Chosen by Crims0nfire

Chosen 1: Prologue

Enjoy!

-Crims0nfire

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“This is the last time Kaede! The last time I let you make a fool outta me! You’re done! If I ever see you loitering around this place again, I’ll give you over to the guards myself!”

Random bystanders took a moment to watch the rare spectacle: a whore being thrown out of the whorehouse. Perhaps it was just the pure irony of it that caught their attention or maybe it was simply because nothing on such a comical scale ever took place in the dull town, and said bystanders had nothing else to do. Whatever the reason, they all stopped to watch as the woman picked herself up from the ground, hacked, and spit in the face of her former employer. The old man swiped at his wrinkled face with an outraged shriek before striking the woman across the face, sending her sprawling to the ground once again.

“You’ll never be anything but a whore.” The pot-bellied man spat, spittles flying from his tooth-decayed mouth, before he slammed the door.

Kaede stared at the wooden door, her mouth ajar with barely concealed anger. She hoisted herself up with what little dignity she had left and stood on bare feet.

“I wouldn’t wanna work for ya anyway!” She declared and turned to face the curious faces of villagers. She brought her arms to wrap around her scantily clad chest. She wasn’t embarrassed, just cold. The headmaster had thrown her out with nothing, with only the lewd clothes on her back. She had refused to open her legs for the man—who could be old enough to be her grandfather—and in his anger, he had ordered her out of his shop, and when she had cried out in the injustice of it all, he raised his heavily jeweled hand against her. At the memory, she touched her bloodied eye.

The villagers continued to watch her. There was no sympathy on their dirty faces, no fear, no surprise, only curiosity. What would she do? They all wanted to know. A few of them took to whispering amongst themselves, guessing. Perhaps she would continue to sell herself to whoever was willing to buy? No. Her face was damaged, and no one was fool enough to buy damaged goods. Perhaps she would end her life; after all, she had no reason to live—not anymore. But no, she had far too much pride. They continued to watch, willing her to do something, anything to soothe their curiosities, but she simply stood where she was.

Then she turned and left, leaving them unsatisfied. With heavy groans and harrumphs, the crowd reluctantly dispersed.

Where would she go? The answer to the question eluded Kaede. She had no family, no friends…no home. The shop had been her home—a shitty one, but a home nonetheless. The sharp sting of the cold wind bit at her exposed flesh, but she didn’t feel it. Pebbles stabbed and embedded themselves in her bare feet, and although she began to stagger, she didn’t feel it. She could feel anger, sure. Hunger even. But pain…? The feeling was nothing but a memory to her.  She trudged on, wind biting at her skin, pebbles digging in her feet, lost in thought. She vaguely took note of the cattle-drawn wagons that passed by her and the heated leers she received from men, but she continued to walk. Where? She still didn’t know.

Kaede would have continued walking if not for the sound of boisterous laughter coupled with the clinking of glass that the cold wind carried into her ears. She lifted her unseeing gaze from the ground to search for the source. She could recognize that sound anywhere; the pungent smell of alcohol smelled like home; it smelled like a bar.

She spotted the old, rusty shop a few yards ahead and willed her feet to take her to it. She stumbled in and the chiming of the bells above the door announced her arrival. The noise stopped abruptly. Heads turned, males whistled, and then everything returned to normal. She walked to the counter and sat on the old wooden chair, splinters stabbing in her backside.

Perhaps she would find work here. The bar seemed to be low on staff, she noticed as she counted the number of girls that walked around the tables, serving drinks and receiving tips as long as they allowed themselves to be groped. She laid her head on the counter, willing herself to go to sleep.

She didn’t get very far. A loud ‘thump’ sounded to her left and cold liquid spilled on her arm.

“Drink it. Ya look like ya could use it.” Kaede sat up to study the middle-aged woman behind the bar. Brown eyes met Brown. They were the same color, but one had lost its light to the darkness of the world, and the other seemed to take the darkness as it were and let its own brightness shine through.  Kaede envied the woman, but she also pitied her.

“I don’t have any money.”  Kaede turned away, dismissing the woman.

The woman rolled her eyes with a knowing smile on her face. “Oh please! Don’t give me that crap and act so prideful. I can hear yar stomach trying to jump out of yar body from all the way across the bar!”  She laughed.

Kaede glanced at her. “And ya decided ta give me beer?”

“Of course! It’s great for warming up the belly.”

“It also leaves you even more hungry than ya were when ya wake up.”

“Well aren’t ya a snarky one?” The woman smirked with mirth.

Kaede scoffed. “Ya are not what I expected for a bartender. Ya are far too happy…and old.”

The woman placed a hand on her hip and scowled. “I’ll have ya know that I am only thirty and three. What did you expected me to be? A young male so ya can seduce a free meal outta me?”

Kaede didn’t miss a beat. “Yes.”

The woman laughed and leaned over the countertop. “Ya can still try to. But I’ll be damned if ya get a free meal outta me.” Kaede’s eyes narrowed. She decided she didn’t like this woman.  “I do not want ya beer.” Kaede declared and stood up, wanting to leave.

“Tell ya what. I’ll give ya food, a bed, and a job.” The woman offered, the grin still plastered on her face. The proposition sparked Kaede’s interest, as well as her stomach, but she was not one to be so easily fooled.

“And in exchange…what do ya want?”

“Work for me…for no pay.” The woman said.

“No.” Kaede replied. The woman appeared to be taken aback as Kaede continued to walk away, but once again, she stopped her.

“Why?” The woman was genuinely curious. She tucked the back of her hands under her chin and rested her elbows on the counter, her head tilted and her eyes trained on Kaede.

“I gain nothing from working for ya. Why should I when I can get money elsewhere?” Kaede told her, she didn’t expect a condescending chuckle to erupt from the strange woman.

“Do ya honestly believe that there is another bar in this town that will give ya food, shelter, and pay ya ta work?” She asked. Kaede didn’t meet her eyes.

“I didn’t think so. Well, if you change your mind, my offer still stands.” The woman picked up the forgotten jug of beer and poured the contents in a barrel. There was no need to waste good beer. She turned when she heard the familiar chime of a bell, signifying Kaede’s departure.

The woman chuckled. Something told her she would be back.

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Kaede still did not know where she was going. But she would not go back to that bar. The woman was right; there was not a shop in this village or the next that would offer her anything but a slow paying job. Why did she not go back if she knew this to be true? Simple. The woman had hurt her pride, and pride was the one thing Kaede held above all else.

She passed by an alleyway and paused when she heard a faint cry. Kaede shook her head and let out a weak chuckle. The hunger was getting to her. She should have taken the beer…Kaede took a step but halted when she heard it again. And despite her usual instinct to avoid danger, she found herself creeping slowly into the dimly lit alleyway, toward the source of the noise.

Blindly, Kaede stumbled into trash heaps and old boxes, the stench was enough to make her pinch her nose and hold her breath. Thankfully, she was getting closer; the muffled noises were getting louder. 

It wasn’t until she stumbled on a small box that she realized she had found what she was looking for. It seemed that the box that now lay under her had canceled out the noise but now that it was removed, the unmistakable sound of a child wailing reached her ears.

Kaede’s hands blindly searched for what she hoped was a baby (because she did not think it could be anything but) and when the pads of her fingers brushed against something soft, she immediately latched unto it and wrapped her arms around a small body.

She got to her feet and cautiously made her way out of the alley. Kaede let out a sigh and looked at the small bundle in her arms. The child had quieted down, most likely grateful to be out of the alley.

Kaede wiped her dirty hand against her thighs in a poor attempt to clean them. She pushed apart the old, tattered clothed that covered the child’s body and stared into strange, wide eyes.

The child was nude, and clearly tired, but it kept its eyes opened. 

Kaede had never seen something with eyes like this child’s, mostly because every creature she had ever encountered possessed eyes of the same color. The child did not.

Her left eye held a deep, warm, brown shade, while her right bore a blue so real that if one was not careful; one could drown in her cerulean pool.  

“I should put ya back.” Kaede mumbled to herself. The child’s strange eyes drooped in response. “I have neither the money, or patience to take care of a child.”

“But if I do not, then who will?” Kaede asked, paying no attention to the people who passed by her and gave her strange looks. “If I put ye back, ye will die because that is the way this village is. We do not care about anything that will not benefit us. But if I keep ye, I will only hinder myself…”

The child stared at her curiously, wondering what she was musing about. Kaede sighed as she stared into innocent eyes. “I cannot keep a child.” She told herself.

“I am impure, greedy, a liar; a whore. Ye will end up the same if ya have me to call yer mother—an outcast. Do ya want that?” The child’s face puckered sourly as the icy wind bit at its pale flesh, and whipped about the child’s dark hair.

Kaede laughed a bitter, weak laugh. She walked back inside the alley and sat near the grimy wall and hugged the child to her chest. “I am cold too…so cold.” Bitter tears ran down her face but never touched the child: the cold wind stilled them just at her chin. The child peered up at her, its face softening at the new found warmth and bubbles of spit formed at her mouth as she tried to speak.

“I was not always like this ya know. I used to have a family—a brother, a mother, a father, and two sisters. I was smart too, and pretty. We lived a privileged life, until one day a shogun lord came to my home to ask for my hand in marriage. He was ugly but wealthy, he was also a demon; I didn’t like him. So my father rejected his offer and as revenge he killed my family.” Kaede paused and blinked away tears. “He took me back to his home and repeatedly stole my virtue. One day, I stole a knife from the kitchen and killed him. Then I ran and my life changed…” Kaede trailed off and looked to the sky, damning the demon’s soul to hell. She looked back at the child to find that it was asleep. Perhaps it was time to give herself a second chance…to give life a second chance.

Kaede let a small smile grace her face and she stood up, the child still clutched to her bosom.

“I have decided.” Kaede pulled the blanket apart to look at the child’s sex. “Ye are a girl. I will keep ye, but I will spare ya the hardship of having to call me mother. Ye will call me Kaede. Just Kaede.”

Kaede started forward—there was only one place she knew she could go and would not be turned away—when a bird landed at her feet, picking at discarded food.

An idea came to Kaede. “I think I am supposed to name you.” She said as she stared at the bird. “I will call you Kagome—Caged bird. Because ya have been born into a prison little one, but it is yer choice whether you decide to sing or not. “

Kaede continued to walk.

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“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

Kaede stared unblinkingly at the obnoxious woman, whose eyes were trained at Kagome.

“I will take yer offer.” Kaede said reluctantly. The stout woman raised a brow but smiled nonetheless.

“If my memory serves me right, I think it takes nine months to birth a child.” The woman glanced outside, at the sky.  “Ye have been gone for about one hour.”

Kaede rolled her eyes. “She is not mine, I only claimed her. Her name is Kagome.” She said as the woman patted the child’s tuff of black hair.

The woman hummed. “Such a sad name…and what is yer name? I don’t believe ya told me.” The woman asked Kaede.

“Kaede.” Kaede said tersely.

“Mizuki.” The woman bowed. Kaede offered a nod.

“Kikyou!” Mizuki called and a voluptuous young woman came from around the corner, face bored and arrogant. “Show our new guests to their rooms.”

The woman called Kikyou nodded and turned to walk away, not caring if Kaede followed or not.

Kaede didn’t know what it was, but she could tell that the young woman was going to be troublesome, and Kaede did not care for troublesome people.

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Stay tuned!

Peace and God Bless!

-Crims