Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ My Naga Knight ❯ Chapter 12

Author's Notes: Sorry, sorry that I am behind. I have been behind everywhere though following my own schedule. If you want to know what that schedule is, check out the new link in my FF profile called Jin's Love. It will keep up with what I am doing and when I plan on completing what.

 

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The sun of Eytheria rose over the mountainside, giving light to the once darkened world. Sadly, its rays could only reach so far through the relentless, bellowing storm, which continued through to the morning. Raindrops steadily pounding upon the Eytheria Market square, it warned people of the dreary condition outside of their home. The curtains, which covered Lily's windows, moved for her housecat so he could perch there on the windowsill.

 

Lily rubbed the sleep from her eyes before getting to her feet with a weary yawn. “I guess the storm is still continuing,” she said softly to herself, remembering that Neda was still within her house. Making her way over towards the other bed, which comforted the young farm girl, Lily placed her hand upon Neda's forehead to feel of her temperature. “Her fever has gone down. That is a relief.”

 

She opened her nightstand drawer to pull out another, fresh candle to light, to keep the darkness, which the storm brought, out of her house. Striking a match carefully, she felt her way to the candle once more to allow the flame to embrace the white, thick candle's wick. She waved out the flame on the match she held, feeling her way over to the kitchen, so she could make breakfast for the morning.

 

The feel of a candle's warmth caressing Neda's face slightly roused the girl from her slumber. Her fingers moving slightly next to the pillow, she moaned whilst blinking her eyes open to the foreign home she was within. “What…where am I…?” Neda asked aloud as she pushed herself upwards in bed.

 

Lily caught Neda's words, gazing over in the direction of the farm child's voice. “It is good to hear you are awake.”

 

Neda looked over at the woman with a slight jerk of her head, shocked to see that a blind woman was responsible for finding her. “Who are you…? What am I doing here?”

 

Leaving the eggs to cook, she rubbed her hands on her apron she had recently put on. “My name is Lily, and you are here because you were crazy enough to walk out in that storm, which is still occurring outside.” Blowing a loose strand of her hair out of her face, she continued. “How do you feel? Are you feeling any better?”

 

Lily's hand resting on the young girl's shoulder, Neda slightly receded from the woman's touch. “I'm fine just a little tired and hungry. How did you find me?”

 

“I can hear you are doubtful that I did with me being blind, right?” Lily inquired, retracting her hand from Neda's skin. She turned back to the eggs and soup she was making in the kitchen just a few steps away from the beds. “Honestly, I didn't. It was a young man your mother asked to watch over you and your sister.”

 

Hearing of the men she thought she would never hear from again, Neda inhaled sharply, leaning forward in bed. “He fallowed me here?”

 

“He did,” Lily responded, sipping the soup cautiously.

 

“What is his name? I was never told who he was,” Neda asked, her hands gripping tightly onto the covers about her.

 

“His name is Jin, and he and his friend have come to me a few times,” Lily explained, stirring the soup and messing with the eggs at the same time. “He apologizes for his lack of appearance, but he has his reasons. He is currently taking care of a woman he was arranged with, so Jin may not appear much, but he promised he would try.”

 

Neda merely scoffed at the sound of someone else in love. “It seems that is all it takes to leave me out in the cold lately with my parents gone.”

 

“What do you mean?” Lily asked, flipping the eggs cautiously.

 

Lily's cat hopped down from the windowsill he was perched upon and bound across the room to the bedcovers covering Neda. Looking at Tabby, Neda tapped her fingers on the covers to get the cat's attention and coax it closer to her arms, so she could pet it. “My oldest sister is already spending most of her time with this knight, who offered to help us…and that is nice, I guess,” she said unenthusiastically, scooping up Tabby once he got close enough.

 

The eggs and soup finished, Lily pulled them from the stove. “You sound so sad for the help, which is blessed to you and your sister from the Great Lady above.” Pouring the soup into the bowels she had nearby, she helped the eggs and bread onto the plates she had to spare. Lily balanced the plates perfectly on her palms as she made it over to the dinning table. “It is best not to be ungrateful for what the Great Phoenix has to offer you.” Pulling out the chair opposite to the one she would be sitting in, Lily nodded in Neda's direction with her filmed eyes looking beyond the farm girl. “Now come, sit and let us eat.”

 

Neda kissed Tabby before placing the cat off to the side, so she could join Lily at the table. “Thank you,” she slightly mumbled in thanks. Breaking her bread on her plate, she dipped some of it in her soup with a soft sigh at Lily's words. “I know with our mom and dad gone, I should be grateful for what we have, but it is so hard to be when your parents were taken from you unfairly.”

 

“Nothing is ever fair when it comes to this world,” Lily bluntly put as she ate her eggs slowly. “I don't think it was fair when my father died when I was in my mid-twenties, do you?”

 

Neda fidgeting lightly with her fork while biting at her lower lip.

 

Regardless of the uneasiness Lily could feel, she continued. “I don't think it was fair that my husband left me for another woman when I gave him my all, do you? When the Great Phoenix took away my sight, do you think that was fair?” She put down her silverware before reaching for Neda's hand across the table without a problem, as if knowing where it was. “We all have had unfair situations handed to us on this plain; all on different levels, but it is not right to make us demand sympathy from others for the biggest unfairness handed to us.” She sighed somberly with a shake of her messy, curly hair. “I am sorry for your loss, and you have my sympathy, but it is best to take those words and work for a better life with the sister you were blessed to keep.”

 

Offering a brief smile at Lily's words, she took back her hand with a nod to herself. “Thanks…I guess you're right. I just wish that Jin person would help us out instead of Thane…it would really be nice.”

 

“Well, as I told you, Jin is busy right now as is his friend, Touya, who were both asked to watch over you two by your mother,” Lily reminded Neda as she went back to eating her breakfast. “But don't worry, for I offered to help. As soon as you finish breakfast, I will take you back to the Cormac Farm.”

 

I cannot believe this—I lose two parents and end up with five! Neda grumbled to herself as she went back to eating her breakfast, which Lily was kind enough to make for her.

 

 

 

 

The trees bent to the wind Jin emitted on his way back to the naga nest behind Kalrune Village. His scales rubbing against the muddy ground, he cautiously made it to the deserted graveyard that the Kalrune townspeople had forgotten about. The knights were out in great numbers, and the scent of their armor made him hiss in irritation. “They always come out like this on stormy days,” Jin muttered to himself.

 

Quickly he made it past the defense of the village and towards the great snake demon's nest. The hissing of the other serpents rang in his elfin ears as he made his way towards the Wind Nest. Some of the demons looking at him, he searched through the crowd for Beldon.

 

Beldon was sleeping next to his mate, Mila, in the comfort of the rain with his large clan. His scales rubbing against one another and Mila's, he opened one eye to spy the powerful serpent heading towards him. Bringing back his upper half, he slowly erected himself there in the rainfall. “Where have you been, Jin? I thought you were watching over my daughter, Silver.”

 

“Sadly I had to take care of something,” Jin said quickly. “Is she still back at the abandoned shed?”

 

“She should be,” Mila responded wearily from where she was lazing under the rain. “I don't think she left since you two were in there together.”

 

Jin waved briefly to them as thanks before heading in that direction quickly. He knew he had to be there for Silver after making an attempt to impregnate her. Swiftly he charged through the rain, which pounded upon him, stinging his face all the while, eventually finding himself on the molded steps of the decrepit human building. “Silver?” Jin called from the other side of the door, leaning against the woodwork of the entrance carefully. “Are you there?”

 

All that answered was the rain and thunder until finally Silver spoke up. “I am here. You may come in.” She sounded distant and upset judging from the tone of her mousy voice, which could hardly be heard over the storm.

 

It worried Jin. Opening the door, he made his way into the dark building to spy Silver on the dusty bed, holding onto herself in a sorrowful embrace. “Silver, what is the matter?” He asked, coming closer to her. His hands resting upon the musty mattress she was upon, he tilted his head slightly to try and peer into her eyes. “Are you okay?”

 

Silver moved some of her white hair out of her face with a light sniff to show she had been crying while he was away. “I am just scared. I don't feel I am ready for this,” she admitted to him, fidgeting lightly with her tail.

 

“You don't feel you're ready for what?” Jin inquired, holding onto her closest hand within his own. His crimson scales rolling over her icy blue in his attempts to comfort her.

 

“My dad forced me into being a mother, and I don't think I am ready to be one,” Silver clarified, looking at Jin's deep, blue eyes through the darkness of the building they were within. “I thought I could handle it all with you here next to me, but I found myself getting very upset being here all alone…”

 

Jin felt bad for leaving Silver behind as he did. Opening his arms, he helped the sobbing demon into them with a tender kiss he placed upon her head. “I am sorry, Silver. I didn't mean to leave you alone as I did. Something came up that I had to take care of,” Jin explained. His cheek caressing hers, he kept the young demon close to his dampened form. “I promise no matter what, that I will always return to you when you need me. And, don't worry,” Jin whispered, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “We will get through this parenting moment together.”

 

Silver held onto the redhead tightly, her hands cupping his mid-back. “I just don't want to be left alone right now…or whenever it is I may get ready to birth.”

 

Jin placed his hand on her shoulder, resting the other on his heart. “Silver, I promise I will try to always be here for you. Things are just crazy for me right now. I promised a dying woman that I would watch over her two kids and they are…” Pausing for a moment, his eyes wandered. “They are not from here—they live around Cormac Farm.” His serpent tail moving slightly over her form, he managed a smile to her. “Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? I am sure you ran out of food since last night.”

 

“That would be nice,” Silver expressed somberly, peeking at the serpent demon from the corner of her eyes.

 

Jin excused himself slowly from the old building, closing the door slowly behind him once his serpent half was out of the way. Furrowing his brow in worry, he looked down at the ground, drenched from the rain, which continued to fall. “I have never come across a demon so scared about motherhood.” His elfin ears lowering slightly, he gazed up at the darkened clouds. “Somebody help me…I have too many things placed before me…”

 

The harsh raindrops continuing down throughout the land, Neda sat by the windowsill of Lily's house, thinking to herself with a light sigh of sorrow. Her finger tapping against her cheek, she waited patiently for Lily to show back up from the bathroom. The door moaning as it opened, Neda gazed over her shoulder to witness the blind woman appear with her brown dress touching her ankles, where were covered by her brown boots she had put on. The dress had a few designs in a darker hue of brown; they trailing up to the belt buckle, the designs branched out about her tight, white long sleeve shirt.

 

“Are you ready to go home?” Lily asked as she tucked her curly, blond hair behind the bandana she had in her possession.

 

Neda pushed herself up off of the chair she was sitting upon. “Yes, I am ready.” She didn't wish to head back to the Cormac Farm, but Neda slightly worried for her sister she left behind, even if she was with a knight.

 

Lily made her way to the front door with an umbrella. “We can manage a ride to your farm from inside of the city walls. They always have a carriage in the center for people to use to travel the vast land of Eytheria.” She opened the door to allow Neda out first before following after her. Keeping the young girl close by, Lily guided her down the roads of the Eytheria Castle Town.

 

She was amazed to the say the least, that Lily could actually find her way around without much help. “You are blind, right? How can you see what is before you so clearly?”

 

“As a child, my father guided me around quite a bit. After a few years of learning how things work behind these cobblestone walls, I managed to make it on my own,” Lily explained. “Just because I am blind doesn't mean I cannot feel and hear—the two main senses to use when your sight has failed you.”

 

Neda stayed close to Lily throughout the storm as the two of them made it to the carriage that the blind woman spoke of. A brown horse with white socks and a white stripe running down his face snorted with a shake of his brown mane with an added flick of his tail. Neda watched as he ate out of the man's hand as the two of them hid there under their booth's tarp, ceiling to keep dry from the rain.

 

Running on ahead, she made it to the large horse to pet the creature tenderly between the eyes and down to his muzzle. “What a beautiful horse, he is,” Neda complimented to the man, who was responsible for the creature.

 

“Why thank you,” he responded, running his fingers through his stringy, blond hair. “Ah, I recognize you—you used to come to the market at times with your father, Damon.”

 

Her deceased father's name gracing her ears made Neda's stomach churn. She withdrew her hand with a sorrowful nod. “I used to, yes,” she said softly.

 

Lily was quick to make her way to the man and the horse she could sense was nearby. Her palm touched the cold leather on the beast with her eyes staring off at nothing in particular. “We need to get to Cormac Farm today. Do you think you can help us in doing so in the storm?”

 

The man scratched the hairs on his chin, humming in thought before looking out at the raging storm. “I don't have a problem with it. If you both get into the carriage I can take you there. We were just finishing our lunch today, so Brownie is ready for the walk.” He patted the side of the horse's neck tenderly before hopping up on the front seat.

 

Nodding, Lily guided Neda towards the carriage's back entrance so she could get the young girl back home. “Thank you,” Lily praised as she made her way to the seat on the right. “I have to get this youngling back there before her elder sister worries herself to death.”

 

“Don't worry,” he began, slapping the reins against the gelding to make him start into a slow walk, “I can get you both there before the sun sets.”

 

The carriage jerking forward causing Neda to nearly fall to her side though she caught herself just in time. She embraced herself to try and keep warm from the cold air that was present along with the storm.

 

Lily remained attentive from where she sat. She was listening to everything that came to her. “So, how old are you, Neda?” She asked in attempts to keep a conversation going between them, knowing the ride might be a bit long.

 

“I am ten,” Neda answered simply, looking off to the side. “I will be eleven tomorrow.”

“You are so very young,” Lily pointed out with a slight shake of her head. “It is hard to believe that someone such as you made it here without problems from the demons, which roam Eytheria freely.”

 

Neda moved slightly with the pull of the carriage she was within. Listening to the rain tap upon the tarp covering them both, she hummed slightly over the horse's hooves clopping against the wooden drawbridge with a shrug. “An elf helped me most of the way, but I do not fear demons anymore…”

 

“That means you do not fear death.”

 

She looked at Lily swiftly with a raise of her brow. “How did you know that when I didn't say anything about death?”

 

“A tone carries many things. A lie is not one of them,” Lily pointed out as she too listened to the soothing rain, the melody of which always comforted her as a child. “I have to say that I too do not fear them, but for a different reason.” Moving a stray piece of her blond tresses, Lily thought of her father she cared dearly for. “My father didn't, and he spent most of his time learning from them; especially the snake demons.”

 

Hearing of the serpent demons made Neda's fist tighten at her side. “Those damn monsters…they don't deserve anything but a blade through their heart.”

 

Neda's words made Lily jerk back slightly at her response. “Why do you damn them? They are normally peaceful creatures unless their nest is bothered or one of their own is slain.”

 

“They were the reason my parents died in the barn fire,” the farm girl explained. “I watched them run from the barn when it caught on fire, and two stayed behind to kill them when it was our farm they were trespassing upon…”

 

Lily listened to Neda with an inward sigh. She must have second-guessed that night and thought Jin killed her parents when he was just trying to help them. Poor thing, she blames the snake demons for something, which didn't happen. Clearing her throat, she placed her hand on her chest lightly. “It is best not to hold hate for even a demon. It will fester there over the years, and you will regret the person you will become.”

 

Sighing, Neda shook her head. “I am sure,” she sarcastically mumbled, lying down on the seats, which stretched out on her side. “Just wake me when I am home. I am still feeling sick from the night before.”

 

“As you wish,” Lily merely responded, keeping her blank gaze fixed on the road that stretched before them.