M.A.I.

((Please leave me a review or at least a rate. It is nice to know what people think so that way it gives me motivation to keep going. ^.~ Thanks all. OH! In case it is not obvious, the squiggles help to divide the flashbacks/dreams in the story. I find it gives a bit more insight. ))











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She woke up laying on a mat on the floor, her body shaking. The man she took that night must have had opium in his system. That was an awful feeling and Hiroshi knew it. He wanted nothing more then to go to her and hold her close. He wanted her to look at him and really see him. To touch him and feel as he felt at this moment. He wanted this lost treasure to say his name with the same love and respect that she had said the other’s in the streets. Iram. Who was this man that was privilege to receive the level of devotion that she offered with but a single utter of his name? He wanted that for his own. The woman hugged her knees now, rocking a bit in place. Hiroshi could not help himself and reached for her. She turned a frightened face to his and then to his amazement, reached out for him.



He wasted not a moment and took her in his arms. What this walking portrait wanted, she would have. A soft knock came on the thin paper door and after he gave the command, it was slid to the side to reveal a woman of about thirty, her head bowed down to those in the room. “Cecilia, please come in and help me. She needs to bathe and to get dressed in some finer clothing then what she has. I have sent Louis to the tailor to fetch some new silk robes. He should be back by the time you finish with our guest.” Cecilia nodded to her master and then approached the woman that was held in his arms. She spoke softly and reached slowly as the tattered woman reached back out for her help.



Hiroshi watched as the woman was taken out of the room and led off to bathe. He could still smell her on him, the dirt did not effect the dizziness with which he was intoxicated with. Folding up the mat and setting it off to the side to be washed, Hiroshi stood and left the room, wanting to get a few things done before his new guest was returned to him. His mind kept going back to her and so he had to push her from his mind to work on some papers to make sure everything was in order.



The flowers that floated on the top of the water in her bath smelled beautiful. The woman called Cecilia washed her long hair, working the tangles and mats out of it. Maria worked on her body, scrubbing at the layers that covered her pale skin and gave it a tan color. She could not remember how long it had been since she had a proper bath. It had to have been years but it did not matter now. Most of those years were a blur and she hoped to never remember them. Lifting one of the blossoms to her nose, she sniffed a bit, the smell of lavender filled her nostrils, tainted only by the vanilla that had been added to the water.



A final dunk and then she was finished. Maria came up, spitting water and then sighed happily. It felt fantastic to be clean. Cecilia motioned for her to stand up and so she did. A robe was wrapped around her body to help it dry, her hair was squeezed out so that only tiny droplets of water still clung in some places. She was lead to an adjoining room and then sat down in front of a large picture window. It looked out onto gardens that were in full bloom even this late into the summer. Birds sang happily on the night air, seeming not to care that it was against their nature to be up this time of day. A large koi pond dominated the scene in front of her, fish almost half as long as she was swam lazily to and fro. Every now and then, whiskered lips would breech the surface to pull in some tasty morsel that had gotten too close. It was breathtaking and she should be happy but yet, her heart, no correction, her chest ached. Iram. All of this reminded her of him, even after this long.



Cecilia was going about brushing the long curls and humming to herself. She would never admit it but even she was shocked to see what a remarkably beautiful creature had been under all that filth. She used her fingers to work though the larger knots and tangles in the fine lady’s hair and a tiny comb for the smaller ones. The immortal child that had once smelled of death and decay now smelled of lavender and vanilla....along with something she could not put her finger on. Whatever it was, it did not bode well for the other’s living in the house. Cecilia was married to Louis and she still thought about straying to be with this woman. If it had this effect on her, what would it do to the rest of the clan? She only hoped that the master knew what he was doing.



Maria now stood, the garden was being covered in tiny droplets, almost as if the moon wept at it’s beauty. The robe fell from her shoulders, the moonlight basking her face in it’s soft glow. Turning her head at the sudden sound from behind them, she shyed her eyes away from this new man’s face. He reminded her of Zangrel in some ways, large, muscular, but less hairy. He stood in the doorway, had not knocked, did not think to knock and now his mouth stood agape, his hands loosely holding the box containing the robe he had brought for her.



Louis was taken aback by what he saw in front of him. He knew that the master had brought home a woman to keep him company but he had not expected this. She seemed almost to give off a light of her own. Her hair was flames while her eyes were a cooling lavender, and if he was not mistaken, there were flecks of gold within them. His heart felt as if it had stopped beating, the air in his chest felt as if it had become solid. Louis wanted to reach out and touch this living goddess before him, regardless of if his wife was there or not. He felt the blood from his body rush to his most prized organ and that snapped him back into the here and now. Averting his eyes, they fell upon his waiting wife who looked none too pleased on how long it to him to notice her. He dumbly held out the box and when Cecilia took it with a bit of hostility, he turned tail and left.



The women chose to ignore the looks they had just received from the male and Maria stood up. The newly made kimono was pulled from the box along with several layers for under it. They started the long process by first drenching her skin in vanilla scented lotion, a rare luxury for this age, making sure it would soak it all in and remain smooth. There was no need for this but Maria did not have the heart to tell the woman different. The tedious task of donning all the robes began with a pale ivory colored one. Next one of a soft green was added, followed by a third one, thinner then the rest and meant for trim only. It was a goldish color and set off the flecks in her eyes perfectly. Lastly was the Kimono itself, a forest green with pale green leaves of the bamboo all over it.



Maria felt her tug at her body while Cecilia tied the obi for her, making sure it was perfect. The makeup that was to follow never happened. Maria was already perfect in her facial features and Cecilia did not want to add layers after they had just scrubbed off all the dirt. Her hair was left free flowing but the sides were pinned back with tiny combs that matched the kimono. Small pale green bamboo leaves trimmed with gold stood out against the redish hair, making her face looked as if it was a framed picture. Standing up, Maria placed a soft kiss on Cecilia’s cheek and thanked her. The woman turned a deep red that almost matched Maria’s hair. As if an after thought, she looked at Maria and sighed. “I am sorry miss but what may we call you?” This question seemed to surprise Maria but she looked back at the garden and the light rain that fell in the night. Turning back to Cecilia, she parted her lips and spoke. “You may call me Amaya.”



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A weight thrown against his body caught his attention. Hiroshi shot out his arms and wrapped them around Amaya’s waist, pulling her against him. Her sent was ever present around her and he loved it. Holding her close, inhaling deeply, pressing his lips against her forehead, all of it. Her hands fluttered up to rest on his shoulders as she stood on her toes and pulled him to her. Hiroshi looked deeply into her eyes and felt himself falling. “I love you Amaya....With every thing I have. I lo.....” He was cut off by her soft lips searching for his and finally claiming them. His eyes closed and it mattered not who was looking. He wanted this moment to last for always.