An indignant silence rose from the nobles before they snapped, a clamor of angry voices spilling to crash against the dais upon which the taiyoukai stood. He merely watched them, as unfazed as ever while Kagome tried to keep herself from blushing in embarrassment and anger. She kept waiting for Sesshoumaru to silence the crowd, and she wasn't waiting long. After letting his nobles vent their opinions he raised a hand, inwardly smirking as their voices were cut off immediately.
"You seem to disagree with my choice in a mate," he began. It took all of Kagome's discipline to keep from snorting in amusement. She never knew that the inuyoukai had such a talent in understatements. "However, you have no control over who I chose. I am lord here, not you." Sesshoumaru's voice dropped, taking on a icy tone. "You seem to forget that, and it is my duty to remind it off you."
Nobody in the main hall moved, frozen by the implicit threat in their lord's voice. It wasn't until one brave soul stepped forward that the nobles remembered how to breath. The figure, a slight male dressed in flowing robes of oranges and red that complimented his deep purple hair. "My lord, please, excuse our behavior. We were...shocked at your choice. You have always sported less than favorable opinions regarding humans."
Kagome stepped closer to Sesshoumaru, wordlessly reminding him that they had planned for some opposition. To her relief, he stayed calm, his aura reaching out to wrap around her in a comforting embrace. He gazed down at the speaker, golden eyes a little warmer than last time. "You speak truth, but the situation has changed. Kagome is a powerful warrior, and she will prove to be an asset to the Western Lands." He lifted a lip slightly, the light in the room glinting off his pearly canine in a subtle warning. "This is not up for discussion."
Another noble stepped forward, perhaps emboldened by the fact that the last noble to speak up hadn't been beheaded for his insolence. "My lord, we must object. The laws state that any person chosen as the mate of the ruler of our lands must first pass tests to test to prove his or her worth. That doesn't take into account the meeting before the other lords and their mates, that must take place in order to receive their blessings. We can hardly overlook such a blatant disregard of tradition."
Sesshoumaru's vision was filled with hazy red, and it was only Kagome's calming presence behind him that kept him from destroying the annoying pest of a courtier in front of him with his whip. Just as he was about to growl out a reply to the smug ferret youkai, his miko stepped forward, resting a hand briefly on his tail before facing the crowd of youkai.
"You all make judgement far too quickly. Sesshoumaru is the lord of these lands, and he would no more forget what he owes it than you would try and think for yourselves." Her gaze swept across the furious nobles, grinning inwardly. Her eyes coming back to settle on the two speakers, she allowed her expression to harden, her voice taking on the same icy tone that Sesshoumaru had sported earlier. "He is also your lord, which means you do not try to order him about. You are lucky he didn't kill you outright at that." Taking a step forward, Kagome flared her miko powers around her, watching as the youkai closest to her squeaked in surprise and leaped back out of the way of her purifying powers. "I, too, will not forget what I owe to these lands. I will take these test to prove myself, and I promise you that I will succeed. I will meet with the other lords and their mates, and I will prove to them also that I deserve their blessings." Her gaze was as fiery as her aura as she swore her deeds to the court. "And I promise you, that one day I will stand here, not as a possible mate, but as the Lady of the Western Lands, mate to Sesshoumaru, Ruler and Lord of the Western Lands, weilder of Tenseiga and Toukijin, the most powerful taiyoukai known. This I swear on my life and my honor, that I will succeed or die trying." And so saying, Kagome, miko protector of the Shikon Jewel left, leaving in her trail a group of disbelieving and awe struck courtiers and one very smug inuyoukai.
I do apologize for the shortness of the chapter, but it felt like a good place to stop, I think the next couple of chapters are going to start getting longer, especially since I've set up the foundations, Anyways, as always, reviews and comments are most welcome. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
