AN/ here's chptr 4!

EDIT AN/ This is the original chapter still. When I finish rewriting it this will disappear and be replaced with much goodness.

Disclaimer: hello!

Lessons in Trust; Miko and the Taiyoukai

Author: Gundamgurl84

Chapter: Day One in Sesshoumaru's Castle

In the morning she was awoken when a gruff voice called her name. She opened her eyes slowly and squinted in the morning sun. Yellow light streamed in the glass that led to the balcony. Silhouetted against the light was Sesshoumaru, his golden eyes glistening at her. She sat up slowly, a wary, wakeful eye upon the taiyoukai, clutching the fur blankets to her chest.

He spoke again, his voice cool and soft. "You shall wake up early every morning as soon as the sun is fully raised. My servants shall dress you…appropriately." He said with the barest curl of his lip. "During the day you are free to go where ever you choose in my castle and on the grounds. Try to leave and you will thoroughly regret it. I do know ways of torture without killing." His voice held the slightest intonation of smugness. "As long as you stay out of my way you will remain unharmed. My servants will do all that you bid them. This evening, a servant will get you to bathe and change and you shall have dinner with me. After dinner, we will retire…together…to my room." He allowed himself a smirk that quickly faded.

She gulped visibly then merely looked away with her nose in the air defiantly. He walked past her, his feet soft upon the fur carpet floor. She watched as the doors opened then closed with a snap behind him.

She looked at the door, wondering if she was supposed to summon a servant or something. She was considering just not getting up at all when the doors opened again and a tiger hanyou entered the room. She had long orange hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her cheeks were orange with black stripes. She had black cat ears sat on the top of her head like Inuyasha's dog ears and an orange tail striped in black curled about her waist like a belt. She had a bundle of clothes in her arms that she held out carefully as she bowed to Kagome respectfully. She made her way around the large canopied bed and set the bundle on the bed side table. Then she sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Kagome with sharp, green eyes.

"If My Lady will show me her wounds I am instructed to put this healing lotion upon them." She said as she produced a small vile from somewhere. In side was a clear liquid.

Kagome stared at the vile mistrustfully a moment then nodded her consent and held out the arm that Sesshoumaru had run his claws through last night. Luckily he hadn't used his poison. The hanyou bent her head to look at the wound and uncorked the vile. She poured a little bit of the liquid onto a cloth she had produced and gently dabbed at the bloody trails on Kagome's arm. It stung for a moment, then, even as Kagome watched, the wounds closed themselves and disappeared with a tiny puff of smoke without leaving even the slightest mark. The hanyou smiled at Kagome's awe then proceeded to heal the rest of Kagome's wounds as she showed them.

When they were finished with healing Kagome's wounds, the hanyou stood and bowed low again, the vile and cloth disappearing in her sleeves.

"If My Lady would be so kind as to stand and undress herself, I shall be more then happy to dress you properly." Kagome nodded again and stood.

The hanyou's eyes widened a little at Kagome's state of dress, but then she lowered her eyes again. When Kagome had undressed the hanyou set to dressing her in a gorgeous kimono. But Kagome didn't pay any attention to the silk that was slowly layered upon her body. The kimono, when completely donned, was of a pale lavender with white sakura drifting lazily down and a trim of sheer, white silk.

When she was dressed, the tiger hanyou bowed her way out of the room, leaving Kagome standing in front of the glass doors leading to the balcony. She stood there, staring at the rising sun. The sky was a gorgeous blue with only the barest wisps of white cloud making their slow way across. But in her eyes, the beauty of the new day was ruined and lost.

She took soft steps forward and stepped onto the marble balcony. The stone rail was cold beneath her hand. A gentle wind blew her silk sleeves and raven hair as a tear kissed her cheek.

Oh the irony! Here she was, in a magnificent castle, dressed as fine as a princess, with the most gorgeous man ever in existence ready and willing to take her to bed and all she could think about was how much she wanted to die. The outside pain had died away but the pain inside was still a raging fire of ice. How could Inuyasha have done this to her? He had said he would protect her and yet now here she was the new sex toy of the most dangerous man ever in existence. How could he betray her? How could he lie so bold faced?

'But it doesn't have to be this way now.' A voice whispered so suddenly. Half against her will, her eyes looked down over the rail to the ground so far below. Her breath caught in her throat. She was perhaps 20 stories high. The ground was so far away it made her dizzy. 'A long fall means a hard hit. No phones, ambulances or hospitals here. And the harder the hit… well, you get the picture.' The voice chuckled as tears began to flow freely again.

Yes, it would be so easy. She wouldn't have to put up with the haunting memory of Inuyasha and Kikyou. She wouldn't have to be tortured by Sesshoumaru, toyed with and raped every night for the rest of her life. No, she could end it. She could. It would be easy.

"So easy" she muttered. Without even realizing what she was doing, she sat down on the rail. She swung her legs over to the opposite side and stood, carefully holding the rail(A/N think Titanic). She stared down at the ground. It was so far away. Just a large sea of green as far as she could see. Yes, it would be so easy. All she had to do was let go…let go…let go of everything…everything…all she had to do…

The tears came harder and harder. She could just let go… But every time she tried to faces flashed before her eyes. Sango, Miroku, Momma, Souta, Shippo! Oh how she wanted to see Shippo again. She loved him so! And this truly would be abandoning him. She had to do it! But she couldn't!

She broke into hysterics again. She had to but she couldn't! Voices were screaming in her head until they reached a roar. All of them screaming at her and arguing. And she kept on seeing Shippo. The pain inside her made her want to scream louder than the voices. She couldn't take this! She couldn't live another moment being Inuyasha's reject and Sesshoumaru's toy. But what if there was the chance of her seeing Shippo again?

She sobbed so much she half choked on the tears.

Suddenly, her hands slipped and the wind rushed up to meet her. But she was just barely able to catch onto the edge before falling. What was she thinking? She couldn't die like this? What about her promise to her father? She felt her hand begin to slip on the sleek marble and reached up with her other hand. She had promised her father to fight until the end. That was right before…

She shook her head of her thoughts which almost made her slip again. But she held firm. She would keep on fighting. She wouldn't give up!

Very carefully and slowly, she pulled herself up onto the rail before spilling over the edge and landing in a heap of silk on the balcony floor. She stood slowly and presumed to straighten out her kimono and raven hair. She walked back into the room and stepped in front of a shiny shield that could serve as a mirror. Her eyes were red from crying so much and her hair was absolutely wild. It seemed to be everywhere at once. She made a meager effort of straightening it then shrugged when she got little progress. It's not like Sesshoumaru would really care. If anything he might find it sensual and would be pleased. She waited until she was sure the red had gone from her eyes then decided she was fit to leave the room.

She found herself in a long stone corridor that was dark except for the torches in scones along the walls. She sighed. If this was going to be her home from now on she would have to know her way around. She was the slightest bit unhappy about the fact that Sesshoumaru or that hanyou had not stuck around to give her the layout of things. He could at least try to be the smallest bit polite or bearable.

Before she went off to explore, she touched the door and said a little spell that she remembered Kaede showing her. When one is in a labyrinth of sorts, you can mark walls and such with a spell and at the casters will the mark is revealed to them alone. It does not leave the slightest trace or scent so she was confident Sesshoumaru would have no idea.

She began walking, trailing a hand along the wall to draw an invisible line. The next door came quickly upon the left just around a bend. She opened the door softly and felt her breath catch. It was another bedroom elegantly draped with silk of white, sea green and red. The walls were covered with the silk drapes in odd patterns. Sheer silk hung about a bed that was draped in golden sheets with gold pillows large enough to suck you in. Glass doors opened onto a balcony similar to Sesshoumaru's. She stepped into the room to examine something in the corner by the glass doors. When she got close enough, she saw that it was an elaborate suit of armor. It was so large it was obvious that it had been made for a youkai bigger then even Sesshoumaru in his humanoid form. She knew that this must have been Sesshoumaru's fathers' room. She chuckled slightly as she remembered the gigantic skeleton of Inutaisho in his full demonoid form. It was a terrifying sight. Inuyasha had been indifferent about it while Kagome had been in awe.

Her stomach took a sudden drop as he entered her thoughts. Cold seeped through her veins as her resolve from before faltered slightly. Inuyasha. Unbidden, a picture of him cradling Kikyou in his arms, cooing softly to her, came into Kagome's mind.

She shook her head. She would not be so easily defeated by that bastard.

She absently brushed her fingers over the cold metal. It was as dusty as it was elaborate. She suddenly wondered what the suit had looked like on Lord Inu no Taisho. If he was anything like his eldest son then he must have been terrifying.

She heaved a heavy sigh as she turned away from the armor but a moment later sucked it back in.

On the wall opposite her was a giant silk tapestry. It was much longer then it was tall and practically stretched the length of the room. But it was tall as well, stretching well beyond Kagome's reach and maybe even Sesshoumaru's. An elaborate border of shapes and colors took one whole foot of the tapestry around the edge. Most of it was a bird's eye view of what she supposed were the western lands. Forests and fields and valleys and rivers and mountains……… everything that was in Sesshoumaru's large domain. It was breathtaking and so realistic that the land literally faded away into the distance. The sun was setting in the far off horizon and above it were soft, fluffy white clouds in a blue sky that was light on the bottom and grew darker as it went up until it reached midnight blue with little stars twinkling at the very top. But right where the lighter blue faded to darker blue there was a slight interruption. There was a large white cloud and just above it was a giant dog. Its head was about the size of both of Kagome's hands and its body curved just so that it made a sort of white crescent in the sky, open face down, in half imitation of the blue crescent upon its forehead.

She shifted her eyes downward to fall upon a man standing upon the clouds edge. He was stitched to be as tall as Kagome's hand was long. He had long silver hair pulled up on a ponytail high on his head. His fluffy silver tail was wrapped casually around his hips once then flew in the gentle breeze that shifted his hair. The blue crescent moon shown bright upon his soft skin along with the red stripes that were in his cheeks. His face was so soft and kind and wise even in its apparent youth. His haori was a meld of colors like his room. There was a swirling, mixing clash of red and sea green with patterns of soft white to break up the chaos. Whoever had stitched Lord Inu no Taisho into the tapestry must have known him well for the pictures molten gold eyes seemed to glisten at Kagome with compassion and love and mirth even over the expanse of years. If he hadn't been smiling as softly as he was Kagome would have thought he was Sesshoumaru. But there was no mistaking the handsome lord that would father her warden. If it hadn't have been for those kind eyes Kagome would've felt contempt for the great taiyoukai.

Even as she studied Inutaisho, two more things caught her attention, one upon either end of the large cloud. She looked to the one on the right first and was surprised by what she saw. Standing there, in a kimono even more elaborate then her, was none other then Inuyasha's human mother. Her face and hair were unmistakable even though it had been five years ago that Kagome had seen her, in a sense. Her face was just as soft and kind as Kagome remembered it.

She saw the beautiful human was smiling down at something. She followed the stitched woman's eyes and gasped in surprise. There, at her feet, was a small Inuyasha. He was probably 3-years-old yet didn't look at all different. His golden eyes glistened and his silver hair hung about him in a way that seemed to cute to bear. His red haori and smug look were only all too familiar. He seemed to be so happy, not at all like the grumpy hanyou she had traveled with before. But this was from a time long ago when Inuyasha was still happy. She sighed. As much as it hurt to remember him she could not help but think how adorable he was as a child. She suddenly noticed that the way Inuyasha and his mother had been stitched was minutely different from the way the rest of the picture was stitched. She dismissed it with a shrug of her shoulders and looked over to the left to see the other figures beneath the cloud.

She stepped in front of it and her eyes widened in surprise. There stood a female inuyoukai. She was beautiful with silver hair so long it stretched to her knees, swept up in a ponytail. She had on a gorgeous blue kimono with a pattern like water dancing around her frame in a lighter blue. Her eyes were sapphires yet didn't seem to clash with her sea-green crescent on her forehead, a sign of marriage. She had purple stripes that shone bright on her pale cheeks. A few wisps of silver hair fell gracefully about her face. Kagome noticed then the tie that she had used to tie back her hair. It hung down as long as her hair, the same yellow and blue sash that Sesshoumaru wore everyday.

The beautiful inuyoukai was looking down at something as well and Kagome followed her gaze to see a young inuyoukai standing at her feet. He, too, was more then likely 3 or so from his height and young face. He wore an all white haori that hardly seemed white when compared to his long, pure silver hair. He had a barely visible, red crescent moon on his forehead, a sign of both his youth and his lineage. Small purple striped adorned his cheeks and probably would have been visible on his hands if they had not been lost in the giant sleeves of his haori. His face was three times as adorable as Inuasha's as it was also spread in a huge grin. His fierce, molten gold eyes glistened with the pure joy of childhood.

Kagome bent forward to study the child better. He looked so familiar but she just couldn't place him. As she stared into his eyes, a sudden realization almost knocked her over with its unexpectedness. This was Sesshoumaru. This smiling, happy child would one day grow to be her warden and captor. And that beautiful youkai was Inutaisho's wife and Sesshoumaru's mother. Who'd have thought that Sesshoumaru would ever have known how to smile? But even more mysterious then that, what in the name of the Shikon could ever have happened to transform this happy child to the stone faced, cold Sesshoumaru that now kept her hear? She thought it must have been something truly horrible for such a drastic change.

As she leaned back she noticed that Sesshoumaru and his beautiful inuyoukai mother were stitched differently from Inuyasha and the rest of the picture. She examined the Western Lands for a moment longer before deciding it time to leave.

As she closed the door softly behind her, she trailed her hand across the fine wood and cast the little spell she had trailed along the walls. She continued walking along the hall and soon another door came up on her left. But when she turned the knob nothing happened. It was securely locked. She frowned at the door then shrugged and moved on.

Soon, another door came up, this one on her right. But when she stopped in front of it she sucked in her breath sharply. The doors were made of the same fine wood as the others but across the front, five great rents seemed to be half burned into the surface stretching diagonally from corner to corner.

She gulped visibly and gave the door a soft push. The hinges creaked as it swung open without determent. The room beyond was like a village that had been ravaged by one of Naraku's swarms of youkai. The floor was littered with shreds of fabric and wood, decayed through the years. The walls had scratch marks on them like the one on the doors along with dents and scrapes that appeared to be from odd objects being thrown about. The glass doors at the far end of the room were shattered and hung on hinges that were half torn from the wall. The cool stone marble balcony was riddled with cracks that snacked their way everywhere and slowly broke it apart. What appeared to be a bed frame stood off to the side, its wood charred as though with fire. The color of the room was grey and black, what colors did remain in the fragments of destruction watery and grey from being open to the elements. Everything had a fine layer of dust upon it as though no one had stepped foot in the room for years upon years. The sky was still dark on this side of the castle as the sun was now at her back. The ghostly light cast eerie shadows from the oddly shaped lumps of ruin on the ground. Even though a soft breeze seemed to blow outside, not even the slightest whiff of it entered the room to lift those tiny fly away hairs that always seemed to catch the breeze that no one could feel. Silence hung in the room like a thick fog, clouding her senses. She could also sense an air of anger and depression and desperation. But heavier then the silence, was the need, the yearning for and the ominous presence of blood long spilt and death.

She did not dare step farther into the room for fear of it. Instead, she backed out slowly and closed the door with a loud snap. She did not bother to mark the door for the scratches were sign enough for her not to enter ever again. Her slight form convulsed in shivers as she began to trudge down the hall again. A short distance later she came to another door on her right. This one was marked like the other except with two, the two inch deep marks forming an 'X' across the door. She shuddered and passed it by, knowing full well what she'd see inside.

She continued to walk down the corridor, the torches roaring softly as she passed, leaving a red-orange glow to float over her face serenely. Finally, the hall reached to a dead end after a sharp turn. At the end was another door. This one was a traditional Japanese sliding door, though it was still made out of fine wood with a shiny brass knob to push it aside with. Carved on the door front was a large corral shell. It had a delicate look to it yet it was strong and seemed to compel Kagome to what was inside.

Her steps were soft on the stone floor as her delicate hand touched the bronze knob. But when she tried to pull the door to the side, nothing happened. The door was firmly locked. She sighed in great disappointment and stood there a while longer staring at the door. She traced the delicate lines of the corral with her finger.

She sighed and turned to walk back down the hall. She couldn't help but wonder about the room with the coral shell. Something about it called to her.

She tried to shake it off as she walked past Sesshoumaru's room. The walls glowed orange in the torch light and distorted the soft colors of her kimono.

When she reached the end of the hall, she paused in curiosity. There were two stairways; one twisting up, the other down. A small platform was all that separated the directions and on either side of the opening was a brazier causing a ring of orange light. From what she remembered from last night, they had gone very far up and she could not imagine what could be any higher.

Her slippers made a soft sound on the stone step as she gathered her layers of silk for upward journey. The steps curved sharply and were dark half the time because the torches were only on landings set at odd intervals. She became very dizzy as she tried to keep count of how many steps she climbed. The stairs never seemed to end and she never saw even one door. She lost count at 3,096 and two landings later reached the top and could climb no more. The stairs ended abruptly when she bumped her head on the ceiling. When she looked up she saw that there was a wooden trap door over her head and the stairs continued on to the edge of it. She paused there for a minute to catch her breath again.

Funny how she could tramp all around feudal Japan but she couldn't climb a few thousand steps. She suppressed a giggle as it would only have made the stitch that had developed in her side worse.

When she caught her breath again she grasped the rusty ring and threw the trap door open. She walked up the few remaining steps and into the center of the room above. What she saw made her catch her breath in her throat. The room was a large, circular area that was completely open to the elements. There were four large pillars supporting the roof of the tower. Between the pillars were large, windowless spaces that faced the four directions; North, South, East and West. The sun was shining bright in the window to her right and a cool breeze kissed her face. She stepped to her left and put her hand on the cold stone ledge that faced the West. There, laid out in front of her, were the western lands as they were in the tapestry. This must have been where the artist had sat and planned the whole thing. She looked down and was suddenly very thankful for the waist high ledge that kept her from falling the many miles that stretched between the ground and the top of the tower where she stood.

What Kagome didn't realize was that Sesshoumaru's castle was at the very heart of the western lands and one could see the borders from all directions of that high tower.

She went from window to window, gazing in awe the fields and mountains and villages that seemed to stretch for all eternity until they met the bright sky and disappeared from sight.

AN/ well, ther it is! Two chptrs at once. I hope u enjoyed. Fyi, don't b expecting lotsa updates real fast. Im prolly gonna b slow but the more reviews I get the faster I work so please R&R. and thnx to all my reviewers; Crystal Sapphire, Shichan2, Bekkablair (oi, u don't happen to like it a bit, do u? :-P) and Mala Valvah.