The Desert Queen by RangerBlack (Part Two)
Outside the window villagers peered out their doors at ninja clad in drab fatigues trademarked by the Village Hidden in the Sand. Behind him Sasori was becoming agitated by the fresh wave of silence. Smiling with the smugness of a feline Orochimaru once again spoke into the empty air between them, not because he feared the Puppeteer's wrath but because the time for questions and answers was running shorter by the second. And despite his unforgivable knowledge in escaping a shortly numbered lifespan the cold-blooded abomination of a man was obsessed with the loss of time so rich in potential.
"And with brothers?"
Sasori glared daggers at the draping figure seated on the wide windowsill. It was clear he was being abused within their repertoire, but he disliked leaving things unfinished. He too found wasted time a despicable passed time too often employed within a lifespan, a handicap of pursued knowledge. A curse he had dispelled from his character over two decades before.
"She will be an invaluable asset to the one chosen to lead, as a shinobi bound by blood to loyalty, as a counsel member and as a tie to another village through an arranged marriage. It is even possible her children one day may become eligible to contend against their cousins for the title."
Although words were being spoken it felt more like a battle of wills between the two. Each played their cards one by one waiting for the true matter to come to light, for their aces to finish the skirmish. A ninja disappeared into the boarding establishment's front entrance and Orochimaru sealed his finale.
"How odd for a government of such basic instincts," he murmured softly, the count down to the end of this flash of communication growing ever closer as even still more questions came to being inside the brimless depths of his mind. "I read once, a tale of the Sand at its conception, of a Kazekage, the first I believe, who birthed a son from his elder sister to insure the royal line's poetical to be as rich as that in which in had first become. Any truth to the fable Sasorisan?"
"You read right, they were half-siblings though. Is there something you're not telling me Orochimaru," Sasori snapped harshly. It was becoming obvious the man was playing games and if there was anything more annoying then silence it was Orochimaru's bouts of cat-and-mouse. It was high time he called this game to an end.
"How wonderfully barbaric," the pale man exclaimed in fascination, also changing the direction of the conversation back into his design.
"Just where did you read these tales Snake," The cumbersome criminal growled darkly. No fool he saw the ruse for what it was and corrected himself by forcing the issue. Pressing the man for answers was difficult to say the least, doing so with vague insinuations made it impossible.
Orochimaru smiled widely, openly, as sounds increased within the hall, coming ever closer. "A true Master, even of the lowly snake, knows that even dead men tell tales. It's all about how you go about hearing of them Sasorisan," he chuckled richly.
"Don't play word games with me. And when I need a refresher course on my art I'll let you know," Sasori barked sharply.
Orochimaru laughed outright. Sasori was reaching for his triggers when Orochimaru once again smiled and spoke, his silk-like voice still thick with amusement.
"No you won't Sasorisan but I'll hold you to it none the less," he murmured before grinning smugly. "Brace yourself, the happy news arrives."
"Orochi-"
A brisk rap on the door signaled the end of their growing dispute. Sasori glared, Orochimaru slid gracefully off the sill and graciously answered the Sand's summon.
"Oh yes, we'll be there to honor the little girl. No worries," Orochimaru cooed sickly sweetly.
Sasori's anger faded even at his partner's current jovial mood.
'A girl?'
"It seems as though you'll be welcoming a princess to the village Sasorisan," that blasted voice chuckled still.
"A Queen. As the first born she is and always be a desert Queen," he corrected.
"Ah; aren't you a bit old for young love Sasorikun?" Orochimaru teased venomously.
"Silence, we leave in the hour. Pack your things." Sasori snapped a few more joints and turned to pin his partner with a garnet stare. "And don't you dare kill her."
"Deal," Orochimaru replied before sporting another feline-like grin. "Put away that monster and let's get out of this sandpit already." He was out the door before he finished speaking.
"I shouldn't have brought him here. Should have made him swear not to hurt her. Damn it, I'm slipping." A light came to the once-man's wine colored eyes as he found himself under the desert sun milling about on familiar streets of his childhood.
"This will all be yours child, to love and hate. May your life amongst these silica and quartz grains be the strength within your bones, as I had found them in my time," he murmured to the wind knowing full well it would deliver the message to the young one. In time of course, the desert after all was the proof all things came with time. To Sasori, this knowledge was a bitter memory, but to Temari of the Sand it could be different.
End of the First Chapter