A/N: I still do not own Inuyasha or The Holy Pearl. I'm just a fangirl who was dissatisfied with The Holy Pearl's sad ending and, finding no fanfiction to fix it, decided to write one herself.
New Characters:
Dragonstone - Inuyasha/Holy Pearl
Muriel - N.A./Teng Qing
Niamh (pronounced "neev") - Kaede/Mo Yin
Prince Rhydian ("rid-ee-en") - Bankotsu/Wei Liao
Ailbhe ("alva") - Kikyo/Xian Yue
King Roald - N.A./Rong Di
Chapter 2: The Kingdom of Albion
When Kit came to, she was lying on a cold dirt floor. Ugh, what happened? she wondered. Oh yeah, I fell down that stupid hole. But what was with that weird wind all of a sudden? Kit sat up and looked around her, blinking in surprise. She thought she had fallen into a dark cave of some sort, but instead she found herself in what appeared to be an underground shrine. The entire room was lit up with candles, and there was a large tapestry on the wall in front of her. She stood, dusting off her jeans, and walked towards the painting, forgetting for a moment that she needed to find her father.
How beautiful! The tapestry depicted an epic battle. On one side, a woman riding a unicorn fired arrows into a sea of monsters. Next to her, a black dragon shot flames into the oncoming hoard. The attacking creatures were horrifying to look at. Scales, claws, and fangs were common features, but the variety of evil beings was astounding. Kit was in awe. The detail of the embroidery was unlike anything she had ever seen; the creatures were almost alive. Dad, you're going to love this!
Kit, suddenly remembering where she was, looked at the ceiling in search of the hole she had fallen through. But the roof over her head was smooth and untouched. Then where did I fall in? It has to be around here somewhere!
She pulled out her cell phone to call her dad, but her phone showed that there was no service. Of course not. I am underground, after all. I've got to find a way out. Then I can call for help. Kit looked around and saw that there were two doorways out of the room: one to her right, and one behind her. Picking the archway to her right, she left the room with the tapestry and began searching for the exit.
The next room was strange: someone appeared to have lived there, though now everything was covered in dust. A small cot was neatly made against the wall, and there was a small dressing table across from it, also coated in a layer of dust and spider webs. Kit examined the dressing table and found several objects resting on top, including an ivory comb that was probably an antique. Dad would know for sure. I have to find him. She moved on to the next room and had just started to look around when she let out a terrified scream, darting behind the nearest statue.
There, sitting on a platform in the middle of the room, was a man. Not easily startled, Kit wouldn't have cried out except for the long black horns spiraling out from under his silver-white hair. She peeked out from behind the statue. The man had not moved. He sat with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He didn't seem to have heard her scream, or noticed her presence at all for that matter.
Is he dead? Kit wondered. No, he's definitely breathing. But why didn't he react when I screamed? And what's with those strange clothes? The man was wearing a leather jerkin over a linen shirt that was stained at the cuffs with dirt. His boots were worn-in and were covered in mud and grime. He looked like he had just gotten back from the medieval fair.
This must be a prank, Kit decided, stepping out from behind the statue. He's probably one of those living statue entertainers that people hire to scare their friends. I saw one at the park once. But who could have hired him? And why the horns?
"Hey, you," Kit addressed the young man. He didn't seem to hear her, so she bravely stepped closer. "Look, I know you're not a statue. I can see you breathing. Who hired you? Was it Cara?" The man still didn't respond. "Hello? You can drop the act now." Silence.
"Fine, you don't have to tell me who hired you. Just tell me how to get out of here." Still no response. Kit noticed that the room he was in was a dead end. She could have just left him sitting there and gone to try the other door in the first room, but now she was annoyed. She was tired and sore from her fall, and she was sick of this guy ignoring her.
"HEY!" She yelled, reaching out to poke him in the shoulder. But before she reached him, she noticed that what she had thought were mud stains were actually splatters of blood. She jerked back with a yelp. "Okay, this isn't funny anymore. I'm getting out of here!"
Kit angrily ran back to the room with the tapestry. Not bothering to stop again, she continued through the other doorway. She found herself at the bottom of a flight of stairs that let to a hatch in the ceiling. Without a second glance, she ran up the stairs and flung open the wooden doors. Blinking at the sudden sunlight, she crawled out of the underground shrine.
What? Kit found herself in the middle of a stone circle. The monoliths were arranged just like the ones her dad had been excavating. Except this stone circle was completely uncovered and surrounded by a grassy clearing. What's going on? Where am I? Have I gone back in time? Kit had meant that last question as a joke, but the more she thought about her situation, the more she realized that it was the mostly likely option at the moment. Please let there be another explanation, she prayed as she began to walk away.
"HALT!" Kit turned to see a small group of soldiers in chainmail flooding into the clearing. She stepped back in surprise.
"Who are you?" The leader barked at her. "How dare you trespass on sacred grounds?" Oh great. LARPers. "ARREST HER!"
"Wait, what?" Kit didn't have time to react before two of the armed men had grabbed her roughly by the forearms and started walking her out of the clearing. "Hang on a minute! Let go of me!" Kit struggled to break free, but that only made the leader glare at her and place a hand on the sword by his waist. She quickly decided that it would be safer if she just cooperated, and allowed the men to lead her away.
Muriel, a sorceress in training, ran frantically through the castle grounds, not bothering to apologize to the people she nearly knocked over. She had something to tell her teacher, and she needed to get there as fast as she could. She nearly tripped over her dress as she climbed to long staircase that led to her teacher's rooms at the tower. Reaching the top of the stairs, she paused for a moment to compose herself before lightly knocking on the door and letting herself in.
"Teacher, I'm sorry to interrupt your studies, but a female was caught trespassing on sacred grounds. Prince Rhydian asks what should be done with her."
Muriel's teacher, Niamh, looked up from the spell book she was reading. "Why are you asking me this? Just punish her according to the what the law states."
Muriel wrung her hands, unsure how to tell Niamh the truth of why she had come. It's her sister; she has a right to know. "Teacher." Niamh looked up again, annoyed.
"The trespasser, it's… it's Ailbhe."
Niamh froze, her expression of annoyance immediately replaced by one of confusion, though Muriel could have sworn that, for a second, she saw terror in her eyes.
"That's not possible…"
Kit was no longer cooperating. Her hands were tied behind her back and she was beginning to think she might be in danger. After being led through the forest to a castle, she had been brought into a courtyard filled with knights, armed to the teeth and not very friendly-looking. She was sick and tired of whatever was going on and she wanted someone to listen to her and answer her questions, darn it.
"Let me go!" She snapped as one of the guards shoved her a little too roughly, knocking her to her knees on a platform in the middle of the courtyard. "Who's in charge here? I need to talk to them! Don't you know kidnapping is illegal? Let me go! My father is going to sue you!"
"Silence!" The guard next to her ordered. He turned to address a man sitting at the head of the courtyard. "Your highness, this female was found trespassing on sacred grounds. What are your orders?"
The man looked at him, his expression clearly showing his boredom. "Throw her in prison, according to the law of the land."
"What land?" Kit nearly screamed. "Where am I?"
He looked at her, suddenly interested. "Camelot. Capital of Albion. How is it that you do not know this?"
"Camelot? Are you kidding?" Kit whispered, shocked. "I really went back in time?" She suddenly realized the very real danger she was in. "Let me go, please! I have to go back; I don't belong here!" Her protests were interrupted by a herald announcing someone's arrival.
"Make way for the sorceress!"
Niamh, followed closely by Muriel, marched gracefully into the courtyard, the crowd scrambling to get out of her way. She approached the platform, her eyes widening as she met Kit's gaze.
"Are you in charge here?" Kit asked desperately. "Listen to me. I'm not from this era; you have to let me go home!"
Niamh studied her, noticing her strange clothes (Why is she wearing trousers?) before finally focusing on her face. There was a moment of silence as the two women looked at each other.
"It's not her; look at her clothes." Niamh declared, turning to the man who had ordered Kit's imprisonment. "Prince Rhydian, she's clearly a witch, disguising herself in order to sneak inside the palace and assassinate his majesty. Execute her immediately!"
"What? No!" Kit screamed, struggling to break free from her captors. "You can't do this; let me go!" But her cries fell on deaf ears as the prince relayed the sorceress' orders. Kit began to panic as a man in black robes stepped out of the crowd, an axe in his hand. Her captors forced Kit's head onto a wooden stump: an executioner's block.
God, if this is a dream, Kit prayed. Please let me wake up! I want to wake up! She closed her eyes and screamed as the executioner raised his axe.
"His Majesty returns from hunting!" As if by a miracle, the herald once again interrupted the proceedings. Kit opened her eyes and sat up as her captors stepped aside to pay their respects to the man who was now marching angrily towards the prince.
"What is going on here, brother?" he demanded.
"Your majesty, this witch broke into our capital and trespassed in the shrine. Sorceress Niamh has ordered her execution."
"I'm not a witch!" Kit cried, her face still wet with frightened tears. "Let me go!" She turned to face the man who had interrupted her execution. "Sir, I beg you, please let me go. I'm not from this time; I have to go home!"
He turned to address her and his eyes widened in recognition. He stared at her, shocked into silence. Kit thought he looked at her as if she had sprouted wings.
"Untie her," he commanded, his voice barely audible. The soldiers rushed to obey. Kit stood up, rubbing her sore wrists and wondering what in heaven's name was going on. Her confusion only worsened when, the next thing she new, the man had pulled her into an embrace.
"Ailbhe," he breathed, his voice overflowing with emotion. "Ailbhe."
Kit had had enough. This was too much weirdness for one day.
"What are you doing?" she protested. "Let go of me! Let go!" She pulled away from him with a yell, her hand swinging through the air to slap him in the face.
Prince Rhydian, the soldiers, and everyone else in the courtyard was shocked into silence. They stared at her, not believing their eyes.
Oh great, Kit thought as she realized everyone was staring at her in shock, including the man she had just slapped. What have I gotten myself into now?
Niamh the sorceress paced around her study at the top of the eastern tower. She appeared calm to anyone who might have come in to ask for a favor, but inside, her mind was reeling.
Why was that girl so similar? Niamh stopped her pacing to trace her hand along the edge of a dusty scroll. Could she really have come back? How can this be? I thought the prophecy was just a legend.
"Teacher!" Muriel called out as she burst through the door, interrupting Niamh's train of thought. "Teacher!"
"What is it?"
"His Majesty returned from hunting and stopped the execution. He let that woman go."
"What?!"
"She's been given a room in the palace. I think King Roald expects her to stay."
Niamh frowned. This was turning out to be a disaster.
Meanwhile, in another room in the palace, Kit was being tended to by two young maids, who had already changed her into a clean dress and taken her clothes away to wash. Kit, still in a daze, gathered her senses enough to stop one of the maids before she left.
"Um, excuse me?" The lady in waiting turned to face her. "Sorry to bother you, but can I ask you something?"
"There's no need to be so polite, milady. I am here to serve you." The maid curtseyed, much to Kit's embarrassment.
"Okay, then, um…who did I just slap?"
The maid stared at her, unable to believe that her mistress could be so dense. "He is the king of Albion and Lord of Camelot, his majesty King Roald." While Kit stood frozen in shock, the maid slipped away to finish her chores.
Kit sat heavily on the edge of the extravagant bed that was the center of her new quarters. The King. Of Albion. I slapped the King of Camelot! I'm so dead! Kit buried her head in her hands. Did I really go back in time? Or is this just some elaborate hoax? Kit thought for a moment and decided there was only one way to find out. Looking around the room, she spotted a stone dragon statue in the center of a nearby table. She ran and snatched it up, examining it.
Yup, it's definitely an antique, Kit decided, you can tell by the workmanship. She looked closer and noticed that it wasn't dusty or worn in anyway. In fact, it looked brand new. Is it possible to have a new antique? Yes, of course it is, Kit lamented. If, of course, you manage to go back in time to when it was first made.
Kit took the stone dragon back with her to sit on the bed. She stared at it for a long time, trying to process what she now knew had happened to her.
"You're quite handsome, " she said to the stone dragon. "You know, if I ever find a way back home, I think I'll take you with me. You'll make my father famous!" Kit decided that, as long as she was stuck there, she might as well do some exploring. Slipping the dragon under her pillow for safekeeping, she left.
"Niamh, is there something you need?" King Roald asked the sorceress, who had come to speak with him and yet had been standing silent for several minutes.
"Why did Your Majesty pardon that witch's execution?"
"Witch?" King Roald considered for a moment, then looked at Niamh sternly. "Are you the one who ordered her execution?" Niamh didn't answer. "Niamh, don't you think she looks like-?"
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry. But it's just not possible. She must be a witch, disguising herself to escape punishment."
"All the same, I think I will pardon her until we know more. Where is she now?" He directed the question to Niamh's lady in waiting, who had been temporarily reassigned to the mysterious visitor.
"She's in the garden, Your Majesty."
King Roald left to find her without another word, not noticing the despair on Niamh's face as he walked away.
Up Next: Ailbhe, the Druid Princess
