Chapter Six:
It was raining when she reached the garden.
It was a darkened palace; high, arches of intertwined branches stretching to the sky, the dark silver of birch and the dark flesh-bark of oak, and the bright gray sky stretching above her; the heady rain-scent of fever-few and thyme underfoot. Rain water pooled at the base of a decrepit fountain, cracked at the heart and a mourning, naked woman sitting and dying.
She ran to it, slipped her arms into the water and then slid her torso forward, sliding into the fountain without so much as a splash.
The cold ran down her arms, ran down her skin and through to her heart, made the green silk of her kimono cling to her and be her name.
She felt fey- felt like a creature of the spirit- like dancing, screaming, calling down the rain and drowning in it. She floated, feeling the weight of the kimono begin to drag her down.
She closed her eyes, slowly untying the obi and letting it slither away like a golden water snake into the deeps. She squirmed out of the kimono, and let it drift down in a swirl of mossy green.
Drifting, she felt the water's center and the rain upon her face, upon her alabaster scars, gentle caresses of ice.
This was a place of water and stone, and she pushed the air out her chest and let herself sink. It was a dark cradle, a cold womb- she felt her back hit the bottom and she stared at the pale ageless light falling down.
Yes, this was a good way to go- cold refuses to feel remorse and was almost…reminiscent of her life as some gray dream.
A flash of green- darkly mossy- caught her eye, moving lazily but gaining speed. She felt warm hands on her arms and she opened her mouth to scream- so very painful- the warmth against her unyielding cold!
Water flooded her mouth. It was a type of punishment meant for this warm creature! That she could be cold from the outside as well from the inside.
She as being propelled upwards by the creature, she felt herself moving through the darkness of her watery womb before giving into to the consuming darkness.
It was something of a punishment, she knew, self-inflicted punishment to make her break into insanity so that she could no longer say that it was her pain The only likeness was of poking at an open wound- no, she reasoned, more like plunging a hand into her chest and carving out- slowly! What had claimed her soul.
A heart that remembers. There was an unborn child within that heart, a girl? Yes, one dressed in fully petticoats and frills and everything that she had ever bought to fill that empty nursery.
This child that her mind conjured up to drive her over the edge so as to end its suffering.
It was a cruel thing, its eyes almost the same brown as hers, but flashing like some fine Spanish gold. Gold edged lace for the trellis of the nursery…
And dark hair, her bangs pulled out of her eyes by a yellow band of satin. The dull cloth of her obviously self-fashioned dress glimmered wetly with checkered patterns in yellow and orange.
Bright colors of the sun…
"You're the one Sesshoumaru-sama told Rin to stay away from." She flashed a brilliant smile at her…
She didn't know how to fell; names to bring on their power eluded her and this child was expecting a response.
"How very wise of him." The child looked hurt.
"Yes! Sesshoumaru-sama is always wise…"
"You look so sad? Why?" The girl peered up into her face.
"I gave my name away." Rin seemed puzzled by this but nodded.
"That was a very silly thing to do," Rin nodded sagely, "But we can fix that! Here, how about Kagome? Rin knows a girl by that name but Rin doesn't think that she'd mind sharing. See, she travels around with…'that half-breed!'" She snapped her fingers and grinned brightly.
"But she's nice- do you like that one?"
She cocked one eyebrow, dimly remembering that children of this age were incredibly impressionable. That they needed kindness and softness.
"Hmmm…Do you mind sharing?" The girl babbled, "Yes? Hmmm…how bout Miaka? Rin's always like that one… 'k, then how about Kohaku? Rin hasn't met…oh wait, never mind. Well then let's make up one…
Abruptly she covered her ears but thoughts seemed to rattle around inside her head, in the space between her ears.
"Go child, you cannot name me."
A refusal to be defined as human; something that could feel pain.
AN: Um, my absence is explained…well actually, I don't quite have an explanation. It was at peril to life and limb that I hadn't updated in a while (I just couldn't work out the scene between Rin and Emma to my satisfaction.) Be thankful to Aran'sApprinticeMeahow for making me get my arse in order. If anyone's actually reading this, that is...?
Yavi: Yeah, I don't know quite how I'm going to make the eye thing work. >.> I may just gloss it over but then it wouldn't quite be as fun. Green is something of an insane color for me (you have your greys, I have my greens. Yay!) I don't know, it was something of him acknowledging her for him. I wanted that... Keh.
Niph Speaks: Merci! I'm glad the imagry is working for you. .