Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Takahashi-san.
Warnings: Clean
Summary: Kagome wakes in the middle of the night because of a dream.
Completed: January 7, 2010
Sleep
by: Kagome-reincarnation
Kagome woke with a start, eyes wide as she stared at the carved wooden ceiling of her four poster bed. Slowly sitting up, she took comfort in the familiarity of her enormous room, easily ignoring the dark. She was used to the darkness – it wasn't the first time she'd woken in the middle of the night in such a manner, after all.
With a sigh, she carefully pushed the sheer and thin red curtains in opposite directions to make an opening for herself. Careful so as to not touch the freezing cold stone floor with her bare feet, she stepped into her slippers. She took her robe from the chair that accompanied the small desk beside her bed, wrapping it around her before tying it securely in the front. She moved to her balcony, glad that she'd remembered to oil the hinges to prevent any squeaking.
She didn't light any candles for fear some servant or the other would come to titter away at her elbow and request that she return to her bed. They were good at that, but Kagome didn't begrudge them for it. As a princess, she was well aware that her station was far above theirs – and missteps and she could easily have them evicted from the castle. Certainly, her father wouldn't stop her. Kagome never did anything so drastic unless she had good reason, and she knew that the servants simply had to get used to her.
Of course, after sixteen years, the excuse sounded tired and opaque, even to her. No matter how she lied to herself, she couldn't believe what she tried to trick her mind into thinking.
Those dreams… Kagome sighed, padding to a pitcher of water and a cup that had been placed next to a bowl on a tray, making use of it. It was for her morning wash, but she could already see the barest hints of sunlight carefully brushing against the stone walls of the enormous castle that she resided in. As she watched the rising sunset, she thought about her dream.
It had been the same as the others. He had been in it again. Ever since her fifteenth birthday, she'd begun to dream about the same man repeatedly. Some nights he was fighting. On others, he was feasting. But night after night, without fail, Kagome would see him. Silver hair and golden eyes – he was not unattractive. If anything, Kagome felt that he was most certainly very attractive… Not that she'd ever admit it to him if he turned up.
Even as she considered the possibility that he could be real, she laughed at herself. She'd often wished that he did, in fact, exist, only to be disappointed each morning when she woke to the same curtains that so easily concealed her private resting area from the rest of her room.
Kagome sighed as she thought about the dream she'd had this time.
He'd been speaking with her in this one – a rarity. He'd introduced himself, and she had followed suit. Inuyasha had been surprised, but he'd smiled warmly at her, inviting her to dance. They spoke as they danced, and she learned that he was as brash as he was in her dreams, and his language was just as course. She learned that he was a knight – and had been for the past several years. She learned that he had an older brother he didn't get along with, and that his father had remarried after the death of his first wife, begetting his second with Inuyasha, much to the elder brother's displeasure.
Kagome couldn't help but wonder if her dreams were a curse from some demon or the other that wanted to drive her mad by making her so curious about him. She was decidedly eager to learn more about the mystery man whose dreams that she unwillingly – and unwittingly – invaded night after night.
The sun fully risen, she yawned. Without hesitation, she returned to her room, knowing that her maids would soon be entering to rouse and dress her. Despite the fact that she understood that she was supposed to be acting appropriately as any princess should, Kagome didn't bother. She rather disliked the feeling of being helpless and incapable… And she certainly fell into neither category. And thus, she raided her closet, coming up with one of her favorite dresses. Though she usually preserved it for special occasions, she had a good feeling about the day.
Without a moment's delay – and before those servants could come in to stop her – she stripped out of her robe and nightclothes before slipping into the solid dark green silk. She preferred to keep her silks for spring and fall, but summer wasn't too bad for silk… Though she had to admit she preferred cotton in the hot season. Winter, however, called for heavy mink coats and blankets that were piled high. And hot bricks. Lots and lots of hot bricks. She didn't like the cold very much.
She checked her appearance in the mirror, and, noting that she still looked a bit off, took up a necklace that her mother had given her before her untimely death. It was a bauble – a small pink jewel, really. All the same, Kagome remembered that she'd loved the purity of the color as a child and her mother had often had to get the chain repaired because of Kagome's clumsy endeavors to reach for it as her mother wore it. She placed the necklace around her neck, carefully locking it in place with the gentle tips of her fingers to keep from dropping it on accident.
Pleased with the effect – the dark green and the bright pink contrasted and the bauble seemed to glow – she pulled a pair of shoes from her closet – simple black slip-ons that were amazingly soft on the inside – and swapped them with her slippers.
Feeling more capable of taking on the day, she stretched in the most unladylike fashion – she was sure to be scolded if anyone had seen – and headed for the door.
It felt like today would be a good one.