| As It Was Before -- A Fushigi Yuugi fanfiction |
| China, Kwangtung, 1865, late fall The local physician shook his head at the lord and turned away from the girl lying comatose on the bed. He could do nothing for the lord's daughter. The girl had done her duty to the Cult of the Four Gods, and would pay for it with her life. The lord seized the book from the nearby table. And so the Priestess of Seiryuu returned to her home world, having saved Kutou from the despot would-be emperor and civil war. But she was unable to recover from the power of Seiryuu. Her final thoughts were of her dear Amiboshi and all her friends, and satisfied that she had done her duty, she died. Slamming the book shut, he turned back to the bed. His daughter's face was smoothed in death, a small smile upon her lips. Filled with fury at the cult priests who had stolen his beloved child from him, he called for his seneschal. "You will have all the Priests of the Four Gods arrested! Imprison them immediately! And..." he paused, grip tightening on the book. "You will gather my advisors. We will find a way to destroy this book, and stop the Universe of the Four Gods forever!" China, Kwangtung, 1866, summer "He is hunting us down. He has the book, and means to destroy it." "It matters little. There is only one priestess left. The final God will not allow the book to be destroyed." Japan, Tokyo, 1867, summer The Chinese warrior paid the harbormaster his fee and headed for the ship that would take him across the waters to California. In his satchel he carried a sacred mission. "We cannot find a way to destroy this book! No matter what we do, water, fire, it will not be gone. Therefore, your mission is to carry this book away. Take it to the land across the ocean. They say there are great spaces there where no man lives. You will find such a place and bury this cursed book!" The lord handed the warrior the book entitled The Universe of the Four Gods. A sacred mission, to loose a holy book. But this warrior was not one of the cult of the Four Gods, and should he be so fortunate as to return to his home, his people would honor him for generations. Little did he know he was watched. Pacific Ocean, just a few miles from port "Captain! She's takin' on water! "Trim that for's'l! Go man!" The captain considered dumping the passengers to save the ship. The load of goods below was worth far more than the Chinese, even if they'd paid already. But before he could even act on the devilish idea, a wave greater than any before swamped the ship. The Chinese warrior clutched the satchel to him as he fell into the sea. Perhaps the ocean's depths would be a good place to bury the book. California, San Francisco, early fall, 1883 Geoffrey Morgan laughed as his friends threw sand at one another. The day appeared to be one of the last fine days they'd have this year. He whistled for his dog, off sniffing at the drifted sea wrack along the water's edge. The dog barked once, then picked up something from the sand and came bounding back to him. "What's he got, Geoff?" Geoffrey wrested the item from the dog's mouth. "Huh. Seems to be a book." He turned it over in his hands, brushing the sand and seaweed from it. "In good shape for being soaked." "Surf kicks up a lot on this beach," his friend Michael observed, as Geoff drew a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the book. The red cover was remarkably undamaged. On the cover, an embossed gold design gleamed. Peering over his shoulder, Michael remarked, "Looks Chinese." "Yeah." Geoff pocketed the book. "I'll give it to Eliza. She likes Chinese things." Laughing, another friend said, "Yeah! Your father better watch out she don't run off with a Chinaman!" Geoff had no choice but to punch him. China, Kwangtung region, early fall, 1883 "Master?" "The book has been found! Send our best agent!" California, San Francisco, September 30th, 1883 Geoff sorted through his books in his room. His sister would return from finishing school back East in a few days, and he could not find the book he'd found on the beach. "Emmet! EMMET!" The elderly black manservant appeared in the doorway. "Yes, Master Geoffrey?" "Do you recall the book I found on the beach? The red one with the Chinese symbol on it? I had you clean it up." "Yessir. It's in the Library." "Oh, all right. I was afraid I'd lost it." He smiled to think at Eliza's delight in the book. She'd spent the last 3 years at a boarding school in Massachusetts, the same one their mother had attended. He�d personally thought she would have been better off here, but their father had insisted. "It was your mother's wish for Eliza to attend that school. Of course, she'd also wished that Eliza would meet some eligible young man there, but at least she can't see how your sister turned out, rest her soul!" His father had smiled at the time, but from Eliza's letters, it was clear that the school had done little to polish her. Rather, she'd gotten herself a superior education, scorning her classmates� society in preference of grilling wizened professors over a number of subjects. She had already spoken four languages, including a smattering of Chinese, when she'd left. He imagined her head would be full of wild things now. Some of her last letters had run on about discoveries in medical science, ways to save a gangrened leg and all. At this rate, she'd never marry -- no man wants a wife who reads penny dreadfulls about gunslingers and can go on for hours about diseases. A bell rang below, and Geoff hurried down the stairs to see pretty Missy Kent waiting in the atrium. "Oh, Geoff! Is she home yet?" Missy was a trim, rounded little girl, the same age as Eliza. But where Eliza was all height - at five foot six she was unfashionably tall - and angles and washed out, pale and blonde, Missy was little and sweet and had rich brown hair and snapping black eyes. Missy and Eliza had been friends all their lives, and now that Missy was engaged, she could hardly wait to show off her ring and fit up Eliza in a bridesmaid's dress. "A few more days, Missy. I told you the sixth." "Oh well. I'll call again tomorrow, then." A hotel room, Colorado, October 2nd, 1883 Eliza Morgan pulled closed the curtains on the windows, and started to unbutton her dress. She'd already removed her boots, and she looked forward to lying down with her last novel. The Last Stand of Billy the Kid awaited her on the little side table, and she sighed a little to think that Billy was probably dead. All her life, she'd dreamed of running off and doing something wild, something exciting. Before she'd gone to school, she'd imagined some handsome young cattle thief would kidnap her off to Texas, and they'd fall madly in love. At school, studying the classical world, it was the Egyptian prince who'd whisk her away from her archeological dig and shower her with riches in gold from beneath the sands. While her classmates yammered about officers and the latest fashions, Eliza immersed herself in the words of great authors. She'd sighed over Mr. Darcy, and imagined Dracula to be devilishly handsome (for how else could those poor ladies fall for him) and read all the weekly women's papers that ran serials of romances. To polite society, she showed a face of shy practicality. To her friends, she was the clever thinker with great curiosity. In her secret heart, a romantic lurked. But outlaws had always been her favorites. Outlaws, thieves, highwaymen, all the handsome outcasts of society. Oh, she knew she'd have to settle down soon. Her best friend Missy was already engaged, and Eliza knew her father would have a slew of eligible young men lined up to meet her. San Francisco had already become the jewel of the Western coast, as metropolitan as Boston in its own way, but Eliza longed to ride the hills, or prowl the shops of Chinatown. Sighing a little at her fancies, Eliza tucked herself into bed and took up her novel. Poor Billy. California, San Francisco, October 6th, 1883 "ELIZA!" Eliza turned towards her brother's voice. Geoffrey bounded over and gave her a tight hug. "Christ, girl, I swear you've grown again!" Laughing, she pounded on him to let her down. Grinning, he snatched up her bag and took her arm. "Oh, Geoff, it's so good to be home!" He led her over to their father, who greeted her with a warm hug. "Lord above, girl, you've gotten prettier than ever!" Eliza blushed at her father's extravagant praise. She knew she was unfashionably tall, unfashionably pale, and rather overeducated, no matter how wealthy and upper-class her family was. Her father had made a fortune during the gold rush, some in gold and the rest in trade. Her mother had died when Eliza was young, and bless him, her father had done his best to raise his children, including the last three years back East for Eliza. But now, seventeen and ready to be 'out', Eliza had a good idea that the wheels in her father's mind were turning, and if he had his way, she'd be married by eighteen. The family laughed and chatted as they collected her two trunks and climbed into the coach. "So, Eliza! No Indian attacks? No train robbers trying to steal your heart on the trip?" Geoffrey teased as they rode home. "No, brother! The train to St. Louis was fine, the coach to the Dakota's unmolested, and as you see, I am safe and sound." She tried to sound prim and polished, but it only made Geoffrey laugh. "I'm glad to see you're giving up your old ways, Eliza, dear," her father said. "Well, and now Missy's gotten respectable, I expect to see a real change in you. No more gallops through town or afternoons spent in Chinatown apothecaries." Eliza smiled sweetly at her father, but inside she winced. All the school had taught her of polish was how to better hide her hoyden ways. Later that evening, after things had been unpacked, gifts from back East presented, and a fine dinner served, Eliza sat next to her window and stared at nothing. All the help had been kind, all pleased to see her home again. Her father had started making noises about her coming out party, planned for December, but she supposed she hadn�t shown the proper enthusiasm for it. Going to school had put it off nearly a year and a half, but soon, nice young ladies like herself had to settle down and start a family. A soft voice distracted her from her melancholy thoughts. "Still waiting for your highwayman?" Eliza smiled at her brother. He referred to one of her favorite songs, a tune their Irish nanny had crooned often. "I doubt I'm to find him in the streets of Mission Hill." "Hmm. Probably not." He came over and leaned down to kiss her brow. "Missed you, Wildflower." It was an old nickname, from her youth, when she'd often come home windblown and scorched by the sun. He always said she looked like a prairie flower, burnt and yellow. "Missed you too, dear Geoffrey." She sighed and rested her head against him as his arms went around her. "Whatever shall I do? Father will have me married by spring." "He'd never give you to someone cruel, or ugly, or someone you hated." "I know. I just don't know that I'll find someone I don't hate." He kissed her hair and patted her shoulder. "Well, Michael's still free." Eliza wrinkled her nose, making them both laugh. As a girl, she'd chased his friend around, and Michael had run like a man fleeing a stampede. "He's no highwayman." That made them both laugh harder, for Michael was as pragmatic and sturdy as they come. But Eliza had smiled, and that had been Geoffrey's goal all along. "Goodnight, dear sister. Tomorrow's a new day." And he left her to her thoughts. California, San Francisco, October 7th, 1883 Eliza bid her father goodbye as he went off to his office and warehouses. Geoffrey would stay home today, to keep her company on her first whole day home. But for the moment, she was unoccupied. She knew Missy would be by later to show off her ring and chatter about seating arrangements. The wedding was set for mid-January. Right now, Eliza felt tired from her trip, and in need of solace. She wandered the house, pausing to chat here and there with the help. The three-story townhouse had been her home for ten years, even since they'd settled there. As a child, the family had gone from boomtown to boomtown, making money and contacts, enriching them to the point where her father was legitimately one of the wealthiest men in California. Now Geoffrey, 20, handsome and charming, worked in the family trade as well. Eliza paused to look at herself in the mirror, her new green lawn dress swirling around her. At least, thanks to the mercantile trade, she was always dressed the part of the young rich woman. Finally settling on the library as her place of relaxation, she selected a book on the history of Rome and made herself comfortable. Geoffrey found her there an hour later, absorbed in the journals of Caesar. "There you are! I've been looking for you." "Have you?" "Yes." He had a grin on his face. "I have a gift for you!" Interested, Eliza set aside Caesar's Gaul and sat up. "What is it?" He went over to the shelves where the newest additions were kept, and pulled down a red leather bound book. He returned and sat next to her. "Close your eyes." "Silly!" But she did as he bid and held out her hands. As soon as the book weighed down her hands, her eyes flew open, eagerly examining the book. On the cover, a single, ornate Chinese character glimmered at her in gold. "Oh Geoffrey! What is it?" "Beats me. I though you might like it, know how to read it. It's Chinese, right? That's what I thought when I found it." With a finger, Eliza traced the symbol, sounding out the syllables as she could. Her Chinese was rather rusty. "Shi...that's, um, 'four'. Jin is 'god', or I guess in this case, 'gods' plural. I have no idea what �ten� is. Chi is heaven, or magic. It must mean heaven, coming after 'gods'. Sho is earth. Four Gods Heaven Earth?" She looked quizzically at Geoffrey, who just shrugged. "I think that heaven and earth together might mean 'universe'. So if I'm right, it's called the 'Universe of the Four Gods'." "Kind of a weird name for a book. Think it has all the answers to life?" Geoff teased. "Or maybe it can just tell me how to get out of marriage!" Eliza laughed. She opened the book. For one strange moment, the Chinese symbols on the page seemed to... squirm... before her eyes. She blinked a few times and thought for a few seconds about reading glasses. When she focused on the book, she let out an exclamation. "Geoffrey! This book is in English!" "It is? It wasn't when I flipped through it!" He leaned over to see the page, and sure enough, the words were easily recognizable. "'This is the story of a girl from another world, who became the Priestess of Suzaku, and made all her wishes come true'!" Eliza grinned at her brother. "Oh, Geoffrey, you've gotten me a Chinese adventure story! How sweet!" She leaned over to him and planted a quick kiss on his cheek, then went back to reading. "'The story itself is a spell. As soon as the page is turned, the story begins.' Shall I go on?" Settling back against the chair, pleased with his sister's delight, Geoffrey waved his hand at her. "Go on, go on! If you're going to read it right away, I might as well hear it too." With a flash of a grin, Eliza said, "Well, I don't know. It did say it's a spell." Her voice was teasing and jocular. With a wink, Geoffrey replied, "I dare you!" They laughed like children. Eliza turned the page. A brilliant flash of red light filled the room. Geoffrey heard Eliza cry out in surprise, a cry that abruptly cut off. Crying out himself, Geoffrey covered his eyes, but the light had already begun to fade. Wiping the sudden tears from his eyes, he said, "What was that?!?" He got no response. "Eliza?" He opened his eyes. "Eliza?!" But he sat alone, the book on the chair beside him. "ELIZA?!?" The library door opened, and a worried Emmet asked, "Master Geoffrey, what's the matter?" "Did you see Eliza?" "No sir." "ELIZA! Where did you go?" He glanced at the book. Then a horrible thought hit him. The story itself is a spell. An echo of Eliza's voice said Chi is heaven, OR MAGIC. Geoffrey snatched up the book, suddenly afraid. He read. When the Priestess of Suzaku first arrived in Konan...... |