The Ogre's Bride

Chapter 2

A memory of me and my grandfather suddenly came to mind. I couldn't have been more than sixteen at the time as the two of us sat down at the dinning table as Aoi was out, for what reason I couldn't remember. "Lila there's something I need to discuss with you and I hope that this won't reach Aoi." I nodded my head trusting that if grandfather didn't think Aoi needed to know something then she didn't need to know.

Looking to my grandfather I spoke. "I promise grandpa I won't tell Aoi." He smiled at my response. "You remember the stories I've told you about my time with the ayakashi." I nodded, deciding not interrupt. "I'm afraid that I have caused a great deal of trouble for you and Aoi. You see when I was much younger I had emerged a large debt at a friend of mines establishment, and not having the money to pay it off I had no other choice but to promise one of you as collateral."

My face immediately dropped at his words, the debt I could no doubt believe, but the fact that he had bargained off me and Aoi was something that caused my heart to sink. "You must understand this was quite a few years ago, before I had come for the both of you. Looking back on it now I wish I had something else to other than my granddaughters hand in marriage."

My jaw felt slack at this, not only had he bargained off me and my sister but he had offered one of us in marriage. "I'm telling you this because I believe Aoi is more sensitive when it comes to ayakashi and far less accepting of them as you are. I hoped that you could help in making this decision. I'm sorry to say it would pain me to much to make it my self and yet it hurts even now as I have to ask this of you."

Before he could go on I spoke, my voice laced with what I could only tell was hurt and disappointment. "Me. If it's a choice between Aoi or me I want it to be me, I couldn't bare for Aoi to be stuck in that type of situation." Out the corner of my eye I noticed a slight nod of my grandfathers head.

That day I decided for Aoi's sake I would become the Ogre bride my grandfather had promised. Though as time passed I began to forget as in the past two years I had become more occupied with my studies and taking care of grandfather. It was only now as I sat before the Ogre ayakashi that I remembered my grandfather's promise.

"What, what do you mean?" Aoi half shouted as she listened to the ayakashi's words. Though she was interrupted as another ayakashi spoke. "Master think this through, with all due respect maybe she's not the right choice." And then another spoke and another, though I couldn't tell who was saying what, aside from their words being like a stab to my self-esteem. "I can hear you and that's very rude." I spoke, but doubted anyone would listen.

Feeling to overwhelmed, in what felt like a way to crowded room, I took Aoi's hand out of instinct and ran opening both sets of sliding doors until we came to a balcony. The view was incredible, the sky was a dark blue almost black with ships sailing through the clouds. It was all unlike anything I has seen before, only of familiarity came thanks to the stories grandfather use to tell me. The hidden realm.

Looking to my right I could see Aoi looking as stunned as I felt, knowing we were both met likely giving off the same expression. "Where are we?" I heard her whisper from beside me, I was about to answer but an all to familiar voice beet me to it. "You are both in the hidden realm."

Turning around I found the Ogre ayakashi standing before us. "Our domain. And the building where you find yourselves is known as Ten-jin-ya." Suddenly it was as if light came on in my mind. "Wait Ten-jin-ya, that was on the back of one of grandpa's pictures." That's were I recognised this ayakashi from.

It seemed Aoi had the same thought. "But who are you?" Her voice was filled with so much confusion, no doubt I would have felt the same if grandfather hand't spoken with me that day. "I'm the keeper of Ten-jin-ya, they call me Ogre god, sometimes Master innkeeper." I couldn't help the slight nod of my head as his eye's still had not left mine, as if he wasn't only speaking to Aoi.

"I also saw you in that photo." I said as the image of the photo came to mind once more. "So did you know our grandfather then? He could also see ayakashi. Did he come here to?" She spoke so fast her words almost jumbled together half way through. I couldn't help but chuckle in my mind at that.

The Ogre god continued to stare at me as he began to answer Aoi's question. "He did. I am a very old friend of his actually and so I am the Ogre who will become your Husband." Whatever focus his words had on Aoi completely evaporated at the last part of his sentence, his focus fell soully and completely on me. "Please stop bringing that up." I practically begged as it reminded me of the time I not only sold myself away, but also the only time in my life were I couldn't even look my grandfather in the eye for at least a week.

"Your making this up, Lilia isn't marrying you or anyone for that matter." Aoi shouted at the Ogre who didn't seem to even flinch at my twins words. "Hey you will show him respect." Other ayakashi spoke as he seemed to appear out of nowhere. The Urge placed his arm in front of the other ayakashi as if to stop from speaking rather. "I am not making it up."

He moved, the corner of his eye's still lingering on me. "Your grandfather, or Shirō as I liked to call him, promised her to me a long time ago." As the Ogre made his way back inside my eye's followed him but I dared not to move worried for Aoi as this was her first time hearing of it.

"That's a lie. He did whatever he wanted, but there's no way. He'd never have made that promise without asking." This is when I decided to step in. Placing my hand on Aoi's arm she turned to me. "Aoi he's not lying." She shook her head confusion, anger and sadness welling in her eye's and expresion. "No he would have asked before." I interrupted before she could continue. "He did."

She shook her head, a faint 'no' escaping her lips. "He, he would have told me or at very least asked me." My hand still lay on her arm, but at this point it was only there to comfort her. "I couldn't let it be you Aoi. We both know you fear ayakashi more than me and I couldn't bare the thought of it being you." I could feel tears beginning to brim in my eye's but quickly got rid of them before they could fall.

"She's right you see, your grandfather went on an extravagant spree here at Ten-jin-ya and collected a rather large debt. We agreed that if he could not pay it back then he would give me one of his granddaughters in marriage in place of payment." The Urge turned back to face the two of us a pice of paper now in his hand. "Thus to put it indelicately, Lilia is his collateral." That's the same term I used.

Aoi quickly took the paper from his hand and looking down it I could easy make out the contract with grandfather's signature and my name next to it yet it was in a different ink compared to everything else. It must have been altered once I made my decision.

The three of us now stood back in the room that was still occupied by a few of the other ayakashi. "So that mean's you are required to marry me, you have no choice." As I began to lift my head from looking over the contract, the Ogre began addressing me once more and doing so I could feel his hand come to caress my arm. I didn't rip it away like I wanted to, though I did flinch enough for him to release it.

Against my better judgement I couldn't help the words that came out of my mouth. "No. You just kidnapped me and my sister, how could I all of a sudden fall into place. Besides I don't even know if I want to get married." My voice was laced with pure annoyance and what I could only say was anger caused by the way he addressed the whole situation. This definitely ins't how I imagined it happening.

Suddenly I felt a shift in the rooms atmosphere and looking into the Ogre's eye's they looked as though they had darkened slightly. "You won't then, I see." I looked to Aoi for a breath second hoping she was still ok, as I looked back to the Ogre who had continued speaking. "I should ensure my bride knows her place around here." This shook me to the core with how his voice seemed to grow deeper ever so slightly.

I looked to Aoi in fear of what was to come and saw the exact same look on her face as she looked back at me. The Ogre clapped both his hands and suddenly a set of sliding doors behind him opened revealing free female ayakashi in red uniforms. "Give my bride the torture in hell treatment." At his words I backed away. "Torture in hell, no thanks. I'm alright."

The three women came over and it was only then I rated they hadn't no face's which scared me even more. I looked to aoi and noticed one of them was escorting her out of the room whilst the other two did the same to me, though took me in a completely different direction.