I was kind of bipolar yesterday. It was Friday, school was easy, so that made me happy. But the schedule was all screwed up and we got math homework as we walked out the door that I had no idea how to do, so that brought my mood down. Then, I tried doing it on the car ride back to finish it as soon as possible, but not only do I get carsick when reading in a vehicle, but I also had a headache. And I didn't finish it until after I got home. And then we went and got Chinese for dinner, which we never do because my brother won't eat it, so I was happy again. The day was very up and down. Maybe it's just a girl thing. I mean, I've never seen a boy change emotions as quickly as we girls do. We're just naturally emotionally unstable, aren't we. Ah, that really sucks!
Anyway, here's chapter eleven. Hope you enjoy!
Flowers. They're everywhere. They're all the same, a species I've never seen before. A gentle, silverish light fills the air around them. The entire field shimmers with their glow, the edges of the field fused with the purples, pinks and blues that float in from among the trees that surround the opening. The petals of the flowers are rounded, silver near the center and fading into wide as they spread outwards. Their pistils are as clear as water, only their reflectiveness expressing their presence.
And, amid the wondrous flowers, two people sit mere feet away from me. I recognize the boy laying his head in the girl's lap immediately, but the girl takes me a second to pinpoint. It's that girl from the last dream I had! Does that mean this is also a dream? They're a lot closer to me than last time, allowing me to see their faces much more clearly. She's very beautiful, whoever she is. I'm sure she has many suitors after her.
She holds one of the flowers by the stem, sniffing it and smiling. Then, she begins to pull out its petals one by one and lets them fall atop Tamaki, who laughs. This...is the same girl, right? I still can't recall what all happened the last time I saw her, but I remember being incredibly infuriated. She really doesn't seem all that cruel. The more I look at her, the farther my anger seems to drift. Why had I been so mad at her?
"These are absolutely lovely!" she enthuses, dropping the last petal. It lands perfectly balanced atop Tamaki's nose, staying there peacefully until he blows it off. "I've decided! This is definitely my favorite place! You should stay here instead of that old grass bed you usually use. Then, every time I come see you, I'll get to see these flowers!"
Tamaki smiles up at her, plucking one of the flowers from nearby and placing it in her hair. "We call them moon blossoms, since they're as beautiful as the moon, but neither these blossoms nor the moon can compare to your beauty, Lady Chiyoka."
Oh, so this is her. This is that witch, my ancestor I keep hearing about. Well, Kyoya did say that everyone was in love with her. I wonder, is she truly a Lady? From the way she dresses, she looks to be quite rich. I wonder if her family is one of excellent lineage, or one that's come up from poverty through trade. Does that mean my real mother had as much money? If so, though, why get rid of me? Perhaps was she a mistress, instead of a wife? That would make sense.
"That may be," Chiyoka giggles, "but the moon and the flowers are for everyone. Me-" She leans down, laying a soft kiss on his lips. "-I'm only for you."
"Then why don't you make me your familiar?"
The girl sighs, closing her eyes. "I already told you, being my familiar entails a lot. I don't want to burden you with it. Besides, even if I don't make you my familiar, you'll stay with me forever, won't you?"
"Of course, princess." He reaches up his hand and cups her face, and she leans into it. "Until our very last breaths, we shall be together. If I were to breathe once more after you stop, I would die of loneliness."
"As would I," she smiles, kissing his hand. "I love you, Tamaki."
"I love you, Chiyoka."
I try to look away as the two kiss, but I find my head unable to turn. It's then that I realize I don't really have a form. Well, I do, but I'm faint. My own outline wavers, and I'm paralyzed except for my eyes. Even those, though, I can't close, only look around. But this is a dream, so I don't worry much about it. If this were happening when I was awake, I imagine I'd be flushing bright red.
"Mari?"
Slowly, I crack open my eyes, the remnants of the dream slipping away. All that remains is an instilled sense of peace. The faces, the scene, it all fades until all there is just Haruhi, who's standing in front of me. With me sitting down, she's actually a bit taller than me. "Mm, what is it, Haruhi?"
"Give me back my ribbon!" One of our nine year olds, Sachi, darts past behind Haruhi like a rabbit. The boy she's chasing, Matsuo, speed climbs into the tree next to the one I'm leaning against and waves the yellow ribbon tauntingly.
"Come and get it!"
For a moment, I watch them in amazement. How did their ruckus not wake me up? Then I hoist myself to my feet and ruffle Haruhi's hair.
"I'll take care of it," I tell her, sighing as I walk past. When I reach Sachi, I grab her raised little fists and lower them, glaring up at Matsuo. "You're already eleven, for goodness sake Matsuo! You're one of the oldest kids here, and yet you still act like this! I don't care if you have a crush on Sachi or not, but this isn't the way to go about it!"
"What?" The boy falters, dropping the ribbon. Noticing his mistake, he grabs for it, but it's already fallen out of his reach. It nearly blows away, but I maneuver the heat in the air to get it to float right into my hand. "I-I don't have a crush on her! She's just a kid!"
"So are you," I shoot back, tying Sachi's hair back with the ribbon like she had it this morning. "If he does something like this again, kiss him like this." I peck Sachi on the cheek and she squeals with laughter.
She waves up to Matsuo, grinning. "You heard her! If you're gonna be mean to me, be prepared!" She runs off giggling, leaving Matsuo blushing in the branches. Chuckling to myself, I offer to help him down. He reluctantly agrees and climbs down a few branches before he jumps. Catching him, I spin him around once before setting his feet on the ground.
"Do me a favor and at least wait until you're both teenagers before you collect on that kiss," I tease, straightening his clothes.
He turns his head away defiantly, stepping away from me. "Like I'd ever want to kiss a girl, especially Sachi."
"Well," I continue, grinning down at him, "would you rather kiss a boy?"
"Bleh! I don't wanna kiss anyone ever!" Before I can say anymore, he runs off in the direction Sachi went. I can't help but laugh aloud, resting back against the tree. Even if those two don't marry in the future, there's no doubt in my mind that they'll at least be a couple at some point. It's a strange thing to think about, really. I've known them since they could barely walk, and yet now they're starting to develope feelings in 'that' way. I wonder if this is what it's like for a mother to watch her children grow up and find their spouses. It's such a strange thing.
An abrupt cry snaps me from my thoughts and I take off towards the sound. Rounding the corner of the orphanage, I find Mimi sobbing on the ground. The other three year old, Yuji, is standing by her side looking as if he's about to cry as well. Pon, the youngest of the orphanage, has already begun sniveling. One of the many things I've learned over the years is that for the younger ones, tears are contagious.
Kneeling down, I pick up Mimi and hold her to me. "Hey, now, it's okay. Are you hurt?" Still blubbering, she nods and shows me a nasty scrape on her leg. Just looking at it hurts. "I see. How about we go inside and see if we have anything to put on that? And then we'll wrap it up so you don't get sick. Does that sound good?"
"How about this?" I raise my head, finding Kyoya with yellow leaves in hand.
"I don't think I've seen that before," I note, trying to place the leaves to a plant. "What is it?"
"I brought a few medicines from the forest. These are from a tree called a Dusk. During the last hours of daylight, its brown leaves turn yellow and gain a soothing agent. Here, it's very soft to the touch." He says the last bit to Mimi, holding them out for her to feel. She shrinks back against me, but I reach out.
"Oh, this is amazing!" I exclaim. He lets me take two of the leaves and I bring them to Mimi. "Here, just hold one." After a moment's hesitation, she lets me hand her one of the leaves. Her sobbing quiets as she runs her fingers over the leaf, her eyes going wide with wonder. To keep the other two quiet, I pass them the other leaf. Then I turn back to Kyoya. "So, how do we use it?"
"Rub it over the injury, and it should act as a painkiller."
"Did you hear what he said, Mimi?" I ask, turning her to face him. "Would you let him do that? And then we can get Mother to bandage it."
She nods in consent, her eyes downcast, so I motion for Kyoya to go ahead. Stuffing the rest into a pocket in his long cloak, he gently brushes the remaining leaf across her wound. She whimpers when he first applies pressure, but never afterwards. Not a single tear more falls. Once he stops, I lift her onto her feet.
"Shall we go see Mother now?"
"Come on!" Yuji grabs Mimi's hand with the hand that's free from Pon's. He looks over at me and tries to say that he'll take her, but his words barely come through. His vocabulary isn't very big yet.
I wave them away. "Go on, then. And be more careful next time." Facing Kyoya, I sigh. "I appreciate your help. They get themselves hurt all the time, the little ones especially. I mean, look at Mimi! She's only three and she's already got all those scars on her legs. I'm just thankful she hasn't died of infection yet. She has gotten sick before because of infection. Actually, she was originally left with a sister a year younger than her, but she didn't make it. I think she's under the impression Pon is that little sister she lost."
"Will you ever tell her that she's not?"
"I really don't know," I admit, putting my head in my hands. "Not only would I have to tell her that they're not related, but that her real sister died because we couldn't access proper medical attention. That's not something I want to tell a kid. They're fragile, you know?"
When I look back up, he's staring blatantly. "You're still a child, too, Mari. Sixteen is not an adult. For magic creatures, it's barely an infant."
"Yes, but I'm…" Well I was about to say I'm not magical, but I guess that isn't completely true. It's not difficult for my witch blood to slip my mind. "Maturity isn't all about age, Kyoya. It's more of a mental state that tends to come over the years. Mine just happened to come a bit quicker than most."
I push to my feet too fast, the blood rushing out of my head. Before I fall, Kyoya hastily steps forward to catch me. I cling to his arm for a moment, allowing the dizziness to fade before I release him.
"Maybe I should get a little more sleep," I relent, shaking my head. I can understand why Mother always seems so drained.
"Definitely," he agrees, smirking. "You needed sleep enough to sleep through playtime."
I snicker. "Playtime?" I guess that's an appropriate word. What else do you call it? Then two arms snake around me from behind, one around the waist and the other around the neck. The burnt orange in my peripheral vision gives away the identities of the grabbers.
"You're too close," Kaoru hisses, pressing me back to him.
"Must we keep watch over you constantly?"
I blink. "Huh?"
"We're your familiars," they snap. "Not him."
"Of course. Elves can't be familiars." I glance between the two of them, something surfacing in their liquid gold eyes raising goosebumps on my skin. "What's with you two?"
"How about we visit the river?" Hikaru suggests, lips against my ear. Electricity flashes under my skin and I yank my head away, shocked, but the same feeling sizzles as Kaoru nuzzles my neck.
"Shall we, Mari?"
Three innocent words, and yet they're spoken in a threatening tone that sends an alarm blaring through my head. For a moment, I remember the stories told. The ones about the evil two headed dragon who jealously guarded its home. The legend about the Bloody Beast who burned the village to ashes generations ago for seemingly no reason, killing half of the already minute population. Perhaps...maybe those whispers weren't unfounded.
"Let's...let's go," I assent, gently prying myself from their grasp. "I'll...see you later, Kyoya." The farther we get from Kyoya, the more their tension seems to melt away until they revert into their usual selves, bantering back and forth. By the time we reach the riverbank, they're back to teasing me about what they call my 'parental' behavior. After some time I find myself able to relax again and treat them like normal, but the unease still won't leave the back recesses of my mind.
Their eyes...earlier, they were scorching like angry, gold fires.
None of you guys have mentioned what Mari looks like to you yet. I don't mean to be too pushy, but I really do like hearing how you guys envision her since I leave out physical description. In one of my stories, people viewed the main character, Vierra, the exact same way I did. I thought that was pretty interesting. I mean, what was it about my writing that conveyed her appearance so accurately without ever actually stating her hair color, or her height? Isn't that strange? I'd like to repeat that phenomenon, but I have no idea how I pulled it off. Other times, people have given completely different descriptions. I look forward to seeing how you guys see Mari.
Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!