By the Swing of the Sword

Chapter 7. Lord of Darkness

The one thing he could never hide was his eyes. They were not as a demon’s eyes should be, not when the demon in question lived in the form of a man. They shone with an unearthly light, sinister enough to give even those he held in his thrall pause. Dark beauty, they called it. Sinful charm.

But Kikyo knew better.

Evil is not worn in the face, or in the form of a body. It is an affliction of the soul, deeper and hidden. The face and form is but a mask with no tie to what lies beneath it. And Lord Naruku wore his mask with the art and refinement of a Kabuki Master.

But his eyes were his tell. Even now they darted, greedy over the fine brocades and intricate wood screens of her father’s palace. They lingered on the Seal of East, and the smile that flitted across his lips chilled her to the core. He already owned this place in his mind, the bastard. Already he was imagining Lord Hiragushi’s fine robes on his body, the palace servants bowing to his every desire. In his mind, she was already his.

Breathe softly, one, two, one two. Hold your aura down, melt into the armor, become one with the boards of wall and floor. You are not here. He cannot see you. Neither of them can see you. Breathe softly… She repeated the mantra until she believed it, until her hands before her eyes did not obstruct her vision, and she could feel herself slide into invisibility. If she became too distracted it would not last, but for now he could look and not see or sense her.

Not that any of them thought to look. Her father used to send a guard to watch Carine as she listened through the door. Kagome would be kept well away from anything of importance, by force if need be. But Kikyo? Quiet, Obedient Kikyo? No one ever worried about her. Which was why she was always the one to hide here, unseen and unsuspected. After tonight, she wanted nothing more than to never crouch here again.

“The years have served you well, my young prince. You arrive at my door looking most fit, just when I am beginning to see my dotage stare me in the face.” Good humored self-depreciation was a deception. Hiragushi’s eyes were razor sharp as they regarded the younger man.

“Dotage, my liege? Not for another pair of centuries yet, at least. You come from a strong line, one that watches others wither before it. You are just wearied from the war, is all. It is a tedious business, and you have recently lost those who would support you in such a time.”

Hiragushi shifted forward, his eyes narrowing, “ I still have my subjects’ support, Prince. They always support me.”

“But of course they do, my liege.” Naruku quickly sought to maneuver to safer ground. “I was speaking of your beloved daughters. Such a cruel price for the Western Lord to ask when he knows your army is weakened and you cannot refuse him. No sense of honor, or gentlemanly conduct at all, in that one, if I may be so bold to say.”

“Yes, of course. I thank you for your concern. It is so refreshing to meet a younger lord with a sense of the old ways.” Hiragushi leaned back, satisfied with Naruku’s response. The dance was completed, both parties pretended that neither knew the true way of things, and smiled sweetly in their lies.

“I am sure the Lady Kikyo is devastated. The poor girl must be so frightened of the man who fights with her father for her homeland, and now has stolen her sisters’ lives away. You would do well to give her some sort of promise of stability, as I’m sure you’ve already planned.”

“Perhaps you could offer such a service Naruku? Your land holdings are more than enough to provide for her if this war should end…..unpleasantly. And of course, you would have a role my administration. You could build up quite a name for yourself as the youngest Chief Interior Advisor across the four kingdoms. That is, if you are interested?”

“You shall not be disappointed my liege.”

The girl who no one noticed choked down her bile in silence as she glared at the two men before her. The lying, greedy, fork-tongued men, who could so casually dismantle her life, did her the insult of thinking she would neither notice nor care.

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The morning chill woke her, as it sapped the warmth from her bare limbs. She shifted slightly, lifting her head from the pillow. The bed beside her was bare, but she was not alone. She could feel him in the room, her spine tingled with his presence. Carine sunk herself back down into the bed, schooling herself to ignore the cold. To cover herself would betray her waking state, perhaps if he thought her exhausted he would not press himself on her again. Perhaps she would have time to soothe sore muscles, catalogue the changes in her body, and prepare herself to withstand it again.

“Awake, wench?”

She knew it was too much to hope.

The pillow before her eyes twisted and sank under the weight of his hand as he leaned over her. She schooled herself to calm, then turned to face him. “Good..Good Morning my Lord.”

Oh, but he was close. Too close. Their noses almost touched, and she could feel his breath warm on her face. Some traitorous bit of her shimmied in her stomach even as she tried to squelch the blush she knew was rising to her cheeks. She would not want him. But his eyes sought to destroy her resolve as they flicked over her face with an unexpected shimmer of warmth. Their eyes met and she felt herself melting under his gaze. He could not be kind to her, she could never withstand it!

But almost a quickly as it appeared, the shimmer vanished. His walls dropped back down behind his eyes and his gaze was cold and hard once more. He leaned in close for just a moment, his voice harsh against the delicate curve of her ear. “I will leave you in peace for now, but this night will not be so easy as the last. I expect some measure of enthusiasm from my doxies. Please me, or I’ll give you to the men. They won’t much care if you lie there like a tired whore.”

He was off her and out the door before the sound had left her ears. Carine lay still for a long while eyes fixed on the ceiling, refusing to cry. Kikyo was alone and defenseless against her father’s machinations, and she was bound to a man who hated her family and swore to see her dead before the fortnight was out. And she had neither the skills nor the beauty to turn him from that oath.

No, Kagome was they only Hiragushi with a chance of saving herself. But how slim a chance. Turning the young prince’s head and winning his heart she was certainly capable of, but would that be enough to save her? The more Carine saw of Lord Sesshoumaru, the more heartless he seemed. He loved his brother, surely he must, but would that be enough?


Perhaps he was right. She had been a fool.


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A/N: What’d you know? I’m still alive. Working on it, I promise.