A/N: Okay, so first and foremost, I want to thank AmyRoseAlice and The Blue Monster Cake for the wonderful reviews. I couldn't stop smiling to save my life. I'm really glad that you guys enjoy this story and I'm trying to keep it as original as possible. Also, if you want to see the characters, go to my page for the link.
Happy Readings!
It wasn't long until Mother found my "perfect match," as she called him. His name was Takken; a dragon demon from my clan. He stood a whole head and a half above me and was as wide as a tree trunk with muscles the size of my head. He had short brown hair and ominous red eyes. Two giant red horns protruded from his hairline, curling backwards and around to look like the horns of a ram. I hated looking at him. He made me feel…weird, I guess you could say. It always seemed as though he was plotting something.
"Ayame, be a dear and show Takken around. He'll need to know where everything is if he's to be staying here," Mother ordered, that fake ass smile plastered on her face. I wanted to smack it right off.
"Yes, Mother," I sighed, cursing my luck. Father would not have been pleased. Too bad he's no longer here. Turning, I walked off in a random direction, not wanting to look at Takken. "Follow me."
I showed him the entire castle, except for the things that belonged to Father. Mother had tried to get rid of his things, but I threw a tantrum that included lots of tears and verbal threats, and she had no choice but to keep his things. They were my security items. When I had nightmares or when things between Mother and I got rough, I went into Father's old study and just sat there amongst the memories until Mother had something else to bitch about. It was a never-ending cycle.
"You don't talk much, do you, My Lady?" Takken asked, speeding up his pace to walk beside me. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye with a shrug.
"I have nothing to say," I replied, turning my eyes to the ceiling of the second story. I was showing him the guest floor. "I am being forced to mate with someone I don't love, my father is dead, and my best friend is nowhere to be found. You wouldn't want to talk to anyone else if you were me, would you?"
"No, I suppose not," Takken chuckled, reaching over to grab my hand. I snatched it away from him. I didn't want him near me and I sure as hell didn't want him touching me. The less interaction we had, the greater the chance that he'd find someone else. Or so I hoped.
"I would prefer it if you didn't touch me. Ever," I stressed, crossing my arms across my chest. I didn't want him to make a grab for me again. I'd be tempted to kill him if he did.
"You know, Ayame," he sneered, grabbing my arm and pulling me to a halt. The force caused me to whip around to face him. "One day, you will be mine and I'll be able to touch you whenever I so please. It'd be in your best interest to get used to it now, or else you'll—AHH!"
I cut his rant off with a push of my heated youki. Any hotter and I'd have set the palace on fire. The look in Takken's eyes as he glared at me was priceless. I felt and saw his astonishment as well as a tiny bit of fear. I was not one to mess with. I had the potential to be stronger than all of them.
"You will do well to watch your tongue, Takken," I sneered back. "We wouldn't want you to turn up missing now, would we?" He snarled at me and I snarled back, my chi pushing him against the wall about 30ft away. I wanted to shove his pompous ass through the wall, but Mother wouldn't like that. Neither would Ryonji, for that matter. And Father would turn over in his grave. So, I settled for pinning him to the wall with both my youki and my glare. The sweat pouring off of his body almost made me laugh. Luckily, I held it in. I don't think he'd take too kindly at being laughed at as well as humiliated. "Do NOT disrespect me." With a final shove of heat, I turned on my heel and stormed off to the training grounds. I needed to let off some steam.
I pushed my legs faster, ducking and dodging low branches and sharp bushes. Yes, I was running away. Takken had told Mother what I'd said and done to him and Ryonji took it upon himself to punish me. I paused at a large tree to catch my breath. I reached up to my right cheek, wincing at the sharp pain. He'd done some serious damage. It felt like the whole right side of my face was on fire. Scenting the air, I took off once more. I prayed that I'd make it to my destination before anyone found out I was missing.
I rolled my eyes at my stupidity. With Mother's bat ears, she probably knew I left the moment I stepped foot outside the palace gates. I never knew just how that woman could hear things so well. When Father was alive, I'd sworn to him that Mother could even hear the thoughts of others if she listened hard enough. He had laughed at me and told me that it wouldn't have surprised him if she could. Now, I was starting to think that he knew all along that she could read minds. I wouldn't be surprised.
Breaking through the tree line, I skid to a halt, looking out over a cliff at unfamiliar lands. It had been so long since Father brought me here. I don't remember exactly where to go. I knew it was around here somewhere—
"Well, well, well! What have we here?" a raspy voice taunted, startling me. I whirled around to face the newcomer, but didn't see anything. I kept my back facing the cliff. "You lost, little dragon?"
"I don't know," I retorted, taking in my surroundings. The trees made it hard to see. "Are you?" An airy chuckle sounded from somewhere in front of me. It was a stupid idea to run away, especially during the night. Father used to tell me about the creatures that lurked in the shadows. He always said that just because you couldn't see or sense them didn't mean that they weren't there. I wished I'd listened to him. "Stop fucking around!" I demanded, growing annoyed. "Show yourself!"
"As you wish, milady."
From the tree line emerged a giant black disgusting spider demon and a shudder forced its way down my spine. It had eight long, lithe legs and a giant hideous body. Its fangs didn't look too friendly, either. I didn't know if it was male or female. All I knew was that it was a spider and I was terrified of spiders. When I was a little girl, Father took me on a patrol with him and I was almost taken by a group of spider demons. Father killed them all, but my fear is still there.
My only escape was to kill it. Another shudder wracked my body as I imagined the different ways to end the creature's life. I didn't want to be anywhere near it, so my best bet would be long-ranged attacks. I had the utmost faith in myself to defeat the giant nasty.
"Alright," I mumbled under my breath. "Here goes nothing." As I rushed towards the youkai, I nearly die of shock. There, behind the initial spider, were about five extra pairs of glowing yellow spider eyes.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" I screamed to the heavens. "I just can't catch a break, can I?"
