Chapter 29: Fireflies

Iris's eyes flickered open, and she sat up as she felt weakness alleviate from her body. She breathed in, and clean air, mixed with what little smoke remained from the medicinal candles, filled her lungs, restoring her strength with each intake. Cautiously, making sure not to wake up Waka, who was sitting next to her bed again, Iris stood, savoring the feeling of strength as her legs supported her body without shaking. She lifted her sword and sheath from the side of the bed and strapped it on, and glanced at Waka one more time before stepping away.

Nice work, Ammy, Iris thought, you did it! Iris smiled as she walked to the door, and stepped into the warm air of the spring night, looking around the Aristocratic quarter. Stars shimmered as a half-moon hung, light-yellow in the midnight sky, and as Iris lowered her gaze to the gardens, she saw lights as bright as the stars hovering around the houses and small palaces – fireflies.

…Fireflies! Iris felt a tingle of glee spread through her body. I've never seen so many before! One of the orbs of pale white light floated towards the Queen's Palace, and Iris quickly walked through the outside hall and down the steps. As the firefly got closer, Iris held her hand out to it, and it settled in her palm, the soft light making her skin tingle.

Wait… Iris pulled her hand close to her face, and frowned. It was very small, yes, and very bright, but it didn't seem to have a body. This… isn't a firefly… The orb of light quivered in her hand, and flew around her head before hovering in front of her.

"Are you…" Iris whispered as her mind raced, trying to piece together an explanation, "a… a spirit?" The orb brightened for a moment in what she took as a "yes." Around her, the other orbs floated towards windows, almost like they were gazing at whoever slept within… The spirits of people who fell to Ninetails, a voice that was and wasn't Iris's whispered in her mind. Follow me. The spirit suddenly flew straight ahead, out of the palace. "Hey," Iris whispered as she took off after it, "don't leave me behind!"

Silence hung in the night as Iris followed the spirit through the gardens, crossing the small bridges over the canal and maneuvering around large rocks jutting from the ground.

Who are you? Iris thought as the orb slowed down. Where are you taking me?

To the truth, the voice responded, about what happened to your past life.

You knew Lady Ayame?

The spirit didn't answer as it approached the door of a particularly quiet, tall house. Iris stopped in front of it, and hesitated before pushing the door open and stepping into the empty room.

This was where the family called home, before the plaguing mist killed them all, the voice sounded, while they mourned for the death of their precious girl. This way. Iris followed the orb up a flight of stairs, then another, until she reached the top floor. This room is Ayame's.

"Feels like death…" Iris whispered, stepping in as the orb illuminated the room. Poems written on rolls of parchment and paintings hung from the ceiling, and a large portrait of the family stood above the head of the mat on the floor. Iris could see bits of light coming from downstairs – more spirits, floating about.

Here, the spirit whispered, under the pillow. Iris knelt down next to the mat, and slowly lifted the plush, silky pillow to the side. A stack of parchment pieces stuck out from between the mattress and the bed sheet, and Iris pulled them out.

"A makeshift journal…" Iris flipped through the pages, until she reached the last entry. "Dear journal, words cannot describe how excited and nervous I am for the wedding tomorrow. I hope that my bridegroom will be kind to me, and I pray I will be able to be a good wife. My anxiety has kept me awake, so I'm waiting for my new maid – a gift from my betrothed – to bring me some tea. It's so strange – she just showed up at the door this morning unannounced, and has been right behind me ever since, asking questions about that fellow who keeps showing up – I think his name is Waka – telling my parents something about that old legend of Ninetails. It's just a story, isn't it? Oh, my maid is coming with the tea now. Tomorrow is the day!" Iris set the papers down, frowning. "Waka was right…" she looked at the light. "Ayame didn't kill herself."

One of Ninetails's servants did, the orb responded, and as long as they run rampant, we are bound here, slowly being drained by evil. The stairs started creaking.

"What's that?" A shadow, large and menacing, was cast on the wall outside of the room.

I'm sorry, the orb responded, I cannot stop it.

The one-eyed fox that was larger than Iris lunged at her, and Iris pulled her sword out. She stepped away from its path at the last second, and it hit the wall. The demon turned to face her as she brought the sword down between its shoulder blades. It hissed in pain, and lunged again, sinking its teeth into her upper arm. The fabric of the robe didn't give, and Iris pulled herself free, cutting it again in the leg, then between the shoulder blades next to the first wound. She sidestepped as it lunged, and drove Poet's Wrath into the monster's neck. The fox froze as Iris pulled the blade out, and fell to the ground, dissolving into a cloud of black and purple smoke as it hit the ground.

"That thing…" Iris stared. "That thing disguised itself as a maid, and snuck into Ayame's family… and killed her…" She looked at the Queen's Palace from the window. "Ninetails is already a step ahead." She re-sheathed her blade. We may already be too late.