Author's Notes:
Hello there! Back again with something new. One I have never done before.
This is a historical romance fanfic that will be a slow burn. This was also inspired by reading the manhwa Elixir of the Sun.
I hope you can stick with me because I will be updating this slowly. Due to doing extensive research regarding Edo Japan's history, concepts, clothing, manner of titles, etc., I want to do this correctly.
So please bear with me. Thank You!
Enjoy!
His Concubine: The Kingmaker
Madness.
The cruelty of my everyday life. A disease I was born with and inherited by my mother. There were different types of madness coursed into my lineage. My mother's source of madness was in the form of laughter. Across anything her body and mind went through, she couldn't help herself and laugh. No one questioned her madness because it was in the form of happiness. The council saw her as the cheerful Empress and regarded her as royalty.
That was until I was born. Throughout her pregnancy, my mother laughed. Giggling hysterically through the sickness, the kicks, and the mood swings. When it was time to give birth, she sank her teeth through a cloth and pushed. The groans, moans, sobs, and muffled laughter, the wet nurse was ready to gather me up when I came out.
Seeing my red crying face, my mother wept. For the first time in her life since inheriting her madness, she cried tears of joy. Embracing her firstborn child, the Empress showcased real emotions. The ladies in waiting bore witness to such an event bringing them to tears as well. The Emperor standing outside the door hearing the sobs rushed in despite the refusal of the senior lady in waiting.
The Emperor drew back the curtains to stare at the Empress holding the Crown Prince. The bright orange-haired infant, with pink blush skin, tiny hands, and tiny toes was curled up in her arms. His own eyes welled up as he fell to his knees. Tears of such a great occasion poured down his face. He rejoiced with praise towards his wife for delivering a healthy heir to the throne.
Sadly, after my birth, the joy slowly dwindled down to misery.
Isshin Kurosaki, my father and the Emperor of the land was loved by all. My father was a peaceful man who sought the best possible solution to end each conflict. His family, the councils of the palace, the prestigious families within the province, and his loyal subjects. They all revered him as a great ruler.
Despite such reverence, they questioned his bloodline. Empress Masaki Kurosaki was no longer laughing. She was distributing acts of rage resulting in her hurting her own subjects. To see her husband was unable to control the Empress who had slowly begun to sink in such a state, many suspected if there was a curse. Eyes were on me, the Crown Prince, Ichigo Kurosaki. The child who had broken his once joyful mother after being born.
Their suspicions were correct. The madness was no longer within her, in its place, it was inherited by me. Yet, no one knew it as I grew up. Their focus was on the declining health of my mother. She cried hysterically deep inside her quarters away from prying eyes and ears. Destroying everything in her surrounding grasp at the sight of anyone but her children. Not even the Emperor could calm her down.
Somehow after my thirteenth birthday, I began waking up in the middle of the night with the desire to smell and feel blood. I would try my damnest to lay in bed biting into my pillows so they could swallow my painful cries. It escalated after my sixteenth birthday when my pillows could not accumulate my teeth marks. I instead chose to slice small cuts on the soles of my feet. That way I can smell and feel blood within reach. It was satisfying and durable. But it became unbearable when I reached the age of eighteen. The imposing side of sexual maturity and the need to release erotic urges drained me.
Until I saw her. She was beautiful. She caught my eye when the castle held a banquet in honor of the late emperor, my grandfather. One of the ladies whispered her name and how she was one of the high-priced courtesans (prostitutes). The grace of her walk with the long lavish floral green robe trailing behind and her jet-black hair which sat on top of her head was not out of place as she made her way on stage. Taking her seat in the center, everyone there ceased their small whispers and waited for her to begin. Her voice rang out throughout the banquet hall as the first note was played on the koto.
She had beauty, grace, and talent.
Keigo, my trusted retainer, saw my interest and found a way to get us alone. Sneaking outside the castle into the red-light district I saw her again. No longer in makeup which showed her graceful beauty, instead, she had heavy makeup showing her sex appeal. Her once-pinned hair was now lying straight down her back like a dark stream. What remained was a small mole under her right eye. The cheap silk see-through robe was slightly parted as she pushed it back exposing her creamy thighs. Sitting down behind her koto, her fingers traced the strings before plucking it sending out a resounding note.
With her koto, she sang a seductress song inhibiting my bloodthirst with each note played and lyric sung. I ogled her while letting myself get seduced. Feeling my body growing hot, I pushed off the top of my robe and laid back on the large amounts of pillows. Her soft voice was soothing until it was not. Her fingers halted over the strings, not letting herself finish the song. She moved away from the koto and stood before me. Her hands pulled down the cheap silk robe and let it pool around her dainty feet. Her naked body was pale with small scars littering across areas of her upper arms and thighs.
The off-white cloth obstructing my view of the prize between her legs stayed as she got down to her knees to crawl on top of me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and smiled. Without the soothing tones of the koto or her voice, the madness began pouring into my mind. Closing my eyes, I tried to embrace her seductive kisses on my neck. The feel of her rough callous hand with a history of playing the koto traced my ear and sank into my orange hair. I desperately tried to relax since this was my first time.
However, my hand had found the handle of the dagger I kept sheathed on my waist and it was plunged up her throat into her head. Hearing the gurgling sounds of blood blocking her airway caused me to open my eyes. The previous horniness I had for her disappeared as I watched the blood spill from her lips, down her chin, and onto the top of my arms which still held the dagger.
I could not look away as I watched the life bit by bit drain from her eyes. Reading the different emotions of shock, fear, regret, and finally acceptance through her pupils, I registered each of them into my shadowy mind. For a few minutes after she died, I stood there unmoving. The loud voices of bloodthirst were easily quenched from the violent act. From simply claiming the life of an innocent woman who only expected a night of pleasure with the Crown Prince.
Pulling the dagger out from her throat, I pushed her body to the floor sounding out a loud thud. Keigo hearing the noise, drew the curtains back and frowned at the woman by my feet. Without saying a word, he grabbed my upper robe and pulled it on me. Taking the dagger, he sheathed it and tucked it within his boot. Moving further into the room, he found the oil for the lanterns and began pouring hefty amounts around. He dumped the remaining over the dead woman.
"Let's go," he muttered. With my head held high, I walked out of the room. Keigo grabbed the lit lantern near the curtain and threw it into the room setting it ablaze. We made our way out of the brothel. Once out of sight, we hear women screaming.
"Fire!"
Keigo and I did not turn back as we found our horses tied to a tree. Settling ourselves onto our saddles we made our way back to the castle, never speaking a word of what I had done. That woman was the first and only of the many I have come to massacre with such regret.
Since then, I have spiraled into the darkness that consumed deep inside of me. Many began to fear me as I grew older. The tutors bestowed upon me, the ladies in waiting, the guards, and the concubines to satisfy me through pleasure. They feared me tremendously.
Why?
Because my madness would slaughter them as they slept.
Now at the age of twenty-two, I have taken the lives of twenty-seven individuals. With the help of my trusted retainer Keigo, he had swapped the dead for the living. No matter who was around me, their days were numbered. They knew it and I knew it too.
The first bloodshed still haunted me even within the castle walls. The sounds of string music playing or when the ladies would hum while cleaning the castle, the horrors of that night repeated. The life draining from one's eyes. My father noticed the internal turmoil behind my eyes when women would come to play kotos within the palace gates. I would abruptly stand and fain nausea.
"What did you do?" Isshin questioned.
Wiping the remnants of saliva from my mouth, I turned to find the Emperor behind me. Apparently, he had followed me outside. "What?"
His eyes drifted to the undigested food from my dinner at the banquet before looking back towards me. "You think I don't know what you did in the red-light district four years ago?"
Keigo appeared with a porcelain glass of water but quickly turned around when he spotted me and my father talking. Isshin saw him but ignored the distraction. I glanced straight ahead indifferent to answering him.
"How long have you been suffering?" he asked softly.
My eyes shifted to him. "With what?" I played ignorant.
"The madness?" I turned away refusing to answer. I didn't want to answer him. Telling him the truth would make him reliable within the courts of his councils. Once he learns about my illness and they know about it, it will weaken his power within the hierarchy. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back to face him. "Ichigo, answer me. How long?"
Pulling my arm back I glared at him. "Your Majesty, I would think about your line of questioning if I were you."
"Don't play with me Ichigo," he growled. Pushing me into the wall, his arm pressed against my throat and pinned me so I could not move. "How long?" he whispered harshly.
His right-hand man stood a distance away, but his eyes were on us. Looking at my father, we stared daggers at one another. "Nine years," I finally said in a harsh whisper.
Isshin slowly let me go. The distraught in his eyes made me regret telling him. The agonizing feeling that his firstborn child suffered without him knowing crushed his willingness to ask anything further. He nodded before walking off. His right hand leaving with him.
A few days later, Isshin ordered me to the frontlines of the war taking place further away from the castle. Empress Masaki collapsed from the news, but I took it as a way to dull the growing madness. I smirked at the Emperor and without saying another word, I geared up.
My swordsman Renji was ready with the horses when Keigo and I arrived by the castle gates. No longer imprisoned with the restfulness of cutting my own feet and killing those around me, I wreaked havoc on the battlefield. News of my efforts conquering each battle reached the castle. My father proudly displayed his satisfaction, ceasing any talk of my fragility. I craved war. Anything to sedate the rage within me. Blood on my sword and bodies below my feet. Anything to keep my peace.
Riding on horseback back to the castle after winning another battle, my eyes caught the most beautiful sight known to man. What first drew my attention was her voice. She was singing a heavenly-toned song that was soothing to the soul. Pulling on the reins to halt my steed, my squad did the same and was confused at my abrupt stop.
I whirled my head around to see her still walking down the dirt road. A large bronzed-skinned man followed a few feet behind her as she strolled.
Dismounting my horse, I slowly made my way to her. The man stopped walking to turn around and glance at me. The young woman stopped singing and paused in her strides. I approached the two figures. Her guard folded his arms over his chest and watched me get closer.
She slowly turned around to face me. My eyes widened at the beauty of her face emanating under the moonlight. Her eyes glowed and her pale skin shined reflecting the moon. Her rosy, pink lips parted in a smile showing off perfect white teeth. The white floral kosode (kimono) was off one of her shoulders exposing more of her pale skin a top of her breast. My eyes traced it down to her exposed thigh through the slit showcasing her bare feet which started moving in my direction.
Aware of her movement coming my way, I stood still waiting for her to approach me. The same smile on her face was calm. Standing before me, my eyes traced over every detail emanating it to memory. The thick long auburn hair blowing through the night breeze, the thinness of her eyebrows, the curl of her lashes, her hazel eyes twinkling like stars, her button nose, and her rosy cheeks. Her pink lips parted as it was traced with the muscle of her tongue before she spoke.
"Your Highness," she whispered.
I lost my tongue, unable to respond to her greeting. I could only nod.
Her eyes stared directly into my own as if she was looking for something. Peering into my soul and searching for answers. She frowned as she remained gazing at me. "You're suffering." Her hand moved to cup my face. "How can you become this nation's ruler with such misery?"
I inhaled as her fingers gently stroked my cheek. "What do you mean?"
"They will kill you before you reach the age of succession." She withdrew her hand and stepped back. "You may win each battle out there, but inside those walls, you will lose." I saw her eyes gloss over with tears, but she quickly blinked them away. "Find me when you are ready to face your demons."
"Wait!" I reached for her, but the large man stepped in front of me. He shook his head, stopping me in my tracks. She touched his arm making him take a step back. She made her way back up to me. Her hands reached out for my arms and squeezed them as she tiptoed. Her soft lips pressed against my own. Allowing myself to welcome the warmth and tender touch, I remained still.
Parting, she smiled at me. "They will find me when they see that you truly need me." Releasing her hold on my arms, she turned and began singing again. Unmoving, I watched her walk away. Her guard leisurely followed close behind.
"Hold on! Wait! What is your name?" I asked. She continued singing not turning around. Her guard, however, stopped and looked back at me.
"The council knows who she is…" His eyes narrowed glaring at me. "…because they tried to kill her once before."
To Be Continued…
Author's Notes:
Until Next Time.
Thoughts?