I edited this chapter! I actually went back and reread it (gasp), and found that I accidentally said 'cousin' instead of 'twin' at some point, so it is now 'twin', as it should be. Hopefully that will ease some confusion. ^_^
The Princess and the Pauperess
Chapter 8
To kill
Kagome awoke sluggishly, sleep still clinging to her consciousness. She yawned and sat up. Suddenly, a long stream of women came bustling into the room, carrying fabrics and other things with them. One of them reached into the armoire and pulled out a dress.
"What's going on?" Kagome asked slowly.
"You're having breakfast with Naraku, my lady, don't you remember?" one of the women asked. Kagome groaned and tried to go back to sleep, but the hoard wouldn't allow that.
"It's time to get up. You wouldn't want to keep him waiting, would you?" a younger girl asked politely.
"Yeah, yeah, alright…" she allowed them to drag her out of bed and get to work. It was strange and uncomfortable to be undressed, fussed over, and redressed and fussed over again by a gaggle of complete strangers, but Kagome made herself grin and bear it. After what only seemed a few minutes, they were done and shoving her in front of a mirror. She looked royal; richer than she'd ever looked before. She wasn't sure she liked it entirely. She also noticed, with a slight twitch to her eye, that the corset wasn't nearly as tight now as it had been when Inuyasha had so graciously tied it for her last time.
"I'm glad you're feeling better, Princess Kikyou," the young girl said in a soft voice, "we were really worried about you." Several of the women nodded.
"Yes. You'd never refused our services before," an older woman added. The women filed out the door, and Kagome was left alone in her layers of clothing that looked good and felt opposite. Soon enough, Inuyasha barged into the room.
"Hey, wen--" he started, but cut himself off and stared at her unabashedly. She opened her mouth to speak, but he abruptly turned and left. What was his deal? She pouted and exited her room to wander in aimless search of the dining room.
. . . . .
Miroku barreled through the front door of the whorehouse and glared about at all the scantily clad females who stared back at him questioningly.
"Where's the mother of the house?" he asked, trying to keep the bite out of his words. All the girls continued to gawk at him, showing no signs of being helpful. One eunuch boy looked as if he might say something, but shuffled out of the room instead.
"Mi—Miroku?" someone asked, and he looked up the stairs. There she was. His lovely Sango dressed as all the other girls with that gaudy makeup all over her face. It filled his heart with anger. Anger at himself for never having noticed, anger at himself for never having cared enough to notice, anger at himself for treating her the way he had. And anger at her for never telling him. She sauntered down the stairs toward him, and he watched her. He'd never been this unsure of himself before. "Come on, Miroku, let's go outside," she said, and ignored the looks she received from the other girls. Miroku just followed her out the door and down the street. Once they were well away from the house, she turned on him, practically shoving him against the wall.
"San--" he started. She cut him off angrily.
"Save it. Are you trying to put me out on the street? Did you really think that would accomplish anything?" He stared into her livid eyes, and she stubbornly refused to break eye contact. "Did you really think you would help me by getting me kicked out of the house?" she asked, her voice strained.
"I don't know," he conceded. "I don't know what I was thinking. I was just so angry, I…I don't know."
Suddenly, she asked, "You're angry with me, aren't you?"
"What? Why would I be angry with you? I was mad at your mother, and at myself…" Her look softened a little at his words, allowing him to relax a bit.
"You…you don't think I'm disgusting?" she asked him slowly, disbelievingly.
"I could never think you're disgusting," he replied truthfully. To his surprise, she smiled and hugged him quickly.
Turning away, she said, "I have the best friend in the world." He grinned back.
"C'mon, let's go find the Princess," he offered. She shook her head.
"No, I have to get back to the house. We're doing some redistribution, and I need to be there to get my fair share…"
"Don't go back there. You can live with me, or Kouga. We'll support you, it--"
"I'm not supporting me," she said, effectively silencing him. "I'm doing this for my little brother, Kohaku."
"What?"
"He killed someone."
. . . . .
Kagome turned down another corridor. Her feet hurt from all the walking she'd been subjected to, thanks to Inuyasha's impromptu exit earlier that morning. It could have been afternoon by then, for all she knew. She stopped abruptly as she passed a door on which her unmistakable ribbon was tied.
"Damn, I knew I'd been down this corridor before!" she vociferated in frustration, stomping her foot.
"Can I help you, my lady?" a smooth, soft voice asked from behind her. She turned quickly and tried to act dignified. The boy bowed and looked to her with eyes as soft as his voice, if only a little bit vapid.
"Yes, um…have they moved the dining room? I can't find it…" she replied. The boy chuckled slightly.
"Come this way, my lady," he offered, motioning to the hallway to his right. She nodded and grabbed the ribbon from the door before following him. She tried to tie it back in her hair, but failed miserably and instead decided to tie it to her wrist. It looked unfortunately strange, but at least she wouldn't lose it.
"So, what's your name?" she finally asked to fill the silence. Surprisingly, she didn't receive an odd look for her question.
"Houjou," he answered. "I'm the new messenger."
"Oh. Nice to meet you, Houjou," Kagome replied. He blushed a little. So, the castle had a new messenger, huh? Wait…wasn't Inuyasha the messenger?
"What happened to Inuyasha?" she asked. She sincerely hoped he'd been fired. But, if that were the case, she would have no one who knew who she really was. It would get rather lonely.
"I think he got a new position. Something like personal aide or something. I don't really know. Well, here is the dining room. Enjoy your breakfast, Princess Kikyou." With a bow, the messenger boy was off, looking like he actually had a message to deliver, something Inuyasha had lacked in his messenging days. Kagome fought a chuckle as she opened the heavy door. Naraku was standing beside the set table, looking bored and (thankfully) like he'd just gotten there. His gaze turned to hers, and she didn't miss the smirk on his lips.
"Good morning, Kikyou dearest," he greeted her as he pulled a chair out--a gesture for her to sit. She sat.
"Good morning, Naraku," she replied, trying to sit in a ladylike fashion. Naraku seemed amused.
"We're eating late. I was hoping to speak to you about something, do you think we still could?" he asked her.
"Yeah, sur--yes, of course," she said.
"Good, good…" he seemed to be piecing together whatever it was in his mind to say carefully. It was taking an awfully long time. Abruptly, the door opened, and the King shuffled in, past the table, and into the kitchens, muttering something about wine in his drawers. Kagome and Naraku stared after him as he reentered the room from the kitchen, carrying a pitcher of wine. He stopped short as he noticed the two sitting at the table. He regarded them carefully for a few seconds before speaking.
"Who are you people?" he asked, pointing the wine pitcher at them. They exchanged looks.
"I'm your daughter. Remember?" Kagome tried.
"And I'm Lord Naraku from the North," Naraku said as if he got the 'who are you people' remark all the time.
"Oh, you hooligans!" the old man exclaimed, once again pointing the wine in their direction.
"Um…yes?" Kagome replied nervously. The King nodded and shuffled off, slamming the heavy door behind him, muttering about wine in his drawers.
"Anyway…" Naraku started, shaking Kagome's attention from the door. "I want to know if you love me. I will not marry a woman who doesn't." Kagome squirmed for a second before responding.
"Are you serious?"
"No."
"Seriously?"
"No."
"Wait, be serious. Were you being serious?"
"Yes."
"About what?"
"Everything."
"Everything?"
"No."
"I'm confused…" said the servant as she served them their drinks. Kagome was too confounded to respond. The servant girl scuttled out the room and back into the kitchen.
"So, when you said that you wouldn't marry me if I didn't love you, you were being serious," Kagome tried to clarify.
"Yes." Naraku smiled.
"I don't." His smile didn't falter.
"I have a proposition for you," he told her, the smirk not entirely leaving his face.
"Okay," Kagome said.
"You help me marry my twin sister and I won't tell anyone you're not really the princess."
"W-what?" Her heart thumped audibly in her chest. "You want to marry your twin?"
"Yes. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Um…yes, actually…"
"The man I want to marry her to will be arriving soon. Within the next few days, and I've called for her presence as well. I think they would make a smart match."
"Wait…you're blackmailing me to marry your twin off to someone you think is smart?"
"Precisely."
"I'm confused," said the servant.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wah! I did something very bad! Let's keep it between you and me that I lost the original plot, okay? *nervous twitch* Just kidding, but in all seriousness, the plot is turning out with more quirks than intended. Oh well, you'll be patient, right? *looks around* …
Dedications!
hehe: They are mad, indeed! I'm glad you liked last chapter. To tell you the truth, I was kinda worried about it. Anyway, I hope your essay went well and that you enjoyed this chapter, too! ^_^ A little less anger, but it's all good…
colly: Yes, that is the question! Will Inuyasha ever love Kagome for who she is? Can he just friggen forget about Kikyou? Thanks for your review!
Meisah: Thank you! *blushes* I'm not really that talented, just bored a lot, but thank you for the compliment! Sorry, I didn't get this chapter out very fast, but at least it's out, right? *hopeful eyes*
Kats02980416: Hey! Glad you like it so much! And I hope everything works out, too. ^_~
LadyJynjr: Yes…Inuyasha's almost figuring it out. So close. Haha! I annoy my parents with hyperness too. I'm glad you like this story! ^___^
Yay! Five reviews! *hops around* Woohoo!