Half-Breed (Taming the Elements Book 1)

by Hickory Mack

  “I remember you, from yesterday,” she said and Ani smiled. “Your hair was much longer.”

  “It was,” the woman agreed.

  “I’m Yuuki,” said the girl next to Ani and Chiori remembered Airi’s suggestion that this girl be with her. “We were told you may not be able to recognize what we are, so, to spare you the embarrassment of asking, I am a garden sprite. I’d be a great help to you when you require help with herbal knowledge.”

  Where Ani looked anxious and nervous, Yuuki looked relaxed and comfortable. The girl was enviously beautiful. She looked to be around eighteen or nineteen and had waist length, deep purple hair with eyes to match. Her skin was caramel and the light purple yukata looked like it was made for her.

  “I appreciate you saying so,” Chiori said.

  “I’m Mai,” the next girl said. She had wavy brown hair and brown eyes, her face was friendly, reminding her a bit of Winry. Large white wings unfolded from behind her back, stretching and then spreading wide behind her before folding back in and disappearing. “I’m a swan demon and I’m very good at hiding it. I can masquerade as human whenever his Lordship needs me to. I’m a passable musician, too, if you ever want to hear anything.”

  Chiori was interested, but it was starting to feel like they thought she was interviewing them for the job they already had. Nakia looked bored with Mai’s introduction, and her eyes wandered around the space. Chiori wondered what would appear in the room next at her instruction.

  “Nakia, but we’ve already met. I didn’t know you wouldn’t know what we are. I’m a water snake. I can be tiny, the size of a pencil, or large enough to swallow you whole. Heard you got Sen for your language instructor.” Nakia grinned. “Bummer.”

  ‘I knew it!’ Chiori wanted to burst out, but she held it in, the crinkles around her lips the only indication of her thought.

  “You already know I’ll be useful to you, so there’s no need to talk myself up,” Nakia finished, full of confidence.

  “Forgive me, my Lady, for not offering the information immediately, I was not in the same instructional meeting as the others. I am a black widow demon,” Ani added. Chiori’s eyes snapped from Nakia to the older woman.

  “You’re a poisonous spider?” she asked, hating the twinge of fear she heard in her own voice.

  “I am, yes. It’s my nature to keep my surroundings neat, orderly and clean. I’ll make a great addition to your personal household,” Ani stated.

  “Okay,” Chiori said awkwardly, unsure of what to do with them all now that they were here. It was Nakia that saved her.

  “Aren’t you hot? Your cheeks are flushed,” she said. “Let’s get you out of that kimono, shall we?”

  “Yes, please! Please tell me I won’t have to wear another one of these again for a long, long time!” Chiori complained, walking into the open hallway adjoining the gardens.

  “Rarely will the kimonos you wear be this elaborate, unless you choose to. I get the feeling it pleases Lord Makkai to see you dressed this way. He comes from Japan, and so he dresses you like Japanese royalty,” Nakia said, calling out, “Yuuki, come with us. Ani, fetch the kimono boxes.”

  “What about me?” Mai asked.

  “Tea,” Yuuki answered in her mellow way. Nakia opened the wardrobe and frowned.

  “This isn’t big enough, I wonder who put this here,” she said, moving some of the clothes aside to see how much room was in there. “There isn’t much to choose from, but pick what you’d like to wear and we’ll get you out of that thing.”

  Chiori moved forward and riffled through the wardrobe. She’d never owned so much clothing in her life and wasn’t sure what Nakia was talking about, stating it was too small. She chose a summer dress, thinking ahead to dinner and what Nakia had said about Lord Makkai. He definitely seemed to prefer her to dress feminine, though he never complained when she didn’t. Actually, he’d never complained about anything she did.

  “Good choice, it’s getting warmer outside,” Yuuki said. She took the dress from Yuuki and hung it on the rack behind the screen. Nakia helped slide the outer cream kimono jacket off and while she worked to fold it properly, Yuuki worked on untying the Obi. She removed it, then the silken sash and then worked on rolling and folding them properly so they wouldn’t crease or wrinkle. Nakia came back and removed the gray kimono and when she was done Yuuki returned for the purple one. Chiori finally felt some relief from the heat.

  A soft knock came at the door. Ani was back with the boxes. She came in and began carefully arranging the folded silks into their boxes, wrapping them in absorbent papers to keep them safe from humidity. The girls removed all the layers, leaving Chiori in just the slip and hiyokyu. She went behind the screen and changed into the summer dress she’d picked. It was pale blue with dark blue flowers patterned across the bottom hem. It belled right at knee height.

  She brought out the under-garments, which were taken by Ani when another knock came. Mai had set up the tea in the sitting room. Chiori went back to the other room, the others following behind with an amused smile on her face. She felt like they were trying to keep her busy or looking for ways to be useful. Then she remembered what Asuka had told her about choosing which girls would be permanent fixtures in her household and it made more sense.

  Her eyes caught sight of the coop in the garden. It was so warm out, she worried her chicks would get too hot.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, dashing barefoot into the gardens before remembering that they wouldn’t be able to follow her. It was all so much to take in at once.

  “Well, that’s just unacceptable,” she heard Ani’s voice complain.

  The chicks were sleeping in the coop, huddled up together in a pile of fluff. As hot as it was outside, the shed stayed at a comfortable temperature. Chiori let the door shut behind her and nestled down into the straw with her baby chickens, stroking their tiny fluffy heads. She wondered how long it would take before she’d get into trouble for hiding out in here instead of taking her tea. Chiori sighed. With the coop so comfortable she couldn’t really justify bringing all the babies inside with her. She did it anyway.

  They woke with noisy peeps of protest. Chiori clutched them to her chest and ran back to her room, bursting through the barrier with a mischievous grin. Ani stepped back with a shocked expression, but Yuuki grinned and Nakia shook her head with a smile, her eyes bright.

  “Lady Chiori, bringing those animals in here is not the best idea. They’ll make a mess and they’ll smell. I’m not sure Lord Makkai would approve, certainly Fen wouldn’t,” Ani said. Yuuki covered her mouth with her hand, looking to Chiori for her reaction.

  “Fen has more important things to do than bother with me. My Lord wants me to be happy, which is why he gave them to me. I’m quite sure bringing them inside is the least of my transgressions in this house so far.” Chiori raised her eyebrows. Yuuki gave a little giggle, pressing her fingers together and making an explosion motion with them. Nakia pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile.

  “May I?” Yuuki asked, her violet eyes on the birds.

  “Be careful, they’re so tiny,” Chiori answered, allowing Yuuki to take one off her hands.

  “Mai is waiting with the tea,” Nakia reminded them. Her eyes also on the chicks.

  “Okay, let’s have some tea,” Chiori agreed, handing one of the babies to Nakia, rewarded by an actual smile from the older girl. Yuuki ran ahead to show the chick to Mai, who was so surprised she squealed a bit and her wings popped out. She held the little baby with tender adoration.

  This was okay, Chiori decided, watching the girls fawn over the alicanto. She vigilantly watched them, remembering Asuka’s warning that many would only be there for personal gain, not because of any real loyalty to her. Maybe she was a bad judge of character, but so far these girls seemed genuinely kind.

  She drank her tea and watched Mai and Yuuki play with the chicks, Mai stretched out on the floor. Nakia sat regally, observing. Ani stood, towel in hand
, ready to clean up any mess made. The differences in their personality was enough of a distraction to keep Chiori from focusing too hard on the terrible ache in her chest. Maybe he was right, this was what she needed.

  Chapter 22

  Chiori had gone to dinner giddy with excitement. Lord Makkai listened patiently as she talked about the few hours they’d been apart, her words solidifying the belief that he was right in pulling away from her now and giving her time to grow into herself. When she told him about bringing the chicks inside he chuckled, verifying that he was happy with whatever made her happy.

  The food was amazing, as everything Milly made was, but when their meal drew to a close Chiori felt panic. He was going to leave for the night and she would have nothing to stand between her and the nightmares, and there was nothing she could do about it. The magic welled up and he leveled a stern look at her, his face serious.

  “Chiori,” was all he said. She fought hard, stamping the wild power into submission. He rested his hand on hers, watching her internal struggle. A bit at a time she gained control, her chest heaved with the effort, but she did it. Her eyes came into focus and she glanced at him sheepishly.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No need to be sorry, you handled it well enough. I am curious though, what brought it out? In the past your magic reacted to outside stimuli. What were you thinking and feeling?” he asked. Chiori looked away, suddenly shy. Makkai smiled devilishly. “Whatever it is, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about, I won’t judge you.”

  “I was thinking you were about to leave,” she whispered, deciding to keep the problem of her nightmares to herself, “and I was frightened of how much it’s going to hurt. And how much I’m going to miss you. I’m still afraid.” He sighed deeply, resting his chin on his hand and peering into her eyes.

  “What am I going to do with you, Little One?” he pondered aloud. “I know it hurts, but if I stay now it will hurt even more later. It may seem to you that it’s easy for me to do this, but nothing could be further than the truth. A few years is nothing compared to the length of my life, but I hate the thought of it. That much time must seem like forever, to you.”

  “Years,” Chiori whispered, an ache she couldn’t describe in her chest. “You hadn’t told me it would be like this for years. I don’t want this. I love you, Makkai.” She gasped and buried her face in her hands. She couldn’t look at him, she hadn’t even admitted how serious her feelings were to herself, and now she’d spoken those words out loud. His long silence made it worse, he gave her nothing in reply for a full minute.

  “I know you do, Chiori. Thank you for sharing that with me. I am very fond of you, too. So fond it clouds my judgement,” Makkai finally said, after thinking out every word of his response. “In my life the only person I ever thought I loved was Lili. That fondness was a pale imitation of what I feel for you.”

  “Our bond will make those feelings stronger, as you, and our bond grow. It’s already difficult, and painful. I feel it, too. Eventually the bond will be sealed, and it will be impossible for us to be separated. I’d like to put that off as long as possible. You’re young, so tenderly young. It’s important for you to know yourself for who you are before we allow our bond to have such a tight hold on us. I do not want you to lose your identity before you even find it.”

  Chiori looked up at him, tears of embarrassment on her cheeks. He wiped them away with his thumbs. Holding her face he pressed his forehead to hers and they breathed the same air.

  “When the time comes, and you are solid in yourself and you’re comfortable with who you are, we will have a lifetime to be together. I want to love you for you, for Chiori. Not only because a bond beyond my control says I must,” Lord Makkai said. Chiori sniffed and pressed her lips together.

  “Okay,” she said. He kissed her forehead and looked in her eyes again, searching for anything that showed she really understood what he was trying to say, but all he saw was pain. She was agreeing with him because he wanted her to, and that was a cruelty all on its own.

  “It hurts me, too. I’d rather take you with me, out into the forest tonight, but that isn’t fair to either of us. Trust me, Little One. It’s better this way,” Makkai kissed both of her cheeks, pressed her into a long, warm hug, then stood and walked away without looking back. He couldn’t bear the look he knew would be on her face if he did.

  Chiori sat there, numb. She wasn’t sure for how long, time seemed unimportant. There was nobody to bother her, she was in the garden, safe from anyone that might want to make her talk with them or dress her up some more. She was allowed to be completely and utterly alone in her grief and after a while, when the tears stopped, she wondered if he’d planned it that way. When she was sure she could keep herself under control, Chiori went back to her room, stepping through the barrier.

  Yuuki awaited her, a worried expression on her face that she quickly hid when she saw Chiori. She dipped her head in a bow.

  “How can I be helpful to you, my Lady?” she did not remark on Chiori’s puffy eyes or order her around or make uncomfortable inquiries. Chiori was going to say she wanted to go to bed but thought better of it.

  “Yuuki, if it’s okay, I’d like a bath,” she said. Yuuki nodded.

  “That’s a wonderful idea, my Lady. We can do that now, if you like.” she said, offering her arm. Chiori didn’t take it, but smiled gratefully, allowing herself to be led through the house and outside. The steam from the bath looked deliciously inviting. Yuuki lit a lantern and an enchantment lit a dozen more like it around the baths.

  “Will you stay with me?” Chiori asked, relieved when the older girl smiled in agreement. They showered together, Chiori refusing to be shy this time, though Yuuki was so astonishingly beautiful. She used the rose scent again, breathing it in and letting it calm her sadness as it surrounded her in the steam.

  “That’s a good choice, my Lady, but may I make a suggestion?” Yuuki asked. Chiori nodded. “Lord Makkai doesn’t really like roses unless he’s eating them. The scent is too strong for his sensitive nose, he won’t even let them grow on the grounds.” She left the shower and came back with a purple soap. “When you know you’re going to see him, use this instead.”

  Chiori lifted it to her nose and she breathed it in. It was sweet, but definitely not as strong as the other. She liked it a lot more than the rose and re-washed, using the scent, mentally claiming it as her own.

  “What is this?” she asked, wondering why Asuka had told her to use the rose if it was so well-known Lord Makkai didn’t like it.

  “Lilac. The little bush tree in your room? His Lordship specifically wanted it there, it’s a lilac, too. When it blooms it will smell exactly like this,” Yuuki said, smiling. “I can’t speak for him, but perhaps he had it put there to share something he enjoys with you.”

  “Am I allowed to thank you?” Chiori asked, thinking of what Asuka had told her. Yuuki looked surprised, thought about it a minute and then she laughed.

  “Yes, I guess that’s okay.”

  “Thank you, Yuuki.”

  “You’re very welcome, my Lady. Shall we?” Yuuki pinned her hair while Chiori tied her own and they walked into the bath together. Chiori settled against the wall and Yuuki did the same, right next to her. They enjoyed the heat in companionable silence until the animals of the night began to sing.

  “It’s even more wonderful here at night. We couldn’t see the stars this well, where I’m from, there’s too much light pollution,” Chiori said, looking at Orion, thinking of Makkai.

  “I’ve never been to a nest,” Yuuki said softly, “but I’ve heard about them. When sprites go into one, they never come back out. That’s how I lost my sister, she met a woman and fell in love. Tamrin followed her into a nest, and that’s the last I ever saw of her. I wandered for a while and found Ichio, working in a rice paddy. He brought me here, and Lord Makkai accepted me as part of the household.”

  “I’m sorry,” Chiori said just as softly. “That’s te
rribly sad.”

  “I wasn’t trying to make you sad. I think it’s better to be open about things. It makes it easier to know each other and be comfortable with one another,” Yuuki said. “We’re going to be good friends, you and I. One of my many talents is being able to see relationships, how people fit together. And yes, before you ask, I can see it.”

  Chiori blinked in surprise. She had totally been about to ask.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it before, it’s like a physical binding, tying you to him. It’s so very thin, my finest paint brush cannot draw a line so dainty, but it’s so bright it burns. I’m sorry. It must be very painful,” Yuuki said, making Chiori’s chin tremble. “I’ve made you sad again.”

  “I’ll be okay.” Chiori said, looking up at the stars again. After a while she asked, “How long have you been here?”

  “Four years and two moons. I was not much older than you when I arrived. Unlike many here, I am as old as I look. No more than a teenager,” Yuuki answered. “Lots of them are hundreds of years old, but they don’t look any older than I do!”

  “Hundreds of years? I thought only the strongest demons could live that long. Every day I’m here I learn that something else I thought true is a lie. They only taught us what they want us to know,” Chiori said thoughtfully.

  Yuuki looked over at her.

  “Your human teachers taught you that?” she asked.

  “Yes. They also never mentioned sprites as an entirely separate entity, you’re all either demons or monsters. I was taught that there isn’t a demon on Earth that would let any one of us live. Every demon and monster are ruthless killers that will rip us apart a limb at a time. They’ll come into our nests and kill everyone in it. They taught us to fear even each other, because the demons sometimes skin a human alive, leaving them screaming and writhing while using the suit to move hidden among us,” Chiori said emotionlessly.