Blood Of The Heart
By AriznGlori
A/N: Welcome to the second installment of BOTH. You liked the first chapter, no? I hope so. Love you all! Oops…can't say that without looking gay….,' Please ignore… Anyhoo, I would like you all to know what a dread shadow high school looks like from my POV. Well, enough with random blabber. Time for the disclaimers!
Disclaimer: I am sooo bored. I love Kagome, and Sango, and Kagura, and…girls, and anime, and typing, and I can't have any of it! Wah! My PC's broken! Wahaha o
And no, I am not rich. Wah! ('-,-') Kool kitty face…hmmm…needs a halo…
Chapter Two: Village in the Valley
The cold air was bighting as the day wore on, the warmth of a carriage gone from the three travelers and the horses they rode upon. The sun sailed on continuously through a muddled gray sea, its light shimmering faintly in the overcast sky.
"The snow here… it does not glitter…" Kagome said softly, watching her breathe mist before her face, as though half-awake. She must have been, either at or in intense thought. Her eyes were dull and half open, and she slumped forward in Inuyasha's arms, as he held the reigns from behind.
"Well, should it glitter with such a lack of sun? It does not mean the land is evil, as you think it to be; just forsaken," Myoga answered irritably. The wind gusted suddenly, sending loose snow up like dust. Myoga shuddered, and whimpered a small, unheard prayer. The old man was having a bad time, and his horse was tiring under the weight of his girth and the luggage. Myoga was getting saddle-sore, and had lost a valuable amulet that seemed to hold great value to him in the accident. He realized it only an hour prior.
"My amulet!" he had wept. "My precious amulet. Banisher of evil in a land of wolfish nightmares! My amulet has gone!"
After a while he had calmed himself about it. The matter was, in fact, a thing of utter stupidity. "A blood-sucking flea, Kagome. What did I tell you?" Inuyasha had said angrily after the man requested to go back to the scene of the accident and search for it. Now the journey was in relative peace, and the three were just reaching the outskirts of the village.
Heinrich now rose before them; its dull but quaintly charming houses were standing in impressive rows along dreary roads, the remnants of an old battlement fringing the farthermost farms along the outskirts. Several were actually outside of the wall.
"I think I know why Sango and Miroku moved out of Vienna. This village seems rather isolated from the world," Inuyasha observed, gazing at the lofty hills and mountains flanking the village on three sides, the fourth being the River Mur itself. "The possibilities of a part of the war reaching this place seem highly unlikely. It would be horrible for children if it came, and you know how many those two are likely to produce."
"If Sango allows Miroku to get anywhere near her."
It was a private joke among the three. Miroku had been courting Sango for many months before their marriage, and he was a "very polite and dashing" pervert. The two had obviously been madly in love with one another, but Miroku's amorous attentions on many women in Munich had made the possibility of marriage seem very distant. The wedding, when it finally came, was absolutely the talk of the city, and half of the most influential people in the Holy Roman Empire had been invited. Few came, though. The wedding was a gay event nonetheless.
Miroku's father, once a rich and powerful nobleman from the city of Augsburg, funded the wedding, despite the tradition that the bride's family always pays. The celebration was on a large hill overlooking the city on a bright Sunday morning. The married couple had left on throne-like chairs seated atop a grand carriage, and then a great parade was staged on a nearly abandoned street on the city's edge, though many people turned out for the joyous event.
Inuyasha was the best man, and Kagome was the Maid of Honor; she even caught the bouquet. Sango herself found descendents from France and Rome, a diverse family tree that gave her exotic beauty. For a while Kagome was very jealous of her best friend, but when she had received overwhelming attention from many gentlemen when she turned fifteen, she almost despised her good looks, but couldn't help but feel blessed. Inuyasha, however, saw things a bit differently. His lady friend was aesthetically pleasing in many ways, her beauty soft and not overwhelming. She was like a delicate silver bell, a pale flower unappreciated for its gentle beauty.
"Where is Sango and Miroku's house?" Kagome asked, looking around the town. A few people were out, watching the horses trot by. Most of them were headed toward a large open square surrounded by a medieval collection of buildings blended with graceful Gothic constructions complimenting the great cathedral at the center of the town. Shops and collections of homes were more frequent closer to the cathedral, as though not willing to go out of the safe haven the great high building provided. Next to the cathedral were a large convent building, and a tavern across from it on the great square. People now began to crowd the streets, though it seemed like minor traffic compared to the bustling Munich and its neighbor, Augsburg.
"They could live anywhere in this mess," growled Inuyasha, irritated. "You would think that they would be out waiting for us."
"I think that we should check in at the tavern," suggested Myoga.
"Dear Lord, Myoga, you came up with a perfectly logical and simply fool-proof plan," Inuyasha said in slight shock. "I only hired you because you're a living almanac."
"Thank you, my lord… I think…"
"Alright. Let us hurry up. My hands are burned and at the same time numb. I want to see my friends again." Kagome was agitated now. She felt her hands throb unexpectedly, painfully under her glove.
"Sure darling," Inuyasha said with a dashing smile, getting off the horse and guiding it to the tavern while Myoga's horse trailed behind. "Kagome, from down here you look like the Virgin Mary on her way to Bethlehem."
"Are you calling me fat? I am not pregnant, and I hope I don't look it. If you're implying anything, I'll strangle you and suspend you from a gargoyle on the church's left bell tower."
"Good luck with that. I'm pretty heavy, and I doubt you could carry me up to that dizzying height. Not to mention coldly suspending me and watching as I slip away to inevitable death over a hundred feet below."
Kagome made a face. "I hate it when you do that. It takes the fun out of everything." She then stuck her tongue out at him, and in response he bit his thumb at her. She gasped, blushed, then quietly fumed where she sat while the horse was led to a post and tied up by a half-frozen trough of water.
She slipped easily out of the crude saddle, and stood on the stone-paved path leading to the building, from which the reeking smell of ale came from. Inuyasha escorted Kagome through the wooden door, over which a wooden sign said The Fox Den and into the smoky bar, followed by Myoga, loathe to leave the two.
The walls of the room were a blend of stone and brick, not eclectic but a blend of remodeling and recent construction. Oil lamps hung from the ceiling, and torches with greasy smoke burned in their holders against stone walls. Inuyasha calmly walked into the slightly brawling place, up to a bar crowded with men of all statuses drinking and fighting. The bartender, a robust middle-aged man with pointy features and fox fur hair, rushed over to him, a surprisingly clean cup in his hand, ready to be filled.
"What do you want, my fine sir?" The man asked, eyeing Inuyasha closely. "You from Munich, right? Awful far for a business trip, don't you think? You're ruffled up? Did your company have an accident on the way into town, or something?"
"Nothing, yes, it's for pleasure, a little, you don't want to know," Inuyasha said, answering all of the questions. The bartender laughed. It was deep and rich, making the man seem all the stronger.
"I like a fellow who can talk like that," he said after calming down a bit. "So why are you here, if not for my famous beer brews? You're not after my wife, are you?"
"Hardly! Not to be rude or anything, but I have my own love interest." He discreetly glanced at Kagome so she couldn't tell, but the bartender got the point. "I'm actually looking for some friends of mine who live in town. They are Sango and Miroku Josif… I thought you might know of them. They came out here so Miroku could apprentice to his stepfather in Vienna. He is going to be-"
"A theologian, or something along those lines. You want to know where he lives, yes? It is a large house, of brick and marble, with a great garden of dark flowers still in bloom. Sango is surprisingly good at gardening, keeping the plants alive throughout our harsh winters. It is down south of the cathedral, next to another tavern, our competition. I think it is called the Wolf Den. But no one on the town's northern side goes down there. Miroku doesn't either. I know him, not as well I should, but I do. His wife is a spunky gal with quite a spark in her." Inuyasha thought to himself Definitely Sango.
"She gets along with my wife just fine," he continued. "Smart as a whip, the pair of them. Women deserve a lot more credit in society, let me tell you."
"Thanks for the information," Inuyasha said, paying the man.
"What is your name?" the bartender asked.
"Inuyasha Krischan."
"Really now? Are you by any chance related to Sesshomaru Krischan?"
"Yes. He and I are brothers."
"You're the younger one, I see. Don't look a day over eighteen, but your brother just keeps getting older every time I see him. Sometimes wonder if he's losing his mind, the poor fellow." The bartender sighed.
"Hopelessly in love with Kagura," he said, "and then the girl disappears on him. Not like her at all. He came in here, not more than six months ago, ranting about a sword called the Wolf's Fang, or something like that.
"By the way, Inuyasha, I am Leon Orlandus. My wife, Victoria, is the waitress over there. We have a son, Shippo, somewhere around town. Runs wild with a group of friends, causing minor mischief and the like. He has a job as a mail deliverer, but so little mail we get in this town that he works mostly in the summer, handing out a newspaper. Tell him hi if you see him around town, and to be home before dark."
"I will do that. While we're on the subject of Kagura, do you have any idea where she might be in this town?"
"Most I can figure is at that huge castle on the mountain to the north. Her father was living there for a while, but died nine years ago."
"So Lord Lamarr was dead for a year before Rin was born?" Inuyasha raised his thick black eyebrows.
"Yes," Leon said softly. "We are very concerned. He died in summer, when the passes were open. News of his death reached Munich long before Rin was born, like you said. What I want to know is why the woman supposedly came back here so long after her father was dead, and not sooner. Makes no sense."
"Sounds like everyone in town knows of this."
Leon chuckled a little, but his laugh held no humor. "It is one of the strangest scandals in all of the Empire. Out here, our town was actively involved in the rumors, so our residents seem to take everything they here about it to heart. There are so many theories around here that if you'd listen to what everyone in here is talking about, it's why Kagura disappeared. Rightful heir to the county of Heinrich, and married to a powerful lord from Munich; they are like royalty to us."
"Any advice on where to get information? My friend wants to help find Kagura."
"Try the convent. They seem to know everything, yet they never leave their buildings." Inuyasha thanked him and turned around, but quickly remembered the bandages that Kagome needed. "Sorry, Mr. Krischan, but no tavern in these parts stock up first aid. Try the doctor's office just around the corner. Oh, and one last bit of information before you go," Leon said in a deadly serious voice. "Don't go out after sunset."
"Well, I got some information on where Sango and Miroku live," Inuyasha said, "as well as a whole lot of gossip that could keep Munich talking for days."
"Did you get me bandages and ointment?" inquired Kagome.
"Sorry darling, they do not carry any of that type of thing at the taverns around here. We need to get to Sango and Miroku before nightfall, at any rate."
"Okay. Where do they live?"
"South of the cathedral, next to another tavern."
"They live next to a tavern? Isn't that dangerous?"
"No one here goes out at night, Inuyasha replied. "That obviously means that people don't have enough time to get drunk."
"Well, that's conveniently safe."
January 5, 1641
Dear Diary,
A night has passed since I last wrote to you, and during that night, many strange things happened to us. The first thing was the night. I am going faster than usual, Diary, so please try and keep up. The night had swallowed us, and the horses that drew our carriage went mad. They ran and swerved the carriage until it fell off the hill in an accident. Inuyasha and I were knocked unconscious, while Myoga himself was thrown by the impact with the ground thirty feet, according to my friend. Inuyasha and I were mostly unharmed, save for bumps and bruises, some cuts on Inuyasha's part, and burning on my part.
Next was my unusual dream. People were calling me 'Kikyo' and a man came up to me, and held out his hand. He scared me terribly, yet I wanted to go to him. I touched his out-held hand and was scorched, and the burning on my hand was in the shape of another hand, like it was gripping me. Then, when we came here, Inuyasha informed me that the taverns do not stock medical supplies! I will have to wait until we get to Sango and Miroku's winter house. Oh, I cannot wait until the vacation really starts. Thanks again, Diary, for listening to me.
With all the Love in my Heart,
Kagome Higurashi
The trio and their horses wandered around the huge cathedral, its graceful designs and elaborate carvings blanketed in silent white snow. The windows were wide and many, convincing them that it must be cold inside. They had no time to find out, though. They made it around the cathedral as the sun began its set. Following a wide road lined with bare black trees, they found the Wolf's Den, nearly abandoned during its last hour of business before sunset.
Next to it, sitting on a wide acre of flawlessly manicured land draped in snow, the brick and marble mansion of the Josifs. Its roof was steeped high, like all of the roofs out here, but was especially tall, foreboding except for the snow that graced it. Beautiful trees, unusual in that their leaves were still full and green, dotted the lawns in eye-catching spots, surrounded by fountains and flowers of brilliant colors, all in bloom, making the setting incredibly surreal.
"They must be doing very well," Kagome said bluntly. "That's a spectacular property."
"Leave it to Miroku to make a good investment," Inuyasha replied. Kagome shivered. Inuyasha gave her his black cloak, which draped over her so far it covered any hint of her dress beneath. The horses trotted up the flagstone circular drive, and Inuyasha hopped off to hike up the marble stairs to the wide columned porch. He stopped in front of the tall, heavy bronze doors and knocked with a matching bronze knocker.
The doors were flung open wide, giving Inuyasha quite a start. Miroku stormed out, yelling "Out of my way!" and rushed from the property. The doors were left open, Inuyasha's hand still raised to knock with the knocker. "What just happened?" he asked in wonder.
Sango appeared in the doorway, her shape looming in the golden light behind her. "Be careful, Miroku!" she called. Just then she seemed to see Inuyasha. "Where have you been?!" she cried. "We've been worried sick all day!"
The sunlight disappeared.
"Get in here now. NOW!"
Silently Inuyasha obeyed he commands; Myoga and Kagome followed suit, hopping off the horses and heading inside.
The doors closed a second later, leaving the horses out alone.
Sango led them into a large castle-like entrance hall, a large staircase swooping up to the second story. She then went through a pair of doors on her left into a large library that functioned as a parlor.
"Sit down, please," Sango said, gesturing to a seating area by a roaring fire made of two couches, a coffee table and four overstuffed chairs. Kagome, Inuyasha, and fat old Myoga managed to sit only on one couch.
"Spread out and make yourselves comfortable," Sango said, and the group did. "Let me go get some tea. Wait here, please." The group waited for no more than ten minutes, during which Kagome removed Inuyasha's black cloak and gave it back to him. "Well, you're probably wondering what Miroku is doing, right? Well first, tell me why you are late," Sango said when she returned with tea and crumpet setting down the silver tray on the coffee table.
Kagome started, desperate to talk with her friend. "Our carriage crashed last night. We had get here by horseback, and it took us forever. We stopped at the tavern to find directions to your house; Myoga lost them halfway here. We also tried to get some bandages for my burnt hand, but the bartender said that no tavern in this part of Austria carried any." She drank a deep gulp of her honey-filled cup and gobbled down a few of the crumpets.
"Oh my! I'm very sorry…" There was a pause during which everyone ate and drank a bit. "Did you lose anything besides the directions?" Sango asked after finishing her own cup and pouring herself a new one. A hint of a smile pulled at her lips.
"Shus' my amulet," Myoga grumbled through a mouthful of the excellent crumpets.
"You seem to lose everything, don't you, sir? Well, it does not matter; amulets don't work here…" Sango warned. "Magic is considered sacrilegious; nothing like amulets or any trinkets of the sort are allowed anyway." There was another long pause during which Inuyasha and Myoga had silent debate over who would get to sit in the large armchair in front of the fire. Inuyasha won.
"Miroku is out looking for a missing child, you know: Shippo Orlandus."
Inuyasha sat up straight at this.
"He was reported missing by his mother not an hour ago," Sango continued, unaware of his reaction. "If anyone gets home after dark, they might as well be dead. But I knew Shippo; he was an amazing youth, incredibly smart and agile with a wicked sense of humor; he was always home by mid-afternoon… To be frank, I am quite concerned." Sango let out a small sigh. "This is the first time a child might have disappeared…usually it is the young women." She sipped her tea again, this time more deeply, wrapping her delicate hands around the cup, as though trying to absorb the warmth.
"Miroku is the only one in the town allowed out after dark, since he knows all about… them. He helps to find the missing and bring them to their homes. I'm very proud of him. He's helped many people around town escape their grasp.." The group of visitors began to ponder who 'they' were.
Sango then eyed Kagome's baby blue winter dress. She stood up in sudden fear, dropping her cup to the floor, shattering it; backing to the bookshelf-lined wall in a hurry, her hand across her throat; she yelled, "Take it off! No bright colors!" Kagome stared at the girl in gaping shock. Just then Kagome noticed Sango was clad all in dark colors, black and brown, and the dress she wore was not attractive, especially in the dancing shadows that crossed her. "Sango, what happened to your winter dresses? The bright ones we got together in Augsburg before the wedding?"
"No colors that are bright are allowed in this place. Haven't you looked around the town? No bright colors. Not on clothes, not on houses, not on anything! Even the red of the house brick is dulled! Don't you realize the danger? Do you? Hmmm?!"
"NO! What danger?" the three visitors asked in unison.
"Nothing that stands out is allowed in Heinrich!" Sango practically wailed, pulling her hair in wild frustration.
"Why?" Inuyasha asked steadily, gritting his teeth in annoyance.
"Bright colors attract them," she whispered fearfully.
Just then, the sound of the front doors being thrown open echoed through the silent house.
End of Chapter Two
A/N: Hello again. This is a shorter chapter than the first, but hopefully just as good. As for the quiz last chapter, the answer is vampires can move in sunlight. Read Bram Stoker's Dracula or watch the movie. It tells the original story of Dracula (he could move in sunlight!). I personally love the movie. The plot rocks! About the color thing: Vampires are supposedly attracted to their victims by their beauty, their blood type, and the color of their clothes. The idea is a little Buffy-based, but it makes sense that in all the vampire movies, the victims wore bright (to an extent) clothes and were hot. So stereotypical, no? Reviews please!
New quiz:
If you like the plot so far, say "I!" Then, answer why.