Assured by a morning of bright blue skies, the retinue were relieved to be able to break down their camp. The sun had baked the roads completely dry by the time all came together and headed for Rivergard. The family finally could begin the official Entry of the procession with Lord Taketoki of the Riverine and his family. Riding in the back of an open-air chaise, the King and Queen sat while the Princes and Princess crammed together into a carriage that followed.
"Are you excited about the celebrations, brother?" Kagome's expression shone with some emotion that Sesshōmaru couldn't place when she addressed him. The human girl looked effulgent in a silk blue gown that brought out the deep indigo of her eyes. Izayoi had insisted on draping her in some of the most expensive sapphire jewelry they owned. The stones glowed from the dangling earrings and large pendant necklace at her throat. Diamonds accompanied the dark blue stones in the rings on her hands.
"I am not your brother," he spoke the unkind words gently. It was the same response he'd been giving Kagome since she stayed with their family when he was still half a pup and Inuyasha could barely speak.
"C'mon Kagome, you know this isn't his kind of scene," Inuyasha muttered from her side. His steward had helped the younger Prince pull his hair up into a smoothed ponytail and dressed him in a brilliant red doublet with gold buttons over a white linen shirt. He donned a matching red jacket over top with complicated embroidery and even more gold buttons. Kagome thought he looked incredibly handsome, if also incredibly uncomfortable.
Sesshōmaru cleared his throat and gave his brother a pointed look. "I look forward to the closing ceremony and putting this gods forsaken place behind us," he said, annoyance dripping from him. Kagome sighed deeply and stared down at her folded hands in her lap. Sesshōmaru's brow twitched.
"It is...tiring, having to keep doing this same charade all over the countryside," Kagome and Inuyasha's heads snapped up at their brother's comment. His pale gold eyes scanned his siblings before continuing. "And you look exquisite today, Kagome."
The girl's mouth dropped open while Inuyasha wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders.
"Are you feeling okay, Sesshōmaru?" he asked incredulously.
"She needs someone in this family to set the example of a gentleman," Sesshōmaru retorted hotly. It seemed he would only extend this newfound compassion to Kagome today. Inuyasha snarled at his older brother, ready to rip him a new one, when the carriage they were in suddenly stopped.
"It'll be okay, 'Gome," Sesshōmaru, heard Inuyasha whisper into her ear when a wave of panic rolled off of her. He didn't miss the lingering kiss pressed to her temple and the way he squeezed her hand, either. She turned to him with tears in her eyes and nodded, sniffling. Someone threw the door open and the valet's hand extended inside to assist them out of the stifling box.
They emerged, blinking in the bright sun. Tōga and Izayoi were already greeting their hosts with too-large smiles. Lord Sanjo Taketoki stood before them, his wife at his left side holding their younger son and the heir to the Riverine, Kōga, standing on his right. It pleased neither prince with the crude way Kōga slowly examined Kagome from head to toe. The girl gulped hard before she approached the lord-to-be, just as she had practiced.
"Lord Kōga, it is a pleasure to meet my beloved," she said in a monotone voice and bowed before the wolf demon.
Kōga answered with a feral half-smile, "Oh my dear, you will do perfectly." It was Inuyasha's turn to swallow back his emotions when the lordling pressed a kiss to the back of Kagome's hand. She pulled it back with such force, Sesshōmaru shot her a warning look.
"This must be Kagome. It is such a pleasure to meet you, my dear!" Lord Taketoki was head to toe in brown, from his leather doublet and boots to the leggings beneath. He certainly matched the murky waters he ruled over, but at least he seemed far more kind and congenial than his son. They dressed Kōga as his twin, while his wife wore a dress of brown velvet.
Tōga's children all bowed respectfully in greeting the Lord's family. They were more than happy to agree when Sanjo suggested a horseback tour of their town and led them to saddled horses waiting for them. There wasn't a cloud in the sky as different merchants and vendors poured in through the gates. Some were already in the square, setting up their wares and booths in what was quickly becoming a makeshift market. Already they could see merchants selling clothing, fine cutlery and utensils, swords and armor. There was even a booth that sold children's toys and tiny monkeys. The Imperial Guard were also on horseback and tightened their perimeter with the growing crowd. Greater and lesser demons alike smiled and waved to the royal family, often dropping their hands and their gazes as Sesshōmaru met their eyes. However, he was too busy noticing that all the demons in the square had exceptionally powerful auras emanating from them.
The sovereign party wound their way through the narrow streets, passing the same shops and cafes that Sesshōmaru had noted before. They reached an extensive field when the storefronts dwindled away into constructed lists. Kōga was explaining to Kagome that this is where the jousting tournament was to take place, as well as where the singers, jugglers and acrobats would perform after the matches.
Smaller tents were being put up behind the grand pavilion, with cheaper wares on their tables. Here is where lesser yōkai and humans mingled together on a much smaller street. It was dirtier and nowhere near as cheerfully decorated. The air here was bland with the smells of roasted street birds, rats, and more unsavory vermin floating from the human-run food stalls. Most of the demons bowed solemnly to them as they passed, but not one of them waved or spoke a word of greeting. Sesshōmaru observed some demons joining the humans in hiding behind their canvas walls.
It was easy for such a pleasant scent to cut through the air as it did. His nose was on high alert for any kind of olfactory relief. The Prince recognized it almost immediately and straightened in his saddle. It was the same smell from the forest, but now it lingered splendidly in his sinus cavity. Without warning, the pelt at his side shuddered from base to tail before relaxing and unfurling itself to drape behind him across the back of his horse. To his alarm, the appendage wouldn't respond to his will at first. The guard at his left snuck a peek from his peripheral and could have sworn Prince Sesshōmaru seemed flustered, something he'd never seen since coming to work in the Capitol.
Could it be from the scent? Sesshōmaru snapped his head in the direction where it was coming from and froze. For the first time that day, a pair of eyes squarely locked onto his and held his stare. The shock of a human girl being the one creating such a delicious and heavenly smell was so severe it painted his normally frozen mask. It took all his effort to keep his mouth from dropping open, but he couldn't stop his eyes from growing wide and flaring red. The girl continued looking at him, pure curiosity and some other warm feeling that brought a pink blush to her cheeks, the only tells radiating from her body. She wore nothing more than rags. From what he could see, a patchwork dress peeping out from under an equally patched and tattered cloak that might have originally been some shade of purple a lifetime ago. Right as he rode right past her, she suddenly beamed at him, her perfect white teeth turning this prettier-than-average human into the most stunning woman he'd seen. Her dark hair draped in front of her face when she swooped a low bow. As she stood, she waved to him and stifled a giggle behind her other hand. The citizens standing closest to her all looked as if the girl had just dared the daiyōkai to rip her to shreds in the street. A collective group held their breath and even Lord Taketoki waited for the inevitable cascade of poison to sear through her mortal skin, but it never came. The Prince just schooled his features and faced ahead once more, this time his nose high in the air, as he spurred on his horse.
Hours later, in the night's heart, when almost all the castle was fast asleep, no one heard the soft scraping of slippers on the marble floors of the hall. Kagome kept her hand around the flickering flame of the candle she held to shield its light. She did her best to muffle the sounds of the opening and closing of the door, but it did not go unnoticed by everyone.
"Inuyasha? Wake up. " Kagome whispered loudly into the dark while she shook the lumpy blankets.
"Kagome? What's going on?" Inuyasha groaned groggily and winced at the candlelight.
"I can't do this, I can't live here and be married to that pig!" the tears started streaming in earnest down her face. "I hate him already, Inuyasha." she sagged against his chest and balled the fabric of his nightshirt into her fists.
Inuyasha squeezed her tight and rubbed her back in soothing circles. "Hey...shh...It'll be okay Kagome, there's no need for the waterworks," his cheeks blushed. He was still uncomfortable whenever she got emotional around him like this. When she finally stopped sobbing and her breathing evened out, Inuyasha pulled back to look her solemnly in the eye. "I gave you my word that you won't have to live here and marry Kōga. When have I ever broken my word to you?" he cupped her face and wiped her tear-stained cheek with a clawed thumb.
Kagome sniffed loudly. "Never," she choked out hoarsely.
"Then why don't you trust me, Princess?" He appreciated the way she still shivered when he whispered her proper title against her lips, despite that wolf bastard misusing her pet name earlier. She gave him a smile that she couldn't help, his favorite kind. Kagome closed the distance between them, pressing her mouth to his. Closing his eyes, Inuyasha deepened their kiss, his hands running up and down Kagome's hips, bunching the tight fitting, sheer fabric of her nightgown up to her waist. With the dancing of tongues, their senses dropped into oblivion until they were only aware of each other and their bodies. Keen hearing meant nothing if you weren't using it. So even the half-breed did not hear the clicking open of the door, nor see the wide green pupil focused on them through the crack. The red-headed girl on the other side gasped and scurried off down the dark hall.
She wound her way through the maze of corridors and mounted the stairs of the northeastern turret. She knocked softly on the door at the top and pushed on it when commanded by the voice inside.
"So? Did you find anything?" Kōga asked his little informant.
"Oh, I certainly saw something ," she answered teasingly.
Kōga did not have the patience for any games. He grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her down next to him onto his bed of furs. "Don't play with me tonight, Ayame," the wolf-demon yanked her to his chest and rasped into her ear.
Ayame pouted up at him. "Fine. Let's just say the Prince and Princess must have an exceptionally close bond to be so affectionate."
Kōga growled and nipped at the end of the girl's pointed ear. "Speak. Plainly."
"I saw him hiking up her nightgown while his tongue was down her throat. Is that plain enough for you, my Lord?" Ayame rose on her hands and knees and nipped at Kōga's bottom lip playfully.
He flashed his white fangs in a feral smile. "That's all I wanted to know, sweetheart," he spoke softly before taking her lips with his own. Ayame climbed into his lap and kissed him hungrily and started grinding against him. Unknown to either wolf demon, a pair of crimson eyes were on them, floating just outside the lone window.