The Long Road to Freedom 2: Fire on the Water

Consort

Sesshoumaru gave no warning as he walked right over the clumsy imp that had failed to determine his lord's path and ensure he was out of it. Something was agitating him and it was once more something he could not place. He felt as though he should recognize whatever it was, but he could not. Neither could he shake the draw to the southwest. There was nothing there, he already knew, and yet the silent urging continued. It was only slight, though, and when he took a moment to consider a change of course to follow, it faded.

Again.

He swore to himself that the moment he found the cause for such a reoccurring distraction, it would find itself no more than a puddle of muck under his poison claws. For now, he needed something to focus his displeasure on. Something fresh and substantial...

A thought struck him, and Jaken shuddered at the gentle smile it brought to Sesshoumaru's face as he shifted direction and took to the clouds.

The poor half-breed in the red fire rat kimono never saw him coming.

***

1453 mid-Muromachi Period, Spring, Shanghai

The end of the year was approaching. As such, Zheng was arranging his usual feast and celebration. With his consort pregnant, he allowed Kintsuke and the children to stay in the fortress for the preparations, to the children's great delight. Even if Zheng was distant with them, as demon parents often were, they were overjoyed to have any sort of extended time around their father, playing with their various flames and imitating him in every manner.

With the little ones occupied elsewhere, Kintsuke took the chance to finally visit and speak with their mother, whom she had not seen since she'd first brought her here. She walked slowly through the halls toward the female's chambers, giving the servants ample time to alert her to Kinstuke's arrival and allow her to prepare. She bowed as she was announced, the woman returning an appropriate gesture and waving Kintsuke inside.

"The beauty of the moon pales in your comparison, Lady Consort."

She was not exaggerating. The woman was, indeed, quite beautiful. Settled in a small, but comfortable, throne of silver and red, the woman smirked cynically.

"Greetings, Eldest. To what do I owe this honor?"

Her pleasantries were devoid of any warmth or sincerity. The dynamic between them was a complicated one. Currently, Kintsuke was still the recognized heir, and thus a creature of substantial rank, but the woman was the royal and favored Consort, and mother of Lord Zheng's children. As Kintsuke engaged her in small talk, she got the feeling the woman was either angry with Kintsuke for being the one to bring her to such god-forsaken place-her words, not Kintsuke's-, or considered the half-breed quite a threat to her own children and prominence.

Kintsuke grew tired of the thinly-veiled abhorrence and waved the lingering retainers away, waiting until they were out of earshot before turning back to the female.

"Lady Consort, if I have in any way offended you or brought you displeasure, I would seek to make amends."

The female curled her lip at Kintsuke's human-like sincerity, and she did not miss the unspoken hostility the consort threw at her with her eyes.

"Tell me something, Eldest."

Kintsuke heard the unspoken 'half-breed' sneered in her tone.

"Why am I still here? I have given birth to more than is required, and yet I am expected to continue."

There was a taunting questioning in her voice.

"The desires of Lord Zheng are beyond my knowledge and understanding."

"Hmph... Of course, they are."

The female sent a piercing look at the decorative screens that sectioned of her inner sanctum from the rest of her quarters for a moment.

"I have been told you are not from these lands, but instead from the island. Is this so?"

"It is."

"What brought you here?"

"I sought to further my skills and to strengthen my flames. My understanding was that only Lord Zheng, my grandfather, knew how."

"And have you?"

"Substantially so."

"You are satisfied with your improvement?"

"Thoroughly, Lady Consort."

"Then why do you linger?" she nearly growled.

Kintsuke bit back an unseemly retort, taking a moment to smooth at the sleeves of her hanfu before answering.

"When I arrived, I entered into a bargain with my grandfather. In exchange for his training and knowledge, I would fetch for him a suitable female for breeding so as he could once again have a proper heir. As you are well aware, he now has five, and yet, I am denied my promised permission to depart, as is my desire."

The female considered Kintsuke for a long, palpably tense moment, speaking softly when she did respond.

"Then we are both prisoners here."

Kintsuke simply nodded, feeling she had somehow gotten through to her that she was not, after all, a threat. The consort's gestures were slight, as were Kintsuke's, and in such a manner they continued their conversation in silence.

'Why?'

'I do not know.'

'I want to leave, to go home.'

'As do I.'

The female flicked her eyes toward her window through which they could see the lake.

'There is...something...'

'I know.'

She shifted a hand to rest against her swollen belly, worry pulling at her delicate features. Kintsuke pursed her lips, hoping her body language conveyed her sentiments properly, that she would not allow the evil of the lake to harm the children she'd been given to ward over. Their eyes met once more, an accord of sorts forming between them.

Kintsuke was about to excuse herself when they both picked up on the sounds of a group of tiny feet approaching, and she instead stepped back to provide space as the litter of pups was announced and allowed in. The consort's attention elsewhere, Kintsuke took her leave.

Her heart was heavy as she made her way through the halls, intent on visiting the green-and-black flame brazier outside.

'She feels it, too. I'm not crazy, I knew I wasn't being unreasonable.'

Her mind danced through her logic once again, still convinced that somehow Zheng was involved. She paused a moment to glare at the closed doors to his throne room for a moment as she passed, stopping everything as she picked up on an old, familiar scent.

'Canine, for certain... Not quite dog, but not fox; jackal, perhaps? Yes... Male, and older even than grandfather.'

She couldn't recall any jackals that she was acquainted with, but it didn't change the fact that she knew this scent. She stepped closer to the door, hoping to catch another whiff of it.

A chuckle echoed in the far distance of the room where she knew Zheng's throne sat, but it wasn't Zheng's voice. No, she knew that voice! Then it hit her. She was pleased with herself for remembering, but then she frowned.

What was the old Warmaster doing in Shanghai?