InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Moving Pictures ❯ Moving Picture ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any character created by Rumiko Takahashi.

 

Chapter 10 - Moving Picture

 

Sesshomaru surveyed the audience chamber with expressionless eyes, satisfied that order to his household to assemble quickly had been followed. The only people missing were the members of the greeting party he had sent out to meet the Southern Lord and Kato, who he did not expect to reach the mansion for another couple of days. Children did not attend these audiences, so Rin was absent.

 

The door leading to the private wing of the mansion opened and Aoi, sweating and furious, hurried through, closely followed by the cat. His eyes lit with approval; she finally looked like a proper female. Now if only she could keep her mouth shut…

 

Aoi had her sit off to the side and near the wall on several soft cushions, thrusting a painted fan into her hands. At her blank look, Aoi snatched up the fan, opened it, then gave it back to her, lifting the cat's hands and the fan to partially cover her face. Aoi said something Sesshomaru couldn't hear, but it earned her a scowl from the cat before she took her place among the servant women.

 

Several members of the household gave the cat curious looks, surreptitiously glancing to him and then back to her. With a start, he'd realized what he'd done: by assigning her to the women's quarters, he'd all but announced her as his concubine. It hadn't been his intention; it had been the quickest solution to the problem. He hadn't wanted to leave her behind with Kato; the scout had a brutal reputation for his treatment of women and the only reason Sesshomaru kept him around was because he was very good at his job. He also didn't want to leave her to hook up with that monk, not that she'd seemed interested in him. As much as he rationalized it, the truth was that he didn't want to leave her, period, which left him with the problem: what to do with her? At least the current arrangement would silence his generals who had been after him to take a concubine or mate and produce an heir. Stealing another glance at her, he wondered if the arrangement might have its merits after all.

 

He pushed her out of his mind and signaled to a footman to sound the gong, the signal that the audience had started.

 

Charlotte scooted backward until she felt the wall against her back. The meeting had drug by for the last half hour with no end in sight. She'd never liked meetings, even when they applied to her, and was ready to tune this one out. Now thankful for the fan, she leaned on the wall and brought the fan up to her eyes so that she could scan the room without drawing undue attention to herself. Well, no more than she already was. She'd intercepted many interested looks since Aoi sat her here by herself, which was another thing that bothered her: why was she sitting alone when everyone else, except for Sesshomaru himself, was sitting or standing in groups?

 

There were two other doors at the other end of the audience chamber: a large double-door at the back and a small door on the wall opposite her, close to the back. The smaller door looked like it might lead to the servants' area of the mansion. Charlotte doubted that she could get through the large door without alerting the guards and she didn't want to risk getting caught by the servants, if Aoi was indicative of the servants' attitudes. She would have to find another way out.

 

The meeting dragged on and Charlotte found herself nodding. The second time her head snapped up, jerking her out of a doze, she brought a knee up to her chest and propped her arm on it so that her face would be entirely hidden by the fan. Satisfied that she could nap with none the wiser, she leaned her head against the wall and let her eyes slip closed.

 

“Excuse us for boring you,” Aoi snapped, sarcasm dripping from her tongue. Charlotte jolted awake and blinked up at the female demon who had her hands planted on her hips.

 

Rising to her feet slowly and with dignity, she glared haughtily down at the demon. “You're forgiven, I'm sure,” she drawled, her tone icy and condescending. Aoi's eyes flashed but she held her tongue, spinning on her heel and stalking back to the door to the private wing of the mansion. Pausing on the threshold, she turned again, waiting for Charlotte to catch up with her.

 

Charlotte took her time sauntering up to the door, perversely enjoying the little cat-and-mouse game they were playing. The smaller demon muttered something rude under her breath as Charlotte passed through the door way and she stopped, fixing the crow youkai with a sharp stare, smiling without humor. “Back off, bitch.”

 

Aoi dropped her eyes first and hustled forward, leading her back to her rooms. Wrenching the door open, she stomped over to the oil lamps and lit one as she waited for Charlotte to enter, refusing to make eye contact. As soon as she possibly could, she left, slamming the door behind her and locking it with a clunk of the mechanism.

 

`Shit,' Charlotte regarded the heavy wooden door and frowned. `Maybe I should have tried to make friends instead of intentionally provoking her.' She dropped the fan on one of the low table and kicked off her shoes, followed by the socks. Flopping down on the cushions, she sighed loudly. As much as she liked her space and privacy, she missed Rin's enthusiastic chatter and questions. She missed Sesshomaru's calm presence, seeming to watch everything and nothing at the same time. Even a Jaken rant would be preferable to Aoi or this pervasive silence.

 

Holding a silk pillow to her chest, she wandered over to the tall door that led to the balcony, unlatching it and letting in the night air. The chill wind caught her hair and blew it around her face but she ignored it, staring into the deep darkness. Leaning against the balcony railing, she was struck by the silent sky, the thick blackness of the land, and the sheer number of stars overhead. `LA is never truly quiet. The light never fades…' She closed her eyes, wishing for just one siren to blare by, but none were forthcoming.

 

A soft knock on the door was followed by a drab, brown head. “Lady?”

 

“Yeah?” Charlotte called from the balcony.

 

A timid female entered the room, eyes as non-descript brown as her hair and kimono. “Your dinner is ready?”

 

With a last glance over her shoulder at the empty night, she left the balcony. “Oh yeah?” She watched the slender creature lay out a meal on one of the low tables. She didn't recognize any of the dishes but the aroma was enough to make her mouth water. “What about Rin and…”

 

The mouse youkai twitched her nose, waiting for her to finish. When it was apparent that she wasn't going to, the little demon bowed quickly. “Lady Rin dines with the other children of the household. Normally, you would be with the other […]” she repeated the word used by Aoi and Charlotte's eyes narrowed.

 

“But I'm the only one?” she asked, guessing that the empty rooms adjoining hers would house other women. `Hadn't Sesshomaru called them the “women's quarters”? What kind of women, I wonder?' Charlotte bowed back, “Thank you…what was your name?”

 

“Shoko, lady.”

 

“Thank you, Shoko.” The mouse youkai bowed again and scurried out the door, closing it quietly behind her. Listening carefully, Charlotte did not hear the lock being set. Smiling in relief, Charlotte pulled a scroll from the shelf and carried it over to the table, seating herself cross-legged on the cushions and slipping on her glasses, her pulled-up hair holding the ear hooks in place. She ate and read, taking comfort from the familiar actions; when eating alone, she always read, watched television, or worked.

 

Lost in the fairytales written on the scroll, Charlotte hardly noticed Shoko's quiet knock sometime later. Giving her a nod of thanks as Shoko entered and cleaned up, she continued to read. A new light, shining brightly through the balcony door, finally drew her attention from the scroll. `It must be close to midnight…I'll just finish this story and then I'll go exploring,' she promised herself, making herself more comfortable on the cushions.

 

XxxxxxxxxxX

 

Sesshomaru re-read the same paragraph for the forth time, then dropped the scroll on the desk in disgust. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't concentrate on the reports and financials that had collected during his absence. Pushing to his feet, he paced his rooms restlessly, trying to burn off the energy that prevented him from sitting still. He preferred patrolling his lands to doing paperwork, anyway. The only reason his tour had been cut short in the first place was the unexpected visit from Lord of the Southern Lands.

 

He grunted in irritation: the Southern Lord was not particularly welcome. Devious and greedy, he could not be trusted. Sesshomaru had no illusions that this was merely a social call. Lord Yukio always had a self-serving agenda and wouldn't let honor get in the way of completing it.

 

The scent of sagebrush wafted into the room through the open balcony door and he paused his pacing, flaring his nostrils and breathing in deeply. Following the scent to the balcony, he stepped outside and looked to the right. Several rooms down, her light shone through the open balcony doors, the only other bright light in the dark night. `Fitting,' he thought, `for such an unusual creature.'

 

Running a hand through his Mokomoko-sama, he noticed with a strange sense of regret that the scent of catnip had faded. She'd been so wild, passionate, nothing like a properly raised noblewoman. Would she be the same without the plant's influence? She'd been more than willing the other day….

 

Without thinking, he dissolved into his energy form and flew over to her balcony, reforming in the puddle of light cast by a single oil lamp. Peering into her rooms, he didn't see her at first. A corner of violet caught his eye and he approached the low dining table. Still fully dressed, she was curled up on the cushions, her glasses smashed against her face and a scroll held limply in one hand. The thought of waking her crossed his mind and he knelt down, brushing his knuckles lightly against her cheek. She stirred slightly, but didn't rouse, nestling deeper into the cushions, the corners of her lips turning up in a small smile. With a whisper of a sigh, he gently pulled the glasses from her face and set them on the table. She was in his house and under his power but something stayed his hand. Rising to his feet, he left the room as silently as he came.

 

XxxxxxxxxxX

 

Charlotte woke to a hard rapping on her door and the pale light of dawn illuminating the sitting room. Groaning, she sat up, rolling the scroll closed and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Aoi finally entered carrying a bowl and silky blue robe, smirking down at Charlotte with a smug air. “Sleep alone last night? Some […] you are,” she sneered as she tossed the robe over one of the clothes racks.

 

A knot clenched in her stomach: Charlotte thought that she could guess what that word was now. So he'd set her up as his concubine, had he? But hadn't taken what these servants obviously saw as his right. She gave the crow youkai an arch look as she set the bowl down on the table, hiding her trepidation. “I don't see how that is any of your business,” she said, infusing her voice with as much disdain as she could muster.

 

Aoi snorted, her eye twitching in annoyance. “I will be here in fifteen minutes to take you to the bathhouse. See that you're ready.”

 

`I have to get out of here,' she thought as she picked at her breakfast without an appetite. `I'm no one's property.'

 

`What bothers you more: that they think you're a concubine or that they think you're a failed concubine?' her youkai spoke up.

 

`I'm not answering that,' she growled back. `What kind of a question is that, anyway?'

 

She had changed into the robe by the time her door swung open again. Before the rude demoness could speak, Charlotte brushed by her. Aoi slammed the door and huffed down the hall, not bothering to make sure Charlotte was following. `I could use this…' she thought, a plan forming in her mind. She might not have to sneak out, just use her attitude against her.

 

The bath was better than she imagined. In a smallish room paneled in fragrant wood, it was larger than a Jacuzzi and steamy hot. Within reach of the square tub were an empty bucket, a bucket of rinsing water and a small shelf with vials of oils and herbs.

 

Once again alone, Charlotte stripped and sank into the water, sighing in pleasure. Flattening her ears to her head and closing her eyes, she slid under the surface of the water, letting the warmth soothe her muscles and wash away her tension. She stayed under the water until she had to come up for air, wiping water from her face. `This is heaven,' she smiled, finding a bench built into the tub and settling there, the water covering her breasts. Leaning her head against the wall of the bath, she drew her knees up to her chest and let her mind drift.

 

“Excuse me?” Shoko peeked into the bathhouse. “Are you ready to have your hair washed?”

 

“I'm sure I can manage…” Charlotte protested as the mouse youkai scampered around the bath and began fiddling with the herbs and oils.

 

Shoko tsked and gestured for her to come closer. “The Southern Lord is arriving today,” she reminded her, as if that explained everything. Rolling her eyes but scooting down the bench, she leaned her head back over the edge of the bath, allowing the demon scrub the stuff into her hair. She hissed with shock as cooler water was poured over her hair, rinsing the herbs from her hair and into the bucket below.

 

“I'm sorry, lady!” Shoko almost dropped the bucket in fear.

 

Charlotte smiled at her reassuringly. “Don't worry! I just wasn't expecting it!” The demoness twitched her nose hesitantly, and then resumed rinsing until the clean water was finished. Pulling both buckets aside, she gathered the robe from the rack and opened it. Charlotte took that as her cue to leave the bath and did so, reluctantly. “Shoko, what's expected of me?” she asked suddenly as the servant demon slipped the robe over her shoulders.

 

Brow furrowing, Shoko looked at her askance. “You are here for the Lord's pleasure.”

 

“Of course,” Charlotte mumbled, apprehension twisting in her gut at the feeling of being at another's mercy.

 

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

 

If possible, the audience chamber was even more crowded than before: even the children were present. Charlotte had caught sight of Rin and had given her a little wave. Grinning and waving back, Rin had taken a seat with the other children, all youkai. Charlotte was seated in the same spot as before but she sat properly with her lower legs tucked under her and her back straight, her face partially covered by the fan.

 

Having nothing better to do, she'd spent hours on her appearance, primping, pin curling, powdering, and painting until she had accentuated her best features to their advantage. With combs and clips, she'd pulled her hair away from her face in waves to cascade down her back in soft, golden ringlets. Her kimonos were in blues and aqua, complemented with a pale green sash. Sesshomaru had noticed her efforts. She'd felt his gaze on her more than once but he had been looking away each time she'd glanced over at him.

 

At ringing of the gong, the talking ceased and a hush fell over the hall. The large double doors swung open and Yukio, Lord of the Southern lands, strode in followed by a small retinue of samurai and four servants, each carrying the corner of a large covered platform. The Lord was beautiful: hot where Sesshomaru was cold. His long red hair, gathered into a high ponytail, seemed to flicker with flames and his red eyes smoldered as he glanced around him, quickly taking in the chamber and it's occupants. Charlotte felt his eyes pass over her and met them, shivering in the intense heat.

 

The lord came to a halt several yards from the raised dais on which Sesshomaru sat, the servants lowering their burden to the floor and standing at attention. Long, formal introductions and pleasantries were exchanged, culminating in a presentation of gifts. With a flourish, the Southern lord gestured for his servants to remove the drape from the platform.

 

One after the other, the servants unpacked the platform, displayed the object to Sesshomaru with a low bow, and set the object to the side near the dais. Carved jade vases, a jeweled dagger and several bolts of fine silk were presented before Charlotte saw the painting.

 

She froze and smothered a gasp, eyes wide and nerves taught as wire. It was the right size, the right colors… she couldn't quite see the picture but she knew in her bones that it was identical to the painting on her living room floor. `I have to find out where they keep this stuff…Shoko will know, I hope.'

 

The lord was trying to catch her eye again and she obliged him with a quick smile. He might be useful for getting close to the gift if Shoko couldn't come through for her. She completely missed Sesshomaru's eyes narrowing as he glanced at Lord Yukio.