Hey! Finally a longer chapter! It takes a little bit to pick up, but it does, I promise!
Also, I posted some of My own drawings on my dA account. The two most recent drawings drawings go with the next two chapters, but you can go ahead and look at them now, no spoilers. Remember to let me know what you think, and if you do your own drawings, drop me a line^^ review Review REVIEW! Please?
Fai woke up on September thirteenth with a ball of anxiety burning in his stomach. This was because the thing that had woken him a bright flicker of lightning and its accompanying crack of thunder. With a sigh, he supposed it would be too much to ask for Mangetsu to be in a good mood.
He dressed quickly and, as he made his way to her rooms, he watched servants scurry around dusting, polishing, arranging and carrying armloads of bedding for overnight guests. They all seemed… nervous, fidgety, and it took Fai a moment to realize why; most of them would be meeting, or at least encountering Mangetsu for the first time.
Aside from his self and her exclusive serving staff, no one in the palace knew the loud, assertive, dominating girl that they were throwing a party for. They knew of her though; the tantrums, the rampages, the violent, seemingly unprovoked attacks on guards and the screaming matches with Sylvia. They were all terrified of being called upon to control her. It would have been hysterical if Fai hadn't been just as nervous; if she lost control and hurt someone she'd be sentencing herself to a life in her rooms.
Wind howled outside and Fai sped up to a light jog, taking a set of stairs two steps at a time. Lightning flashed blue as he sprinted down the curving hallway and burst through the door of her bedroom. What he saw left him frozen.
Mangetsu and Sylvia were facing each other, separated only by the chair of Mangetsu's vanity. They were glaring at each other and Mangetsu had a pair of scissors aimed at Sylvia's throat. Several serving maids were cowering against the far wall. One, despite her terrified shaking, was valiantly trying to finish the hem of an elaborate blue and white gown hanging from a dress form. Mangetsu's head snapped up at his entrance.
"Fai! Tell her she can't cut my hair!"
Sylvia rolled her eyes.
"It's down past her waist; I just wanted to trim the ends and she snatched the scissors out of my hand and-"
"Actually, you can't cut her hair, even a little." Fai cut her off, feeling for Mangetsu.
So this is why she's so upset.
"Her hair is the source of her magic so it's hyper sensitive. It would be excruciating for her if you cut it."
Realization dawned on Sylvia's face, then anger.
"You could have told me that instead of stabbing me in the hand!"
A quick glance at her right hand revealed a small red mark.
At least she had the sense to hold back.
"Well you could have asked before trying to mutilate me! I mean-"
"Mang-mang!"
She looked over.
"Whaaat?"
"Did she actually cut your hair? At all?"
"No…"
"Then please let it go. We have more important things to do."
After a few seconds of silence, Mangetsu set the scissors down and the maids against the wall visibly relaxed, moving away to continue with there duties. Sylvia sniffed and snatched Mangetsu's hand, slapping it down on the vanity and forcing her into the chair.
"At least let me glaze your nails."
She released a huph, catching Fai's eye and jerking her head towards a platter of pastries sitting on the bed.
"Grab those and come over here."
He complied, carrying the platter over and hopping up on the vanity counter, situating it in his lap so she could reach.
"There from the main kitchen," She explained through a mouthful of creampuff. "Not as good as yours."
"Maitresse? We have to condition your hair."
Two maids walked in, one carrying combs, brushes and a cloth while the other was holding a basin filled with a thick green paste.
"What is that?" Fai stared at the bowl as the maids began combing it through Mangetsu's hair.
"It's avocado and olive oil and moonflower oil. It makes your hair soft."
When they finished, one of the girls bound Mangetsu's hair in the cloth and said they'd be back to remove it in a few hours.
That was how they passed the morning and eventually the afternoon; they sat and talked as women cycled through, primping Mangetsu in someway before leaving without a word. At four o'clock they scraped the conditioning treatment out of Mangetsu's hair before Sylvia threw Fai out so she could get changed.
To his surprise it was a half hour before he was allowed back in, but when he was, he saw every minute of it.
The huge skirt was meticulously arranged, the corset was pulled to the point of suffocation, the bodice glittered with artfully placed jewels and streams of fabric floated off of her shoulders, hovering over her forearms.
Her mouth though was twisted into an expression Fai had come to fear.
"I feel like a cupcake and not in a good way. You expect me to dance in this?"
Fai giggled at her displeasure.
"Just one song so you seem normal"
She narrowed her eyes.
"Hey, how comes you get to dress normal?"
Sylvia returned from the closet bearing a huge jewelry box.
"Because he's a boy Maitresse," She stated with just a hint of resentment. "Men are allowed to dress however they like. We are expected to dress ourselves according-"
"Yeah, guess who wasn't talking to you?"
Sylvia sighed and dropped the box with a clunk. Fai took a steadying breath.
"Mang-mang, remember you can't say stuff like that tonight. You might offend someone."
"So?"
"So please don't?"
"Fine whatever. Ooh! I want to wear that one!" She pointed out a silver choker that looked like a spider web, the dew drops made from diamonds.
"Of course, Maitresse."
Fai rocked back and forth on his heels. He was waiting outside the grand ballroom for Mangetsu so he could walk her in. He was supposed to act as her escort which, he thought, would probably mean doubling as her handler. He didn't care though; no matter what, he knew he wouldn't be bored. It was going to more fun than the other balls because Mangetsu was going to make it fun.
As if on cue, the slightly taller girl came sweeping around the corner with an entourage of guards who looked like they'd been through hell and back. She was constantly glancing around, eyes flickering over the walls of a palace that she'd lived in for years but had never seen. When her gaze reached him her face lit up and she blew past her guards, sweeping him into a hug.
"This place is HUGE! It took ten minutes to get here from my rooms. It feels so good not to be under that suppression. Oh! I might need your help going down the stairs in there though; I haven't gone up or down stairs in a while and when I tried the ones outside my room it didn't go so well. I don't know if it was me or the giant ball of tulle I'm wearing, but I'd rather not repeat it in front of a room full of people."
"Aww…" Fai couldn't help but gush. "You look pretty! Like a big… cupcake!"
She scowled at the comparison, but it was true. Her skirt was huge with frothy swirls of tulle at the bottom that looked decidedly like frosting. She had jewelry glittering everywhere and her hair was styled differently. She still had three big buns sitting atop a tiara with her wand slid through; but now, instead of all of her hair being pulled up, a sheet of it was left drifting down her back.
One of the guards looked at Fai and tapped his wrist.
Time to go.
"Ready?"
He offered his arm.
"Sure."
She shrugged and took it. They walked through the doors, completely unaware of how they would come out.
Fai spun Mangetsu in a neat circle, eyeing the hors-devours and bite sized desserts that decorated the tables surrounding the dance floor.
Hey had a system worked out; Fai would guide Mangetsu around the floor and when he dipped her she'd reach over her head and grab a handful of whatever food they happened to be directly in front of. Then they could dance and snack and look relatively normal as Mangetsu said horrible things about people and Fai tried not to giggle. She had taught him some Ruskian. It was a little halting, but more than enough to understand opinions on there fellow party-goers.
"So, do you think that's her hair?" She asked, pointing out the wife of the Lord of Aronde Citadin whose hair was in an interesting knot resembling a rat's nest.
"As opposed to… a wig?"
"As opposed to a small animal; I think it just twitched."
They bobbed in time to the music until the song ended. They didn't bow to each other like the other couples, just walked away towards the food tables. Half way there though, they were waylaid by King Ashura, who made his rounds surrounded by a small group of guards.
"Maitresse Seether." He nodded his acknowledgment while Mangetsu gritted out,
"Your…Highness."
She gave a half curtsy. If Ashura noticed her disrespect, he ignored it and smiled.
"I have some people I'd like to introduce you to, if you'd be so kind."
"Well, I'm not sure if Sylvia's told you much about my attitude, but I can assure you that I am not that ki-"
Fai, realizing where her sentence was going, reached out and flicked her on the shoulder, just hard enough to get her attention. He could feel the scowl radiating off her face, but she corrected herself anyway.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Good. Come."
Fai watched sadly; it was no wonder Mangetsu hated King Ashura so much. Even during all of the times Fai had felt him faking smiles and pushing him out the door, he had never been that cold and short. Then again, he'd just blown him off to speak with Mangetsu.
He couldn't think about it for long though because they started walking away with Mangetsu throwing angry glances over her shoulder at him. He decided to follow and listen.
King Ashura strode confidently up to Lord Audric who ruled over Saphir Urbain, a city just east of Celes.
Fai's knowledge of government and politics was limited due to a tutor who was less than willing to discuss most topics. From what he understood though, Ashura was pretty much king of the world. There was no one above him in the entire dimension. But because dimensions are huge he couldn't control it all on his own so instead, he appointed a Lord to rule over each of the larger cities in Seresu. These Lords were powerful in there own realms, but in the end they all answered to Ashura.
Or, at least they were supposed to. This was the part that Fai didn't learn in his lessons, but heard from Mangetsu who heard it from her maids, whispering amongst themselves when Sylvia was out of earshot.
There were those amongst the Lords who benefited from Ashura ruling; who genuinely wanted to keep him in power.
And then there were those who wanted him out; who would do anything to remove him from the throne. Not for some noble reason, not because they disagreed with his with his brutal use of police force or his merciless monitoring of magic, but because they wanted power for themselves. That was impossible though because King Ashura controlled the armies and along with it the Thirteen Generals.
The Thirteen Generals were just that: thirteen men who commanded the army in accordance to Ashura's wishes. Also, because the king had no heirs, the first general whose name, like the rest's, was unknown, was next in line for the throne; In line after the first general was the second, then the third, the fourth, the fifth and on and on. They were all skilled fighters who had served in the army but they were all level twelve magicians, kept one level below their king.
There were rumors though, Mangetsu heard her maids whisper, that despite the Generals King Ashura was still suspicious of several Lords he believed were plotting together. Apparently he had started trying to build his power. Even worse, they whispered that there had been disappearances. Level six and up magic makers had vanished for days on end, then turn up drained of magic and their personal memories. 'Personal memories' meant that, even though they knew where they were, who was King, current events, they couldn't remember their names, their families or where they had been when they'd disappeared. There were rumors that Ashura had drained them and absorbed their power to bourgeon his own. Fai dismissed the idea though; King Ashura might not be telling them the whole truth, but he wouldn't do something like that. He just… wouldn't.
Now he watched as Mangetsu was introduced to the Lord, bearing her teeth in an attempt at a smile. He had to laugh at how bad her attempt at masking her emotions was when that was what he spent most of his time doing.
"Mangetsu…" The man talked down to her. Fai prayed that she didn't try to bite him. "That's an unusual name."
"Uh-huh. Yeah."
Fai sighed, it could have been worse; she could have gone off on a tangent about how it was a title and she was a goddess and she was more powerful than he'd ever be. The man nodded and returned to his wife as King Ashura ushered Mangetsu away, onto the next guest.
This was another lord, who ruled over a city quite close to Celes. He was one of Ashura's close alleys. After they had been introduced an announcement was made that the next dance would be a waltz. To Fai's surprise, Mangetsu forced some half convincing delight onto her face. She walked away without so much as an "excuse me". Instead she offered them this.
"Hold that thought. I just LOVE this dance. I'm gonna go find Fai."
He watched as Ashura and his friend stared after her in disbelief. Fai strained to hear what they would say when Ashura thought they were both out of earshot. But Mangetsu locked eyes with him and shoved her way through the crowed of people.
"C'mon, let's get this over with."
Fai hesitated, he wanted to hear the conversation but then again, how important could it be if it could be held in a crowded ball-room?
"Okay."
He let her grab his hand and lead him towards the dance floor, looking over his shoulder to see two sets of amused eyes watching them.
"I thought you hated the waltz."
"I do." She put her hand on his shoulder and positioned his hand on her hip. "But I needed an out, he seemed really boring."
Fifteen minutes into there dancing, Mangetsu happened to look over her shoulder in the direction Fai was facing. She instantly snapped her head back and took lead, twisting so there positions were switched and Fai was facing the other direction.
"What's wrong?"
"Ashura's trying to get our attention. I figured if you saw him I'd have to restrain you to keep you from going over."
"Mang-mang, he's king! We can't ignore him!"
He started steering them towards the edge of the floor.
"No way, he's been pesting me all night! Why do you always do what he says?"
Before she'd started talking she'd flipped there direction again. Now, Fai switched it back.
"Mangetsu he is our king! He-"
Her eyes flashed dangerously as she shoved him away from her, suddenly angry.
"He's not my king and he's not yours either."
Fai knew she was angry because she hadn't shouted. Her voice had been low and cold and hurt and furious. It still frightened him, how quickly her demeanor could change. He was afraid she'd go after him right in front of everybody. He wasn't afraid for himself; he was worried about Mangetsu jeopardizing her freedom.
"I'll go deal with him," She spat, "I really don't care. But you need to wake up Fai." He winced. "He is not your king and with all that we know you should have the self respect not to come running every time he calls."
She turned and started to walk away but when he started to follow whirled back and stopped him.
"Fai I am way too pissed to deal with your lack of self-esteem and your need-to-please inferiority complex right now. That gets really tiring some times so why don't you just go find something else to do for the night, hmm?"
Her voice brooked no argument and Fai's last desperate apology died in his mouth as she strode away.
Alarmed to find himself beginning to cry in front of other people, Fai swiped at his eyes and backed up, eventually bumping into the corner of the room.
Kind of a cliff-hanger, right? I don't know, but I can't wait to post the next chappy! Remember to review^^
Also, I'm beta-ing a story by the wonderful LullabyDust called "Ninjas Don't Cry" It's really beautiful and sad so please go read^^
ありがとう
ShingetsuXMangetsu