Kagome admired the assortments of jewels, vials of perfume and makeup sitting before her as Mei-Ling worked to undo the tangles in her hair. And as content as she was, pampered by this young servant girl, Kagome wondered why this was happening. She was no stranger to discrimination with demons and humans, but Mei-Ling treated her kindly. Then again, this was her job, and as far as she knew, Kagome was a guest.
Although a slew of inquiries filled her head, Kagome remained silent as she took in this strange predicament. Regardless, she was safe for the time being, but she couldn't remain in this palace forever. As soon as I see Sesshomaru again, I'll explain my situation. But… this isn't the Sesshomaru that I once knew! This is an alternate world. Things are different here… And if I can't get his help, I'd have to find someone else…
And if that failed, Kagome would have no other choice but to wait until the jewel's powers manifested again. And if that happened, she'd likely wish herself back home and just forget all of this even happened. That was an option. Right? It had teleported her away from danger before it unknowingly lost its powers, which still didn't make a lick of sense!
"You have such beautiful hair, my lady. If you grew it out longer, you'd be the envy of the entire palace!"
Kagome's cheeks reddened from the compliment. "Really? I don't know about that… I'm sure I must be an inconvenience here, especially for Sesshomaru…"
"Why would you think that?" She asked, canting her head. "He brought you here for good reason! And I'm overjoyed that we finally have a guest in the palace! His lordship never allows company, so it's often boring in that respect when it's only the servants."
Why doesn't that surprise me? Sesshomaru has never been a people person.
But Mei-Ling paused and placed the comb back onto the vanity. "But that's not entirely true… Sometimes the Empress visits the palace. He gets so caught up in his training and studies that he often neglects leaving the grounds, aside from frequenting the borders."
"The Empress? Are you… referring to his mother?"
"Oh, yes!" But again Mei-Ling paused and cupped her mouth as though she suddenly realized something. "Oh, forgive me, my lady. I almost forgot… I suppose you wouldn't be familiar with any of this…"
Kagome blinked. "W-what do you mean by that?"
"Well… I mean no offense, but you're human. From my understanding, no one except those with close ties would know anything personal about the Royal Family or even that of the clans. Especially humans… In fact, the world between humans and demons differs in that respect, as you're already aware of, my lady."