by JK Ensley
“Mmm… Mistress… We will experience such heights, such ecstasies.” He squeezed her. “I have yearned for this moment for so long. I am so excited, Naga. Too excited to be ashamed of a single guilty pleasure I will soon indulge in. Tell me, my love. What are the chances of you conceiving?”
“Zero, I should say. Ever since I came here… not once have I had a woman’s monthly season. Munenori said it was because I was all Angel now. I guess he was right. I mean, I was with Finnean for seven years. Once unleashed, that man’s desire knew no end. Still, I did not conceive.”
“Naga…” He pinched her, hard.
“Oww… What was that for?”
“Remember not who you are speaking to? I know your life, Mistress. The parts I have not shared in, you have divulged all to me. We have no secrets. Why must you bring up two names that should not be spoken this night?”
“Wha— Oh, I am so sorry, Yui. That was thoughtless and crass.”
“Yes, it was. I shall have to punish you.”
She chuckled. “Punish me? Forget you now who you speak to? What in the world could you possibly do to me that could be called punishment?”
He did not speak, only sent her a devilishly wicked smile.
“Yui… are you jealous?”
“Viciously so, yes.”
“Huh, I never knew that.”
“There is much I have not shown you, Empress. Much I have saved until this time, until my time.”
“Is that so? Well, good Yui… as you already know, I am almost completely impervious to torture.”
“Not my brand of torture, Milady.”
She gasped when he pushed her up against the wall.
“You have yet to experience such delicious torture as what a gifted Shinobi can bring you.”
Her happy giggles softly wafted down the palace halls.
Chapter 31
Lala
(LAH-lah)
Life was good now. When she wasn’t away on a mission, the tiny little Death Angel spent her days playing with her precious Lala, and her nights sleeping in the arms of her rare, beautiful ninja.
*****
“Listen to your Obaasan, little one.” She brushed the girl’s raven curls back and kissed the side of her head. “No one in this universe loves you more than I do. Many there are that treasure you, yes, but none more so than I. Never forget that, tiny Angel… never.”
The little girl snuggled against her chest as she gazed up at the glorious moons.
“I have watched the sun set and the moon rise many times. Yes, I have been blessed.”
She didn’t hear Tenshi enter her room, coming to carry his little Angel off to bed. He waited. She seemed so lost in thought. Tears burned his eyes as he listened to the hard-bought wisdom his mama now sought to sear within his only daughter.
“Remember this, little one. Always believe in miracles.”
“What’s miracle, Obaasan?”
Jenevier smiled at the sweet sound of her tinkling little voice.
“A miracle, wee Lala, is something that seems impossible… but happens anyway.”
“Have you ever seen a miracle?”
“Oh yes, my child, I have been blessed to witness many. I have seen too many to even recall… not without going half mad with the task. One such miracle is love, love like most people will never know. I have known such, little one. I have been unduly blessed with some of the most epic hearts to have ever been born. Now, listen closely. I am not telling you that laying your heart bare is an easy thing to do, no. It is not easy, Lala, but it’s worth it. A true and lasting love is worth any pain. And therein lies the difference.”
“You mean… the way you loved Finnean and Varick?”
Jenevier had to bite her lip to hold her tears at bay. She couldn’t let her mind drift back to either of those perfectly glorious men she had lost all too soon. Not right now.
“Yes, my child. I would have suffered through any trial imaginable, just to know their pure love. I could not save those two valiant men, Lala, but I can fight to see the day that no innocent life is taken in vain. I fight to see the wondrous day no blameless soul is disregarded or considered worthless.”
“I want to fight like you do, Obaasan. I want to love like you do, too.”
“Ahh, my sweet child. I pray every day that your footsteps are not fated to follow mine. I wish you to know only peace, little one. As for love, well… love is also pain. Sometimes, it is pain enough to extinguish life. Pain so all-consuming—the only hope I sought… was death. But I was wrong, Lala. Turning your grief into rage will never bring you peace. One thing I have learned, little one… you do not die for your friends, no. You live for them. Your death would irrecoverably shatter their hearts. And you never want to hurt the ones you truly love… not like that. It is way too hard to be the one left living.” She sniffed as she tucked one of the girl’s curls behind her ear. “We all have an expiration date, lovely Lala. You must always live as if yours is today. Love every chance you get, and always smile until your cheeks hurt.”
The little girl burst into giggles when Jenevier pinched hers, and then started tickling her.
“Do that again, Obaasan.”
Jenevier only smiled and hugged the laughing girl ever closer.
“What about Grandpapa? Now that you married Master Yui, do you still love my grandpapa?”
“Oh, sweet baby, of course I do. I love your grandpapa like the moon loves the sun. I always will.”
They rocked in silence for a few more heartbeats, listening to the stillness of night, soaking up their own precious memories.
“Lala, we do not meet people by accident. Remember that. Our paths cross other paths for a reason. If you show kindness and compassion to the people you meet, you can earn their loyalty until death. If you show them nothing but anger and disdain, do not be surprised when they bare their teeth. I would not see more blood spilled, absent cause. So I want you to listen closely to me.”
The little girl sat up and looked her in the eyes.
“Never judge someone simply because their flaws are different from your flaws. They are all flaws, just the same. Take this upon your heart, child. Your outside can only change your inside if you allow it. It is your choice. Believe me. Whether it is hair color, skin color, eye color, tattoos, markings, or scars… no matter how hideous or how beautiful, no matter how common or how regal… we are all souls on the inside—equal and wonderful and irreplaceable.”
“You mean… I look the same on the inside as Gabriel or Daddy… or even you?”
“Yes, my child. The outside is only the wrapper. It matters little. The inside is where you truly live.” She lightly touched the girl’s chest as she spoke. “If you let people’s judgment of you change your insides, if you allow their words to scar your heart… then you have allowed them to take control of you, allowed them to own you. And at the same time… never push people away or judge them just because they are different. If you do that, sweet Lala, it only hurts you, makes your view narrower… your world, smaller.”
“So… if I hadn’t wanted to be friends with your sworn Knight just because he doesn’t look like anyone else I know…” Lala paused, trying to reason out her lesson.
“Yes, Lala, exactly like that. If you had refused to play with that wonderful man, what would you have missed?”
Tears filled the little girl’s eyes. “I would have missed out on my best friend,” she whispered. “I wish I had dimples.” She touched her cheeks as she spoke.
Jenevier chuckled softly. “Yes, little one, now you see. Different on the outside, does not mean different on the inside. When you can learn to respect all kinds of people, when empathy is something you have mastered and compassion is as second nature, when you learn to look beyond the wrapper… only then will you know true wisdom. Listen to your Obaasan, little one, and one day you will grow up to be a worthy ruler.”
“Because that’s my destiny. Right, Obaasan?”
Jenevier chuckled
. “Your destiny? Well… I suppose it is. But no matter what time may bring, no matter where you happen to be, all that truly matters is how you deal with this world, with your life. Decide for yourself what tomorrow will be. And if you cannot follow your own, then forge a new destiny. Build your own tomorrow, Lala. And then… just keep building. As long as you are blessed with days, spend them wisely.”
“I promise to remember all that you say, Obaasan. And I already know what I’m gonna do and who I’m gonna marry.”
Jenevier chuckled again, entranced by the sparkle in the young girl’s eyes. “Is that so? Tell me, then. What does your future hold, little one?”
“Well… I really like Dimples. He does everything I ask him to and plays with me every single day.”
“You call him Dimples, too?”
“He asked me to. It makes him smile. But I don’t think Daddy likes him all that much. So, if he will not let me marry Dimples, I’m gonna marry Grandpapa. He is as handsome as Daddy. And… I like the way he smiles at me.”
Jenevier couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, little one, I know what you mean. I like the way he smiles at me, too. But I would stick with Dimples if I were you. Who knows? By the time you are ready to take the throne, perhaps Daddy may have taken a liking to that beautiful River Spirit. Your daddy is sweet like that.”
“Yeah, Daddy loves me too much,” Lala whispered as her eyes slowly began to close.
There they sat, hugging closely as they rocked on her balcony, bathed in the blessed moonlight.
This was her destiny, and it made her smile—Empress of Jinn, Guardian of Dragons, Mother of Angels, Grandmother of Shinobi, and friend to creatures both terrifying and glorious… fallen and otherwise. It was a strange, macabre kind of life, and it was heavenly.
Redeemed by Rubies
Book Six of
A Dance with Destiny
Chapter 1
He squeezed her hand, lending her much-needed support.
“And then… I looked down.” She sniffed and drew in a ragged breath. “There was blood, so… much… blood. I was not only stained with it, I was bathed in it, baptized in it.”
Tenshi drew her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Go on, Mama. Tell me what you were feeling. Let me be your strength, just for today.”
He could feel Daichi lurking just outside the doorway, but Jenevier was too caught up in her panic to sense much of anything.
Is she okay, Tenshi?
She is not injured, Brother. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say she was okay.
He tenderly patted the top of her head. “I’m here with you, Mama. Go on. Let it all out.”
Taka was buzzing about her nervously, his anxiety matching her own. Tenshi almost swatted him away, merely out of reflex, but then realized what such a careless action would do to his already frazzled mother.
She sniffed again, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “It was like… I lost myself. Like, I blacked-out. And when I came to, when my sanity returned… I was standing in the midst of a red sea filled to the brim with countless bodies—torn, headless, bludgeoned.” Her swollen red eyes met her son’s concerned gaze. “Why did such a thing not bother me? I mean, I know that is what I do—deliver death. Yet this time… this time was different. This time I did so without regard, without the slightest bit of remorse.”
Tenshi pulled his tiny mother onto his lap, gently rubbing little circles across her back. “Crimson cloaked, single-minded, ruthlessly brutal—it’s who you are, Mama, who you are meant to be… the Angel of Death. I thank all that is holy, the day has finally arrived.”
She rested her head on her son’s broad shoulder. “And what day is that, my beautiful boy?”
“The day you went into battle, minus your humanity. The day you were more Angel than woman.”
She smiled slightly and yanked on one of his sapphire curls. “And why would you be thankful for such a thing as that?”
“Because, Mama.” He sighed. “I am so very tired of seeing you broken and shattered, tired of watching Daichi all but carry you to your chamber and sit by your side for days… weaving you back together.” He lovingly stroked her curls. “To remain with us, to keep our family whole, you made the only choice you could make—living as the creature you must now be. Vashti is a part of you for a reason, Mama. Think about it. How can a gentle woman rend minus guilt?”
“Yes, this I know. But… I am afraid of that side of myself, son. I am afraid of Vashti.”
Tenshi half chuckled. “As is all of creation. Listen, Mama. To save yourself, you had to let Jenevier go, had to release her… something which you could not seem to do on your own. And I will always be grateful to Duhrias for his part in helping you through your greatest trial. Now, embrace the Angel within you and be whole.”
“But, what about…” She paused.
“But what about what?” He snickered. “What about me and Daichi? Worry not for us, Mama. We are Angel as well. Don’t be afraid to let us go. We will not disappear. We may be your past, but we are your future as well, Kagi Naga.” He tickled her a little. “We will always be here for you, for each other. The only thing that will change is your happiness, your contentment. Release the guilt and embrace the joy, Mama. I will be here right alongside Yui, awaiting your nightly return.”
She smiled then. “Hot rose tea by moonlight.”
“Yes.” Tenshi matched her smile. “Our own little heaven.”
Daichi rested his forehead against the door, listening as her son took up his part as her loving support. He was her Blessing, yes, but these days… her strength rendered him all but useless. He turned when he heard the approaching footsteps.
“Master Daichi,” Yui whispered as he bowed.
The enchanting sapphire Angel narrowed his steely gaze at his old sensei.
“Will you be joining us for tea?”
Daichi did not speak. Yui noticed the path tears had marked down his sculpted cheeks, but the mighty Angel made no move to wipe them away.
After staring at the beautiful Shinobi his beloved Naga had wed, Daichi slowly turned, gliding from the window without a word.
That marked the last day Jenevier would ever cry on her son’s shoulder. Henceforth, when she returned home she did so as the loving mother and devoted wife her blessed family needed her to be.
Whenever she felt the weights begin to pull at her soul, whenever she felt the tears swell to bursting, the Angel of Death went to the one place that now brought her comfort. Time and again she would return to that beautifully magical place Vittorio had taken her the day he asked for her hand. Time and again, the sun set upon her crumpled form curled up beneath those enchanting cherry trees.
Whenever she had been summonsed to perform a particularly bloody task, or simply on the days when her heart was overly pained with the absence of her beloved Guardian… she would return to those trees, to that unrivaled garden. Countless times throughout the many bloody years, this proved true. It was the place that marked a major turning point in her life, and was now the only place upon any layer where her heavy heart could find a few moments of blessed peace.
The lovely sakura only lasted for a few short days each year. Then, their soft pink beauty danced upon the wind and was carried away. Jenevier knew this. Alas, her forever scarred heart was a greedy little thing. She returned many times, always as Vashti, unseen by human eyes. But her heart… ahh, her heart was her heart. Whether her wrapping appeared as Vashti, Naga, or even Gealach, her heart would always and forever be Jenevier’s—fragile, lonely, and eternally tormented. Her very human heart… it was her greatest secret. To all whom she loved, she was only the Death Angel. The truth of her heart she kept hidden, locked securely away from those who would worry and fret if they knew the truth of it.
So it was, and without conscious intent, the tears of her shattered heart always brought the sakura… even in winter. As she sat, invisible beneath the trees, her crying soul would sing to the hidden buds softly sleeping wi
thin those bared branches, charming them with its lamenting prose, awakening their tiny souls, causing their beauty to burst forth like delicate pink stars against a moonless night.
Lying there beneath their glory, she was wholly restored. Their rare magic would piece together the tired old shards of her broken heart, giving her the needed strength to face another bloody day. When she would finally leave the little garden of her sanity, she would once again be strong enough to return to the palace on Jinn with a smile on her lips, and joy in her words.
Never did it cross her mind that humans may take notice. For when the spell her crying heart had cast upon those rare trees was broken, when she would leave the eighth layer realm of Earth, the enchanted trees would release their delicate blooms. The dainty sakura would vainly chase after her diamond pinions, following her nigh unto the clouds… evidence of their magic erased by the wind of her wings.
And this was the way of it for many long years. The sakura would heal her and then desperately seek her, wishing only to stay by her side. Alas, she always returned to her devoted Yui—rose tea at the ready and loving arms to embrace her. He had become her constant, and she loved that man more than she could have ever hoped for. Yui not only reveled in her love, he returned it to her a hundredfold. Even when she let her secret tears fall, Jenevier knew she was blessed beyond her worth. That made any pain all the easier to bear, healed her even more than the magical sakura.
Then, one day, after a fierce and bloody battle had come to its end upon Spadroon, Jenevier sat upon a hill, tears staining her dirty face, watching as the shadows snatched up the departing souls.
Jophiel plopped down beside her and sighed wearily. To his surprise, she turned to look him in the eye.
“What are those things, Brother?” She gazed back out across the carnage. “I believe I have seen them before… lurking about the edge of battlefields.”
“What do you speak of, little sis? The shadows?”
“Yes. Normally I do not linger, but weariness has given my wings pause this day. And now… curiosity wishes to be sated. Tell me, Brother. For I am almost certain I have seen them before.”
