Age of the White Dawn
Chapter 6: Some New Faces
They were escorted into a vast, gold painted room with high-vaulted ceilings and richly embroidered tapestries hanging everywhere. The tapestries depicted scenes of a shimmering jewel, an alter, two lovers and, the largest tapestry of them all, a regal, strong-looking woman whose head was encircled by a crown of light or stars. It lent the room an air of great solemnity as well as a suppressed feeling of excitement that caused Kagome's fingers to tingle and her eyes to widen in awe. In the middle of the room there stood a single throne made of polished slabs of stone, bleached white from the sun and worn smooth by the desert sand. It had no ornament on it accept for a piece of metal skillfully wrought into the rune of royalty.
On the throne sat a woman, fair of hair and skin, who Kagome could only assume was the Queen. She had a regal aura about her, and a beauty very much like the desert itself: wild, untamable, yet mysteriously beautiful. Despite her intimidating appearance, her voice was soft and measured when she smiled kindly and said,
"Several of my people saw what you did through the court yard windows and up on the watch towers. They told me how you immediately ran to save my daughter from that oni ignoring your obvious lack of experience, and the great power and strength used to defeat the oni. We have been trying to rid ourselves of this creature all day and, as a result, many great Bendela have died needlessly. You may stay here as long as you want. Now, what are a hanyou and a schoolgirl from the Northlands doing here? You obviously didn't come to help us because we never sent for help; are you a part of a trading caravan?"
Inu Yasha snorted and tossed his head in disdain, "Hey, your highness, do you think a human caravan would let someone like me within ten feet of their goods?"
"No, I suppose not." The Queen reflected, looking speculatively at the pair, "What were your names again? I'm afraid I didn't catch them."
"My name's Inu Yasha, and our business is our own…if you don't mind." He forced out, his face portraying his obvious distaste at his polite words. Kagome almost smiled at him, but remembered just in time that she was supposed to be mad at him. Shooting a quick glare at the still wry-faced hanyou, she stepped forward, gave a small bow, and added,
"And my name's Kagome. I apologize if my companion offended you at all. He still hasn't been fully house trained." A barely stifled swear followed her comment, causing her to smile in satisfaction. Giving one last bow, she stepped back to stand next to her fuming friend and ponder over the suddenly pale, startled looking Queen.
"Shit." Inu Yasha openly growled, breaking the silence.
"What?"
"She knows?"
"Huh?" She looked from the queen to the tense-looking Inu Yasha in confusion.
"Inu Yasha, step forward," the Queen commanded so suddenly, that they both promptly and obediently stepped forward. Inu Yasha arched an amused eyebrow at Kagome, who just crossed her eyes back at him.
"How far are you on your quest, Inu Yasha?" she asked, putting an end to their silent argument.
"Feh. The wench's weak, so we're still on our way to the Devil's Nest." He answered; ignoring the dirty look Kagome threw him.
"I see," the Queen nodded, a look of surprise on her face. She turned to look searchingly at Kagome, who refused to flinch under her piercing gaze. (Mentally she was running around in confusion and nervous-ness, but she avoided showing such thoughts)
"So young," the Queen murmured, more to herself then any body else. Still continuing her study of Kagome, she now addressed Inu Yasha,
"Protect her well. She seems so young and naïve…she's stubborn though. Headstrong and intelligent too, though she doesn't appear so. She will be, but as of yet, she's not ready." Turning back to Inu Yasha, the look of surprise flew back onto her face.
"Oh…neither are you."
Inu Yasha accepted the statement without complaint, only bowing his head to glower at the floor while carefully avoiding Kagome's eyes. A loud snap echoed through the room and the two Bendela that had escorted them to the Queen earlier had reappeared at their sides.
"I'll let you retire to your rooms now. You will be called for dinner. Take Mistress Kagome to the north east corridor and Master Inu Yasha to the west."
As they were escorted out of the rooms, Kagome risked one last look over her shoulder and just caught sight the kindly smile dropping from the Queen's lips before she brought a trembling hand up to her face. Then they turned a corner, and the Queen and magnificent room disappeared from view.
For a minute they walked in silence, each buried deep within their own thoughts. At the intersection of several corridors, Kagome froze, turned to Inu Yasha and spat,
"You."
"What?"
"You know something I don't. Something important."
"What makes you think that?" he asked with an innocent smile; his sharps fangs marring effect.
"Ha, very funny! Why else would you willingly tell the Queen so much?"
"She's the queen of the Bendela!" he retorted, as if that explained everything. "Plus, I was only being an obedient little doggy like you wanted me to be." He smirked arrogantly. Her eyes narrowed,
"You didn't have to tell her all those details."
"Details?! What details?" he practically howled, "It's not like I told her how we met, and how long it took to get to Maesta Carta. I didn't even tell her about your mother!"
"Don't start on that," she snapped, "The point is you told her the status of our quest when there no one forcing you to, so obviously there's a valid, very important reason why you did. So tell me what it is. …is it about Kikyo?"
He looked at her in surprise, then scowled, "No."
"Is it about me?"
"What do you think?"
"Why don't you just tell me!"
"…"
"I'll say the s-word."
"Kami-sama, haven't you figured it out yet?"
"Obviously not." She said icily.
"I'm talking bout your premonition, the runes I found, the Queen. C'mon wench, you're not that much of a dumb ass, are you?" Kagome's anger melted into confusion, and all she did was look down at the sandy floor, a puzzled expression on her face
"The runes, the ones I know you read in my journal, they're about you."
"I figured that much out already."
"I can't imagine why, but did you figure out that you're going to be the Queen of the New Age?"
"Well n-no, but—" she stopped mid-sentence after seeing the smug look of triumph on Inu Yasha's face. Scowling, she asked, her voice filled with venom,
"If I'm going to be queen, why are you tagging along with me? Got nothing better to do?"
"That's none of your business, bitch."
"Considering how I'm traveling with you, I'd say it is." She replied coldly.
"Like hell it is." He snarled.
"Yeah? Well you and your ego are making me stick so just get out of my face, you jerk!" She exploded, turning around and crossing her arms.
"Oh yeah? Oh yeah?!" he shouted at her back, "Well I'll gladly leave! Who needs you any way? You're just some slutty, whiny, school-girl orphan who's useless, can't fight and has no friends!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately wished he hadn't. Her shoulders visibly sagged and he could smell something salty…'Oh shit.'
"Oi, Kagome," he began nervously, "You're not crying…are you? Not that I care." He added, his voice bordering on high-pitched.
"Why do you care," she responded, her back still turned to him. He heard her sniff and quickly scrub at her eyes, "It's not like you have any one either."
"Ugh! You little—"
"Sit."
"SLAM."
"Bitch!"
"I'm going to my room now," she said, turning to face Inu Yasha. Even from where he was smashed flat on the ground, he could see how her eyes shone with unshed tears. 'Oh shit, oh shit…well, better mad then crying,' he thought to himself in a panic. Aloud he tried to shrug casually.
"Feh, whatever bitch. Fine." Her brows suddenly furrowed and an angry pout once again graced her features.
"Fine."
"Fine." He said, a little louder with a smirk.
"Fine!" she shouted back, and stormed off down the corridor.
She was still fuming when her Bendela escort caught up with her. They walked a few feet in silence before Kagome's posture seemed to droop and she sighed,
"I'm sorry you had to see that. I haven't known Inu Yasha very long, but what I do know is that he's a violent, pig-headed, egotistical, all around jerk." She laughed, continuing to ramble on in this fashion as they made their way down the hall. They stopped in front of a large door, which, unlike the rest of the doors, which were wood, was heavy and made of what appeared to be granite. Crude, ancient runes were chiseled around the edges with a circle in the center of it. In the circle was smooth, upraised rune that looked newly carved.
After gazing some-what respectively at the door, the Bendela turned to Kagome and said,
"Here's your room Mistress." This was the first time she had spoken and Kagome found herself wishing she would again. Her voice was low, and melodious and so unlike the sharp, "twangy" voices of her friends in the Northlands that she couldn't help smiling in delight.
"Oh! So you can talk! I was afraid you couldn't for a while. You can just call me Kagome, by the way."
Almost immediately the Bendela relaxed and, grinning, responded,
"Kagome? That's a unique name, is it very popular in the Northlands? Oh, and my name's Sango."
"Sango, that's a nice name." Secretly she thought the name was just as "unique" as Kagome, but she figured offending a Bendela was a bad idea. Especially since she was dressed in red, which she heard was a color reserved for only the most elite Bendela.
The color of her clothes wasn't the only thing distinct about Sango. Physically she appeared very different from the other Bendela too. Her hair was dark black and her skin pale, whereas her fellow Bendela had mostly bleached blonde hair and heavily tanned skin. Sensing her thoughts, Sango explained,
"You're probably wondering why I look as unique as your name sounds. Well, I wasn't born a Bendela. They found me when I was a small child, wandering the desert. Apparently I was babbling about my brother or something, but I don't really remember any more." Stretching she yawned and smiled, "Well, now that I told you the story of my life you probably want me to leave."
"No, I—"
"I wasn't serious; I have to get back to the watch tower any way. If you need anything, just give a shout. You'll be told when dinner's ready." With that she waved and walked down the hall, her ponytail swinging back and forth in time with her footsteps.
******
With little effort Kagome managed to push the seemingly heavy door open. Stepping into the room, it took little inspection for her to come to the conclusion that the room hadn't been used for several years. Light, white curtains covered the windows and, at the center of the room, was a large wooden bed. Blankets, with the same rune on the door embroidered onto them, covered the bed, which was surrounded by gauzy fabric. Everything in the room was covered in a thick layer of dust, yet the furniture, the blankets, they all looked new and unused. To further satisfy her growing curiosity, she opened all of the drawers she could find as well as the small door to the right of her nightstand. It ended up being a very small, dusty closet containing only two yellow eyes staring at her.
Screaming, she almost shut the door on whatever it was in there but emerging from the shadows stepped the plump body of,
"Mr. Toodles?"
"Mr. Toodles?" Another voice echoed. Turning, Kagome saw Inu Yasha in the doorway.
"Oh. Haven't you ever heard of knocking? And what're you doing here any way?" she asked haughtily.
"Uh, I was just passing through the hall and heard your scream so I came here to make sure you weren't dead." He shrugged indifferently, averting his eyes. Sensing a silent apology, Kagome gave a reluctant sigh,
"Thanks, I guess."
The tense atmosphere still hadn't lifted until she held up Mr. Toodles and, with a rueful smile, said,
"Look who I found."
A/N: Wooot! School's finally out and I posted this chappy ASAP. Oh by the way, this story started out as an original creation, but I decided to "Yasha-tize" it. I have up to eight chapters pre-written so from chapter eight on I might be a bit slow on posting because I'll be writing the story as I go. But n e wayz, yeth, school's out but there was no interesting senior prank this year. L In fact, it was an all around cloudy, rather, dreary cold day. But I'm going to see Finding Nemo for the second time tomorrow so auf wiedersehen! Thank you soo much for the reviews. ^______^
~Qweeni