The castle was magnificent in its white washed elegance. The light from thousands of lanterns gave the building an incredible ambience, and it caused butterflies to become loose in the pit of Kagome's stomach. She couldn't help but crane her neck to view the architecture as she was escorted inside.
The rest of the building seemed blurred as she caught sight of the festivities. Painted women wearing embroidered silks of every color seemed to float across the polished floors, their coiffed hair at the height of fashion. Kagome knew this, even in her ignorance of the court, and couldn't help but be awed at the sight.
Suddenly, she was standing before a mighty dais within an outdoor courtyard. The stars shone brightly overhead and the weather was balmy and calm, setting the perfect stage for her happy ending.
"Presenting the lovely Princess Kikyou!" came a voice, echoing slightly across the room. A hush fell quickly over the crowd, and Kagome felt the color draining from her face. All of her insecurities about the night returned with a vengeance, constricting, suffocating her.
"Kikyou?" She whispered timidly. "I'm afraid I'm…actually…"
"It really is you…" came a voice from behind her. She whirled to see a well-dressed Inuyasha before her, with a rapt and tender expression across his handsome face. Kagome felt her heart constrict as she realized the love in his golden eyes was not meant for her.
With a horrifying jolt, she understood her father's uncharacteristic behavior from before. It was likely that Kikyou was in grave danger!
"Inuyasha!" She cried, rushing to him. "There's something I must-"
She was interrupted by Inuyasha's finger upon her lips.
"You don't have to apologize, Kikyou. It's not your fault," he said gently, taking her by the hand and ushering her forward so that the entire court got a clear view of his long lost princess.
"You don't understand-" she tried again, intimidated by the many eyes upon her. What had her father done? "Inuyasha-"
"This is my betrothed, Princess Kikyou!" Inuyasha shouted, grinning with triumph. "We all thought that she was lost to us many years ago, but the gods have seen fit to return her to me!" he lowered his voice. "And I don't plan on losing you ever again."
Kagome watched, frozen in panic as Inuyasha pledged his undying love to her, vowing the most unbreakable vows. Tears appeared and flowed torrentially down her cheeks, smearing the dark powder around her eyes.
Her heart felt as if it was being ripped from her chest when every ear could suddenly hear a dark chuckle.
"Foolish Prince," her father laughed, walking up to the raised platform on which they stood. He was swathed in silk and fur, even more so than the Emperor sitting behind Inuyasha on the throne. His eyes were glowing red with mirth.
"Are you so slow that you cannot recognize your own bride?" he sneered, sending a hot flash of energy at his own daughter. Inuyasha watched in horror as she let out a cry and crumpled to the floor in a spray of silk.
"Kikyou! NO!" He roared, diving to her side.
Kagome felt her heart crack, then crack again as she heard her father's laughter. Inuyasha hurriedly brushed the now tangled hair out of her face and took in her smudged and disheveled appearance.
"Kik…K-Kagome?" Inuyasha shouted, looking anguished and furious.
"Inuyasha…I-I tried to…" she forced out through the pain. It felt like she was lying on a bed of knives, and she couldn't seem to catch her breath enough to get words out.
"How could you? I thought you were my friend!" He cried out forcefully, releasing her onto the stone ground with a thud she could feel in her teeth, as well as within her heart as it cracked even more deeply than before.
"You're just as much a monster as he is!" he spat, running towards Naraku without a second glance.
Kagome's heart shattered then, into thousands of sharp pieces. She could almost feel physical pain in her chest as she watched the man she loved engage her father in battle.
Inuyasha snarled when Naraku abruptly disappeared, then whirled back in the direction of the daughter he had left behind. Red bled into his eyes; he was shaking with anger.
"Where is Kikyou!" he snarled, wrenching her up by the hair. "Tell me!"
Vaguely, in the background, she could hear his mother, the Empress, admonishing Inuyasha for his sudden violent behavior. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Emperor rise and make his way toward them.
"The…the lake," she told him, tears still falling freely down her cheeks. "Inuyasha, please-"
"I'll deal with you after," he growled, setting her loose. He drew his sword out of its scabbard and in a flash, was gone.
Kagome watched him leave, suddenly feeling hot and achy all over. She curled in on herself, sobbing brokenly before the entire court. Shame ate away at her and she hid her face, wishing she could disappear.
The pain from her father's attack wasn't fading, either. It seemed to be intensifying, growing hotter and more painful by the second. She realized then what her father's intention was. She knew too much and was too closely aligned with Kikyou and Inuyasha to be trusted. He was silencing her.
A pair of faces loomed over her suddenly, but Kagome couldn't make out any features. Someone was touching her, and it burned like fire. She screamed, or at least, she thought she did. Her vision was tunneling, and she thought that she felt her bones shifting jarringly within her body.
A high keening hurt her ears, and she clasped her hands to them, but the sound only seemed to intensify. She realized that she was indeed screaming. Her back arched unnaturally as she felt painful pinpricks covering every inch of her body.
Witnesses would later speak of how glossy black feathers exploded from the young woman on the floor, who slowly shrank and stretched until an obsidian swan stood before them.
The Emperor, who had been kneeling by the poor girl's side, seized his wife and jumped backwards as the swan's dark wings unfurled. Wobbly at first, the graceful bird took off towards the lake, flapping her wings almost frantically.