"...Please I need the girl to heal the children if I don't not only mine, but the other parents children..." The maiden spoke sadly as she looked up to him the child's eyes closing slowly. Glancing to the woman in the flowered kimono, his eyes widen a bit, "Your... your child...?" As he reaches the side of the bed he drops to a knee, looking at the child once more, his voice almost seeming to fail him, making his words barely even a whisper, "What ill's her...?"
"...What are you doing...?" Her eyes watched the man holding her child against her chest the child breathing weakly again.
"This child... what illness has befallen her..." he says as he looks over the girl, finding her to look almost exactly like his wife as he remembered her.
"...I am not sure... I think the children were playing in the woods... then something happened..." her eyes watch him carefully.
Slowly lifting his arms, he lays them upon the bed, his gentle hands brushing against the hand of the small girl, his eyes seeming to sadden a bit, "What does the winged girl hold that can heal her...?"
"... If the feathers are burned and inhaled then the children bodies will heal finally allowing them to rest without any pain..."
Slowly taking the girl's hand between his hands, he feels of her skin, feeling the warmth radiating from her body from fever. "The winged one won't be harmed...?"
"...I only need her feathers for the children..." The girl lays still no strength in her hand at all.
Nodding softly, he lightly brushes his thumb over the back of the girls hand, as if trying to comfort her. "How old is she...?"
"...Six, but what does it matter to you...?" She looked at the man curiously.
The man's eyes widen a bit as they look at the child still, Could she possibly be... she looks just like her... and the age is right... he thought. "I was merely curious... I would have had a daughter about her age... but..." his voice just trails off, continuing to try to comfort the small girl. The child laid motionless as a man walked in slowly.
The sound of boots on the floor draw the lord's attention from the child, though his hands remain, continuing to gently caress the child's hand, wishing her to be well.
"Get your hands off my daughter now you filthy vermin!" His hand immediately goes to sword drawing quickly the light shining through show the man's features that of his deceased wife's brother.
Not releasing the girl, he narrows his eyes at the man, "You... you murderous bastard... you sent your armies to my kingdom, you took my wife... your sister... and you killed her!"
The girl looked at the stranger that held her child's hand soon smacking him hard across the face. "That's why you came for revenge!"
Lowering his head, he shakes his slowly, slowly lifting it to look at the one that'd slapped him, his eyes shaking lightly with welling tears, "Why did you take her from me... why did you take your own sister's life...?" Lowering his head again, he places it on the bed.
He smirked as he moved his hair out of his eyes. "Whose to say I didn't let her live..."
"I watched her die! I watched your men slit her throat!" his body shakes a bit with sobs, "I would have had a daughter the same age as this girl..."
"Who's to say that you don't."
Releasing the girl's hand, he quickly pushes himself to his feet, glaring at the man, "You killed my wife and child, in front of my eyes! Death says I have neither!"
He smirks shaking his head. "To bad now leave here now and let my wife and child rest."
"I came for the winged girl... I will not leave without her..." he says his eyes lowering to the girl again before slowly closing. "This girl looks just like my wife... identical in almost every way... she's beautiful... Use the feathers as you must... for the children... then I'll take the winged one and be on my way..."
"Come back in three days then you can have the girl back." Leans against the wall of the cabin watching the man closely. "Now leave my wife and child be..."
His eyes lift to the male, narrowing a bit, "After what you did to my wife six years ago... I have no intention of leaving the winged one with you alone... I will be staying in the village until I am able to leave with her."
"Get out or I will slay you." The maiden looked to the man sadly her eyes lowering halfway just as his wife's would.
Glancing down at the woman who was looking up at him, he shakes his head to rid himself of the feeling he felt, an odd feeling that made him feel as though he knew her. "I will not leave the girl... you've taken my wife... you've taken my child... I won't let you take the only person I have left..."
"What a motionless creature that will never know love just like my sister felt..."
"You're wrong... your sister did love me and your family hated that fact. That's why you killed her..." he says as he lowers his eyes and looks to the child and mother again, feeling himself wanting to cry the two seeming so familiar that his thoughts of his wife began to haunt his restless mind.
"You killed your wife you let her burn in the fires of hell." He started twisting his words knowing his wife would take his side more instead of her real husband.
"You lying bastard... your men slit her throat in front of my eyes... I still have the scars from their cowardly attacks against me when I tried to take her body... I watched her blood flow down those steps... those steps that YOU set ablaze to stop me from taking her body..."
"...And if you were the man you say you were you would have saved her body..., but you didn't did you... you just ran at least I came and saved my wife from when she was kidnapped and she still managed to have our child..." The man spoke so sincerely through his lying teeth.
His body drops to one knee, hands cupping his head as he fights the memories that haunted him, images flashing in his mind of the pain from the flames, the pain of watching his wife die. "How could I have saved her body... your men attacked me from behind like the cowards your clan was! I have the scar in my back from the sword I was impaled with... I barely survived the attack... had it not been for my horse being the loyal beast he is, I would have died in the forests between our kingdoms..."
The man smirked. "Oh was your loyal beast white?"
His breathing begins to grow heavy, the emotional strain from the memories beginning to take its toll on his body. Eyes fluttering, he places one hand on the edge of the bed, the other on his knee as he remains kneeled on one knee.
"I thought it was a rogue beast in the forest well you have two feet use them." The maiden looked to the man sadly not really understanding what was going on between the two her eyes swelling as tears rolled down her face as the child struggled for breath again.
His head swimming begins to sway a bit, pain wracking his body as he relives every injury he took during the fight, every aching moment in the flames. "You... bastard... you knew it wasn't a rogue beast... what rogue beast wears empyreal crimson armor..."
"One that has escaped his brutal master..."
"You've taken everything from me... my wife... my child... the winged girl... and now my loyal horse... one that has never once let me down... just as I've never let him down..."
"You let your wife down that only wished for a child.."
"Hold your tongue snake! Your cowardly ninjas kidnapped her from my castle while your real warriors lost their lives on the field of battle! There was nothing I could do to stop such cowardice, my warriors code of honor... something you wouldn't understand... keeps me on the battle field with my men."
"You mean the ones you no longer have." The man smirked as he walked toward the man on his knees.
"Hold thy tongue before I remove it... my men died honorably face to face with the enemy... it's more than I can say for yours so many years ago."
"At least I was not the only man left alive like you were because you ran after a stupid wench."
"No, you're right, you were left with your men because you were too much of a coward and stay to fight alongside the rest of your family. You left and let them die in your stead."
Shrugs lightly. "Your angry cause I have a beautiful wife she has such a perfect feature seems familiar doesn't it."
Smirking a bit though he still hurt immensely, he lifts his head to look at the man, "Yea, she looks like your sister. Odd practices your family follows, running away while your brothers and sisters die, and marrying women that look like your sister... did you really miss your sister so much that you had to replace her with one that resembled her?"
He leaned down whispering into his ear softly. "Did I replace my sister..." He smirked.
"You must have... since your sister died by your own cowardly hands... forked tongue bastard."
"...I brought your pitiful wife back she's my wife now..." He leaned up the maiden still in the corner of the bed with the child now.
His breath seems to catch in his throat at the man's words, "A... Ayame...?" His voice soft, barely above a
The young maiden looked to him. "How do you know my name I never told you…"
"What sorcery is this... it's not possible to revive the dead..." he says as he drops down further, both knees now on the ground as his eyes well with tears, locked on the woman.
She watched him still. "How do you know my name?"
"Ayame... you... it is you... you're... and this..." his hands move to the girl, "This is our..." slight trails of tears begin to fall down his cheeks.
The man grabs his arm quickly. "Keep your hands off my wife and child..."
"Unhand me fiend! What form of sorcery have you used to revive my Ayame and our daughter?"
The maiden quickly moved picking her weak child up moving behind her brother husband not understanding what was happening.
"Aya... Ayame... you don't... don't remember me at all...? I am in no way familiar to you...?" he asks as he lowers his head.
"...No why are you doing this to my family?" The young maiden said looking at him sadly.
Slowly standing, he places his right hand across his stomach, suddenly feeling sick. "Why must fate be such a cruel mistress..." he says as he stumbles a bit, making his way to the door of the hut. She stayed silent watching him shaking.
Stopping at the door, he looks back at her once more, "I am sorry... I failed you... forgive me..." Not waiting for a reply from her, he turns and exits the building, moving across the village with his arm still folded around his stomach.
She looked up to the man that she had known as her husband. "...I do not understand..."
After walking for several minutes, he reaches the outer edge of the village, his body leaning against a tree before sliding down, collapsing into a seated position. "Why... why do you do this to me... why me!" he yells out his question to the wind, directing it at fate.
"...Love what was he talking about have you two met before?" She looked up to him questioning him.
Pulling his katana from its sheathe, he examines the blade, dragging his finger along the blood groove that lined the back edge of the blade, the stains of shed blood still prominent within the shallow channel. "Give me one reason... just one..." he says as he lowers the blade close to his stomach, so distraught that he had began to ponder hara-kiri.
The man didn't answer her she left the room as she walked out into the snow her child covered in a blanket looking for the man. "...Where are you?" Head still down turned, he presses the tip of his blade to he stomach area of his armor, closing his eyes in preparation to end it all when he hears her voice. Cursing his weakness, he drops the blade, grabbing his head in his hands. She continued looking for the man worried now she had not lost her kind heart even after her death. Standing slowly with his right arm still curled around his stomach, he kicks his katana away from him, the blade bouncing on the ground making enough noise to draw her attention.
Her eyes draw to the sword that held the small amount of blood walking slowly toward his resting spot. Before kneeling down. "... Why did you leave...?"
"Ayame... why are you out here... you should be inside with ou... your daughter..." he says, head lowering a bit, "she shouldn't be out in this weather... she's sick..." Turning his back to her slowly, he resists the tears welling in his eyes, knowing she didn't remember him was more painful than any injury he'd ever incurred in battle.
"...My husband I know he's a cruel man, but he told me that I feel in love with him because of that..."
"Nothing is safe in my hands... I couldn't even protect yo... my wife... I've lost everything in my life... my wife... my unborn daughter... my kingdom... my horse... all but my own life..." Sniffling slightly, he turns to face her, holding back his tears, "Unlike your b... husband... you have a kind soul... the people of this village are blessed..."
"...If they are so blessed then why have so many children died so far..." Tears roll down slowly.
"You didn't have the cure before... you have it now... the winged girl is your cure... and I was trying to take her away..." Stepping to the woman, he slowly kneels to one knee and bows his head to her, "Please... care for her in my stead... everything I touch meets a cruel end... she deserves better..."
"You saved her from the men did you not?" She spoke quietly the little girl opening her eyes meeting his once again.
"A misplaced fox trap saved her... her getting caught in that trap is what saved me from certain death..." he says softly, his eyes falling into contact with the little girl's.
A weak smile slide across her pale lips before her eyes closed slowly. "You still saved her you were willing to."
"She's practically dead now... her soul is gone... like I said... everything I touch dies... I refused to fight her... she was going to kill me... I... I welcomed death at her hands... but as usual... fate left me to live... and took her..."
"...I took her from you..." Tears roll down slowly before turning away feeling guilty for what she did to him. "... I am sorry my husband killed your wife and unborn child."
"He is a devil... he took my Ayame from me... took her life... his own sister..." he says softly, remaining on his knee. Slowly standing, he places his hand on her shoulder, "Please do not blame yourself... you were a tool used by fate... fate placed you in that forest... fate brought you to save me... fate is the one whom brings my pain, not you."
Tears continued to fall from her porcelain cheeks. "...I carry pain of those children I failed... I can never give those parents back what they have lost..."
"Ayame..." he says softly as he holds his hand on her shoulder, this being the first time he'd touched her since they were married nearly seven years before. Almost as if instinctively, he pulled on her shoulder to make her face him and pulled her closer to himself, feeling the child between them breaking their contact...