Kitsune: A Little Mermaid Retelling

Chapter Sixteen (part 1)

"My lord, the priestess has arrived."

Hikaru jumped and swiped a black mark across the inventory he had been working on. He set down his brush and took a deep breath. He did not want to face the priestess. How much longer can I deny what is before my eyes? I saw that creature kill a man—and Rin, she embraced it. The image of her bloodstained face staring at him, both serene and withdrawn, had kept him awake all night. The clan comes first—above all, even her. His stomach was in knots and his eyes ached from lack of sleep.

He couldn't show his fatigue. A leader should be strong or at least appear so. To do that meant putting aside his personal concerns and focusing on what was best for the clan. "Ah, yes. Can you show her to my audience chamber?" he asked.

The servant bowed low to the ground, his forehead nearly pressed against the floor, before he exited to do Hikaru's bidding.

Hikaru stood up and paced the length of the room while he waited for the priestess. He tugged at a loose thread on the hem of his sleeve, worrying at it, unraveling it and exposing the raw silk. He let it be and faced away from the door. He ran his hands through his hair and hovered over the parallel scars on the top of his head. They were from an injury he had sustained when he was too young to even recall. From time to time, the spots itched—usually when he was under duress. He ran his fingers along the smooth skin, it soothed him for some mad reason. He closed his eyes.

The door clacked against the track as the servant let the priestess into his audience room. He took a deep breath. He could see the silhouette of the woman through the transparent rice-paper doors. The servant rolled the door open. An old woman sat with her head bowed; her long white braid fell over her shoulder. She wore the red and white of a miko, but even if she hadn't been, he would have known what she was just from looking at her. He felt an aura about her, a shimmering veil that surrounded her. It wasn't often that he saw these sorts of things, and most often he disregarded them, but after everything he had seen as of late, it was harder to forget. As he approached, she lifted her head. Her dark eyes pierced him through as if she could read his thoughts. That is preposterous, he thought. No human can see that.

"Thank you for coming," Hikaru said as he sat down across from her.

"The pleasure is mine, my lord." She folded her wrinkled hands onto the tabletop. Not once did her dark gaze leave his face. There was a hint of a smile that brushed the corner of her lips. "How may I be of service?"

Staring into her ageless eyes, he could believe that all the strange things that had happened to him as of late were real. There was an unearthly quality to this woman, as if there were centuries' worth of knowledge hidden behind her placid gaze. He sat with his back straight and his fists planted on his thighs. No matter how he rehearsed what he wanted to say in his mind, he could not force the words out. Because once spoken it would mean admitting Rin was something other than human.

"I believe there is a strange woman in your household. She does not act as a lady should, am I correct?" the old priestess asked without prompting.

"Yes—my father must have mentioned it when he summoned you."

"He did. I am surprised it is not Lord Kaedemori who greeted me," she replied.

"My father is indisposed. As heir, I have taken over his duties for the time being." It had taken a lot of cajoling to get his father to hand over control of this matter. He knew Lord Kaedemori still thought him possessed or bewitched, but he needed to prove to his father that he could take responsibility.