Kagome remembered her mother's private room as a small warm room where she had held her in her lap by the fireplace and told her stories. Now, it was anything but warm. She saw her mother leaning against the stone hearth, staring into the embers of the fading fire, her rigid back to her. She was surprised to see Kohaku seated in one of the plush red velvet chairs that surrounded a small wooden table. When her questioning eyes caught his, he turned away.

There was a tapestry on the wall farthest from the hearth depicting the slaughter of a small fox by two armored men. She instantly felt kinship with the fox.

"Leave us, Kohaku," Sango Taija said in a quiet voice.

Kohaku rose stiffly, hesitated a moment, and finally strode past Kagome, his head bent. Kagome frowned as he passed her.

When the door closed silently behind him, the foreboding that had followed her down the stairs settled on her shoulders and made her skin crawl. Even though Kohaku was gone, she felt more trapped than before. One defenseless fox against one mighty woman.

Jean Claude said, "Sit down, Kagome."

The feeling of dread grew, stabbing Kagome's stomach, and her knees crumbled, landing her in the seat Kohaku had vacated.

The tension stretched like a bow strung too tightly. Kagome dared not move, dreading its eventual release. She watched silently as her mother stared deeply into the fire. Her blue silk gown reflected the firelight and when she turned toward her, the white fur around her collar looked red, almost matching the red in her cheeks. Her face was unreadable, but her usually bright eyes were hard.

"At first you had many suitors. All of which you conveniently ignored."

Kagome bowed her head. Her mother should have just posted a banner offering her to the highest bidder.

"No, I'm afraid there are very few. Most took back their offers." Her voice was strong, but strangely sad.

Good, Kagome thought. How could she hope to lead an army as someone's wife? He would want her home to produce heirs.

"I want to hear it from your own lips," Sango Taija said. "Tell me you did not free the Prince of Demons."

All her years of swordplay could not protect her from her accusation. She could not parry her mother's anger or dodge the anguish in her voice. Agony sliced through her like the sharp edge of a battle sword. Where had she heard such a thing? How could he believe it? Sota. She opened her mouth to answer, to tell her the Prince of Demons was dead, but she promptly closed it. Sota had not believed her, so why would her mother?

Sango Taija stared coldly at her daughter.

Kagome stood, stepping toward her. Her eyes burned with the effort of keeping her tears in check. She had to believe her! She stretched out her hands. "Mother, please. I only wanted to bring him to you. I wanted him to kneel before you so that –"

"How could you?" she groaned, not hearing her confession, turning away from her. "You released him so that he could kill more of our people. Don't you see what you've done?"

Slowly, Kagome dropped her arms. She knew Sesshomaru could never raise a sword again, never kill again, for he was dead. I wanted to make you proud of me, she thought. That's all I ever wanted. And for Sesshomaru to love me. To tell me I was beautiful. But I couldn't do either. He did not love me. And you aren't proud of me. I have failed. Kagome struggled to straighten her back and raise her quivering chin. "I have done nothing wrong."

"Nothing wrong?!" She screeched. "You have betrayed your Queen and your country!"

She really believed she had freed Sesshomaru. She would never believe that the Prince of Demons was dead. She would never believe that her daughter was innocent of this betrayal.

"I feel I have been more than fair with you, Kagome. I have nurtured your whims for a long time. And I am sorry for what I must do now, but –"

Kagome's mind raced; her heart pounded. Something terrible was about to happen and she could not just sit there and let it. "Mother –"

"The only marriage offer that remains open, and the one which I'm afraid I must accept, is from Count Naraku."

"No," Kagome gasped, stumbling toward her mother. "You can't." Everything she had ever heard about Count Naraku raced through her mind. He was a hermit who was more than five decades old and had yet to see an heir to his estates. He had had five wives, all of whom were rumored to have been locked in a tower and tortured because they had produced no son. He was a monster!

"I'm sorry, Kagome," Sango Taija said. "Truly I am. But it is already done."

"Why must you accept? I am the leader of an Eastern army! You do not have to –"

"You think your men will follow a traitor? I am saving your life. If you return to the army, you will be stabbed in the back at the first opportunity." She spoke more coldly than she had ever done before.

Kagome lurched away from her, horrified. Her own men would never stab her in the back! They would not believe these lies that her family believed. Even Kohaku… "Mother…"

She turned away from her, her shoulders slumped.

Kagome felt her legs going numb. She raised her chin, again fighting desperately to keep back her fear and her tears. "When is the wedding to take place?" she managed to ask, her voice growing weak.

"In two months," She said softly. "Adequate time for you to prepare yourself and your things."

Two months, she thought. That would be November. A perfect amount of time for ice to form around my heart.

She turned and slowly walked to the door. She paused, her hand on the door handle. She wanted to tell her the truth, tell her that she didn't free the Prince of Demons. But she wouldn't believe her. Just as Sota did not. If she did tell her mother the truth of what happened, she was afraid the guilt hiding beneath the surface of her thoughts would rise into her voice and betray her. And even with her confession, there would be questions she had no reasonable answers for. At least, no answers her mother would accept. She would surely wonder how Sesshomaru had gotten into her bedroom, and wonder why she hadn't cried out in alarm when she had the chance.

Her hand clenched around the door handle. Kagome wanted to say she was sorry for hurting her, for putting her through this. She wanted to tell her mother how much she loved her. But she couldn't. Her hand trembled with the effort it took to keep her emotions in check.

She has already turned her back on me, she thought. Kagome opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, closing it softly behind her.

"Come in," Kagome called at the insistent knocking. She sat on the floor in a corner of her room, the leggings and tunic she wore her only means of defiance.

Kikyo pushed the door open. "Kagome, have you forgotten that we were to dine together?"

"I'm sorry, Kikyo. I wasn't feeling well. I'm not very hungry," Kagome replied, looking up from whittling a piece of wood.

Kikyo shook her head. "Another arrow? I think the castle's armory will be supplied by you alone."

Kagome grinned half-heartedly.

Kikyo closed the door behind her. She looked worriedly at Kagome, who sat cross-legged, with a knife in one hand and a piece of wood in the other. "Is it true? Did Mother really betroth you to that horrible hermit?"

Kagome nodded and began to run the knife against the wood again.

"Oh, Kagome. Why on earth did She do it?"

"She believes I did something dishonorable," Kagome replied. Her brows creased slightly in concentration as she gazed intently at her whittling.

"You didn't free him, did you?"

Startled, Kagome glanced up at her sister, hurt at the doubt in Kikyo's voice. She studied Kikyo's childish yet sincere face until she saw the doubt replaced by embarrassment. Finally, Kagome looked at the window, which was not shadowed with darkness. Kikyo deserved to hear the truth. Perhaps her only sister would believe her. "He jumped out the window, into the moat." Kagome heard Kikyo's sharp intake of breath, then her soft footsteps as she approached. Kikyo sat beside her.

"So that's why you stare out that window."

Kagome waited for the reproach for having Sesshomaru in her room.

"Did he love you?" she asked, leaning toward Kagome.

Kagome looked at her in surprise. There was no condemnation in Kikyo's eyes, only sympathy and understanding. "No," Kagome admitted quietly.

"What will you do?"

"I suppose I must marry Count Naraku."

"I want you to come with InuYasha and me."

"Defy Mother?" Kagome asked, aghast. When Kikyo nodded, Kagome shook her head. "I couldn't."

"You can't go to Naraku's Castle! They say his last wife fell from the tower window to her death. More likely she jumped to escape that horrible man, or worse yet, was pushed!"

"I can still fight for The East. Whether they want me to or not."

"Please reconsider, Kagome. Come with us."

Kagome glanced at Kikyo. "And InuYasha agrees?"

Kikyo dropped her eyes under Kagome's probing gaze. "I – well, I haven't spoken with him yet, but I shall."

Kagome could never go with her. She could never come between Kikyo and InuYasha. And that was certainly what would happen. Kagome couldn't ruin Kikyo's happiness. She shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, Kikyo. But no."

"If you change your mind, know that you will always be welcome in my home."

Kagome reached out and took Kikyo's small hand. Not all her family had abandoned her. Her sister still believed in her, and for that Kagome would be forever grateful. She nodded, feeling the first spark of hope ignite within her soul.

She did not know how badly it would be dashed.