by Hickory Mack
“Pied became one of the family, accepted by everyone. He turned his rascal behavior around to please Lili, his fur becoming lighter than mine in only a few years’ time. Lili faced what she hated most and found the love of her life,” Makkai said. “They were hand fasted with kits on the way last I saw them. Those kits should have a second tail by now.”
“When was the last time you saw your sister?” Chiori asked.
“About a decade before I was banished and bound. Lili wanted nothing to do with me by then,” Makkai said. “I’ve never blamed her for that. I wouldn’t want my kits growing up around evil incarnate, either.”
“You’re not evil,” Chiori said vehemently. Makkai smiled.
“You’re the only one who thinks that. Ask around whenever you like. You won’t find one single creature that isn’t deathly afraid of me. That’s why I take care of them and sacrifice for them. They’re terrified, but they’re still here,” he said.
“Airi isn’t afraid of you.”
“Oh, yes she is. Airi isn’t a demon, she’s a benevolent Goddess, freed by the collapse of humanity. She's strong, and even she treads safe paths where I am concerned. It isn’t something that bothers me over much. I became this way through choices I made. It’s nobody’s fault but my own,” Makkai said.
“Can I see it?” Chiori asked.
“See what?” he asked back.
“Your fox form,” she whispered, making Makkai grin.
“Not tonight, you’ll have nightmares. Better to save that for another day in the distant future. Let’s give you some time to get used to the world you now live in,” he said.
“It’s really that scary?” she asked doubtfully.
“Grown men have pissed themselves when they see me like that. When I’m in my true form, the smallest I can make myself is twice the size of Airi’s horse. I’m not sure how big I can become, but it’s impressive. Teeth longer than your arm,” he bragged. Chiori closed her eyes and leaned into his chest.
“I’ll wait,” she agreed. “I still hate tomorrow.”
“Me too Little One, me too.”
Chapter 20
Chiori clung to Lord Makkai’s side, grasping his hand. They stood in the middle of her renovated suites, he’d had the entire layout of the rooms surrounding the inner gardens changed for her. Two of the four hallways connecting to the room sets were closed off, and the rooms between hers and Makkai’ had been changed to help with her education.
One room had been transformed into an art studio, stocked with supplies for everything from pottery to calligraphy. Another had a pair of desks facing each other with rows of bookshelves, Makkai had told her she’d learn as many languages as her teacher could stuff into her head there.
“I suspect you will be spending minimal time in this one. Most of your training will take place outside,” Makkai said, showing her a room laid with thick tatami mats. It had a stand with wooden swords and padded gear inside. Several types of shields and quarterstaffs lined the back wall, along with myriad other sharp pointy things. There was a much smaller bookshelf in this room, and when she bent to inspect them, they were all on the subject of different types of fighting styles.
The room for magic class was still empty of everything save a single low table in the middle. Chiori wondered what her red-headed teacher would fill the space with.
To keep anyone from walking into her outer hallways, it was arranged to have a barrier placed between the classrooms and Chiori’s rooms. Makkai had her place her hand to the barrier so it would recognize her. From then on she was the only one able to walk through it, the instructors and any staff that needed to use the classrooms would use the hallway on Lord Makkai’s side of the gardens.
Her personal rooms had only three walls, opening entirely to the gardens, the sliding glass doors to the hallway could still be opened and closed as needed if the weather turned sour and she needed to keep rain or snow out.
“To help ease your fears of being contained,” Lord Makkai said. The doors around the gardens were also warded and could only be accessed by the two of them. Not even her teachers could enter the gardens on their own. Anyone could be invited, but they had to be re-invited every time they left.
“It’s to give you privacy in your rooms. In this way, no one can come upon you through the gardens. Your staff will come to you through another set of hallways behind your back wall.”
A full washroom with a toilet, sink, cabinet and shower were added as one of her personal rooms, the only space with four walls. Her bedroom had been transformed.
Tatami mats and beautiful rugs had been laid, and an intricately carved desk equipped with a computer, writing utensils and paper had been brought in. The walls remained the same white rice paper, trimmed with deep brown wood, but a large canvas now hung on one wall. The subject was a simple fox made of blue fire, outlined with black, sitting with its tail covering its front feet and looking straight at her. Makkai had frowned at it at first, he hadn’t chosen the piece, but Chiori liked it, so he let it go.
A wide round pot held a small bushy tree that reached halfway to the ceiling. And one corner had a large wardrobe with a roll out drawer containing her futon, blankets and pillows. There were also four shelves and a trunk, all totally empty, waiting for her to fill them with whatever interested her.
Next to the bedroom was a large space he called her sitting room. It had multiple places to sit including a large comfortable cushion on the floor, an oversized chair, a purple blue and green hammock hanging from the ceiling and a loveseat. Everything had pillows and throw blankets and side tables at the perfect height. Chiori eyed Makkai’s tails and stifled a giggle. He could fill the whole seat himself. There was a fireplace and bookshelves lined both side walls, already filled with books, something from every genre.
“It can be customized to suit your preference, nobody knew what sort of books you enjoy, and if you want any colors or patterns changed, that can be done, too,” Makkai said.
“I love this room. I love all of them, but I think this one’s my favorite,” Chiori said, earning her a heart melting smile from her demon.
“The last surprise is in the garden,” he took her hand and lead her outside to the far end, nearest the Language Arts classroom. There was a small building, the size of a potting shed. It looked weathered and old, but Chiori was certain she’d not seen it there before. It had a tiny porch with a macramé chair hanging from its roof.
“Open the door,” Lord Makkai said and she did so, excitedly. She squealed, and then squealed again, even louder and he smiled. Of all the things he’d had done to the house to make life easier for her, he’d known this, the simplest of things, would be her favorite.
She came out of the coop holding a little yellow chick, her face beaming and rushed over to give him a hug. There were three baby hens and one little rooster, all fluffy brown and yellow cuteness.
“I love them! Thank you so much!” her smile was the brightest he’d seen in his time with her and he felt it again. Just a light touch at the peripheral of his magic, pulling at his heart. Their bond strengthened, it was the width of a strand of string, now. A tiny cord of intermingling green and blue. He pet her hair fondly, and her eyes had flashed to his, she could feel it too.
“You’re welcome,” he said, enjoying the moment. “They’re alicanto, a bloodline that likes to take the form of shokoku, a breed from my homeland, far older than I am. They’ll be fine birds if you take good care of them. All the feed and nutrients they need is already premixed in there.”
“I will! I’ll give them the best care,” she said, giving an excited little squeal. Then she cocked her head in imitation of his look. “Your homeland? I should have asked before but I didn’t think of it. Where is that?”
“It’s in a land that was once called Japan, a long time ago. A talk for another day, okay?” he said, pleased when she dropped the subject and turned her attention back to the loudly peeping chick in her hands. She did a little happy da
nce and cooed at the tiny creature. He had a feeling she’d be spending a lot more time with those chicks than with him in the following months. A bittersweet thought.
Lord Makkai looked up at the Sun, gauging the time. He let a few more minutes pass, watching Chiori pick up each chick in turn, looking over their different stripy patterns, remarking how she would be able to tell them apart once she named them. He showed her which was the rooster, destined to be an astonishing beauty when he grew. Her smile returned, but her chin dimpled a bit, thinking of the rooster she’d lost. They stayed until they couldn’t stall any longer.
“Chiori, it’s time,” he said finally, not wanting it to happen any more than she did, and knowing it was a problem. His growing attachment to the girl was going to create more trouble than her attachment to him already was, and he needed to come up with a plan for some self-discipline. Her face fell, matching his mood, and she put her chick back.
“Okay,” she said, shutting the door to her new coop and dusting her hands off onto her shorts. “I’m ready.” Her chin lifted slightly. Makkai stopped himself from squishing her in another hug.
“Everything is about to change, but it’s for the best. Even when it doesn’t seem like it, I’ll always be near, looking out for you, remember that,” he said and she looked at him suspiciously.
“Why does it sound like you’re getting ready to say goodbye?” she asked, her tone matching her expression.
‘Because I am,’ he wanted to say, but now was not the time. He needed her to keep being brave right now.
“I only mean that you’re going to be very busy starting tomorrow. You’re going to be surrounded by people most of the hours of your days,” he said, guiding her toward her rooms, where the kimono he’d selected would be waiting.
“I’ll find time to be alone, it’s what I’m used to. I won’t let them drive me crazy,” she said bluntly and he held back a laugh, but a small smile slipped through. He gave her a hand up.
“This is Nakia,” he said, indicating the pale young woman with snow white hair and big, pale blue eyes, standing next to a pile of long, thin boxes. “She’s going to help you dress and give you instructions on what to expect. I’ll see you in the front hall, my Lady,” he said, his demeanor changed to be more closed off in the presence of someone that wasn’t her or Airi. Chiori gave a little bow when Nakia bowed deeply.
“Thank you, my Lord,” Chiori said, waiting until he left before turning to Nakia. She looked to be eighteen or nineteen, very pretty with a serene face, her eyes though, those were lively and active. She bowed to Chiori.
“Hello, my Lady,” she said in a voice as soothing and serene as her face. If you could get undressed and into your sosoyoke and hiyokyu, I will help you from there.” Nakia held them out to Chiori, the first was a short, thigh high slip, the other was kind of an undergarment to wear under her kimono. She stepped behind her screen, which had been added since she’d last been in here less than an hour before. Quickly doing as she was told, Chiori left her clothes and sandals folded in a neat pile on the floor.
Nakia worked in silence, approaching Chiori with a sash to tie the hiyokyu on properly, explaining everything as she worked. Then she helped her into a lightweight white kimono that Nakia called a nagajuban, quickly followed by a cream, then a blue and silver and then a golden kimono with cranes on the pattern. This too was tied with a silken sash. Then came yet another layer, deep purple with golden flowers to match the one beneath it. The sash was removed from within and used to tie the purple one. Over the sash Nakia placed the Obi, a wide silken scarf that covered Chiori’s middle.
She thought she was done, but Nakia opened one last box, taking from it a cream and golden kimono, bigger than those previous. This she left open to show the rest beneath it. She sat Chiori down on the desk chair to help her slip into her slitted socks and stilted sandals, also shifting the underlying layers to have the bottom of the purple reveal the gold underneath.
“Is it really necessary to wear six of them?” Chiori asked, exasperation coloring her voice. Nakia smiled.
“These clothes are to make a statement. The silks in this arrangement alone are worth more than what anyone else in this house owns, possibly with the exceptions of Yuuki and Airi. You are important, and Lord Makkai wants everyone to know it.”
Nakia twisted Chiori’s hair between her fingers and sighed at how thin it was, and short, only slightly longer than shoulder length. She’d seen what Asuka had done with the braid and decided to out-do the fae woman.
“In time I could make this hair the envy of the house, you have nice color, it’ll get even darker as you get older, I think,” Nakia predicted, sectioning it off into threes on each side of Chiori’s face. The back section she brought up into a top knot, tying it with a thin ribbon to make it look thicker than it was. On one side she swept the three sections up into waves that moved back and up, pinning them into place where they met around the base of the knot.
The other side became nine braids, dainty and pretty they were twisted and looped and brought back to the knot as well. Nakia wove tiny golden drops into the braids and waves and placed a white bone comb with a golden Lily into the side of the knot to finish it off. She walked around Chiori, tugging a bit of fabric here, adjusting a hairpin there.
At the very end Nakia painted her lips red and darkened her eyes with kohl. She stood back and admired her work, an indecipherable look on her face.
“We need to get a mirror in here so you can see how changed you look. You look younger and older, both at once,” Nakia said. Chiori wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she said nothing. “No matter, for now we can do this.”
Nakia held her hand up and moved it, palm outward, in a circle, speaking a few words too quietly for Chiori to hear. The air shimmered and Chiori thought it might be a barrier being created. Her fears were allayed quickly when it became like quicksilver. Not as clear as a mirror, but it cast a serviceable reflection.
“Hold,” Nakia said and the silver became solid and still, a perfect mirror after all.
Chiori walked up to it, amazed at the wealth of cloth clouding around her. The hems on the kimono were so long she couldn’t see her sandals, though they were a good inch higher than the last ones she’d worn. Shocked by how thin she’d become, Chiori didn’t see what Nakia saw, she didn’t see herself looking older. She felt like a charlatan, a fraud. The ghost of a child in a woman’s clothing. Asuka had told her she looked better than before. She didn’t try to imagine how skeletal she’d been a week ago.
Nakia slapped a fan into her palm, cutting off any self-pitying thoughts, and showed Chiori how to use it.
“Today you must not smile for anyone other than his Lordship. No sour faces, either. Wear a mask of calm. If the mask slips,” she held the fan up, showing only her eyes, “you regain your composure behind this.”
“Okay, that’s useful. What else should I know?” Chiori asked nervously.
“Stand tall, you are important, act like it. Careful steps, don’t fall, you’ll embarrass our Lord and yourself. Don’t worry too much about what anybody else thinks. If Lord Makkai wants you here this badly, there must be a good reason. You’ll be one of us soon enough,” Nakia said, her voice still oddly calm compared to the liveliness in her eyes. She showed Chiori how to hide her fan in the inner sleeves of her kimono and how to easily slip it out again.
“We have lots of time, if we leave now we can be to the hall on time. I will show you how to walk properly along the way, so you can make a more confident entrance.” Nakia ran a finger over the mirror she’d created in the middle of the air and it flowed into liquid silver again. It dissipated into a shimmer, then it was gone.
“Neat trick,” Chiori said, a bit in awe.
“Thanks,” Nakia gave a small smile. “It has many uses, all of them far more deadly than a mirror.” She opened the door into the hallway.
It took them fifteen minutes to walk from Chiori’s room to the entry hall, Nakia giving t
ips and instructions the entire way. By the time they arrived Chiori could walk without wobbling or putting her hand up in the air to steady her balance, but only if she concentrated. She was so focused that when they walked into the hall and she saw Lord Makkai talking with a man unknown to her, she almost fell over, her concentration broken. Nakia hissed more instructions, her lips barely moving, her expression unchanged.
Chiori straightened herself out and managed to walk to the center of the hall without incident, where she waited a respectable distance away until he finished his conversation. The man he spoke to was big. Almost as tall as Lord Makkai, with bigger muscles compared to her Lord’s lean frame. He had dark hair, worn slicked back and mocha colored skin. He wore not a kimono, but a summer friendly Yukata. Chiori envied him, far too warm in her heavy layers. His dark eyes darted to her, and Nakia with her, more than once.
They parted and Nakia excused herself, following the man out, along with the two-other people in the room. Chiori was startled, her attention had been so drawn to Lord Makkai that she hadn’t even noticed them. Makkai turned but looked right over her head.
“We meet again,” Kai said from behind her in his overly friendly way. Chiori followed Nakia’s instructions and did not turn to him, waiting instead for him to walk around her cloud of robes. Her magical teacher wore a green yukata with brown birds on it. She saw no knife on him this time and she wondered where he’d hidden it.
“Right on time,” Lord Makkai said, clearly to the teacher. “We’re ready.” He locked eyes with Chiori for the first time since he’d turned around. A charge moved between them, but instead of offering his arm as he usually would, he faced toward the door, his hands folded in front of him. Chiori did the same, focusing on her steps and standing to his left.
The doors opened, bathing the entryway in light and he lowered his head to hers.
