The Princess and the Pauperess

Chapter 10
Letters

Kagome sat at the large desk in Kikyou's room with a sheet of paper and a very fancy quill pen. She had to get in touch with Kikyou somehow. She had to tell Kikyou that her father was sick and that she did not have to marry Naraku. If only she knew how to spell…

"Here goes," she said as she dipped the pen in its ink.

Kikyo,
This is Kagome, I just thougt I should tell you some things. Your father is sick. He's been doing a lot of wierd things lately. Also, Naraku doesn't really want to marry you, so you're safe, but he somehow figured out that I wasn't you, and is black-mailing me. He is really wierd. Anyway, on a little side note, Inuyasha is really mean, what can you possibly see in him? I mean, I'll give you good looking, but that minus zero personality! And he promised to exact revenge on me. Is he the vengeful sort, or is he all bark and no bite? Please rite back and tell me how everything is going there!
With love,
Kagome

There, that should do it. She folded the paper carefully and sealed it sloppily before scribbling her own name on the front.

"Lady Kikyou," a soft voice called from the doorway. Kagome snapped her head in that direction.

"Yes?" she replied, standing to face the messenger boy, who bowed before speaking again.

"Lord Naraku wishes your presence in the Great Hall," he told her.

"Where is that?" she asked before she could stop herself. "I—I mean, I, uh, haven't been down there in so long I think I've forgotten," she tried for the save.

"Of course. I would escort you, but I'm afraid I have urgent business to attend to…" he glanced down the hallway to his left and right before spying someone to help. "Mr. Inuyasha!" he called. Kagome groaned. Inuyasha, of all people?

"What do you want, maggot?" she heard the muffled reply. Houjou just smiled as if he hadn't heard the insult.

"Lady Kikyou needs an escort to the Great Hall, and I am currently unable," the blond boy replied.

"Whatever." She heard his footsteps coming toward the doorway, and quickly shoved the letter into Houjou's hand.

"Lady Kikyou?" he questioned.

"Please deliver this to Kagome in town."

"Of course." He bowed and Inuyasha took his place in the doorway.

"Come on, you stupid wench," he said as he began walking down the hallway. She moved in step behind him.

"How is the king doing?" she asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I think he's dying," Inuyasha told her.

"What?" Kagome gasped out. "Dying?" He smirked at her over his shoulder.

"Who was the letter for? I didn't know you could write."

"It was for Kouga, my fiancé," she lied. He turned to her slightly, shooting her a look.

"You have a fiancé? So what about Naraku, then?"

"He's nice. Weird, but nice."

"So which are you going to marry?" he asked.

"What's it to you?" she retorted before sighing. "I'll marry Kouga, and be free forever." She grinned stupidly, and Inuyasha shot her a disgusted look.

"Ew, you're not in love with him or anything?" They turned a corner and continued walking. Really, how far could the Great Hall be?

"Maybe," she replied. "But my love life has nothing to do with you."

"Fair enough." They stopped at a set of double doors. "The Great Hall, princess." He opened the door for her and she stepped through. He closed the door.

"Ah, Kikyou Dearest!" Naraku called, striding over to Kagome. She smiled.

"Naraku Honey," she joked, earning a smirk. "Have they arrived?" she asked, referring to his twin and her suitor.

"Yes," he replied. "They're being settled in, and were told to meet me here once they were finished unpacking and changing." Kagome nodded, then jumped as the door was jerked open. There, in the doorway, stood the most beautiful (not to mention tallest) woman Kagome had ever seen. The woman merely stared at her in monotone, no expression creasing that perfect face.

"Nice to meet you," she stuttered out, bowing clumsily. "I am Kikyou."

"Your hospitality is appreciated," the woman replied in a deep baritone. Weird…

"Kikyou Dearest, this is Lord Sesshoumaru of the West," Naraku introduced the man. Kagome bowed again.

"Naraku, what are you trying to pull?" Sesshoumaru snarled out, causing shivers to run up and down Kagome's spine. "I saw her. That annoying wench you call a sister. I thought I was coming to convince this lady's father to give consent of marriage." Kagome blinked at Sesshoumaru, then at Naraku in turn.

"You lied?" she asked the latter. He rolled his eyes, and Sesshoumaru glared.

"You!" an accusatory voice yelled from across the room. Everyone turned their attention to the other set of doors. There stood a stunningly beautiful woman, angrily pointing a finger at one of them.

"Bitch," Sesshoumaru greeted her calmly.

"Kikyou Dearest, my twin sister, Kagura," Naraku introduced them.

. . . . .

Houjou traipsed down the dusty road, whistling to himself. Being a messenger boy was fun! He spied a squirrel in a tree along the way, and cooed at it.

"Oh, little squirrel! Little squirrel!" Apparently, he was supposed to be meeting a woman named Kagome at the fork in the road. The squirrel scuttled away, and he gazed on ahead. He could see the fork, and someone standing there. They turned and saw him and began trotting up to meet him.

"Hello, are you Kagome?" he asked them. The person shook their head.

"No, I'm a friend of Kagome's. Something came up, so she told me to pick up her messages for her."

"Oh, alright." He handed the woman the letter from Lady Kikyou, and she handed him two separate letters, one to Lady Kikyou, and the other to Mr. Inuyasha. He carefully tucked the messages away in his bag and bowed to the woman.

"May I ask what business is keeping Kagome?" he asked her. She shot him a look.

"Her father has died, not more than an hour ago," she replied.

"Oh, please send her my condolences."

"Thank you, I will." She bowed and began walking back toward town. The squirrel ran out on a limb and began chattering to Houjou.

"Hi, little squirrel!" he greeted it. "Oh, little, little squirr-el!"

. . . . .

Kagome sat on the counter in the kitchen, munching on her cheese and bread. Naraku hadn't told her that Sesshoumaru and Kagura hated each other with a vehement passion. The meeting had been a disaster, with both parties throwing random insults at each other before storming (or walking stolidly) out their respective doors, leaving Naraku and Kagome to come up with a grand master plan of action, which probably wouldn't work, either. She sighed into the piece of bread in her hand and shifted her position. Being a princess wasn't what she'd thought it would be at all.

"Lady Kikyou?" a voice asked from the darkened doorway.

"Yes?" she answered, walking toward the voice.

"Oh, good! It took me forever to find you!" It was Houjou.

"I'm sorry, Houjou," she apologized, smiling at him.

"It isn't a problem. Here, this came for you today, from one 'Kagome'."

"Oh! Thank you!" She grabbed the letter from him, beaming. Now she would know what was going on in town, how her father was, how Kouga was, how Miroku and Sango were doing…

"Have a good evening," Houjou bowed before ducking out the door.

"Hey, wait!" Kagome called. He reappeared eagerly. "Could you…keep me company? Or are you busy—I bet you're busy…"

"No, I'm not busy. I would love to keep you company, Lady Kikyou." Kagome smiled and Houjou smiled back.

"I was just having a bit of bread and cheese, would you like some?" she asked, making her way to her counter spot again. She plopped herself down and motioned for him to sit beside her. He blushed and did so, taking the piece of bread she offered him. "What's it like, being a messenger?" she asked.

"It's a lot of fun," he replied. "I'm always on the move, talking to people, carrying messages, and other stuff."

"Inuyasha didn't do a lot when he was the messenger," Kagome noted.

"No, he didn't. That's why he's the King's personal aide now, it's a job better suited for him, since he hated being the messenger."

"Oh. And how is the king?" she asked tentatively, taking a bite of her bread. Houjou shrugged.

"As far as I know he's just suffering from memory loss and sleepwalking episodes, I don't think he's dying or anything." Kagome smiled, relieved. Suddenly, the door burst open and an angry looking Kagura stalked toward the two.

"Messenger boy," she said in an authoritative voice.

"Yes, Lady Kagura?" Houjou replied, standing and bowing all in one motion.

"I would like you to personally deliver a message to Sesshoumaru, Mr. I-Am-God," she told him.

"Yes, Lady Kagura."

"Tell him that if I so much as see him in the duration of my stay at this castle, I will teach his daughter every curse word known to mankind. I know where she sleeps." With that, she turned and stalked back out, cursing under her breath. Houjou turned to Kagome and bowed.

"I must be going," he said, and left. Kagome inched closer to the flickering candlelight and opened the letter.

Kagome,
I hope all is well on your end of the deal. Unfortunately, all is not well here. Your father has been killed by Kouga. It's really not Kouga's fault, he was protecting me, you see, but…He's in custody now. And Sango's brother apparently has killed someone as well. His name is Kohaku, and supposedly he's bound to a life of servitude under Lord Naraku. I think it was Naraku, anyway. Kagome, I'm sorry, but I think I may be in love with Kouga. I'm going to try to save him—he's scheduled to be executed before the month is out. We need to switch back soon so that I can take care of this mess properly. Please tell me that you aren't mad at me for falling in love with your fiancé. I'm sorry about your father, but he deserved death long before I came along.
Sincerely,
Kikyou

"Oh crap," Kagome said. "I spelled Kikyou wrong."

. . . . .

Inuyasha reclined in his bed, reading the letter he'd received from Kikyou by candlelight.

Dearest Inuyasha,
I hope you aren't being too overly mean to Kagome. She's a sweet girl, you should give her a chance. And who knows, maybe in time you'll come to see that she is better for you than I ever was. What I mean to say is, I met someone here. He's a good man. I don't know if it could ever work between Kouga and me, but I'm tired of doing what is expected of me. I'm sorry, Inuyasha, you have to understand that we never really had anything other than understanding and a bit of lust. How is Father? Is he very ill? I have requested to switch back with Kagome to resolve the mess we've made of things properly, but I do not want to come back. I do not want to take the crown. You must understand, Inuyasha, I love you. You will always hold a special place in my heart, but no one could ever be the same to me as Kouga.
Love,
Kikyou

Inuyasha sighed and closed his eyes. He should be angry, he should be crushed, anything but…relieved. He couldn't be sure when he'd fallen out of love with Kikyou, but it had happened. He still felt empty. His eyes snapped open when the door swung open, revealing a little girl.

"Hi, I'm Rin!" she told him. He stared at her. Wasn't that…Lord Sesshoumaru's kid? "I learned a word today, do you wanna hear it?" she asked him. He nodded his head slightly. "Fuck!" she exclaimed, causing Inuyasha to bang his head on the wall falling backwards.

"Where did you--?" he started, but she cut him off.

"Wanna know how to use it?" she asked excitedly. He merely stared. "Fuck off you womanish pussy!" she vociferated proudly, and Inuyasha found his jaw dropping. Kagura then sauntered into the room, grabbing Rin by the hand and walking her out of the room.

"Come on, Rin, let's not bug Inuyasha. We need to continue your lessons so you can impress your daddy," she told the little girl as she closed the door behind them.

"Yay! I love my daddy!" he heard Rin announce to the hallway. Inuyasha sighed. How long would the feud between Kagura and Sesshoumaru last?

"Bitch!" a little, faraway voice said. Inuyasha cringed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alright, kind of a weird, forced out chapter this time, but whatever.

Dedications:

Meisah: Are you feeling better after having your teeth out? And yes, I do love anesthetics! ^_^ They are a wonderful, trippy thing.

Kats02980416: I agree, Inuyasha is being a total asshole, but hopefully Kikyou's note will change some things!

Squishy (times 3!): Yay! I'm glad that you recognized that I'm working on my writer flaws! Oh, hahaha! You choked on your eyeballs? And don't be dissin "Eh?"! It is a very deep story with lots of symbolism. Lots and lots of symbolism.

M 'n' Ms: Yes, you're right. Inuyasha is not vengeful in nature. He's really (as you said, scarily enough) a nice guy. So note, has he ever really gotten any revenge? Sure he's done a couple of mean things, but he hasn't ever exacted revenge. ^_^ He's just barking. Thank you for noticing that! And, most importantly, for being willing to point out errors that you notice. I'm so glad to have you around!!! ^___^ (Am I scaring you yet?) I think that you'll  make a great editor. I personally wouldn't be able to stand editing things all day long as a job (I have edited things for people before, but…I dunno, making a career of it. You must be very patient).

Yay! I got reviews!! *does the happy kabob dance*