Silver Moon: Chapter 8: Why do you cry?
~writer's note: I apologize if the beginning seems a little slow. I have to establish a few new people and some locational information. So, please forgive the first page ^.*
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
Claimer: BathSheba and Sasha are mine!
Minda lead her through the large halls of the palace to a short one. Minda then explained this was called the "Honored wing". This was where she and Sasha would stay. She was also informed that this was where Minda's chambers were as well. They were actually across from her own rooms. Sheba thought this was odd but pushed it away. She was happy to have Minda's tour as a pleasant distraction. The demoness was older but she had spunk. However, as Minda opened the traditional shoji doors Sheba's jaw hit the floor.
"Sesshomaru has determined that you shall stay here, but if anything is not to your liking tell me…" Minda stiffened a laugh at the girls gawking expression.
"It's… lovely", Sheba leaned against Sasha for support.
Before the silver sorceress was an open room. All of the connecting doors were open, allowing her to see there were at least four rooms beyond the entry room. A few maids bustled about, only to stop and bow when they saw her. Minda motioned for her to look around. Sheba stepped carefully into the entry room.
"This is where you may receive guests or take your morning tea." Minda commented.
Sheba stepped through the doorway to her left and found a low table that could easily seat six. Silk cushions scattered around it. Set on the actual table was a simple meal of miso, tea, and a fall Oden (stew). Then, there was a small bowl of what looked like sugared rice.
"We were unsure whether you would be hungry. It is not often our cooks get to serve meals so often. They are looking forward to crafting dished for you", Minda smiled, "Do you wish to eat, Bathsheba-sama?"
"I am hungry, but could I look around some more Minda-sama?" Sheba was unsure of how to act.
"Of course, Milady", Minda followed Sheba back into the entry room.
Sheba then went into the room that had previously been to her right. It was a small room with shelving in both of its walls. It was more of a hall really. Passing through it she opened the shoji door before her to fine a room with wall to wall shelving. Even more surprising every shelf had its own lacquer, wooden box, that if she was right, held kimono. There had to be fifty shelves… then, in the middle were a large, full-length mirror and a stool. A couch lay near this, then, a small but ornate make-up cabinet. It was black with the shape of an inuyoukai in its true form, set in mother-of-pearl. Sheba resisted the urge to touch it. She finally, turned to Minda, who said, "Your dressing room and storing hall."
"You may use any kimono you like. This is just a random collection, I will select more as I find what milady likes", Minda smiled.
Sheba again returned to the entry room to go into the room that would have been directly in front of her when she first came. This led her to a large room. In the center was a large bed. It was raised but only by a foot or so, this told her it had a mattress rather than just a thin roll up futon; often used during the time period. Silken sheets covered the bed and its pillows. This caught Sheba's eye, it was mid fall and it was getting way too cold to just have a sheet. Minda did not miss her reaction. Sheba then saw a large wardrobe heavily engraved with more inuyoukai. This is where the two maids were.
"Milady, we do not understand how to put away your clothing", one of them admitted, holding up a pair of jeans.
"Oh… I'm sorry my clothing is very different than what you wear here. Plus, I didn't do a very good job folding… It's completely understandable. I'm Bathsheba", Sheba smiled taking the jeans.
"These are Koto and Mai", Minda smiled as both girls bowed deeply.
Koto was very interesting looking. She had pastel blue skin. However, her lips, claws, and eyelids were inky blue. Her eyes were swirling mix of crystal and midnight blue. Mai was tan, with chocolate eyes and hair. Gold traced her eye lids and lips. Both of them smiled brightly at her. How was everyone was so nice in the home of someone like Sesshomaru?
"These two will be your personal maids. Between a water nymph and a bear youkai you should be happy and safe", Minda chuckled. "Would you like to eat now?"
Sheba nodded, and followed them into the dining room. She nibbled everything first but was pleasantly surprised at how delicious each dish was. One of the maids had actually thought to bring a large plate of fish for Sasha. When she finished she sighed and tried to gather her thoughts.
"Was there something wrong with your bedroom?" Minda ask; assured the child was full.
"It is beautiful but it's getting cold. I have the same physical weakness as humans…" Sheba tried to put it politely.
"I'll have a small stove sent and some heavy blankets and furs", Koto hoped to her feet and bowed before heading to her task.
"Milady, if I may ask, how often do you eat a day?" Mai ask visibly nervous. All Mai had been told about the young woman was that she was the only one of her kind and very powerful. Minda had told her to treat her as they would the Lady of the West. Mia and Koto were actually there to wait to be the maids to the Lady of the West, but after over thirty years both young maids thought that they would never be employed. It was a great honor to be chosen to be the personal maids to the Lady of the West. Thus, the Sun-bear and Siren clans were more than happy to hand their lovely daughters; who were chosen to be the light and song of the future Lady of the West.
"It depends… three or four I suppose", Sheba stated quietly.
…
Sheba watched the moon rise into the sky. Mai, Minda, and Koto had disappeared. Sheba knew why. It was time. Thus, when she sensed him in the entry room she didn't bother to turn around. Nor did she move when the shoji slid open to the bed room; she only patted Sasha's head to calm the growling creature.
Sesshomaru was curious when he saw that she was dressed in a simple white sleeping kimono. It was heavy for winter. She sat in the middle of her bed with the silks of her bedding and kimono flowing around her, and her massive feline curled around her on one side. The stove had been delivered and was blazing in a corner. The room was comfortable temperature. He had been informed that it was going to be a cold fall and he didn't want her to die of hypothermia before he had finished the spell. He inhaled when she refused to looked up at him. But he could smell nothing, and despite his knew found ability to feel her strong emotions he still felt nothing. No anger, sadness, or regret, she was devoid of emotion…
"You are her to drink?" her voice was soft as she lifted her arm to his general direction; she didn't bother to look in this direction.
Sesshomaru ignored the question and took her arm in his hand. He looked to see her face but her hair formed a curtain between them. He bit into the tender flesh. However, as he drank he could smell the light hint of anguish. When he was finished he simply turned and left.
…………………
Sheba woke to the morning light seeping through the curtains. She didn't remember much from last night, but she knew she was dizzy. She sat up, slowly, as she had learned was the safest way to do so at this point. To her surprise she found Koto and Mai's smiling faces. Sasha had moved to the far edge of the bed to receive a petting from Koto.
"Sheba-sama, are you feeling well this morning?" Koto asked, her blue eyes sparkling with concern.
"I just get dizzy from the process…" she blushed.
"It is a great loss of blood over time; thus, it only makes sense for Sheba-sama to be lightheaded. However, Sesshomaru has commanded the chefs to prepare meals to combat this", Minda appeared in the doorway.
"Ya, it would do him no go for me to drop dead before this is over", she sighed sadly, "And you don't have to call me Sheba-sama, I'm in no way of high ranking. Please, just call me Sheba." She got out of bed.
"Are you ready to eat or would you like to bathe first?" Mai smiled; pulling the bedding up and unfolding fresh sheets.
"A bath sounds heavenly", Sheba said excitedly; she felt like a toddler who had been offered candy.
The three of them smiled at her child-like glee before Mai lead her out of her own chambers, and down two more doors. There at the end of the hall was the onsen. Sheba marveled at the massive wooden basin; it could have easily held ten people comfortably, and the washing pool could have held five. She looked at the steaming water lustfully.
"Do you need any supplies for you bath?" Mai smiled.
"No", Sheba looked down at her bag of shampoo, conditioner, loofa, body wash, and lotion, "I brought my own."
"Alright, I will return shortly to check on you", Mai bowed and left her to her bath.
Sheba set her bag at the edge of the pool, before shedding her sleeping kimono. She walked over to the smaller pool of water and scrubbed herself. She scrubbed till her skin was red with agitation. She was lost in her cleansing. She wanted ever inch of herself cleansed of him, of the whole situation. She wanted to wash away her guilt for not telling her friends. She burst into tears at the thought of Kagome not being able to find her. Would they ever find her again? She hiccupped, and pushed the thoughts away for now; there was nothing she could do for now. She then turned her frustration to her scalp; which, she scrubbed vigorously with the shampoo. Finally, she allowed the conditioner to set as long as she could stand the temperature of the room. She slipped into the hot water of the main pool and sighed in contentment. The hot water seeped into her tight and stressed muscles; relieving her tension. She sunk till only her eyes were visible over the surface of the water. Sasha curled up to wait near the pool.
Her mind wandered to how she would explain all of this to her friends when she was freed. Assuming she survived; if she did not make it then the will would take care of explaining her death. Death… she somehow had a feeling she would not survive this. Perhaps she had just given up hope, but she was growing weaker by the day. And she had two more weeks… no, her chances of survival were little too none. Sheba felt surprisingly unmoved by the decision on her chances. Her musings were interrupted by a soft rap on the wooden shoji doors.
"M'l… Sheba, may I come in?" Mai chirped, she was unsure of how sensitive humans were about nudity.
"Hai", Sheba smiled at the sun-bear youkai.
Mai held a stack of plush towels and a pink yukata for her to wear. She frowned when the scent of tears hit her sensitive nose. Mai cast her new mistress a concerned look.
"Is everything alright?" Mai set the towels down and laid the yukata on a stool.
Sheba looked down at the water that had made a valiant effort to soothe her, "I was thinking of things I could not change."
"I see, you should not be so sad. You are such a rare and lovely being. It is wrong for a treasure to cry." Mai smiled, holding a large towel open for the silver sorceress.
Sheba stepped out of the pool and wrapped herself in the offered towel. She was grateful for the tender maid's words. Mai instructed her to sit and to Sheba's surprise the demoness began to gently towel off her hair.
"I don't know much about humans, but Minda says you were raised by them. Is grooming important to them?"
"Where I'm from? Yes. However, those who live in this area are not so observant." Sheba sighed as the demoness behind her gently combed through her waves.
"I thought you were different. Personally, I rarely find a clean human, but you smelled pleasant even when I first met you. Grooming is critical in forming intimate bonds between youkai." Mai sighed, she was unsure of how to go about consoling her mistress. So, she decided to distract her.
"Really? What do I smell like?" Sheba looked over her shoulder at the youkai.
Mai inhaled lightly, "Rain, vanilla, and soft floral, possibly sakura blossoms, but is very soft. It is a lovely scent. I know many demonesses would kill to produce such a sweet and delicate scent."
"I never knew what I smelled like… thank you Mai." Sheba turned and hugged the maid.
Mai returned the embrace, "You welcome." Mai pulled away from her and unfolded the silk yukata. Mai held it open and then wrapped it around Sheba, and tied the sash. Then, they both walked back to Sheba's chambers with Sasha at their heals.
However, there was an extra person waiting in her dining room for her. Sheba was all but tackled by a brown haired blur.
"Hi, I'm Rin! Are you Bathsheba-sama? Sesshomaru-sama said you were pretty. Do you want to go to the gardens after breakfast?" the little girl could not be over seven, with her side ponytail, and energy.
"Hello Rin, I am Bathsheba-sama, and I would love to see the gardens after breakfast." Sheba smiled at the child before sitting at the table to eat. The little girl settled close to her, but ate nothing.
That was how her afternoons in the garden began. Minda, Mai, Koto, and herself would watch the child play amongst the flowers and Sasha. Rin wove them wreaths and over time she learned to braid them into their hair. Specifically she loved to braid Sheba's. The girl had taken quite a liking to the silver sorceress. That first day Minda had informed her that Rin was Sesshomaru's human ward. Sheba was thoroughly confused. So, Sesshomaru could care for something. Over the next week things changed little. She woke, bathed, ate, played with Rin, ate, spent a few hours with just Mai and Koto, ate, Sesshomaru would appear, and finally, sleep.
Sesshomaru no longer even spoke to her, she would simply offer her arm to him. But Sesshomaru did watch them when they were in the gardens, and Minda reported any change in her physical or mental condition. However, as the week passed he could see Minda was giving him less and less information. She was becoming too close to Sheba.
It was the seventh day in the garden when she found herself alone with Rin. Koto was spending the day with her family. Minda and Mai were in a meeting with Sesshomaru. Thus, when she again began to drift off to her dark thoughts she fought to keep them away. Alas, a single tear fell from her, and worst of all Rin saw her wipe it away. Sasha tried to pounce around the girl as she approach; probably in hopes of distracting her. However, Rin brought her a new wreath of white and pink blossoms, and firmly ignored the feline.
"Sheba, why do you cry?" Rin asked as Sheba bowed her head to accept the crown.
"Many reasons Rin. I miss my family for one." Sheba smiled sadly at her.
"Mai and Koto say you cry in your sleep. They all worry about you… Rin hears them when they think she is napping. They say Sesshomaru-sama was mean to you…" her tiny hands wrung themselves, "Why was he mean to you? He was never mean to me…"
Tears threatened to spill from Sheba's eyes, she held the child. A child is even stronger than me… "He was not mean. You see I like Sesshomaru-sama, but he doesn't and can't like me back. It is not cruelty. It is the truth."
"Why can't he like you?" she sniffled, "Then, you would be like my momma… you would be such a good momma…"
"Because, I am nothing Rin. I have no title, no money, no worth. He will like a princess one day and she will be your mommy." She held the child.
"But I want you to be my mommy… what if I told Sesshomaru-sama…" the girl was interrupted.
"No. If I were to reveal my feelings he would send me away. It would be disrespectful for me to have such feelings, and he couldn't have disrespect in his house now could he." Sheba frowned, "I will probably be sent away in a few more weeks anyway…"
"No", the child cried out, "Why would you go?"
"My job will be done. If Sesshomaru allows you to visit I would be happy to have you." Sheba was happy when she saw the child smile.
"Visit… ok, but only if Rin gets to visit", she nodded to herself then her governess appeared.
Rin bowed and left Sheba to herself.
The sun was beginning to set. Sheba cursed herself for involving the girl. Rin was so caring and observant… then, something caught her eye. It was the tree Rin liked so much. It was in bloom. Rin had gone on about the tree for days and how she wished she could have its orange flowers. However, it was at the far edge of the garden. Sesshomaru had forbidden her from going there.
A smirk touched her lips. What was Sesshomaru going to do? Kill her? She was sure she would be dead in a week anyways. So she stood up on her weak legs and walked up to the tree. She was happy she wore her jeans that day or else it would be impossible to climb the mammoth tree. At last she made it. She was dangling on a large but high limb. The flowers were within reach, just an inch farther…
A scream broke from her lips. Not a scream of surprise as she fell, but a scream of blood curdling terror as she was yanked from the tree. She couldn't see what had hold of her, but it was scaled and she was sure it had crushed her ankle. She heard a deep laugh and a cry from Sasha before everything went dark.
…
Sesshomaru watched as Minda and Rin ate their dinners with cautious eyes. He knew they were hiding information from him. Even his little Rin looked at him differently. How dare she turn his own servants and ward against him!
Before he could speak he was interrupted by Mai, who flew into the room.
"Where is she?!" Mai seethed at her lord.
"Calm yourself", he spoke with a dangerous air.
"Lord Sesshomaru, I will kill the useless maid if you so wish", Jaken shrieked walking up to the sun-bear. However, Sesshomaru ignored the offer.
"Where is who?" Minda asked trying to approach her maid.
"Sheba!" Mai spat.
"You didn't send her away did you Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin's eyes shined with tears.
"Why would I send her away?" Sesshomaru turned to his ward.
"Because she likes you… but you don't like her…" she cried.
Sesshomaru was utterly confused, but his mask was firmly in place. "Who saw her last?"
"I saw her in the garden before sunset", Rin confessed.
"Is that the most recent?" he asked trying to remain calm for Rin's sake.
They all nodded.
"Stay here", Sesshomaru stormed from the room to the gardens.
Rin's words puzzled him, had Sheba confided in the child? Had she tried to run? Why would she flee? No. Sheba was not one to run. He caught her scent and followed it to the fire tree. Then, he paled. There before the tree was Sasha. A large wound on the feline's side had not killed the creature. He could smell her fear, he could sense her pain, and he could smell snake youkai. Tenseiga pulsed at his side; so it wished for the creature to continue in this world? Fine then, he removed the sword and slashed the under-worldlings away from the cat. Sasha roared back to life; the wound on his side missing.
"You will help me find her." He instructed the creature as thunder touched both their ears.