Compassion
Chapter 2
Izayoi took the long way back from the koi pond to her chambers. It had been nearly a week since her arrival, but she was just beginning to acquaint herself with the various areas of the castle. She had to admit that it was beyond anything she had ever imagined – it made her own castle look like a poor village shanty. She felt a pang in her heart and pushed the bitter-sweet thought aside. It did little good to dwell on such things. Besides, she was well treated here. She could, perhaps, come to look on this place as home if she but had a companion.
Certainly she had servants enough. But they had little interest in speaking with her beyond their duties. Kiyomi had spent some time with her the first two days, but she had many duties to attend to, and had little free time for idle chatter.
As for the Lord... Izayoi had only caught glimpses of him during her stay. He took his meals in his chambers and spent most of his day meeting with nobles and generals and such. Apparently the war with the marauding demon bands was winding to a close and he had much to do in the way of restoration and reparations in his lands. She had not seen him at all since two days ago, although the servants had been in a bustle the previous night, preparing for the arrival of the Lord’s son.
Izayoi was curios what the young Lord would be like. But it was unlikely she would ever know. She had overheard some of the servants speaking of him, and he, apparently, was not overly fond of human companionship.
She quickened her pace as she entered a new hall, knowing that she would have to pass by the Taiyoukai’s offices, and not wishing to disturb him. However, just past the shoji, the sound of voices drew her attention. The first was that of the Lord, but she did not recognize the second – though he sounded much like her Lord. She wondered if the second man might be his son. Unconsciously she pressed nearer the wall, attempting to hear their conversation.
“Surely you aren’t going to keep her here.” It was the unfamiliar voice.
“I can’t send her back, Sesshoumaru, they will kill her for her perceived failure.” So it was the son.
The first man made a sound suspiciously like a snort, “One more reason humans are fools.”
“Sesshoumaru... son, trust me.”
“You are making a foolish choice.” Sesshoumaru spoke imperiously.
Inutaisho’s normally gentle eyes flashed in anger at his impertinence, “But it is my choice to make.” He growled warningly, his tone hard, “And if it is a mistake, then that is mine to make as well.” He said levelly. Sesshoumaru stared at his father coldly and then, having no answer to this, left the room.
Izayoi pulled herself up against the wall as Sesshoumaru walked out, worried that he would catch her, but he walked past without a glance in her direction. She nearly sighed in relief and turned to walk back to her chambers, but a voice stopped her.
“Come in Izayoi.” The command was gentle, but she quickly obeyed, fearing he would berate her for her intrusion. She entered, head bowed apologetically.
“I’m sorry, my Lord, it was not my intention to intrude, but I was walking by...”
He waved a hand in dismissal. “He knew you were there as well as I did. If he had objected to your presence he would not have continued speaking.”
Izayoi nodded and, believing he was finished with her, she was about to leave when she saw him sigh, his face suddenly very weary. Somehow she couldn’t leave him like this.
“Sesshoumaru,” she began timidly, “he doesn’t like humans much, does he?” She probably shouldn’t have said anything, but it was so strange. Inutaisho seemed to hold no biases, but his son was so adamantly prejudiced against her people. She was curious. Besides, he looked as though he needed to speak to someone.
He placed a hand over his eyes briefly, “Sesshoumaru... Sesshoumaru does not waste energy hating anyone – he does not waste energy on any emotion. So I suppose it would not be fair to say that he dislikes humans. He simply has little use for them. He is... without compassion, I suppose.” He shook his head, “I fear I have been a poor father to him.”
Izayoi found that hard to believe, but she couldn’t think of a way to say that without sounding like a child enamored of her current hero.
Inutaisho suddenly lifted his head, meeting her gaze with a sad smile, “You may go, Izayoi.”
She would have liked to stay, to listen to his troubles and perhaps, by doing so, ease his mind. But it was not her place – her Lord had dismissed her. Bowing, she turned and resumed her earlier journey to her chambers.
In his office Inutaisho buried his face in his hands only a moment before replacing his usual expression and rising to his feet. He had more important things to do than bemoan the past.
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Izayoi had made a vow never to take the long way back to her room again - at least not while the son of the Lord was visiting. She had been certain, that first day, that he would leave immediately, too disgusted by the presence of a human in the household to stay. However, it appeared that he was not willing to let such feelings interfere with his plans, and so the servants had prepared for a stay of at least three days. Whether Sesshoumaru and his father actually spoke during that time was uncertain, but it wasn’t Izayoi’s place to question.
She had spent as much time in the gardens as she could, hoping to avoid a run in with the younger demon. And her efforts appeared to have succeeded.
Until today.
To say that the sudden appearance of the young Lord had shocked her would have been an understatement. He had approached with such stealth that she had not had an instant of warning before the deep and disinterested voice sounded behind her. She had immediately stood from the bench she had been occupying, fighting the urge to clasp her hands – a nervous habit she had abandoned at the age of eight. It was difficult not to squirm under his cold scrutiny.
If Inutaisho was handsome, Sesshoumaru was beautiful – a vision of masculine grace. His features were a bit more feminine than his father’s, his cheekbones higher, his eyes narrower. His forehead bore a deep blue crescent moon and his cheeks held two magenta stripes each, as opposed to his father’s single blue slashes. His hair was as white as his father’s, but it fell freely to his knees, and his skin looked as though it had never seen sunlight – though she knew that he spent nearly all of his time traveling the western lands and rarely spent any time indoors. She assumed the additional markings, including the red on his eyelids, were traits inherited from his mother, but she didn’t dare ask.
His eyes, however, he had clearly inherited from his father. They were that same stunning gold. But on him they were somehow cold as ice, so unlike the melted honey of his father’s gaze.
He was making her decidedly uncomfortable.
He had said nothing since he had first appeared, and she gathered that first greeting, if the single word “Wench” could even be considered a greeting, had merely been his chosen method of gaining her attention.
His perusal finally ended and he turned away from her without another word, leaving her with the despairing feeling that she had somehow failed to measure up – though what he was measuring her against or for she hadn’t the faintest idea.
She was beginning to dread the duration of his stay, but the next morning he was gone.
She tried not to feel relieved. But she couldn’t deny that she felt far more at ease without his overbearing presence in the castle.
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VOCAB:
Hime – princess
Taiyoukai – demon Lord
Youkai – demon
Inu – dog
Hanyou – half demon
Shoji – in Japanese architecture: the portion of the wall that slides back to serve as a door.
