68CH. 12
:Ren:
Where ever she was, it was nice. The soft ocean breeze gently moved her hair, and the sound of the waves was what stirred her awake. When she opened her eyes she wasn't sure of anything, except that outside looked awfully familiar, but the room she was in didn't. Looking down at herself she noticed the simple black yukata she was in, and moving it she saw that her wound had begun to close. How long had she been out? A wound like that wouldn't heal quickly. The last thing she remembered was falling into a feverish state and then…nothing. But she no longer felt feverish, in fact she felt next to no pain at all. Carefully she stood up, and found that her legs were weak as if unused for a very long time. Slowly walking to the large window that had been opened to let in the sea breeze, she realized that although she felt no pain her body was still weary and tired. She was breathing deeply by the time she leaned against the window.
"You should not be moving, the potions I have given you will make you drowsy." She should have been frightened, she'd never heard that voice before. It must have been her lethargic state. She turned slowly to see who had spoken to her and had a flash of familiarity when she saw him. He was very tall, very muscled and very stoic. His hair was long, to his hips, tied at the nape of his neck, and a shocking blood red color. He wore simple black and white clothing that seemed more fit to be worn to a funeral, his skin was tanned, and his eyes that showed no sign of human emotion where an artic blue.
"Who are you?" She asked and was surprised how dry her throat felt. The man moved further into the room and sat down stiffly next to a small table that held various bottles and bowls.
"Jiroshima." He said pouring one liquid into a bowl and then throwing in a pinch of some white powder as well. He stirred it and then looked up at her.
"Come, drink this." He held it out to her as Ren studied him in slow reluctance.
"Have you been taking care of me?" She asked making her way over to him. He nodded once as she sat in front of him and took the concoction.
"What did you put in this?" She asked sniffing it in curiosity.
"Healing herbs." He wasn't very talkative. Ren frowned but drank it in one hurried swallow.
"That's terrible!" She told him, her eyes watering from the rancid taste. Jiroshima said nothing, only took the bowl from her and sat it on the table.
"Why have you been looking after me? Where am I? What happened to Tsuyo?" She could feel her normal speed returning to her, the world no longer moved in slow motion. His hard eyes stared at her for longer than was considered polite.
"Come." He said standing up and offering her a large hand. She took it, gratefully, but was not all together happy that he hadn't given her any answers.
He let her hand go and turned to open the door for her as soon as she was standing and then walked down a bright hallway. Ren followed, a mix of curiosity and trepidation swirling in her stomach.
"You don't say much do you?" She asked, not expecting an answer, and not surprised when he didn't give her one. He turned a corner, and guards in black armor jumped out of his way, eye cast downwards to the floor. Ren glanced at them and caught sight of a white serpent curled across the breast plate of their armor. She'd never seen that sigil, where ever she was she did not know the Lord here and that made her even more anxious than she would have thought possible.
They stopped in front of two large and ornate doors and Jiroshima knocked. They waited for a moment, in which Jiroshima never looked at her, and then the doors where slid open by a maid in all black. Ren's eyebrow quirked, whoever this lord was he very much liked the color black. The maid looked at Ren and then nodded to Jiroshima. He motioned with his hand for Ren to go in first, and reluctantly she did. The doors slid shut behind her, neither the maid nor Jiroshima had followed her.
Looking around it wasn't hard to assume where she was; the lord's personal chambers, and it only made her more uneasy. To the right of her was a large raised bed, all black of course, and very sleek tables that held vases and flowers that where white. To the left was a table, and bookshelves, a sort of study she guessed. Finally in front of her was a balcony, the doors draped with heavy looking black drapes. Outside she could see the blue of the ocean but not much else.
"Won't you join me?" She jumped, not expecting a voice, and certainly not one so…silky. It made shivers run down her spine, and not in a good way. From the balcony a man moved, he had been hidden by the drapes. Ren felt something primal, deep in her gut, warn her. He was tall, but willowy, not at all strong looking. His skin was so white she wondered if he were actually a ghost and not a man. He was smiling at her, but it reminded her of those fox Noh masks, the ones that looked sinister. His hair was black as ebony, and cut very short on the sides, and left long on the top so it looked rather devil may care. While Ren was sure some women would say this man was pretty in a delicate womanly sort of way, Ren thought he looked sickly, and his black eyes held no life in them. He held out a boney long fingered hand her way.
"Come Ren, you must see this view. I know you'll love it." Ren moved closer and out onto the balcony but didn't take his hand.
"Where am I? Who are you? What happened?" She didn't even spare a glance at the scenery he'd said she love, and her tone was fiery at best. He made her extremely uncomfortable and the only way she felt equipped to deal with that was with anger. Whoever he was chuckled, and it made her feel like she had ice in her veins.
"My dear you are home, with your husband, who took you back from those thieving pirates." Ren felt dizzy suddenly, and placed a hand on the balcony railing for support.
"What on earth are you talking about? I'm not married! I live with my brother…most of the time, and I wasn't stolen by anyone! I left all on my own! Now tell me who the hell you are!" Her chest was stinging where she'd been injured, and her lungs couldn't take in enough air to breath without a ton of effort. His fox like grin fell from his face, and this flat lipped distain he now had was ten times worse.
"So you admit to running away from our engagement? How unbecoming of you, and disappointing. I Would have forgiven you if you'd not said anything." He reached out with lighting fast hands and grabbed her wrists. Twisting them painfully until she had to turn her back to him. He leaned into her from behind so that she had to bend over the railing or face a broken wrist. He bent his head down to her ear, his breath oddly cold.
"I am Kanenaga Shiryo, your very soon to be husband." He whispered to her digging his hands into her wrists. Ren tried to wriggle out of his grasp, every fiber of her being screamed to get away from him, but he was much stronger than he looked.
"Look, I even had a wedding present all set up for you and you had to ruin it." One of his hands released one of hers only to viciously grab a handful of her hair and yank back on it. Her head flew back with it and finally she saw what he'd meant. For a second she couldn't breathe, her eyes felt as though they would pop out of their sockets from going so wide. On the beach was a single wooden beam, maybe fifteen feet high. Dangling from the top lifelessly was a figure Ren recognized. Tsuyo's arms had been tied to the top of the beam, and now looked dislocated and wrong in every way possible. The woman was naked and her body a telling grey color. She had dried blood running down her body, evidence that she had been alive when they strung her up.
"Speechless I see." He pulled harder on her hair, and she shouted in pain. His released his grip on her wrist only to snake his arm around her middle and pull her flush to his chest, her hair still his captive. She felt his nose skim the skin of her neck, then his tongue sliding up it to stop just below her ear.
"Of course I had to kill her, she not only disobeyed orders, but seriously marred something that she knew was mine. I simply can't have a subordinate like that." His tone was so nonchalant, like he did away with his subjects like this every day. Ren shuddered as the most horrifying fear took hold of her. Next to this man she felt so very weak, so very scared and so very trapped. Her voice had left her, and now the courage she thought she'd had was nowhere to be found.
Kanenaga released her hair and turned her to face him, his hands on her shoulders, and smiled a wicked smile.
"Make no mistake Ren, you are mine. Anyone who touches you without my leave to do so will end up just like Tsuyo there. That means your little pirate too." Before she could process that information his face had descended to hers, and his cold lips took hold of her chapped ones. His tongue pushed its way in and Ren had the urge to either bite it off, or throw up. He pulled back, a sick satisfied smirk on his face and then released her.
"Go get dressed, we're being married tonight, so tell your maid to make it something easy to take off." He watched her for a moment, and when she didn't move he frowned and all those alarms in her head rang again. Self-preservation took hold, and the only thing her shocked mouth could say was.
"Yes, Milord."
Im sooooo sorry that I haven't been updating, life an all you know. Thanks to those who still read this though I'm glad you like it and I hope to hear some comments about this new revelation!