With Honey and Venom
"What hast thou done to me,
Girl, with the dream in thine 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 thine 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.


XII...I Will Protect!


I should feel guilty about this, but I can't help it. The villagers had shown me so much kindness that I couldn't just let anyone keep that demon away. I wanted to do it myself. Which is why I snuck away as soon as the monk and demon slayer were asleep. Since I didn't have anything of my own from my time, I only took the clothes on my back. 'Cept for the headwrap. I hate those. Instead of putting my already-short hair up, I preferred it down. Even if it did tend to puff up like an afro if the weather was humid, I liked the way my hair looked down.

Anyway, I hurried away from the village toward the area rumor said that the demon would be. Would it be asleep at this time of the night? I wouldn't know, but I had to try. After all, I felt it was my obligation to protect this village.

It was about an hour's walk from the village to where I sensed that demonic presence strongest. Since it was moving closer to where I was, I figured that the demon was actually awake, and aware of my presence. Shit, that means I only had a few minutes to get ready...

"FOOLISH HUMAN, DO YOU INTEND TO FIGHT ME ON YOUR OWN?" The demon's booming voice echoed in the clearing as I stood there, my feet braced with my hands on my hips.

"Of course, you old bag o' bones," I crowed snippishly, sounding fake even to my own ears, and cursing the fact that I couldn't act worth a damn. Hiding emotions are all well and good, but if you can't act like you feel a different emotion, well...let's just say my chances of dying were steadily rising by leaps and bounds. "I'll kill you and take your head as a trophy!" ...I really don't know why the only heroic words I could think of had to do with the old English epics. I mean, this demon sure wasn't a giant troll, and I most definitely wasn't a might Geat prince. Where's a goddamn enchanted sword when you need one?

Instead of being intimidated (as if that would ever happen), the giant-sized demon laughed disgustingly, it's gigantic belly flopping like a wave pool. Gross! Ew, ew, ew! Nasty! This demon is fat!

"AS IF A PUNY HUMAN OF YOUR STATURE COULD EVER HOPE TO DEFEAT ME!" He guffawed, his nasty gigantic belly shaking even more with his laughter.

Well, technically, I wasn't as strong as a demon...but I could definitely outwit this one.

"Gotcha!" I called, jumping back to trigger the vine trip wire I'd set up. Being that the forest floor beneath the demon had already been a deep hole, I'd just covered it with a few broken tree limbs, tied a vine to the strongest branch, and guess what it made! Instant traphole.

'Course, I'd neglected the fact that the demon was at least twice as tall as me, and even I could look over the rim of the hole. Pretty much, he was only stuck in it up to his thighs (the rest of him couldn't possibly have fit, anyways: his belly was too huge). But it was enough.

"CURSE YOU, PUNY HUMAN!" The demon raged, wriggling about to climb out of the hole.

"Curse me all you want...but I'll still kick your sorry ass!" I called, rushing forward, aiming a punch at his nasty belly. Just as I was about to deliver the powerful blow, to my immense surprise--and disgust--it opened wide! This demon had a mouth on his belly! "Ewwwwwwww!" I squealed, leaping back before the belly-mouth could close in on my fist.

"HEHEHE...ARE YOU SCARED, HUMAN? I SHALL GIVE YOU THE CHOICE OF BEING EATEN BY MY SMALLER MOUTH, OR MY LARGER MOUTH. YOUR CHOICE...BUT ONLY IF YOU GET ME OUT OF THIS HOLE."

For a threat, it was pretty solid...but, compared to having to decide which mouth to be eaten by, I'd rather just whack him with a tree branch. Which was what I did.

"You slimy monster!" I screeched at it, whacking it as hard as I could on the head with the branch I'd used as part of the trap. "You're so disgusting! Making me decide how I'm gonna be eaten! Nasty, nasty, nasty!"

Yes, I admit it: I have this high aversion to disgustingly large bellies. Especially when they undulate with laughter. I mean, it's just so...wrong when they move like water-filled balloons. Or maybe that's just one of my insecurities talking (after all, it's 'fashionable' to be anorexic skinny...and I was definitely not skinny).

"DAMN HUMAN!"

The demon's roar should've warned me. But, as I've come to realize, I really can't keep a cool head in the face of danger. So saying, I let out one long screech...

And promptly fainted.

A drum beats in the darkness...

The first thing I did when I came back to consciousness was panic. "Shit, shit, shit! Where am I? Did I get eaten? I wanna go home!" I wailed in the damp darkness, half-wanting to cry, and the other half wanting to hurt something.

"Ah! There's someone inside that thing!"

Startled by the muffled voice, I looked about, then realized...I had been eaten! Well, I was still in the demon's...large mouth...but I was still gonna get eaten! "Stop jawwing and save me, dammit!" I screeched, daring to pound a fist against what I hope where the teeth.

More muffled voices, the loud roar of the demon, and suddenly there was a bright light! "Are you alright, maiden?" The monk from earlier asked in earnest, grasping my hands as soon as I had stepped out from the slack mouth of the dead demon.

"Uhh..."

"Are you crazy!" The demon slayer nearly screeched at me, worry written all over her face. "You're lucky that Kirara told us you'd gone, or we wouldn't have gotten here in time to save you!"

I blinked, suddenly feeling guilty. 'Course, I had to be an idiot sometimes and start worrying others, especially those who had been kind to me...

"Sango-san, she was only concerned for the well-being of the other villagers!" Miroku the monk said, trying to placate the angered demon slayer. "Don't be so hard on her."

"Uhhmm..."

"But to go as far as to endanger herself and worry all those people who she's grown up with!"

"Actually...my stay here has just been temporary until I've healed enough to leave," I interjected, coughing slightly to garner their attention.

"Huh?" They both turned to look at me. "What do you mean?"

I pointed at my hair, and waved my hand above my head to indicate my height. "I'm not from this country. In fact, my own home is very far away..." I smile wistfully, thinking of the conveniences of the modern age. Oh, how I missed those hot showers I soo took for granted!

"Do you get to your country through a well?" Sango asked me, looking a tad suspicious.

Well? What the...? Could she mean that well that had started this whole crazy adventure? Oh hell...she couldn't mean Bone Eaters' Well, right? "Uhh," cautiously, I thought how to word my reply. "Are you perhaps referring to a strange...well, a strange well known as the Bone Eaters' Well?"

"Ah! She's from the same place that Kagome-chan is from!" Exclaimed the monk, who turned to look at Sango in shock.

Meanwhile, I just looked between the two, wondering who the hell they were talking about. "Uhm..."

"No, that can't be possible! Only Kagome and Inuyasha are capable of traveling back and forth from Kagome's time," Sango said, worrying the decorated fringe on her giant...boomerang.

Wait...time? There were two other people like me?

"You can't deny the possibility, Sango-san--"

Hold on! Backtrack! ...if there were others like me...then that means I have a chance of returning home! Yay! But...why do I feel a twinge in my chest from the thought of finally returning to my own time?


End Chapter


Story Notes: (1) This paragraph is actually a reference to the epic Beowulf. Right here, Adele is referring to the fact that, unlike in Beowulf, she is not a superhuman warrior, the demon isn't a giant troll (Grendel), and there is no supernatural sword made by giants anywhere. The sword, however, is in reference to the fight with Grendel's mother. If you are interested, please read the epic for yourself. It's very interesting. (2) This is an interesting way to say "gossiping" or "talking." I can't remember where I first heard/read it's use, but it has a decidedly southern ring to it, doesn't it?
Post Scriptum Author's Note: So, yea, sorry you guys had to wait so long for me to type up the twelth chapter, despite my insistence that I had it planned out. -sweatdrop- I've just been so tired lately, trying to keep up with my senior year and all... -sighs- But, anyways, thanks once again to all those who've reviewed and read my story! Recently, I've gotten over 1000+ hits on WHAV! I'm so happy that you all like my story enough to read it that many times. -happy smile- I'll continue working hard so that you guys can keep on enjoying Adele's sojourn into feudal Japan!