[ Watashi ]

[ Tomodachi ]

[ Saint Seiya ]

[ Clamp ]

[ Fanfiction ]

This fic's purpose is to tell the tale of the origin of a small odd detail concerning a famous and popular Clamp character. Of course, it's my own vision of it, and although the story is based on historical data and events, the explanation of the odd detail comes from my imagination and from no official source that I know.

As usual, please bear with me concerning likely historical mistakes and misconceptions. I tried my best to get accurate information, but it's in no way detailed enough to give me a whole picture of the environment I'm using as universe. I will let my imagination supply the information I lack, and I can simply hope that won't be the source of jarring mistakes.

Ah yes, please blame N-chan for this fic's existence. *grin* I had never ever thought about this question and much less ever planned to write the tale around it. She brought it up, and for some unfathomable reason my mind jumped on it and I now find myself embarked in writing this strange story. Feel free to try and guess what this odd detail or who the Clamp character is. Hints are present in the prologue. It will become more obvious in further chapters. ^^

I hope you'll like it =)

Fuu-chan.

I chuckled silently as I felt Liath's lips tickling the right side of my neck. Turning away from the small opening in the ship's structure and the sight of the city basking in the grey light of dawn, I embraced the stallion's velvet nose and laid a gentle kiss on top of it. Releasing him, I looked into his beautiful night blue eyes, searching for the slightest indication of fear or distress, but the great dapple-grey was tranquil, content with the strange environment he had been brought to.

"Good, Liath.", I whispered at him. I patted his neck reassuringly, and then quickly left the upper part of the hold. There was still quite a lot of work to do before everything was ready.

Before we could leave.

Leave Erin.

I shook my head, sending the thought away. I knew what I was doing, there was no other thing to do. No matter how I wished it could have been otherwise, there simply was no alternative. When I reached the lower deck, I breathed deeply, absorbing the chilly, damp air of morning and closed my eyes, focusing on the feeling within. Deep inside me, there was something which was desperately trying to make me change my mind, which kept arguing I couldn't go ahead with this folly, that I couldn't live if I was separated from--

Enough.

Slowly breathing out, I berated myself for being stupid. I knew I couldn't allow myself to dwell on my decision and its consequences, I had to keep myself busy with all the tasks that had to be accomplished before the great ship could get under way.

Terror.

I froze as the wild emotion struck me, taking a startled look on my right.

"Hell!"

I barely heard the sailor's curse. Forgetting all about my futile concerns, I flung myself forward, unable to deny the cold, sinking feeling at the pit of my stomach.

Those fools had decided to speed things up and not to wait for my return before getting the next horse aboard. Damn those idiots. And of course they had chosen Laigen.... The bay mare had stopped halfway on the plank leading from the ground to the ship's lower deck. Her ears flat on her skull, she was wildly fighting the hold one of the men had on her. I had no need to look at her eyes to know they were black, full of a raw, gut terror that none of the sailors would ever be able to quell.

"Let her go!"

My voice rang in the air, and they obeyed. Thank the spirits, they obeyed. Just as they did so, the great horse whinnied and reared. Oh no.... Shoving the sailors aside, I stopped right before Laigen, and stared at her steadily.

It's all right.

I smiled softly.

Don't be afraid. I know it's all strange, I know all those smells and sounds are frightening you, but it's all right.

The bay mare set her forelegs on the plank again, somehow without breaking it. It vibrated under my feet with the shock, but it held.

Trust me.

I held out my left hand towards her in a very slow, deliberate movement. There was still fear in the dark eyes, I could feel it in the air around us, and I could see it in the almost imperceptible trembling of Laigen's hindlegs.

Trust me, friend.

At last, some of the wildness left her eyes, and I allowed my fingertips to brush the edge of her nose. She blew against my hand, smelling it and recognizing my scent. I nodded encouragingly at her, and took another slow step towards her, moving my hands towards her neck, careful to always keep a contact with her skin. I could feel her shaking under my fingers, shaking with the last waves of a fear which would have been her death if I hadn't reached her in time. In my mind's eye, I saw her rearing against the men's hold, losing her balance as she fought them, and falling in the harbour's murky waters. Breaking her left foreleg in the fall and then....

The bay mare lowered her head and pressed it against my chest, closing her eyes. Trusting absolutely. I whispered softly in her ear, "Hush, Laigen, it's all right now. It's all right." I stroked her cheeks and her neck, waiting for a few moments more before leading her up towards the ship.

"God! Saw that? It's uncanny, how could that boy....?"

I ignored the whispered comments as I passed the sailors by.

"I told ye' all when I first saw him, when I saw those green eyes...."

I felt an ironic smile come up my lips as that last remark reached me, and stopped as Laigen stepped on the ship's lower deck and froze, looking around her with wide eyes and pricked ears. Shaking. I gently patted her neck, content to wait until she had had time to take all the alien environment in and felt safe enough to resume walking towards the dark hold which would be hers and the other horses' home for a long time. I could still feel the sailors' eyes on me, and I knew they would keep commenting the event, turning it into some unnatural thing. Fools that they were. What did they know? So my eyes were green, the deep dark green of emeralds as I had heard them described, and then what?

Emerald. I felt laughter within me, as I had when the Lord Deputy from London had described them so upon our first meeting. The comparison was flattering I supposed, but it was incorrect. If I based myself on the few jewels I had been able to see, emeralds were a starkly vivid green, whereas my eyes' green was dark, so dark one could have thought it was mixed with charcoal...the colour of the Connemara lakes.

Green, the colour of magic, or so those idiots believed.

Shutting myself from the men on the deck, from their doubts mingled with superstitious fear, I led the bay mare onward, hoping they had learnt their lesson and wouldn't try to get another of the horses aboard without me.

I sat down in the straw, exhausted. At last, everything was done and ready. All the horses were safely locked in their stalls, they had been fed, watered and groomed so they could feel more at ease and relaxed. I had checked the reserves of straw, grain and hay, and they seemed to be quite sufficient, which was a relief. Suddenly, I felt something ruffling my hair, and looked up to catch Aodhan chewing on a lock of it, his eyes closed in contentment. With a little pat on the chestnut stallion's nose I made him release it, and I stared at the dark brown lock with something akin to chagrin. How unnaturally short it was, cut to barely brush my shoulders. It was really a pity to have done it, but it had been necessary if I were to have a chance at playing out my appointed role successfully.

"Boy!"

I sighed, shrugging in a gesture of helplessness, and stood up, brushing off another of Aodhan's surreptitious attempts at catching a lock of my hair. My hand closed around his chin instead, and I grinned at him. You're well named, rascal.

"Boy!"

I turned around, releasing the chestnut, and left his stall to see one of the sailors standing right at the edge of the space reserved for the horses. I unhurriedly walked towards him, and he added, "At last! Ye deaf or what? Lord Mountjoy's askin' fer ye, so ye better move yer ass, hear!"

Smiling to myself, I passed the man by at a trot, not in the least impressed by the threat there had been in the words. I shook my head, mastering the amusement within. "Boy".... If only they had known!

I quickly spotted the carriage on the pier, marked with the arms of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, and stepped down towards it, wondering what the English Lord could want. As I reached the horses, they whinnied softly, recognizing me, and I stroked their noses affectionately, trying not to think it was the last time I'd ever see them. The carriage's door opened, and a solemn, middle-aged man got out of it. I bowed deeply, giving the man the respect he was due, and he said, his eyes locked on the ship behind us, "They tell me everything is set now, Aislinn. The captain will give the order to take to the sea in less than two hours, to catch the tide." I didn't reply anything to his words, and he sighed. "Child, are you certain? There is still time for you to turn aside from this. You are welcome in my house, and you have a place there. I care nothing for your name or your heritage, you know that."

I sustained his gaze for a while, and then smiled at him. His words were true, but nevertheless I couldn't choose otherwise. He didn't know, he couldn't understand. Aware that he was expecting an answer and that I owed him one, if only for the risk he had agreed to take in offering me a roof, I simply told him, "Where my horses go, I go, Lord."

His eyes searched my face for a while, and then he chuckled sadly. "Don't I know it! What else could have made a child of this land live in the household of an Englishman like me?" He shook his head. "I have to send those horses away, they're an important part of the gifts we're sending. The chances of success of this endeavour are so thin, we must use everything we have." He sighed, staring at the vessel beyond me. "Once the great Lords around King James had moved to support this mad idea, there was no walking back from it. Why they took it into their heads to establish firmer contacts with that country on the other side of the world, now of all times, I cannot even begin to guess." His eyes came back to me, and he said gently, "The journey will be very long, will you be able to maintain the deception? You know the consequences for you if the sailors ever found out there is a woman aboard their ship."

They would throw me in the ocean and leave me to drown. Yes, I knew. I knew women were bad luck, and forbidden to board a ship for fear their very presence would lead it to ruin. I nodded at Lord Mountjoy, and he bowed his head. "Very well." With a half-irritated, half-fond smile, he said, "I was warned of the stubbornness of the Irish, but no warning could adequately describe you." Sobering quickly, he added, "Lord Fitzgerald will be the Crown's emissary, and as such he will lead the delegation. I told him about you, he's the only one who knows. If you absolutely have to, you can try going to him, but to no one else. None of the soldiers or the courtiers know of you. Lord Fitzgerald will do his best to protect you, but you will have to fend for yourself as well."

I shrugged slightly, aware that I wouldn't be able to depend on anyone else but myself and quite prepared to do so. I wasn't a fool. Before committing myself to this, I had studied the matter and its possible consequences. There was no need to remind me of the danger at every opportunity. Behind me, the two carriage horses snorted, vexed that I was ignoring them. I absentmindedly patted the rump of the one who was closest to me.

Hush, Shadow.

Horses were jealous and demanding pests, but also the truest companions one could find. Men were volatile, fickle in comparison.

"I see you still haven't learnt to be even a little bit more talkative or to express yourself the way most people do. You should change your way, child. You know how quickly people start to gossip. I am certain sailors are already spreading rumours about you, you shouldn't disregard the matter: words can hurt, they can hurt far worse than swords or arrows."

I stared steadily at this English Lord who was concerned for the well-being of a worthless Irish young woman who had been more a burden to him than anything else, and whispered softly, "I know."

He walked past me, stroking gently the neck of Shadow as he passed the grey gelding by, and I turned to face the same direction as he. He looked at the ship for a long time, and eventually sighed. "I wonder, Aislinn. I really wonder if you realize how alien you can be sometimes." He shook his head and faced me again. "You have been a part of my household for only a year, and yet it feels as if the very stones of my domain will weep at your departure. When I took you in, I told myself I was inviting trouble, but you have been a precious asset to my household. I am sorry to see you go, even if I respect your choice."

There was silence for a while, and I watched as sailors went up the masts to secure the sails and check everything, as soldiers got aboard the last of their equipment and the trunks of the nobles who'd lead this delegation. There was a weird feeling in my heart, I was detached, as if I hadn't been a part of that great vessel which was about to sail away, as if I wasn't going to go back up the plank leading to the ship's deck and the five magnificent horses which were the Lord Deputy's gift for the ruler of a distant land.

"I had them get a trunk aboard for you. In it, you'll find finer clothes than the stable boy's outfit you're wearing now, men's clothes of course, but I also added the one dress you brought with you from your family's keep." I looked at him sharply upon hearing that, but there was nothing else than kindness and understanding on his face. He came towards me, and slightly rested a hand on my left shoulder. "Beware, this journey will be far more dangerous than you or anyone thinks. The oceans won't be the true enemy. Once you reach your destination, you'll find yourself in a strange and complex land, whose rules, politics and customs we barely know or understand. The potential for mistakes, for causing a bad incident is so great.... I have always argued against this endeavour, for good reason. Take care of yourself."

His hand pressed my shoulder and then released it, giving me a slight push towards the ship.

Dismissing me.

"Farewell, Aislinn O'Donnell."

I froze in my steps when the whisper reached my ears. O'Donnell.... I bowed my head, and then started back towards the vessel. It was forbidden to utter that name, and the Lord Deputy of Ireland had just done so, giving me the true name of my clan and not the English name we had been forced to adopt after Kinsale. My heart full of unnamed emotions, I stepped aboard the ship which would take me away from the land which had been my beginning and my life. My self.

From the small porthole in Nia's stall, I watched as the ship left the harbour, and as Dublin slowly became smaller and smaller in the distance. Something warm and silky soft gently touched my neck, and I stroked the nose of the black mare, grateful for her presence close to me. It was done now, there was no going back.

Never.

I listened to the part of me which was keening quietly, grieving at the parting with a land that had been one with the core of my being. Erin, words could not even begin to describe the bond between me and you.

Erin....

What else could I have chosen? It was better this way, better to sever myself from the land than to remain and feel it dwindle little by little, to feel its spirit slowly drowning into the dark, into oblivion. My mother, and her mother before her, all those who had come before me had had the strength to feel this slow agony, this decline which had started centuries ago, and endure. Because they had had the possibility of hope, of regaining the land and reviving its ancient spirit. I had no such hope, it had died at Kinsale five years ago, and died again last year with what had been called the Flight of the Earls, when the O'Neill and the O'Donnell clan leaders had exiled themselves to the continent to escape from the consequences of false rumours of betrayal which had been spread in Lord Mountjoy's entourage.

I had stayed behind because I was no one, and nothing. A mere cousin, many times removed, of Rory O'Donnell. An insignificant young woman. And when the English soldiers had come to confiscate all that had been owned by the clan and taken the horses away, I had followed. Where they went, I went. And strangely enough, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, who should have been my mortal enemy had left me a chance to stay and earn my keep, to prove I was what I claimed to be: a caretaker of horses, nothing more and nothing less.

Now that my horses were leaving, I was leaving as well, be it because of my bond with them, or because I had wanted to grasp this opportunity to escape towards anything that gave me even only a semblance of hope.

Who knew what would happen in this land on the other side of the world? Who knew the possibilities it might offer?

Fog lifted up on the sea, slowly hiding the thin line of coast in the distance, and I turned away from the porthole at last, feeling emptiness invading my soul. I had to stop thinking about it, to stop focusing on it. I had to concentrate on what mattered, and leave the rest aside.

I quickly checked on the horses, satisfied to see they seemed to adapt to the movements of the ship well enough. I had hopes they wouldn't be sick, which was good. I chuckled softly when I saw Sreim already lying comfortably in his stall, his eyes closed. That lazy black stallion fully deserved his name. Yawning, I went to the sixth stall, in the middle of the row, and started setting my small bundle in place. I was lucky that Lord Fitzgerald had apparently taken to heart to follow Lord Mountjoy's wishes and had made arrangements which would allow me to avoid being in close quarters with the sailors. He had easily convinced the captain to let me sleep among the horses, so I could intervene more quickly if there was the slightest problem. That, and also there would be that more space in the already overcrowded room the sailors slept in.

Perhaps I might even be safe enough to remove the bandages on my chest once in a while. That would be a blessing. But I had to wait for some days and observe life on board before I decided to run that risk. After all, I was used to the discomfort, it was just a hardship among others, and I could bear with it.

Once I was done settling in, I stepped out of the stall and started up towards the ship's lower deck.

When I reached the outside, I found sailors running everywhere, and barely avoided a collision.

"'Ware, ye idiot!"

Stepping back quickly I eventually found a safe spot out of everyone's way, and started watching them with curiosity. What had first seemed like total chaos actually had a clever pattern of movements in it, efficiently allowing people to be where they were needed to be one moment, and then to the next place a few seconds later. After a while, the feverish activity calmed down, and I assumed the ship was now safely under way. The journey had truly begun, and it would be long months before any of us set foot on solid ground again.

I didn't mind that much, the ocean and I were friends, but what disturbed me was the perspective of having to live in such a confined environment, where I wouldn't be able to allow my horses to run freely and where I would feel imprisoned myself. I shrugged, knowing there was no help for that. Perhaps I could help time to go by faster if I learnt the language of the country we were going to. I might convince Lord Fitzgerald to teach me or have one of his subordinates teach me. After all, they too would quickly become bored on this ship. Nodding to myself, I smiled. It was a good idea. Looking out the sea, I let my mind travel towards our destination, wondering what I would find there.

Wondering what the distant land they called "Nee-hon" was like.

End of the Prologue.

Notes

So, as I said before: credits to N-chan, who gave me the idea to write this fic. =)

Names:

Erin: it's an ancient name for Ireland. It may be it's not used at all in English, but in French you will find it in literary works. It is also usually associated with the colour green.
Liath: Grey. Origin: Celtic, and was used in Ireland.
Aodhan: Rascal, Celtic.
Laigen: Spear. Origin: Celtic, used in Ireland.
Nia: Warrior, Champion. Origin: Celtic, used in Ireland.
Sreim: Snoring. Origin: Celtic, used in Ireland.
Aislinn: Dream, Vision. Origin: Celtic. Girl's firstname in Ireland.
O'Donnell: name of one among the two clans which stood against the Englishmen.
Nee-hon: At first, I wanted to write it "Nihon", but I figured Aislinn wouldn't know how to spell it, and would spell it according to the sounds, hence "nee" and "hon".

Historical background:

This fic is set in the year 1608, and starts in Dublin.
In the 2nd half of the 16th century, fearing that the queen Elizabeth I would try to conquer Ireland, some clans took up arms against the Englishmen. After their defeat at the battle of Kinsale in 1601, in the year 1603 the last of the Irish resistance was ended with the treaty of Mellifont. The Englishmen won, and treated the vanquished party rather kindly. The Irish were led by two clans: the O'Neill and the O'Donnell. They were allowed to keep their titles, but had to change their names. O'Neill became the earl of Syrone, and O'Donnell became the earl of Tyrconnell. Then, in the year 1607, the event called the Flight of the Earls took place: the clans O'Donnell and O'Neill fled Ireland after English officials had spread murmurs of betrayal concerning them and turned the Lord Deputy of Ireland against them. This Lord Deputy of Ireland was Lord Mountjoy and had been appointed by Queen Elizabeth I in the year 1600.
It is said that after the defeat of Kinsale, the Gaelic way of life started fading, merging with the English way of life as English settlements at last took root in Ireland. It is also at that time, that the power of the Irish clan chiefs came to an end.
This delegation to Japan to establish firmer ties with the Empire is *loosely* based on historical data.
In Japan, the first contacts with Europeans had taken place in the year 1542, when the Portuguese reached the archipel. Jesuits started converting people, and then in the end of the 16th century Franciscans joined them, in competition of course. In the year 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu was appointed Shogun by Emperor Goyozei, and he started the famous Tokugawa Dynasty and the Edo era. He promoted foreign trade, and established relations with the English and the Dutch. This is what I based myself upon.

Two important things to know about Japan at the time:

One: Tokugawa Ieyasu reached the level of power he did by taking advantage of all the efforts of Oda Nobunaga (Cf. the famous novel "Shogun") and Toyotomi Hideyoshi after him to unite Japan under their rule. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, he made Tokugawa Ieyasu--who had served under him--promise he'd support Hideyoshi's son and heir and help him become shogun. Tokugawa Ieyasu broke his promise and grasped power for himself. The factions allied with the Toyotomi house and Tokugawa's enemies fought Tokugawa Ieyasu at the battle of Sekigahara in the year 1600, and were defeated. Although he was established Shogun by the emperor in the year 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu's power was still not absolutely safe. In the year 1608, Toyotomi Hideyori, the heir of the Toyotomi house, was still alive, and at least his mother had ambitions for him, and designs to regain the power that had been stolen from her son.
Two: Tokugawa Ieyasu was following the policy of others before him, in forbidding missionaries to keep trying to convert people to christianity. He wasn't looking kindly on Christianity.

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