Midwinter's Day Dream
888
Peace is not a crime,
it's just a circled thought
which many cannot climb.
888
"Are you out of your goddamn mind!?" Kaede crowed, eyes bulging spastically, and Kagome winced at the volume. Oh yes, Kagome had been right to be worried about this part. Still, Kaede might have been a most trusted adviser, but she was not Kagome's mother, and the princess stuck her chin up imperiously at the condescending tone with which she was being addressed.
"The mind of your future queen has never been clearer, Lady Kaede." Kagome replied placidly, or as much as she could under the strain of the conversation. Half an hour had already passed, and much progress had not been made. Kaede, the only regent Kagome had not dismissed after her announcement, had been livid at the news and thus had spent the entire time ranting protests at the young princess. Although she was not a fan of arguments, Kagome was not one to shy away from confrontation and, determined to prove herself to her regent, she plunged on. "Besides, it was Lord Sesshoumaru's idea-"
"Of course it was!" the old adviser boomed, throwing her hands up in the air agitatedly and hobbling from one side of the room to the other. "The winterlings are master manipulators; they'd say anything and trick anyone to get their way. You're lucky he didn't try to expedite the honeymoon right then and there—"
"Kaede!" Kagome warned loudly, even as a treacherous blush crept to her cheeks at her regent's salacious insinuation. "I am not a petulant child, but your master! Do not forget whom you speak to." The old woman halted her pacing immediately, eyes wide and mouth ajar at the outburst. Kagome might have been a spirited girl, even one who became overly-emotional as summer fae were oft to do; but she was also blessed with the happiest of manners and in all her young years had never raised her voice at Kaede nor any of the other servants in the castle.
Kaede groaned loudly, running a gnarled, aged hand across her leathered face.
"My sincerest apologies, princess. I meant no offence, of course. But the thought of you alone with that fiend makes my blood boil."
"He could have hurt me. Lord Sesshoumaru could've assassinated me right then and there, and nobody would have found my cold corpse until much later…but here I am." Kagome countered bluntly, strangely defensive of her future husband. "I was alone, as you say, and at his mercy. Yet, he did not touch me." That was a half-truth; Kagome could still feel the phantom touch of his fingers lingering on her chin. His touch had been careful, delicate. Kaede need not know those details.
The old regent stared at Kagome with something akin to pity in her eyes, and Kagome's stomach churned. "This time, my Lady. What is stopping him from murdering you next time, once Fär Elphame is in his power?"
"Nothing." Kagome responded honestly, much more calmly this time - it wouldn't do to heatedly snap at Kaede. The old woman had cared for Kagome her entire life, well before her father's passing, and as such her over-protectiveness was not unfounded, merely inconvenient. "Nothing, except perhaps, the slim chance that he too wishes for this terrible conflict to come to an end."
Kaede shook her head, swearing under her breath, but said no more. Both women stared at each other from across the long wooden table, the air of uncertainty hanging heavy in the strategy room.
"You are seriously considering this, aren't you?" Kaede muttered softly, and it wasn't a question but rather a statement of disbelief.
Kagome smiled sadly at the older woman, and said nothing. She had said enough already.
Slowly, Kaede hobbled over to her, using the edge of the table as support. When she got to Kagome, she placed one hand on either side of Kagome's head, eyes scanning the planes of her young ward's face. What stared back was no longer a lost child, but a grown woman, Kaede realized with a pang.
"I had fawned to your father many times about your kindness, Princess. It has always been your greatest strength, your shining virtue. But I fear, this time, it might be misplaced upon the wrong subject."
"Is it true kindness if it is only conditional?" Kagome whispered, leaning into the hands of the woman that had practically raised her. "Is selflessness pure when expressed only in easy times, and sheltered during the difficult ones?"
"I suppose not." Kaede sighed in defeat, knowing she was facing a losing battle against her mistress. Very little could change her Lady Kagome's mind, and it seemed she was dead-set on this one. "Milady, please allow us to go over all other alternatives once more. I know you desire to fulfill your father's dying wish of peace, but there must…there has to be…" she trailed off with a sigh, ancient and heavy. "Princess Kagome…swear to me you will think it carefully for one more night. That you will not meet with the foul demon alone. Promise?"
Kagome nodded solemnly. "Promise."
888
"My advisor has asked that I not speak to you without my royal guard present, if at all." Kagome recited into her bedsheets, eyeing the still shadow cast against the opposite wall of her room. Slowly, she sat up in bed, looking out into the balcony and locking eyes with the owner of said shadow. "She'd have your head if she knew you were here unannounced, Lord Sesshoumaru."
The Winter King leaned his head against the balcony window gingerly, the very picture of innocence, as if he hadn't just broken into a young and unmarried lady's room for the second night in a row. "Your advisor sounds like a wise and loyal guardian. We shall keep her on retainer, for future court decisions." Sesshoumaru's eyes slowly roamed up and down her figure, and Kagome was accutely aware of the slim nightdress she was wearing. She tugged the blankets closer to her chest, suddenly self-conscious of the thin, sheer cotton.
"'We'? 'Future court decisions'? You appear convinced that my answer to your request will be an affirmative one."
"Not convinced." Sesshoumaru clarified, voice uncharacteristically gentle. "Hopeful."