Ah, I'm back in action. Actually, I haven't written a new chapter for this story in weeks, owing to the fact that I went on a mad streak like five weeks ago and wrote a bunch of chapters all at once, still rationing them out on a "one a week" basis, and then I have been taking a break since then. But now I'm all out of extra chapters, so I actually have to work. But I only have to do that for this fic this week, since my other two fics are way ahead of the posting schedule.
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Gossamer Dreams
Part 13
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"Calm down, now, little one." A beautiful woman patted Rin's shoulders as they shook with sobs. Next to them, another occupant of the Apartment rushed over, holding up a cup of freshly brewed tea and offering it to the girl importantly. "I know, it's hard to think about doing right now, but all of us go through it."
"Most of us." Another girl, who looked only slightly older than Rin, spoke up. "But even the halfling's princess will get her turn in a year when she finally comes of age." She pointed across the large chamber at a girl who seemed to be separated from the hubbub surrounding Rin's arrival, quietly reading from a book that covered her entire lap so completely that she looked very tiny indeed, like a porcelain doll left alone in her corner.
"There are twenty-eight women here in the Apartment now that you've arrived." The first woman began again as Rin shakily sipped at her tea. "And you should see all of us as sisters. We protect each other and share our woes."
"That tea has special herbs in it." The woman who had brought the beverage to Rin cut in. "We all drink it daily. It will keep a child from growing inside of you."
"The Youkai have done this for a long time now." The first woman took back her spot as speaker. "They thought to shame us and break us. It is a twisted thing, but almost right away, our older sisters began fighting back. If you drink the tea, there will be no child. Their idea is to control us by breeding us with Youkai. Only one child has ever been born from us, though."
"Never again, though." The girl nodded firmly. "She died, anyway. Her child still visits, though. Probably anxious for the princess' next birthday." At this, all the women broke into laughter, and Rin blinked, wiping at the last of her tears and finally speaking for the first time since she'd been told what girls in the Apartment were expected to do.
"Why do you call her princess?" she wanted to know. They were all Gifted, so clearly this quiet girl was no princess. At least, no Fukumadian princess, surely.
"The way she talks." The girl answered, smiling secretively, though Rin was sure that the quiet child could hear them perfectly well from where she was. "Though she mostly reads. She only ever talks to the halfling."
"She looks sad." Rin only half-meant to speak the words aloud, as she had not necessarily intended to post an observation. "What's her name?"
"Kikyo." The woman frowned as though the name tasted bad in her mouth, but Rin hardly noticed. She jumped up and darted through her confused audience until she was standing before Kikyo, who did not even look up.
"She won't talk to you. The princess is too good for all of us. Except for the halfling, of course." This close, although Rin did not know who had spoken, she could see Kikyo's pursed lips and hear her irritated sigh.
"Miss Kikyo?" Rin attempted, but the girl did not seem to hear, her eyes glued to her book. "Please, my name is Rin. Unless I am very much mistaken, I know your brother well." Kikyo's breath caught, but Rin doubted anyone else had seen the reaction. However, she could feel twenty-six pairs of eyes on her as she dipped into a very low curtsy, tears biting at her eyelids as she continued. "Please, if you would speak to me, I would be most ingratiated."
Rin's nose was nearly on the floor, and while she could not see what was happening around her, the lack of sound led her to believe that all of them were watching her without movement, waiting for Kikyo's reaction. It made Rin feel as though Kikyo really were something of a princess, and whatever they said about her, she had a strange sort of power over all of them. It seemed a lonely thing to Rin, and she felt nothing but sympathy for this girl, no doubt the sister that Miroku had long mourned losing. How different might these six years of isolation been if she could be near the one person who would love and care for her best, instead of being ostracized here even amongst the outcasts, with only a concubine's life to look forward to. It was no wonder she exuded such sadness.
"Stop that." The voice was pale and beautiful as Kikyo herself, and Rin stood immediately, brushing her skirt off unnecessarily. "There is no need to prostrate yourself before me. We are all equally damned here, in this perfectly hidden hell."
"Cheery, isn't she?" someone spoke, but judging from the grunt that immediately followed those words, she had been silenced by a neighbor's elbow. A silence fell over them, and Rin felt obliged to cut through the tension once more.
"I respect you, Kikyo, as the sister of my mentor, and I only wished to convey the deepness of that respect." Rin spoke as properly as she could. "Will you not speak to me?"
"I have no brother." Kikyo finally answered, turning a page as though the book was infinitely more fascinating than whatever Rin had to say. "But I cannot hinder you if my company is your wish. As you can see, we are well and truly trapped together, and I could not flee you if I wanted. I should warn you, though, that I do not suffer fools, and I will not make any effort at being amiable with you or anyone else here. I have no need of friends."
"As you say." Rin made an additional curtsy, and this seemed to be the signal for activity to resume as normal in the Apartment, and soon enough, the women were either rushing about to find a certain dress or necklace or hair ornament, or lounging on their own personal groups of cushy pillows that covered most of the many niches cut into the sides of the large chamber. Rin bit her lip nervously before sitting down with her legs tucked below her, just at Kikyo's side.
"I apologize." Kikyo's voice was so soft when she finally addressed Rin, that the girl thought she had only imagined it, especially since Kikyo was still staring raptly at the pages of her book. "I know that some of the women here are less than trustworthy with information of any sort of import. I could not risk them discovering my brother."
"No, I am sorry." Rin bowed her head slightly. "I should not have been so foolish as to risk anyone learning of his presence in the city."
"He is still in Yuurei, then?" Kikyo glanced up then, and her eyes were the same purple that Rin had been seeing in everyone's face since she arrived at the Apartment after a night spent in a dank dungeon she had predicted to be the last place she would sleep in. "Is he well?"
"Miroku is, of course, a success at all things he attempts." Rin had to restrain her smile so that it would not look too suspicious while she spoke with Kikyo. "He had taken me on as his apprentice at Healing, but there were…some complications."
"What is your name, then?" Kikyo wanted to know, her face softening for the first time since Rin had met her. The difference was remarkable. She went from an ice princess to a delicate beauty, reminiscent of cherry blossoms on the wind. "I am Kikyo sei'Junjou."
"I am Rin sei'Kigaru, as my mother told me some time before she died. I did not understand what the importance of her maiden name was at the time, but I was still rather young." Rin explained.
"Then you must be the daughter of Hanami, whom my brother had set out to retrieve when I was caught." Kikyo tilted her head to one side. "Tell me, what caused such an extended stay in Yuurei? I was under the impression that he would teach you to turn your eyes and send you back to Seiiji in the space of a year, two at the most."
"Plans were changed." Rin admitted. "Or forgotten. When we arrived in Yuurei and you were gone…you cannot imagine how that damaged your brother. He has never given up hope, you know. He still thinks he might find you if only he keeps inquiring, looking, hoping. He truly loves and misses you, Kikyo. At the same time, I was learning to live without the family I had grown up with, and I turned to Miroku as a brother, of sorts. I think we needed each other for some time, but it seems that in the end, I was only a burden. I was to leave for Seiiji in two days when I was caught, just as I was packing my things."
"My brother must be devastated." Kikyo sighed.
"Perhaps he is glad I have left, no matter the circumstances." Rin shrugged slightly, and Kikyo let out a sharp sound, something like a laugh that had long been restrained.
"I know him, Rin. He would blame himself for losing one of the Gifted to the authorities. Do not think of yourself so lightly. If he took you on as an apprentice, he must have truly cared for you, and you should never doubt that." Kikyo told the other girl, her voice utterly solemn, so that Rin found herself nodding in agreement.
"Kikyo…you are my age, are you not?" Rin wanted to know, and Kikyo coughed slightly before giving the barest of nods.
"I lied when they caught me. So now, I am twelve. I think it was the wisest thing I did on that terrible day." She sighed heavily. "I still have a year before they can touch me, but you, apparently, did not know to lie, and therefore, will be inducted into something worse than even my current existence shortly. Did you meet the Empress mother?"
"That terrible lady who looked like a spider? Yes, I did." Rin's lip curled slightly in disgust. "I have met many Youkai as a Healer's apprentice, but never have I met one that seemed so thoroughly…evil."
"You must not have met her brother, the Lord Naraku." Kikyo offered a humorless smile. "He has his eye on me, you know. He has since I arrived here."
"When you were eight?" Rin hissed it in a low tone. "He thought you were six and still wanted you?"
"He is…not a normal sort of person." Kikyo folded her hands in her lap. "But then, you must know much more than me about the ways of people. You know how to turn your eyes, I assume? And surely, you know your way around Yuurei quite well."
"Of course." Rin tilted her head. "But it hardly does us any good in here. I am sure your storybook offers more hope than such useless memories."
"Perhaps." Kikyo considered. "I shall offer you an exchange. I shall let you read my stories if you tell me all you know about the outside."
"What good will it do you?" Rin wanted to know, and Kikyo shook her head vaguely.
"None, I suppose, but it is still a way to pass the time." She reasoned. "Also, I shall try to hide you from Naraku. The last thing you want is for him to take an interest in you. Since you are new, he very well might do that."
"Thank you." Rin bowed her head slightly. "I think we shall be great friends, Kikyo."
"As do I, Rin." Kikyo offered another smile, this one friendly and honest. She truly was a beautiful creature, but Rin found it slightly odd that she looked nothing like her brother. That must simply be the way of their family. After all, she had seen plenty of siblings in her time on the outside, and not all of them seemed to match. As she considered this, Rin noticed a boy had entered the Apartment, and she felt her stomach fall as he made a beeline for where she was seated. Already? She had only just arrived, and she would be expected to do as they said so early?
"Kikyo," he smiled when he reached them, but it was a sad, shy sort of smile. It matched Kikyo's well. "Is this a new friend?"
"Yes." Kikyo patted the spot beside her, and Rin felt her heart slow back down. Clearly, whatever he was here for, this boy was much more interested in Kikyo's attention than hers. "Rin, this is the Prince Inuyasha, son of a former maiden of the Apartment."
"Then you must…" Rin cut herself off. Surely, he did not like being called that name.
"Be the halfling? They do call me that, from time to time. Mostly in here, when they think I cannot hear them." Inuyasha shook his head ruefully, his long silvery hair shaking over his shoulders. Rin was staring at the puppy ears on top of his head in utter fascination. She had never met a Youkai or Gifted that had such things. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Rin."
"You as well." Rin tried to stop staring at the ears, but they were rather intriguing. She wondered how soft they might be.
"Rin, stop staring, they are real, I assure you." Kikyo's sharp tone brought Rin back to the present. "It is the way his body chose to express the dog Youkai in his blood when it clashed with the Gifted blood. At least, that is our theory on the matter. Inuyasha, Rin was the apprentice to my brother, Miroku, whom I have told you all about, as you might recall."
"And you only just arrived?" Inuyasha looked extremely sympathetic. "It is not the best place to live, but at least you are alive."
"At least." Kikyo let out a soft noise of irritation. "No, I am not angry with you, Inuyasha. You do not make the laws. If only your brother would see that—"
"You know he will not listen to a thing I say about that." Inuyasha grumbled. "Kagura is on your side, if that makes you feel any better."
"Kagura is the Empress, Inuyasha's sister in law, as I am sure you knew well enough from your time outside." Kikyo explained. "She is a rather pleasant person with a sharp mind, and I hope you might have a chance to meet her."
"If I stay in here long enough, Sesshoumaru or Kagura might come looking for me." Inuyasha smiled conspiratorialy, and while Rin had judged his age as somewhat older than her when they first met, she now realized that he could not possibly be her elder, and if anything, he was slightly younger. Or perhaps he was simply male. "Then you could meet them, Rin. Would you like to meet the Empress and Emperor? They are much nicer than nasty old Kijo."
"Do not trouble yourself, please." Rin shook her head slightly, but Inuyasha did not seem to hear her at all. "I will go and bring them now. Or, if you like, you could come with me. You are old enough, are you not? All I have to do is pretend I am taking you out of here for…other things."
"Do not worry, Inuyasha is a trustworthy soul. He would never take advantage even of an Apartment maiden, as his own mother was one herself." Kikyo assured Rin, patting her hand. "And then, if Naraku comes to see the new girl, you will be safe with my best friend."
"Your best friend?" Rin looked at Inuyasha, who beamed at her in pride at the title, and then watched as Kikyo squeezed his hand momentarily in hers. When their eyes met, Rin saw something pass between them that she thought she might recognize. Inuyasha would do nothing with her, as she was not the one he loved. His affection was reserved for Kikyo.
"All right, then. I think it would be nice to see the Palace for myself." Rin took the hand Inuyasha offered after he stood, and let herself be helped up. "If you will not be lonely, Kikyo?"
"I have my book." She assured them, and among a great number of whispers and stares, Rin let herself be led out of the Apartment by Inuyasha.
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The End (Of Part 13, That Is)