SNEAK PEAK
Shoen and Seyon
Falling in Love
By: Jaella Nelson
Believe it or not Seyon and I didn’t always like each other. I mean of course we communicated in my father’s experiment house, but that was only to plan our escape. Now sitting across from him at a coffee shop I’d never have thought I’d feel this way about him. There was a softness to his icy blue eyes that I’d never seen until now. Now that he was looking at me with that look of such admiration.
“We finally did it. We’re free,” he sounded like it was the most incredible thing in the world, but to me it was him that was incredible.
“You don’t know how long I’d been planning that do you?” I asked him as he watched me from the corner of his eyes.
“How long, Sho?” he asked curiously.
“Ten years today.”
“What happened to you… I can’t even imagine.” His fist clinched as it rested on the table.
“The past is the past until it comes back to kill me,” I growled. “And until then I shall prepare for my revenge on him.”
“I won’t let your past be the end of you. I promise to protect you,” as he said this, his fist began to visibly shake with anger or maybe even determination.
Without thinking I reached my hand across the table and placed it on his. I looked up to see he was just as surprised by this as I was. Then he smiled. It was a beautiful and magnificent smile that took my breath away. And it was in that moment that my heart knew I truly loved this man.
“Shall we fall in love then?” Seyon asked with a playful smile.
“Do we have to formally ask a futile question as such? I think we both know that we fell in love without once asking questions like that.”
“I know, just thought I’d ask so I know that we’re on the same page.”
“Hm… You know what Seyon?” I asked in a light tone.
“What is it?” he asked with renewed curiosity.
“I love you…” I smiled at his expression which was a mix of shock, happiness, and confusion. “The last time I said that… Was the last time I ever saw my mother.”
“I love you too Shoen. So don’t be sad,” and just like that he was at my side, kneeling on one knee, and grasping both of my hands.
“I don’t believe… Could such an incredible man, I wonder, love me?” I shook my head as a self answer. “No. I can’t believe it.”
“Hm, well that won’t do. Shall I- prove it?” I watched his hand move ever so slowly to my face as he brushed the hair stands out of my eyes. And then he leaned in. There was no describing it, the fierce passion and complete and utter bliss of that moment, when our lips met. He and I were unmistakably and horribly perfect for each other. Him, the second in command, and me, the leader of the Kan wolf pack were obviously a great match. Our kids would be ideal for creating a strong newer generation pack. Of course I’m running a head of myself now.
“Wow you two look like you’re about ready to eat each other’s faces off with just a kiss.” I broke the kiss and looked up to see Bedan’s giant body looming over us with a grin on his face.
“You’d be surprised,” I said quietly before laughing. “Where’s Kina? Aren’t you two dating still?”
“Dating? No, no Shoen. We are mated.”
“Mated?” I asked quietly.
“Yes. It’s a wolf term. When two wolves are mated they become partners for life.” Seyon gave me that look again while he explained it to me.
“Huh. So it’s like marriage for wolves like us…”
“Yep, but don’t worry we’ll have a real wedding just for the more human parts of our lives.” His deep voice was comforting to me because he was always the most carefree of all of us. I’m just glad he’s the bomb specialist and not Seyon.
“Shoen?” I looked up when I heard Seyon’s voice. He was about to ask something serious so I looked him dead in the eyes and waited. “Would you be my mate?”
“Seyon… A mate is forever. Are you sure that you can put up with me for that long?” I asked with a little doubt lacing my words.
“Forever? I can gladly ‘deal’ with you for a lot longer than that,” He smiled up at me.
“Whoa-ho cold ol’ Seyon’s finally warming up!” Bedan laughed and patted Seyon on the shoulder.
“Be careful what you wish for…” I leaned down to meet his waiting lips and then I whispered to him, “Because you just might get it.”
“Maybe that’s what I want.”
“We should get going. It would seem he’s finally on the move.” I turned in time to see Kina appear from what seemed like nowhere.
“What’s his location?” I asked slipping into alpha mode.
“He has twenty new breeds searching the west side of New York City right now. They’re about fifteen minutes away from here.” Her voice was low and quiet yet strong. She had always been amazing to me because of that. She had strength and abilities that no one would guess someone as small as she could possess.
“Good work. So here’s the plan. We head to the nearest forest and take down these new breeds in our territory,” I stated in a calm voice while pulling out a map. “We have traps here, here, and here. That leaves these spots open for ambush attacks. We have to remember that even if new breeds are weaker than us, there are some exceptions. So be on your guard.”
“Should we go in group formation or on our own?” Seyon asked as he eyed the spots on the map that I had marked.
“Opinions?” I asked looking at Bedan and Kina.
“I think we’d be better off in groups, but we might be able to take more down on our own,” Kina spoke softly from Bedan’s side.
“I would rather go in teams. That way if any of us gets overpowered we have backup.”
I nodded to Kina and Bedan then turned to Seyon. I knew by looking at him he knew what my father was after and he was set on keeping me all to himself. He wanted to protect me.
“Ok so it’s decided. We’ll go in groups. Seyon and I will head into the forest from a different entrance point that way we can set up the attacks. They’ll follow my scent and won’t get the chance to see you guys coming.” I smirked and folded up the map.
So much for enjoying freedom for long because there was always a chase and always a price to be paid for said freedom. We left the coffee shop and set our plan in action. Kina and Bedan parted with us moments later leaving me and Seyon by ourselves. I was still reeling from his asking me to be his mate. Of course I’ve only felt a forever love once before… But it was nothing like this not to mention that Seyon had a less likely chance of dying on me. Seyon and I could be forever.
“So what’s your answer?” Seyon asked pulling me from my thoughts.
“I- uh thought I’d already answered,” I looked away as I purposely dodged his question.
“You never fully did. Is it a yes or no, Shoen? It’s fine if you don’t want to be with me.”
I frowned and stopped in my tracks. He stopped a little bit ahead of me and waited for me to speak so I crossed my arms over my chest and looked him in the eyes. “I want you. I want to be with you. I-I think I’m in love with you. But don’t you think this is a bit of a reckless time to be confessing love to each other? I mean because if you ask me running for our lives isn’t exactly romantic.”
He took a step towards me and outstretched his hand, “Huh, I always took you for a wild type of girl. Excitement seems to be your thing.” As I took his hand I knew it was sealed… I was this man’s- this wolf’s mate and it was one of the only things in this life that felt right.
“Yes…” I whispered.
“Did you just say yes?” I looked up at him and saw his eyes wide in astonishment.
“Yes,” I repeated more confidently. It was the right choice and I knew it. Before I had time to say anything else he pulled me into his arms. I breathed in the scent of his hair which always smelled like the outdoors.
“I promise I’ll love you for the rest of our lives. You won’t regret picking me.”
“I know,” I said calmly before taking in the scents around us. “Seyon, get ready,” I whispered before about 15 of the 20 new breeds were upon us.
TO BE CONTINUED... (Next story: Restless Company)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Namida Saga's FIRST Book
The first book, Flower's Tears, has been published on Lulu.com!!! So exciting! So I've taken the story off this blog to encourage the sales of the book. I bet people would rather read a book than a computer screen. So please read the first book now available at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/Jaella Thanks for reading and/or buying my book!
Flower's Tears preview:
Miyu Shitori is a sixteen year old girl who was born into a world where vampires have started to take over. She was finally sold to three rich and deadly handsome men of Mitsukute castle after a strange encounter in the market place. Before she had spent more than ten minutes in the house she realized this was going to be the most interesting and frightening experience in her life. Caught in between blind hatred from Keimaru, genuine love from Masako, and unknown cruelty from Hitori, she steps into a world where every breath could be her last.
-Jaella Nelson <3
Flower's Tears preview:
Miyu Shitori is a sixteen year old girl who was born into a world where vampires have started to take over. She was finally sold to three rich and deadly handsome men of Mitsukute castle after a strange encounter in the market place. Before she had spent more than ten minutes in the house she realized this was going to be the most interesting and frightening experience in her life. Caught in between blind hatred from Keimaru, genuine love from Masako, and unknown cruelty from Hitori, she steps into a world where every breath could be her last.
-Jaella Nelson <3
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Namida Saga - All you need to know/Behind the scene of Flower's Tears
I wrote this story from inspiration I got from my friends and it turned out to be one of my greatest pieces. First of all I named it Namida Saga because the original title was Namida no Dorei (Slave Tears) in which Namida means tears. My main character is the flower of my story and she sheds many tears on her journey.
Slave's Tears (Namida no Dorei) is the first book which shows the beginning of the vampire vs. human war. Miyu falls in love with her master which causes a whole bunch of trouble for her family, but luckily she made friends that would protect her at any cost.
Wolf's Beauty (Korei no Ookami) is the second book which gets more into the war and introduces the child of Masako and Miyu along with the Kanex-Mang pack. To avoid the war, Miyu decides to take her family to a peace camp to get away from the war along with Shoen and the pack. Shoen forgot to mention that her father was a mad scientist and might have been after her child. When her father showed up, he didn't just kidnap Shoen's son, but Miyu's daughter as well. So Miyu is off to New York with Shoen to get their children back.
The next book in the series is Bloodshed Revolution (血液小屋・レボリューション). Everything has calmed down again and living at the peace camp was no longer necessary. It's right after the war ended and Miyu is worried about aging faster than Masako. She learned that, unless a vampire deeply cared for the person they bite, the victim of the vampire will either die from blood loss or be turned into a soulless vampire who wont have any memories of their former life.
A few years have passed and Shoryu and Arianna (Miyu and Shoen's kids) are grown up and live in New York. Arianna gave birth to twins that were named Mercy and Cruelty. It was in their aging that the war between Werewolf and Vampire began. Now Mercy is faced with the task of protecting her family, figuring out who she really is, and killing her brother. When she finds out the reasons behind their names, things turn for the worst. Mercy and her best friend, Rain, are in a race to find out the truth before Crue and his vampire army attack the city. Will Mercy figure out the truth in time?
She also has to stop her great grandfather who has been tormenting her family for years. Will Mercy and Crue join forces to take him down? Or will the vampires and werewolves kill each other off before they get their chance. Only with the help of Shoen, Miyu, and some strong friends in the most surprising places will they be able to take down the people who threaten the city and soon enough the world.
Interested? I'm currently re-writing Namida no Dorei, but the current book is up on Lulu.com. Thanks a bunch!
Behind the Scene and Sneak peek at Beauty of the Wolf and Namida.
My reasons behind writing this are simple in a way. I needed an escape from life and once I had written the first sentence of Namida no Dorei the characters took on a life of their own. Stopping the story is like ending a life and leaving unanswered questions. (I hate the words 'The End'.
It took me a while to perfect this story and I still have to go back and change a few things (grammer, story-line, etc.). It's nice to ignore logic every once in a while so having a character who lives with three vampire brothers was fun to write. My story started out at a fast pace, but my favorite part of the whole story is when Shoen and the pack come into the story at last.
Characters are always fun to create except when coming up with names. Miyu is the innocence of the story which is how she wins people over. It's been known to happen in many stories where the character draws people in and creates a change. Miyu is innocent, but she doesn't show her power until the end of book 1. Miyu translates as "Beauty of the Night," which is really amazing because of the "Lover's Pond" scene she's bathed in moonlight with a flower in her hair.
Keimaru is the evil one at first because I needed a character people would hate and want to see the end of. Towards the end he's one of my favorite characters because he shows his strong and gentle side while Masako's being a jerk. Masako is the hero throughout the book to support Miyu in her travels making it possible for her to lead a life not of servitude.
Shoen's story will be told in Wolf's Beauty and I'm really excited about her. Although I've moved on in the story where her granddaughter takes her place as leader, I'm sure Shoen will still play an important role.
Symbolism: The flower is one of my main symbolic items. The while lily, orchid, and oleander are a symbol for purity but the last one is one of the most important. The oleander is a symbol for motherhood which was perfect for the scene where she tells Masako she's pregnant.
More about the characters than you get to see:
Miyu is still young in the first book, but we get a glimpse of her power. She is a sort of seer in a way but more in the spiritual sense. She is also a decendant of a Celestial maiden from Japanese history.
Masako and Keimaru are actually really close but Miyu kind of fueled a fight between them. Masako and Keimaru also went on a trip to America and that's why both their kids have english names. Wait you don't know Silly yet... Hehe.
Hitori is a painter and studied in the medical field for many years. He keeps to himself and most probably would think it's out of character for him to help people. He's not really as cruel as he seems. He gets his role from his name meaning which is Alone, lonely, or lonesome.
SNEAK PEEK TIME
Slave's Tears (Namida no Dorei) Edited Chapters
By: Jaella Nelson
Introduction
Miyu Shitori is a sixteen year old girl who was born into a world where vampires have started to take over. She was finally sold to three rich and deadly handsome men of Mitsukute castle after a strange encounter in the market place. Before she had spent more than ten minutes in the house she realized this was going to be the most interesting and frightening experience in her life. Caught in between blind hatred from Keimaru, genuine love from Masako, and unknown cruelty from Hitori, she steps into a world where every breath could be her last.
Chapter one: Meeting the Masters
What would you do if vampires took over the world? Convert? Sacrifice yourself? Run away? These are considered wishful thinking to some. The only choice for most was to serve them. Though it doesn’t sound that bad, it’s defiantly no walk in the park. I, myself, was owned by a human business man. He sold workers and maids to vampires across Japan. At the time when I began to make sense of my world it was a little too late though. I hadn’t known about the vampire world until my sold days.
I never really thought about where I'd be by the time I was 16, and I never really wanted too. It scared me that one day I'd be sold off to some random house. I had already been sold once to a man named Shinta, so I knew what it would be like. Maybe this time I would be able to stay in the next house.
My name is Miyu Shitori and my story begins in a worn down hut out in the country hill sides of Japan. I was born into a house of slaves under the control of Koiyuki who master sold me to the young Lord of Mitsukute Castle when I turned 15 years old. The youngest lord's name was Keimaru, the elder master's name was Masako, and the last and oldest brother was Hitori. When I was first brought into the house someone informed me that Master Keimaru claimed me as his personal maid and that the other brothers were to stay away from me. Something was strange about this family; I was yet to find out what. This is when my greatest adventure began.
"Miyu," my mother called from the doorway, "It's time to go!"
"I'm coming Mother!" I glanced down at the little white lily on the ground one last time and then turned back to the shabby house my mother and I shared.
"Now you must look you best," she said pulling out a dress she'd worn but once since I was born. I gave her a funny look and reached for my black shirt and Capri pants.
“Mother, I’m not going to be a princess or anything. Just another maid,” I said pulling the shirt over my head.
“Well take this with you as a reminder of me, ok?” She handed it to me after I put the Capri pants on.
“Thank you mother. I will return when I can,” I said before I gave her a long hug. I then turned to the door and walked to the carriage that was waiting for me.
***
I was brought into the house by a boy who met Master Koyuki outside. He introduced himself and I bowed respectfully to him, although I couldn’t drag my eyes away from his red ones.
"I am Keimaru the third lord of this castle. Now come with me," the brown haired boy said as he stepped forward. He was a bit taller than me and was extremely beautiful. He seemed to hold a dangerous air about him and I was sure that I would find out why soon.
I followed him in silence still pondering and pointing out the distinct features in him that I’d never seen before. He was wearing strange clothes too which made me think that he was of great wealth and had traveled a great deal of the world. His shirt was black and was held together by little buttons up the front of it. He was a strange and yet perfect being in my eyes.
Then suddenly he turned around and slapped me harshly, "You will address me as master. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master," I put my hand on my cheek. Maybe he wasn't as perfect as I had once thought. His flaws were under the paled skin and masked behind his beautiful face. He was an angry soul.
"That's more like it," he said while nodding in approval before he started to walk again.
He brought me to a room that was small and dimly lit inside. When I entered I could see that the walls were a light sheen of blue and there was only one window along with a little bed in the corner. After looking at the room for a moment more I chanced a glance at him. He was watching me intently which made me look away.
"What is your name?" he asked quietly as if not to disturb the peace of the little room.
"Miyu, Master," I replied equally quietly.
"Miyu? Then Miyu this is your room.” He gestured to the room with a wave of his hand. “The other maids will show you around the castle later, but for now remain in here unless you are called upon.” The dangerous look in his eyes told me he was not one to be trifled with.
“Yes, Master,” I said to him to prove my obedience.
“Come with me for now, I want you to meet Masako,” he said from the doorway.
"Yes, Master," I kept my gaze away from his burning eyes and followed him down the halls. There were paintings decorating the halls, but I dared not look at them out right. I snuck tiny views of the works of art as we passed them and yet our journey down the hall was short lived.
We walked into a huge room with more beautiful paintings, which differed from the ones in the hall, and books all around. In the center of the room was a dashing man with black hair who stood reading a book. He was as perfect and beautiful as Keimaru and yet I could see no family resemblance. He looked up with curious green eyes when we entered the room. Green eyes that I had seen before, I knew. He was somehow familiar to me and yet I couldn’t think of the time and place where I had seen them before.
"Brother, this is Miyu our newest arrival," he looked at me expectantly though I didn’t know exactly what he expected me to do.
I bowed once and kept my gaze on the ground as if his gaze would burn me too. There was something that had sparked in Keimaru’s red eyes the moment I looked into them and I was somehow aware that the green eyes would do that same, but only much more powerful. He’d smiled slightly before he went back into his act as a fearsome man.
"Nice to meet you Miyu," Masako smiled knowingly and winked softly at me without Keimaru noticing.
"Well?" Keimaru tapped his foot with impatience. "Aren't you going to say hello?"
"It is nice to meet you as well." I raised my head a little and tried to look in his eyes. It was like trying to look into the sun, if I did it too long I swear I’d go blind. Though I was sure I could stare into his eyes all day.
"Keimaru be nice. She's a bit shy," he said while glanced at his younger brother.
"She needs to learn her place," he growled which made me take a cautious step back. The air of danger I had felt around his was now electrically charged with anger.
"Just remember she was sold to this house, not to you." Masako smirked and glanced at me as I looked up at him. I quickly averted my gaze which was then dragged back to Keimaru.
"Let's go Miyu," Keimaru looked, more like glared, at me and he grabbed my arm.
"Yes, Master." I bowed to Masako as Keimaru dragged me out. I could feel his anger coursing through me where his hand touched my skin.
Keimaru anger turned to madness by the time we entered, what I assumed was, his room. The first thing he did was push me down to the ground and then he ran his eyes over me.
"Uh, Master?" I stared up at the now furious Keimaru and I could see something else that I didn’t like in his eyes. There was an animalistic passion that burned there as well and it inspired the worst kind of fear in me.
Then he started kicking me over and over. My eyes were blurring with tears and I yelled out as he delivered the final blow. There I was, clenching my stomach on the floor, coughing violently.
"Stupid girl, you will learn your place!" he yelled fiercely as he leaned over me.
When he finally stopped kicking me it hurt too much to move and that’s when he pulled off my clothes. I knew what he was about to do I closed my eyes tight. Before he left me in this horrible scene he looked down at me. I met his gaze with tear filled eyes. He had raped me and then left me alone in the room. I felt the tears slide down my cheeks as I laid there in shock. I pulled my clothes back on, still crying, and curled up into a ball on the floor. It had been a fear of mine ever since my mother had explained our lives to me and here I was now the victim.
“I knew he was going to do something," a voice said from the door and then Masako walked in and cast a sympathetic look upon me.
I didn't know what he would do to me or what he was like so I quickly pulled myself onto my knees and bowed, but I couldn't get my hands to stop shaking. I refused to look up at him as embarrassment coursed through my veins.
"You misunderstand. I won’t hurt you, trust me," he walked over to where I was and kneeled down next to me. He placed his hand on mine and I met his gaze slowly. "Look at what he did. You have burses forming and a bloody lip." He pulled me up off the floor easily before he gingerly touched the side of my face. "What a pity he hurt such a beautiful young girl."
I turned my gaze back to the ground and blushed slightly though I’d been disgraced moments before. “Just a few scratches,” I replied simply trying to hide the amount of pain Keimaru had caused.
"Come with me," he said as he walked slowly to the door.
"Yes, Master," I said without thinking as if it now came naturally. I thought nothing of it at the moment though.
"You don't have to call me that. You can just call me Masako." He turned to me and grabbed my hand.
Masako pulled me into his room and treated my lip carefully. It wasn’t long until Keimaru returned in search of his missing possession. My fear of him grew steadily as I watched him enter the room.
"What are you doing?" he growled while walking over to us and grabbing my face in his cold hand, examining the damage. There was a tiny spark in his eyes though that somehow resembled regret which quickly vanished when he met my gaze.
"You need to control your temper," Masako said while glaring at Keimaru and pushing his hand away from me.
"Why do you care for these slaves? They mean nothing to anyone!" He grabbed me by my hair suddenly and pulled me out of the room with great force.
"Keimaru stop!" Masako was at his heels as my shock relinquished its hold on me and the pain sank in. Finally I screamed at the pain of his hand. Keimaru refused to let go and pulled out strands of my hair which caused blood to seep from the newly developed wounds.
"Let her go Keimaru!" he yelled before he knocked his brother to the ground and made him loose his grip on me.
I put my hand on my head and when I looked at it again my hand was stained with blood. The blood itself seemed to speak volumes to me about who Keimaru was and also what I was in for while living here.
"Miyu hurry this way, quickly.” He grabbed my wrist, avoiding the blood, and I noticed that he stared at the blood for a second as if trying to resist it. It struck my curiosity to burn brighter than before, but the pain of my wound prevented any further investigation. Masako then lead me into another room.
"I've never seen him treat one of his slaves like this before," he said as he stopped the bleeding on my head. He was inches from me patting a bloodstained rag on my forehead to get rid of the last bit of blood that had dripped down my face.
"I'm sorry,” I said quietly to him as I turned my gaze to the floor.
"It's not your fault," he said looking out the window then back at me when I looked up. He smiled lightly at me with his eyes holding gentleness in them that I had seemed to miss before.
"Do you think he'll come after me again? I mean do you think he will try to hurt me?" I asked trying to clear the air that had suddenly become electric charged. I tried to stifle a yawn but turned out to be powerless against it. I hadn’t realized how tired I’d been until that moment.
"He will be angry, but you don't have to worry about that because I’ll take care of it. Now why don't you go get some sleep?" He smiled at me and then insisted on leading me back to my tiny blue room. "I'll have to get someone to make up a better room for you,” he said as he surveyed the small and barely furnished room.
"This room is fine," I assured him not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble for him. I stood there next to him trying to resist the electric current that was drawing me to him.
"Well I think you should stay away from Keimaru for a while." He looked at me with his worried and burning beautiful eyes. His face was like an eclipse, so bright you can’t look at it at all when he smiles. His eyes burned with something more than worry though. I could tell he felt the electricity too.
My mind switched back to what we had been talking about which happened to be Keimaru. "Is it even possible to avoid him in his own house? If he finds me I'll have no choice but to follow orders," I said not thinking and clasped my hand over my mouth thinking I’d gone a bit too far. I was a slave and I had to remember that. Holding my tongue was acquired for this forced occupation.
"That's true. We'll deal with that tomorrow. One more thing, be careful not to run into Hitori, my older brother. If you do, he might kill you just for even talking to him," he said as he turned off the lights. His eyes flashed from the doorway and I wanted with all my heart to ask him to stay with me.
"I think I'll stick to sitting in this room until I‘m called upon," I said quietly while looking down at my folded hands in my lap.
"I won’t let him hurt you again,” he said strongly as he appeared at my side. He grasped my hand and peered into my dark brown eyes.
"But like he said, I mean nothing to anyone. So who cares if I get hurt?" I had truly believed what Keimaru had said; rarely anyone cared about their slaves. “Why do you care so much?”
"You are not nothing! He was wrong to say anything like that!" He was mad now as he let go of my hand and turned to the door. "Good night Miyu," he said anger in his tone that reminded me of Keimaru.
"Good night, Master," I said on accident and fell to my knees in a bow, "Forgive me. Good night Masako."
He turned back to me and lifted me from the floor swiftly and easily. “You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he said as he leaned closer to me. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders instinctively and accepted his lips against mine. It was a soft kiss that developed into a passion consumed spark that ignited a flame.
“Masako,” I whispered into his ear as he pulled me into a tight embrace.
His expression had lightened when he finally looked at me again, "Silly girl," he whispered back to me. He finally bid me goodnight and left me to my solitude. And without knowing it, I’d just received my nickname. I would be known as their silly little slave girl-Or maybe not.
Chapter two: Dealing with Keimaru
Keimaru wasn’t one to give up easily and I was sure of it. I could hear the lock on my door click as a key turned the contraption which would make the door unusable as a passage way. My mind drifted into unconsciousness and seemingly forgot the sound had even occurred.
When morning light hit the window I opened my eyes. I knew that today was going to be rough and that didn’t excite me much. The only good part about being in this castle was Masako. I was afraid to even think about what the other brother would be like. Hitori, Masako, and Keimaru, the three brothers of the Mitsukute castle, were somewhat of a mystery to me. Something about them seemed almost unreal or scary.
“I should go find the other slaves so I can get to know how this place works,” I said to myself as I swung my feet over the edge of the bed. I ignored my growling stomach as I stood and shook off the pain from my bruises other small wounds I’d received the day before. I walked to the or only 6 feet away and reached for the door knob only to find that it was locked. My mind switched on to high alert and I began conjuring up ideas as to why the door had been locked.
"Could it be Masako locked me in? For protection or punishment? Or maybe Keimaru himself did it." I crossed the small room and grabbed the bars on the window. "There's gotta be a way out,” I said hysterically.
I waited in the room for the whole day trying to figure out a way to get out. I even thought to take the pins out of the jam of the door, but that quickly failed when I realized that the pins where on the other side of the door. I finally climbed back into bed trying to conserve some of my energy. I hadn’t eaten for two days prior to this and so I figured it best for me to just rest a while. Masako would come for me.
Sleep overcame me and I only barely heard the sound of knocking on the door. When it was made evident that the door had been locked and that the lock was on the outside of the room, I could hear the door being broken down. Then I heard his voice which called out my name.
"Miyu, what happened? Are you ok?" he asked me before he picked me up.
"Hmmm," I stirred quietly as the faint noise of my stomach growling in growing impatience could be heard.
I glanced up to see him smile slightly and then he mumbled something almost incoherently, but I had managed to catch 'typical human' out of the mixed words.
As he carried me through the halls I opened my eyes to examine the halls, but he didn't seem to notice. We passed another room that had lavish carved wooden doors. When I looked into the room there was a man with long white hair pulled back into a long braid. He was tall by the looks of it and he was dressed in a white silk fighting kimono that parted up the sides of his legs all the way to his waist. That must have been Hitori. He glared at me with his dark eyes in silence when he spotted Masako carrying me. I closed my eyes tight not wanting to remember the cold look in his eyes. Even his mere gaze sent shivers down my spine and made my heart pound with fear.
"Awake now are you?" he asked as his green eyes peered down at me.
I guessed that my heart beat ruined my façade of sleep after all."What happened? I remember that I was locked in my room and then..." I stopped and blushed when my stomach continued in its protests.
"I'm guessing Keimaru lock you in there while you slept. Then you were stuck in there all day and passed out from hunger,” he deducted smoothly.
"Well I did fall asleep, but going hungry really isn’t anything new to me," I said as I tried to keep from meeting his gaze.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked while raising an elegant dark brow.
"Back when I was with my mother, my first master would sometimes leave us without food. And it was never a good idea to remind him." I didn't want to meet his gaze so I stared at the hall ahead of us.
"I promise you will never have to go through that again, “he promised as we finally reached the kitchen. It was touching, but I wouldn’t fall for it.
"And what about the others?” I asked fervently. I had known of masters who picked favorites and I had always hated it. They usually paraded their favorites around too. “I am no different from the rest of them. No special treatment should be given to me.”
“I assure you that the others have adequate living quarters and food. The only slaves of ours that have it worse are those of Keimaru’s.” He looked down at me meaningfully. I was one of Keimaru’s slaves and that was why I had it worse. But, in truth, Keimaru didn’t seem all bad…
***
After that I got used to walking around the castle and avoiding Keimaru for the most part. Every now and then I would run into him and every time I would get a new burse or task. He would have me clean his room every few days and run errands throughout the house. Today was one of those days where I received the tedious chore of cleaning every inch of his room.
"Here we go again," I said quietly to myself as I took a deep breath and walked in.
He wasn't in there but something else caught my eye. I gasped at the sight of the dead girl. She was laying there with lifeless, glazed over eyes that seemed to stare straight through me. She was wearing the same outfit that I always wore and her hair was even similar to mine. My mind went fuzzy and the next thing I knew Masako was standing next to me taking in the gruesome scene.
"Not again," he said quietly as he looked sympathetically down at the girl. Something in his eyes told me that he saw the similarities too. He looked back up at me finally with a worried expression as he noticed my fingers clutching my shirt a little too tightly.
"I'm pretty sure that if I'd never been introduced to you- she would have been me,” I explained through uneven breaths. My mind felt hazy and the world around me seemed to be spinning now.
"That's probably true,” he replied slowly before he placed his hand on the side of my face. "Are you going to be ok?"
"I don't know anymore." I felt sick to my stomach and the sensation only seemed to grow worse with each passing moment.
"Hey Miyu, get to cleaning will you!" Keimaru complained as he walked into the room. “I want this place spick and span.”
"Yes, Master,” I had no will to defy him and ignored my growing sickness as I took a step towards the girl’s body. Masako grabbed my wrist before I could proceed.
“Keimaru, this ends now. Miyu is no longer under your control. Do you hear me?" Masako stated with pure authority.
At that point I couldn't take it. I was sick in the throw up kind of way and found myself running out of the room and straight to the bathroom. I couldn’t believe that I had gotten sick right in the middle of Masako’s rescue speech. After I felt better, I pushed my shaky legs into motion and washed my mouth out. Then, I walked out of the bath room slowly and went straight to my room ignoring the two boys who stood at the bathroom door watching me with worried, and disgusted, looks. Guess who was wearing which.
"Where do you think you're going?" Keimaru growled as he grabbed the collar of my shirt. "You still have that mess to clean up!"
"Be quiet Keimaru," Masako growled back and quickly removed his hand from my person.
I should have thanked him, but instead I walked blindly forward. I kept walking not thinking about where I was going or who was in front of me. I was oblivious to the changing world around me in more than one way it seemed. It wasn’t until I ran into someone that I noticed where I was. ‘Hitori’s hall’ I had nicknamed it days ago and in front of me stood the fearsome phantom himself. His dark eyes sharpened and narrowed as he looked down at me. I got down on my knees and bowed. "Forgive me Master Hitori, I didn’t see you there.”
"Watch where you're going," he said calmly and walked away. I began wondering about him then. His face seemed naturally cold and his eyes were almost angry, but something beneath it all looked almost like curiosity to me.
I pulled myself off the ground and continued to think about it. When I finally reached my room, I opened the door, fell onto my bed, and was asleep moments later. I forgot to shut the door or even bother to pull the blankets up because I had been so worn out from the days chores and events. A few minutes later someone walked into the room. I opened my eyes slightly to see Masako standing at the door.
"I didn't mean to wake you. How are you feeling?" He took another step into the room and took a small look around as if trying to seem casual.
"Don't worry about me Master Masako." I said while sitting up.
"I told you not to call me that,” he replied with amusement now. He walked over and sat down beside me quietly, keeping the peaceful feel of the room.
“I forgot to thank you before,” I said while looking up at him.
“Huh? For what?” he asked in return.
“For releasing me from Keimaru’s grasp,” I replied meaning it in both literally and figuratively speaking. “I owe you so much now-.” My sentence was cut short when he placed a quick and almost subtle kiss on my lips.
“You owe me nothing, Miyu.” He gently brushed the hair from my eyes as I looked up at him with burning cheeks, clearly flustered.
“Well when you put it that way,” I said and smiled up at him as he laughed. I couldn’t believe it at first but I found myself falling for him. He was kind, intelligent, bold, and over all dashing. I reached a cautious hand out to trace the side of his face and stopped when my fingertips touched the very lips that had been on mine only seconds before. I met his gazed and withdrew my hand sharply, but not quickly enough. He grabbed my hand and continued to place a kiss on my palm.
I reached up and pulled him to me now so I could give him another kiss, this one was a lot more involved than the last one though. Finally, when a yawn escaped my lips, he made me lay down again.
“Sleep well, I promise I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said quietly as he walked back to the door and closed it softly behind him. Three seconds gone and I already missed him. This brought troubling questions to my mind now. What was love and was I falling into it with him?
Slave's Tears (Namida no Dorei) is the first book which shows the beginning of the vampire vs. human war. Miyu falls in love with her master which causes a whole bunch of trouble for her family, but luckily she made friends that would protect her at any cost.
Wolf's Beauty (Korei no Ookami) is the second book which gets more into the war and introduces the child of Masako and Miyu along with the Kanex-Mang pack. To avoid the war, Miyu decides to take her family to a peace camp to get away from the war along with Shoen and the pack. Shoen forgot to mention that her father was a mad scientist and might have been after her child. When her father showed up, he didn't just kidnap Shoen's son, but Miyu's daughter as well. So Miyu is off to New York with Shoen to get their children back.
The next book in the series is Bloodshed Revolution (血液小屋・レボリューション). Everything has calmed down again and living at the peace camp was no longer necessary. It's right after the war ended and Miyu is worried about aging faster than Masako. She learned that, unless a vampire deeply cared for the person they bite, the victim of the vampire will either die from blood loss or be turned into a soulless vampire who wont have any memories of their former life.
A few years have passed and Shoryu and Arianna (Miyu and Shoen's kids) are grown up and live in New York. Arianna gave birth to twins that were named Mercy and Cruelty. It was in their aging that the war between Werewolf and Vampire began. Now Mercy is faced with the task of protecting her family, figuring out who she really is, and killing her brother. When she finds out the reasons behind their names, things turn for the worst. Mercy and her best friend, Rain, are in a race to find out the truth before Crue and his vampire army attack the city. Will Mercy figure out the truth in time?
She also has to stop her great grandfather who has been tormenting her family for years. Will Mercy and Crue join forces to take him down? Or will the vampires and werewolves kill each other off before they get their chance. Only with the help of Shoen, Miyu, and some strong friends in the most surprising places will they be able to take down the people who threaten the city and soon enough the world.
Interested? I'm currently re-writing Namida no Dorei, but the current book is up on Lulu.com. Thanks a bunch!
Behind the Scene and Sneak peek at Beauty of the Wolf and Namida.
My reasons behind writing this are simple in a way. I needed an escape from life and once I had written the first sentence of Namida no Dorei the characters took on a life of their own. Stopping the story is like ending a life and leaving unanswered questions. (I hate the words 'The End'.
It took me a while to perfect this story and I still have to go back and change a few things (grammer, story-line, etc.). It's nice to ignore logic every once in a while so having a character who lives with three vampire brothers was fun to write. My story started out at a fast pace, but my favorite part of the whole story is when Shoen and the pack come into the story at last.
Characters are always fun to create except when coming up with names. Miyu is the innocence of the story which is how she wins people over. It's been known to happen in many stories where the character draws people in and creates a change. Miyu is innocent, but she doesn't show her power until the end of book 1. Miyu translates as "Beauty of the Night," which is really amazing because of the "Lover's Pond" scene she's bathed in moonlight with a flower in her hair.
Keimaru is the evil one at first because I needed a character people would hate and want to see the end of. Towards the end he's one of my favorite characters because he shows his strong and gentle side while Masako's being a jerk. Masako is the hero throughout the book to support Miyu in her travels making it possible for her to lead a life not of servitude.
Shoen's story will be told in Wolf's Beauty and I'm really excited about her. Although I've moved on in the story where her granddaughter takes her place as leader, I'm sure Shoen will still play an important role.
Symbolism: The flower is one of my main symbolic items. The while lily, orchid, and oleander are a symbol for purity but the last one is one of the most important. The oleander is a symbol for motherhood which was perfect for the scene where she tells Masako she's pregnant.
More about the characters than you get to see:
Miyu is still young in the first book, but we get a glimpse of her power. She is a sort of seer in a way but more in the spiritual sense. She is also a decendant of a Celestial maiden from Japanese history.
Masako and Keimaru are actually really close but Miyu kind of fueled a fight between them. Masako and Keimaru also went on a trip to America and that's why both their kids have english names. Wait you don't know Silly yet... Hehe.
Hitori is a painter and studied in the medical field for many years. He keeps to himself and most probably would think it's out of character for him to help people. He's not really as cruel as he seems. He gets his role from his name meaning which is Alone, lonely, or lonesome.
SNEAK PEEK TIME
Slave's Tears (Namida no Dorei) Edited Chapters
By: Jaella Nelson
Introduction
Miyu Shitori is a sixteen year old girl who was born into a world where vampires have started to take over. She was finally sold to three rich and deadly handsome men of Mitsukute castle after a strange encounter in the market place. Before she had spent more than ten minutes in the house she realized this was going to be the most interesting and frightening experience in her life. Caught in between blind hatred from Keimaru, genuine love from Masako, and unknown cruelty from Hitori, she steps into a world where every breath could be her last.
Chapter one: Meeting the Masters
What would you do if vampires took over the world? Convert? Sacrifice yourself? Run away? These are considered wishful thinking to some. The only choice for most was to serve them. Though it doesn’t sound that bad, it’s defiantly no walk in the park. I, myself, was owned by a human business man. He sold workers and maids to vampires across Japan. At the time when I began to make sense of my world it was a little too late though. I hadn’t known about the vampire world until my sold days.
I never really thought about where I'd be by the time I was 16, and I never really wanted too. It scared me that one day I'd be sold off to some random house. I had already been sold once to a man named Shinta, so I knew what it would be like. Maybe this time I would be able to stay in the next house.
My name is Miyu Shitori and my story begins in a worn down hut out in the country hill sides of Japan. I was born into a house of slaves under the control of Koiyuki who master sold me to the young Lord of Mitsukute Castle when I turned 15 years old. The youngest lord's name was Keimaru, the elder master's name was Masako, and the last and oldest brother was Hitori. When I was first brought into the house someone informed me that Master Keimaru claimed me as his personal maid and that the other brothers were to stay away from me. Something was strange about this family; I was yet to find out what. This is when my greatest adventure began.
"Miyu," my mother called from the doorway, "It's time to go!"
"I'm coming Mother!" I glanced down at the little white lily on the ground one last time and then turned back to the shabby house my mother and I shared.
"Now you must look you best," she said pulling out a dress she'd worn but once since I was born. I gave her a funny look and reached for my black shirt and Capri pants.
“Mother, I’m not going to be a princess or anything. Just another maid,” I said pulling the shirt over my head.
“Well take this with you as a reminder of me, ok?” She handed it to me after I put the Capri pants on.
“Thank you mother. I will return when I can,” I said before I gave her a long hug. I then turned to the door and walked to the carriage that was waiting for me.
***
I was brought into the house by a boy who met Master Koyuki outside. He introduced himself and I bowed respectfully to him, although I couldn’t drag my eyes away from his red ones.
"I am Keimaru the third lord of this castle. Now come with me," the brown haired boy said as he stepped forward. He was a bit taller than me and was extremely beautiful. He seemed to hold a dangerous air about him and I was sure that I would find out why soon.
I followed him in silence still pondering and pointing out the distinct features in him that I’d never seen before. He was wearing strange clothes too which made me think that he was of great wealth and had traveled a great deal of the world. His shirt was black and was held together by little buttons up the front of it. He was a strange and yet perfect being in my eyes.
Then suddenly he turned around and slapped me harshly, "You will address me as master. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master," I put my hand on my cheek. Maybe he wasn't as perfect as I had once thought. His flaws were under the paled skin and masked behind his beautiful face. He was an angry soul.
"That's more like it," he said while nodding in approval before he started to walk again.
He brought me to a room that was small and dimly lit inside. When I entered I could see that the walls were a light sheen of blue and there was only one window along with a little bed in the corner. After looking at the room for a moment more I chanced a glance at him. He was watching me intently which made me look away.
"What is your name?" he asked quietly as if not to disturb the peace of the little room.
"Miyu, Master," I replied equally quietly.
"Miyu? Then Miyu this is your room.” He gestured to the room with a wave of his hand. “The other maids will show you around the castle later, but for now remain in here unless you are called upon.” The dangerous look in his eyes told me he was not one to be trifled with.
“Yes, Master,” I said to him to prove my obedience.
“Come with me for now, I want you to meet Masako,” he said from the doorway.
"Yes, Master," I kept my gaze away from his burning eyes and followed him down the halls. There were paintings decorating the halls, but I dared not look at them out right. I snuck tiny views of the works of art as we passed them and yet our journey down the hall was short lived.
We walked into a huge room with more beautiful paintings, which differed from the ones in the hall, and books all around. In the center of the room was a dashing man with black hair who stood reading a book. He was as perfect and beautiful as Keimaru and yet I could see no family resemblance. He looked up with curious green eyes when we entered the room. Green eyes that I had seen before, I knew. He was somehow familiar to me and yet I couldn’t think of the time and place where I had seen them before.
"Brother, this is Miyu our newest arrival," he looked at me expectantly though I didn’t know exactly what he expected me to do.
I bowed once and kept my gaze on the ground as if his gaze would burn me too. There was something that had sparked in Keimaru’s red eyes the moment I looked into them and I was somehow aware that the green eyes would do that same, but only much more powerful. He’d smiled slightly before he went back into his act as a fearsome man.
"Nice to meet you Miyu," Masako smiled knowingly and winked softly at me without Keimaru noticing.
"Well?" Keimaru tapped his foot with impatience. "Aren't you going to say hello?"
"It is nice to meet you as well." I raised my head a little and tried to look in his eyes. It was like trying to look into the sun, if I did it too long I swear I’d go blind. Though I was sure I could stare into his eyes all day.
"Keimaru be nice. She's a bit shy," he said while glanced at his younger brother.
"She needs to learn her place," he growled which made me take a cautious step back. The air of danger I had felt around his was now electrically charged with anger.
"Just remember she was sold to this house, not to you." Masako smirked and glanced at me as I looked up at him. I quickly averted my gaze which was then dragged back to Keimaru.
"Let's go Miyu," Keimaru looked, more like glared, at me and he grabbed my arm.
"Yes, Master." I bowed to Masako as Keimaru dragged me out. I could feel his anger coursing through me where his hand touched my skin.
Keimaru anger turned to madness by the time we entered, what I assumed was, his room. The first thing he did was push me down to the ground and then he ran his eyes over me.
"Uh, Master?" I stared up at the now furious Keimaru and I could see something else that I didn’t like in his eyes. There was an animalistic passion that burned there as well and it inspired the worst kind of fear in me.
Then he started kicking me over and over. My eyes were blurring with tears and I yelled out as he delivered the final blow. There I was, clenching my stomach on the floor, coughing violently.
"Stupid girl, you will learn your place!" he yelled fiercely as he leaned over me.
When he finally stopped kicking me it hurt too much to move and that’s when he pulled off my clothes. I knew what he was about to do I closed my eyes tight. Before he left me in this horrible scene he looked down at me. I met his gaze with tear filled eyes. He had raped me and then left me alone in the room. I felt the tears slide down my cheeks as I laid there in shock. I pulled my clothes back on, still crying, and curled up into a ball on the floor. It had been a fear of mine ever since my mother had explained our lives to me and here I was now the victim.
“I knew he was going to do something," a voice said from the door and then Masako walked in and cast a sympathetic look upon me.
I didn't know what he would do to me or what he was like so I quickly pulled myself onto my knees and bowed, but I couldn't get my hands to stop shaking. I refused to look up at him as embarrassment coursed through my veins.
"You misunderstand. I won’t hurt you, trust me," he walked over to where I was and kneeled down next to me. He placed his hand on mine and I met his gaze slowly. "Look at what he did. You have burses forming and a bloody lip." He pulled me up off the floor easily before he gingerly touched the side of my face. "What a pity he hurt such a beautiful young girl."
I turned my gaze back to the ground and blushed slightly though I’d been disgraced moments before. “Just a few scratches,” I replied simply trying to hide the amount of pain Keimaru had caused.
"Come with me," he said as he walked slowly to the door.
"Yes, Master," I said without thinking as if it now came naturally. I thought nothing of it at the moment though.
"You don't have to call me that. You can just call me Masako." He turned to me and grabbed my hand.
Masako pulled me into his room and treated my lip carefully. It wasn’t long until Keimaru returned in search of his missing possession. My fear of him grew steadily as I watched him enter the room.
"What are you doing?" he growled while walking over to us and grabbing my face in his cold hand, examining the damage. There was a tiny spark in his eyes though that somehow resembled regret which quickly vanished when he met my gaze.
"You need to control your temper," Masako said while glaring at Keimaru and pushing his hand away from me.
"Why do you care for these slaves? They mean nothing to anyone!" He grabbed me by my hair suddenly and pulled me out of the room with great force.
"Keimaru stop!" Masako was at his heels as my shock relinquished its hold on me and the pain sank in. Finally I screamed at the pain of his hand. Keimaru refused to let go and pulled out strands of my hair which caused blood to seep from the newly developed wounds.
"Let her go Keimaru!" he yelled before he knocked his brother to the ground and made him loose his grip on me.
I put my hand on my head and when I looked at it again my hand was stained with blood. The blood itself seemed to speak volumes to me about who Keimaru was and also what I was in for while living here.
"Miyu hurry this way, quickly.” He grabbed my wrist, avoiding the blood, and I noticed that he stared at the blood for a second as if trying to resist it. It struck my curiosity to burn brighter than before, but the pain of my wound prevented any further investigation. Masako then lead me into another room.
"I've never seen him treat one of his slaves like this before," he said as he stopped the bleeding on my head. He was inches from me patting a bloodstained rag on my forehead to get rid of the last bit of blood that had dripped down my face.
"I'm sorry,” I said quietly to him as I turned my gaze to the floor.
"It's not your fault," he said looking out the window then back at me when I looked up. He smiled lightly at me with his eyes holding gentleness in them that I had seemed to miss before.
"Do you think he'll come after me again? I mean do you think he will try to hurt me?" I asked trying to clear the air that had suddenly become electric charged. I tried to stifle a yawn but turned out to be powerless against it. I hadn’t realized how tired I’d been until that moment.
"He will be angry, but you don't have to worry about that because I’ll take care of it. Now why don't you go get some sleep?" He smiled at me and then insisted on leading me back to my tiny blue room. "I'll have to get someone to make up a better room for you,” he said as he surveyed the small and barely furnished room.
"This room is fine," I assured him not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble for him. I stood there next to him trying to resist the electric current that was drawing me to him.
"Well I think you should stay away from Keimaru for a while." He looked at me with his worried and burning beautiful eyes. His face was like an eclipse, so bright you can’t look at it at all when he smiles. His eyes burned with something more than worry though. I could tell he felt the electricity too.
My mind switched back to what we had been talking about which happened to be Keimaru. "Is it even possible to avoid him in his own house? If he finds me I'll have no choice but to follow orders," I said not thinking and clasped my hand over my mouth thinking I’d gone a bit too far. I was a slave and I had to remember that. Holding my tongue was acquired for this forced occupation.
"That's true. We'll deal with that tomorrow. One more thing, be careful not to run into Hitori, my older brother. If you do, he might kill you just for even talking to him," he said as he turned off the lights. His eyes flashed from the doorway and I wanted with all my heart to ask him to stay with me.
"I think I'll stick to sitting in this room until I‘m called upon," I said quietly while looking down at my folded hands in my lap.
"I won’t let him hurt you again,” he said strongly as he appeared at my side. He grasped my hand and peered into my dark brown eyes.
"But like he said, I mean nothing to anyone. So who cares if I get hurt?" I had truly believed what Keimaru had said; rarely anyone cared about their slaves. “Why do you care so much?”
"You are not nothing! He was wrong to say anything like that!" He was mad now as he let go of my hand and turned to the door. "Good night Miyu," he said anger in his tone that reminded me of Keimaru.
"Good night, Master," I said on accident and fell to my knees in a bow, "Forgive me. Good night Masako."
He turned back to me and lifted me from the floor swiftly and easily. “You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he said as he leaned closer to me. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders instinctively and accepted his lips against mine. It was a soft kiss that developed into a passion consumed spark that ignited a flame.
“Masako,” I whispered into his ear as he pulled me into a tight embrace.
His expression had lightened when he finally looked at me again, "Silly girl," he whispered back to me. He finally bid me goodnight and left me to my solitude. And without knowing it, I’d just received my nickname. I would be known as their silly little slave girl-Or maybe not.
Chapter two: Dealing with Keimaru
Keimaru wasn’t one to give up easily and I was sure of it. I could hear the lock on my door click as a key turned the contraption which would make the door unusable as a passage way. My mind drifted into unconsciousness and seemingly forgot the sound had even occurred.
When morning light hit the window I opened my eyes. I knew that today was going to be rough and that didn’t excite me much. The only good part about being in this castle was Masako. I was afraid to even think about what the other brother would be like. Hitori, Masako, and Keimaru, the three brothers of the Mitsukute castle, were somewhat of a mystery to me. Something about them seemed almost unreal or scary.
“I should go find the other slaves so I can get to know how this place works,” I said to myself as I swung my feet over the edge of the bed. I ignored my growling stomach as I stood and shook off the pain from my bruises other small wounds I’d received the day before. I walked to the or only 6 feet away and reached for the door knob only to find that it was locked. My mind switched on to high alert and I began conjuring up ideas as to why the door had been locked.
"Could it be Masako locked me in? For protection or punishment? Or maybe Keimaru himself did it." I crossed the small room and grabbed the bars on the window. "There's gotta be a way out,” I said hysterically.
I waited in the room for the whole day trying to figure out a way to get out. I even thought to take the pins out of the jam of the door, but that quickly failed when I realized that the pins where on the other side of the door. I finally climbed back into bed trying to conserve some of my energy. I hadn’t eaten for two days prior to this and so I figured it best for me to just rest a while. Masako would come for me.
Sleep overcame me and I only barely heard the sound of knocking on the door. When it was made evident that the door had been locked and that the lock was on the outside of the room, I could hear the door being broken down. Then I heard his voice which called out my name.
"Miyu, what happened? Are you ok?" he asked me before he picked me up.
"Hmmm," I stirred quietly as the faint noise of my stomach growling in growing impatience could be heard.
I glanced up to see him smile slightly and then he mumbled something almost incoherently, but I had managed to catch 'typical human' out of the mixed words.
As he carried me through the halls I opened my eyes to examine the halls, but he didn't seem to notice. We passed another room that had lavish carved wooden doors. When I looked into the room there was a man with long white hair pulled back into a long braid. He was tall by the looks of it and he was dressed in a white silk fighting kimono that parted up the sides of his legs all the way to his waist. That must have been Hitori. He glared at me with his dark eyes in silence when he spotted Masako carrying me. I closed my eyes tight not wanting to remember the cold look in his eyes. Even his mere gaze sent shivers down my spine and made my heart pound with fear.
"Awake now are you?" he asked as his green eyes peered down at me.
I guessed that my heart beat ruined my façade of sleep after all."What happened? I remember that I was locked in my room and then..." I stopped and blushed when my stomach continued in its protests.
"I'm guessing Keimaru lock you in there while you slept. Then you were stuck in there all day and passed out from hunger,” he deducted smoothly.
"Well I did fall asleep, but going hungry really isn’t anything new to me," I said as I tried to keep from meeting his gaze.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked while raising an elegant dark brow.
"Back when I was with my mother, my first master would sometimes leave us without food. And it was never a good idea to remind him." I didn't want to meet his gaze so I stared at the hall ahead of us.
"I promise you will never have to go through that again, “he promised as we finally reached the kitchen. It was touching, but I wouldn’t fall for it.
"And what about the others?” I asked fervently. I had known of masters who picked favorites and I had always hated it. They usually paraded their favorites around too. “I am no different from the rest of them. No special treatment should be given to me.”
“I assure you that the others have adequate living quarters and food. The only slaves of ours that have it worse are those of Keimaru’s.” He looked down at me meaningfully. I was one of Keimaru’s slaves and that was why I had it worse. But, in truth, Keimaru didn’t seem all bad…
***
After that I got used to walking around the castle and avoiding Keimaru for the most part. Every now and then I would run into him and every time I would get a new burse or task. He would have me clean his room every few days and run errands throughout the house. Today was one of those days where I received the tedious chore of cleaning every inch of his room.
"Here we go again," I said quietly to myself as I took a deep breath and walked in.
He wasn't in there but something else caught my eye. I gasped at the sight of the dead girl. She was laying there with lifeless, glazed over eyes that seemed to stare straight through me. She was wearing the same outfit that I always wore and her hair was even similar to mine. My mind went fuzzy and the next thing I knew Masako was standing next to me taking in the gruesome scene.
"Not again," he said quietly as he looked sympathetically down at the girl. Something in his eyes told me that he saw the similarities too. He looked back up at me finally with a worried expression as he noticed my fingers clutching my shirt a little too tightly.
"I'm pretty sure that if I'd never been introduced to you- she would have been me,” I explained through uneven breaths. My mind felt hazy and the world around me seemed to be spinning now.
"That's probably true,” he replied slowly before he placed his hand on the side of my face. "Are you going to be ok?"
"I don't know anymore." I felt sick to my stomach and the sensation only seemed to grow worse with each passing moment.
"Hey Miyu, get to cleaning will you!" Keimaru complained as he walked into the room. “I want this place spick and span.”
"Yes, Master,” I had no will to defy him and ignored my growing sickness as I took a step towards the girl’s body. Masako grabbed my wrist before I could proceed.
“Keimaru, this ends now. Miyu is no longer under your control. Do you hear me?" Masako stated with pure authority.
At that point I couldn't take it. I was sick in the throw up kind of way and found myself running out of the room and straight to the bathroom. I couldn’t believe that I had gotten sick right in the middle of Masako’s rescue speech. After I felt better, I pushed my shaky legs into motion and washed my mouth out. Then, I walked out of the bath room slowly and went straight to my room ignoring the two boys who stood at the bathroom door watching me with worried, and disgusted, looks. Guess who was wearing which.
"Where do you think you're going?" Keimaru growled as he grabbed the collar of my shirt. "You still have that mess to clean up!"
"Be quiet Keimaru," Masako growled back and quickly removed his hand from my person.
I should have thanked him, but instead I walked blindly forward. I kept walking not thinking about where I was going or who was in front of me. I was oblivious to the changing world around me in more than one way it seemed. It wasn’t until I ran into someone that I noticed where I was. ‘Hitori’s hall’ I had nicknamed it days ago and in front of me stood the fearsome phantom himself. His dark eyes sharpened and narrowed as he looked down at me. I got down on my knees and bowed. "Forgive me Master Hitori, I didn’t see you there.”
"Watch where you're going," he said calmly and walked away. I began wondering about him then. His face seemed naturally cold and his eyes were almost angry, but something beneath it all looked almost like curiosity to me.
I pulled myself off the ground and continued to think about it. When I finally reached my room, I opened the door, fell onto my bed, and was asleep moments later. I forgot to shut the door or even bother to pull the blankets up because I had been so worn out from the days chores and events. A few minutes later someone walked into the room. I opened my eyes slightly to see Masako standing at the door.
"I didn't mean to wake you. How are you feeling?" He took another step into the room and took a small look around as if trying to seem casual.
"Don't worry about me Master Masako." I said while sitting up.
"I told you not to call me that,” he replied with amusement now. He walked over and sat down beside me quietly, keeping the peaceful feel of the room.
“I forgot to thank you before,” I said while looking up at him.
“Huh? For what?” he asked in return.
“For releasing me from Keimaru’s grasp,” I replied meaning it in both literally and figuratively speaking. “I owe you so much now-.” My sentence was cut short when he placed a quick and almost subtle kiss on my lips.
“You owe me nothing, Miyu.” He gently brushed the hair from my eyes as I looked up at him with burning cheeks, clearly flustered.
“Well when you put it that way,” I said and smiled up at him as he laughed. I couldn’t believe it at first but I found myself falling for him. He was kind, intelligent, bold, and over all dashing. I reached a cautious hand out to trace the side of his face and stopped when my fingertips touched the very lips that had been on mine only seconds before. I met his gazed and withdrew my hand sharply, but not quickly enough. He grabbed my hand and continued to place a kiss on my palm.
I reached up and pulled him to me now so I could give him another kiss, this one was a lot more involved than the last one though. Finally, when a yawn escaped my lips, he made me lay down again.
“Sleep well, I promise I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said quietly as he walked back to the door and closed it softly behind him. Three seconds gone and I already missed him. This brought troubling questions to my mind now. What was love and was I falling into it with him?
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