Author's note: The lemons are coming, I swear! Next chapter will be full of them…
"I would never have believed this could be so much fun." Ichigo smiled as he rode his horse. Well, not his horse, it belonged to Grimmjow and he wouldn't have wanted to own the mare anyway. Horses ate a lot of hay, especially during the winter. But this was the horse he always practiced on, a blood bay mare with a kindly and tolerant disposition.
"It is, isn't it?" Feralina agreed. She was riding with him today on an elven horse. Ichigo hadn't realized there was a difference, but apparently animals that lived and bred in the enchanted forest had unusual qualities. Her horse was a midnight stallion, but perfectly behaved despite the presence of a mare. Other than that, Ichigo couldn't see anything unusual about him, and that could just be good training. "And it's a beautiful day for a ride, hey?"
"It sure is." It was a fine autumn day. Not too cold yet, but the leaves were beginning to change colors. "Feralina, I was wondering. Who are you in love with?" Ichigo had tried to puzzle it out for some time. He'd ruled out Renji immediately. Feralina and the half-elf were closely related, and she clearly regarded him as a brother. That left the humans on the manor but that posed a problem, mainly that Ichigo couldn't imagine a human man refusing his elven lady. Maybe if he was married, but most of the married men on the manor didn't seem like Feralina's type. He'd watched her interacting with the servants, and couldn't detect any hint of anything going on. So who? If it had been anyone else, he would have hesitated to ask, but Feralina was someone he felt he could approach directly.
"Ah, you'd ask that now." Feralina huffed out a sigh. "I just got a letter from 'im." She hesitated a moment. "Promise you won't think it's disgustin'?" Ichigo blinked and nodded. "My mamma's husband. I want him somethin' bad."
"Wait, your mother?" Ichigo's eyes widened. "I thought she was dead!" Feralina and Grimmjow both talked about how she'd die of shame if she was here, and he'd assumed that meant she was dead. Although… come to think of it, that only meant she wasn't here. Feralina snorted, then laughed.
"Oh, mamma's alive! But the Dark King said she had t' get married again, an' didn't give her a choice. That's when she had Renji, mamma's version of a rebellion, not that anyone cared." Feralina scowled, looking at her horses' ears. "You humans don't understand this kinda thing. If we was back in the forest, I'd probably have bedded him by now."
"Can you explain it to me?" Ichigo asked, trying to keep any judgement out of his tone. It did sound nauseating, that she would betray her mother that way, but elves weren't humans. Feralina made a small, non-committal sound then shrugged.
"If you want. Okay, Ichigo, let's start at the beginning. And the beginning is, back before the Dark King came, elves hardly ever got married at all." Ichigo blinked at that. "Marriage is a human thing. We elven women only get fertile twice a year, an' if a woman really wanted a baby, she'd wait 'til then an' then take every man she could find."
"What!" Ichigo tried to wrap his mind around that idea. It didn't fit very well. "But… but you and Grimmjow seem to know who your father is." They acted like there was no doubt at all, and if they'd been conceived that way how could they be sure? Feralina laughed at his expression.
"After the baby's conceived, all the men get to touch the mamma to find out who pappy is." Feralina explained. "Pappy's power responds t' his own baby, an' then he sticks with mamma's clan to raise it, or sometimes she goes t' his clan. After she had Grimmy, our mamma decided she really liked pappy and went t' his clan. An' she wasn't tryin' too hard t' have a baby after that, so she just had him. There was never any doubt I was his. But they wasn't never married, not the way you humans do things." Ichigo swallowed and nodded. He could see why the elves didn't share this with humans. It went completely against their way of life.
"So your mother wouldn't mind if you had an affair with her husband?" Ichigo asked hesitantly and Feralina nodded.
"She wouldn't, but he does." Feralina sounded a bit weary now. "My clan is more informal than some, ya know? Some elves take marriage all serious an' he's one of 'em. It don't help that the Dark King makes mamma take fertility potions and such. The way he wears us down, he's afraid he'll run out." Feralina scowled at nothing for a moment. "I got maybe twenty more years before he tries to marry me off. Bastard." She muttered and Ichigo cringed a little at the thought. He'd known arranged marriages were normal for nobles, but he hadn't realized the Dark King did the arranging. That was a frightening thought.
"Couldn't Grimmjow arrange something for you?" He winced as she shot him a scorching look. "I mean, something better than what the Dark King might do?" Clearly he didn't give a fig about his subjects' feelings. The glare lessened a bit and Fera shrugged.
"He probably will in another ten years or so. Sucks, but you're right, I don't wanna get stuck with one o' the Dark King's pets. Ah, this is too depressin'. Let's gallop!" She kicked her horse and he jumped forward, eager to run. Ichigo followed suit with a grin, although his more placid mare had no hope of keeping up with Feralina's gorgeous stallion. Ichigo loved the feeling of the wind in his hair, and the speed his horse could give. Then Feralina pulled her horse back to a trot and Ichigo followed suit as his mare breathed heavily. She wasn't exhausted by any means, but the gallop did take a bit. "That was fun, hey?"
"Sure was." Ichigo agreed with a grin. They circling back now, and he could see the manor through the trees. "I wonder what's for supper?" His stomach was reminding him that lunch had been a while ago, and his only snacks had been some carrots. Feralina laughed, looking over at him fondly.
"Yer such a bottomless pit! We're havin' venison roast with potatoes an' carrots an' peas. Bet you'll love it." Ichigo's stomach growled at the description and he blushed as she grinned. "An' some stewed apples with cream for dessert."
"That sounds wonderful." Ichigo had had stewed apples before, but the way the cook made them here was just amazing. She would slice up chestnuts very finely and stuff the apples with them, resulting in a beautiful earthy concoction. "I'm so happy here." He suddenly said, looking at the manor. Everyone accepted him and didn't seem to care if he was Grimmjow's 'concubine'. He had more friends than he'd ever had in the village, the food was wonderful and most of all, he had the friendship of these marvelous and exotic elves. The only thing that could have made it better was having more than Grimmjow's friendship, but Ichigo was certain it would happen. The backgammon games were getting a little strained and he could see the heat in the elven lord's eyes. After all, his eighteenth birthday was less than six months away.
"Glad t' hear it. We're happy t' have you, Ichigo." Feralina said with a smile. Ichigo returned it as they reached the manor and dismounted, bringing the horses to the stable. The stable hands quickly took care of them, although Feralina had to lead her own horse in, like Grimmjow needed to handle his. Ichigo smiled and fed his mare a bit of carrot as Feralina cooed to her stallion.
He really couldn't imagine anything better than this.
"Okay, we've got a really hard lesson t'do." Grimmjow and Ichigo were up on the roof again, and Ichigo shivered as the wind bit into him. He was wearing a brand new coat, thanks to the elves generosity, but winter was definitely coming in. "Here, y'should be wearin' a scarf." Grimmjow took off his, a thick, white woolen scarf, and passed it over. Ichigo hesitated a moment.
"What about you?" He asked, concerned. Grimmjow looked strained and uncomfortable. The elven lord shrugged it off.
"I'll be fine, you're the one that's gonna hate me." That didn't sound good. Ichigo bit his lip before wrapping the scarf around his neck. "Okay. So what I'm gonna teach you t'day is how t' withstand a mental attack."
"A mental attack?" Ichigo blinked. He'd never heard of such a thing. "What do you mean?" Grimmjow huffed out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.
"It ain't a common talent, launchin' a mental attack, but everyone can resist. Feralina and Renji can't launch one, but I can, so I'm the only one that can teach you this." Grimmjow said reluctantly. "I don't know if you've got the talent t' launch one, but you might. I'm just teachin' you defense for now, because I know the Dark King can do this." Ichigo swallowed hard at the reminder and nodded. "Okay. First, I'll teach you t'do it meditatin' and we'll work up to when you're not. Ready?"
"Ready." Ichigo closed his eyes and began meditating. Dreamily, he listened to Grimmjow's instructions and pictured blocks in his mind. Grimmjow said bricks, but Ichigo found that painted children's blocks worked better for him. He remembered them clearly from when he was a child, and the surfaces were painted prettily, although chipped and worn down over the years. To his surprise, he realized that many of the blocks had nothing to do with his childhood. One had Yuzu's favorite barrette on it, another block was white with little turquoise beads, and reminded him of Grimmjow's sword… were these blocks made of memories?
Then the wall trembled as something touched it. Ichigo's eyes opened and he looked at Grimmjow. The elf was looking at him with a grim expression and Ichigo gasped as he felt a shove on his mental barrier.
"That's a simple attack. It gets worse, but the only way t' teach you this is t' do it. Sorry Ichigo. If it makes you feel any better, I puked the first time my pappy did this t' me." That didn't make Ichigo feel remotely better as Grimmjow changed his tactics.
The next attack was designed to pry apart his blocks. Delicate tendrils of force tried to squeeze past the narrowest of openings, but Ichigo had built his mental wall well. He had to force the blocks back into position a few times, but it wasn't too hard. Then several attacks happened at once, and Ichigo found his walls beginning to come apart. Snarling, he struggled to keep the blocks in place. A pain was starting to build and he felt a growing pressure on his mind.
"You're not trying to kill me here, are you?" He gasped out. He wasn't meditating anymore, but he still had the wall up. Grimmjow laughed mirthlessly.
"No. If I break in, I won't do nothin' more. But having a mental wall broken hurts like a fucker, sorry Ichigo." Grimmjow's eyes narrowed and Ichigo felt it as he changed his tactics again. Now it felt like a wall of knives was flaying his barrier, trying to chip away at his defenses. "Yer doin' well. I broke on th' last one, the first time I did this."
"Great." Ichigo groaned in pain as he felt his blocks begin to wear away. He couldn't reinforce them quickly enough to deal with the force of Grimmjow's mind. A block suddenly failed completely and Ichigo jolted in pain as he felt an alien presence in his inner world. The fact that it was someone he respected, even loved, didn't matter. It wasn't supposed to be there, not like this, and a primal part of his mind lashed out.
Ichigo was momentarily aware of a strange vision. It was like he was overlooking a great forest, with trees that were larger and more majestic than any he'd ever seen in his life. There was a lake, vibrantly blue, and built on the edge of the lake was a beautiful home that reminded him a little of the manor, but had clearly not been built by human hands. Birds scattered from the trees in alarm and a great panther, which had been drinking from the lake, looked up at him. Ichigo saw her eyes were the exact same shade as Grimmjow's before she fled into the forest.
Then the vision vanished and Ichigo was back in his own body, looking in astonishment at Grimmjow. The elf was bent over, an arm around his stomach as he made small choking sounds. Ichigo's head hurt, but he jumped to his feet and went to Grimmjow, putting an arm around his shoulders as the elf dry heaved.
"Grimmjow, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Ichigo asked, shocked and deeply concerned. Grimmjow shook his head, swallowing hard.
"Shit. Shit. How'd you do that? How?" Grimmjow whispered, looking at him through pupils that were dilated to pinpoints. "Y'came back at me and broke my barrier. Hurts like fuck. Shit…" Ichigo paled and held the elf as he managed to throw up a small amount of water and bile. That seemed to help a bit and Grimmjow groaned, leaning against him. "Shouldn't'a been able t' do that without trainin'. I didn't have much of a barrier up… shit."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, I just lashed out." He felt terrible about it now, although he had a vile headache from the pounding Grimmjow had given him. The elf just shook his head and closed his eyes. Ichigo bit his lip as he realized Grimmjow was shivering. "Here, your scarf…" He tugged it off with one hand and did his best to get it wrapped around the elf. Grimmjow's shivering seemed to ease a little and he looked up, his eyes looking more normal.
"Thanks. Well, I guess we know one thing." Grimmjow said and Ichigo gave him a questioning look. The elf replied with a crooked grin. "You've definitely got th' talent for a good attack. Well done."
"I'd feel better about that if I'd meant to do it!" Ichigo said, relieved to see that Grimmjow was recovering. "Do you have something for this headache?" Now that he wasn't scared to death for the elf, the headache was coming in with a vengeance. Grimmjow laughed before motioning to the box of food he'd brought with him.
"In there. It's a green jar, y'can't miss it." Ichigo quickly rooted through the box, finding that it also had bread, wrapped in cloth to keep it warm. He took out the jar, taking a deep drink and shuddering at the taste. It was absolutely vile, but definitely did help with his pounding head. "Hand it over, I'm dyin' here." Ichigo passed the jar to Grimmjow before tearing into the bread. The elf pounded it back, grimacing. Then Ichigo passed over half the bread and he accepted it with a nod. "Thanks."
"It's nothing." They sat together munching for a moment and Ichigo shivered as the wind touched him again. He tried to fold up the collar of his coat to protect his neck and Grimmjow sighed. "Need t' get you a scarf, Ichigo. Shoulda thought o' that."
"You can't think of everything. Uh, Grimmjow, what I saw… was that your mind?" It seemed strange that Grimmjow's mind would look like a forest. The elf shook his head.
"That was my inner world. You'll learn yours someday, when you connect to your sword, but that's somethin' that can't be forced. You saw the house in my world?" Ichigo nodded and Grimmjow smiled, remembering. "That was the clan house, b'fore the Dark King forced us outta it. Beautiful place. I want t' go back someday."
"I wonder what my inner world will look like." Ichigo said to himself. It was an interesting question. Would it look like his childhood home, like Grimmjow? Or like the manor? He was happy here. Or something else entirely? Grimmjow shrugged, pushing himself to his feet and wavering a bit.
"We'll know when it happens. C'mon, let's go inside, it's cold out here." Ichigo nodded, following Grimmjow as the elf picked up the box and took it inside.
He'd had enough of lessons today.
Ichigo looked around at the strange landscape he was standing in.
It was a forest, but instead of the mix of oaks, maples and other leafy trees he'd seen in Grimmjow's mind, it was full of pines and poplars. The trees were much smaller and scraggly, as if they were growing in thin soil without much nourishment. But they were still full of life, dark branches spreading towards a star spangled sky. It was nighttime here, and a full moon illuminated the forest almost as clearly as daylight. Ichigo bent down and picked up a pinecone, gently bouncing it in his hand. It felt good, rough and real.
"Is this my inner world?" He asked, not expecting an answer. He was surprised when a voice behind him spoke.
"Yes." Ichigo turned and for one wild moment, thought he was looking at Grimmjow. But this elf was a bit shorter, and his hair was cut differently. Instead of Grimmjow's wild hairstyle, his was cut extremely short on the top and almost shaved on the sides and back. The eyes that looked at him were the exact same shade as Grimmjow's, though. "I'm Scargal Jaegerjaquez. But you can call me Scar, kid." Ichigo blinked, his gaze falling to the man's waist and his breath caught in his throat as he saw a familiar black hilt at Scar's waist.
"You can't be… you're Grimmjow's father?" He asked, shocked. The elf nodded.
"Yeah." He huffed out a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know, this is embarrassing. When I was alive I thought messages from beyond the grave were complete bullshit. I mean, the dead are busy being dead, right?" Ichigo honestly didn't know what to say to that, so he just met green blue eyes. Scar didn't have Grimmjow's accent, but he still sounded like his son. "Now here I am giving one. I'm such a fucking failure, sometimes, I swear."
"Why are you giving a message to me? Why not Grimmjow or Feralina?" He asked and Scar laughed, gesturing towards the trees. Ichigo turned his head and felt a jolt of shock as he realized he'd completely missed the dark form standing close by. He was a human man, with pale skin and wild, unkempt brown hair. Ichigo stared at him, surprised that he could have been so close yet not sensed a thing.
"Why else? You have Zangetsu. He's the only reason I can be here at all." Ichigo's eyes widened as he realized he was looking at the spirit of his sword… the same sword that was still at Scar's hip. Looking back at the elf he saw the man giving him a grin that reminded him irresistibly of Grimmjow. "But we need to get down to business. I can't do this forever. The message is simple, and it sucks. You need to go with Grimmjow when the King calls him to court."
"He's going to be called to court?" Ichigo asked, surprised. "I thought he was out of favor." Being called to court was a great honor. Scar sighed, shaking his head at the naivety of the question.
"Who said he was being called to court for a good reason?" Scar paused for a moment, regarding him thoughtfully. "Your father was dead right, you know. Remember what he said?" Ichigo shook his head. He really couldn't recall. "He said that if Grimm protected you, he'd die too. That it doesn't pay to be a good man in this world. He was dead right, but it won't be you that brings my son down. Just being a good man is enough."
"What are you saying?" Ichigo demanded, unable to keep the anxiety out of his voice. "The Dark King is recalling him to punish him?" Scar's laugh was dark and without any real mirth.
"If he's lucky, but I don't think he'll be lucky this time. Zangetsu doesn't think so either. So you have to go. You could die, I won't lie, but my son's life depends on it. Will you do this for me? For him?" Ichigo met those green blue eyes and nodded instantly. Grimmjow had protected him and trained him for years, and he ruled his people well. He would do anything to protect the elf lord. "Good. Now for the hard part." Ichigo blinked. The hard part? "How to convince that stubborn, protective idiot I spawned to take you to court with him."
"Oh!" Ichigo couldn't help but laugh, although Scar was right. Convincing Grimmjow to take him to court would take some doing. "Do you have an idea?"
"I do. Tell him I said he's got to do it, then tell him this." Ichigo listened carefully as Scar told him what to say. "If that doesn't work, tell him I'll come back and tell you all about the first time I caught him masturbating."
"Please don't!" Ichigo said, horrified. He could remember the one time Yuzu had caught him, and it had been a scarring mental experience. Scar grinned wickedly.
"We do what we have to do. Now, go to sleep. This kind of thing ain't restful." Ichigo nodded and drifted away as the image of his internal world began to break up. Although, it did make him wonder. He'd never heard his sword speak.
What would Zangetsu sound like?
It was one month before Ichigo's eighteenth birthday, and the spring thaw was just beginning, when the summons came.
"You should stay here with Ichigo, Fera." Ichigo was listening at the door to Grimmjow's study. The rumors were flying thick among the servants, so he had no doubt at all about what was going on.
"The fuck I will!" Feralina sounded furious and her voice was as loud as ever. "I'm going with you, you dumb bastard! He's going to do something to you, I know it, and you'll damn well need me there!" There was a brief pause before Grimmjow spoke again.
"Yeah, he's gonna do something t' me, and you don't need t' see it. Let me go by myself, Fera. It'll be better for Ichigo too. We need t' look after him." Ichigo couldn't stand it anymore and opened the door to the study, meeting two startled pairs of eyes.
"I'm going with you." He said plainly and Grimmjow scowled as Feralina blinked, looking like she thought she'd misheard. "Your father says I have to." It was going to be hard convincing them, no matter what, so there wasn't much point in beating around the bush. They both looked at him in disbelief before Feralina laughed.
"Ichigo, our pappy's been dead for over two hundred years! Spirits don't stick that long. You musta had one hell of a dream." She said merrily and Ichigo scowled at her. Amusement was not the reaction he'd been hoping for. Then Grimmjow's hands were on his shoulders and he looked into the elf lord's face. He looked pained but also resolved.
"She's right, and it don't matter anyway. I'm not takin' you t' the King's court. One flare and you'd be done for. It ain't right, puttin' you in that kinda danger." Grimmjow said quietly but sincerely and Ichigo felt his face harden in stubbornness. He simply could not let the elf win this argument.
"Your father said you would need convincing, so he told me to tell you he always knew you took his butterfly necklace and lost it in the lake." Ichigo said quietly and saw Grimmjow go rigid in shock. "It was made of topaz and aquamarine, held in gold, and you loved it since you were a baby. You wanted to wear it, but it was a long chain and it came off in the water. He never brought it up because he knew you felt so bad, you were diving into the lake all summer, trying to find it."
"H-How… how…" Grimmjow's voice sounded hoarse and Feralina was looking at him like he'd grown a second head. "How'd you know that? I never even told my best friend 'bout that. Still feel bad about it sometimes… how…?" The hands slipped off his shoulders and Ichigo caught them, giving Grimmjow a gentle squeeze as he met shocked blue green eyes.
"I told you, your father knew. And he said to tell you he wishes he'd told you it was okay. He just didn't want to bring it up, since he knew you felt so bad." Ichigo said softly. "Grimmjow, you have to take me. Your father said you'll need me. You protect everyone, it's time for me to protect you this time." He wasn't entirely sure what he would be able to do, but even through the collar he would make a dangerous and competent bodyguard.
"I – I guess you have to, then." Grimmjow sounded faint and Ichigo was glad he wouldn't have to follow up on Scar's other threat. "Feralina –"
"Shut up, you daft bastard!" Feralina barked, coming out of her shock with anger. "You're not leaving me here when you're taking Ichigo! Not a damned chance! So break out the carriage and get our crap together!" Grimmjow huffed, pulling his hands away as he shook his head.
"No respect. I get no respect around here. Fine, you can both come, and I hope you live." That wasn't much of a surrender, but it would do. Ichigo quickly left to go get his things together.
They would be leaving for the court very soon.