Am I on a roll or what? TWO chapters in one day! I must be crazy.
But here we are, again.
New Original Characters: Fori: stepmother of Kagome, Kikyo, and Manna Manna: Kagome and Kikyo's elder sister.
This Rose of Velvet
Chapter one: A Page from a Thousand Scrolls
"Dearest Diary:
It's me again. Me and Kikyo's birthday is tomorrow! I am so excited. We will be six, exactly. I am so very excited. And yet, I wish I wasn't so. Maybe it's my emotions that alienate me from my family. I cry every night, but silently, lest my cold-hearted twin hear. She would surely ridicule me, and just as surely tell Honored Stepmother of my unhappiness, resulting, as always, in the Punishment. When will Manna come to my rescue? Is it true, what I feel, that she cares not for me, but favors Kikyo as Honored Stepmother does? Oh, Mother, how I wish you were here."
Sighing, Kagome put her diary away. Kikyo never wasted time with such frivolities, as her stepmother, Fori, was fond of pointing out. Although the spiteful woman liked none of the children, she openly favored Kikyo, and just as openly hated Kagome. With Manna, she was more or less uncaring.
Manna. She was sixteen now, and as wise as anybody could be as far as Kagome could tell. Kagome worshipped the ground Manna walked on, and sought always to be in her sister's good favor. But Manna was indifferent to the silent pleas for attention. Manna never showed much expression or emotion anymore. But it was as plain as day to Kagome that Manna, no matter how hard the teenager tried to hide it, favored Kikyo as well. But Manna was kind, and pretended to like Kagome as well.
Maybe it was because Kikyo was so much like her, as Kagome was so different from her. Kikyo was somber, silent, holier than thou and sure as hell not afraid to let you know. But Kikyo, if anything, didn't seem to care much about Manna at all. Or anything, for that matter. Maybe that was the reason Manna favored her over the endless smiles and easy tears that constituted Kagome.
All three had been trained with the bow, but of course Manna was the best. The twins were evenly matched, much to Kikyo's disgust. Kikyo hated Kagome merely for being as good with the bow as she. Not proud. Kagome was not a prideful feature of the family. Nor was Manna, though she excelled in her studies like none other. Spotlight centered on Kikyo, and Kagome could never hope to bathe in its glow.
Fori called Kagome down to dinner with as much disdain as she could muster. Her voice rang through the walls, and the flickering candlelight Kagome was fond of seemed to make the pictures wince and shrink away from the noise. Sighing, Kagome complied, not wanting to endure the insufferable silence of the once happy dinner table.
She could hardly remember those times, when her mother had been alive. Her mother had died when the twins were two. Kikyo harbored no memories of her and didn't seem to mind. Kagome held on to every last detail of every last memory, back when Manna laughed out loud just like the rest of them, when Manna had loved the twins equally, since Kikyo was in as much good spirits as any other toddler, but she had her somber moments. Closing her eyes against the tears, Kagome willed herself back, back to the time when their father had the sparkling green eyes and mischievous smile, before the longing silence had taken place of the booming laughter.
No one was quite sure how Higurashi Yatsuri had died. Her body was found, mauled, in the forest, poison dripping from the bloody masses of flesh and steaming as they hit the ground.
Tsuma had rushed forward, picked up the body of his wife, and had cradled her, holding her bloody chest to his cheek, wailing. The acid had marked the skin of his cheek, arms, and chest, for life. The said skin was pock marked and angrily red all the time, as the itchiness plagued him and he could not stop scratching. His hair was gray. His eyes were a dull green, reminding Kagome of algae on stone. They didn't hold the playful glint anymore.
Kagome entered the dining room, where the rest of the family had started eating without her. Hurt that they didn't think her important enough to wait for, she sat and hunched over her food like everyone else, eating with a single-mindedness that had come naturally to the family after the wedding of Fori and Tsuma.
Fori was elegantly beautiful, as always. She had long, blonde hair and piercing violet eyes. The hair was up in a fashionable, complicated style. It was well known, even to the twins, that she married Tsuma for money. She had not been pregnant at all during the four-year marriage, nor had they heard the tell-tale signs of lovemaking. Fori was also clever, in the worst possible way, working for herself and only for herself.
Tsuma married Fori to forget the happiness he had once shared with Yatsuri. If he had known his longing would increase with woman present, might he have forgone the wedding? Kikyo didn't think so, and neither did Manna. Tsuma was in too much pain to care.
Kagome finished, then asked to be excused. Manna had long since been gone. Absently, Kagome wondered when she had left, was it when she was eating the ham or peas?
"Wait, Third Child. I have something to discuss with you."
Kikyo glanced up briefly. She delighted that Fori called Kagome Third Child. Meaning she was the last of them, the most worthless. Kikyo also loved to hear Kagome being reprimanded, as she was most likely to be. Kagome noticed that Kikyo ate deliberately slower.
Kagome could not help but blurt, "My rightful name is Second Half Child!" Tears stung her eyes as she realized her mistake. Fori brightened.
Kikyo had always held power over Kagome, because Fori liked her best. When Kagome was in trouble, she was little more than a slave to her twin. Fori was obviously shaping Kikyo to be like her, and the thought disgusted Kagome to no end. Kagome closed her eyes for a moment, fearing Punishment. It was always horrible, and it just got increasingly so every time. That would explain Manna's hasty exit. Manna, though she liked Kikyo better, was kind to both of them and would never purposefully cause Kagome pain. Kagome liked to imagine she saw pain in Manna's eyes as well when the Punishment was given.
Fori's eyes glinted like a dangerous cat's. "You are as I say you are. For being insolent, you will be Punished."
Kagome started to shake slightly, wondering if she would ever recover from the scars.
When Tsuma was done, he sat silently, staring at the tablecloth. Slowly, he took out a scroll and started writing on it, as he did every evening.
When Kikyo finished, Fori smiled without humor. Her teeth seemed to be filed into points in the dim lighting of the room. Kagome couldn't stop shaking.
"Lesser Child, have you swept today?"
Mute, Kagome nodded.
"There was dirt all over the walkway! Didn't you see it?"
Kagome's shaking increased.
"There will be, of course, a Punishment for this. And a Punishment twice over for the outburst earlier. You will show me the proper respect, Worthless Child. I am ashamed in place of your mother, and I am infinitely pleased I do not have to call you of my flesh and blood."
Blood. Kagome cast a wild glance at her twin, seeking help, but finding only pleasure in those cold, cold eyes. It had been Kikyo. She had kicked dirt all over the swept walkway. And Fori well knew it.
Afterward, when the whip had been hung back up, Kagome crept to the room she shared with Kikyo. Wincing, she put salve on all the cuts, which was hard, considering all the lashes were on her back, and hard to reach.
Kikyo walked in, quietly as always, menace hanging around her like a fine mist.
"Little Sister," Kikyo called softly.
Chin trembling, Kagome put her shirt back on, facing her twin, whose eyes contained the ice of Hell. The warm Heaven in Kagome's eyes faltered, gave way to tears. "Yes?"
Kikyo's face screwed up in rage. She kicked Kagome's back savagely, causing Kagome to gasp in pain. Fireworks exploded behind Kagome's closed eyes, and, unbeknownst to her, she shook. The nerve endings all over her body went numb from the shock of the pain. Red, black pain.
Kikyo spat in her face. "You will call me Mistress, Little Worthless Dirt! You are no more than dog fodder!"
"Y-yes, my Mistress."
Kikyo straightened. "Clean my room. Then you will come to me, and I will watch you as you use your toothbrush to scrub out the toilet. I have purposely not flushed after Honored Father left the bathroom. I will also watch as you use your toothbrush to scrub your teeth this night." She turned on her heel, head held high, and swept out of the room.
Kagome pulled her Diary from the archives of the mattress.
"Dear Diary:
I was Punished again. One day, Manna will rescue me. I know she cares. She must. If only I could withhold my pain until then."
END CHAPTER ONE! Okay, morbid, macabre, yeah, yeah. Sorry it's so blech and stuff, but it's part of the story. I'm sorry this was short too, but the second chapter is longer and... almost finished! Dun dun dunnnnnaaaaa! It will skip a year or so, and don't worry, Kagome stands up a little for herself and no longer submits to Kikyo's prematurely evil whims. But what happens when Kikyo goes crying to Fori? Next time! Happy reading. Please review, constructive criticism welcome always.
New Original Characters: Fori: stepmother of Kagome, Kikyo, and Manna Manna: Kagome and Kikyo's elder sister.
This Rose of Velvet
Chapter one: A Page from a Thousand Scrolls
"Dearest Diary:
It's me again. Me and Kikyo's birthday is tomorrow! I am so excited. We will be six, exactly. I am so very excited. And yet, I wish I wasn't so. Maybe it's my emotions that alienate me from my family. I cry every night, but silently, lest my cold-hearted twin hear. She would surely ridicule me, and just as surely tell Honored Stepmother of my unhappiness, resulting, as always, in the Punishment. When will Manna come to my rescue? Is it true, what I feel, that she cares not for me, but favors Kikyo as Honored Stepmother does? Oh, Mother, how I wish you were here."
Sighing, Kagome put her diary away. Kikyo never wasted time with such frivolities, as her stepmother, Fori, was fond of pointing out. Although the spiteful woman liked none of the children, she openly favored Kikyo, and just as openly hated Kagome. With Manna, she was more or less uncaring.
Manna. She was sixteen now, and as wise as anybody could be as far as Kagome could tell. Kagome worshipped the ground Manna walked on, and sought always to be in her sister's good favor. But Manna was indifferent to the silent pleas for attention. Manna never showed much expression or emotion anymore. But it was as plain as day to Kagome that Manna, no matter how hard the teenager tried to hide it, favored Kikyo as well. But Manna was kind, and pretended to like Kagome as well.
Maybe it was because Kikyo was so much like her, as Kagome was so different from her. Kikyo was somber, silent, holier than thou and sure as hell not afraid to let you know. But Kikyo, if anything, didn't seem to care much about Manna at all. Or anything, for that matter. Maybe that was the reason Manna favored her over the endless smiles and easy tears that constituted Kagome.
All three had been trained with the bow, but of course Manna was the best. The twins were evenly matched, much to Kikyo's disgust. Kikyo hated Kagome merely for being as good with the bow as she. Not proud. Kagome was not a prideful feature of the family. Nor was Manna, though she excelled in her studies like none other. Spotlight centered on Kikyo, and Kagome could never hope to bathe in its glow.
Fori called Kagome down to dinner with as much disdain as she could muster. Her voice rang through the walls, and the flickering candlelight Kagome was fond of seemed to make the pictures wince and shrink away from the noise. Sighing, Kagome complied, not wanting to endure the insufferable silence of the once happy dinner table.
She could hardly remember those times, when her mother had been alive. Her mother had died when the twins were two. Kikyo harbored no memories of her and didn't seem to mind. Kagome held on to every last detail of every last memory, back when Manna laughed out loud just like the rest of them, when Manna had loved the twins equally, since Kikyo was in as much good spirits as any other toddler, but she had her somber moments. Closing her eyes against the tears, Kagome willed herself back, back to the time when their father had the sparkling green eyes and mischievous smile, before the longing silence had taken place of the booming laughter.
No one was quite sure how Higurashi Yatsuri had died. Her body was found, mauled, in the forest, poison dripping from the bloody masses of flesh and steaming as they hit the ground.
Tsuma had rushed forward, picked up the body of his wife, and had cradled her, holding her bloody chest to his cheek, wailing. The acid had marked the skin of his cheek, arms, and chest, for life. The said skin was pock marked and angrily red all the time, as the itchiness plagued him and he could not stop scratching. His hair was gray. His eyes were a dull green, reminding Kagome of algae on stone. They didn't hold the playful glint anymore.
Kagome entered the dining room, where the rest of the family had started eating without her. Hurt that they didn't think her important enough to wait for, she sat and hunched over her food like everyone else, eating with a single-mindedness that had come naturally to the family after the wedding of Fori and Tsuma.
Fori was elegantly beautiful, as always. She had long, blonde hair and piercing violet eyes. The hair was up in a fashionable, complicated style. It was well known, even to the twins, that she married Tsuma for money. She had not been pregnant at all during the four-year marriage, nor had they heard the tell-tale signs of lovemaking. Fori was also clever, in the worst possible way, working for herself and only for herself.
Tsuma married Fori to forget the happiness he had once shared with Yatsuri. If he had known his longing would increase with woman present, might he have forgone the wedding? Kikyo didn't think so, and neither did Manna. Tsuma was in too much pain to care.
Kagome finished, then asked to be excused. Manna had long since been gone. Absently, Kagome wondered when she had left, was it when she was eating the ham or peas?
"Wait, Third Child. I have something to discuss with you."
Kikyo glanced up briefly. She delighted that Fori called Kagome Third Child. Meaning she was the last of them, the most worthless. Kikyo also loved to hear Kagome being reprimanded, as she was most likely to be. Kagome noticed that Kikyo ate deliberately slower.
Kagome could not help but blurt, "My rightful name is Second Half Child!" Tears stung her eyes as she realized her mistake. Fori brightened.
Kikyo had always held power over Kagome, because Fori liked her best. When Kagome was in trouble, she was little more than a slave to her twin. Fori was obviously shaping Kikyo to be like her, and the thought disgusted Kagome to no end. Kagome closed her eyes for a moment, fearing Punishment. It was always horrible, and it just got increasingly so every time. That would explain Manna's hasty exit. Manna, though she liked Kikyo better, was kind to both of them and would never purposefully cause Kagome pain. Kagome liked to imagine she saw pain in Manna's eyes as well when the Punishment was given.
Fori's eyes glinted like a dangerous cat's. "You are as I say you are. For being insolent, you will be Punished."
Kagome started to shake slightly, wondering if she would ever recover from the scars.
When Tsuma was done, he sat silently, staring at the tablecloth. Slowly, he took out a scroll and started writing on it, as he did every evening.
When Kikyo finished, Fori smiled without humor. Her teeth seemed to be filed into points in the dim lighting of the room. Kagome couldn't stop shaking.
"Lesser Child, have you swept today?"
Mute, Kagome nodded.
"There was dirt all over the walkway! Didn't you see it?"
Kagome's shaking increased.
"There will be, of course, a Punishment for this. And a Punishment twice over for the outburst earlier. You will show me the proper respect, Worthless Child. I am ashamed in place of your mother, and I am infinitely pleased I do not have to call you of my flesh and blood."
Blood. Kagome cast a wild glance at her twin, seeking help, but finding only pleasure in those cold, cold eyes. It had been Kikyo. She had kicked dirt all over the swept walkway. And Fori well knew it.
Afterward, when the whip had been hung back up, Kagome crept to the room she shared with Kikyo. Wincing, she put salve on all the cuts, which was hard, considering all the lashes were on her back, and hard to reach.
Kikyo walked in, quietly as always, menace hanging around her like a fine mist.
"Little Sister," Kikyo called softly.
Chin trembling, Kagome put her shirt back on, facing her twin, whose eyes contained the ice of Hell. The warm Heaven in Kagome's eyes faltered, gave way to tears. "Yes?"
Kikyo's face screwed up in rage. She kicked Kagome's back savagely, causing Kagome to gasp in pain. Fireworks exploded behind Kagome's closed eyes, and, unbeknownst to her, she shook. The nerve endings all over her body went numb from the shock of the pain. Red, black pain.
Kikyo spat in her face. "You will call me Mistress, Little Worthless Dirt! You are no more than dog fodder!"
"Y-yes, my Mistress."
Kikyo straightened. "Clean my room. Then you will come to me, and I will watch you as you use your toothbrush to scrub out the toilet. I have purposely not flushed after Honored Father left the bathroom. I will also watch as you use your toothbrush to scrub your teeth this night." She turned on her heel, head held high, and swept out of the room.
Kagome pulled her Diary from the archives of the mattress.
"Dear Diary:
I was Punished again. One day, Manna will rescue me. I know she cares. She must. If only I could withhold my pain until then."
END CHAPTER ONE! Okay, morbid, macabre, yeah, yeah. Sorry it's so blech and stuff, but it's part of the story. I'm sorry this was short too, but the second chapter is longer and... almost finished! Dun dun dunnnnnaaaaa! It will skip a year or so, and don't worry, Kagome stands up a little for herself and no longer submits to Kikyo's prematurely evil whims. But what happens when Kikyo goes crying to Fori? Next time! Happy reading. Please review, constructive criticism welcome always.