Mirror Mirror- Ayame's Tale
By Archerelf
Chapter 7- The Mating Ceremony
"He did WHAT?" Ayame shrieked to the messenger wolf.
"He asked for you to be his mate! Finally! Now we can have peace!" and with that thought, the messenger wolf stalked out happily.
Ayame sighed. Oh Kouga what did you do?
Ayame threw the pelts off of her and promptly tripped to the floor and landed on her face. It wasn't because of clumsiness.
It was because a large box was placed in front of her bed.
"Ow.." she complained. But the box, obviously left by the messenger, piqued her curiosity. Inside was a beautiful white kimono, with different signs and symbols aligning on the sleeves. It was woven beautifully, with embroidery of leaves gently and subtly woven into the whitish silver of the dress. The symbols of the clans previous royals dotted the sleeves. But there was one she didn't see. Her parents.
"It was a sun, my dear." her grandfather entered her room quietly, as if reading her mind.
Ayame shot him a small smile. "The sun was their symbol, they just never got a chance to add it to the kimono. But now its yours to use. And the female traditionally picks out the sigh she'll add to it." he moved closer and licked her cheek.
"I'm so glad you've decided on Kouga. I'm so proud of my favorite girl." he barked and left the room.
Ayame sighed and put the dress back into the box. She'd seen it once before, as a little girl but never expected herself to wear it.
Ayame looked at the sun and decided to find her "mate-to-be".
It wouldn't be hard, considering he hadn't left camp. She jogged outside and after a brisk run cornered him near his favorite spot. She encroached behind him but her scent would give it away.
"KOUGA!"
"Hey Ayame." Kouga didn't know what to expect. Either she'd come to bug him about his actions or come to bug him about some thing else. He doubted the later.
"Kouga. Why did you do this? I don't want to do it if its not mutual! You know how I feel. Why did you do this?" Ayame closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her nails. She had a splitting headache and the whole day wasn't any better.
"Ayame you're my best friend. Besides, this will be good for both of our packs. Your Grandfather is getting on in years and I'm expected to step up at one point."
Kouga sighed on the inside. What was she trying to do? He needed to take responsibility. It wasn't the most fun thing, and heck if there were alternatives he'd try them but he needed to be the leader they expected him to be.
Ayame tried again.
"Kouga. Wolves mate for life. I don't want to be rushed into this if the feeling isn't mutual between us! At some point we'd be expected to bear off-spring! I couldn't do that knowing it wasn't love! And forget the Elders for a minute. I'm pretty sure you don't want this."
" Who said I don't want pups," he countered. " Ayame, you're my best friend and I want what's best for you and my pack. Even if that means everything else is put aside. And are you even telling me though you like me, you don't want to be mated to me? I don't understand."
Ayame lowered her voice. She was almost whispering now.
" I just don't want to be used, ok? I just don't want to be a substitute. If you don't want it, what's the point? I don't want it to be based off a lie."
His tone was soothing and gentle. A substitute?
"Ayame, even if I did or didn't love you, it still doesn't change the fact that our wolves need to unite. Numbers were lost in the massacre a few days ago. A joined pack wouldn't cause our decay, rather we'd all survive. I don't want the line I've worked so hard to protect, and you've worked so hard to protect to fail."
Kouga sighed and stopped. Ayame stood with her back to him, her back to the falling sun. Kouga walked over and licked a spot on the center of her neck. The mating mark spot.
"I guess I'll be seeing that area soon." The saliva on his tongue sent shivers up her spine. Yeah, she loved it. It was so easy to see. She was wrapped around his finger.
As Kouga turned and stalked off Ayame turned to him and simply put one hand on his shoulder. Kouga nodded and walked off.
For the next week Kouga spent his time in quiet solitude. Some would call it brooding. Others depression. Either way, neither of the "happy couple" seemed happy. At all. Kouga would get up early, wander off and come back at dawn. Ayame mainly stayed in her room, but unbeknownst to the rest, she'd cry herself to sleep almost every night.
A mantra kept repeating in her head:
He doesn't love me…
He doesn't love me…
Only a few of the wolves actually noticed their haggard appearance. Most were too happy planning the festivities. Hunts increased for the joyous night. Feasts were planned. Tribes of wolves from all across Segoku Jidai were invited. Only few responded though, the invitation had been sudden. Moving people around to make room for the guests was commonplace and often the wolves were left to camp out. Food was piling up in abundance and every wolf was chattering:
"Oh what beautiful pups we'll see!"
"it's a very wise match to be sure!"
"There will be no more attacks like that one.."
Kouga wasn't stupid. The best way to purge blood from the walls was something to cancel it out with joy. Death was replaced by new life. But his best choice wasn't his favorite…but recently…he didn't know anymore. He kept thinking about her…all the time. She invaded his dreams and was taken away in his worst nightmares. It was so frustrating! He didn't know what was going on. And that stupid song from a couple of days ago...what did it mean? He was so confused.
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Ayame sat in her room on her bed. Tears streamed down her face. It was all a lie. All of it. She felt so hollow inside. She was mating to the man she loved so much in 2 days and it wasn't based on anything but guilt. She let out one long howl.
Far away Kouga heard it. That was the howl of the deepest despair a wolf could endure.
"What have I done..?"
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2 days later at dusk.
"Ayame? They're ready for you outside." Ayame looked up from her bed, eyes emotionless. She wore the beautiful kimono, with the sun symbol slightly crudely aligned on her arm. Ayame had done that only a few hours ago. There lay a tiny speck of blood on one of the sun's tendril rays. She had pricked her finger.
Ayame was a complete mess. In almost every sense of the word she was dieing. She had hardly eaten, no appetite at all. She consumed mostly water but had lost weight. Her face was pale and gaunt but the comparison of red hair to pallid skin was magnificent to some. Her cheery demeanor had fallen out of place. But she was ready.
Ayame's normal pigtails had been pulled to the back of her head in two braids, then mixing into a bun. She looked older but she didn't care.
Ayame followed the messenger out to two female wolves who had already gone through the mating ceremony. They would give her away, as two older males would with Kouga. She put on a nervous smile to throw the wolves off. They happily chattered and reminisced. Ayame didn't share their happiness.
The mating ceremony was held on a small ledge, not far off from the ground. Anyone who wasn't noble, royal or important watched from below. The couple would gather near the eldest who would utter a traditional blessing. The complete lineage of the kimono would be read out to the public. The "happy" couple would then share blood. Ayame had seen the ceremony and knew what to expect.
Kouga remained on the other side of the ledge, and both of them remained out of sight. The males in front of him would occasionally give him a reassuring smile and Kouga return their gesture.
A short bark came out. Ginta, one of the wolves, turned and gave Kouga a brief shake on the shoulder. Simultaneously the head wolves started walking up the side of the ledge. The important wolves stood in a circle around the fire while Ayame's grandfather stood nearest to it. Age had taken its toll on the wolf, but his heart swelled with pride. He always knew she'd pick Kouga. He'd see the death of half of his family: Ayame's parents, his own wife and mate. He'd make sure his little girl would be happy.
The couple stood in front of him holding hands, as tradition dictated. Hers were like ice. His were on fire.
Hakkaku had been chosen to read out the names. It would take a while, the lineage of Ayame's tribes and Kouga's were extensive. Kouga's were read first, male before female. He gave a quick smile at the mention of his father and mother. The sun had well set when Kouga's line was done. Ayame's was next. Some of the nobles looked ready to fall asleep. Ayame didn't blame them in the least. As they wrapped up the role Ayame frowned. Her parents hadn't been mentioned. Her grandfather was ahead of her.
"Young man you've forgotten two. Kyoria (made that up) and Syaoran."
Ayame smiled at him. Her Grandfather turned to face the two wolves.
He barked out the short blessing and the crowd cheered. Now was the binding of the blood. Turning to face each other they made a slit across their palms and then clasp hands. The blood was joined and the mating final. Their tribes were united, an eternal bond was forged. Ayame's stomach plummeted through her body.
She was married to her best friend, the love of her life and now…her mate.
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Authors notes: should I stop here? ducks from the veggies fine I won't.
The fires burned all over the camp as the giant plates of food and drink were brought out. Huge plates of meats adorned the grounds near the fires as peasant and nobleman alike feasted to hearts content. Ayame's appetite was abstemious, she still had no appetite. Anything she tried to eat was rejected by her throat, it was hard to swallow.
All through the whole evening they had avoided each others eyes. It was starting to annoy Kouga, to look over at her to see blank and black eyes when they should be at least pretending to be happy. A few hours into the festivities Kouga leaned over and whispered into her ear, "They're expecting us to head out." Ayame nodded and got up. By this time a major portion of the crowd had dispersed and many were asleep in their spots. A special spot had been prepared for the couple away from camp, complete with bed. They knew what they were expected to do.
"Ayame would you please look at me?"
Slowly she turned to look at him. He couldn't read her expression. It seemed like death had warmed over.
"Will you please just talk to me?"
"Sure, lets talk, about how I just mated someone with no previous knowledge, or how I had no choice in it?"
"I'm sorry. Please, Ayame just forgive me this?"
She took a deep breath in and out.
"Fine, Kouga. I forgive you."
By then the couple had reached their desired location. Ayame under her kimono wore her standard long white shirt but Kouga had stripped down (PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR THIS) to nothing but a pair of short like furry…shorts. Ayame choose one side of the bed and got in, opposite of Kouga. She faced the wall and pulled the covers onto her smaller body.
He sighed and got in. From there he forcibly turned her over to look at him.
"What!"
If they weren't so wrapped up with what was on their mind they would have noticed that he was mostly laying on top of her
"Look I'm sorry alright! I'm sorry if I hurt you but…Kami this is so hard to say…I love you!"
From there Kouga proceeded to lay his lips to hers in a fiery kiss.
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CLIFFY!
I know you hate me..
I'll update soon.
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