|
~ Part 3 Destinée(I) “ Why are you pouting, Shinya? Don’t you like the drawing Kyo did for you?” Toshiya asked, snickering. Shinya glared at Toshiya then at Kyo. “ I would never, -never- wear anything like that! You made the picture look so obscene!!!” “ The picture isn’t obscene but you are,” the artist poked his tongue out, teasing the auburn haired beauty. The red-carpeted hallway would be pitch black if not for the candelabra that held three candles standing on an elegant table at the end of it. They were only to walk in those lit places; as Mana told them, those places were safer and those dark places were forbidden for ‘accidents’ might befall whoever who stepped into them. Their footsteps resonated against the walls and ceilings and the tapetries and paintings seemed to have invisible eyes that followed them. Toshiya shivered. “ Hey, do you hear anything?” Shinya leaned closer to Toshiya. “ I don’t hear anything,” Kyo answered. “ It sounds like scratching…” Toshiya sighed. “Don’t tell me after so many years you are still afraid, Shinya…” he said but in actual fact, he was afraid too. No number of years could erode that feeling of creepiness that laced the shadows or hung like webs in cold corners of the castle. He had lived within these walls all his life and he was still scared. “ But there’s really a scratching sound,” Shinya bit his lip. He closed his eyes to concentrate on hearing. Then he pointed with his long index finger, the tip pointing to a closed door. “It’s coming from there!” Toshiya gulped. But no one stays there… “ Shall we open and see what’s inside?” Kyo suggested. “ No! Let’s go ne! Mana will get angry,” Toshiya said quickly and pulled Kyo and Shinya’s hands. They hurried past the room where the noise originated from. *** Inside the ‘haunted’ room: The hood of the colourless cloak fell over his shoulders to reveal dark purple hair while its wearer looked at one corner of the room, holding the long rod in his hand. “ So much cobwebs just in one day, I can’t stand it!” he muttered to himself as he raised the long rod to scratch away the cobwebs. *** He held the drawing in his hands, although he would never put it up anywhere, the way Kyo had drawn him scantily so. The door creaked as he opened it. The air inside his room smelled of the fragrance of flowers that bloomed in summer. He liked the scent, how it made him feel warm. Shinya padded across the room to the round oval mirror with a carved wooden frame. His hands moved to the back of his head to redo his hair that had been messed by the wind in the balcony. It was then he noticed from the reflection in the mirror that something lay on his bed. Wrapped in thin white paper and tied with a crimson ribbon was a bouquet of red roses, some in full bloom and some still closed and virgin. *** Thick books lined the four walls up to the ceiling. A tall movable ladder leaned against the dusty bookcases on each wall. It was so quiet that even the dust seemed to hang in the cool air. Mana sat at the dark-varnished study table with a thick book in front of him. The book was bounded in dark brown leather and held together with golden threads and the writing was of the Old Language, continuous inscription that twisted and curled on the brittle yellowed paper. Her fingers traced the lines as she read quietly, her face an emotionless mask that she learned to keep. There were so many books, so many scriptures, scrolls and documents for her to read and to learn and it had taken many years for her to read those she had read and would take many more for her to finish all of them if it was possible. Locks of her blue curls fell forward to frame her face. Her brows knitted slightly into a small frown as she felt the pain again, its tendrils spreading inside her body. Then like always it faded into a dull ache in her chest. “ Sister…” Her beautiful sister, her only blood relation, stood at the door of the library. “ May I join you?” Mana pulled herself away from the writings and beckoned to Machi. As Machi knelt beside her, she touched his cheeks and kissed his forehead. Her lips felt cold. “ Are you well?” she asked. Machi nodded but he looked worriedly at Mana. “ Don’t worry. This illness would not be the end of me,” she said, tucking the dark brown strands of Machi’s hair behind his ear. “ But if I’m gone, you’ll have to take over my responsibilities, my sister.” “ No! Don’t say that,” Machi shook his head. Mana laughed softly to herself. “ Machi…you’ve grown so much. I almost didn’t notice,” she fingered the corner of the book absently. “ Maybe it’s time for you to find someone.” Machi blushed but shook his head. “ No. I have you and Totchi and Shinya and that’s all I need.” “ That could be true…” Mana mused. A look of bitterness crossed her face for a second before she covered it up with her cold exterior. “ These books…you should learn them. They are sort of a legacy of our family and of this castle.” Machi didn’t reply as his sister collected her skirts and got up. “ What do you think of Mayu?” Mana suddenly turned her head and asked with a small smile playing on her lips. Whenever Machi see Mana giving him this expression, he had to look away from her face. He pouted. “ He’s a capable doctor ne…” he shrugged, giving the most neutral answer he could think of. He could almost see the wheels churning in Mana’s head despite her placid face. Pink tinged his cheeks. “ He’s a fine young man…” she said. Machi heard Mana’s soft chuckle as she pushed the heavy door open and left. He touched the cover of the book his sister had been reading and a shy smile surfaced on his lips. *** From his room, he could see the blue sky and white clouds above the rippling waters of the sea. It was beautiful in days such as these but as the day grew older, the skies would darken and the clouds would become grey like an inevitable disease had plagued it. And then the coldness would return. His fingers brushed against the glass window, a sigh escaping his red lips. Four years have passed since he entered this castle as Gackt’s concubine. A willing prisoner to these walls. He wanted nothing more than to just disappear from the outside world, to close out everything. He locked away all his past in a secluded corner of his consciousness. He’d embrace his new life. He became Kamijo, the beautiful passionate bitchy concubine of Gackt’s. He thought he had forgotten… “ You’re going to join them?” His own face had been one of heavy sadness. But his friend’s was one of optimism and he had smiled brightly. “ It is what I always wanted!” “ I see…” “ Would you come with me?” At that time, he had smiled and nodded. But Fate was cruel. “ Your dream has come true…but what about mine?” Kamijo’s long lashes hooded his eyes as he looked down at the rolling waves of the sea, his fingers curled around the heavy curtains. His eyes glimmered with unshed tears. “ My dreams will remain as dreams…forever.” And he would keep those tears unshed. He would not cry. Not anymore. *** The air was thick with the scent of roses. Thick tendrils of steam rose up into the air from the surface of the water. The folded garment rested in his arms and he placed in down on the table before he went out to call his mistress. “ My Lady, the bath is ready,” he informed her. Mana put the brush down on the dressing table and walked over to the bathroom with his long blue locks cascading down his back. He inhaled the familiar scent then sighed. “ Where is the Lord?” she asked Kozi. “ The Lord has gone to the town.” A shadow seemed to cloud over Mana. “ Kozi, help me. I’m tired,” she said to her loyal servant. The silk robe was soft and smooth under his hands as he slid it down his mistress shoulders. His eyes flitted at the paleness of her flesh, careful not to let his hands touch the smooth skin unnecessarily. He helped Mana into the tub of water, handing her a bar of soap. The water rippled when Mana dipped her hand into it. She laid back, her back to Kozi, not seeing his look of desire, and she closed her eyes. “ Go attend to other things,” she waved for Kozi to go. With a little reluctance, he muttered a ‘yes’ and left. Mana untangled her hair with her fingers, watching the ends of it float up in the water with a look of fascination in his eyes that a child would have. She soaped her arms and her hands and lathered the suds over her neck and chest. Her eyes stared at the petals of roses that floated in the bath water. Gently she scooped them up with her palms, the petals caressed her fingers as the scented warm water drained out in little trickles from between into the tub. She lost herself in thoughts, not realizing she was not alone here. In one corner, hidden in darkness, a pair of eyes looked at her. Klaha knew Mana hated him doing that, appearing and disappearing in the shadows because the castle was full of shadows and darkness. Stepping out quietly towards Mana’s back, he reached out with one hand. Mana’s skin was smooth and soft against his fingertips. He wanted to touch her, wanted to kiss her. But the Lady gasped in shock, violently jerking away. The waters splashed out from the tub to wet the floor. “ Klaha!” Klaha drew back, rather amused for some reason. He chuckled softly. “ I’ve missed you, my princess.” “ What are you doing here?!!” Mana yelled at him, his face flushed red from anger and embarrassment. “ Have you no decency at all?!” “ I sincerely apologize for my rudeness but I couldn’t help myself,” Klaha said, catching Mana’s chin in his hand. He brought their face close together. He stared into Mana’s eyes, they were beautiful but they glared back at him. “ Mana…” Their lips brushed together and Mana felt a chill running through her body but she couldn’t pull away. Klaha kissed her again, this time, their lips touched longer and Mana could feel Klaha’s tongue wetting her lips. She almost lost herself but the door suddenly banged open. Mana drew back and stared at the direction of the door and her eyes went wide. “ Gackt…” Kozi stood behind the Lord with a worried look plastered on his face. “ My Lady…We…we heard you screaming so…” he trailed off when he noticed no one was listening to him. Gackt’s eyes did not even fleet over to Mana for a second. They were focused on the man in the black robe. “ We meet again, Lord Gackt,” Klaha bowed in seeming respect and his voice was sincere but there was a mocking smile gracing his lips. Gackt’s eyes narrowed into angry slits. “ You… Why are you here?” his voice was low, trembling. “ I’ve come…to fulfill the ‘destiny’.” No one understood what ‘destiny’ was he speaking of. Klaha took a small step back. “ We shall meet again…” he said and the shadows seemed to move from the corners to swallow him. And then… He was gone.
|
|
to be continued~
email VanillaMint back to MM fics page/Lareine fics page |