129A/N: Hello Everyone!
It's been a while since I've updated, so here's a much longer chapter :) I'm trying to get back into writing again since I really want to return to this fic and ICHIHIME is CANON!
Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews, faves, and follows! They mean a lot to me, and are also one of the reasons that I decided to come back to this story.
As usual, much thanks to Neko-chan ~~
Enjoy!
.
.
Chapter - 12
.
.
Seven years ago . . .
The man groaned in pain as he half-fell, dragging Orihime down with him. His blood smeared the dusty floor of the abandoned storehouse and the wood creaked with disuse under their weight. Slivers of light from a small window in one of the sides of the sloping roof illuminated the specs in the air before reaching the reaching the two figures below.
She panted, looking around for something to help him with but apart from old crates, and stacks of hay, there wasn't much available. The princess pulled off the scarf that completed her outfit, cautiously slid the length of cloth under him, and then carefully wrapped it around his wound to stem the flow of blood.
'Wait for me.' She whispered before she left to look for supplies.
He watched her shadow disappear as she shut the door and started counting the seconds.
.
.
'Is that liquor?'
Orihime started, nearly dropping the bottle in question. The stranger hadn't spoken since she'd returned with whatever supplies she had managed to filch from the medicine storage and the palace kitchens. She'd just finished soaking a piece of cloth with the alcohol to help clean his wounds when his low, gravelly voice had surprised her.
'Yes.' She replied, slowly pushing his soiled shirt upwards to uncover the grotesque gash marring his taut abdomen.
'Good.' He said, swiftly taking the bottle from her and gulping down a few hearty mouthfuls.
'I take it you don't drink?' he questioned.
'I-It's considered ill-mannered.'
'Says who?'
'Everyone I know.'
'Well, they seem like a bunch of – ermph!'
The man groaned, his sentence cut off as Orihime gently wiped the blood off his injuries.
'I apologize.' She said softly. He merely shook his head in return, no doubt feeling the searing burn as the potent liquid sterilized the cuts.
'It'll be alright soon.' She said. Her skillful hands spreading a healing salve over the affected area and carefully wrapping a length of clean cloth around his torso.
Orihime looked up from her work to find his dark eyes staring questioningly at her earlier statement.
'This isn't the first time I've treated an injury like this.' She clarified.
'And for that, I am glad.'
The princess let slip a small giggle despite the situation at the relief that spread over his face.
'I'll leave you to rest.'
The girl paused at the door, a slim hand holding it open and she turned to face him.
'You're not going to tell me your name, are you?' she enquired.
The man shook his head.
'I thought not. Well, my name is – '
'Don't.' he said, 'It's better this way.'
Orihime only replied with a rueful smile.
.
.
Present Day . . .
The royal couple's trot had slowed down to an impromptu procession as they were flanked and surrounded by an ever-growing crowd of eager citizens who gathered around them to catch a glimpse of the prince's beautiful new bride. The troop of guards not so subtly shadowing them on their way to the royal residence, of course did not escape their notice either.
The congested marketplace became less so as they covered more distance, and gave way to fewer shops and houses that were farther apart than the ones before. As they neared the outer edges of the city, Orihime couldn't help but stare in awe at the magnificent sight before her.
An enormous fort stood atop a low mountain, its walls massive and towering, and sprawling to cover a vast area. The sheer expanse of fortified sandstone was breathtaking, and Orihime was astounded by the carefully planned and ambitiously designed architecture that had endured through the trials of war and time.
The crunch of ground and dirt beneath their feet was the only sound that dared to interrupt the ominous silence as the royal couple walked through the palace courtyard. The gigantic structure loomed over them, forcing them to acknowledge its titanic presence.
Ichigo and Orihime paced past the many stony-faced guards who had paused in their places to witness the unexpected arrival, to go through the main gates and the connecting verandah until they reached the inner hallway that opened up to a vast marble foyer.
The clank of metal greeted them as a small quartet of guards approached them.
'Your Majesty.' The leader spoke, and Ichigo dryly noted that he was truly back in this hellhole once more. To think that once upon a time gleeful laughter used to echo in these very walls.
'Yes?' he asked.
'His Highness Emperor Aizen commands that you are to be shown to your rooms for now.'
'Rooms?'
'Yes. The princess shall have her own quarters.'
'Of course.' Ichigo replied easily.
As the guard's back turned, the princess couldn't help but notice the tense set of his jaw.
The trio passed through the wide corridors in an uncomfortable silence, which allowed the princess to take in the sights of her new home. The grand hallways of white marble were smooth expanses of stone with stark, bare walls that coupled the grace of the architecture with a hollow emptiness. Slim and tall doorways, whose tops ended in pointed domes, and which led to large, semicircular balconies with intricate balustrades, periodically interrupted these passageways. Each of them was partially shielded by delicate, semi-translucent curtains that swayed slightly with the feeble breeze.
Through one such opening, Orihime could see the bright yellow and orange starting to mingle with the iridescent blue of the sky as the sun began its crawl to the horizon. The warm tones bathed the bustling city that the palace overlooked. So breathtaking and so very different from the view she had known.
The guard led them to a set of large doors made of dark wood that extended up until the tip of yet another pointed dome met the high ceiling.
'Let me know if you need anything.' Ichigo said, and she nodded.
.
.
Sleep gently drew its fingers away as the sun began to take over the morning sky, and Orihime woke, her eyes scanning the unfamiliar surroundings. A breath of vacant settlement washed over her as she remembered what had happened.
She carefully got out of bed, taking care to avoid the plate from the previous evening's meal. Her dinner had been simple bread, spiced meat roasted vegetables and soup. It had been brought up by a soldier and she had been instructed to leave the dishes be. The soldier's unlikely duties had made her begun to the doubt the existence of female help in the castle, which was another detail that had made her uneasy. Despite that, she had donned the plain pale blue nightgown that had been laid out for her and gone to sleep.
For all its plain marble walls, the room she was in had a high ceiling and a wide balcony that looked over a magnificent view of now bustling city below. Long white curtains shielded the opening to the balcony, and her bed interrupted the path between it and the door. An intricately designed circular carpet that shadowed the wide domed ceiling above covered the space before the bed. A side of the room boasted a tall, delicate mirror along with a table, chest of drawers, and a wide cabinet made of dark wood.
Another curtain-obstructed doorway led to a massive marble bathroom with sculpted white plaster pillars that would turn a welcoming mellow gold from the light spilling through the circular oculus. The same light sparkled on the water of the sunken pool set in the floor.
The sleep-dazed princess made her way to a corner of the room where an oval mirror was set over a carved ivory-stemmed basin, and washed up. She went over to her trunks that had been brought up for her the previous evening and as she opened them one by one, her displeasure rose.
Her garments were missing.
As if on cue, a knock sounded on the door.
'Enter.'
Yet another soldier pushed the door aside to approach her bed and lay something out.
'My clothes are missing.' She said.
'The Emperor ordered – ' the man began, but he didn't get much else out as she spoke.
'Where is he?'
'You may lead me to him.' She commanded as she strode towards hallway, leaving him to scurry in her wake.
Inquisitive gazes followed her as Orihime approached the great hall where court was being held and there was a collective draw of gasps as she threw open the grand doors.
Seat after seat of important-looking officials in the long room led to the imposing throne where the Emperor was.
The voices inside quietened at her arrival.
'Princess,' Aizen began easily, 'What brings you here this morning?'
His smirk was affronting enough that despite her control, her eyes narrowed at him.
'My garments are gone.' She said simply.
'Hardly a reason to disrupt court, is it?'
A few tittered whispers followed his words.
'My garments are gone.' She repeated.
The hall was silent once more. The soldier beside her started to tremble.
'Those rags have no place here. Surely you didn't want to bring such trash in to sully the palace.'
She opened her mouth to tell him that the palace had been overflowing with trash long before her arrival, but he spoke again.
'Interruptions really do hinder the course of discussion, Princess. And we were discussing what is to be done with your beloved citizens of Karakura.'
The threat was clear.
She gave him the filthiest look she could muster before turning on her heel and heading to the door. As she was about to cross the threshold, Aizen's voice rang out again.
'I believe your guard has other duties to attend to. We, of course, do not have enough men to spare to run after a spoiled princess.'
The soldier beside her disappeared in seconds as her lips pressed together in a thin line, and with her head held high, she walked away.
.
.
After a while, she knew she was lost. Still, she continued, a little recklessly headstrong in the aftermath of the ugly conversation she'd just been forced to endure. A raucous uproar ahead drew her around a corner to a wide courtyard where what appeared to be at least two hundred men from Aizen's ever-expanding army going about their morning practice. She had never seen so many shirtless men.
Swords everywhere, the harsh clang of metal scraping and the dull thud of fists hitting flesh, and the whoosh of weapons and feet through the air all melded together in the wide space. Armed officers overlooked the area from their places in the balconies above.
Eventually, her bright hair and delicate stature attracted enough unwelcome attention, and the intermittent howls and catcalls began. Unnoticed to most of the people present there, including Orihime, a set of careful eyes noted the ongoing situation.
One of the rather horrid looking fellows made a move to grab her wrist and found himself in a painful position as a dark hand blocked him and a monster of a man towered over him.
Orihime blinked.
'Are you alright?' a deep voice asked.
'Yes,' she smiled, 'Thank you, Sado.'
'Hmm. Ichigo is this way.'
He'd assumed she was looking for the prince, and she wasn't about to tell everyone there – most of whom still continued to eye her in a decidedly unpleasant manner – that she didn't know her way around the place.
As the crowd was forced to part for the gentle giant, she caught sight of the orange-haired man. She'd always thought him to be handsome, but her breath caught in her throat.
He stood in the sun, his face upturned in the scorching light as if to welcome an inexistent breeze. Strands of his vibrant hair were plastered to his face and his usual frown was graced with a light smirk of satisfaction as his opponent fell away. His sun-bronzed skin glistened, and his powerful muscles were flexed from the exercise. Her eyes sinfully followed a drop of sweat that trickled from the base of his corded neck to dip into his strong collarbones, and go between the planes of his chest down to the toned lines of his carved abdomen. Scars periodically marred the smooth skin, and they wickedly served to highlight his well-built torso. As that blessed drop disappeared behind the low waistband of his sand-colored pants, his eyes opened to reveal those arresting amber irises, and she swallowed thickly as his smirk grew wider to greet her.
'Hey.'
It was but one word that fell from those beautiful lips in that low, rough voice, but it had her take in a shaky breath as she smiled.
He walked over to her with lithe grace, and she focused herself on meeting his gaze.
'Right on time.' He announced.
She looked at him oddly before realizing that his expression was off and that they had garnered an audience. Orihime schooled her features into a carelessly dismal blankness as Ichigo's formerly welcoming smirk bordered on lecherous.
He walked past her, and she followed him as he paused to grab a loose robe and exited the courtyard.
Once they were alone, he spoke again, more himself now as he tied the ends of the robe together.
'What brings you here?'
Orihime couldn't help but admire the way the deep maroon silk clung to him. She'd thought that clothing would help, but the robe made a deep V down his chest that was somehow worse than having him bare. A bright glint caught her eye, and she noticed something she hadn't before; a magnificent medallion hung from his neck. A thin lining of sparkling silver encased the flat, crescent-shaped iridescent turquoise stone and connected it to the chain from which it was suspended. What surprised her wasn't the brilliance of the object, but the fact that she had seen it before. However, she didn't have a chance to ponder over the startling revelation as she realized that he was still waiting for an answer.
'I . . . got lost.' She admitted at length.
'No guard?' he questioned.
She shook her head.
'I expected as much.' He exhaled.
Her stomach decided that this was the opportune moment to let out a prominent gurgle.
'No guard, and no breakfast either, I presume.' Ichigo chuckled, and Orihime waited for her blush to abate, as she accompanied him down twisted corridors.
.
.
A/N: Tada! There it is! I hope you liked it. Lemme know your thoughts! Your feedback is much appreciated, so please review! :)