Trapped Starlight
Chapter 1: Middle Earth
Third Age 2137
It was with a start that Kagome finally woke; her eyes flashing to and fro as she lay in a shaking heap.
She blinked in a slow, drowsy fashion and her mind tried to comprehend the situation. Within moments the memories flooded in and she inwardly groaned.
'None of that could possibly have happened.' She tried to convince herself that there was no logical way, even as she took in the dead woods around her. It was so different from the vibrant green trees of the feudal era and the very feeling of the earth caused her to shiver lightly.
Almost as if sensing her discomfort, her son wiggled in her arms and despite his unconscious state, his hand reached up to touch her face comfortingly.
A quiet chuckle was the first thing that alerted her to the presence of another; the hand that grabbed her shoulder shortly after was an added clue. "You must be Kagome."
Kagome turned cautiously -in spite of his gentle voice- and was amazed. He was an old man with a staff. He had a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak, a silver scarf over which a white beard hung down below his waist, and immense black boots.
… And he sat beside her like it was the place he had taken his whole life.
Kagome's flabbergasted expression amused him deeply while she stuttered, clearly having been expecting someone… anyone else. "W-What?"
"Gandalf the Grey, milady." He acted as though he wasn't moments from laughing for the sake of politeness, taking her hand lightly in his own and releasing her shoulder. "The Lady Midoriko has asked that I help you." A puzzled look settled into the amusement, "Though she did not desire me to know what with."
"And it would do you well not to place your head where it does not belong, Wizard." The smooth baritone of Sesshomaru's voice sounded from behind her.
She was confused as she turned to face him. 'Where was he when I woke up?' He stood regally beside a tree, Rin at his side.
Gandalf chuckled and took a place beside her, reaching to help her to her feet. "No, I suppose I shouldn't." His voice was once more filled with mirth as he added, "I do not fancy having it leave the rest of my body."
"Lady Kagome!" Rin chirped, leaving Sesshomaru to wrap her arms around Kagome's legs in a fierce hug.
Kagome smiled down gently, reaching down with her free hand to ruffle her hair. "Rin, how are you feeling?"
Rin's face glowed, "Wonderful! I've never felt so wonderful!" Taking a step away from her friend and longtime mentor she did a graceful twirl.
With twinkling eyes, Kagome mirrored the movement, "Indeed! I feel as though my body is made of feathers." It was as though she had once weighed two tons and it had simply vanished overnight, leaving her movements graceful and light.
Shippo once again stirred in her arms, this time his green eyes opening to take in her face. A smile graced his own before his little hands wrapped around her neck happily.
Sesshomaru and Kagome shared a look –some part of Kagome's mind scoffing at how quickly she found herself trusting him- and understanding flashed across the eyes of both starers.
"Gandalf," She bowed to him lightly, allowing her son to sneak from her arms and say his hellos to Rin. "I would very much like for you to train me… in the ways of magic." Whether she chose to partake in the quest ahead or not, she wouldn't have the choice if she couldn't hold her own. She had to become stronger.
Gandalf's answering statement made her resolve strengthen. "A wise choice."
Third Age 2359
After that day, she and Gandalf had went off on their own. Shippo had left with Sesshomaru and Rin, presumably to find a place to call home.
For years she trained with Gandalf, roaming from place to place and making a name for herself. And wherever they went, rumors were quick to trail behind.
The Healer, they called her, for everywhere she went people became healthy. It was said that a moment in her presence could extend a human's life by ten years. Tales of her power and beauty poured throughout the lands to such an extent that she ranted and raved about her worst qualities –particularly harsh about her apparent beauty- for hours on end in an attempt to get Gandalf to see her side of things.
It was also upon hearing these arguments that Gandalf began his habit of hitting her in the back of the head and chirping, "Go to the river and stare into your reflection until you find something you like about yourself –Whether it be physical or mental. Today's a day of self-actualization!"
The first time it had happened –a mere 138 years into her life in Middle Earth- she had realized that not once in her long life as an elf had she seen her reflection. The thought and dread of doing so turned her into a stuttering mess and Gandalf had had to chase after her as she screamed "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"
Of course, being Gandalf, he had eventually got her scared enough to look in the river instead of risking his wrath.
And so, she had hesitantly looked into the water and finally taken in all the changes which had been made. The elven girl had taken in flawless ivory skin, blue-black hair tumbling to her waist in gentle waves, the rich dark blue of her eyes.
Gandalf had found her reaction amusing –especially when she had begun to feel around on her cheeks muttering about having a different bone structure- and asked if she still believed there wasn't a single good thing about her appearance.
She had blushed and retorted, "I suppose I look better than most 156 year olds do."
To which he'd responded, "You'll look the same when you're 3,000 my dear!"
It was three times that she went to Gandalf, desperately trying to get him to quell the rumors before she finally gave up.
From then on she'd taken to spreading rumors of her own around about 'The Healer' from under a dark hood.
To say Gandalf found this funny was an understatement, upon finding out, he'd fallen against a tree and laughed heartily for hours until his throat was too raw and his tears too painful to continue.
It was two hundred and twenty-two years after she'd been taken to middle earth that Sesshomaru had come upon them and requested that she learn swordsmanship from him.
Kagome would have been a fool to say no.
Third Age 2770
Kagome leaned back further against the tree, finding pleasure in the moment of peace. It was not often that she was allowed this and she knew soon they would begin another session.
She secretly wondered if Sesshomaru took her into the outside dojo so often because he liked to torture her. 'Sesshomaru does get his kicks from watching me suffer…'
Something plopped into her lap, causing her eyes to snap open and a hiss of surprise to escape her; blushing lightly when she noticed that it was just a messenger bird that had dropped its package.
'When was the last time I was truly at ease?' She pondered idly, reaching for the three scrolls on her lap. 'Sesshomaru… Kagome… Thranduil?'
She wondered about the name for a moment, remembering it from somewhere. Shrugging it off, she opened the scroll with her name on it, frowning as her eyes scanned over the words.
Her body froze up and her brow creased as she read it again, carefully. "...Sesshomaru."
The demon rose his head from the tree he was resting against. "Hn?"
Their eyes locked and her lips pressed into a thin line, "We travel to the human city, Dale."
A short nod was the answer she was given before he was there, in front of her, with the scroll clenched between clawed hands and his eyes scanning over the parchment. "We must be quick."
"The orb?" A hint of excitement could be heard entering her voice, despite the tough time that was upon them.
She ran to the medical station of the dojo and grabbed the largest pack she could find, squeaking when a hand wrapped around her waist just as she placed it on her back.
"Hn." He pulled her close and Kagome grabbed his shirt, "Hold on."
Kagome pushed a large tree branch out of the way, stretching it forward and aiming it toward Sesshomaru –who was walking behind her- in an attempt at revenge. "Why can't we just travel by orb?" A pout was in her voice once again as she struggled to stay on the damnable path. She let go of the branch when she was out of range and ran forward so the demon wouldn't get any ideas.
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, catching the branch easily and appeared at her side where they continued on the path, "The Elven King who rules over Mirkwood would become alarmed and attempt to strike us down." He answered patiently, despite that it was the tenth time he'd delivered this speech. "Travelling through this wood will not take long and it is better for us to go unnoticed by the elves." Sesshomaru was not the biggest fan of those creatures.
They always attacked him in blind rage.
Demons were an unwelcome addition to this world and the elves could sense his darkness and power- although none had yet to identify exactly what he was. So they lashed out.
This wouldn't present a problem had it not been for their light footfalls and aura's that blended with trees. He found it extremely difficult to track the movements of elves; therefore, no other species could irk him as they did.
Kagome's train of thought had fallen down the same path as his own and her mood had sufficiently darkened. The reminder of elves made her body feel light and chipper. Her heartbeat and the forest's pulsed together in sync and her body practically sang with merriment, for it believed that this was home.
'I hate elven cities.' Kagome tried to get over the discomforting joy, fearing that it would consume her mind in an euphoria. "Let them attack us!" She supplied, "You can take them down." The joy continuously grew the closer they came to the city that lied within Mirkwood.
Kagome desperately wanted the feeling to go away, "Why avoid them when we have nothing to fear?!"
Sesshomaru's eyes were exasperated as he cast her a glance; the irony of the situation not lost on either of them. Their roles had been reversed on this day. "We will remain on the ground." His voice was stern and caused her to immediate deflate. "We are almost through." He added more gently, knowing Kagome was one of the only people able to tell the difference in his voice.
He also knew of her reservations toward places of elven make. It always seemed as though whenever they strayed too near an elven city during their journeys, that Kagome would reflexively gravitate closer only to high tale it in the opposite direction.
"I worry that I will not be capable of going through Sesshomaru," Her voice was small and quiet and her words confirmed to Sesshomaru that the pull of the forest was strong indeed for her to have outwardly spoken of it. "We are closer to one of those places than I have ever been before." Her voice began to quake and her eyes latched onto his, "I feel I must stay my feet, for they are becoming too eager to lead me somewhere that is not Dale."
"Have patience." Was all he said, his hand reaching out to gently hold her smaller one. Having become more in tune with the woman over the years, he knew his silence and even this simple action would calm her.
Kagome pushed back her fears, touched that he was trying to comfort her in his own odd way.
And as if a shotgun had fired, the spiders appeared.
They were giant and ugly, swarming from the trees as if they'd been there all along; Kagome let out a shrill scream and looked to Sesshomaru, panicked, "L-Look at those things!"
The look of pleasure he sent her as he let go of her hand was not encouraging in the least, "Hn."
Kagome regained her fearless nature as one got too close and with a scowl, unknowingly identical to her teacher, her whip snapped to life with an energetic hum. Green and Pink flashed through the air, moving in perfect synchronization against their enemies.
The spiders were easy prey to the well-practiced whips as demon and elf danced around on the path, the later of the two occasionally taking out her sword to kill a spider that got close enough.
After only a minute, her whip had disappeared completely and she began to experiment with her sword.
Spiders began to pile up and it didn't take long for Sesshomaru to kill the last one; kicking a large leg away from his stainless white pant leg with cold eyes.
"I hate spiders." Kagome's face was equally unsympathetic while she attempted to clean her sword in the grass, her lip curling slightly and eyebrows furrowing, "Where on earth did these things come from?"
"They smelled our blood and came to take a bite." Sesshomaru remarked, his voice almost mocking as they began down the path once more, "I had assumed you'd taken notice of them." The fact that she hadn't pressed down on both of them and they walked in silence for several moments.
Sesshomaru's eyes strayed to his student as he pondered the situation. Kagome's senses were sharper than his own when things of dark aura –as well as elves- were involved, and the aura of the spiders were dark with evil indeed.
The forest was weighing down on her senses more heavily than expected.
"Have you ever seen anything like them?" Kagome asked suddenly, her voice rushed in a thinly veiled attempt to distract his mind.
"Hn."
Kagome's lips twitched idly, 'Translation: No and this worries me. I haven't an idea what could be lurking in Mirkwood.'
Six hundred years together caused her to become more in tune with his language –although he was thankfully learning to speak hers as well. There was a time when all he would say was 'Yes' 'No' and 'Hn'.
A faint twitch against her senses made her stop, her eyes darting to the right, "Elves." She whispered and her face turned back to Sesshomaru. "We are nearing their city. I sense ten are coming our way, fast." She added under her breath, this time her hand seeking out his.
Sesshomaru tugged her onward, "From this point forward, we will move on swift feet." He answered, rushing forward and their conjoined hands forcing her along.
They were so very close to the exit of the forest, the last thing either of them needed was to run into a group of elves.
They ran in silence for a few minutes, their speed enough to cover the distance in a fraction of the time it would have taken any normal elf to make it through the forest.
Kagome was now thankful that she had been trained to keep up with an extremely fast daiyokai.
She sensed the elves had come upon the spot where the spiders had been killed, stopping there to examine the massacre. 'Let us hope they were not friends.' Kagome thought idly, now out of the forest and feeling her strong will return from where it had previously taken vacation to bask in the feeling of Mirkwood.
Now that it was back, she had no wish to confront the elves.
As they stopped outside the dreary forest, Kagome let out a long breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. The elves were retreating back to their home. "They've lost us." Her hand slipped out from Sesshomaru's, clenching into a fist at her side.
She knew what was to happen next.
Sesshomaru reached out and lightly shook her shoulder, "This is where we part ways."
"If you do not show up before the sun rises, I will return for you."
"Hn."
It was an unspoken order to do just the opposite of that, but Kagome was not one to follow orders.
"Whoever was in the forest is there no more." The king's heir, Legolas reported. "We found an entire nest of spiders killed; look at this."
Thranduil took the object his son was holding and examined it disinterestedly, "A spider's leg." He stated dryly.
"The cut is what is strange." His son clarified, his long blond hair shimmering as he leaned forward and rested his face near the cut off leg, "If you look closely, you'll see that something is causing it to erode."
Thranduil found this information curious and took a closer look. Now that he knew what he was supposed to be looking for, he saw it effortlessly.
Some kind of acid was eating away at the hair and exoskeleton, so slowly that some might mistake it for a trick of the light.
"Have you ever seen anything the like of it?" Legolas asked, looking up to meet his father's gaze and unknowingly repeating the words of another curious elf.
"No." The words troubled Thranduil, for there were few things he hadn't seen in his time, "But it is interesting."
"The city, Dale." Kagome's eyes were sad while she took in the carnage. The city that had once been both beautiful and peaceful was now a place of ruin and death. "The dragon was very cruel to this place."
She was quick to move through what had once been the entrance, her eyes taking in pictures of indescribable horror. She healed those whom she could as she moved throughout what had once been streets, dodging debris and dragon fire as she went.
She was thankful that not many had taken notice of her as of yet, while the ones that did simply found her odd –despite her ears being hidden- and left it at that. People were scattered throughout the once city, taking refuge on the ground or half buried in the place that they had once called home. Getting some of them out of the wreckage had been harder than she'd suspected, but Kagome was not one to give up easily.
And so she wandered about, looking desperately for a hospital where she was sure there would be even more victims. Hours passed and as she healed, the dread brewed in her stomach with each moment before finally she asked an injured man about it.
He gave her the strangest look through his tired pain and replied back, "The dragon has destroyed it, as he has destroyed everything." The unspoken question, why, was so brutally clear that Kagome felt it would be rude for her not to answer it.
"I'm a healer." She looked down at his leg, which had bled through the entire leg of his ripped pants and was still flowing freely onto the street.
The man's eyes became wide with a mixture of relief and tears, "…" Every healer in Dale had been killed when the hospital had fallen. The uninjured were doing their best to tend to the wounded, but they didn't know what they were doing. That was how he had been injured.
Kagome was quick to take the extremely large pack from her back and lay it down beside them, rummaging through quickly all the while eyeing his leg. Her hands deftly pulled out a dark shirt and handed it to him, ignoring his confused look.
She was hurried yet careful as she began to roll up his pant leg, not wanting to cut it of in fear of the night's cold. She hushed his cries and gently reassured him that everything would be okay.
When it was rolled up just past his knee, she got a look at his wound.
His calf was heavily bleeding and Kagome winced when she noticed that his bone was visible in some areas.
"Tripped down some stairs and fell on my sword." He hissed out painfully, catching her almost confused expression. "Can you do anything?" He added weakly.
Kagome ignored his question, "Stuff that shirt in your mouth, this is going to hurt."
He gave a short nod and his head rolled back to lean against the rubble behind him, following her order.
Kagome's hand glowed and she quickly pressed it against his leg, ignoring the thrash his leg and the tears that poured down his cheeks. His pain instantly numbed before fading away to a more fuzzy, tingling feeling as her power flowed into him. Skin returned and his blood almost seemed to backtrack to go back inside his veins. A feeling of unbridled ecstasy sank into the very marrow of his bones, chasing out the tiredness.
And then it was over.
He gazed at her with wonder and the shirt fell away. "How did you do that? Are you… a witch?"
Kagome shook her head and lightly laughed, "No." Her hand tucked her hair behind her ear, showing her elven heritage. "I am an Elven Healer." Her eyes twinkled with amusement when a look of awe came upon his face, "And I beg you, good sir, to spread the word that I am here." Her hand reached out and touched his cheek, "I know your aura now. I ask that you find all those that are injured but can be moved and bring them here. Find all those who cannot and think of the saddest, most painful things you can imagine." Standing up, she grasped his and pulled him to stand before her. "Be swift, friend, some here do not have much time left."
He needed no more incentive, running down the street and whispering to all uninjured, "There is a healer of great power here to help us. Spread word."
Meanwhile, Kagome continued down the street in the opposite direction, healing all whom she came upon.
Sesshomaru knew from the moment he approached the gate that things would go wrong.
The guards looked at him with fierce, angry eyes and raised hackles, but willed him to speak before his death.
"I request a meeting with your king." Sesshomaru's words were quiet, but held enough authority that they glanced between themselves. "I come with word from Gandalf the Grey."
Both guards were cautious, but seemed to believe that possible news from Gandalf was more important than their own grudges.
Smart elves.
One of the guards opened the door and slipped through to inform the King and receive an order, while the other watched him speculatively.
It was not long before the other guard came back and motioned for them to come inside, the entrance closing behind them.
Sesshomaru walked on with the guards for several minutes in silence before they were approached by two elves in a grand hall.
The crown of red leaves and berries situated over white blond hair told true the identity of their king. The blond elf standing at his side was young and strong, his eyes heated with an unknown agenda.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed and he stopped several meters from the elven king, ignoring the guard's vicious promptings to bow before him.
King Thranduil's cold eyes swept over his own and the two locked.
"Why would Gandalf send one of darkness here, to a place of light?" The king mused, walking around Sesshomaru, as if examining him. "Or further, how does Gandalf keep a pet as brutal as your kind?"
Sesshomaru inwardly rolled his eyes, 'Elves.'
Truly such annoying creatures.
"Hn." He spoke offhandedly, almost instantly berating himself, but even more annoyed when the elf didn't pick up on what he was putting down. 'I have grown too used to the company of the miko.'
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed even more, "I am not here for idle chit-chat, King of Mirkwood. I come on the request of Gandalf the Grey to ask that you help restore the city, Dale." He took the only unopened scroll and handed it to the king, who looked most reluctant to take it. "And to give you this."
The king did not seem to care for his words and did not spare a glance at the scroll, instead he walked over to a conveniently placed table and picked up a large black spider leg, "I suppose it was you that did this?"
"Hn."
King Thranduil rightfully took that as a yes, "What kind of poison is laced on your sword?" He handed the leg to Legolas and opened the scroll, his eyes running over it quickly as he awaited an answer.
Unknown to the elves, his questions were beginning to remind Sesshomaru, for the umpteenth time, why he found elves -no perhaps people in general so annoying. "Hn, I need not explain myself to the likes of you." His lip faintly curled, "I have come only to grant Gandalf's requests. Now that you have his message, I shall take my leave."
"The trees spoke of two." Legolas's voice piped up from behind him, although Sesshomaru took no heed of it and kept walking. "Where is your companion?"
"This Sesshomaru's ward is already inside Dale." He replied, recalling that there were certain things Gandalf had requested he do if the confrontation led to it, "She is a healer and seeks to help the wounded."
King Thranduil's eyes looked up from the scroll impassively, "Guards, take him to a cell."
The two elves grabbed his arms roughly and Sesshomaru fought off a sigh, forcing himself to comply with the last part of Gandalf's letter.
"Do not harm the elves." Even if it was at a personal cost to himself, he was not to fight the elves. More importantly, he knew Gandalf's alternative motive for this request.
'Gandalf, this one does not give second chances.'
i luv niki4444
I'M FINALLY DONE! X"DDD I rewrote this chapter so many times o_O
Wow that was such a huge response! :O I did not expect so many people to like it! THANK YOU FELLOW LOVERS OF LORD OF THE RINGS! I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS ONE AS TOO! I WORKED SUPER HARD ON IT!
xD So, clearly, I hope you like it. :"D I'll update soon!
-Niki
