The plot for this story came to me suddenly, and I hope you all like it! Just please note that some fairy tale elements have been incorporated into this, such as the royal ball effect from "Cinderella," and maybe even the nightly disappearances from "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." However, please don't regard this immediately as a strictly fairy tale story. Please read and tell me what you think!
Nightingale
Summary: Overshadowed by a curse, Kagome is taken to an abandoned ballroom each night, where she meets an intriguing but troubled man. After attending a prestigious ball one day, Kagome finds herself engaged to a man she doesn't love. It doesn't help that she can't stop thinking about the cold-hearted prince she encounters at the ball earlier. And the man she meets every night… How is a girl to choose? InuKag
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha or anything related to him.
A frisky autumn breeze washed over her the sweet, floral scent of twilight, calming her with its luminous spirit, but at the same time renewing her anxious excitement.
"Remember your priorities, Kagome," her mother, sitting elegantly as always, said from beside her.
Kagome felt her heartbeat quicken with every gentle bump of the carriage on the uneven road.
Of course she would remember. How could she forget when she had just experienced a "traditional" lecture from her mother a few hours ago? The lecture had been given to all the daughters of the family since many generations ago, her mother had proudly said.
And what exactly had Kagome been told? What was the purpose of her presence at the Aoiro Ball, held in one of the most prestigious palaces in the world?
Why, to procure herself a nice, respectable, husband of course. Kagome was being sent on a man hunt, another popular tradition of her family's.
A giddy feeling attacked Kagome's mind as she regarded herself awkwardly. She had never been so dressed up in her life.
A smooth, sleeveless black gown made of soft luxury silk swept the floor at her slipper feet. A satin sash dyed with vivid sunset blends hung from the side of her hip, cascading elegantly over its black setting. From her neck hung a simple silver necklace with a beautiful, faceted diamond pendant in the shape of a tear. Men liked simplicity, her mother had told her before bestowing this costly gift upon her.
Personally, Kagome couldn't see why her mother went through all the trouble of getting her so many expensive accessories for this ball. It wasn't like her family had much money to spare.
The carriage swerved slightly before coming to a stop. A stiff, nonchalant man stepped forward to help Kagome's mother out of the carriage.
Kagome quickly scurried out of the carriage before anyone could help her out, to avoid the awkwardness of such a confrontation. Although she was officially sixteen now and a grown woman, she still refused to adopt these uncomfortable customs, which her mother lovingly called etiquette.
The ballroom really was a masterpiece.
Kagome couldn't help but gasp as she stepped through the sparkling glass doors of the building. A vast room stood before her, adorned with reflective marble walls and floors. A single burgundy carpet rolled in a strip across the room. Multiple chandeliers, ornamented with jewels and crystals, hung from the ceiling.
But most spectacular was the people. Floating across the smooth floor like characters taken from a music box fairy tale, the dancing couples not only expressed dignity and elegance, but their costumes were exotically diverse.
An innocent bump of the shoulder shook Kagome from her awe.
She turned to find a man with dark green eyes regarding her.
"May I have this dance?" he asked her in his deep, husky voice.
Kagome timidly agreed, allowing the man to lead her into the crowd. His large hand pressed on her small waist, his fingers cold on her bare shoulder. A hungry gleam that Kaome didn't like hung in his eyes, making her shiver.
It was not long however, before another man came to claim her, and Kagome was glad.
Kagome suddenly noticed a few people leaving the dance floor to help themselves to refreshments, and decided to excuse herself as well.
An exquisitely ornate gemstone balcony caught her eye as she made her way past busily chatting people. Their happiness strangely only made her feel more like she didn't belong.
The brightly shining stars, running across the skies like scattered embers from a fire, helped calm her down.
She couldn't forget her mission, though, of course. Her hunt for a husband.
After a deep breath of fresh air, Kagome turned around with a sigh, only to have it muffled by the torso of man who had been standing right behind her.
She recoiled instinctively, her face slightly red.
"Watch where you're going, bitch," the man growled, drawing some attention to himself.
Kagome stood openmouthed. Lifting her head to tell him off, she found that she could only stare.
The man had exquisite long, silvery white hair, a pair of golden eyes and two furry ears at the top of his head. Truly spectacular to Kagome.
He didn't see it that way, though, and began walking away before giving her a dirty look.
"Wait," Kagome suddenly said, before she could stop herself.
The man paused in his step, without turning around.
"What's your name?" Kagome asked, more icily than she would've liked.
At this, the man turned around, smirking. He approached her, standing slightly too close for comfort, before looking her up and down once, the infuriating smirk never leaving his face.
"W-what?" Kagome demanded, her eye twitching dangerously.
"You're another one of those girls," the man said nastily, shaking his head. "Just turned sixteen did you?" he asked. Then, before she could answer, "Are you here to be married off to the man with the highest bid or something?" He gave her a downright dirty glare.
"W-why!" Kagome sputtered, too offended for words. "Don't name me off as some slut like that!"
The man threw his hands up in the air. "Just don't come crying to me when you find yourself married off the next morning or something. It's happened before." Then, in a more serious tone, he added, "Don't think riches can buy you everything, princess."
"And you would know?" Kagome asked, just for the sake of annoying him.
"Of course," the man answered egotistically, jerking a finger at the jewels embedded in the balcony walls. "These are barely anything compared to what I possess."
Kagome scoffed. "What are you, then, a prince?"
"Most people would call me that," the man shrugged.
Kagome nearly swallowed her tongue at that. Her dark brown eyes expanded like saucers.
"My parents like throwing parties," the man informed her. "Today is in honor of my older brother, who's recently been engaged. You should meet him," he suggested, his tone sarcastic. "A real gumdrop, really." Glancing at the busy ballroom, all alit with lights, he added, "But of course my parents didn't fail to invite as many eligible girls as possible. They want me to get married, too."
Kagome only gaped at him openly, completely unable to utter a word. Was he really the prince, the son of the hosts of this ball?
The prince sighed, and taking her arm less then gently, proceeded to escort her back into the ballroom.
Right then, Kagome had a most peculiar feeling. Her stomach seemed to do a backflip, and her eyes suddenly fluttered closed, instinctively, as if a spec of dust had entered or something.
When she opened her eyes, however, she was greeted with something less than welcome.
"What the hell…?" Kagome gasped in bewilderment as she found herself sitting inelegantly on the spotless ground of a large room. A dim light bounced off the ancient walls, so that the place was somewhat illuminated.
A hooded man regarded her forlornly across the room, sitting on a chair missing a leg. His face sported an indifferent expression, and was a little bit too pale, as if he had been kept from the sun for too long.
Kagome approached him, as he was the only other living thing she could see.
When she got about a foot from him, she suddenly found the tip of a rusty sword pricking at her neck.
Greatly frightened, Kagome turned and ran back to the other side of the room.
She glanced back at the hooded man, who had gone back to staring listlessly into space.
Kagome sat down in exasperation. Her mind was a jumble of questions and worry.
How would she get out of the place?
She quickly observed that there were no windows and no sign at all of escape. Just thick, endless walls.
With a yawn, she remembered how it would probably be past midnight, if she were still at the ball.
"The ball…" she muttered. The rude prince. Her parents.
What would the prince think? He'd been right beside her, touching her, when this happened.
And what would her parents think when they found her missing?
A suddenly dose of drowsiness overcame her senses.
"The ball…"
And sleep claimed her.
Kagome gave a loud yawn as she sat up slowly on her bed, the large blue blanket still gathered up against her neck for warmth. Only the collar of her blue pajamas, patterned with sleepy cats, was exposed in her effort to protect herself from the cruel autumn cold.
But a sudden memory washed her over with iciness anyway.
She suddenly recalled the ball from last night, and then, the man with the hood.
Kagome shivered. She was glad that it had all been a dream. Perhaps she had fallen asleep somehow at the ball, and had been brought home. Or perhaps there hadn't been a ball.
She shook her head. Yes, there probably had never been a ball. She had never met a prince that was so rude and lacking in manners, anyway.
Suddenly, there was a flurry of knocking at her door.
"Come in," she called, slightly alarmed.
Kagome's mother entered the room, looking flustered. A large, almost childish smile covered much of her face.
"Kagome, this is great news!" she exclaimed, her eyes all alit.
Kagome waited patiently for her mother to explain.
"Itokawa Hanaka has informed us this morning that he is willing to pay a considerable sum for your hand in marriage," she said proudly, her eyes shining. "And he is a very wealthy man indeed."
This left Kagome openmouthed, shocked.
"He is waiting outside for you now," her mother told her, "I told him you'd be out in a minute. Now get up and prepare yourself, quickly! If you impress him, think of the rewards!"
Kagome gawked as her mother smiled proudly at her before leaving the room. As soon as the door was closed shut, Kagome screamed as loudly as she could. She didn't care if dear mister Itokawa had heard her or not. In fact, she hoped he did.
What kind of man would propose marriage to a woman he'd seen only once for a few minutes? And Kagome wasn't even sure she'd ever met him anyway. Perhaps at the ball…? But she didn't have time to ponder.
Hurriedly, she changed into a plain white blouse and a vividly green skirt. She didn't care that her apparel wasn't exactly impressive – she wasn't really out to impress him anyway. The last thing she wanted was to encourage the man's motives.
Kagome entered the main room of her house to find a man in a black suit sitting impatiently on the sofa.
She regarded his short, spiky black hair, and slightly heavy build, and felt an immense pang of déjà vu.
He looked fine, all right, Kagome admitted that. There would probably be many girls out there who wouldn't mind marrying him. But there was something about him that made Kagome feel unsafe…
Suddenly he looked up to catch her gaze.
Kagome suddenly felt frozen in place.
Yes, that was it.
His eyes. She recognized them. On anyone else they might have looked vivid and captivating, but it was the way he used them. He had installed a permanent greedy sheen to his expressions, and this was greatly reflected in his eyes.
A very dark green that was almost black, narrowed out of habit, looked at her coldly, with the same hungry expression that she remembered only too well.
At the ball… that man whom she had danced with first…
Kagome found herself at a loss of words, wanting to run away, but her feet firmly planted in their spot.
"This is Mr. Hanaka," her father suddenly introduced. Kagome looked a few feet to the side of her. She hadn't even noticed her father's presence standing there.
Kagome stood, unmoving.
"A pleasure to meet you," she finally said.
"A charming girl, isn't she?" Itokawa complimented.
Just as Kagome's mother was about to say something, Kagome's brother, who had stayed home with his father the night before during the ball, came charging into the room, completely oblivious that a man was currently getting ready to propose to his older sister.
"Mom!" he shouted, his breath coming in gasps.
His mother regarded him sharply, giving him a look that clearly meant, not now, but the boy didn't seem to notice.
"What is it, Souta?" his father asked.
"There's a dead man outside our house," he gasped.
Shocked expressions flew up on everyone's face, and Kagome felt her legs go numb.
"Call for help," her father told her mother, when he could speak. Kagome's mother nodded and rushed for the phone, eager to know what to do. Kagome followed her father outside of the house.
As soon as the door opened, a metallic rush of bloody aroma stung at Kagome's face, making her nauseous.
Then she actually got a good look at the body lying a few feet away.
Although blood ran freely across the torso, she recognized the man.
The silver hair, opened amber eyes, and furry ears confirmed her knowledge.
Kagome felt her knees turn to water as she fell onto the ground, passing out.
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