Join the Dance
Chapter 2
When Kirara woke, she saw that it was dark in the communal sitting room that all the women shared and was completely deserted except for herself and Kaen. She picked up one of the tiny lamps and held it over her new 'sister' to get a better look at her. Her face was pretty under the smeared makeup, but Kirara noticed that while some of the smearing came from sleep, a lot of it looked like her eye makeup had been dragged down onto her cheeks by tears. Did she cry often? She seemed to be so cheery…
Kaen's arm shifted and the water priestess looked over at it to investigate the bracelets from earlier, but her attention was called instead to a familiar grey-green tattoo on the inside of her pale wrist. One that she had seen on other girls in her village, girls with higher spiritual ability than the others. Could Kaen be a Water Child?
The older girl's eyes opened suddenly and she smiled slowly.
"What time is it?"
"I don't know. It's dark though."
Kaen sat up and took a lamp from nearby and stood, reaching down her hand and taking the water priestess'. As they walked toward the sleeping quarters, Kaen whispered of how things were done in the palace. One look at Kirara's lost expression made her laugh quietly and assure her that as long as she was around, Kaen would do what she could to look out for her.
"Kaen?"
"Yes?"
Kirara bit her lip and looked down toward her feet for a moment before asking her question.
"Do… Do you ever have strange dreams about water? Do you hear a voice when you're near water?"
"Nothing? No wondering what the spirit of the water looks like? No desire to just jump in a river and never come out? You can't do things that the other women can't?"
Kaen gave her an odd look, tipping her head to one side and giving a partial smile, then simply turned away from the priestess with a shrug of her shoulders. Kirara reached for her water crystal, wanting to try to use it to detect secrets and lies, but found it didn't hang from her wrist.
"Kaen!"
"What? Is it another water question, because if it is, I'll shove this lantern so far up your nose – "
"My water crystal! It's gone! Did you take it?!"
"No. Come on, let's look."
Kaen spun and looked toward the floor, retracing their steps and bending low to investigate every tiny glimmer.
Kirara crawled on her hands and knees trying to see, tears in her eyes. How could she have lost the precious artifact from her village? How could she not have noticed that it was gone when she first woke up? Usually she could feel it when the thing was gone from her, like a part of her spiritual body was missing, so why not this time?
It's Kaen, she thought, watching the older girl brush back a bit of hair angrily and look into a dark corner, her spiritual power must be as strong as the crystal's. That would explain a lot…
"If you lost it, then you're going to be in trouble, aren't you?"
The water priestess nodded, chewing her lip nervously. What if the other women had gotten a hold of it? What if Ukyo had found it?
"If I do something, will you keep it a secret?"
"Huh?"
Kaen held a fine crystal bowl in the hand that didn't hold the lamp, a serious look on her pretty cat's face.
"If I show you something, will you keep it a secret?"
"Why?"
"If you won't keep it a secret, I won't use it to help you."
Kirara knew by looking at her that the older girl was serious about what she said, and when she didn't answer right away, Kaen began to put down the bowl with a shrug.
"I won't tell a soul, Sister! I promise!"
Kaen looked at her for a moment, then nodded slowly, picking up the bowl and pointing to a pitcher of cold water that sat near Kirara.
"Give me that. I'll show you where the crystal is."
Kirara snatched up the pitcher and gave it to the green haired woman, who had sat down on the cool marble floor and placed the bowl in front of her. Once Kaen had the pitcher, she poured the water into the bowl and took a slow breath and closed her eyes, leaning close to the water's surface and whispering to it. When she raised her head, Kirara's eyes went wide. Kaen's eyes were glowing faintly blue and her hair was moving slowly around as though she were sitting at the bottom of the ocean. Her voice was lower when she spoke, pointing to the bowl of water, which had also begun to glow.
"What you seek is here."
In the bowl swam the face of Katsushiro. Kirara smiled and looked back to Kaen, who began to close her eyes and shake.
"Kaen?"
"I'm alright," her voice normal again, but a little shaky "I just get tired when I do that. Remember, no telling."
Kirara nodded and caught her friend as she folded over in a dead faint.
"So you are a Water Child…"