1594...
The Dutch Caravel dropped anchor in Chimu Bay, and swarthy figures shouted at each other as they moved about the trading vessel. Onshore, the inhabitants of Yanabaru stared at each other in confusion. Many of the traders from China had spoke of strange people from distant lands, who travelled on huge ships for years at a time. Could these strange people on that strange craft be them?
A young woman who was shopping for her family looked at the ship and shivered. She did not know why, but that vessel had a feeling of.... a feeling of darkness in it's very timbers...
On the Caravel, the Captain knocked on the door of one of the cabins. "Lady McDowell? We've landed a party on the shore, and I was wondering if you'd like to go onshore as well..." he called in French.
"No, Captain. I shall make my own arrangements, thank you.." a high-pitched feminine voice replied sternly, also in French.
Inside the cabin, a beautiful European woman with pale blonde hair and eyes as blue as the night sky looked out over the gentle waters of the bay. Turning her head back towards where the shore was, Lady Evangeline A. K. McDowell, otherwise known as the infamous 'Dark Evangel', amongst other names, smirked as her senses twinged on something interesting. She walked out onto the deck, blinking and shading her eyes from the mid-afternoon sunshine, and gazed out towards the township. Her senses had definately detected it; a sense of someone with powerful magic potential in their blood, but at the same time, a delicious taste of pure innocence. To feast on that, while adding to her own power... she had to grip the deckrail for an instant as a wave of anticipation left her giddy.
Taking careful note of the 'scent', she strode purposefully back into her cabin. "Chachazero, come here." she summoned.
The chest by her bunk worked itself open, and a tiny green-haired doll clambered out with some difficulty.
"Yes, Master?" it rasped, its' voice rough from underuse. "Are we going to kill something, Master?" it asked eagerly, pulling out a pair of slim daggers from who-knew-where.
"No, but but I'm going out tonight, and I might need your help." Evangeline responded. Chachazero grinned evilly; she knew what her Master meant by that. She would be feeding tonight...
=====================================================
As night fell over Okinawa, a young brunette woman sat on the steps in front of her parents' home, gazing up at the stars as she worked on a piece of parchment. The events of the day had unsettled her greatly, and she had began to work on creating protective talismans as soon as she had returned home. Carefully, she began to place brushstrokes on the parchment, just as her grandmother had taught her. With each stroke, the parchment glowed faintly for a moment as it was imbued with protective magic.
Finally, as the sun set fully over the horizon, she finished her work, and began to walk around the small estate her family had owned for generations, placing the talismans where ever she could.
The door opened as she went past. "Mutsumi! Come inside, dinner is almost ready!" a woman called.
"Yes, mama..." the young woman responded, heading to place the last few talismans before she did.
As she approached one corner of the garden, there was a soft rustle in the cherry tree that grew there. As Mutsumi looked up into the tree, a figure leaped over the wall and silently landed behind her.
"A little late to be out isn't it, Mutsumi Otohime?" the figure asked.
=====================================================
Evangeline smirked, revealing a long fang as the brown haired girl shrank back in fright. This was what she lived for. Up in the tree Chachazero held her knives ready, in case the prey tried to run. She hoped that the girl would run...
*Fwip-fwip*
Eva had extended her fingers, and caught Mutsumi in her power. She chuckled. Not for nothing was she called the Doll Master! Strolling over to the trapped girl, she smiled the smile of a conqueror. "Chachazero, hold her head steady." she ordered.
"Yes, Master!" the malicious mannequin agreed, jumping from the tree, and pulling Mutsumi's head to one side. Eva leaned down and bared her teeth. "Are you paying attention, my dear Otohime-san?" she said teasingly, before sinking her fangs in.
Mutsumi gasped and groaned as white-hot fire filled her veins. Evangeline for her part moaned softly. She'd been right; the innocence in this girls' blood, coupled with her magical potential, made her blood taste sweeter than honey. In light of this, given the fact that Eva had not fed for many months, she could be forgiven for being just a little bit greedy.
Mutsumi slid bonelessly out of Eva's grasp and collapsed onto the soft earth under her. The vampire wiped a few traces of blood from her mouth, pleased with how well the girl's blood had sated her hunger. She dismissed the feeling of a slight drain on her magical core as being her use of magic to hold the girl.
"Chachazero, dispose of the body." she said, preparing to jump over the wall and away. She paused shen she saw her Minstra's expression. "What is it now?"
"Master..." a voice said softly from behind the two. Evangeline stiffened, and slowly turned around. Mutsumi Otohime slowly forced herself up off the ground and stood facing the two of them. Her eyes, once a placid, soulful dark brown, now were the colour of rusted iron, and two fangs were slowly, but visibly forming in her mouth.
Evangeline started kicking herself. Why, oh why, oh why hadn't she taken more precautions? She was a wanted criminal, and now she also had a responsibility to make sure that this girl didn't cause her even more troubles.
"Master, what is going on?" Chachazero asked. Evangeline frowned. Obviously she'd need to take this girl with her. More to the point, she'd need to be tought the ins and outs of magic, as well as vampirism. A small grin crossed her face. On reflection, it could be fun....
=====================================================
The disappearance of the Otohime's daughter caused quite a stir in the town, but eventually, even that was forgotten...
=====================================================
1983
A little boy with grey/brown hair sat on the swingset in the park, sniffling. A bunch of mean boys had kicked sand in his face and stolen his toy truck when he'd been playing in the sandpit, and his mama and papa hadn't been there to help him. His attention was drawn to a pair of small girls as they approached him. They couldn't have been much older than him. The younger looking of the pair, who had brown hair much like his own, tilted her head and looked at him.
"Oh my... Why are you crying?" she asked softly. Her voice was gentle, and warm, like a mothers' love, the boy thought. Sniffing and wiping his eyes, he spoke.
"Some bullies stole my toy truck, and kicked sand in my eyes..."
The older girl, who had pale-blonde hair, snorted softly. "It's not the end of the world, you know."
"Eva-chan, that's not nice.." the brown-haired girl rebuked her, before turning back to the little boy. "Where are these bullies?" she asked in a kind, but firm voice.
The boy didn't respond, but he did point to a group of much larger boys who were in the sandpit. The girl frowned.
"Wait here..." she walked off towards the group of boys. The boy and the blonde girl watched as she went over. Neither could hear what she was saying, but the bullies faces went from laughing at her, to frowning, to shaking in fear. She pointed at the leader, and the gang ran away in fear. She picked up the toy truck, and walked back to the boy, who joyously took back his toy truck, then hugged her.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you..." he said gratefully, before recalling himself. He bowed clumsily. "My name's Keitaro Urashima. What's yours?"
"Oh my... My name is Mutsumi Otohime, and this is Evangeline McDowell.." the brown-haired girl said, bowing in reply.
Evangeline looked the boy up and down. "Hmm... Pleased to meet you, I'm sure." she said. She would have said more, but a little elderly lady bustled over.
"Oh, there you are, Keitaro. I've been looking all over for you." she smiled. Who are your friends?"
"Granny!" Keitaro said, hugging her. "This is Mutsumi Otohime, and Evangeline McDowell. Mutsumi, Evangeline, this is my Granny Hina." he introduced. Mutsumi bowed.
"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Urashima.." she said.
Granny Hina chuckled. "Oh my, so formal, child. Please, call me Granny Hina; 'Mrs. Urashima' makes me sound so old."
"Now, Keitaro, I need to go do some shopping in town, and I could use your help in carrying it all."
"No problem Granny!" Keitaro said. Mutsumi giggled.
'Oh my, so full of life... and so cute, too!' she thought. "Oh my, could I come along and help as well?" she asked.
Evangeline watched with another snort as Keitaro and Mutsumi skipped after the old woman. "Foolish girl..." she muttered, before stalking out of the park.
=====================================================
That night, Evangeline sat on the roof of one of the old houses near the Hinata Lodge, waiting for her Childer to arrive. When Mutsumi did arrive, the Okinawan vampire was glowing with happiness, as she jumped up onto the roof of the house and ended her illusion spell, returning to her true, 20-year old form.
"About time you showed up." Eva said snippishly, to which Mutsumi blushed slightly. "Where have you been?"
"Oh my, I was following Kei-kun all day. He's such a sweet boy..." Mutsumi replied. "After you left, we went out for ice cream, and we went and played in the sandpit in the park..." Eva was grimacing with each revelation, before suddenly she turned her head, and looked towards the river.
"So..." she said softly. "He's come here..."
"Ara?" Mutsumi asked.
Eva turned and looked at her Childer. "Mutsumi, we have to go our seperate ways now. The Magic World has caught up with me, and he is here."
"But, M-"
"Don't argue, Mutsumi!" Eva snapped, before summoning her cloak of bats and jumping away.
Mutsumi was left all alone on the roof. After a few minutes, she looked up at the Lodge, then nodded to herself. She needed to make a promise with a little boy...
=====================================================
Keitaro Urashima sucked his thumb as he slept, a stuffed Liddo-kun under his arm as he dreamed. After he and Mu-chan had had an ice cream with Granny, and met Keitaro's other friend, Na-chan. She was a sweet, if sickly little girl, younger than him. The three of them had played in the sandpit for a while, before he had heard two grown ups talking about some place called 'Tokyo U', and a story about it.
"When two people who love each other get into Tokyo University together, they live happily ever after..." Mu-chan had explained. What happened next was burned into Keitaro's memory. Mu-chan had kissed him on the cheek and said, "When we grow up let's get into Tokyo University together, okay?"
As Keitaro dreamed, a figure floated in through the window and lightly landed next to the bed. The figure, a gorgeous woman in a green dress looked down on Keitaro through rust-brown eyes. She leaned down very close to him, and paused, listening to his breathing. After a moment, the woman's eyes turned a dark chocolate brown, and she gently kissed Keitaro on the forehead.
"Sleep well, Kei-kun; I promise I'll come back to you, one day..." Mutsumi whispered, before getting up and leaving the way she'd came.
The Dutch Caravel dropped anchor in Chimu Bay, and swarthy figures shouted at each other as they moved about the trading vessel. Onshore, the inhabitants of Yanabaru stared at each other in confusion. Many of the traders from China had spoke of strange people from distant lands, who travelled on huge ships for years at a time. Could these strange people on that strange craft be them?
A young woman who was shopping for her family looked at the ship and shivered. She did not know why, but that vessel had a feeling of.... a feeling of darkness in it's very timbers...
On the Caravel, the Captain knocked on the door of one of the cabins. "Lady McDowell? We've landed a party on the shore, and I was wondering if you'd like to go onshore as well..." he called in French.
"No, Captain. I shall make my own arrangements, thank you.." a high-pitched feminine voice replied sternly, also in French.
Inside the cabin, a beautiful European woman with pale blonde hair and eyes as blue as the night sky looked out over the gentle waters of the bay. Turning her head back towards where the shore was, Lady Evangeline A. K. McDowell, otherwise known as the infamous 'Dark Evangel', amongst other names, smirked as her senses twinged on something interesting. She walked out onto the deck, blinking and shading her eyes from the mid-afternoon sunshine, and gazed out towards the township. Her senses had definately detected it; a sense of someone with powerful magic potential in their blood, but at the same time, a delicious taste of pure innocence. To feast on that, while adding to her own power... she had to grip the deckrail for an instant as a wave of anticipation left her giddy.
Taking careful note of the 'scent', she strode purposefully back into her cabin. "Chachazero, come here." she summoned.
The chest by her bunk worked itself open, and a tiny green-haired doll clambered out with some difficulty.
"Yes, Master?" it rasped, its' voice rough from underuse. "Are we going to kill something, Master?" it asked eagerly, pulling out a pair of slim daggers from who-knew-where.
"No, but but I'm going out tonight, and I might need your help." Evangeline responded. Chachazero grinned evilly; she knew what her Master meant by that. She would be feeding tonight...
=====================================================
As night fell over Okinawa, a young brunette woman sat on the steps in front of her parents' home, gazing up at the stars as she worked on a piece of parchment. The events of the day had unsettled her greatly, and she had began to work on creating protective talismans as soon as she had returned home. Carefully, she began to place brushstrokes on the parchment, just as her grandmother had taught her. With each stroke, the parchment glowed faintly for a moment as it was imbued with protective magic.
Finally, as the sun set fully over the horizon, she finished her work, and began to walk around the small estate her family had owned for generations, placing the talismans where ever she could.
The door opened as she went past. "Mutsumi! Come inside, dinner is almost ready!" a woman called.
"Yes, mama..." the young woman responded, heading to place the last few talismans before she did.
As she approached one corner of the garden, there was a soft rustle in the cherry tree that grew there. As Mutsumi looked up into the tree, a figure leaped over the wall and silently landed behind her.
"A little late to be out isn't it, Mutsumi Otohime?" the figure asked.
=====================================================
Evangeline smirked, revealing a long fang as the brown haired girl shrank back in fright. This was what she lived for. Up in the tree Chachazero held her knives ready, in case the prey tried to run. She hoped that the girl would run...
*Fwip-fwip*
Eva had extended her fingers, and caught Mutsumi in her power. She chuckled. Not for nothing was she called the Doll Master! Strolling over to the trapped girl, she smiled the smile of a conqueror. "Chachazero, hold her head steady." she ordered.
"Yes, Master!" the malicious mannequin agreed, jumping from the tree, and pulling Mutsumi's head to one side. Eva leaned down and bared her teeth. "Are you paying attention, my dear Otohime-san?" she said teasingly, before sinking her fangs in.
Mutsumi gasped and groaned as white-hot fire filled her veins. Evangeline for her part moaned softly. She'd been right; the innocence in this girls' blood, coupled with her magical potential, made her blood taste sweeter than honey. In light of this, given the fact that Eva had not fed for many months, she could be forgiven for being just a little bit greedy.
Mutsumi slid bonelessly out of Eva's grasp and collapsed onto the soft earth under her. The vampire wiped a few traces of blood from her mouth, pleased with how well the girl's blood had sated her hunger. She dismissed the feeling of a slight drain on her magical core as being her use of magic to hold the girl.
"Chachazero, dispose of the body." she said, preparing to jump over the wall and away. She paused shen she saw her Minstra's expression. "What is it now?"
"Master..." a voice said softly from behind the two. Evangeline stiffened, and slowly turned around. Mutsumi Otohime slowly forced herself up off the ground and stood facing the two of them. Her eyes, once a placid, soulful dark brown, now were the colour of rusted iron, and two fangs were slowly, but visibly forming in her mouth.
Evangeline started kicking herself. Why, oh why, oh why hadn't she taken more precautions? She was a wanted criminal, and now she also had a responsibility to make sure that this girl didn't cause her even more troubles.
"Master, what is going on?" Chachazero asked. Evangeline frowned. Obviously she'd need to take this girl with her. More to the point, she'd need to be tought the ins and outs of magic, as well as vampirism. A small grin crossed her face. On reflection, it could be fun....
=====================================================
The disappearance of the Otohime's daughter caused quite a stir in the town, but eventually, even that was forgotten...
=====================================================
1983
A little boy with grey/brown hair sat on the swingset in the park, sniffling. A bunch of mean boys had kicked sand in his face and stolen his toy truck when he'd been playing in the sandpit, and his mama and papa hadn't been there to help him. His attention was drawn to a pair of small girls as they approached him. They couldn't have been much older than him. The younger looking of the pair, who had brown hair much like his own, tilted her head and looked at him.
"Oh my... Why are you crying?" she asked softly. Her voice was gentle, and warm, like a mothers' love, the boy thought. Sniffing and wiping his eyes, he spoke.
"Some bullies stole my toy truck, and kicked sand in my eyes..."
The older girl, who had pale-blonde hair, snorted softly. "It's not the end of the world, you know."
"Eva-chan, that's not nice.." the brown-haired girl rebuked her, before turning back to the little boy. "Where are these bullies?" she asked in a kind, but firm voice.
The boy didn't respond, but he did point to a group of much larger boys who were in the sandpit. The girl frowned.
"Wait here..." she walked off towards the group of boys. The boy and the blonde girl watched as she went over. Neither could hear what she was saying, but the bullies faces went from laughing at her, to frowning, to shaking in fear. She pointed at the leader, and the gang ran away in fear. She picked up the toy truck, and walked back to the boy, who joyously took back his toy truck, then hugged her.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you..." he said gratefully, before recalling himself. He bowed clumsily. "My name's Keitaro Urashima. What's yours?"
"Oh my... My name is Mutsumi Otohime, and this is Evangeline McDowell.." the brown-haired girl said, bowing in reply.
Evangeline looked the boy up and down. "Hmm... Pleased to meet you, I'm sure." she said. She would have said more, but a little elderly lady bustled over.
"Oh, there you are, Keitaro. I've been looking all over for you." she smiled. Who are your friends?"
"Granny!" Keitaro said, hugging her. "This is Mutsumi Otohime, and Evangeline McDowell. Mutsumi, Evangeline, this is my Granny Hina." he introduced. Mutsumi bowed.
"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Urashima.." she said.
Granny Hina chuckled. "Oh my, so formal, child. Please, call me Granny Hina; 'Mrs. Urashima' makes me sound so old."
"Now, Keitaro, I need to go do some shopping in town, and I could use your help in carrying it all."
"No problem Granny!" Keitaro said. Mutsumi giggled.
'Oh my, so full of life... and so cute, too!' she thought. "Oh my, could I come along and help as well?" she asked.
Evangeline watched with another snort as Keitaro and Mutsumi skipped after the old woman. "Foolish girl..." she muttered, before stalking out of the park.
=====================================================
That night, Evangeline sat on the roof of one of the old houses near the Hinata Lodge, waiting for her Childer to arrive. When Mutsumi did arrive, the Okinawan vampire was glowing with happiness, as she jumped up onto the roof of the house and ended her illusion spell, returning to her true, 20-year old form.
"About time you showed up." Eva said snippishly, to which Mutsumi blushed slightly. "Where have you been?"
"Oh my, I was following Kei-kun all day. He's such a sweet boy..." Mutsumi replied. "After you left, we went out for ice cream, and we went and played in the sandpit in the park..." Eva was grimacing with each revelation, before suddenly she turned her head, and looked towards the river.
"So..." she said softly. "He's come here..."
"Ara?" Mutsumi asked.
Eva turned and looked at her Childer. "Mutsumi, we have to go our seperate ways now. The Magic World has caught up with me, and he is here."
"But, M-"
"Don't argue, Mutsumi!" Eva snapped, before summoning her cloak of bats and jumping away.
Mutsumi was left all alone on the roof. After a few minutes, she looked up at the Lodge, then nodded to herself. She needed to make a promise with a little boy...
=====================================================
Keitaro Urashima sucked his thumb as he slept, a stuffed Liddo-kun under his arm as he dreamed. After he and Mu-chan had had an ice cream with Granny, and met Keitaro's other friend, Na-chan. She was a sweet, if sickly little girl, younger than him. The three of them had played in the sandpit for a while, before he had heard two grown ups talking about some place called 'Tokyo U', and a story about it.
"When two people who love each other get into Tokyo University together, they live happily ever after..." Mu-chan had explained. What happened next was burned into Keitaro's memory. Mu-chan had kissed him on the cheek and said, "When we grow up let's get into Tokyo University together, okay?"
As Keitaro dreamed, a figure floated in through the window and lightly landed next to the bed. The figure, a gorgeous woman in a green dress looked down on Keitaro through rust-brown eyes. She leaned down very close to him, and paused, listening to his breathing. After a moment, the woman's eyes turned a dark chocolate brown, and she gently kissed Keitaro on the forehead.
"Sleep well, Kei-kun; I promise I'll come back to you, one day..." Mutsumi whispered, before getting up and leaving the way she'd came.
More soon!
