InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Book One of The Angel Chronicles:Blood Of Innocents ❯ Betrayal ( Chapter 7 )
A/N: We gave up some much-needed sleep for this, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please review!
Betrayal
"All right then, let's get to work now. Let's see, what color shall I put you in? Pink…"
"Ewwwwwww." I winced slightly.
"Very well, then, no pink. Red? No, that color is way too old for you!"
"Why…?"
"Because that's the color you wear for your……just trust me."
About a half an hour of this went on before Arachnie became highly frustrated. Normally, she could place any of her clients in the appropriate color instantly. However, Jena proved to be quite a challenge. None of the ordinary colors worked…..she either looked dead or easy.
"Ma'am…"
"Really, child, what is with you and formality?!"
"What do you mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean! You always call me ma'am, never by my given name…why?!"
"I..I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I…it…it's just a force of habit."
"What do you mean, 'a force of habit'?"
"I was never allowed to address any adult by their full name."
"Dear Gods, child, that's positively barbaric! I won't have it. Child, you will call me by my first name!"
At this, Jena gasped.
"Besides, with all this ma'am-ing going on, you'd think I was an old woman. Anyway, you were saying?"
"Yes, ma….Arachnie. Sesshoumaru…well…The day before I met him, I was desperately lonely…my life had no meaning; till I got that book. I accidentally read aloud a poem and some time later, I woke up to the feel of his soft, warm body beside me. I felt something for him, despite the guardedness of the situation, I felt…whole…for a single moment in time. I was contented, and at peace. And when I woke today, I felt the soft caress of his hand beckoning me back to consciousness; and for the first time in years I wanted to be awake."
Arachnie smiled at Jena, tears brimming in her eyes. "That was beautiful Jena, exquisite….one such as him does not have any right to end up with one as pure as you."
"But, Arachnie, it is the other way around! One as weak as I am does not deserve to love a prince as strong as him."
"Horse shit! A prince or a princess is merely a title. What is it that you love, Jena? I wonder, is it the title or the man?"
"I…neither. I love Sesshoumaru, heart, mind, body, and soul."
"You referred to him as a 'prince', which in essence he is, but….what do you think his princess should wear?"
"Well, a princess would dress in a gown made of moonlight and studded with starlight, with long, elegant, belled sleeves, and long, flowing wings. Her hair should be done up high with a few ringlets cascading down and studded with diamonds, all held in place with a silver sapphire comb."
"Exquisite, Jena! That's a tall order, but I think I can pull it off."
"Huh?? How? You can spin light?!"
"Of course I can spin light! I am a Nymph, after all!"
"A nymph?
"Yes. Think of me as a higher level Youkai."
Jena just stood there, looking shocked as hell. "Okay…"
"But don't mention this to anyone, for it shall only cause trouble; alright?"
Jena nodded, thanking her once again.
"Oh, Jena? On your way out, could you please send that miserable excuse for a toad in, if you happen to see him?"
Jena nodded again as she left the room.
Arachnie/Jaken POV
Jaken opened the door cautiously, seeing as how he had no intention of being hit over the head with any type of object again by these two women. "You asked for me, Mistress?"
"Jaken, what do your senses tell you about Jena…?" Arachnie asked as she went over to an ebony chest.
"She's too timid for her own good, too gentle….and she smells of a magic that I have never encountered before. It's strange, though. The more I stand here and think about it, the more her scent mirrors yours to a certain degree. Why?"
"Listen well, toad, your continued existence may depend on it! Jena and I are one and the same…"
"What do you mean, Arachnie?"
"Silence! She is a Nymph…and she is also my granddaughter. My son, fool that he was, married that bitch of an Ice Nymph, Gallidrell. Against my wishes, mind you! Soon after, Jena was conceived; but back then, Gallidrell hadn't stripped her of her name, *whispers* her most basic dignity; her name was 'Arsheala'. I remember the first, and last, time I held my grandchild in my arms, with my sister by my side. As I looked at the sleeping baby in my arms, an elder from our realm pulled me aside…and told me that the only way for a Nymph to die, is to bare her heart in protection of another. Every grown Nymph knew that that had only been done once: by a Nymph named Netera…" Arachnie started to cry softly as she pulled the dress Jena had described from the chest, along with a pair of translucent wings.
"What's wrong, Arachnie? I've never seen you cry like this….hell, I've never seen you cry, period; and now you reek of despair, so much so that it would seem like someone was killing part of your soul."
"H..Hush, and l..let *sniff* let me finish. Once the attack hit Netera's exposed heart, her powers exploded, killing her attackers instantly. As she fell to her knees, she made one final wish. As the legend has is, her lover was already slain. Dragging her broken body over to his, she made a 'wish from her heart'. She wished for him to live…she traded her life for his. When the man revived and saw Netera dead, he begged the Guardians for help, even though they had none to give. Growing angry and bitter over time, he began to hunt us down one by one. Arshea…Jena…and I, and perhaps the Guardians, are all that is left of our once proud and noble race."
"Wow! But that still doesn't answer the question of why you were crying."
"Jaken…..Jena is starting to fall in love with Sesshoumaru. Does he return her affections?!"
"Yes, I believe so. The night he tried to have dinner with her went horridly, as you know; but what most people don't know is that when she left, he was so upset and confused that he went for a rather long run, he hasn't callously done that in decades. As he sped off, I know I smelt the faintest hint of salt on the air. I was shocked; my Lord was crying!
Upon his return, he was hell bent on marching in and yelling at her for being so, so…..bitchy….however, when he reached her door he was greeted by a servant of the Great Lord. He practically tortured that servant to get her to tell him what had happened. Apparently, his father had performed a very powerful healing spell on Jena. So of course the young Lord, now thoroughly pissed off, hunted down his father. The only thing that saved the old lord was when his son saw how drained he was.
His father told him that her wounds did not show upon her flesh, as they had long since faded; instead, she was bleeding to death from the inside out, and after tonight, had he not sensed her pain, had her own heart not finished her off, her body would have succeeded where her heart had failed.
Realizing exactly what his father was saying, and remembering that it was partially due to his own actions, he went to her side and refused all attempts to separate him from her side. He literally stayed by her side for three days. I know Sesshoumaru has feelings for her, he just doesn't know how to show them." Jaken replied.
"Jena….it has to be soon that they accept each other. An ill wind approaches, and if they tarry much longer they will lose each other forever. And I'm afraid that there is nothing we can do about it."
Jena's POV
Jena was walking down the hall thorough intent on getting some much needed sleep when she noticed the slight whimpers coming from a room just down the hall.
*Poor thing, its…crying.*
Using her weak human senses, she followed the noise down a long hall. It sounded as if someone was hurting it…it sounded absolutely terrified. Finally, she stopped running when she came to a fork in the hallway. One hall was well lit, while the other was dark and smelt of dead air…the sound was echoing and there was no way of knowing for sure which hallway would lead her to the crying voice.
*She had to think…if she chose wrong, then by the time she got there it might very well be to late….*
Closing her eyes, she focused hard on the direction of the voice trying to hear anything that might help her to identify its location. And was promptly rewarded by the sounds of dripping water…
*Hmmm…Water…a leak…where would there be a leak at? Surely not the well lit section…for it would be duly maintained…so that leaves…the other hall.*
*Oh please let me have chosen right.*
And with out another thought, Jena took off as fast as she could towards the sound of the voice till she came to a rather heavy door; she could vaguely hear something…no…someone calling out for help.
"…Who would help you….you miserable brat!"
**Thwak!**
That was the sound of a whip hitting flesh. That sound was sooo familiar that she couldn't possibly have mistaken it. Before I truly had thought my situation through, I threw open the door.
"Leave him alone!!!" I said as I caught the whip, that the bastard was about to bring down upon the trembling form in red, in my hand.
*Red…Oh my…No, INUYASHA!!!!*
I felt the leather tear into my skin as it always did…bringing about waves of pain as my body protested the harsh treatment.
"Who the hell are you!"
"I could ask you the same thing. You bastard!"
"Mind your place, Woman!" he said as he struck me hard across the face. I felt my body fall to the ground, but at the last second I turned to cover the poor child's body with my own. My face was so close to his… that I could see the faintest glimmer of tears in them. I didn't care about the blows as I took my thumb and brushed them from his eyes before I embraced the crying boy.
"Hush now Inu…yasha…I'm here…he won't hurt you any more." I said as I leaned him up against the wall.
*Someone please HELP US!* my mind screamed as I turned to face the baka behind me. He glared at me with a sadistic pleasure in his eyes…apparently he was enjoying beating up on the kid.
"You shouldn't make promises that you can't keep."
"You so sure that I can't keep them.?" I said, my voice as cold as ice.
"You're nothing more than a mere woman…weak and pathetic."
"I may very well be a woman…but I doubt that you could ever break me that easily!"
"Really? I wonder how much more your body can possibly take." I laughed…it sounded icy even to my ears. "A lot more than this…hell, this is merely an annoyance…"
He smiled as he sent a hard kick to my ankle, sending me sprawling to the ground… and Inu defenseless. And as soon as I fell, he began to approach the child.
*oh like hell…you are!* I thought as I covered the child once again with my body.
"J…j..jena…w..w..why are you p..protecting…me?" he asked between heart wrenching sobs as I felt the whip come down once again on me.
"Because you don't deserve this…nobody does…"
"Oh…but he does…"
"Inu listen to me…I want…" "AHA!!" "I want to apologize…for what …what happened in the garden."
He nuzzled me like a puppy would have before two very expressive golden eyes looked up into mine.
"I'm sorry too…Jena…I forgive you… And thank you…for coming."
"Thank her while your still able…Son of InuTaisho. For you'll soon be joining her."
I crumpled to the side; my body couldn't take it any more…*oh gods, Inuyasha, I'm sorry I failed.* I thought as I waited for the whip to strike the poor boy beside me. But it never came as I pulled my self up to find that InuTaisho himself stood there in the door way with a very dead man at his feet, and a scared and relieved Inuyasha clutching onto his leg like a life line. As he knelt next to me, I felt drawn to his eyes, as if I was being sucked in to a massive gold chasm.
"It seems I owe you my gratitude once more child."
"N..no need…sir.. In..Inu..yasha is he…"
"He is fine aside from a few minor cuts and scrapes…but I'm afraid you weren't as fortunate as him."
I smiled…he was okay…what happened to me was of no consequence, when out of nowhere I was tackled by none other than an adrenalin high Inuyasha. This caused me to wince slightly when I heard InuTaisho firmly…Bark?* at his son. In turn Inu gave a soft yip, and clutched onto me even tighter.
"I'm truly sorry but it appears that my pup has attached himself to you…"
I looked at the scared little boy that was cuddled so close beside me that I thought he might disappear. "He's fine where he is for now."
InuTaisho just nodded his understanding.
"Jena, let me see your leg and any other damage that bastard tutor of mine caused."
I had started to sway by now, when a small hand gently began to tug on my robe to get my attention. I turned tired eyes downwards to look at a very cute lil' chibi.
"Yes Inu?" I asked, as my exhaustion crept into my voice.
"Let papa help you…please…It won't hurt or nothing…" he said, his tone gruff, but his eyes soft and pleading. I smiled at him before ruffling his hair and ears.
"Hey! That's no fair…" he said as I closed my eyes and fell asleep right there.
The only other thing that I truly was aware of, was strong hands lifting my body from the ground and placing me on my bed…before I heard the door close a second time as the person left without another word.
Sesshoumaru/Inutaisho
Sesshoumaru and InuTaisho had been called out to Naraku's castle late the night before on a diplomacy errand. They had left Naraku's castle earlier this morning. Neither spoke till they were well out of Naraku's lands.
"Father." Sesshoumaru stated rather quietly.
InuTaisho was hoping that his son never found out about the danger that his little love had been in earlier. For no good would come of that knowledge. He felt strangely protective of that girl…as well as his son…as he mentally sighed…he seriously doubted that the girl would survive long with out her freedom…and he knew that she would surely die of a broken heart with out his son.
"What is it, my son?"
"I…that is…I…I think I'm beginning to fall for her."
Inutaisho's eyes glowed with pride, hoping beyond hope that Sesshoumaru was referring to that little bundle that was keeping herself in the Western Tower, and not one of Naraku's bastard daughters.
"Whom, Sesshoumaru?"
"Jena. I feel strangely while I'm around her. The way she looks at me; such gentleness behind those eyes, gentleness and a mystery."
"That is the beginning of love…but I sense doubt in you; why?"
"She is only a human."
"Really, Sesshoumaru, is that all she is?"
"No."
"I didn't think so."
"Then what do you suggest?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"Go to her tonight, and simply tell her the truth. For if you do, I think, you'll find that she may return your feelings."
"How come I get the feeling that you already know how this will turn out?"
"Don't be an idiot; I have no more an idea of what the future holds than you do." With that, Inutaisho took off towards his castle at top speed, leaving his son to ponder over his new-found emotions.