"This is all so quick." She covered her mouth with her hands as if she was stifling a cry. She lowered her hand. "And I am afraid." Her voice wobbled as she spoke.
He squeezed her shoulder. "That is fine."
She pulled away from him, taking a few steps to the edge of the veranda. She kept her head turned away to hide her smile. "I'm glad you understand," she said.
"The fear only makes it that much more exciting."
Suzume spun to face him in surprise, and as she did, he grabbed her hard and held her against his chest. She thrashed about, wriggling away enough to beat his chest with her fists.
"Let me go this instant!" she shouted.
He laughed that same mad laughter and a chill worked its way up her spine. She tried to summon the power she had felt in the shrine. Even the sparks of energy did not seem to deter him. She scrunched her face and tightened her muscles and balled her hands into fists in an effort to summon that same power that had broken him free. If I can release him, perhaps I can seal him.
His laughter turned from maniacal to amused as he pushed her away. She fell to the ground. She braced herself with her palms and glared up at him past the curtain of her dark hair, which had fallen forward.
"You look like a fool. Stop before you hurt yourself," he said.
Suzume glowered at him and kept her hands bunched at her sides. "Do not play with me, Dragon, or I will send you back from whence you came!" She pointed a finger at him.
"You must be a fool to think you can trick me." He placed his hands on his hips and regarded her with his head tilted to the side, just as he had in the shrine.
"You knew! Then what was the need of this?" She motioned to the discarded robes strewn about the room.
"I told you before, you entertain me. I wanted to see how far you would let the game go. I must admit I have never met a woman who could withstand my charm quite as well as you."
How dare he threaten my purity in such a way! "I suppose you consider that a compliment," Suzume said as she sat up and straightened her robe to conceal her exposed flesh. He stared at her collar and she decided she did not care what he saw. Never let them see your true feelings. That's what her mother always said. He might think he had the upper hand, but he was mistaken if he thought she was beaten. She sat up straighter, taking on a regal pose.
"It is what it is; you may interpret it however you like, Priestess." He smirked again and settled on the floor across from her. "Now tell me truly, how did you break the seal?"
She lifted her chin in a haughty dismissal.
"I am not adverse to eating you, though I am sure you will be dry and foul tasting."
"You're joking." Suzume raised a brow at him, but her heart beat faster in her chest. She had no doubt he would, given half the chance. She would need to be more careful in the future.
"You're right, I am sure you'd be delicious." He licked his lips. Her stomach flip-flopped and the tingling sensation danced across her skin. She refused to look away, however. Doing so would admit defeat, and that was not an option.
Pressure built behind her eyes and a heavy weight burdened her breathing. She locked gazes with the Dragon. Her breaths were short and painful as if with each breath she was taking water into her lungs. Sparks ignited along her skin; the slow burn she had felt in the temple returned and it coiled in her stomach and began radiating to her limbs.
Then it stopped. Like water being poured from a jar, the river of energy halted as if the jar was righted once again. As the pressure ebbed away, Suzume's breathing was freed and she panted to regain a regular rhythm once more.
"Interesting," he said. He stood up and paced around her in circles. "When you are sitting here, I cannot sense any spiritual energy about you. Yet, when I lower my own barriers and release my spiritual energy, your body goes into the defensive."
"Are you saying my power is only awakened when threatened?" Is that what that feeling was? It made sense that she only felt it when she was around him, he seemed to be a constant threat to her life. Why have I never felt this before?
"Possibly, it does not explain why you would have broken the seal. Tell me what happened at the shrine." He continued to pace about with his hands folded behind his back.
Suzume pondered the incident a moment before replying. She had no reason to answer his questions other than to sate her own desire to understand why these powers had manifested now. "We were in the middle of the ceremony and I walked into the temple. I felt like a wave came over me and was pressing the air from my body, and then a burning feeling built into my gut and in my limbs, and eventually it just came out and went straight towards the holy object."
He paced away from her and stood in the doorway. He looked out across the valley. The stars were out and they blanketed the blue-black sky, adding twinkling light. He stood very still, like a statue. From her vantage point she could see nothing but the twinkling of the night sky beyond him and he appeared to be a bird about to take flight and never return.
After several minutes of pensive silence Suzume said, "Do you know what happened to me? How did I break the seal?"
He turned around and regarded her as if just noticing her for the first time. "You are still here, then? You should return to your chamber; a young woman like yourself should not be out sneaking into a man's room."
She jumped to her feet. He acted as if their conversation had never happened. "You dragged me in here!"
He waved at her over his shoulder, dismissing her once more. She thought of several curses she would like to fling at him but decided she valued her life too much to risk awakening the darker side of his personality. Instead, she stormed out, slamming the sliding door after her.
When she was alone in her bedchamber once more, she found that sleep eluded her and she wondered what had caused this sudden awakening of her spiritual powers. Could it be as he suspected: a defense mechanism? Living in the White Palace, she had not had much opportunity to get into trouble. She was always surrounded by guards and ladies and lords of the court.
She sighed and rolled over. It was best not to think of what she had lost. Perhaps tomorrow would be a better day. She could only hope.
Chapter Four
"I heard the Dragon took her to his chamber last night."
Suzume pushed herself up on one arm and scowled at the offending sound of twittering voices. She was no stranger to gossip, it was common fare at the White Palace. Gossip was a way to pass the time and it was also a way to control those around you. She was curious to hear what these shrine maidens thought of her.
A second girl gasped. "She must realize that she is not really his bride. It is just a title!"
"She's from the palace. Maybe they don't understand northern customs?" the first woman asked.
"I am shocked she would give her virtue so lightly."
"The way I heard it, she's had countless lovers. I don't think there was any virtue that remained for her to lose."
Suzume had enough. They were nothing but a couple of prattling idiots. She stood up and poked her head through the open window that looked unto a garden where the two women were conversing. They spotted her as she rested her head on her upturned palms, her elbows resting on the windowsill.
"I've had one thousand lovers. One for each night of the week, and they would shower me with treasures from countries you can only imagine, the finest silks, and poems were often written comparing my beauty to the changing of the seasons. That was until a warrior stole my heart and I forsook all other lovers for him. My father, the emperor, however, had already chosen for me one of his best generals: General Tsubaki. When the general learned about my lover, he challenged him to a death match. They fought and lost their lives to win my love. That is why the emperor banished me here, because his favorite general died." She smirked.
The two women cowered and lowered their gazes to the ground. The girl on the right wrung her hands together and the girl to the left fidgeted as she stole glances at her companion. They're brave
when they are talking behind my back. They would not last two minutes at the palace.
"What, nothing more to say? I thought that would make for much better gossip than what you were saying."
"We did not mean any offense," the girl on the left said.
"Oh? I suppose I sound favorable having spread my legs for hundreds of men rather than thousands and being foolish enough to believe a dragon would be my husband?"
"No, that is to say..." The girl on the right raised her head to try to defend herself, but Suzume's glare had her staring back at her feet the moment she made eye contact.
"Get out of my sight before I call down the Dragon's wrath upon you," Suzume said. She sliced the air with the hand, miming what she would have the Dragon do to them. They both scattered like maple leaves in the wind.
Suzume slid down from the window and sighed. She gathered her knees up to her chest and stared at the blank wall across from her. She was used to gossip. She had grown up surrounded by it, but somehow Suzume had hoped this far from the White Palace, her reputation would not have preceded her. It seemed her mother's legacy was stronger than she expected. It doesn't matter. I don't care what they think.
Suzume got up and dressed in her everyday clothes: a pair of crimson hakama pants, a white haori tucked into them and cinched at the waist. The long billowing sleeves got in her way as she tied her hair back in a low tail with white ribbon. Learning to dress herself had been a challenge, she had always had lady's maids to do these things. And the clothes itched and rubbed against her skin, which was used to silk. There was no looking glass; such a luxury item would not be found here. She imagined she looked as every other priestess at the shrine did, dull. A part of her had hoped when the Dragon had claimed her that she would not have to go about her menial duties, but after last night, she doubted the Dragon would spare her from anything. If anything, he was likely to make her life worse.
After a quick breakfast, during which none of the other shrine maidens even so much as looked her in the eye, Suzume went to meet with Zakuro to get her morning assignments. It was an unfortunate side effect of being a shrine maiden. She was expected to clean and learn about what it took to serve the god of the mountain. I don't even know why it is necessary when the god is a fake. She sighed and then when she looked up again, the Dragon stood across the garden beneath a maple tree. His head was tilted back as he stared at the crimson leaves.
He wore a long white outer robe that hung down past his knees over a pair of billowing black pants, and his long hair had been tied up in a topknot. He looked like a proper courtier from a distance, the only thing that was missing was a hat. She had never seen a man without one before now. He would have caused a scandal at court, with his charming smiles and apparent disregard for social norms. From a distance, he appeared handsome. But Suzume knew beneath that pleasing outer veneer was a monster and a maniac.
He spotted her and waved her over. At first she considered pretending not to see him and walking away, but he did not give her the chance. He crossed the garden, jumping over a small decorative pond before landing gracefully beside her.
"Good morning, my bride," he stage-whispered.
A few of the shrine maidens looked in their direction, but when Suzume scowled at them, they ducked their heads and went back to sweeping or carrying linens to be washed.
"I thought we had established that I was not your bride," she said with fake sweetness as she fluttered her eyelashes at him.
"Mmm," he said and cupped her cheek, running his thumb along her high cheekbone. Sparks rose where his hand touched her. "Isn't it fun to pretend, though?"
She scowled at him. The air crackled around her and she felt the burning pool of energy rumbling in her stomach. Now would be a good time to learn to master this power and burn him to a crisp.
The Dragon pulled away from her and laughed. "You are so predictable. I am glad I chose you."
"You did not choose me, my power unleashed you!" she countered.
"How do you know I did not give you that power?" he asked with a quirk of his lip.
She glowered at him and had no appropriate response. It seemed these newfound abilities only manifested around the Dragon; could it be nothing she could control but her body's reaction to his presence? She refused to give him credit; it would only go to his head.
"There you are!" Zakuro shouted and bustled over to the pair of them. When she saw Suzume with the Dragon, however, she faltered. She folded her hands in front of her and bowed low to the Dragon. "My lord Dragon."
He looked down at her with a narrowed gaze and the crackling sensation tinged the air and made Suzume's skin itch. Zakuro did not seem to notice. She did maintain her averted gaze as she spoke to Suzume. "The head priestess wishes to speak with you."
"We will be there in a moment," the Dragon replied for Suzume.
"I can speak on my own," Suzume snapped.
"Can you now? Since you were not able to answer my earlier question, I thought perhaps you had lost the power of speech."
She puffed up her chest and considered shouting at him, but Zakuro and the other shrine maidens were staring. She didn't want to reveal even a small weakness to them. She lifted her chin and turned away. "We will speak to the head priestess now," she said.
Zakuro bowed again and showed them the way to the high priestess' room. Zakuro kept a few steps ahead of them as if she were eager to put distance between herself and them.
When they arrived at the high priestess' rooms, Zakuro and Suzume knelt by the door. The Dragon stood over them, shaking his head. Zakuro slid the doors open. Inside, the head priestess sat at the far end of the room on a cushion upon the floor. Suzume entered and walked with her head bowed before taking a seat across from the head priestess. The Dragon, adversely, declined to sit and loomed above the two women.
"I am glad you came, Lord Dragon," the head priestess greeted him.
He nodded in response.
Then to Suzume she said, "I called you here to speak about what happened yesterday. I am writing a letter to the head of the temple at the White Palace, but I wanted to hear your side before I send it. "
Suzume's heart beat faster. She had been caught out in her lie! They would banish her for sure, or worse. She panicked; there was nowhere left for her but here. It would have been wise to confess the truth and hope for mercy from the head priestess, but she was too prideful to admit to a lie.
"What do you want to know? I am an open book," Suzume replied.
The Dragon snorted. "That is an understatement."
She shot him a glare, but he only smiled at her and extended his palm, indicating she should continue.
The high priestess glanced between the two of them and sighed. "I did not ask before, given the circumstances under which you were brought to us." She cleared her throat.
Suzume stared past her, pretending the words and the judgment behind them did not sting.
"Given recent developments, I think it bears investigation. Have you been tested for spiritual sensitivity?"
This, Suzume could answer honestly. "No. Because I am a descendant of the Eight, it was always assumed I had some spiritual powers. Though perhaps they underestimated just how much ability I had." Well, partly honestly; no one would have assumed Suzume, the fifth daughter of the emperor's second wife, would have anything remarkable about her. She had been lucky enough to have such a fortuitous marriage arrangement, but that was all in the past now.
"I suppose you are right," the high priestess said while scratching her chin.
Suzume sighed. She had accepted her lie so easily. Then again they would not have taken me into the temple if they did not think I had some spiritual sensitivity.
"Perhaps you can answer a question for me, Chiyoko?" the Dragon asked the head priestess. "How does a woman with previously no indication of spiritual power break a five-hundred-year-old seal? I know it could not have been weakened because the priestess who made it would not let such a thing happen. I suspect
that is why she built this shrine. Your prayers should have kept me sealed for another five hundred years and beyond. Nothing but the fall of mankind would have weakened it, and even then perhaps it still would have held and locked me in eternal slumber."
Chiyoko, the high priestess, glanced between Suzume and the Dragon, her mouth working as if she were trying to give him a reasonable explanation, but she had none.
"I cannot say, my lord," she said.
He waved off her response. "I did not really expect you to. Instead, tell me, the first priestess of your order, did she have any descendants?"
She went to shake her head no but paused. She held up a wrinkled finger. "There is a myth that when High Priestess Fujikawa began our order, she was great with child, but there is no proof of this. It is probably superstition or allegory. She is often called the mother of our order; she is said to have traveled all around the empire, building shrines and temples wherever she went."
"Is there more to the legend?" the Dragon pressed.
Suzume squirmed under the force of his spiritual pressure, which seemed to be bearing down upon her. She laid her hands down flat on the reed flooring and tried to steady her labored breathing.
Chiyoko frowned and looked at Suzume, who struggled to breathe. The Dragon stood above her with an intense gaze that seemed it could burn her just with a look. The high priestess continued, though her voice too had become strained, "Some say High Priestess Fujikawa died bringing that child into the world..." She took a deep breath. Beads of sweat bloomed on her forehead and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. "Others say she lived and raised the child, who became a great spiritual leader. Other tales claim that she gave birth to the first emperor and that she is the mother of our empire, but these are all just legends without recorded evidence." She paused, inhaled and exhaled. "A fire one hundred years after her death burned the temple to the ground and the historical records were lost."
The Dragon paced about the room. Only Zakuro seemed unaffected by the release of his energy. Chiyoko was doing her best to maintain control, but her hands were pressed firmly onto the table in front of her.
The Priestess and the Dragon Page 3
