Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter 1.
The Royal Family
Chapter 7: India
Sesshoumaru opened his eyes slowly. The dragon had invaded his dreams again, turning them to nightmares. The lids of his eyes were made heavy by the sweat traveling from his forehead.
The air was hot and damp. His hair stuck to the back of his neck, and his sweat-soaked clothes stuck irritatingly to his skin. His fluff, which in usual circumstances rested nobly on his shoulder, was now cast aside, and despite all of the sweat his throat felt dry and cracked like the dried rivers on the desert.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, you are awake?" the toad youkai Jaken, who was Inu no Taisho's retainer, piped up when he saw the young inuyoukai stir.
"How long have I been asleep?" Sesshoumaru groggily sat up and began tie his hair back.
"Ten hours my lord, but I think your body was just in recovery from your sickness on the ship," Jaken answered quickly. Sesshoumaru let out a quiet growl at the memory. All of the stress and depression that had been on his shoulders in the month after his mother's death had taken their toll on his immune system, and even youkai succumbed to sickness if they were left weak enough.
It was not the weak immune system by itself that was bringing him low, it was also the sudden exposure to other people outside of his country combined with his lowered immune system that had made him ill. In order to get to India, he had to first go to Shanghai, then get on a ship that was traveling along the maritime silk road, which in turn would land them in southern India. From there it was only a short carriage ride to his mother's home.
There was one good thing about being sick for most of the journey-- it had made his body go into deep, dreamless sleeps. The more he was asleep, the less he had to think and remember that his mother was dead, and that he himself had been at death's doorstep. The dragon's face and scent haunted him in his conscious moments.
"Where are we?" The young lord pulled back the curtain over the window of the carriage and looked out.
"Not very far at all, we should be there within the hour." Jaken seemed just as happy at the idea of getting out of the stuffy carriage as Sesshoumaru was.
"I don't remember it being this hot. At least the sun is setting," Sesshoumaru said absently as he gazed wearily at the countryside.
"Well, it's never been during the summer when you've come here with your…." Jaken trailed off as he almost stumbled into a solemn, almost forbidden topic.
Sesshoumaru's expression remained unchanged. Even though he was sitting right across from Jaken, the young prince seemed miles away.
The carriage stopped and Sesshoumaru was regretfully broken out of his distant trance.
"Thank goodness. If I had to take another hour of this heat, I would have boiled to death," Jaken grumbled, pushing open the door of the carriage. He was dismayed to find it was just as hot outside as had been in the carriage. "Atatatatata! I'm going to be somebody's soup in this country."
As Jaken went to announce Sesshoumaru's presence to the guards, Sesshoumaru quickly combed his hair with his nails, repositioned his pelt over his shoulder, and straightened and smoothed out his clothes as best he could. This was all precautionary measure in case his uncle Sesshoulokesh demanded his presence immediately, though Sesshoumaru hoped and prayed that he would not. The young lord did not want to be presented before the court of India hot, sweaty, and tired.
Once Sesshoumaru was sure he was at least presentable, he grabbed Tensaiga, opened the carriage door and stepped out. He inhaled deeply-- though the air was hot, it was fresh and smelled of curry and saffron.
SesshouRakesh followed closely behind his father, SesshouLokesh. He could hear his father's low growls emanating from his throat as he walked briskly down the hallway to the throne room. His father had been in bad humor ever since he had received word of aunt SesshouLara's death, but now with the arrival of her body and cousin Sesshoumaru, or "InuTaisho's brat" as his father had come to call him since, Lokesh was storming.
"Father, couldn't this wait till tomorrow? I'm sure cousin Sesshoumaru has had a long journey, I'm sure he would---" Rakesh started, but his father cut him off.
"I did not ask him to come! He came of his own accord, thus accepting the hardship of the journey. If he can not bear it that is his affair!" Lokesh snapped, then turned an continued his pacing.
Rakesh snorted quietly in frustration. His father could be so cool and logical one moment and then be completely irrational the next. It was understandable that he was upset that his twin sister was dead, and angry at InuTaisho for failing to protect her. But to direct that storm at Sesshoumaru? That was not fair. Whatever being or beast it was who did the killing, if it was powerful enough to kill Sesshoulara, then there was no way Sesshoumaru could have stood a chance against it.
Rakesh quickly glanced over his shoulder at his five sisters following silently behind. He was the eldest and only boy in the family, which made him the heir to the throne. As much as he liked not having any immediate family competition for the throne, it was tiresome being one boy with five women. That may have been why he was so happy whenever aunt 'Lara brought Sesshoumaru with her when she came to visit.
Sesshoumaru was not only about his age, but also up to his power and skill level, which made their sparring matches exciting and fun. However, it had been a long time since Lara had visited. Rakesh was curious to see if Sesshoumaru was still the same youkai he had known before. He probably wouldn't, considering all he had been through.
Rakesh noticed his youngest sister, Kamalji, who was barely out of the toddler stage, having trouble keeping up their father's brisk pace. He quickly jogged to her, picked her up and caught back up with his family procession.
When they arrived at the door to the throne room, Rakesh set Kamalji down and stood right behind his father. Rakesh sighed silently when he saw that the entire court was gathered in the room. Poor Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru was holding on to Tensaiga so tightly his knuckles were starting to turn paper white. He had never felt so insecure and alone in all his life. They were all staring at him, all whispering about him. It had never mattered what they said about him before, so why was it nearly killing him now?
Simple: before, his mother had been with him. She was Lokesh's sister, and he, Sesshoumaru, was her son, so there was no questioning about him-- he was automatically accepted. Now she was dead, and his shield from whispers and rumors was gone.
On top of all this, he was hot, sweaty and tired. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. However, his uncle Lokesh seemed to have it in for him, since the ruler had demanded his presence immediately. No time to rest, bathe, or even have a bite to eat.
Sesshoumaru stopped in front of his relatives and bowed. His eyes fell on his cousin Rakesh, who was about the only being in that room showing him any sympathy. His cousin gave him a small smile and had a very apologetic look in his eyes. His father Lokesh on the other hand was giving Sesshoumaru a poorly hidden glare. A glare so strong, that if it had been completely revealed and if looks could kill, Sesshoumaru would have been dead before he hit the floor.
"Greetings, nephew. Safe journey, I trust?" Lokesh spoke, not sounding as if he cared that Sesshoumaru's journey was safe in the least.
Sesshoumaru gulped, trying to moisten his throat enough to speak, and allowed his mind to make the switch from Japanese to Hindi. Never more than now did he thank his mother for teaching him the language when he was younger.
"It was. Thank you." Sesshoumaru bowed a little deeper, then straightened up again.
"I understand you were present at the moment of my sister's death?" Lokesh asked calmly, but there was a venomous undertone to it.
"Y….Yes…." Sesshoumaru felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and his voice almost completely cut off as his vocal cords clenched.
Please don't make him ask me…
"Would you please recount for us exactly what happened?"
"I…I…was…" A whisper was all Sesshoumaru could manage.
"Do speak up, I cannot hear you," Lokesh snapped sharply.
Sesshoumaru swallowed the rock in his throat, his grip tightening around Tensaiga so much that the knuckle bones threatened to tear through the skin.
"I was in the garden with... with my mother." Sesshoumaru tensed up all of his muscles in his body to prevent his lips from trembling. "Father was in the Northern Lands to secure alliances there…"
"There was an explosion. We…we tried to get away, but the enemy was already there. A dragon. Mother told me to run, I didn't want to, I wanted to stay and help her, but she kept telling me to go."
Every ounce of Sesshoumaru's self control and willpower was going into preventing his eyes from tearing up and his body collapsing from the fatigue in his tensed muscles.
"I ran. I was almost at the gate when…" Sesshoumaru stopped as all of the memories of that terrible day came rushing back to him with cruel vividness, hitting him in the face, battering down the walls he had put up to protect himself from them.
"I…heard…her…scream…" Sesshoumaru choked out. The dam broke as the realization hit him. She was not coming back.
The past few months had been so horrendous for him that, it almost did not seemed real, that it was just a nightmare he was one day going to wake up from. He didn't realize until this moment that he was already awake.
"I knew…..I knew…" He stuttered between sobs, he did not know why he was still speak, or even when he started crying. It did not matter, nothing mattered, the only person who's good opinion did matter to him was dead.
He was faintly aware of his uncle's voice. It was no longer harsh and accusing-- on the contrary, it was soft and regretful.
"That's enough. You need not say more." Lokesh placed his hands gently on Sesshoumaru's shaking shoulders. "I am… I am sorry for opening your wounds. I did not realize they were as deep as mine. Can you forgive me?"
Sesshoumaru let out another sob, but brought himself to nod his head.
"Come. You need some rest." Lokesh put an arm around Sesshoumaru's shoulders and let him out of the throne room.
00000
Poor Sesshoumaru. Tired, sick, and forced to relive the most traumatic moment in his life.
It's too bad this chapter kind of gives you a bad impression of Sesshoumaru's uncle Lokesh, he actually not a bad guy.
How did you like Sesshoumaru's cousin Rakesh? His name means "moon" in Hindi, and he'll be showing up more later on in the story.
Well that's all for now! Please Read and Review!
Till Next Time,
Vega Sailor
