Unbroken

I woke in a brightly lit room. Looking around I realized that there were only a couple of small slits in the wall by the ceiling that filtered in very little light. It was enough to tell me that it was daytime though. There was a fireplace and multiple candles which produced the brightness in the room.

I sat up and instantly regretted it. My entire body ached, especially between my legs. I removed the thick, soft, black blanket that covered me. I had bruises on my breasts where Naraku's fingers had dug into me and a good sized bruise on the inside of my thigh from being smacked. I remembered that I had also received a punch to the face and reached up to touch my left cheek and flinched. It was definitely bruised. I couldn't tell if I had an actual black eye or if just the bone was bruised. I looked at my wrists and saw wounds from the shackles that I had been pulling on. My ankles were bruised and my feet were slightly swollen from holding all my weight from being upside down.

I looked around the room, taking in my surroundings. The walls and floor were made from the same black stones that I had seen in the room that I was chained up in. Just the memory of that cold floor brought back all the horrible images from what happened. I quickly closed my eyes. Picturing a concrete room with a thick metal door, I pushed those memories inside, locked the door, and metaphorically threw away the key.

I opened my eyes again and began to scan the room once more. The furniture was made of bamboo and actually looked pretty cool. Everything had rounded edges and brought a softness to the dark floors and walls. I'd never really seen bamboo furniture before and it was different, to say the least.

There was an armoire cabinet sitting against the wall to my right, even with the foot of the long bed. It stood about seven feet tall, with three drawers on the bottom and two doors hiding what I assumed was a closet of sorts. Next to it, and close to me, stood a two drawer high dresser, with four drawers altogether. On the opposite side of the armoire there was a small round table that housed a glass hurricane lamp looking thing. It sent light flickering into the corner and showed a door standing at the far end of the room.

To the left, there was a bedside table that looked just like the one in the corner except it was bigger. On this table sat another lamp, a drinking glass, and a glass pitcher of water. Against the wall set a massive desk. There was parchment, two quail pens, and an ink jar sitting on it as well as a couple candles. Next to it, towards the door, stood a book shelf that reached the eight foot ceiling. Every single shelf was stuffed with books.

The bed that I was laying in was beautiful to say the least, it had four posts with a see-through black cloth hanging from the poles that connected the posts at the very top. The sheets were black as well as the blanket and the pillows.

I gently scooched to the foot of the bed and dangled my legs to the right side, placing my feet on the floor. Using the post there, I made myself stand. I winced and held onto the pole as my wobbly legs threatened to go out from under me. I finally managed to gain my footing and, on still shaky legs, slowly made my way to the door.

My hand met the door handle and I pulled. It didn't budge so I pushed. The door didn't move at all. I was literally trapped in this room until someone decided to let me out. 'At least it's a big room.' I thought as I tried to see the light in this situation. 'It could be worse. I could still be chained upside down in that dark room....'

I shook the thought away as I slowly hobbled around the room. I moved to the armoire and opened the doors. Inside was a deep blue silk kimono. It was plain, but I'm sure silk was expensive in this era. I ignored the kimono for a moment and opened the drawers underneath. They were all empty. I moved over to the dresser and opened each drawer. Each of which were also empty.

Inwardly groaning I went back to the armoire and pulled out the silk kimono. I put it on, wrapping it around me the way my mother taught me when we first moved to Japan. I tied the sash and imagined my reflection. The kimono reached my feet and had long bell sleeves that reached six inches past my knees.

I made my way to the bookshelf and spotted a door that I had missed earlier. I quickly opened it, hoping that it was a way out, but I was wrong. It was simply a bathroom, lit with two torches. The windows at the top of the wall had larger slits in them, but I doubt I could get my arm to fit through it. I began to look around the room. There was a hole in a stone chair, which I assumed was the toilet. Me, being the curious person that I am, looked down the hole. I heard water running from far below. The hole was an option for escape, thought, and a last resort. There were too many unknowns at the moment for me to just squeeze in and hope for the best. Beside the stone chair, on a shelf, there was a handful of rags. Under the shelf, there was a basket to throw the rags into.

"Ew." I wrinkled my nose at the thought of using a rag to wipe myself just to toss it into a basket to be washed and reused. 'At least it’s environmentally friendly...sorta.'

I looked to the left and there was a huge hole in the floor. I inched to it and realized it was a tub, of sorts. If it was full of water, I could easily stand up and the water would cover my breasts. Around the edge of the tub there was a step that could be used as a place to sit. Oh how I yearned for a bath, just to wash the filth off me and to get the grimy dirty feeling between my legs to wash away too. But without water, I was forced to have to live with it.

I exited the room and shut the door behind me. I made my way to the bad and climbed into it, covering my feet that were freezing from the cold floor. My stomach growled. I was starving, having not eaten anything since my stay at Kaede's. I was also very thirsty and apparently dehydrated since I haven't had to use the restroom.

I poured me a glass of water and quickly drank it. I poured about three more glasses before there was a soft knock on the door.

I didn't answer as I heard a key jingle and a lock turn. A woman walked into the room followed by a man who stood by the door. The woman looked human. She was elderly and had a hunched back. She carried in a tray to the desk on the left side of the room and sat it down. Her hair was gray, her eyes an ice blue, and her skin was very pale.

"Mi'lady, I will send some maidens to assist you with bathing later in the evening." Her voice was very quiet, her lips barely moved as she bowed to me.

I watched the man as he watched me. I was waiting for both of them to leave. He has pale skin, purple eyes, and red lips. His long black hair was tied back into a ponytail. His shirt was light blue with red patterns and he wore a dark blue vest with yellow patterns on it over the shirt. His pants were brown and he worse socks with sandals.

As the woman neared him, he moved out of her way then shut the door. I heard jingling of keys again as the lock was turned back.

I eyed the tray. It had a bread roll and a small bowl of rice on it. I was never a rice eater even in my own time where we could flavor it. Plus, I failed with chopsticks.

I left the rice and chose the bread instead. It was hard, but I could still bite into it. I nibbled on it until the bread was gone. It didn't satisfy my hunger but my body would have to deal with it.

I drew my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I rested my head. Time passed slowly as I watched the fire flicker and slowly die down. I sat that way for a long time, not realizing that the slit in the wall went from light to dark.

I heard the keys jingle again as the door unlocked. I looked to the door, not really caring who entered. It was like I was detached from reality. Ten woman entered my room, each carrying a large vase that had steam coming out from the top. They all entered the bathroom then, one by one, all by two exited the bathroom and all but one exited the bedroom.

The woman came to my bedside. Her green eyes were filled with sympathy. She was a little older then I was. She had a few scratch scars on her right cheek and above her left eye. She held out her hand to me, silently pleading for me to follow her. I took her hand, seeing how her knuckles were larger than normal. Her dark brown hair was tied in a bun on her head. When she turned, I could see scars from a whipping she had received in the spot between her neck and where her kimono began.

She led me into the bathroom where a steaming hot bath awaited me. There were bubbles and it smelled like a field of wild flowers. The other two woman were waiting for me; one with a towel, and the other with nothing in her hands.

I slipped out of the dark blue kimono and the lady who held nothing in her hands quickly gathered it in her hands, bowed, and rushed out of the room.

The lady helped me into the water where I gasped, causing a mirrored reaction from both women. I slowly lowered myself into the water, sitting on the step that I had seen early that wrapped around the entire tub. A shiver escaped me as I let the hot water untighten my muscles and sooth my aches.

After a moment I looked to the woman who had led me into the bath. "What is your name?" My question was soft, barely a whisper.

Her eyes lit up just a little as she looked at me. She smiled and shook her head and made a motion that told me she could not speak. I looked to the older woman who was holding the towel.

"What are your names?" I asked, my voice still quite but I could definitely be heard.

The older woman, who looked to be in her early fifty's, looked at me. She took a deep breath and sighed. "I am Saruki and that is Serena. We will both be your hand maidens."

"Why can Serena not speak?" I looked at the woman beside me who was gently scrubbing my back in soft circular motions.

Saruki explained quietly "Many moons ago, Serena was walking with her family. They were straight off the boat from England. She was bright and a light shown in her eyes that made many men yearn for her. The Lord of those lands saw her and desired her. He laid with her for many months but she never bore him a child. He ordered her torture where she was beaten, her fingers broken, and her tongue cut out." She paused, her eyes unfocused as if she was reliving that memory. "We fled. Serena, myself, and many others. We got caught up in My Lords miasma and many of us died. Only a handful survived. Serena, who had already been through so much, refused to give up. My Lord brought the survivors here where we pledged to serve him always."

I looked at Serena who had tears in her eyes. "You miss your family don't you?"

She nodded, a single tear streaking down her cheek as she continued to bathe me.

"I miss mine too... I'm not from here either." She looked at me and let out a sob and hugged me.

We heard a door slam and Serena straightened up and continued bathing me as the other woman came back. She carried a folded up red kimono in her arms. After I was clean, I chose to stay in the water, giving my muscles a chance to relax fully. Serena handed me a glass with cold water in it that I happily drank. When I finally finished my soak, I climbed out of the water. The tiles becoming slick under my wet feet. Saruki dried me off and the other woman draped a silk crimson kimono around me and they sent me off to bed.

The fire in my room had been restocked and all the candles had been put out, leaving me with the fire as my only light source. I turned over, facing away from the heat. As my face cooled, I began to cry. I would be trapped in the prison for no telling how long. I cried for Serena's pain as well as my own. And finally, I fell into a very restless sleep.