the guards, until only Nakago was left. But he was injured. He had a slash to his side, courtesy of Soi. He stood there, watching her with his iced-blue eyes. She trotted forward until she was very close to him. She gave a look of disgust at him and punched him in the face. He fell backwards. Soi spit on his body and turned. She and Amiboshi left through the woods.
~*~*~*~*~*
Liss: Hi. Well? Didja like it?
Soi: *pops up* How could you make me do that to my Nakkie-poo? Oh, I feel so horrible!
Liss: Ah, shaddap. Nakago deserved it. He's an evil *bleep* and I hate him. Ooh, I wish I could punch him good in the face! *closes eyes and envisions punching Nakago for a few minutes* Oh yeah!
Soi: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I feel so horrible!
Liss: Then I've done my job. Okay, I know that some of you aren't too happy about the pairing here. Well I got something to say to you people. Tough cookies. Amiboshi and Soi rule, and there isn't that big of an age difference. It's like Soi is Tamahome and Amiboshi is Miaka. Same age difference as them. So there! *sticks tongue out* And, as you could probably guess from what I've just said and written in this story, I hate Nakago! He deserves to rot! So it's only natural that he get beaten up in my stories as much as possible. Ok, please review!
Soi: Hello! *bursts through door*
Liss: What?! You're back! Oh, thank god! *runs over and hugs Soi*
Soi: *embarrassed and baffled*
Liss: *realizes what she is doing and quickly gets off* Oh, um, I mean *cough* when did you get back? *turns to readers* She ran away and was gone for days. She actually showed up at my friend Hills's head, and I heard she made quite a ruckus in there. *turns back to Soi*
Soi: *blushes* Well, uh.......
Liss: And Hoto and Tomo were really upset! *turns to readers* They live in Hills's head. So Hills sent Soi back in the mail but she got lost!
Soi: Yeah......anyway, I'm back now. And I see you're glad to see me!
Liss: *face vaults* Riiiiiiiiiiight. About that......you do know that I'm still gonna hurt you, right?
Soi: *lowers head and nods*
Liss: Good. Just in time for the story. *turns to readers* Okay, well, I'm going to let you read the story now. Soi! *pulls Soi into back room by her ear* *sounds can be heard followed by horrific screams*
Liss: *pops head out of room* I mean it. Start reading! Now!
~*~*~*~*~*
It was the night of the Stargazing festival, and so far, everything had been going well. Late evening, Soi went down to An's quarters. An had not been there lately. Another servant had told Soi that she had been called out on a "special duty". So the other servant had been taking care of Soi's twins.
Soi came down and knocked on the door. The servant answered and Soi crept in to get her children. She had told the emperor that she would be out searching for spies, and would meet the others at the festival. Only Amiboshi knew the truth. He watched her mount her horse with the two bundles in her cloak and ride away.
Soi arrived at the festival near the middle of it. The sky was dark and clear, and the stars were clearly visible. Though Qu-Dong was a poor country, the people were dedicated to the festival, and they did their best for it. There was music, dancing, food, and contests. The streets were crowded with people, and little children ran around between their legs.
Soi crept through the crowds and up to a vender that was selling cloth. Soi looked at him through her cloak hood, and he nodded. She followed him back through the building behind the cart and finally came to a woman. She stood up and Soi pulled back her cloak hood. The woman smiled.
"Soi-sama, what a pleasure! Hello! Come sit!" she said, motioning to a small wooden chair beside her. Soi shook her head.
"Sorry, Hoshi, no time. I just came to give you something." Soi stepped forward and unwrapped her girls from her cloak. Hoshi gasped.
"Oh, Soi, are they yours?" she asked, touching Keiko. "Now they are yours," Soi said, pushing them to her friend. Hoshi looked up at her with big eyes.
"But you have wanted children for so long. Why give them to me?" she asked. "You have wanted them longer. And they can't stay in the palace. The emperor will.....Just take them, please," Soi said through tear-filled eyes. Hoshi finally held out her arms and took the twins. Soi stepped back. "Thank you, Hoshi." She took one last look at her children and turned to leave. She stepped through the hallway and was about to step outside when a dark figure stepped in front of her.
"Soi," it said in an icy, smug tone. Soi's heart froze. The figure stepped inside and Nakago's face was revealed. He shoved her back through to the house and other guards followed him in.
"Keeping secrets from me, eh?" he smiled. "Get the children," he ordered. The guards walked up to the frightened Hoshi and grabbed the crying babies from her.
"They're yours, too, you know," Soi said defiantly to Nakago. He turned back to her. "Good. Then as the father, I have the right to decide what to do with them. Come. We shall see the emperor now." He dragged Soi down the hallway. She tripped over something heavy there, but Nakago continued to pull her back out into the festival. He turned back and called down the hall.
"Take care of the woman." The guards grinned and advanced on Hoshi. She frantically looked around for her husband. Before the guards covered her view, she saw his body lying in the hall.
~*~*~*~*~*
Nakago pulled her down the long hallways in the palace with amazing strength. Soi struggled, but it was no use.
"How could you do this? I thought you loved me," she said, trying to keep her voice level. He laughed.
"Oh Soi. So naïve. You never knew. I never loved you. I think you're a disgusting bitch. I was just using you." They came to the throne room and Nakago shoved Soi down to her knees in front of the emperor. The emperor looked down at her, a disgusting look upon his face.
"So. You lied to me. You never met a Suzaku man. That was just an excuse. An excuse for how pathetic you are." He leaned back. "Now, Nakago has informed that you are keeping children here. Without telling anyone." He smiled. "Well, they are both female. I will have some use for them when they get older." Soi looked down, she the one now disgusted. All her efforts, all her work, in vain. Her girls were going to become concubines to this perverted man. She closed her eyes and tried, but failed, to keep her tears hidden.
"For the crime of lying directly to your emperor, you will be sentenced with death." The emperor clapped his hands and the guards raised Soi, her head still down. They started to escort her out.
"Thank you for your loyalty, general," the emperor was saying. Nakago held his head high, pleased. He stole a look at Soi. She looked back at him, such a forlorn look on her face that for a second he felt sorry. But, the feeling being new to him, he quickly shook it off.
~*~*~*~*~*
Soi sat in the dungeon. She was long beyond tears. She now sat, thinking and plotting revenge. How could he do that? She thought he loved her. His words couldn't be true, but they were so sharp, so clear.......they must have been. Soi hung her head in shame. How could she ever have loved him? He was a hideous person. He murdered countless people for no reason and had absolutely no sympathy whatsoever. But, she thought, he did have a rough childhood (understatement of the year). Maybe it wasn't his fault......but no! He made the choice. He chose to do this job, and he could have denied it.
The sound of head hitting stone awakened Soi from her thoughts. Another sound just like it was heard and the sound of footsteps echoed through the dungeon. A moment later, it was the sound of metal scraping metal, and the door opened. Through the dim light, Soi could see the face.
"Hey," said Amiboshi, kneeling down next to Soi and starting to unlock her chains. "Thanks," she said, rubbing her freed wrist. She and Amiboshi stepped out of the cell.
"They took them to the concubine's room," Amiboshi said. They headed there and stopped before the door.
"I'll go in and distract them. You get them out," Amiboshi said, starting for the door. "Hold on there, Sherlock (I don't care that he didn't exist then! Just work with me here!) ," Soi said, putting her hand in front of him. "I'm the girl, here. It would make more sense for me to go in. Plus, they don't know I've been sentenced." She strode inside.
"Okay, ladies," she said, clapping her hands together. "The emperor has decided the you, uh, are to be moved to different quarters. Please follow me this way, and, uh, don't worry about your belongings." The ladies scrambled about. Soi opened another door for them. They hurried inside, and Soi slammed the door. "Hey! This is a closet!" came a muffled cry. Soi motioned to Amiboshi, and he came in and got the twins. He sneaked out again and Soi opened the door.
"Oh, I'm sorry, ladies, wrong door! Oh, hold on for a second!" she ran to the door to the hallway and stuck her head out. After counting to five, she came back in. "I'm sorry. The emperor has just informed us that you will not be moving after all. So sorry. Goodbye!" she said and quickly exited.
"Smooth," Amiboshi said. "Why, thank you," Soi said smiling and took Kimi. She rubbed her cheek and wrapped her back up in the blanket.
"Ok. We have to get out of here," she said. The quietly sneaked through the thousands of hallways till they came to the front entrance. They opened the doors and left. Hurrying across the courtyard, Amiboshi and Soi heard a shout. They turned and saw the guards following them.
"And we were so close," Soi said. "It's not over yet," Amiboshi said. Her led her to the stables and Soi quickly mounted Moonbeam. She took Keiko from Amiboshi and tucked her safely into her cloak. Amiboshi mounted a horse too and threw open the door. There 50 guards in armor greeted them. Nakago stood at the head, smiling.
"Still the same old nai------" But he didn't finish. Amiboshi had charged and began slashing. Before they knew it, 10 men were down. Soi didn't wait. She backed up, and charged forward. Moonbeam made a gigantic leap and landed on the other side of the guards. She too began to fight, but with difficulty. She didn't want to harm her children. But, together, she and Amiboshi killed the guards, until only Nakago was left. But he was injured. He had a slash to his side, courtesy of Soi. He stood there, watching her with his iced-blue eyes. She trotted forward until she was very close to him. She gave a look of disgust at him and punched him in the face. He fell backwards. Soi spit on his body and turned. She and Amiboshi left through the woods.
~*~*~*~*~*
Liss: Hi. Well? Didja like it?
Soi: *pops up* How could you make me do that to my Nakkie-poo? Oh, I feel so horrible!
Liss: Ah, shaddap. Nakago deserved it. He's an evil *bleep* and I hate him. Ooh, I wish I could punch him good in the face! *closes eyes and envisions punching Nakago for a few minutes* Oh yeah!
Soi: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I feel so horrible!
Liss: Then I've done my job. Okay, I know that some of you aren't too happy about the pairing here. Well I got something to say to you people. Tough cookies. Amiboshi and Soi rule, and there isn't that big of an age difference. It's like Soi is Tamahome and Amiboshi is Miaka. Same age difference as them. So there! *sticks tongue out* And, as you could probably guess from what I've just said and written in this story, I hate Nakago! He deserves to rot! So it's only natural that he get beaten up in my stories as much as possible. Ok, please review!