Orochi and I stop in front of my room when walking back out of the old room. He seemed pretty happen with the turn of events. Happiness was shining across his face.
"Thank you, for understanding me today and not thinking I'm some weirdo with problems."
He stands there laughing beside me with his hands behind his back. "Well, you should have told me earlier because now, I have to be even more careful with where you are."
"Yeah," I look down at the book and back to him. He stands there gazing at my face with a frustrated expression. " is there something on my face?"
Orochi gently shakes his head, "No, there isn't anything wrong."
"Oh." I get confused by his reaction and feel something bush my cheek but he is walking away before I could register what happened. Did he brush my face?
I puff my cheeks and enter my room, "Ah! It's been such a complicated day. I'm already exhausted." Placing the items on the table in the corner of my room.
Sitting on my bed, I flop back onto the pillow and sigh.
"I suppose Orochi will be busy today. I need a break from all the drama. Maybe, I should read more of the book or something."
As I sit up I grab the book, placing it into my lap and flip it open to the picture of Aiya again. She stares at me with stone-cold eyes with the sketch. I feel bad knowing that she was just an innocent girl until her family was murdered. Looking deeper into the picture, on the side of her hip was the sword I have beside me right now.
"So was this her sword she trained on since she was young?" Putting out the katana, I see that the blade is almost in perfect condition. Almost as if it has never been used. I pull it out entirely and admire it in the light of the room. It shines its silver light like a star in the midnight sky.
"Oh my god! Hold on a second, " I stand up point the sword to the ground looking at the angle of it. "Why does this give me a deja-vu feeling? Where did I see this?"
I place the blade on my covered wrist looking at the handle, suddenly realizing, "This is the same katana as my dream!"
I slide it back into the saya and pace the end of my bed back and forth. Is it possible that the dream I was having was Aiya's memories? How did I even have a possible dream about this if I didn't even know who she was?
Looking down at the book, her picture stares back at me more, as if laughing me like I don't realize what is going on. "If she is my ancestor, what are the possibilities of my father knowing?"
Was that why he was always so kind to me? Did he fear me just because I was the only daughter to be born? He was a good warrior so was it possible he knew about the demon blood that ran in his blood?
Putting my palm against my forehead, I plop on my bed. "This is so much to take in, how in the world did I not know about my families history?"
I lay down holding the book on my chest, still looking at the picture. She does have heart-shaped lips as Orochi said. She seemed very young in the picture that was in here. Was it possible that someone had drawn this in the book while she was young and was alive?
Flipping through the pages, I notice that after so many pages were a different style of writing. Was this passed through the generations of my family?
I read more about Aiya's life slaying demons in the book and how she killed much nobility during her life before she was killed swiftly by her targeted demon. It seemed to be entering the late afternoon and my eyes started to feel heavy after laying on my bed for so long.
Every blink began to heavier and noise from the surrounding world began to fade into just background noise. Like my body was being pulled into the water. Falling further into the bottomless sleep.
~~~~~~
I wondering through a green forest with the sun beating down my head. Seeing a woman in the distance, she was surrounded by red flowers. It made her figure look like she was standing in a sea of fire. I run-up to the woman out of breath and tap her shoulder, "I'm sorry, to disturb you but I don't know where I-"
As she turns around, I realize who it is. It's Aiya. Her face is serious like her picture and her eyes meet mine.
"Who are you?" She says in a deep womanly voice.
Her face seems so perfectly shaped and smooth like silk. There were no visual imperfections on her pale milk-like skin.
"Speak girl, who are you?"
I bloomed pink with embarrassment and bow before her, "My name is Ren. I am the first daughter of the Lotus family over many decades since you were killed."
I hear a small gasp from her lips, "Are you saying that the old woman's curse was true?"
Looking at the floor below me the red flowers seem to shine a more cardinal color than the ones without the sun. "I don't know because I never knew about you until today."
She hums in acknowledgment of my words, "Get up. If your the only woman born from my line then treat yourself as someone that orders respect from others."
I feel her hand upraise my shoulders meeting her gaze again. I seem to be almost the same height as her, possibly even a little taller. Her eyes squint in what seems to be like she is mentally detailing my face.
"You seem to look like me. It's strange."
"Huh? Orochi even said that. I found it almost weird." I roll my eyes thinking about how he said.
Her face seems to crack with hearing his name. "Orochi? The stupid demon himself? How do you know him?"
I flush even a deeper red, "Well, uh, you see; I'm supposed to be his wife or whatever."
She jerks back in shock, "You are going to marry a demon lord?!"