Kitsunehime: Yosh! I'm back! *ignores the groans coming from the cast* Stupid me, my friend told me I only had to do one project. So I didn't have to do both after all! ^_^
Lucivar: . . . Right . . . And the sun rises in the South.
Kitsunehime: What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Lucivar: No clue.
Inuyasha: Yeah, yeah, just hurry up and get this over with.
Shippou: I dunno, it was getting kinda fun . . .
Kitsunehime: Hey, why are you all talking like this is the last chapter? Plenty left, you know!
Surreal: Oh, great.
Sango: Hey, at least you're not in it!
Kitsunehime: Anyways, I now know what to do about the dilemma I had about Sesshoumaru's return. Welcome to part one, or the first variation on how it would have happened! *mutters under breath* They both would have ended up the same way anyhow. On with the story!
Kagome: Uh, I think you're forgetting about something . . .
Kitsunehime: Oops. Me no own, you no sue. There.
To Rule the Darkness
ch. 26, Variation One: Ebon Askavi
That one month flew by for some, yet dragged on for others. But, try as they might to postpone it, Rin's eighteenth birthday arrived on a cool, overcast day.
When it came time for the offering itself, Rin appropriated the ballroom and Black-locked the door. All the others could do was wait.
After some nerve-fraying hours, Inutaishou and Sakuya retired to his study to drink yarbarah and pass the time.
Inuyasha, who thought of Rin as the younger sister he never had, paced back and forth over a small patch of floor until Inutaishou roared at him to stop. You see, Inuyasha was wearing a hole right above his head.
Kagome and Sango tried to sit in the library and read to take their minds off things, but the distraction proved too great. The end result was, they ended up sitting there worrying and vegetating.
Miroku was outside, sitting on the front lawn with Kirara. With nothing better to do, he started pulling up random clumps of grass and throwing them up in the air. Most of them came back down right on top of his head. "This sucks," he muttered.
Koryu, who was originally with Inutaishou and Sakuya, was thrown out of the study for no apparent reason. He ended up going back up to his room and sleeping. How he managed to actually do that is a mystery.
Fahleing took to vigorous training with her sword to take her mind off things. Shippou watched, with nothing else to do, and glad that it was the rocks that were pulverized and not him. Not that he'd ever give her a reason to cut him to bits the size of breadcrumbs . . .
Youko and Miyu roamed the halls and squished every single bug they could find out of sheer boredom and a need to vent their anxiousness.
Souta and Kohaku decided to play hide-and-seek and couldn't find each other. It took hours for them to get un-lost.
Around midnight, they all began to get seriously worried. Any other Offering to the Darkness, whether it be from White or Black, took place in one day, sunup to sunrise. But Rin had been in there for longer already, with no signs of coming out soon.
Those two anxious days that followed took their toll on everyone. Inutaishou and Sakuya were beginning to look more like the dead than the living, and the others weren't all that much better. But, before they could completely waste away, on the third day, the Shikon no Tama disappeared from right under Kagome's gaze.
Moments later, the ballroom doors swung open. Rin stood there, her Black Jewels gone. In their place, there was the Shikon no Tama itself, on a silken cord around her neck.
She swayed on her feet, bracing herself against the doorjamb. "How many sides does a triangle have?"
Puzzled, Shippou said, "Three. Why?"
She shook her head slowly. "A Blood triangle has four sides. Steward, Master of the Guard, Consort. Father, brother, lover. The fourth side is what the three guard." Now clutching the frame to keep from falling, she continued, "The . . . Dark Court . . . will form . . . tomorrow . . . " she said before passing out from the strain.
"Rin!" Inutaishou exclaimed, catching her. "Whew . . . Come on, my Queen, let's get you to bed."
Inuyasha let out the breath he was holding with a big whoosh. "She's going to be alright."
All the rest of them breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the Darkness," Sango murmured.
"It makes sense," Kagome mused. "I was always told the Shikon no Tama was mine to protect until its mistress was strong enough to claim it. I just never knew who."
"It doesn't matter, as long as she's fine," Sakuya stated. "I say we all go to bed too, so we can be up and running for the formation of the Dark Court."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rin and the others didn't wake until nearly evening, but that didn't affect the proceedings in any way. Immediately after they woke up and dressed, each caught what Wind they could and traveled to Ebon Askavi, the Blck Mountain, the throne of Witch.
But, no matter how fast the Wind they rode, Rin still arrived long before the others. Even Inutaishou and Inuyasha, with the darkest Jewels of them all, could not keep up.
Inutaishou scanned the room to make sure they were all ready, then pushed open the doors of the throne room.
It was shrouded in darkness at first, the one, then many more, torches flared. By their flickering light, the group saw the bottom of the throne, a simple, yet impressive design carved from black wood, inlaid with red mother-of-pearl.
The light flared higher, and a black kimono lined with red could be seen. The Shikon no Tama was clearly visible with the top pulled down off the shoulders.
Finally, the two torches to either side of the throne caught fire, and everyone could see Rin's cold, impassive face, the face of a Queen. The face of Witch.
"I am Queen here at Ebon Askavi. These lands in its shadow are mine to rule." That voice, chilling, dark, yet wonderful, sent shivers through Inutaishou, who seemed to be the spokesperson. "Does anyone challenge my rule?"
"No, my Queen. All we ask is to serve you."
" . . . "
"Do you accept our service?"
" . . . Yes. But you do not speak for everyone." Rin's face still remained that of a Queen, but here she softened a bit. "First, Lord Kohaku. Do you swear fealty?" she asked in that same impassive voice.
"Y-yes, I sw-swear it," he stuttered, sinking into a low, halting bow..
"Lord Shippou, do you swear fealty?"
"Yes, I swear f-fealty." His bow was smoother, having known this day would come for much longer.
"Lord Souta, do you swear fealty?"
"Yeah . . . I mean, yes."
"Lord Miroku, do you swear fealty?"
"Yes, that I do," Even with Rin's low-cut kimono, Miroku exhibited no signs of his usual lechery.
"Lady Kagome, do you swear fealty?"
"Yes, I swear fealty."
"Lady Sango, do you swear fealty?"
"Yes, I do."
Inutaishou and Inuyasha were beginning to become nervous. They knew that in Blood ceremonies like this, the Lighter Jeweled ones went first. But there was still a gnawing doubt chewing its way in the back of their minds.
"Lady Miyu Shiori, do you swear fealty?"
"Yes, my Queen."
"Queen Sakuya, do you swear fealty?"
She was shocked that she would be accepted, being demon-dead. "Yes, a thousand times over."
"Lady Fahleing, do you swear fealty?"
She went further than the others did, sinking nearly to the ground. "Yes, until death and beyond." Her family had been through its fair share of formalities, and she knew what to do.
"Prince Koryu, do you swear fealty?"
"Yes, on my honor." Yes, he had honor, it was one of the most important things in his life.
"Prince Youko Kurama, do you swear fealty?"
"Yes."
Here, Rin paused. For that split second, Inuyasha and Inutaishou feared she did not want them. But then . . .
"Prince Inuyasha, do you swear fealty as the Master of the Guard?"
Inuyasha was stunned at the high position he was offered. "Yes, I accept!"
"Prince Inutaishou, do you swear fealty as the Steward of the dark Court?"
He, too, was surprised. "Yes, I do." He fell silent. Sakuya elbowed him. "My Queen, do you accept our oaths of fealty?"
"Yes."
Inutaishou was nearly weak-kneed in relief. Such dramatics weren't good for an inu-youkai of his age. Now his only problem was not falling over at what happened next.
"The Dog Forest yields to Ebon Askavi!" Fahleing shouted. By that statement, she, in effect, added her territory to Rin's rule.
"The Fox Forest yields to Ebon Askavi!" Youko and Miyu chimed in unison. Inutaishou almost really did fall at that. Two of the most closed-off forests, acceding power so easily . . .
Sakyua elbowed him in the ribs again. A bit hoarsely, he cried out, "The Western Lands yields to Ebon Askavi!"
"I accept," Rin said quietly. "In addition to appointing Prince Inuyasha Master of the Guard, I name him the Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih."
It was now Inuyasha's turn to nearly fall. "T-Thank you, my Queen."
"Also, as Amdarh is missing a ruler, I appoint Prince Koryu as its Warlord Prince."
"I-I accept."
Fahleing stepped up and formally bowed to the Dark Throne. "My Queen, I humbly ask a favor."
"Ask."
"I ask that a new Keep be built to better protect the Dog Forest."
"Granted. Help will be sent when you need it. Prince Inutaishou."
"Yes?"
"I have one more duty for you. This ring . . . " She held out a small box covered in black velvet. "This is the Consort's Ring. I ask that you put it in your care until the day Prince Sesshoumaru returns."
Inutasishou took it and carefully used his Craft to vanish it. "It shall be done."
As if waking from a dream, Rin blinked. In her normal voice, she said, "Court's over. Can we go home now?"
Inutaishou laughed. "Witch-child, this is your home."
And that's the first version of how things could have happened. Version two should be up in maybe a day or two.
Thank you all so much for waiting patiently (*cough*cough*) for the story to continue. Arigatou gozaimasu!
A note about the 'Lady/Lord/Prince' thing, Almost all of the female castes are addressed formally as 'Lady.' I'm not sure if the Queen is called differently or not, but I do know it's not 'your majesty.' Most male castes are addressed as 'Lord,' while Warlord Princes are addressed as 'Prince.'
Whoops, and almost forgot. If you want to be notified of chapter updates, leave your email in a review. I finally figured out how to make mailing lists! *sweatdrops*
Ja!