Up Above the Clouds

A/N: All characters and such are the property of Eraia-rin.
I put a lot of work into this and I hope you like it.
Please tell me what you think as I\'m always editing it.
Chapter two should be up soon and thats the end

One should refrain from telling children frightful stories, even in fun, or in carrying out sadistically colored play.\" Yet who has not observed how much children love, and gravitate to, stories of horror, cannibalism, murder, imprisonment and loss? And why are fairy tales themselves so violent? I would venture to say it is because violence is a commonplace in human life...
Stekel Case #57

Up above the clouds, faraway, lies the floating land of Ten-Goku. The people of this land were once good, kind and wise, but the rot eventually crept in. The people of Ten-Goku are now just as corrupt as the inhabitants of Tsuki, beneath the clouds.
In the land of Ten-Goku there is a palace. The walls are high and the grounds are well kept. The palace is rotten. Rotten and empty; there is almost no one left inside. The few that have, by some chance, remained, creep around, sticking to the back ways. The king is, of course, still there, on his throne. A few, very few, servants remain.
***
The king had been married. Not for the first time. Not for the last time. His bride was from the provinces. She arrived in a simple dress, her hair down to her waist and her wings almost constantly yellow. She had been chosen for her beauty. She was the most beautiful woman the men had ever seen. So they brought her back. Cut off her hair, and swathed her in silk.
Her name was Tenshi. Her mother believed that she should have been born an angel. Her mother hadn’t had time to argue, or the right to.
She hid in the rooms allotted to her, hidden from view of all, until the day of the wedding. On her wedding day she cried all morning. She missed her parents, and the kumos. There was no way forward and no way back. So she stayed were she was. A spiteful looking woman came in the morning, and told her what was needed from her. The woman came from a place far away. Her skin was very pale. Her hair was very black. Tenshi wished she could swap places.
The ceremony was beautiful. Magnificent. Nobles from all around had gathered for this most sacred of days. They would stay in the palace over night, but no longer. No one could bear to spend more than that in the palace. Everyone said how lucky this no-account from the provinces had been. A few of the women called her an upstart, hiding behind their fans all the same, and noticing the dark shade of her wings.
Tenshi hid behind her veil and felt uneasy. Surely this was not all meant for her. The king came from the other side of the hall, and she knew all the fuss was for him. He knelt next to her, facing towards the priest. She was facing the same way herself.
The priest was a young man and very nervous. He mumbled half his lines, but everyone was very polite and pretended not to notice. Tenshi hoped that her mistakes would be ignored the same way, but some how she doubted it.
The ceremony was nearly over, the priest mumbled that the king could now kiss the bride. The king lifted up her veil. He was not an ugly man, Tenshi decided, but a rank air of bestiality hung over him. In her head she named him Akuma. His eyes narrowed slightly and he kissed her. The kiss was thankfully brief, but sent chills down her spine. She was led off by the hand to cut the cake. She couldn’t stand the sugary white icing, but ate it anyway. She found herself praying, but her Gods didn’t include the one of this church. She checked herself.
That night, she tried to remember what the pale girl had told her, but she was very afraid. Akuma’s wings glowed red. He slapped her legs when she wouldn’t open them. It stung and she fought back tears. Later, when he was finally asleep, she cried, looking at her face in the mirror. Asking herself why the blood on the sheets had made him so happy.
***
In the far corner of the kingdom, there was a small war. It was so small that the king had never even seen the battlefield. The last battle had been won, and the survivors returned to the palace. They had marched for days, trying to make it in time for the royal wedding, but by the time they arrived it was past dark. The head of the guards sent some of them off to guard the rooms of the sleeping noble families. He was annoyed that they were late.
Setsuna had joined the army to escape from his father what seemed like a very long time ago. Nothing he had done had been right, so he had simply stopped trying to get things right.
Setsuna found himself guarding the entrance to the only area of the palace that still had permanent residence. All through the night, he never heard a single sound. He must have slept at some point because he woke up to the sounds of footsteps. A boy walked past him. The age of the boy was uncertain and he never once looked at him. Despite the traditional clothes the boy’s hair was the same yellow colour as the men Setsuna had been fighting at the border. The boy’s wings seemed dusty.
***
Tenshi woke up early, so early she could hear the birds bickering. At home she would have welcomed the sound, heralding the start of a new day. Here, the familiar sound seemed so sad in unfamiliar surroundings such as these. The pale-faced maid came in again, seeing the pain on Tenshi’s face, a terrible smile spread across her thin lips. The maid’s wings turned a brilliant yellow, in sharp contrast to Tenshi’s own dark blue. There was no unity here, the maid, though foreign, was not Goku.
The maid dressed Tenshi. There were so many layers, so much cloth. Tenshi found it hard to walk. Knowing her purpose, she found it hard to see the point. There was no trace of Akuma, she found her way to breakfast. Just a quick glance was enough to tell her she had no companions here, and she had been expecting none. The low oak table was more or less empty. There were only the ministers, and she knew there were few servants in the small room next door. She kneeled where Akuma should have been, though there was no trace of him.
The hall was very large and the emptiness gave it an air of faded grandeur. Despite this, the matting was fresh and edged with gold. Everything seemed fresh and was in good repair and, for that, even more tragic. The unruly bunch of soldiers to one side seemed very out of place. Tenshi looked at them, trying her best not to stare. They were scarred and many were leaning against the wall unable to stand. One or two were missing arms, eyes or even legs. They were battle weary and fatigued but still managed to remain cheerful, at least on the outside.
Breakfast could not begin until the king arrived. Everyone began to look uncomfortable and bored. After a very long wait Akuma finally arrived. He looked around the hall, and smiled, seemingly satisfied. He knelt down beside Tenshi, and smiled at her.
“ What would you like to eat? I’m sure my kitchens can provide,” Akuma said, with a cheerful smile. Tenshi shook her head and looked down.
“ No, thank you. I wouldn’t like anything to eat,” she said. Akuma looked right at her. She felt her face go red.
“ Are you sure? You really should eat.” His words didn’t sound quite caring, a little too rehearsed, perhaps. Tenshi didn’t make any reply. She looked around the room, anywhere but at her new husband.
A young boy entered the room. Servants had already begun to bring in plates of food. Only at the wedding breakfast would all the court gather before the afternoon. Akuma switched his attention to the new comer.
“ So, Teh, you decided to join us?” Akuma said. The boy nodded, without saying a word he knelt down. He cast a glance over to the soldiers. They were noisy and unrefined. He wrinkled his nose. Vulgar. The boy hadn’t been at the ceremony. He was dressed neatly, but his hair needed brushing. Tenshi found herself feeling maternal towards him. He ate a little and then left. He hadn’t said a word.
***
Setsuna stood in a corner with the other soldiers. No one offered them any breakfast. Most of the soldiers stared at the queen, made lewd jokes under their breath. After fighting, almost dying with these men, Setsuna saw no point in pretending. They saw no point in giving him a hard time.
However, when the young boy walked in, they looked at him. Smiling shyly, he shrugged. The boy was cute, in some way at least, but didn’t seem altogether there. Then the boy looked directly at him and wrinkled his nose. His eyes were blue.
As soon as breakfast was over, Tenshi made herself scarce. She had no idea of her way around the palace, but wanted, at least for now, to avoid Akuma.
Akuma went out hunting, with his three ministers and one or two of the guards. Tenshi [wandered around the palace, wondering what to do. The palace was truly beautiful and with no signs of decay.
Tenshi caught a glimpse of cloth going around the corner. She followed it, just missing a door close. She knocked on the door. A boy’s voice told her she could come in, if she must. Tenshi went in.
Her own bedroom was tidy and well ordered. Everything was new, and a servant tended to it, making sure every thing was perfect. No servants tended this room. It wasn’t dirty, but everything was in disarray. Scraps of paper lay here and there, the floor was covered in things. The things on the shelves were dusty. The matting was worn around the edges and very old.
Tenshi stepped inside. The boy sat at a table, reading a picture scroll. When Tenshi walked in, he turned around and looked at her. After a quick glance he nodded and turned back to his reading. Tenshi wasn’t sure what to do now.
“ I saw you at breakfast. You didn’t look very happy. I was thinking you might want to play go?” Tenshi asked. When in doubt, she just tried to be friendly. The boy’s face lit up and he almost smiled.
“ Yes, okay. I’m not very good though,” he said, smiling. He put away the scroll and got out an old go set.
They played a few games, and, as he said, he wasn’t very good. They laughed behind their sleeves and chatted. Tenshi felt herself relax for the first time since she’d come to the palace. In this room it didn’t seem to matter if she made a mistake. She was able to be herself. Tenshi won game after game. The boy suddenly remembered his manners.
“ I’m Karasu Teruko.” He smiled, dipped his head slightly, his wings a yellow of friendship. “ I told you I wasn’t very good.” He looked at her over the game, making direct eye contact.
“ Teruko, I played at home,” Tenshi said, by way of apology. He didn’t seem to mind, but she wanted to make sure. She smiled, her wings turned from grey to yellow.
“So did I,” he said. They giggled behind their sleeves. A cat came in through the door that Tenshi had forgotten to close. It was a house cat, rather than the more angular kitchen ones. It rubbed itself against Tenshi. She giggled and rubbed it behind the ears. The cat purred and stretched itself out to its full length. Teruko eyed the stocky animal with suspicion. Tenshi looked at him questioningly.
“Cats don’t like me,” he said simply and looked back at the game, impatiently. Tenshi looked at him sideways. She pushed the cat towards him; it looked at him and ran off. He shrugged, but she could still see the hurt in his eyes and on the red streaks on his wings.
On impulse she went down on her hands and knees and rubbed her head against his hand. He looked at her, for a few moments puzzled, his wings swirling between different colours. She smiled and rubbed more insistently. Eventually, he rubbed her head, and scratched behind her ears. Tenshi purred.
She sat up and giggled.
“You’re so weird!” he protested. Tenshi smiled.
“Cats don’t like you, so I was being a cat,” she said, trying to explain. He looked puzzled. “ Oh, Teh! I’m just in a weird mood.” She collapsed back on to the mat. They both laughed out loud. She’d assumed that Teruko was ten or twelve, but was beginning to think he was closer to her own age.
***
Setsuna stood outside the area he’d been told to guard. He heard voices, laughter and the clack of go tiles. He fought the urge to go inside, see what it was about. He was staff. Just as it was getting dark the queen left the area with a cat in toe. She bowed, and he bowed back, more deeply.
This night was the same as the first, only this time she was expecting it. Akuma came in late, smelling of alcohol. She was unused to the smell. At first she resisted him, but he seemed to like it. He told her to struggle, but not too hard. The shutter hadn’t been closed and she could see the stars.
Quickly, Tenshi saw her life fall into a new pattern, very different to the old one, but a routine all the same. The terror of the nights was at odds with her carefree days. She spent her time playing go, reading and talking. The only other person was Teruko. Slowly, she tidied his room. She replaced the mats and cleaned the mess. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything.
***
They talked as they played, sometimes forgetting to move the pieces. Tenshi liked pointless talk. It seemed normal, as opposed to the weird dream the rest of her life had become.
“ That guard, outside, he always bows to me. The others don’t.” Tenshi said. Teruko nodded, his wings turned an uncertain green.
“He has good manners,” he said simply, for once he was winning and didn’t want to be distracted.
“Odd. He’s so tall…and hairy, like a foreigner.” She giggled, hiding behind her sleeves. She instantly regretted what she’d said. She realised she’d hit a wrong note. Her wings turned an apologetic lilac.
“Oh…I didn’t mean…” Tenshi said, blushing. It was rather embarrassing.
“ I’m no more of a foreigner here than you are,” Teruko said, giving her a long hard stare with those odd blue eyes. His wings went a weird shade of blue. He didn’t seem to have any normal emotions. He lost concentration after that and lost as usual. Then he said he had a headache, and asked her to go.

***
The nights became worse. The stress began to show. At first she thought she was just picking things up for Teruko. He chewed his thumb, scratched his arm until it bled and a few other things that Tenshi never knew how to mention. Slowly she realised that she couldn’t do this any more, but had to. The hypocrisy was killing her. She needed some one to know, and if Teruko knew, he didn’t mention it.
One day, during a game of go, she tried to hint to him what was going on. He looked around, before leaning over the board he shadowed his face with his wings. He smiled grimly.
“Just go somewhere else. Wherever. Disconnect. Leave your body to fulfil your duties, but take your mind elsewhere. Be with the cat, playing go…floating in the air. It doesn’t matter. Just…away”
Tenshi was taken aback. It sounded very close to what she was wishing she could do. Somehow, he understood what she was going through.
“ I’m too attached to my body. I can’t just float…I’m stuck,” she said. It was her turn to smile darkly. She’d thought that no one knew what was happening, but it seemed they did. She was, after all, the king’s third wife, although she had no idea what had happened to the others. They went back to their game of go, but a shadow hung between them. Teruko was nearly silent for the rest of the game.
After that it was never really the same. Teruko had always had off days, some worse than others. He wouldn’t talk, sometimes he wouldn’t respond at all. He seemed to withdraw into his own little world. Tenshi envied him. After that he seemed more sullen, quiet more often. Only later did she realise she’d broken the boundary between night and day. What went on in one was not meant to be discussed in the other.
Also, he was a boy. She had been talking of adult matters to a boy her own age. He wasn’t her husband. Her cheeks burned red just thinking about it, when she thought about it later. No wonder he was cool towards her.
***
After a couple of months, it became obvious that Tenshi, despite her stock, wasn’t going to conceive easily. She carefully avoided the subject with Teruko and he warmed a little to her. The king himself didn’t seem as disappointed in her failure as she’d anticipated. If anything, as the months went on he became visibly happier.
Her sallow maid seemed to be the only one who hated her for it. She snickered behind her sleeve and said it just proved royalty couldn’t breed with the common people. Whether she believed this or just said it to add to Tenshi’s misery was unclear. Tenshi tried many things, both things she’d learned in the village and that Akuma advised. She only just stopped short of trying the herbs her maid offered her.
Six months after she came to the palace, something happened that would upset her life once again. She was lying in bed, just as normal. Her maid had rubbed sweet smelling oils and herbs into her hair and nightclothes. She’d put other oils onto Tenshi’s wrists, and two points on her neck. Tenshi had been washed thoroughly before retiring. Everything was ready.
Tenshi lay waiting in bed. The anticipation was killing her. She couldn’t move. There was no moon that night and the stars were hidden behind clouds. She heard footsteps, from more than one pair of feet, approach the bedroom. Her heartbeat went mad, she could feel the blood rushing in her ears. She heard voices outside, but she couldn’t understand a word.
The door finally opened. Akuma came through the door, followed by four of the guards and a strong smell of rice spirit. He said something, quietly, to them. They laughed uneasily. Tenshi felt dread begin to creep over her.
“ Well, she won’t get pregnant. I say we have a little fun,” Akuma laughed. His voice had a nasty ring to it. The other men laughed again. A few shuffled uneasily.
“Listen, Tenshi, just do as your told,” he said in a soothing voice, calculated to calm her. It had the opposite effect. Already she knew it would be futile to resist. Akuma undressed her. One after the other the men had her. She found herself resisting, despite her rational thinking, despite herself following Teruko’s advice. She imagined she was playing with the cat, the one that followed her.
A voice shocked her out of her dream. She came crashing back down to reality. Every taboo had been broken, one man, in the dark she couldn’t say who, had even touched her wings, a man who wasn’t her husband had touched her wings! She was fully aware now, of the pain and the embarrassment. The most sensitive, most privet part of her body had now been violated. She felt sick.
“ I just can’t,” one of the men was complaining. All the others had stopped talking. The man refused to budge and all the energy in the room was concentrated on whoever this was.
“Come on Set!” someone in the dark jeered. There was a sound of someone heading towards the door. “ It’s just a bit of fun, Set,” the voice said, sounding reproachful, whining, like a child when an adult spoils his game.
“I prefer boys,” the first voice said. A few more steps and then the door closed. No one moved or spoke for what seemed a long time. It was perfectly possible he did prefer boys, but there was still a feeling that he disapproved, considered himself better than them. Tenshi felt her heart following him, feeling the pain of rejection he would now face. Then the ordeal began again.
***
Teruko heard the sound of fast footsteps. His candle was almost burnt down. Outside it was pitch black. He was up reading. He rarely stayed up this late anymore; he was always too tired. The door opened, and the guard from outside burst in. He looked pale, frightened. Teruko turned and looked at him.
“Can I use your bathroom?” the man asked, panting. Teruko scowled, but nodded. He was just confused. He heard the sound of retching from the bathroom. A shudder ran down his spine.
***
When Setsuna started to run, he’d had no direction in mind. He simply needed to get away. His feet lead him back to his post. He realised he was going to throw up. He went into the boy’s bedroom, Teruko. The child had looked at him with suspicion, he’d had nothing to say.
“I’m sorry…I just…” He still didn’t know what to say. Teruko looked at him, his eyes filled with distrust, his wings a pale yellow, fading to orange.
“Don’t lie to me,” the boy said simply, narrowing his eyes. “What happened?”
Setsuna looked at Teruko. He looked innocent. How much could he have guessed about what was going on? The room was a mess, squalid almost. Teruko stared right at him, trying to get the answer out of his eyes.
“ The queen…the king made the guards…she couldn’t get pregnant…” Setsuna found himself unable to say anymore. He met the boy’s eyes.
“And you didn’t?” Teruko asked. It was obvious he already knew.
“No, I didn’t,” Setsuna said, finding it hard to keep his voice even. He had no idea where these questions were leading, but he didn’t like it. Teruko nodded. Some information he’d known had been confirmed. He put his head to one side.
“ That was very brave of you,” Teruko said. His eyes remained dull, no admiration.
“ I just wouldn’t have been able to get a rise out of her.” Setsuna heard himself say. He was uneasy, he put one hand on his hip. The boy almost laughed at him, then narrowed his eyes and stared at him.
“You can lie to the others, but you can’t lie to me,” Teruko said. Setsuna smiled. He’d been beaten. He looked around the room, it was dusty, untidy. The boy’s hair was long, his wings had looked dusty, and his hair was. He turned to go. The boy stood up and almost ran to block his path. He looked right into his eyes again. His wings were down, a pitiful light yellow.
“Please, don’t go,” he said. His voice was small and polite, but not desperate. Setsuna knew he didn’t have a choice.
***
It had been a long time since Tenshi had had the day to herself. She almost always managed to do something to displease Akuma, and when she did, she ended up in this cupboard. It was just big enough for her to sit down in, as long as she kneeled, and not wide enough for her to stretch out her arms or wings.
She knew she couldn’t take much more of this. If anyone else knew what was going on, they wouldn’t be able to do a thing. If they cared, which they had no reason to. She tried to do her best not to displease him, but she knew he’d do what he wanted. It was killing her. She knew she couldn’t handle the stress, the starvation. She’d grown thinner since she’d come here, her complexion had dulled, and the former lustre of her hair had faded. Her once famous beauty was vanishing quickly into myth. As her appearance faded, so too did her strength. Simple acts became difficult. Getting out of bed, fixing her hair, dressing, all became chores she found herself unwilling or unable to do
Tenshi knew she was a prisoner here. Who’d want to escape from the palace?
***
The second he woke up, Setsuna knew he’d made a mistake. He shouldn’t have slept in this room. The terrible feeling he’d had since he entered the golden hall seemed to have grown in the night. It seemed like the bad feeling came from this room.
He began to clean up with out really thinking about it. He wasn’t obsessed with neatness; he merely felt this room should be neat. An hour or so later Teruko began to wake up. The sun was already high, and the room, hot.
Teruko climbed out from under the heavy quilt and looked around, blinking. He was shorter than Setsuna had thought. He looked around the room again, puzzled. He seemed to be puzzled a lot of the time.
“You stayed” Teruko said, he seemed genuinely surprised. His wings flushed a bright colour of appreciation. Setsuna felt himself getting embarrassed. He looked around the room himself. It looked a lot bigger now, brighter.
“You need a hair cut,” Setsuna said on an impulse he’d later regret. Teruko looked at him in shock. It certainly wasn’t something anyone had said to him before. Setsuna led him over to the mirror, and he followed passively like a child.
“Scissors?” Setsuna asked. Teruko shrugged and looked up at him like he was mad. Setsuna looked around, trying to remember if he’d seen a pair. The strangeness of what he was about to do wasn’t lost on him exactly, but he was far too concerned about what he was doing to worry about it.
When he finally found a pair, the shock had worn off on Teruko. He struggled and fussed, but Setsuna managed to get all of the bad tangles out and his hair more or less even. He looked at what he’d done in the mirror for a few seconds.
“You could have tried brushing it first.” Teruko’s whining voice brought his attention back. He shook his head. He cleaned up the hair from the floor, not even hoping Teruko would volunteer to help. He hoped his wings would remain a neutral colour.
“What are you doing?” Teruko came up behind him, his voice small again.
“You need help Teru. Now sit down and stay here.”
***
Without any warning, the cupboard suddenly opened up. Everything went white. Tenshi felt like she was floating. She realised she was dying, and didn’t care. Everything seemed fine. She’d never lost consciousness before, never even been close. This felt like death.
The white intensified; soon she was losing awareness of even that. Just as she reached the brink, two figures came out of the brightness. They had no real definition. Just an undeniable presence. Tenshi felt, rather than saw, them coming closer.
“There’s been a mistake,” said one of the things.
“We really are terribly sorry, but these things happen,” the other one said.
“We’d love to make it up to you but life isn’t fair...”
“And death even less so,” chipped in the second one
“You weren’t meant to die today. So we’ve decided to give you a special treat,” the first one finished.
“I do hope you like it,” the second one said.