I really wish I owned RK…But, no, unfortunately it's Watsuki sensei creation, and the owners are those wealthy companies who don't care about plots and characters, but money… You already know who they are.

 

Notice: Be warned. It will include violence, some uses of it profanes language, and some extent of explicit sexual content. So keep on reading at your own risk. 

 

The story begins few months before the events of Kyoto Arc, so it will include spoilers and some elements from it as well as from the Revenge Arc as well, although my fic will not follow either the anime or the manga, and I will break some canon rules.

 

As I've told you, English is not my first language. I apologize in advance for major grammar mistakes and lacking vocabulary skills.  I would love to hear your comments and suggestions

 

A ESPECIAL ULTRA BIG HUG to MIR, who is bearing the difficult task of giving my thoughts a coherent meaning… By the way every chapter till this one have been edited by Mir and have been reposted, so…  (Remember to visit Tales from the Meiji Era site! http://ellone-loire.net/tfme/)

 

 

Also thanks to Mara, Jo-Chan, Hana Himura, Gracey and Wombat for encouragement and help. I love you pals!

 

 

 

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Of Legendary Creatures and Mystical Beasts

By Firuze Khanume (firuzekhanume@Hotpop.com)

 

Chapter 7: Guess who is living under my roof…

 

 

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Both men spoke in a barely audible voice, remaining in the short corridor, just outside of the room.

   

-         There is no rational scientific explanation. I can't justify it. I simply can't do it…. The blade was set so that any normal human have only survived a few minutes. The poison left on the wounds' borders indicated that. It would have been a painful death of seizures and asphyxia. A simple cut from that blade would have been enough to end your own life Herr Yukishiro, in spite of your excellent health and condition. I can't understand how a woman, petite and young as the one you brought in, could have survived the mere contact with such powerful toxin. Besides the time it took for you to reach here... She should have died ten times during that delay…

-         Will she die then?

-         Not likely. At least not from the poison itself. Although the toxin has spread through her system thoroughly, the most dangerous period has passed.  There's no doubt in my mind that she will survive, but I still can't understand how she managed to live through the first three days. As I told you before, there is not a rational scientific explanation. Of course, she will be really weak for several months ahead, and she will require permanent professional care, including a nurse twenty-four hours a day. Anyway, I can't guarantee she will survive the after-effects of the toxin in her body. She will likely lose some bodily motor functions, because the poison affects the nervous system.  Besides, it damages lungs' tissues directly, so she will certainly suffer from pneumonia, given the chance to develop it. You shouldn't disregard the possibility of her catching consumption too. I think she would be better dead than alive with such a grim prognosis. - the man in the white coat stood silent, watching in awe the dark features of the younger man.- “I'm sorry.”

   

Enishi had managed to reach one of his posts into the city.  

   

Firstly he called for the best doctor in Shanghai, a very efficient German who didn't ask questions. He made sure Asiyah got the proper medical care and protection by his men, and after that, he hunted down the traitors, finishing them with the usual speed and the merciless ferocity that made him known and feared through China. It was made as a warning for those who might entertain the dangerous idea of crossing his path. Only Wu and some of his men had temporarily escaped his anger.  Anyway he knew they were dead men walking.  They could not even leave China, not to mention Shanghai without him noticing it… and fixing the outcome. 

   

Rage boiled through him as listening the doctor's words. Asiyah would become a cripple given the best scenario just because she saved him from that treacherous worm's plot.  

   

Even if she got the best treatment money could buy (and he would make sure that she had it) a cripple was still a cripple. It was simply not fair that somebody so young had to suffer in such way.  

   

His sister's image floated on his mind, reminding him of her own sufferings.  That increased his anger twofold. 

   

If Wu Heishin were aware of what was awaiting him by his hand, he would already have committed suicide. Because by the moment he fell in Enishi’s hands....

   

-         Doctor...She is awake... and is asking to speak with Herrn[1] Yukishiro.-

-         Well... I should say that I didn't expect that she recover consciousness so soon, but I think I shall have to get used to unusual things regarding your lady friend....

-         May I...?

-         I would prefer to do some tests first… but under these circumstances, I will allow you to stay for a few minutes on one condition: if I say you should leave the room, you will do it immediately. I warn you: the sight won't be a nice one.

-         I'm used to such things and worse, so don't worry.

-         Then, follow me.”

 

Both men stopped in their tracks in shock after entering the room, although a wicked smirk began to set itself on Enishi's features at the scene unfolding before his eyes. 

   

She was settled in the middle of the bed, vigorously demanding a mirror from the nurses and a comb in order to disentangle the knots in her disheveled hair. 

   

-         It… is... impossible...- the doctor's jaw hung open in surprise.

-         Ah ... I think she has found a way to overcome your dark prognosis, Herr doctor. -  He couldn't help but to mock the German.

-         Ah...  Enishi… There you are! Thanks God! Could you please ask these women to leave me alone?  They will not allow me to get up... They also refuse to give me proper clothes and a brush or a comb.

-         Did she try to get up?-  Amazement rose from the doctor's voice as he asked the nurses.

-         She didn't attempt it... She made it. Twice in fact, while we went to inform you.  We had to force her into bed.

-         She’s doing quite well for a crippled girl... Don't you think, Herr doctor? -  This time the German couldn't help to notice the mockery in the tone the younger man was using.

   

Enishi forced himself not to laugh. The situation itself was almost a joke. A few minutes ago, he was assured that the girl on the bed had a dark and unpleasant future ahead. Now she seemed to turn the tables again, confusing the reputed

European doctor to the point of madness and leaving the nurses in a similar situation while behaving more as a coquettish lady preparing herself for a ball than a woman raised from the dead.   

 

Deep relief coursed through him. 

   

-         Doctor, leave us to alone- he said finally, becoming serious.

-         I need to make her take some tests first.

-         I believe she is obviously in perfect health right now. You will be able to do all tests you desire before we leave.

-         But...

-         Doctor... I want to talk to you. -  Enishi took him to a corner, speaking to him in a whisper barely noticeable to the others.  - Let's talk about a healthy and profitable future for you… You know who I am and what I'm doing in Shanghai. Considering this, then I want to give you some heartfelt advice, and it would be wise to take it at face value. What you had seen here in fact never happened. You never saw Asiyah, she was never wounded, by no means was she ever poisoned. Share this information with the nurses. If you are wise enough and keep your mouths tightly closed, I guarantee you will have patients as you never have had before... But if I ever find that anything of what you had seen slips from that tongue of any of yours... accidents happens... They can happen to European doctors and their nurses too… and even in Germany.  You do understand, don't you?

-         I-I understood. We will be discreet.

-         Good- He patted the white-coated man on the shoulder-Ah, I forgot the other aspect of my advice. If I ever tell you to do anything, you'll do it without questioning me. Is that clear?- 

His voice was soft as silk, but the meaning was unmistakable. The doctor gave a nervous nod while Enishi make his classic smirk and concluded,

 

-         Well then, doctor, leave us alone.

 

The German understood at last that he could not negotiate with that dark man.

And he obeyed him without second thoughts. 

 

Enishi leaned against the wall, just in front of Asiyah and crossed arms across his chest, looking at her intently above his ever-present dark, rounded glasses. 

   

-         Well, I knew the day would come when I should have to explain everything to you.

-         I'm waiting.

-         Where should I begin?

-         Usually you should do it from the start- he commented dryly.

-         You seem a bit… grumpy... Don't you? A lot more than usually, I mean. - She tried to sound childish and innocent, but the stern glare he gave her told that she couldn't avoid the issue any longer. She gave a deep sigh.  - Oh well, let's just face the facts… Why don't you look for somewhere to sit down? This will take time, but believe me; you will also need something to hold on in a short while....

 

She sighed again and looked at him intently while he was straddling a chair backwards just in front of her, his inquiring gaze filtered through the white hair locks flopping over his forehead.

 

-         Enishi… ah... do you believe in any ...superior being?

-         Gods?  I don't know.  Maybe. But definitively they wouldn't be the Gods common people imagine.-  Images of war, destruction, blood, and rotten corpses on the streets, children dying from hunger floated in his mind. Images he had seen with his own eyes… and lived with his own limbs. - I do believe in Hell, though.

-         Well then it's something to start from.  What do you think of supernatural events? I mean like seeing spirits, ghosts, and demons.  How about bewitching...?  You know, those sorts of things.

-         What the bloody hell has to do all this with...? -  The conversation was starting to get annoying.

-         Believe me, it’s pertinent. Do you believe in these things or not?

-         Mmmm… I have seen... things. -  He moved uncomfortably in the chair.

-         Then you believe...

-         Maybe. -  Suspicion grew deeper in him at her strange questions.

-         Good, that will make things easier...- she mused to herself -…but just a little.

   

Asiyah gave another deep sigh, and she began to explain to him the existence of the diverse Kingdoms, the beings inhabiting them, their natures and abilities... 

   

-         Asiyah, why are we speaking of these fairy tales? -  The low growl under the words did not pass unnoticed. - I just want to know…

-         Easy there, easy… Do you remember the Jinn I have just mentioned?

   

He nodded, rolling his eyes, in an exasperated gesture. He was on the verge of erupting in a wave of blazing rage, that she could tell. And that, definitively was not good at all. 

 

-         Well... I am one of those Jinniyeh.

-         Is this a pathetic excuse for a joke?  Or did the poison actually affect your mind?

-         Well, then please, could you explain to me how a single young girl can survive alone in the desert and help a badly wounded man twice her weight all by herself? Or how could she vanish from a building carefully guarded without even being noticed, leaving behind a treasure in fine pearls in the most secured room where you slept?  How do you explain that all your wounds healed, in fact they rather literally disappeared from your body, without leaving scars?  Even those made by swords… Not to mention the fact that you, with all your powerful resources, could not find me simply because I didn't want to be found. Do you really find it a pathetic excuse of a joke that I materialized in the middle of the night, into your room from nowhere, while you knew I was in my own house, which happens to be an hour's trip from yours, to warn you in advance of an upcoming attack? Do you find it a joke that a mortal poison has only made me to fall asleep for a few days? Do you find it a joke that I burned alive a woman in front of your very eyes with fire lit from my own bare hands?

   

He remained silent, taken aback, pondering her words.  But as he continued to analyzing them, she interrupted his thoughts. 

   

-         Ah... I'm really starving, you know... Do you want me to bring something for you? Ah, green tea, surely... I will choose something sweet... Some Swiss chocolates perhaps... Have you ever tasted them before?

 

A fully-laden table appeared before Enishi -- a huge Russian samovar loaded with smoky tea, cups, and assorted sweets on top of it. Of course, all type of chocolate were spread across the trays.    

   

There were few things that could shake Enishi's restrained attitude, but what he had just witnessed was definitively one to them. His first impulse was to jump out of his seat and to put as much distance as possible between himself and that woman, but considering the fact that she had saved his life twice, it was doubtful she that would attack him now. 

   

-         Sh-shit! How the bloody hell did you make that?-

 

He tried to regain a calm demeanor but failed when his sight fell again over the impossible vision of the table in front of him. He stood up and knocked against the surface of the table and inspected the solidness of plates to make sure his senses were not paying a trick on him

 

-         Ah... it is nothing ... I simply handled energy ... Energy can never be destroyed, but you can transform it to get whatever you want or need... And that is our specialty; although it's not the only one. But it is in the one around so which many legends and myths about us have been written... Those stories of ‘I grant thee three desires...’ You know... the genie trapped into the bottle, rescued by a cunning human who put him under his service... See?-  A golden ring with a huge ruby set on it appeared in her hand out of nowhere, and she threw it to him, his eyes almost bulging from their sockets.

-         I don't remember to have broken any sealed bottle from which you came out in a puff of smoke...- Enishi studied the ring carefully. It was genuine. Now he knew where all the exquisite stones and the jewels that constituted her business came from.

-         Very funny, human… - The undertones in her last word sent a chill though his spine. - No, you didn't make it... These are legends mostly. Few human beings have the ability to rule over genies or seal them in some kind of prison; this is the equivalent of the bottle in the legend. In fact we are the ones that play with human lives to amuse ourselves... To mess with their lives is a kind of game for us…That is the reason they should try to avoid us...

-         Did you come to... you know....  to haunt me?

-         To haunt you? - she giggled delighted- Oh, no, no, no. In fact you are the one who turned my life into a mess... although in fact the blame is not yours but mine...

-         What? -  His puzzlement grew more and more. - I did what?

-         I disobeyed the Elders to help you in the desert. They didn’t want me to save you. -  The confusion in his eyes induced her to explain. - The Elders are some kind of rulers among us, don't ask...  Then, they decreed I should spend the rest of my life among humans, without possibility of returning to the Jinn's kingdom. In short, I am an outcast. That was the reason I tried to avoid you at the beginning. You reminded me what I have lost... It is... painful... to me, even now. Humans are so... different... But you shouldn't feel bad, please. It was my decision, and I knew what I would lose if they discovered me. I took the chance... And here I am....

   

To say that he was in shock would have been and understatement. Anyhow, it didn't serve to explain the inner turmoil he was experiencing. Had somebody told him about a similar incident, he would have eased the load of his insanity by putting an end to the poor bastard's life. But he could not deny what he had seen... neither the strange things that had happened since he had lived in direct connection with Asiyah.  

   

-         I vaguely remember a very... alien place... and I have memories of you screaming at three old hags... Anything to do with reality?

-         Quite impressive... I knew that you was somewhat conscious, but you were very weak yet... I thought that you would be unable to bring any memories to your mind. That was the Kingdom of Jinni, and my crime was not only disobeying the Elders by helping you to survive and heal your wounds, but also by taking you there. 

   

Enishi looked at her while carefully considering the situation, and after a brief silence, he asked her: 

   

-         Why did you do it? Why did you put at risk everything you had for somebody that you even didn't know? I know you surely are regretting your choice now. I'm aware I'm not the ideal human being, you know.

-         Ah ...Yukishiro Enishi... How many things you ignore about yourself! - She laughed. It was clear that he wanted to know her true intentions. - Anyhow, everything has its place and time to be told, and we are not there yet. I will only tell you that there is more inside you than you imagine. Some day you will be able to discover it for yourself. I cannot do it for you. I can only help you to find your path. I would be deeply honored if you allowed me to help you. But it's up to you to find the answers for yourself.

-         If ...I allow you...- he repeated

-         Aa. Now that you know what I am, the choice about my living near you is in your hands. 

   

He looked at her, sarcasm glinting in his eyes  

 

-         No. You know that I don't have any other choice. I have told you that I don't like to be indebted to anyone. You saved my life twice, and you lost everything you had the very first time. You are exiled forever in a world that is not yours because of me. And you also make me think that you know things about myself that I ignore completely... and that I want to discover.

-         Then, I assume you will keep the secret of my identity... Well... I must admit I feel better about it, I won't have to hide things, and I can also open my heart to somebody else about my loneliness ... There are so many things I want to tell you... But this is not the right place.  Can we leave here right now?

-         I would prefer you to stay at the clinic until I fix things in our new house.

-         New house? Our new house? What happened to the old one?

-         I got rid of it. It was no longer acceptable for us to be there.  We will temporarily be in a smaller one that I have in the Settlement until I get something more comfortable for both of us to live in.

-         Ah... but I could return to mine...- she insisted.

-         Out of the question. By now everybody knows that you helped me escape the ambush. You are also a target right now, and you will always be because you are related to me somehow.

-         Do you remember what happened to the girl who attacked you? What do you think that I could do to the moron bold enough to get close to me? Humans are painfully...weak ... considering our abilities.

-         I certainly would appreciate it if you would conceal such abilities from public view. You surely understand the mess you could get us both into if they were known. You should be aware of this if you want to continue living among humans without them constantly looking to hunt you down... However let me tell you this: if your lack of judgment brings any trouble on you, obligation or not, you will be on your own. As long as you are wise and don't interfere with my goals, I won't allow anybody to bother you in any way. Besides I suppose it will be easier to live among humans if you are with one of them, especially since you are a female. A single one, by the way,- he pointed out.

-         Yes ...I know ... it is not my first time living among humans, although the other one was my own choice ... Never mind... I admit it will ease things if I am under your 'protection'... Well, I'll take your offer... for now. But my stay at your home won't be a permanent arrangement.

-         We will discuss that later, when I take you there. Now, I have some business to take care of if you know what I mean… You should rest, and please, return the table from where it came. I don't want Doctor Braun to die from a heart attack. It would not be... proper.”

 

Enishi went to the door, his head throbbing with a thousand confused thoughts that he had to sort if he was to make any sense of current matters. He needed to understand the true dimension of what was happening to him and the impact that these things would have in his life and plans.  

   

Asiyah had mentioned something that was bugging him, spinning once and again in his mind. Before taking his leaving, he turned and asked her: 

-         Asiyah... I need to know something... You didn't tell me how you knew that they would try to kill me. You only mentioned a 'friend' of mine. I have no other friends besides you…well, if you don't mind I call you that. At least you are the closest thing to a friend I have ever had.

-         Oh, of course it is an honor to be called your friend, thanks. But... Do you think I would be bothered somehow because you receive that lady almost every evening? I am not of such a type... Besides, it is your life... You certainly don't owe me any explanation... 

-         Asiyah... I don't have any friend visiting me at my home in the evenings. I don't consider those... ladies... from whom I sometimes require some… services, friends at all....

-         Yes, you are right... You shouldn't.  With friends like those, why would you need other enemies? By now you should know you couldn't buy people's heart through money. Loyalty, friendship, respect and love -- these are things that you cannot put in a security box. They cannot be measured or bought in an auction. Certainly they are not won through violence, gold, or power -- but with the effort of your own soul to move and touch other ones. -  She nailed their eyes fixedly on his, and then she turned her gaze from him.- In short, all joking aside, I don't know why you and the others in the house are so secretive around her, but I have seen her many times close to you, in your study or in your terrace... As in the evening of the day of the attack. I use to call her the Lady in White... It is the only name that I find for her. She is such a beautiful and graceful woman... But she seems always so sad... Sometimes, I feel my eyes filled with tears when I remember her gaze... In short…she came to my room that night, and I don't know how, but she knew the kind of being I was, and she warned me about what they would attempt against you. I opened a portal to your house, and the rest of the tale is well-known history.  

   

Yukishiro Enishi thought earth would open to eat him. His legs began to tremble slightly. It was the first time since he was a boy and he realized he needed to sit badly.

  

-         Could... could you please describe that woman to me? -  His voice was a barely audible whisper

-         Are you feeling well? -  She seemed concerned. He had paled.

-         Please, just tell me about the woman.

-         I always see her wearing the same clothes, a white kimono and that wide silk band that keep it on place around the waist... how do you call it?

-         Obi ... it's an obi...- He had the closed his eyes, and he tasted the flavor of his own blood drawn out of his mouth by his own teeth.

-         She also wears a purple silk shawl over her shoulders and arms. Ah, she has long black hair and it is always pulled together down her back. And her skin is so white... as white as the snow...

-         Please stop... it's... It's enough...- His eyes were tightly shut, his expression pained..

-         I must say a last thing though. She had never looked at me until that day in the garden... It felt... odd....

-         Oh, yes... I can imagine it... As far as I know, it’s not an every-day occurrence to be stared upon by a ghost...

-         W-what?

-         She was my sister. She died when I was ten.

-         Wow... - there was a short, uncomfortable silence. - I should have noticed it...

-         I still cannot believe that you can see her... I ... always knew that she was real ... although people thought that I was crazy every time I mentioned to them that she always visited me.

-         It is not as odd as you humans think... Ghosts are mostly souls that still have some unfinished affairs that bind them to this world. They remain in a state that keeps them between both realities until they can solve them. As Jinni can attain subtler realities, that's the reason I could see her.  Humans capable of perceiving them are either extremely sensitive beings or they are linked directly to a fact related to the ghost's death. In the second case, it is generally a traumatic experience that unites them in a very intimate way. -  The pained expression on Enishi's eyes told her that it was a topic that should be avoided at least at that moment.  - No... It is not necessary that you explain this to me. As I told you, everything has its time and place. If some day you want to tell me, I will lend you my ear. I know that now you have many things to think about. I am also sure that you will have a list of questions as long as the Great Wall.... that I will answer as soon as you take me out of here... Ah ... tell me..  What will happen with your customer's visit?

   

She decided to give a sudden turn in the conversation, and the hard, pained stare before her softened, and a silent gratefulness settled in his eyes. 

   

-         I cannot delay it. They are already on they way to Shanghai.

-         Mmmm, then it will be better than we speed things up. There is a lot to take care of and little time left. By the way... What happened to Heishin?

-         He is still at large. I really have to finish this affair with him before my customers arrive. It would be not very appropriate to receive them while we are preoccupied with an internal war.

-         There is a little trunk in my belongings. It has ivory inlays. Inside it there is a mirror. Don't you dare to touch it with your bare hands. Magical objects are quite dangerous, especially if you are not their master. Bring it to me, and I will tell you where to find the traitor. Be careful not to look into the mirror, no matter how tempting it may seem to you.

-         Tell me, this is something I should have to get used to?

-         Probably, at least as long as we keep in each other's company.

   

She gave him a lopsided grin, while he left the room, thinking of all that he would have to absorb yet. 

   

She stretched out in the bed and looked at her bandaged hands. She thought of taking off the cloth bands to heal the wounds that still throbbed painfully, but she decided to wait to the moment Enishi took her from that place. He was right, it was not necessary to scare the good doctor to death... 

   

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He took off his blood-soaked clothes and then entered the tub, rubbing off the remains of blood stuck to his skin. Meanwhile, he still was brooding over the recent events he had discovered during past hours. 

 

He could hardly believe what was happening to him. However, he was absolutely aware that it was neither dream nor fantasy.  

   

He had really seen what he had seen and heard what he had heard. 

   

Although he had had experience with odd, weird things, this was far beyond anything he had encountered in the past.  Asiyah was truly what she said to be; he had no doubt at all about that.  

   

Heishin's terrified face at his sight, while he was making his way to him cutting through the flesh and bones of that bastard's reputed and expensive bodyguards, soaked in their blood, had been almost a total retribution for his betrayal. The idea of letting him live to hand him over to Asiyah afterwards played briefly on his mind. He really wanted to test Asiyah's limits after what he saw she had done with the slut that had tried to kill him in the house, although he already had the idea that she would act only if forced to for self-defense.

   

In any case, her help could be very profitable, as she had just shown to him with that mirror. 

   

Something that bugged him was the question of his own role on this whole affair, the real interest she had in him. 

   

Obviously, he couldn't even think a way to prevent her from doing whatever she wanted with him, at least for the moment. That was clear, and out of discussion considering the things she was capable of.  

   

She had a power that could overwhelm whatever he could attempt. She could even create unbelievable wealth with a simple snap of her fingers. 

   

Then power and money were not her motives to stay close to him.   

 

Enishi felt frustration settling over him. He couldn't fathom the true reason behind Asiyah's motives, and that made him to feel somewhat helpless, a feeling he had never experienced since his resolve to avenge Tomoe's death.

 

Anyhow, the fact that his sister has spoken with Asiyah in order to save him provided a certain sense of reassurance to him.  If Tomoe trusted her, he should as well. Tomoe was always protecting him, so there was no doubt in his mind that she had to have very good reasons to put him under the care of the Yinniyeh.

 

It was a sign.

 

Asiyah had his sister's approval.  He could not ignore or deny that fact. 

   

He felt a pang of jealousy.  After all, Tomoe had never spoken to him as she had spoken to Asiyah during the night of the attack.  She only smiled for him. 

   

Maybe if he asked Asiyah... 

 

-         Mfph! -  He grunted in frustration. - All this is sheer madness...

 

 Anyway, there was something deeper bothering him. 

   

His feelings and emotions had frozen at the time when Tomoe had been murdered.  All of them, except hate and revenge.  There was no place for happiness, love, affection or friendship in his heart.

 

She was the only one worthy of his devotion. 

   

He had never allowed anybody to get close enough to him as to challenge this rule he had imposed on himself, especially after the feeling of rejection, loathe and fear toward him from everybody in his surroundings.

 

He wouldn't let anybody to take any little happiness from him again, and the best way to ensure that was to be alone. Locking away all feelings carefully, except those that could help him to get his goals, was the best solution.

   

But Asiyah was a completely different situation.   

   

Besides she seemed to be Tomoe’s selection. 

   

His higher expectation (if he decided to stay alive after his revenge was complete) was to find an appropriate partner to satisfy some of his necessities – such as giving him healthy heirs to carry his family name and who could serve him in social engagements.  He also wanted a female clever enough to keep an intelligent conversation from time to time. However, like almost every rich or influential male, he had never considered the possibility of committing his feelings in any pairing.  He only needed a female to mate with and to legitimize his social status.  Pleasure was never obtained from a wife's bed; sex with them was meant only to produce legitimate offspring, and he definitely didn't need or wish for love.

 

This time however, he was facing a situation that eluded everything he knew. 

   

He didn't know what Asiyah wanted from him or what Tomoe expected from him in connection with that woman, and worst, he didn't know what he himself wanted concerning this matter. It was the most disturbing situation he had ever faced.  

   

His path had always been clear in the past. He had never doubted, and always made decisions with his eyes wide open, taking all the consequences, knowing them ahead of time, accepting as much the good ones as the bad ones, without hesitation, confidently, efficiently.  

 

But now he felt at loss.

 

The girl attracted him very much, in all her gorgeous exotic and mysterious ways.   

 

The idea of actually taking her as his lover played in his mind from the very beginning, but the mysteries that surrounded her made it wiser to stay at a safe distance.  Moreover, her grace, her behavior, everything reminded him of his sister, engendering a feeling of intangibility around her, almost putting her out of his reach.

 

However, powerful as she was, he found that she would be the one to take the first step, if she ever wanted to.  He had no choice on the matter, except to make clear what he wanted, but the decision would be in her hands. He had no chances of bending her to his wishes at all.

 

Anyway, everybody seemed to think she was actually his woman, his property

 

But he knew in his mind that fate was playing an ironic trick on him. The disturbing thought of becoming her property without the chance of refusing her and not the other way around sent shivers down his spine, and an uncomfortable feeling of being helpless spreading through him.

 

Anyway, he decided, the situation still could be handled.

 

She was young and inexperienced enough to keep her under his control, so no matter how powerful she actually was, she was still a young woman, and he would never allow her to mess with him.  It was just a matter of cunning and strategy, two fields he excelled at.

 

But two things that she said during the attack and at the clinic were still spinning on his head: 

   

" ...this is all the loyalty that money can buy…" 

    

" ...With friends like those, why would you need other enemies?  By now you should know you couldn't buy people's heart through money.  Loyalty, friendship, respect and love -- these are things that you cannot put in a security box.  They cannot be measured or bought in an auction.  Certainly they are not won through violence, gold, or power, but with the effort of your own soul to move and touch other'..." 

   

He was well aware that money didn't buy loyalty.  

 

That was the main reason he had chosen to rule purely by fear.  

   

However, Heishin's case had shown him that fear was not a guarantee against betrayal. Because Heishin certainly had feared him. 

 

He had trusted only one person who was still following him faithfully.  She had trusted him for love.  And because of his love for her, he had sold his soul to hate and vengeance. 

   

Tomoe. 

   

In the end, fear as much as money couldn't be trusted to ensure commitment.

 

Maybe it was time to get loyalty through other bonds... 

 

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

 

 

Glossary 

   

1.         Samovar: Large and often ornate Russian tea urn.  In older models a built-in charcoal burner heated the water (It is filled with water, which is heated by charcoal placed in a pipe, with chimney attached, which passes through the urn), but many modern models are electrically operated. 

 

[Mid-19th century. From Russian, formed from samo- "self" + varit "to boil."]

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