[New story! I am on a roll today! Hope you enjoy!]
Honorifics used: -chan (females or young children of equal or lesser status), -kun (males of equal or lesser status), -san (mister of miss, or someone of equal or lesser status), -sama (someone of higher status)
It was boring. The first thing Kagome noticed about the palace of the Inu no Taisho was the utter drabness of it. As she was led through the corridors, going to face her future, no color caught her eye, nothing fun to experience. The eight year old girl felt a strong sense of dread settled over her. How would she survive here? Her body guards, tall yokai with their faces covered, seemed unapproachable, so the girl held her tongue. Instead, she held her head high, moving through the corridors with a mask of calm over her features. She'd never been good at the 'mask' of the higher class, but now more than ever it seemed important. The day she met her betrothed, the day she met her future.
The door came into view, tall and imposing. As it was pushed open, her eyes moved about the Great Room. There were few there, with the exception of the royal family, and a select few of the court. She walked down the length of the room, her heart in her throat.
Reaching the royal family, she bowed first to the Inu no Taisho, then to his Lady, and lastly to their sons. Her betrothed and his younger sibling. When she straitened, the lord and lady looked down at her warmly. Their sons were proper, and as were they, but they had a joy in their eyes that Kagome couldn't place.
She thought she saw the Ino no Taisho wink at her, but she couldn't be sure.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the court," began the Western Lord, "behold Lady Kagome, daughter of the Higurashi clan, and future Western Lady!"
She turned to face the waiting court members, looking quite brave for an eight-year-old. She bit her lip inconspicuously, feeling her eyes brim with tears. Her fate was sealed. She was no longer Kagome Higurashi, nobleman's daughter, but Kagome of the House of Moon, future Western Lady.
I never wanted this. But I have to go through with it. For my father.
As the ceremony finished, she was escorted by two guards to her new quarters. Her heart plummeted when she saw it. It was plain and simple, just like the rest of the castle. No toys filled the spaces, no colorful paint adorned the walls. Her room may as well have been a guest room. The only furniture inside were a small desk and a bed so large that Kagome would look like a doll if she lied in it.
"Thank you," she murmured to the guards, who took up positions outside the door.
She slid open the door to the balcony, stepping outside. She sat down on the cushion placed near a small table. The starry night (she had arrived in the evening) was beautiful, and she marveled at it. She also felt a sharp sadness in her chest, realizing that her family's village wasn't visible. She knew that she was to give up her previous life, but she wished, more than anything, that she could go home.
Rising from her seat, she went inside. She removed the many layers of kimonos, until only her undergarments remained. Then, doing what any eight-year-old would do in her situation, she got into the giant bed and cried. Stifling her sobs in the pillows, she cried herself to sleep, her sobs, reaching no ears but her own, signifying her loss, but also her acceptance. Her old life was over. Tomorrow was the start of a new one.
She woke to someone's voice.
"Lady Kagome. It is time to get up my lady."
Her eyes opened to see a girl, fourteen at most, standing over her in simple servants' clothes.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I am Sango, my lady. I will be your hand maiden, so long as you want me."
Kagome nodded and climbed out of the bed. Sango started picking up the layers of clothing, tutting disapprovingly a she folded them and placed them in a basket in the corner of the room.
"I'll wash them later," she explained.
She dressed Kagome carefully, layering her kimono's expertly, then putting her hair up carefully and putting on a thin layer of makeup.
She held up a mirror, and Kagome gasped.
"Thank you so much Sango-chan! I look like a princess."
"You are a princess my lady."
"Please call me Kagome!"
"Very well, Kagome-Sama."
Better. But still not what I was going for.
"What am I to do today, Sango-chan?"
"Firstly, you will be attending breakfast with the royal family. Secondly, you are to meet the young lord formally, out in the gardens. Thirdly, you will have lessons with yours truly. Then you will have the rest of the day to yourself."
The little girl nodded, "Thank you Sango-chan. When is breakfast?"
"Right about now. Your guard will escort you."
"My guard?"
"You have one personal guard who will stay by you constantly. He should be here in a moment."
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.
"Permission to enter, my lady?"
"Granted," the child called.
The door opened, and in walked a boy of about fifteen. He had dark hair and indigo eyes, and his ears had multiple piercings.
"Kagome-sama, my name is Miroku, and I will be your guard," he said as he bowed to her.
"Hello Miroku-kun!"
He smiled, "Are you ready to go Kagome-sama?"
She nodded and stood from where she had been seated on the edge of the bed.
"Goodbye Sango-chan!"
"Goodbye Kagome-sama."
The child waited as Miroku closed the door.
"This way Kagome-sama."
"Ok. I'm starving!"
When she reached the dining room, which was only for the family, therefor quite informal, she bowed to the royal family and took her place at Sesshomaru's right hand, with his half-brother on her other side.
Once she was safely seated, Miroku took up a place outside, and she waited in polite silence for the food to be served.
"So, Kagome-san. How are you settling in?" the Western Lady asked.
"Ah. Quite well, thank you Izayoi-sama," the young girl responded, grinning across the table at the older woman.
"Your hair is quite beautiful," Izayoi commented.
"Thank you, my lady. Sango-chan did it for me!"
"Your hand maiden?"
"Mmhm. She is very nice to me."
"That is very good to hear," Izayoi said, her smile motherly.
The girl opened her mouth to say more, but stopped as the food was carried in.
It smells amazing!
[What do you think? Please let me know!]