Otherworld 3: Tala
Chapter 1 - Coming of Age
The Castle of Otherworld was alive with preparations. In five days, there was going to be the party of the century! Four of Otherworld's children would come of age - sixteen - and there was going to be a celebration like Otherworld had never seen before.
It was also a celebration of peace. Sixteen years of peace - except for that incident with Jodah in the Human World two years ago* - Otherworld, Demon World and Suzaku had been at peace for sixteen years. A peace that had been won at the cost of too much blood. Princess Aara, the ruler and protector of Otherworld, had lost her mate, one of her twin daughters, and her fourth male in the War. The cost of peace had been very high for her and she was grateful for the peace and tranquility of these past years.
There were four birthday celebrants: Aniki, Taiki, Tala and Hiya. Only Aniki and Tala were actually turning sixteen this week. Tala would turn sixteen on the actual celebration day, and Aniki would celebrate his birthday a week later. Hiya had already turned sixteen a few months ago, but she had waited to celebrate with the others. Taiki would turn sixteen four months from now, but his birthday would also be celebrated with the others.
Aniki was the fifth male of Princess Aara, but he was much more than that. He was the reincarnation of Bankotsu, the Thunder Demon who had been betrayed and murdered during what was now called the Three Worlds War, when the evil Naraku had tried to take over the Four Gods World which was now known as Suzaku. And two years ago, when Aniki was only 14, he had helped rescue Kouga and Tekki from Jodah. In 12 days, he would officially come of age, but he had already proven himself many times over.
Taiki* was the son of Rin, the foster daughter of Miroku and Sango and the life mate of Kaiba, the healer mage of Otherworld. Kaiba was not his father, for Taiki was the miracle child of Keiki, a magical Unicorn who had given his life for the peace that Otherworld was enjoying. Taiki was a very rare black Unicorn and the symbol of hope of the entire Unicorn clan. Very few people knew he was a Unicorn and at the party, they would see only a young man, poised beyond his years, with a sweet, gentle nature that made everyone love him.
Hiya was the daughter of Yukina and Toya, both Ice Demons, but more importantly, she was the niece of Hiei, second male of Princess Aara. Hiei was very proud of the girl and she spent more time with him than with anyone else. He had taught her many skills -- including swordsmanship and thieving skills -- much to his sister's chagrin -- while her father taught her ice mastery. Hiya was definitely not a demure little girl! Tala was the only guest of honor that did not live in the Castle - she lived in the main village of Otherworld, Kaede's Village, and was the only daughter of Mirago and Shippo. Shippo was actually her foster father -- no one ever talked about her real father -- but the Fox Demon had been with her all her life and she considered him her father. Her grandparents were the Protector Monk Miroku and the Demon Huntress Sango.
Tala was the pride of Kaede's Village; she was an accomplished healer, learning everything she could from Kaede at a very young age; she was the best seamstress the Village had and her embroidery had no equal; and she was an excellent cook, far surpassing her mother and her grandmother. But not only did she excel in the feminine arts, she was equally accomplished in the more masculine arts: she learned swordsmanship from Kaoru, then Kenshin himself; she learned archery from her grandmother Sango and from Kagome; she could ride as good as any man and was known to throw a mean right hook. There didn't seem to be anything that Tala could not do.
And she was beautiful -- dark hair framed a delicate face with intense blue eyes. Her suitors were many, but she showed no interest in any of them. Mirago often teased Kouga for predicting that her sweet girl was going to be a boy! Kouga accepted the good-natured teasing with a smile but he still wondered how he could have been so wrong. He was sure he had sensed a boy when Mirago had asked him about her unborn child. And Tala knew that her sixteenth birthday was going to be very special; she wasn't sure why - she just had a feeling that it would be like no other. She couldn't wait! She put the last few stitches into the coat she had been secretly working on. It was a man's coat, with golden phoenixes embroidered on the wide lapels. It was the best work she had ever done. And she had no idea who she had made it for - she just knew that she had to have it ready in time for her birthday party.
Tomorrow morning, three wagons would leave Kaede's Village for the Castle. Of course, Tala was the main guest, and her parents and grandparents would be going. Kouga, the High Leader of the Wolf Clan and First Protector of Otherworld, would be going with his human mate, Kagome, and their two-year old daughter, Kamara. Their oldest son, Kome, would be traveling with his mate, Ayala. Kenshin and Kaoru would be there, looking forward to seeing their daughter, Kenru, who lived in the Castle with her mate, Tekki and her son, Tekku. Yusuke, the son of Raizen, the Ruler of the Northern Lands of Demon World, along with his wife Keiko and their son Raike would join the trek. Hiten, the powerful Thunder Demon, and his human mate, Serafin, would be going to the Castle mainly to see their sons, Aniki and Souten, who would be visiting with his Queen, Vara of Suzaku, the daughter of Aara. The elderly healer Kaede and the namesake of the Village would be traveling with them, and she was looking forward to comparing notes with Kaiba. Vara had already arrived at the Castle, with her mage Suzuki in tow. He wanted to get together with his mentor, Bakura, the demon mage of Otherworld. They had something special planned for the celebration and would not let anyone in on their secret. With Vara came her males, Souten, the Thunder Demon son of Hiten; Toyna, the eldest son of Yukina and Toya; and Tekken, High Leader of the Bobcat Clan and the father of Tekki. It seemed that as time passed and more children were born, everyone had become related either by blood or by mating. Even the solitary mages, Bakura and Kaiba, were now part of a larger family. Bakura was the now the fourth male of Princess Aara and therefore a brother to Kurama, Hiei, InuYasha and Aniki. Kaiba was now mated to Rin, the foster daughter of Miroku and Sango and sister of Mirago and aunt of Tala. She was also the mother of Taiki, who was the half brother of Kiri and the grandson of Zalika, the leader of the Unicorns. It was getting hard to keep everyone straight without a score card.
Also invited were the Lords of Demon World: Raizen, Sesshomaru and Shido. While Raizen and Sesshomaru would come alone, Shido was bringing his two children, who wanted to see the Princess again. Shilo was especially fond of the Princess; he had been kidnapped by Naraku when he was seven and had escaped to the safety of Otherworld until he was reunited with his father. Lido had also been kidnapped and was saved by Vash, InuYasha and Bakura and she felt she owed them her life. Also traveling with Shido was his partner Breal, his son's partner Chaal, and his daughter's mate, Findal.* Since there were very few female Blood Demons, it was the custom of the males to form sexual partners with other males. The fourth Demon Lord, Mukuro, had not invited - she had thrown her lot in with Naraku in an attempt to take over Demon World for herself.
Every room in the Castle was being readied for the many guests and huge tents were erected in the side and center gardens and very soon would be filled with food and drink. Kurama had used his power on the trees and plants and all the gardens were in full bloom and filled with the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle; climbing roses hung along the high walls and the cherry trees covered the lawns with their delicate petals. It was going to be magic!
[* See Jodah's Revenge, The Black Unicorn and The Long Night]