A Cursed Union by FFchick
Chapter One


Maya, Liz, and Aras had spent several hours on the jet of Maru's. None of them had really spoken, obvious at their nervousness.

Maya had spent her time reading over the print outs over the family they were marrying and almost drooled at the three that were possibly their fiances. "Aras, is it possible that Maru could be doing us a favor?" She asked.

Liz handled Maya a rag as a joke.

"No," Aras said staring out a window. "He wants to take over the family and be richer," She stated. "As he told me... We're means to an end."

Liz looked at the printouts of the younger kids and her only thought was someone new to play with. Liz was so much like a child sometimes, might of been because no one played with her as a child.

"Then why are you just taking it? Really Aras, this isn't like you!" Maya exclaimed.

"Because my kid brother will die if I don't, do you think I want my eight year old brother to die? No, so I'll marry whoever it is that I have to if it's possible and after we get married, Chris will move wherever it's decided and have a stable family life." Aras exclaimed.

Liz took the papers from Maya and went through them and looked at the Dog. "Huh, he's a writer like you and loyal," She stated trying to calm what was going on. It was dangerous to upset Aras, especially when it came down to taking care of Chris who luckily hadn't inherited the curse. Then again, the curse wasn't really a curse anymore. It was pretty much broken, they could hug the opposite sex without anything happening and that was good.

Aras took the paper and looked at the picture and said, "He's not horrible looking... He's a novelist, not a poet." She read up on them like her cousins were doing. "What did your moms say when they found out?" She asked them.

"Mom went ballistic, she and dad got out the shotguns," Aya stated. "It was funny to watch."

Liz's mother being the mommy dearist she was... "She wasn't happy, she said I didn't deserve it."

"Then it proves you do deserve it," Aras stated. "Ittetsumo has offered to asassinate her on a multitude of occassions."

Liz and Aya smiled, they had a weird family and often enough, someone would say something off and it would ease everyone.

An attendent asked what they all wanted to eat, they aggreed, cheese burgers was the best thing. After all they were hungry and Liz being hungry was sometimes a good thing. It meant she eats now, no passing out later. They ate and had soft drinks and continued to talk and argue.

It had been a day since the Sohmas had been informed about Akito's choice with the merger. Now she had informed who was going to marry soon: Shingure, Hatori, and Ayame. They didn't take it so well but they knew they couldn't fight it, what was worst was, that the women they were to marry, one of them barely out of highschool, the second barily in college, and the third was the only one in her twenties. All they knew was that they were engaged to three girls who like Jyumoushi were a cursed zodiac but not sure which, only that their intended were polar opposites to them.

Now Ayame was talking about the perfect wedding dress for his bride to be to wear. For the last hour he had stated how one of his designs would have the bride wearing his favorite masterpiece. Now Hatori was rubbing the bridge where his forehead and nose met, a rather large headache was already hitting him. He did not like this, a teenager to be engaged to and he knew nothing of this bride to be, only that she was cursed.

Shingure was smiling like a fool and holding a book, a red hardback book that seemed relatively new. On the cover in bright gold letter was entitled "Spirits of the Earth" by Aras Aragoth. On the back was a photograph of Aras. He tossed the book to Hatori, "Meet fiance number one."

Hatori looked at the book and the image of the teenager and took in her appearance. The mini biography stated she was seventeen years old and had a younger sibling. She had been writing poetry for two years when it started with an assignment from a teacher and grew into an obsession. She was orphaned at a young age and spends her time with her elder cousins on a daily basis: Aya & Liz.

It wasn't two minutes and Ayame was looking over the girl in the photo. She had intense eyes, even if the photo was black and white and raven hair in two little buns on either side of her head. The girl wore jeans, a white tanktop and was barefoot sitting on a deck infront of her house. He wanted to meet this Aya that was her friend figured that this girl was his intended... The Aya not the girl on the cover, most definitely Shingure's.

The flight attendent put a book beside Aras. Aras picked it up and figured to start reading it. She knew at once, it was almost a harloquin.

"Whacha reading?" Aya asked. She didn't get an answer.

Liz got out of her seat and read the cover just to see what on god's green earth she was reading and read the author's name and smirked. "She's reading the Dog's book," She said sitting back down and almost chuckling.

"Oh," was all Aya could say.

"Maru is slipping I think," Aras said as she was still reading. "He wanted us to figure out who we're engaged to but I think it's fairly obvious. We're engaged basically by the most similiar animal we are to, and we're completely different than." She explained.

"That's a load of crock," Aya stated. "You're both writers, you're both canines."

"Same but different," Liz stated.

"Maybe you should show the snake your drawings," Aras stated looking up from her graphic novel.

Liz instantly blushed and said, "I don't think so. He probably would not like them."

Aya grabbed the sketchbook by Liz's foot and started flipping through the pages of endless fashion designs and found a lingerie drawing and a PJs drawing that was highly revealing. " I think you should show him this!" She stated.

Liz's face now resembled the color of a tomato.

Aras looked up and giggled. She couldn't help it, she loved her cousins and their antics, however Liz never seemed seemed to enjoy it at first. Aras however went back to her book that she was reading as she was greatly interested in it.

"What's it about?" Liz asked Aras.

"Something a bit more graphic than those Harloquin novels you read," Aras said as she continued to read.

Maya smirked and counted to three with her fingers and on clock work.

"Can I read it when you're done?" Liz asked, she may of looked like a tomboy but she was still loved graphic novels, they were her favorites. After all she never really experienced anything like that before and it kept her imagination thorough.

"Sure, maybe we can get you some graphic novels at a bookshop," Aras said still reading the book. She enjoyed the book, after all there was some history to that and she enjoyed history. "I think you'll more than enjoy this. But I get to read it first."

"Aya..." Liz said in a whiny voice. "Aras is tormenting me," She said and then let out a laugh.

"Am not, she started it!" Aras said getting into childish mode.

Aya rubbed the bridge where her nose and forehead met, she was getting a headache. 'I swear they do this to torment me,' She thought to herself. Aya was twenty years old and knew she didn't need this stress about marriage. Aya was sure none of them did but like always the serpent and wolf would make a game of it... The let's see if the fish will break under pressure.

"Aww I think mommy needs a nap," Aras said sounding like a four year old. She then talked normal, "Don't worry we'll be there in an thirty minutes."

"You have to wear make up," Aya stated to Liz.

"Hell no," Liz stated. "No makeup for this serpent."

Aya looked to Aras who had the book infront of her face, trying to pretend she was deeply into the reading material that she didn't see Aya's looks. "That goes for you too," Aya told Aras.

"No thanks, when do dogs wear make up and if you put anything like that near me I'll bite off your limbs," Aras spoke blatently.

"Oh come on," Aya said taking out some asperin and took it with a bottle of water.

Aras said, "No... Hello we're still teenagers, we should not be worrying about this, this is an arranged marriage, we're not trying to draw them in. We're there to meet them, I'm supposed to find out who's with who."

"That sucks," Aya stated. "IF you wear makeup, I won't tell them about what people have been saying about you being Maru's whore."

Aras literally growled, she really hated Maru at this point and went a little bag next to her purse and put on some light makeup that you couldn't even tell. "You say anything about me remotely connected to Maru other than the obvious, I will tell your future husband every little dirty secret you have." The voice was cold, she wasn't threatening, she was promising.

"Liz?" Aya asked.

"You can tell him anything you want about me," Liz stated. "I maybe nineteen years old but you can't blackmail me," She stated

That was when the plane landed. Aras put her new book in her purse, sorta hanging out. She sorta froze for a minute. "I can't do this," She said.

Maya knew what this was, panic attack. "Yes you can, you're just meeting someone new and I doubt they're outside waiting for us, they're probably at home," She stated knowing that Arasalla thought of this more seriously than anyone else... Even if she was a big joker at times.

Liz sighed and said, "Maybe we should of refused."

"Like Aras said, he would of blackmailed us... I get to keep my daughter alive, Aras keeps her brother alive..." She said. It was a well known fact that Aya had a little girl and that she was staying in Japan for the time being, she was barely four years old, having been the what happens during mating season, their thirdteenth in the zodiac, the Kitsune or Fox.

"How is she?" Liz said.

"From what Kuma told me, my little Kit is doing fine... And I'll get to see her and take her wherever we're going to live." Maya stated.


I'm suprised no one has voted yet. Hmm. Please vote who you think who should be with who!

Thank you my two reviewers Furubaluver & RejoiceTheFallen!