With Honey and Venom
"What hast thou done to me,
Girl, with the dream in thing eyes?
Brightened the sun to me,
Lightened the skies;
Made there be one to me,
One only sun to me
Not in the skies.
What hast thou done to me,
Girl, with the dream in thing eyes?
Darkened the sun to me,
Blackened the skies;
Made there be none to me,
Nor star nor sun to me,
Only black skies."
-"Et Melle Et Felle," Anonymous
What prompts people to fall in love? Is there truly such an emotion so vivid as to allow two different people to come together and care for one another so deeply as to be monogamous?
In my experience, there is no such thing; lust is the only factor in any relationship, and it depends solely on the strength of it to determine whether the two are monogamous or not. So far, there has never been a monogamous couple. The man will stray eventually, seeking out other bed-partners.
Love has never existed in any relationship.
I...Down the Rabbit Hole of Darkness
"This cannot be...this is all wrong!" I screeched, looking at the long list of calculations, trying to find where I erred. I ignored the strange looks I received from the others surrounding my window seat on the airplane (they were mostly Japs, anyway). Having to wait several years to earn enough money for my extended stay in Japan was hard enough, but if my calculations were wrong, then I wouldn't have enough yen for a proper room at an inn, even if it was in the country. "No, no... I can't be wrong!" Worriedly, I went back to the beginning, the over-worked calculator whirring away with the numbers I punched in methodically, carefully. Two, three, four times I checked the math, but they all came to the same conclusion: I wasn't going to have enough. "Crap... I won't have enough money for a hotel room..." I sighed dejectedly, leaning forward to thump my head against the lapboard I had brought with me, favoring it over the airplane supplied ones that were only used to eat meals on.
"Excuse me, miss," my seatmate said, leaning over. He was an old Japanese man, a grandfatherly sort, but small, wizened and...well, balding. He looked like he should be wearing some sort priestly robes, but instead he was wearing a suit-like ensemble, without the jacket.
Blinking, I shook myself away from my habit to over-analyze my surroundings and particularly the people, and focused on the old man. "Yes, jiji-sama?" I queried in Japanese, deciding I'd better brush up on my conversational skills if I was to survive this trip.
He smiled at me kindly, patting my hand, obviously pleased that I was attempting to speak to him in his native language. "I heard about your money troubles," he said, making thump my head against the lapboard again. He chuckled and continued, "If I might be so bold as to suggest something to you, miss?"
Whining low in my throat, I sat up and then slumped in my seat, nodding for him to continue. How much worse could my life get at this point? First I'd had to struggle through high school before breezing through college, then earning my stupid degree in mythology and ancient history took too long, and now the money I had saved up for this excursion was dwindling too fast. Geez...
"If you would be willing to work, I could put you up for room and board at my family's shrine," he said, drawing my attention. I dared hope... "Since my old bones are failing me and my grandchildren have no interest in keeping the grounds in top shape."
I knew it... I'd be a live-in housekeeper for the old geezer, with the added "bonus" of being a shrine maiden. Just my fucking luck. Trying not to let the slumping of my shoulders warn him of exactly how I felt about the situation, I pasted on a fake smile. "Oh! That'd be so wonderful if you would, sir! And a shrine! Is it Shinto? Oh, this would be so cool, since I do have a degree in mythology and ancient history, but I must say that ancient Japanese mythology and history interests me the most at this point in time," I exclaimed excitedly. Okay, so I was lying; working at a shrine would be pretty cool, considering my choice of major. But still, I'm lazy, and I don't think that even the enemy or rival of the shrine deserved my attendance.
Instead, the old man smiled and clapped his hands. "Alright, then, miss. You can call me Higurashi-ji-san. And what shall I call you?"
I paused, the old paranoia my mother had instilled in me when I was so young rising to the fore. I beat it back down, smiling kindly at the man as I held out my hand. "My name is...Adele." And our bargain was struck.
A drum beats in the darkness...
After the plane had landed and Higurashi-ji-san and I waited about an hour for his daughter to come pick us up, I arrived at my tentative home for the next…six months, according to my visa. At around half that time, I would re-evaluate my decision to live here and then, if I still wanted to go through with it, would attempt to find a more permanent residence.
Higurashi-ji-san's daughter, Takako-san, was a beautiful woman with short black hair, shorter then my bobbed hairstyle. Of course, my Nordic genes just had to make me about a foot taller than the older woman, but that didn't seem to bother her in the slightest, nor had it bothered Higurashi-ji-san, who was bent with age and even shorter than Takako-san.
The drive to the Sunset Shrine had been uneventful, but when we arrived and I took my meager baggage out of the trunk and offered to carry the old man's, a young boy came running down the stairs, calling happily to Takako-san, who wrapped him in her arms as soon as he reached our small group.
"Souta!" Takako-san was saying, releasing him and motioning for me to come over. "This young woman will be living with us for a few months helping Otou-san around the shrine."
Seeing my cue in the woman's gaze, I hurried forward and offered the little boy my hand, bending my knees so I didn't loom over him so much. "Hi there, Souta-kun," I smiled. "My name is Adele. It's very nice to meet you."
He stared up at me curiously, probably wondering how a girl could be so tall (I'm very self-conscious about my height; ever since my boyfriend broke up with me for being five inches taller than him, I haven't been able to find a single date. Go figure). He then turned his head to his mother and asked, "Does she know about Inuyasha?"
Of it's own accord, my left eyebrow sank over my eye, the other shooting nearly into my hairline in my confusion. Who or what was Inuyasha?
"We haven't told her yet, dear," Takako-san told him, patting him on the head. She then looked at me and winked conspiratorially. "We'll just wait until he gets here to introduce the two of them."
I didn't know what the conspiratorially wink was for, but I guess I would have to wait to find out who this "Inuyasha" person was. Shaking my head at the antic of the two, I lifted my small carpetbag higher onto my shoulder, grasped the three suitcases Higurashi-ji-san had, and started to scale the steep stone steps leading to the shrine. The Higurashi family was climbing the steps before me, quietly talking amongst themselves, making me feel so wonderfully left out. I didn't like being the center of anybody's attention; I think it gave me rashes…or it caused my eczema to flare up, I can't remember which.
The steps were steep and the shrine pretty high up, almost as high as the nosebleed seats I'd once bought for a basketball game. Unfortunately, my nose doesn't bleed and my ears don't pop (it'd been hell on the plane because of that). I was panting for breath by the time I reached the top of the stairs, the weight of whatever was in the three suitcases tiring my muscles faster than any weight training I'd ever done before. I walked the last twenty or so feet to the main house, nearly collapsing under the weight of the suitcases, and finally deposited the heavy burdens just inside the door, groaning and rubbing my aching shoulders.
"You alright, dear?" Takako-san asked me, coming from the general vicinity of what I supposed was the kitchen. She smiled at my look of pain, obviously knowing how heavy the damn bags were.
"Yeah, I'll be fine once I put on an Icy-Hot patch," I grumbled in English, waving off her confused look. Clearly, the woman hadn't learned English, well, at least not the kind of English I grew up speaking, which was actually Tex-Mex, a mixture of English and Spanish. In Japanese, I told her, "I said I'll be okay. I just haven't worked my muscles so much in a long time; once you reach a certain number of pounds in weight training, virtually you can do anything."
She nodded and smiled, motioning for me to follow her, saying, "I'll show you which room is yours, Adele-san. It was originally used as storage for my father's numerous antiques, but we'll move those out as soon as we do some "spring cleaning" in the storage shed." Takako-san showed me into a room that was only a fourth of the size of the one I'd had back at my mother's house, but for some odd reason I had always loved tight, enclosed spaces such as the room I was now given. The antiques she had mentioned were all lined up, neatly stacked, along one wall, and I noticed that there was a window that look out into the back of the shrine, toward a largish tree in the surrounding foliage. The carpet was threadbare, but I didn't care. It certainly felt like home to me. "I hope you like it," she said.
"I don't just like it! I love it, Takako-san," I clapped happily, dropping my carpetbag near the door, walking in to take a closer look. Yup, this place would suit me perfectly. The less useless modern amenities, the better, I always say. Heh; some of my school friends predicted that if left to my own devices, my house would be as small as possible with only a blanket, pillow, phone, and a tiny, practically non-existent kitchen. They were right, but it had helped me save a lot of money in college and afterward as I prepared for this trip.
"Well, I'm glad you like it so much, Adele-san. Lunch will be ready in a few minutes, and afterward my father will show you what your duties will be around the shrine," she said, smiling softly before departing, leaving me to make myself at home.
A sense of relief washed over me, and I started moving about the room, locating the sleeping mat and setting it up in the corner nearest the window, the side without the antiques. I dug around in my carpetbag and took out the only modern amenities I had sworn to never go without (well, at least my mom had made me swear), which included: my cell phone, now with a worldwide service uplink, a hairbrush (I swear I got an afro after sleeping on wet hair), a small shaving knife (I couldn't stand razors: they gave me rashes), a small bottle of shampoo/body wash combo, and of course a change of underwear. I wasn't so money conscious to not have at least something to change into when my first set of underclothes got dirty. Of course, I hadn't expected to have so little money left over from my plane ticket to not be able to buy clothes, so I was now stuck with the set I wore, and could only hope the Higurashi family would be kind enough to lend me something to wear when I washed my clothes.
After setting out all of the personal possessions I'd brought with me, I glanced at the antiques and shrugged off going through them like the curious cat in me wanted to do. So, I went over to the window and looked outside, admiring the beauty of the shrine's landscaping. Absolutely breathtaking.
"Adele-san," Souta-kun called, knocking on the door that led into my new room. "Mom says that lunch is ready, so you should come and eat before Jiji-san shows you about the shrine."
I nodded to the little boy and stood, following him out the door and down the stairs. Lunch was as uneventful as the car ride, except for the fact that we had something very delicious they called "oden". I had a suspicion it contained vegetables, or some other stuff I didn't like, but I ate the stuff anyway, to show my respect for them making me something to eat.
Afterward, Higurashi-ji-san showed me about the shrine, telling me what I would do each day starting tomorrow morning. My duties would begin before the sun rose and end after the sun set, which pleased me in an odd sort of way. Working from before dawn until after dusk: seemed a pretty even trade for giving me a room and feeding me.
What really got me, though, was the fact that Higurashi-ji-san would provide the shrine maiden clothing for me, since he had mentioned something about "keeping up appearances". I had no clue what he meant by that, but the new clothes would mean that the ones I'd worn on the plane would be nice and clean most of the time.
After the tour, though, he paused in front of an old-looking shed-like construction, motioning me over. From his expression, I gathered that I should avoid this place at all costs. He didn't say anything for a long moment, and then he turned and told me that I could explore the grounds now, or I could go back inside the house and rest and get rid of the jet lag he was sure I was going to get.
He predicted correctly, because as soon as I started toward the house, the jet lag hit and I started yawning. Even though nighttime was my best time of day, I hadn't slept for… at least twenty hours. I went back inside the house and muttered a "good night" to the Higurashi family, going straight to my room. I set the alarm hurriedly, and then went to my bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was dead to the world.
A drum beats in the darkness...
I awoke to darkness and my alarm shrieking at me to wake up, and I confusedly reached for it, switching it off, before rolling over. As soon as one of the antiques fell on my stomach, however, I knew where I was and why my alarm had gone off so fucking early in the morning. I carefully extracted an antique dragon statue from it's perch on my stomach, rubbing the spot while I muttered incoherently. I dressed in the shrine maiden set Takako-san must have placed in my room while I was asleep and carefully packed away my precious normal clothing. I exited the room, intent on my daily hygiene ritual, and then was nearly out the door of the main house when I suddenly noticed how frigidly cold it was."Dammit it all," I muttered angrily, turning on my heel and taking the stairs two at a time to grab my jeans and long-sleeve double-tee (a kind of t-shirt over a long-sleeved shirt) and placed them beneath the hakama and haori I wore. Nice and toasty beneath the double-layer of clothing, I exited my room, went down the stairs, and exited the house. The Higurashi family was still asleep, as it was only about 4:30 AM. My grandmother had been an early sleeper and early riser, but I had to use my alarm to get me up at these odds hours, less I sleep in until it was way past midday.
I started my chores eagerly, humming to myself in the off-key voice I knew could never be taught to properly sing (although I was very good at Japanese ballads, kind of like a ballad, except in Japanese). I swept the steps leading to the shrine, not an easy task, and set up the booth where Higurashi-ji-san would sell his charms and such, and continued to sweep the rest of the shrine. By the time I got near the building I was too avoid, the sun had already rose and the Higurashi's were all up and about, and the shrine was just getting it's first few visitors of the day.Yawning, I paused before the building and stared at it a moment. Since I was already half-done with my chores, I thought I'd take a break and see why this place was so foreboding. I slid open the door and peered into the darkness. Stairs led down to an area in which what looked like a well was situated. I slid the door closed behind myself and descended the steps, trailing a hand over the roughened wood of the well lip. I peered down.
"BRING!"
Startled by the sudden break in the silence, I jumped, my cell phone jumping out of it's inner pocket and flying through the air after sneaking out from between the folds of the haori. I attempted to snatch it through the air, but it fell with a clunk into the well. I didn't hear a splash, so I figured it must be a dry well. I looked around, then down the well, seeing the glowing light of my cell as it faded away, the caller giving up on reaching me. I sighed, looked around again, and sighed in relief when I spied the rope ladder that led into the well. I carefully climbed onto the well lip and placed my sandaled feet on the ladder rungs, descending very carefully. I liked wall climbing as much as the next person, but a rope ladder would scare even the mightiest of rock climbers, I'm sure.
The phone lit up again, and I groaned. However, the annoying ring-tone I had set on it didn't start up, and I made the mistake of looking down…into a void of opalescent nothingness. "What the hell!" Startled, my eyes wide, I attempted to shield my eyes from the bright light.
And thusly, I let go of the rope ladder and fell into the light.
End Chapter
Post Scriptum Author Notes: I came up with the story's name of "Et Melle Et Felle" while reading the poem I wrote down at the top. I found it in a very old book my mother had bought for a quarter at a book fair (!), which had turned out to be over a hundred years old by 1996. The poem was written by an anonymous person (most likely dead by now laugh), so I can't give credit where credit is due, so I'll just say that I found it in the book "Love's Demesne, Volume One", compiled by a Mr. Ellwanger. So, anyways… I don't know why, but I liked the name Adele. I don't know if it's supposed to be a dude's name or what, but it seemed to fit the main character so well. Also, I am aware that this type of fanfiction isn't that popular, but at least one review would make me very happy to go on (or, if not, I'll just continue writing it for the sheer enjoyment of it). So…I guess this is the official end of chapter one of "With Honey and Venom" (loosely translated, of course), and I hoped you liked it. (Also, I just might answer review questions if anyone has them. Otherwise…) Tootles for now.
