Chronicles of the West

Chapter One hundred and Seven

Kurama sighed with impatience. He had to leave this place. He was tired of walking around the western palace and not seeing her. Taisha. She wouldn't see him. Her anger and hurt apparently greater than he'd believed. So this beautiful palace had become nothing more than a gilded cage.

Toga and Aislin would be mated soon and he had promised to stay long enough to see the rituals done. He would be going to the continent after that. There was a large diamond in a temple that he very much wanted to take. Not because he wanted it or needed it, but because it would be a challenge and he would have to think about it carefully. Therefore not thinking of her.

"Kurama!" a feminine voice broke his reverie and he turned to see Aislin rushing towards him. He stood still, waiting for her to approach him. She stopped a breath away from him, tilting her head all the way back to meet his gaze. "You are too tall" she told him. He smirked, "No. You are too short" he replied.

She pulled him along to a low stone bench and sat gracefully, her many lessons from the court evident in her movements. "You are learning to be a princess" he told her watching the blush suffuse her cheeks, "I don't care about that" she told him, and then took hold of his clawed hand, "Kurama, I can't bear it".

Golden eyes went wide at her words. "I love you! I love Taisha! I can't stand to see you so unhappy". He smiled gently at her and cupped her cheek, pressing a soft kiss to the petal soft flesh there, "Thank you Aislin" he told her quietly, "But it is probably for the best".

Aislin blinked in confusion, "But you love her" she blurted out, "How can being apart be for the best?". Kurama sighed, "She is a princess and I am a thief. I am not likely to settle into a quiet life for a very long time, and she deserves better. She deserves someone who can be what she wants".

Aislin felt a lump rise in her throat, "But you are what she wants". Kurama shook his head sadly, "No. I lost that right, the right to be what she wants". Aislin sighed unhappily, "What can I do?" she asked, "What can I say? I want to help you both, I want you to be happy".

She stared at her hands, gripped together tightly in her lap. Kurama dropped his arm around her, "Don't Aislin" he told her, "You mustn't let our problems mar your happiness. Toga loves you and you love him. Your troubles are behind you now. Enjoy your chance to be together".

Kurama leaned back against the rough bark of a tree and stared up at the sky through the leaves, "Are you nervous?" he asked her. Aislin blushed and squirmed where she sat, "A little. Demon marriages and human marriages are very different" she admitted. Kurama nodded sagely, "Indeed they are. Perhaps because of the long lifespan of demons".

Aislin sighed, "Kurama, can I….ask you some things?" she asked shyly. Silver ears swiveled to the front, "Depends on what you want to know" he answered honestly, "There are some things that Toga would be better off telling you". Aislin went scarlet, "I don't think I will be asking you anything like that" she blurted out.

Kurama laughed at her blush and settled more firmly against the tree, bringing one knee to his chest and resting his crossed arms there. "So..ask". Aislin twiddled her fingers and took a deep breath, "Are all demon marriages forever?".

Kurama looked upwards at the sky, "No" he said honestly, "Quite a few are not. Rituals vary from species to species. Many for life, many for as long as both are content with it. Those bound for life, such as inuyoukai and even kitsune must remain faithful. Loving others is painful. This is why our kind are slow and hesitant to take mates. Toga is actually mating quite young".

Aislin blinked over at him, "Young?". She knew that he was far older than she was. Kurama nodded, "Sesshoumaru was over a thousand years old when he took Ayeka as his own. His father was nearing a thousand when he took Sesshoumaru's mother".

Aislin thought about it, "But the Taisho had two mates" she pointed out. Kurama nodded, "That he did. It has been known to happen. Many believed that he would follow the demoness into death, but they did have a young son to care for.

Many demon parents will live on to see to them. However the Taisho was able to take another woman as his mate much later. A human woman. When he died she followed him, at a slower rate but when Inuyasha was capable of caring for himself, her soul went to the Taisho".

Aislin also thought about that, "So what happens then? Sesshoumaru's mother would have waited on the other side for the Taisho correct?". Kurama nodded, "That is so". Aislin fiddled with a spring of leaves, "But Inuyasha's mother would have gone to him as well". Kurama chuckled, "This is also true. No one can imagine how his afterlife has gone from there, but any man saddled with two wives for eternity…well……one can sympathize".

Aislin groaned at his male take on the subject, "Kurama". He smiled at her, his golden eyes flashing with humor. "Are you wondering if you can stand Toga's arrogance for eternity?" he asked with a smile and she smiled back, "One does wonder".

He chuckled, "Sesshoumaru was much worse than Toga trust me, I know". Aislin looked at the handsome fox, "So what happened?". Kurama shrugged, "He learned that his pride was not as important to him as Ayeka. It was a lesson both had to learn".

Aislin studied her hands again, "Do the rituals..hurt?" she asked then. Kurama looked over at her, "You speak of the bite, the mark?". She nodded, looking down again. He cocked his head, "Toga has not bitten you at all?" he asked. She shook her head again, "Not enough to drawn blood".

Kurama pondered it, "I suppose that there is some pain, but you will not notice it for long. Some females complain that the taking of the family marks is more painful. Ayeka swore that her brow was tender for a week after taking the moon of the Taisho house".

Aislin hadn't thought about that, "And other pains?" she asked. Kurama chuckled softly again, "Are things that Toga will tell you of. Suffice to say that none of it will be terribly uncomfortable, or at least not for long". Aislin nodded, "And after that I am his…forever".

Kurama studied her carefully, "Human minds can rarely grasp forever Aislin, and it does become difficult after a time. When you find that you age as he does, which is very little at all. Time holds strange sway over humans. Ayeka and Kagome have both had troubles from time to time. They pass".

She nodded, Kurama was a walking treasure trove of information, she decided. "But you don't only belong to him you understand, you belong to one another. Your happiness, safety and comfort are his main priorities. No self respecting demon can ever falter in these things".

Aislin sighed heavily and leaned against the likeable fox, "And you think that you have" she said to him. His ears perked at her words, "Insightful little minx aren't you?" he replied dryly. Aislin smiled, "Can't you just apologize to her Kurama?". He shook his head, "I could and I have tried, but it is not enough. I fear I have erred too gravely and hurt her too deeply".

Aislin certainly hoped that Taisha was listening to all of this. It had taken quite a bit of planning to get the reserved fox to speak with her in the open like this. Aislin heard the pain in her friend's tone and her shoulders slumped. "What will you do then?" she asked softly.

Kurama sighed, his face lifting towards the heavens once more, "I shall depart from the west. Once you are mated, I shall return to the continent for a time" he told her. Aislin turned to look up at him, "For how long?" she asked. He slowly lowered his eyes to hers, "For as long as it takes for Taisha to forget me".

Aislin felt the sting in her eyes, "But you don't want her to forget you" she told him, "I know you don't". Kurama patted her head and rose, "No" he agreed, "But I do wish for her to find happiness and it seems that I cannot do so". Aislin rose with him, feeling her heart shatter for them both.

She watched him walk away, "So you are giving up?" she asked. Kurama's shoulders stiffened but he didn't turn, "No Aislin" he told her, "I am not giving up. I am admitting defeat. I have broken her trust in me, her faith in who she believed I am".

She moved to follow him but he lifted his hand behind him, "Don't. Just leave it be Aislin. It is because I love her that I will leave her to find one that she deserves…. One that deserves her". His voice as whisper soft, laced with a pain so deep and raw that she could hardly bear to hear it.

She watched as he moved off into the distance, until she could see him no more. Slowly, she turned her sad eyes to the high wall above and locked eyes with Taisha. The demoness looked away, vanishing back into the shadows of the house.

Lifting her eyes higher, she saw Toga on the battlements looking down at her. She smiled sadly up at him and shook her head. She watched with wide eyes as he leapt from the wall to land in a deadly crouch before her. Then he rose to his full height and sniffed at her, "Must you get so close to him?" he asked. Aislin sighed and leaned against him, "What can we do?" she asked his chest.

Toga wrapped his arms around her and leapt into the branches of a tall tree, settling his mate to be on his lap. "Nothing" he told her, "We can do nothing. Expect hope that they come to their senses soon". He nuzzled in her hair and she closed her eyes. "I recall you held me this way in a snowy forest" she whispered.

Toga slid her silks from one shoulder, dropping a sweet kiss there. "Indeed I did" he told her, "And even then I wanted you". His clawed hands slid her garments back into place and hugged her close to his armor covered chest.