Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha (My motto's keep it simple)
If I Could Fly
Prologue-First Night Home
By Kitsune Dusk Blade
The young woman pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head, hiding against the wind. Soon she would be at the castle, and then she wouldn't have to worry so much about this weather. She glanced down at the bundle of clothe in her arms--a small child...
She heard the hailing of a familiar voice, and looked up. The castle was just ahead, and one of the guards was asking her name. She lifted her face and called back.
"Great Kami!" the guard cried after staring at her face. "It's the Lady Mina! Lady! You shouldn't be out in this!"
Another guard came out to assist her in, practically ignoring the baby she had hidden under her cloak, but then, perhaps he couldn't see the concealed child.
"Lady!" her handmaiden cried when she saw her. "You have been gone for over a year! We were worried about you! Your father was beginning to loose hope!"
The lady smiled wryly. If only they knew...they wouldn't accept her back so warmly, she thought.
She was led into a room where the objects she once associated with home were still kept. Her father was sitting by a table and waiting for her. He smiled to her.
"Mina." he said slowly, quietly, "Pray, tell your father where you have been."
She could hear the concern in his voice, and smiled. He would be angry if he knew...but she had to tell him, at least some. "Father, I fell in love with a lord." she said quietly. "I left to live with him. And I returned. That is all."
Her father sat still for a moment. "Pray, my daughter, tell me why you returned."
"He is at war. He does not want me involved, so he sent me home to stay with you until the danger passed."
"Pray, my daughter, tell me where his castle is."
"In the East."
"Pray, my daughter, tell me-"
He was cut off by a muffled sound from beneath the lady's cloak. She looked down, concerned, and brushed the head of the child, but her father could not see. Neither could anyone else, and quite a crowd had gathered in the room.
"Wh-what?" one of the maids asked, the first to find her voice. Mina closed her eyes, drawing on all the inner strength she had gathered over the last months, and then gazed down at the child in her arms lovingly, before pulling the clothe all the way back, exposing the youth to the prejudiced witnesses around her.
As one they gasped, catching sight of the child. A beautiful baby boy, with a tuft of silver hair on his head and small, triangular patches of short fur as his ears, atop his head. He yawned and blinked open his golden eyes, exposing delicate fangs and, grasping the lady's hand, miniature claws. He laughed.
A youkai.
"Oh my!" someone cried in shock.
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"It's hideous!"
"Disgusting!"
The baby, not understanding, looked around, his smile gone, curiosity taking its place. The lady winced at every insult, holding the child that much closer with every word uttered. Her father held up his hand for silence, a stern expression on his face, but he waited for an explanation.
"I..." Mina tried to begin, but couldn't. Silence reigned in the absence of words. "My baby..." she started again after a pause, "...Inuyasha."
A/N: Mwahahahaha! (Most of my friends run when I do that...wonder why?) What a way to start such a heartrending story! Take that! And don't forget to review!
If I Could Fly
Prologue-First Night Home
By Kitsune Dusk Blade
The young woman pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head, hiding against the wind. Soon she would be at the castle, and then she wouldn't have to worry so much about this weather. She glanced down at the bundle of clothe in her arms--a small child...
She heard the hailing of a familiar voice, and looked up. The castle was just ahead, and one of the guards was asking her name. She lifted her face and called back.
"Great Kami!" the guard cried after staring at her face. "It's the Lady Mina! Lady! You shouldn't be out in this!"
Another guard came out to assist her in, practically ignoring the baby she had hidden under her cloak, but then, perhaps he couldn't see the concealed child.
"Lady!" her handmaiden cried when she saw her. "You have been gone for over a year! We were worried about you! Your father was beginning to loose hope!"
The lady smiled wryly. If only they knew...they wouldn't accept her back so warmly, she thought.
She was led into a room where the objects she once associated with home were still kept. Her father was sitting by a table and waiting for her. He smiled to her.
"Mina." he said slowly, quietly, "Pray, tell your father where you have been."
She could hear the concern in his voice, and smiled. He would be angry if he knew...but she had to tell him, at least some. "Father, I fell in love with a lord." she said quietly. "I left to live with him. And I returned. That is all."
Her father sat still for a moment. "Pray, my daughter, tell me why you returned."
"He is at war. He does not want me involved, so he sent me home to stay with you until the danger passed."
"Pray, my daughter, tell me where his castle is."
"In the East."
"Pray, my daughter, tell me-"
He was cut off by a muffled sound from beneath the lady's cloak. She looked down, concerned, and brushed the head of the child, but her father could not see. Neither could anyone else, and quite a crowd had gathered in the room.
"Wh-what?" one of the maids asked, the first to find her voice. Mina closed her eyes, drawing on all the inner strength she had gathered over the last months, and then gazed down at the child in her arms lovingly, before pulling the clothe all the way back, exposing the youth to the prejudiced witnesses around her.
As one they gasped, catching sight of the child. A beautiful baby boy, with a tuft of silver hair on his head and small, triangular patches of short fur as his ears, atop his head. He yawned and blinked open his golden eyes, exposing delicate fangs and, grasping the lady's hand, miniature claws. He laughed.
A youkai.
"Oh my!" someone cried in shock.
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"It's hideous!"
"Disgusting!"
The baby, not understanding, looked around, his smile gone, curiosity taking its place. The lady winced at every insult, holding the child that much closer with every word uttered. Her father held up his hand for silence, a stern expression on his face, but he waited for an explanation.
"I..." Mina tried to begin, but couldn't. Silence reigned in the absence of words. "My baby..." she started again after a pause, "...Inuyasha."
A/N: Mwahahahaha! (Most of my friends run when I do that...wonder why?) What a way to start such a heartrending story! Take that! And don't forget to review!