The Nightingale

Chapter 52: From inside 2

Autumn — x492 / November 1

Of the Three Deities that were worshiped in the temples, only the Shadow was the Deity that the soldiers prayed to when they went to war. They prayed to him that their weapons would be stronger and that their strength would be greater; they prayed to him not to fear death on the battlefield, and they prayed to him that if they died in war, the Shadow would take them to the Paradise of the Deities.

However, the truly lucky and "touched" by the Shadow were those who belonged to the blood of Vayalat; the first woman to have that "gift of war".

Nobody knew how Vayalat had managed to have the blessing of the Shadow, but since always, her children, and the children of her children, were given to the Shadow; all so that the gift that lived in them could be used in its entirety.

Over time they found a way for other people to join the Shadow, not like Vayalat did, she was the first and she was unique, but somehow they managed to make the Shadow enhance the natural gifts of people. The soldiers trained by the Karanq, those orphaned children were the ones who, after receiving harsh training, became The Shadows.

They weren't original in naming, but it was the best way to describe them.

Those children who survived the training and who gave their lives to the Shadow were marked with strange tattoos that were usually covered by clothing so as not to reveal their identity.

They were the assassins of the Kingdom; the best of the best because the Shadow made them more than just soldiers.

Ichigo trained with those children, but he received the Shadow in him long before those children, only because he was one of the heirs of Vayalat. He did the same ritual as his mother, his uncles and grandparents; the same ritual that his little sisters did the time they escaped from Visnia and arrived at Vermist without telling their father, just because taking a trip without permission was fun.

Renji and Uryu had gone through the ritual that orphaned children did and, like the soldiers Ichigo had personally trained, they were marked by the Shadow. The Shadow loved war and blood, and everyone associated with the Shadow had killed, at least once in their lives.

Ichigo didn't want Rukia to join the Shadow, even though he knew the ritual to do so, he didn't want to. Rukia was his light and he didn't want to contaminate her like that, but she had insisted on more than one occasion, and even though he had explained it to her in every possible way, she didn't go back on her decision, so he had to give in.

The chant he did while Rukia was looking at the Shadow in the mirror, was the ritual of couples; the one that was done when a couple really wanted to join through the Shadow. Although the ritual made them belong to each other, Rukia would have to serve the Shadow.

Ichigo watched Rukia sleep in his arms, it was still very early in the morning and she must have been exhausted. He gently caressed her cheeks and felt her stir in his arms, settling better between them, making him smile.

He had been the first to see the tattoo that had formed on Rukia's skin, and contrary to what happened with the other tattoos of those who joined the Shadow, Rukia's tattoo was perfectly defined. Ichigo figured when he fully mastered the ankh and his tattoo defined itself, as they were bound by the Shadow's blessing, his tattoo would have to be something similar to Rukia's.

He gently caressed Rukia's cheeks and placed a soft kiss on her nose; Rukia didn't wake up and that made him smile again. He was surprised that Rukia felt so comfortable in his arms, the placid way she slept next to him made him feel happy and lucky.

Rukia had told him once that she could only sleep soundly next to him, and that the nights they spent apart were exhausting nights. Ichigo felt the same as her; the only nights he could sleep soundly was when he slept in Rukia's arms.

She gave him so much security that he could only respond in the same way: giving her security.

One of the servants knocked softly on the door and entered the room without making more noise than the noise of his clothes walking; he cleared his throat, and bowed to Ichigo.

— His Highness, His Majesty the King, requests your presence in the private office. — The servant explained.

Ichigo, who hadn't taken his eyes off Rukia, made a gesture with his hand to indicate that he had heard him, and carefully got up from the bed, covering Rukia with the sheet so she wouldn't feel cold.

— Prepare my clothes and bring us breakfast. — Ichigo ordered looking at the servant.

Moments later, everything Ichigo needed was in his room.

He ushered the servant out of the room and quietly began to dress.

Ichigo knew that, on that day, the matter with Rukia's family would be finished, and he must have a clear mind for everything that was going to happen. Koga was in the castle and, according to the report the soldier had given him the night before, he hadn't arrived alone. Ichigo didn't like that at all, because surely Koga was going to do everything possible to protect his own sister and her little son.

Koga was as sly as Kaien, and although they were friends, in matters of state, things should be treated with care.

Ichigo kissed Rukia's cheek, who only stirred a little under the sheets muttering in her sleep, and left the room towards the king's office. He was the Second Prince, the one in charge of wars and soldiers, and he had the impression that the king was considering something involving bloodshed if the first thing he did was call him in the morning.

—

All night, Rukia dreamed of the woman in the mirror, the way that woman looked at her and made her wish she was like her. It was a dream and a memory, because while Ichigo performed that ritual, Rukia hadn't stopped wishing to be like that woman; she was the kind of woman she must be if she wanted to, one day be the queen.

Although that day seemed very far away, it was something that she wanted a little more each time. She liked the life she had at that moment, she liked having possibilities and she liked that Ichigo was always by her side; she also liked that they both shared common goals no matter what destiny they chose.

Upon waking up, Rukia realized that Ichigo was not in bed with her. She quickly looked around the room and found that she was alone, there was no trace of Ichigo in the room and Rukia let out a sigh.

Of the two, Ichigo was always the one with the most work to do.

Her body felt heavy, as if she hadn't rested all night or run a marathon, but she knew it was from having performed the ritual the night before. Rukia didn't expect it to really hurt that much; Ichigo had told her that it would be painful, but she had only thought he was telling her because he wanted to scare her.

Evidently she was wrong and her plans to seduce him after finishing the ritual had to be postponed because she immediately fell asleep after Ichigo helped her take off her dress and shoes.

Rukia got up from the bed and stretched her arms, she heard how her back thundered a couple of times and she shook her head a little trying to finish chasing away sleep and tiredness. She put one of her hands to her ribs, where the Shadow had made that tattoo, and was surprised to feel no pain; Rukia had thought it would hurt or something, but everything was as normal as ever.

The curiosity to see that tattoo was strong, but at the same time, Rukia was afraid that the tattoo would not be to her liking. Ichigo had told her that the tattoos were shapeless and possibly just a couple of black lines that would mark her skin.

Rukia could deal with a couple of black lines, as long as they looked good on her skin, she could live with it; though internally she hoped it wasn't just two simple black lines.

When she felt that the exhaustion had completely faded, Rukia went to the full length mirror that Ichigo had in his room and lifted her nightgown. She closed her eyes for a moment, afraid of seeing only two black lines, and didn't open them until she felt brave enough to face what would be marked on her skin until her death and beyond.

She took a deep breath and focused her gaze on her reflection.

There it was, her contract with the Shadow etched into her skin.

For a moment, Rukia didn't understand what it was, although it was actually easier to understand than the big tattoo on Ichigo's back and it was prettier. She didn't stop looking at that drawing until her brain managed to make a connection and at that moment she smiled.

They weren't just two black stripes, and that made her heart pound with excitement, causing that unfounded fear to evaporate with the sigh she let out at that moment.

The tattoo was a crescent moon on top of a flower, whose petals were outlined one by one and seemed to move with each breath she took giving her a sense of life. It was simply beautiful, although she did not know what kind of flower it was and that made her curious; surely it was not a common flower, however that made her happy.

Her mother had always said that she had a good hand with plants, and that shadow was a flower, she found it curious and funny.

This chapter is shorter than usual, I had several issues to attend to in these two weeks, so I couldn't write much. I apologize for the delay in the update.

Next Friday I will upload the next chapter.

Thanks to everyone who reads and comments. I will answer the reviews this week.