Chapter #3
Hanii blew a stray wisp of hair out of her face as she folded one of her Lady's gowns. She often wondered how Kikyo went through so many clothes so often; owning a total of three dresses herself. She'd been doing the laundry for the noble household for about ten years and the Lady Kikyo wore as many clothes as the Lord and his three sons did.
She groaned and lifted her crate containing the laundry. She always brought a crate when doing Kikyo's wash; it wouldn't be possible to get them inside off of the clothesline and inside the manor without one. Kikyo was constantly putting her to the hardest chores, and Hanii knew why. But it wasn't possible to address her lady about the issue, and Hanii herself wanted it to lie in the background. She could bear the extra work, but the memories would kill her if she talked about it, she was sure of it.
She sighed as she brought her crateful of clothed into the manor, trying to snap herself out of her treacherous train of thought. She focused on her tasks ahead of her.
She would need to put the gowns away, straighten up her Lord and Lady's chambers, and then help with the cooking. The cooking was her second favorite task, because she could talk and gossip with her friends while they prepared the meal.
The only thing that she had a real talent for was healing, however, and she was running short on salves. Maybe she could make more when the stew was on simmer...she drifted off, lost in the world of medicine and memories. She didn't notice when she wandered into Master Kouga's room by mistake-but she did notice the strange girl sleeping in his bed, wearing one of his shirts.
She felt a blush stain her cheeks and left the room quickly, determined to mind her own business. If she got caught, the beating would be inevitable, but she was afraid that her lord would do much worse. It was within his power to do anything he wished to her, and he needed no excuses. She hurried down the hall. The only person that she was truly afraid of was her Lord Dai, and she wouldn't risk upsetting him.
Kouga was beginning to worry. His mate was still sleeping, four hours later. She'd appeared to have just woken up when he found her outside, and he didn't understand it. He wanted her to wake up so they could go over the statistics of their lives together. And he'd never asked her if she wanted one of those human marriages. If she did, he was confident that he could talk her out of it-he hoped.
He was still lost in his thoughts an hour later when Kagome woke up. She was so warm and comfortable, it took her a minute to realize that she wasn't back home, asleep in her old bed.
No, it's not my home anymore. And I'm never going to go back. I just can't- besides, I wouldn't be welcome there. Even if I were, I wouldn't go back, Kagome told herself. But still she was hit with a wave of memories that she'd kept at bay. She fought down tears as she remembered why she'd left, and why she couldn't go back.
Kouga coming in to check on her, and asking if she needed anything snapped her out of her misery. And he was asking her if she needed a chapel wedding to verify their status in her mind, or if the ancient traditions of demonic mating would be enough for her. She tried again to tell him that they couldn't be together, this time armed with an excuse.
"Look, I'm already involved with someone. He's really nice, and I couldn't hurt him like that. Not that you aren't nice, but...I can't." The finish left something to be desired, she knew, but she was hoping that he would accept her excuse. Hoping that he would believe her excuse.
He did, but it didn't have the effect that she'd wanted it to have. "Really? You are? What's his name, where can I find him?" He seemed almost happy. Kagome didn't understand. He knew that she'd told him she wouldn't mate with him, not that they could have a threesome, right?
She shook her head; she'd spent altogether too much time around the perverted underbelly of society. (In the feudal ages, that was REALLY low) But still, he didn't seem to understand. "You know that I said that I couldn't get involved with you, right?" she tried again.
"Yea, but I understand now. And all I have to do is find this guy, and kill him. Because then there won't be anything else to stand between us, and you can become my mate." She stared at him in shock. Why did she tell him that? What did she do to some poor guy that she didn't even know? He'd be out for blood, and all she'd wanted was to put NO in terms that he would understand, and 'I'm taken' had seemed to be the kind of thing that he would get. She sighed and shifted positions on the pallet, accidentally waking Shippo.
Shippo was pleasantly warm, and surprisingly un-hungry. "Kagome?" he asked sleepily, drawing himself out of his dream world. He looked up, and saw that Kagome was already awake-and already talking to that demon who wanted to marry her.
Shippo felt a flash of possessive jealousy. Hadn't the demon gotten the hint? Kagome didn't love him. If she did, the situation would be different, but she'd denied him when he'd asked her to be his mate. Didn't the guy get that?
Apparently not, Shippo thought as Kouga asked Kagome to come meet his mother and tell her the good news. He sweatdropped, he was sure kagome had said no to his advances at least twice.
Unless-What if Kagome had accepted while he'd been sleeping? He wouldn't know, obviously, and it was possible that she'd changed her mind now that she'd seen how she could have a comfortable family life. He knew that she longed for one, although she never said anything. He could see it in her eyes when she let down her defenses. He didn't want to deny her her happiness, but he couldn't bear being alone in the world. Not again.
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` Yea, yea, so I'm foreshadowing something bad in Hanii's past, (something NOT in the prologue, I just thought of it) and friction between her and Kikyo, so what? And yes, there will OBVIOUSLY be rumors about Kouga and Kagome; she's sleeping in his bed. People are going to wonder, and then they're going to talk. Get over it.
And I'm not sure how Shippo would react to Kouga like this, so he's going to be obsessive-protective most of the time, but he'll probably come to terms with the idea. Eventually.
And yes, this is a boring chappie, I know...but it gets better, really! This is just to hold the story together, and to introduce Hanii. For the boneheads who don't read prologues.
And thank you, Demongirl6381, and yea, you're right. But you try to make the villain a hero!!! It's not so easy if he's going to stay evil...but thanx for reviewing!!!!
*evil glare * MOST of my readers don't review...
Hanii blew a stray wisp of hair out of her face as she folded one of her Lady's gowns. She often wondered how Kikyo went through so many clothes so often; owning a total of three dresses herself. She'd been doing the laundry for the noble household for about ten years and the Lady Kikyo wore as many clothes as the Lord and his three sons did.
She groaned and lifted her crate containing the laundry. She always brought a crate when doing Kikyo's wash; it wouldn't be possible to get them inside off of the clothesline and inside the manor without one. Kikyo was constantly putting her to the hardest chores, and Hanii knew why. But it wasn't possible to address her lady about the issue, and Hanii herself wanted it to lie in the background. She could bear the extra work, but the memories would kill her if she talked about it, she was sure of it.
She sighed as she brought her crateful of clothed into the manor, trying to snap herself out of her treacherous train of thought. She focused on her tasks ahead of her.
She would need to put the gowns away, straighten up her Lord and Lady's chambers, and then help with the cooking. The cooking was her second favorite task, because she could talk and gossip with her friends while they prepared the meal.
The only thing that she had a real talent for was healing, however, and she was running short on salves. Maybe she could make more when the stew was on simmer...she drifted off, lost in the world of medicine and memories. She didn't notice when she wandered into Master Kouga's room by mistake-but she did notice the strange girl sleeping in his bed, wearing one of his shirts.
She felt a blush stain her cheeks and left the room quickly, determined to mind her own business. If she got caught, the beating would be inevitable, but she was afraid that her lord would do much worse. It was within his power to do anything he wished to her, and he needed no excuses. She hurried down the hall. The only person that she was truly afraid of was her Lord Dai, and she wouldn't risk upsetting him.
Kouga was beginning to worry. His mate was still sleeping, four hours later. She'd appeared to have just woken up when he found her outside, and he didn't understand it. He wanted her to wake up so they could go over the statistics of their lives together. And he'd never asked her if she wanted one of those human marriages. If she did, he was confident that he could talk her out of it-he hoped.
He was still lost in his thoughts an hour later when Kagome woke up. She was so warm and comfortable, it took her a minute to realize that she wasn't back home, asleep in her old bed.
No, it's not my home anymore. And I'm never going to go back. I just can't- besides, I wouldn't be welcome there. Even if I were, I wouldn't go back, Kagome told herself. But still she was hit with a wave of memories that she'd kept at bay. She fought down tears as she remembered why she'd left, and why she couldn't go back.
Kouga coming in to check on her, and asking if she needed anything snapped her out of her misery. And he was asking her if she needed a chapel wedding to verify their status in her mind, or if the ancient traditions of demonic mating would be enough for her. She tried again to tell him that they couldn't be together, this time armed with an excuse.
"Look, I'm already involved with someone. He's really nice, and I couldn't hurt him like that. Not that you aren't nice, but...I can't." The finish left something to be desired, she knew, but she was hoping that he would accept her excuse. Hoping that he would believe her excuse.
He did, but it didn't have the effect that she'd wanted it to have. "Really? You are? What's his name, where can I find him?" He seemed almost happy. Kagome didn't understand. He knew that she'd told him she wouldn't mate with him, not that they could have a threesome, right?
She shook her head; she'd spent altogether too much time around the perverted underbelly of society. (In the feudal ages, that was REALLY low) But still, he didn't seem to understand. "You know that I said that I couldn't get involved with you, right?" she tried again.
"Yea, but I understand now. And all I have to do is find this guy, and kill him. Because then there won't be anything else to stand between us, and you can become my mate." She stared at him in shock. Why did she tell him that? What did she do to some poor guy that she didn't even know? He'd be out for blood, and all she'd wanted was to put NO in terms that he would understand, and 'I'm taken' had seemed to be the kind of thing that he would get. She sighed and shifted positions on the pallet, accidentally waking Shippo.
Shippo was pleasantly warm, and surprisingly un-hungry. "Kagome?" he asked sleepily, drawing himself out of his dream world. He looked up, and saw that Kagome was already awake-and already talking to that demon who wanted to marry her.
Shippo felt a flash of possessive jealousy. Hadn't the demon gotten the hint? Kagome didn't love him. If she did, the situation would be different, but she'd denied him when he'd asked her to be his mate. Didn't the guy get that?
Apparently not, Shippo thought as Kouga asked Kagome to come meet his mother and tell her the good news. He sweatdropped, he was sure kagome had said no to his advances at least twice.
Unless-What if Kagome had accepted while he'd been sleeping? He wouldn't know, obviously, and it was possible that she'd changed her mind now that she'd seen how she could have a comfortable family life. He knew that she longed for one, although she never said anything. He could see it in her eyes when she let down her defenses. He didn't want to deny her her happiness, but he couldn't bear being alone in the world. Not again.
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` Yea, yea, so I'm foreshadowing something bad in Hanii's past, (something NOT in the prologue, I just thought of it) and friction between her and Kikyo, so what? And yes, there will OBVIOUSLY be rumors about Kouga and Kagome; she's sleeping in his bed. People are going to wonder, and then they're going to talk. Get over it.
And I'm not sure how Shippo would react to Kouga like this, so he's going to be obsessive-protective most of the time, but he'll probably come to terms with the idea. Eventually.
And yes, this is a boring chappie, I know...but it gets better, really! This is just to hold the story together, and to introduce Hanii. For the boneheads who don't read prologues.
And thank you, Demongirl6381, and yea, you're right. But you try to make the villain a hero!!! It's not so easy if he's going to stay evil...but thanx for reviewing!!!!
*evil glare * MOST of my readers don't review...