Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ The First Woman In The World ❯ 7 ( Chapter 7 )

One Thousand Years Ago

“This is a beautiful land,” Eta commented. Crossing ice caps, they had come to a separate landmass, where they had only been once or twice before. The jewel was unlikely to be here, as it had sunk somewhere into Eurasian trade, but Eta like the land anyway. It was still the land of hunter-gatherers; untouched by cities, still full of the natural forests and rivers that Eta had so loved in their village, long ago. Ushi liked it too; unlike Eta, he had never quite adapted to the development of complex civilisation, only affected an adaption and, when possible, paid or intimidated people into dealing with civilisation for him.

As a wise woman that Eta had known long ago had commented, “When the world changes, there are men fighting for and against the change; and in the background, there are women just getting on with things.”

Ushi fought to control. He in fact carried large sums of money now; across the continents were traders and criminals who knew of him, generally by different names, and jumped when he whistled. They didn't exactly work for him, but if he turned up and demanded something, they obeyed. It was control, Eta knew; if Ushi felt like it, he could run through every major city in the continent and stir up trouble and revolt as he went. He could get information from the most powerful houses, from within castles of royalty, even.

And they still couldn't find the damn jewel.

“Ushi, look,” she whispered, pausing as they waded across the bottom of a waterfall. Two children had appeared out of the bushes and had stopped, staring at them.

The taller boy called something. When he repeated it, Eta realized that he was asking “Who are you?” She had learned the language of a tribe living a few days away, and all of the languages on this continent were somewhat related, but they were still distinct and it always took Eta a while to get used to a new one.

“Travellers,” she called, raising her hand in the gesture of “hello” that she had learned from the last tribe. “We need... place to stay. Can you... offer us a night?”

“Sure, sure!” the other little boy laughed. “You're no warriors. You look funny, but I bet the spirit lady will want to meet you!”

“Spirit lady?” Eta asked as they climbed onto the shore, the boys leading them through the forest.

“She's very old,” the taller boy said. “She has special herbs. When she burns them, she sees things in the smoke. She said she saw travellers coming, travellers with hair like sunlight and eyes like the sky!” Eta caught Ushi's eye and chuckled at this description of their colouring, which was indeed odd in this land where everyone had such dark hair and eyes. Their fair skin tended to stand out as well.

“Maybe she'll let you see spirit visions!” the littler boy giggled. “All the girls, when they come of age, try to see visions in the smoke to determine who will be the new wise woman, but none have seen anything yet. Hey, maybe if you see something, you could stay and be a wise woman!”

“I am sure you will not want my wisdom,” Eta laughed.

“Oh, I don't know,” Ushi chuckled. “After all this time, I should think that you'll be one of the wisest women in the world...”

Eta smiled but did not respond.

Most of the village came out to watch as the little boys led them to the wise woman's hut; clearly, they were expected, but it was unknown as to whether they were a threat or not yet.

The spirit lady was a wizened little old lady, as tiny as a child. It struck Eta as an odd paradox as she knelt across the firepit from the old lady; she was the one who looked thousands of years old, not Eta. Ushi also knelt, though he seemed to resent deferring to anyone, especially someone who was technically so much younger than them. Eta, however, felt that the woman was in some way older than them; aside from her looks, she had the calm, knowing air of an elder, while Eta and Ushi were forever bound to ignorant, impetuous youth.

“Young ancients,” the old woman croaked succinctly. “You have traversed the world searching for a lost treasure.”

“Indeed,” Ushi said. “Do you know of it?”

“I know it is that treasure which man covets most,” the old woman mused, “and needs least.”

“Please, spirit woman,” Eta begged. “Do you know where it is?”

“I am sorry, but I cannot,” the old woman said with a slow shake of her head. She was so thin that it seemed that any sudden movement would have caused it to drop off. “It leaves a trail of blood and angry ghosts, which the spirits of nature refuse to follow, especially as it is not their artifice. It is alien. It is wrong.”

“Then there is nothing we need from you,” Ushi huffed, bowing his head respectfully though standing to leave. “Come, Eta.”

“Wait a moment,” the old woman said, reaching for a number of leaves, placing them in tiny canvas bags and handing them to Eta.

“You alone still dream of love and life,” she whispered as Eta leant close, out of Ushi's earshot, reduced slowly over the past nine thousand years. “Should you ever wish to forget of blood and death and begin anew... mix those, and drink them. When it is the only protection you have left... use it.”

“Thank you, elder,” Eta said, an old blessing stirring in her head, and she was quiet for a moment as she translated it into the new tongue. “May you shine forever amongst the stars.”

“It is not only the stars that shine,” the old woman advised as she stood to leave with Ushi.

“Farewell,” Ushi said as they left, but Eta was quiet as she tucked the bags away in her own little bag. Over the millennia, she had become something of a connoisseur for what she widely termed “teas”; teas to calm, teas to heal, teas to bring sleep, teas to paralyze, teas to bring illness, teas to bring death. Ushi only ever seemed interested in the latter ones, but Eta had even taken to making her own, recognizing the properties of certain plants, most fond of making teas to heal different ailments that she never got. Occasionally, whenever Ushi was meeting with “people he knew” and she couldn't be bothered, she experimented with new recipes, especially curious in a combination that might end the suffering of those infected with leprosy; after all, who better to walk among them and heal them than one who could not catch their disease? But Eta knew that these thoughts, like thoughts of her children, could never be anything more than thoughts. She and Ushi walked a path marked by blood and angry ghosts. She could not change that.

Only prevent it from being elongated.

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This was released alongside chapter 68:Magic.

The next chapter will be released alongside chapter 73:Déjà Vu.

Akako and Eta have met, KageNoNeko… if only the former could remember it…

Almost there, Mel72000…. Only nine hundred years to go… XD

Yes, her children still talk to her, Pretztailfan95… Ushi is an arrogant man who thinks himself a god because of Pandora's powers. Eta alone can see the curse in the blessing… and if Aoyama HAS thought of this, either I'm going to demand royalties or, if that fails, fend off the lawyers with a cry of “great minds think alike!” XD

We shall see, A Midsummer Night's Dream…