The Faerie Chronicles of Kenshin & Kaoru: The Sleeping Prince, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 14 - In which Tomoe's long wait is over.

"At the mirk and midnight hour

She heard the bridles sing,

She was as glad of that

As any earthly thing."

Tam Lin

o.o.o

She had wanted a small ceremony, something warm and close and safe, but of course that was impossible. It was the first amiable mingling of the two Faerie courts in nearly a hundred years. The Unseelie refused to be robbed of a splendid opportunity to party, and the Faerie Queen and her handmaids wouldn't hear of their beloved foster-sister getting married without them in attendance.

Tomoe had hoped that Hiko would put a stop to it all, but to her dismay, he had gracefully given way to the inevitable and diverted his energies instead into policing the festivities so that they remained as bloodless as possible. No mean feat, even if he was the new Unseelie regent (which he still had not forgiven her for, though even he couldn't argue with the fact that he was the only one with power enough to control the dark fae while Enishi still held the king's magic).

Tomoe had not expected Kenshin to come, but he had. Weighted down with weary grief, nevertheless he had appeared quietly amidst the revelers, his presence on this day worth far more to her than any object he could have given her. "This one's spell-work was never impressive to begin with," he had said in a tired voice, gazing at her with a ghost of his old smile. "It's been even worse of late, so it was thought that a gift of the mortal world might be better."

She received the little hair ornament solemnly, her eyes drawn to the clear brightness of its colors, the elegant simplicity of its design. As she was opening her mouth to thank him, he reached for her hands again and showed her the hidden function of the three largest jewels - when pressed, each one released a little spike of a certain metal: admantine, mythril, iron. "In case you ever run into some enchantment of an opposing nature to your own magic," he said mildly. "Perhaps it might be useful."

She smiled, wrapping one of her gauzy sleeves around her hand and carefully pressing the iron spike back into hiding. "Indeed. It's very beautiful...Kenshin-kun." She looked at him intently (and a little anxiously) as she added the honorific, hoping that he would understand, that her love and gratitude would still come through.

She need not have worried. He smiled back at her, his eyes moving briefly to Akira standing stiffly at her side before responding. "This one is very happy for you, Tomoe-dono. For you both."

He stayed only for the ceremony, then disappeared again before anybody noticed. 'Good-bye,' she thought, when she saw that he was missing, 'the first man I loved...'

Titania had looked a little too gleeful at the gift-giving afterwards, but Tomoe had already made preparations. Before the Faerie Queen could offer her gift, the enchantress moved first, to bestow a gift of her own. "My queen Titania," she said solemnly, "please first accept this as a token of my affection for you. May there be peace between our people so long as we both live."

Titania, looking rather at a loss, accepted the kitten and sat staring at it curled up in her cupped hands. It was a war-cat, its fangs and claws already deadly, but as it stretched out luxuriously and gazed at Titania with dreamy blue eyes, the Faerie Queen realized that it was a challenge, to never let this creature see the battles it was bred for. "It's a female," she said slowly. "You know I hate females."

"Therefore," Tomoe said carefully, "your pleasure with such a one is truly admirable."

Titania got the point. Her face suddenly breaking into a smile, she tucked the kitten into the neckline of her gown and calmly smashed the necklace she had been about to give Tomoe. It had been a beautiful thing, bedecked with jewels in a lovely design, but its destruction briefly filled the hall with a noxious odor that set the Unseelie coughing desperately. Akira, horrified at the near-treachery, started to rise; Tomoe inconspicuously laid a hand just over his knee and gripped hard until he fell back again.

"Like deserves like," Titania said airily, drawing another gift into the open. She had had both ready...just in case.

As the smell of hakubaikô filled the air, Tomoe said, very quietly, "You know what this scent means to me."

"Kenshin carries a sword, just as Battousai once did," Titania pointed out, a little defensively, as she settled the circlet over Tomoe's hair. "Yet they mean nothing the same, right?"

Tomoe sat there in surprise, sensing through the enchantment on this thing. There was a spell for the beauty of youth, though not the accompanying physical effects; it was not her lost immortality, but it was far better than artificial glamour. Tomoe knew the day would come when she would be grateful for it, as she continued to age beside her unchanging husband, but for the present, she was more interested in the amplification charm. The wearer of this circlet would find her magic three times more powerful than usual. "Right," she finally whispered in answer.

The festivities lasted long into the night. At one point, Akira finally managed to break free of a drinking game he had been getting the worst of, and peered around blearily for his bride. She was nowhere to be seen. As this fact became known and those who cared got more and more upset, Akira tried to remember something important. Something about Tomoe, about someone she loved (someone who wasn't him, grrr), something under...under the ground... That was it, or as close as he could get in this state.

Akira found himself crawling. He frowned, pulled himself up laboriously with the help of a giggling serving-girl, and clung to the walls for support as he made his way through the corridors to that dark, down-leading passage. The people who had followed him out of curiosity quickly turned back when they realized where he was going. He descended alone.

Tomoe had come down to try one last time, to see if Enishi would return before she began her new life as a married woman. Her eyes could pierce the darkness of this bare, echoing place beneath the palace, and she made her way sure-footedly to the two great pillars where her brother stood imprisoned. She could see at once that it was no use - his expression was blacker than ever, and blood dripped slowly to the ground from his hands, where the chains were wrapped around his outstretched arms.

She tried anyway. "Enishi," she said softly.

His voice, when it came, was low and murderous. "Where is Battousai? I'll kill him...I'll kill him..."

"Enishi," she whispered. "I am free. It's done - it's over. Please, Enishi...can't you forgive him? For your sake, brother. Can't you see-?"

"I'll kill him!" he suddenly screamed. "For what he did to us- No, death is too good for him! I'll kill everyone he loves, and then I'll let him live in that hell, 'til he rots!"

"Enishi!" She pressed her hands to her mouth, for the blood was now trickling in a steady stream as he moved with restless violence between the two pillars. She went to him quickly, put her arms around him, felt him grow still in her embrace.

"Neesan," he whispered. "Please...free me."

"Enishi," she murmured, struggling to hold back her tears, "only you can do that." It was true, for the chains that bound him to these two pillars were forged not of iron, but of hatred; they were only fastened to him by his own grip. Even now, he clenched them so tightly that the blood was running down his arms, congealing in the metal links, staining her wedding gown with spots of crimson.

Her heart aching, she lowered her face to his tortured palms and kissed them. He groaned softly and sagged back, relaxing his hold a little. The flow of blood slowed, but still he did not let go.

"Enishi. It is from my wedding ceremony that I have come to you." He made no response. "I...I am now a bride. I have a new family to think of now, Enishi."

His head was hanging. He groaned again, with a pain that had nothing to do with his imprisonment.

Narrowing her eyes, she stepped close again and leaned to speak into his ear. "Enishi." Her voice was hard. "This is not the end for you. This is not who you are, or where you are supposed to be. Do you understand me?" Still no response. His mind was clouded with hatred, he did not hear her. Yet she knew that her words fell on his heart, and that one day he would need them, and that they must be there for him to find them. "I will be waiting for you, Enishi," she told him. "Tomorrow, in a month, no matter how many years pass...it doesn't matter. I will be waiting for you."

A sound caught her attention. She turned to find Akira stumbling in the darkness, his hands stretched out for her. She closed her eyes and laid her hand on Enishi's head. Then she turned away and went to her husband.

Akira yelped when she touched his fingers. "Tomoe?!"

"I'm here," her reassuring voice came out of the darkness. She put his arm around her shoulders so she could help him as they made their way slowly back to the stairs. It was difficult going this time. "My love," she finally said, her tone slightly amused, "please don't tell me you were foolish enough to come down here without a light."

"Don't need one," he mumbled in confusion. Then, because it suddenly struck him as brilliantly romantic, "You're my light, Tomoe!" Such a declaration ought to be followed up with a passionate kiss, so he was surprised and hurt when she held him away.

"Not until you've sweetened your breath a bit," she said, shaking her head. "This is why I wanted a small wedding... Are you sure you're up for tonight?"

"'Course I am," he asserted. Then, curiously, "What's happening tonight?"

She chuckled. "Perhaps not. Well, I have waited this long, one more night won't-" Her voice broke off with a yelp as he suddenly wrapped both arms around her and ducked his head to kiss her, where the neckline of her dress was at its lowest.

"Oh yeah," he said vaguely, and reached to expose more of her flesh to his kisses.

"I would appreciate it," she gasped, trying to hold back laughter as she struggled, "if you wait to tear my dress until after I don't need it anymore."

"Oh..."

She kissed his cheek, then pulled his arm back over her shoulders so they could continue up the steps. This night would likely not be among the most enjoyable of the ones to come - but it would be the first of many, for which reason alone she already treasured it.

To be continued...

Author's Notes: Perhaps you've figured out by now that Titania doesn't understand herself very well at all...she both hates and loves Tomoe at the same time. On the one hand, Tomoe is Unseelie and once "stole" Kenshin, yet she is kind and strong, and acts almost like a mother figure to Titania (though Ti has no clue of that; she'd be furious if she ever realized it).