Where's Kagome? If one more person asks me that…gah! Have a little faith, people. I'm not some drunkard who cannot understand continuity. You have to wait, okay? Man…
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Gossamer Dreams
Part 14
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"Just walk slightly behind me, and don't lift your head very high. If you act properly, no one will suspect." Inuyasha hissed instructions as he led Rin out of the secret staircase and into a corridor she had only seen just after Kijo inspected her that morning. She wondered how many more times she would walk that corridor, and who she would be with.
"Prince Inuyasha," she ventured to speak, and though he let out a harsh noise, it was only at the title.
"You may call me Inuyasha when there is no one else about." He told her, and she nodded shortly before continuing her intended inquiry.
"Do you find me pretty?" the question was hushed, slightly terrified, and Inuyasha actually snorted in response.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he wanted to know, answering her question with one of his own.
"Nothing." She answered quickly, her small hands twisting together in front of her. "It is just…right now, I had a hope that I would seem plain enough. I do not think I want to be pretty, anymore."
"Wh—oh." He sighed and reached back, offering her his arm so that she might walk beside him without it seeming entirely improper. "If I keep taking you out of the Apartment, people will think that you are my consort." He told her, his voice soft so that only she could hear, even if the corridor had not been empty. "There are not many Youkai in Fukumaden who know of the Apartment, but all the nobles with places at court do know. As long as you are seen with me, it will not take long for word to spread that Rin is off limits."
"Truly?" she looked up at him, her Gifted purple eyes glistening with tears she had been holding back for a while now. "No one would betray that claim, would they? You are, after all, the brother of the Emperor."
"Well, to tell you the truth, there are only two who might still take you, if they wished it." Inuyasha looked rather annoyed by this fact. "Of course, Sesshoumaru has his choice of any woman at court or in the Apartment, but you need not worry about him. He thinks Gifted are disgusting, and would never touch one, much less…claim an Apartment maiden as his own. The other is my uncle, the Lord Naraku. He is rather…something to worry about."
"Kikyo mentioned him. She said she would hide me from his curiosity, as I am new." Rin bit her lip. "Is he really as terrible as the Empress Mother?"
"Kijo?" Inuyasha's face looked as though he had just been forcibly made to eat a lemon. "It is hard to say which of that pair is the worse, but I would recommend avoiding either. Also, Kijo would never take you out of the Apartment, even if she wanted to, it is only men who are allowed. I only became old enough two months ago, when I turned fourteen."
"You must be worried, though." Rin commented. "About Kikyo."
"Yes." That was all that he said. That was really all he needed to say. They continued on in silence as Rin did her best to take in her surroundings while keeping her head lowered properly. This was not too difficult, since she had been spending all her years as Miroku's apprentice doing the same thing whenever they went to work at a Youkai household. Of course, this was much more impressive and intimidating than any Youkai household she'd ever been in, but her awe and enjoyment of the paintings, tapestries, and statues were tempered by the horridness of her situation. Even if Inuyasha did act as her patron, Naraku could have access to her, and she did not like that idea very much after what Kikyo had said. "Here we are. This is the entrance to Sesshoumaru and Kagura's private chambers, including their studies and bedroom. It is late enough in the day that they should be in here rather than in the throne room receiving supplicants." He turned to her and smiled slightly, a little conspiratorial flash in his golden eyes. "You know, Kagura is very kind, and will have no problem with a Gifted visiting, so we will go to her sitting room, I think. That way, Sesshoumaru will not kick you out when he realizes what you are. He is not mean, really. Just not very open about such things. Do not be afraid."
"I am not…yes I am." Rin flushed slightly, realizing that he could see her hands trembling just as well as she could. "I will try not to act too shamefully."
"All right, let us enter, then." Inuyasha knocked on the door, and when a servant greeted him, the liveried woman immediately led him in, as they knew well enough that the Prince Inuyasha was welcome in Kagura and Sesshoumaru's private chambers at any time, without question. The fact that he was accompanied by a severely shy looking young woman did not phase the servant as she went to tell her master and mistress that the prince was in the empress' sitting room. "You can stop staring at your feet now. Kagura will not mind it."
"I…am still a bit scared. I have never met someone so powerful, and all in one day I am introduced to Fukumaden's Empress Mother, Crown Prince, Empress, and the Emperor himself. It is a bit intimidating."
"The servants should bring us tea, and I find that when you are too afraid to speak, it is very useful to have a teacup to hide behind." Inuyasha assured her, and she actually let out a nervous giggle just as the door to the sitting room reopened to admit two of the most beautiful people Rin believed she had ever seen. The first was a woman, with a seemingly perfect form emphasized by the perfect grace with which she moved and poised herself. The second was a man, but he was still so beautiful that he seemed almost to shame the woman, gorgeous though her wavy black hair and brilliant crimson eyes were. His own silver hair, gleaming like it was spun straight out of the precious metal itself, was only matched for luster by his beautiful gold eyes, a shade paler and seemingly brighter than Inuyasha's own, slightly more orange tinted eyes. He was so utterly perfect that she found herself blushing, and began staring at her feet once more, even at Inuyasha's slight sigh of disapproval as he stood to greet them.
"Inuyasha, to what do we owe this sudden visit?" the woman, who was clearly Empress Kagura, asked him in a voice as thick and rich as honey, sinfully decadent. "And who is your lovely young guest?"
"Kagura, Sesshoumaru, this is Rin, who arrived in the Apartment only today." He explained calmly, even though the Emperor made a face as though Inuyasha had just admitted to hiding horse dung in his blankets. "She is an acquaintance of Kikyo's, from the outside, and I have taken it upon myself to take care of her, as she is quite new to this way of life."
"Undoubtedly so." Kagura approached Rin, who was shaking and staring at her feet, not wanting to see how hatefully the Emperor was still undoubtedly glaring at her. It hurt to have such anger aimed at her from a creature so beautiful. "Child, do not tremble so terribly. You are safe here, in my sitting room. No one may harm you whilst you are in the company of the Empress."
"Do stop the philanthropic waste, Kagura." Rin was staring at her feet, but she knew that the deep, rich baritone voice must have been issuing from the Emperor himself, which only caused her to shake even more horribly. "Inuyasha, I do not see why you insist on mixing with the dregs of society, pests like this are not to be indulged and adopted as pets, but to be exterminated and avoided."
"Sesshoumaru!" the voice was Kagura's, though at this point, Rin was concentrating so hard on not crying that she could not really grasp much of the conversation. "If you cannot behave like a gentleman, then you will have to leave."
"I will?" he asked, his voice carrying a slight challenge. Inuyasha's eyes were larger than either of them had witnessed, which they might have noted if they were not too utterly ensconced in glaring at each other. "Do not act childishly, Kagura, it does not suit you."
"Do not speak in that tone to me, I am not so very young in comparison to you." She lifted her chin sharply. "And your own ignorance proves that wisdom is not something necessarily gained with age."
"Now is neither the time, nor the place to begin one of your petty feuds, Kagura." Sesshoumaru told her, his voice clearly tense as the air between them.
"It is my feud, is it? You are not involved at all, I suppose? You are simply a babysitter who is watching over his delinquent charge?" her hands were balled, knuckles white, red eyes flaming.
"Honestly, Kagura, you are acting like a child. Just because I do not wish to meet one of Inuyasha's dirty little Gifted miscreants, that is no reason to overreact." He told her, crossing his arms impatiently.
"Stop!" the voice was Rin's, and she did not realize that until everyone had froze and turned to look at her, still trembling like a leaf next to Inuyasha. "Please…I did not mean to offend you with…my existence. I only…I was glad to have the chance to meet all of you, Your Majesties, Your Highness." Her tone shook with tears that were flowing freely down her cheeks as she curtsied to each in turn. "I must thank you most graciously for your hospitality, taking me into your charge and allowing me to live. I hope…not to trouble you in the future. Please forgive my intrusion." She turned to leave, but Inuyasha grabbed her wrist and nearly pushed her into her chair.
"Stay, you cannot walk the halls alone, anyway." He told her in a hushed tone as Kagura hissed something angry at Sesshoumaru that neither of them could hear. "Do not mind Sesshoumaru, he has no real hatred toward you. He is simply…misdirected at times."
"You have spoken words that would make your mother proud." Kagura finished loud enough for them to hear, and that seemingly ended the argument. Sesshoumaru stiffened and then moved in front of Rin, coughing slightly before dipping the barest of bows.
"I apologize, Rin, for my unkind words. I have acted most disgracefully. Please forgive me." He sounded like he had been forced to say every word, but Rin still nodded and smiled brightly up at him.
"You are forgiven, Your Majesty. I am not one to presume, in any case, and I am only happy to be able to meet you like this." She told him. "I am sure that if all your subjects had a chance to speak with you privately, the tides of unrest would surely calm themselves."
"It is true that many have chosen to judge Sesshoumaru by his mother's policies, for which we are both quite mournful. Nothing could be a grosser misrepresentation of the truth than that wicked woman's horrid mess of a government system." Kagura smiled slightly, pausing in her political diatribe when a servant entered with a tray of tea and cakes. After she had left, Kagura blew on her cup of tea before continuing in her fluid tone. "So many of her laws and edicts were entrenched in other policies and laws that we cannot rid the kingdom of her influence until we have had perhaps another ten years to untangle it all."
"Public opinion as far as far as the Youkai are concerned is still in high support of you both, as I am sure you know." Rin felt much more comfortable talking about the politics that Miroku and her had discussed possibly hundreds of times before, especially when she made sure to focus her gaze on her teacup, as Inuyasha had suggested. "But amongst the humans, every day seems to bring more grievances. They believe that nothing has gotten better since Your Majesty officially took the crown, and actually, most believe that Her Majesty Kijo is still secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes."
"I can assure you that is not so." Sesshoumaru was momentarily surprised that he was talking to this girl as though she were a noble or a very important guest. Just because someone had taught her to read and speak did not make her any less a Gifted, he was sure. But she held herself in a way that he could not help but admire. Something in the way her purple eyes would flash when she felt strongly about something she said. She had been crying before, only moments ago, it seemed. But now, she seemed perfectly fine. Did she really live her life with such passion? Was it not exhausting?
Between the four of them, the talk of local opinion and political grievances lasted for quite some time, and they were all of them surprised when a servant came in to announce that the Empress Mother Kijo was coming for a private dinner with her son. "I had forgotten it was that day of the week again. Every Tuesday she does this, and it is rather distasteful. I hate to excuse my self in the midst of this conversation, but my mother is not one who I like to keep waiting. Rin," he turned to the young woman who had stood when Sesshoumaru and the others did, Kijo's arrival signaling the end of their tea. "It was a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to speaking with you further in the future."
"I…would like that, as well." Rin felt her mouth go dry. She had no teacup to hide behind, and had been hit with the full power of his bright, intense gaze.
"I must agree with Sesshoumaru on this point, Rin, you were extremely engaging." Kagura smiled brightly, and Rin stepped closer to Inuyasha. He somehow did not have such a frightening amount of beauty, and she felt a bit more natural beside him. "We must do this again very soon."
"Yes, I will be sure to bring her by again. Thank you for meeting with us." Inuyasha gave Kagura a light hug, and shook Sesshoumaru's hand before offering Rin his arm so that they might leave. Soon, they were back out in the maze-like corridors of the castle. Rin tried to pay better attention to her surroundings this time, so that she might not feel so utterly disoriented next time.
Will there be a next time? She wondered. Her mind's eye focused on a pair of bright gold eyes. I hope so.
"Look who it is!" a voice that was full of teasing caused their progress to stop suddenly, and Rin saw that Inuyasha's every muscle had tensed. He turned, as did she out of curiosity to face a boy who must have been about their age with the typical Youkai features. He had an exotic sort of allure, with his impossibly bright blue eyes shining out of a tanned complexion that melted into well kempt black hair about as long as Inuyasha's own silver locks, pulled back just as his was in a nobleman's loose ponytail. "Does the Prince Inuyasha have a girl on his arm, or are my eyes deceiving me?" the boy strode up with a swagger that betrayed unbelievable amounts of self-assured confidence.
"Kouga, what do you want?" Inuyasha's voice was flat, grating, annoyed. Bordering on angry. Rin felt like she was in the middle of a feud she knew nothing about. "I am in a hurry."
"But Inuyasha, your rooms are that way." Kouga caught better sight of Rin's face and his mouth lit up in a grin that made him even more devastatingly handsome than before. "Oh, I see, this is an Apartment girl, isn't it? I should have known. No self respecting woman with a choice would have anything to do with you and your puppy ears."
"Kouga, shut up." Inuyasha's speech was suddenly a lot less formal than Rin had heard it since she met him. "I don't have time for your shit. And you're really no one to talk about no one wanting them. Still not married, are you, Kouga? I know you've been after that new Maiden of the Empress. What's her name?" All was silence for a moment before Rin heard the unmistakable clip of women's shoes approaching them at a reasonable speed. She turned to see who might be coming just as Inuyasha let go of her arm so that he could get closer to his enemy.
"It hardly matters to you, because you couldn't get within twenty yards of a Maiden before she ran for the hills lest your gaze sully her reputation forever. No one wants a freak baby with a freak puppy." Kouga taunted, and Inuyasha let out a noise that sounded remarkably like a growl.
"That was completely uncalled for." The voice was immediately recognizable to at least one of the young men, as Inuyasha's face went utterly pale for a moment before he turned to face Kagura almost sheepishly. Kouga spotted her and went down on one knee automatically.
"Your Majesty." He spoke just as automatically as he had lowered himself. Kagura rolled her eyes, an expression that surprised Rin so much she nearly burst out in laughter.
"Get up, Kouga ka'Ookami. Yes, I know your name. I am not a negligent Empress who ignores her subjects utterly." She explained as he looked up in surprise at her recital of his full name. "Inuyasha, I was coming to give you this. I think your lady Rin dropped it in my apartment, but it seems to be yours." She produced a neatly folded handkerchief that Inuyasha had indeed let Rin dry her eyes with earlier, and Inuyasha took it with a slight bow and mumbled words of gratitude. "Now then, Kouga ka'Ookami, what might you be meaning, harassing my dearest brother in the midst of the corridors of his own castle? The last I checked, it was the ka'Inu family that claimed the top rank in Fukumaden, not the wolves."
"It was…nothing, your Majesty. It was but a game between two young boys, and I am embarrassed that you witnessed us at it." Kouga bowed very low indeed, and Kagura made a noise of irritation.
"Please, my Lady, it was nothing more than that which he says." Inuyasha spoke up to Kagura's obvious surprise. Rin was shocked as well. Why was he defending this boy who he so clearly despised? Kagura blinked several times before touching Kouga's still lowered head lightly, signally for him to stand.
"Inuyasha, thank you, please return Rin to her Apartment." Kagura dismissed them, and then turned to Kouga, who was now standing to his full height, and while he was clearly just a bit taller than her and still growing, she managed to make him feel very small indeed. "Kouga ka'Ookami, I do not know what it is that you were playing at, but I can see the difference between game and cruelty. I know that Inuyasha is not well loved, but he is still your prince, and he still deserves your respect, whether or not you would show it to him. For your transgression, it would be fitting to see you deported from the Palace, if not from Yuurei itself. I could also have the rest of your family exiled. Many families would be very willing to take yours at court, and your family is not so powerful as you clearly think. Your support is not necessary, especially not if your lands are taken and redistributed."
"Please, your Majesty, please do not punish my family for my own foolish recklessness." Kouga was clearly shaking with fear as he lowered himself and kissed the hem of Kagura's dress. "Please, I will never do it again, if that is what you wish. I will do anything, if only you will forgive a foolish boy his thoughtless error." Kagura looked down at him speculatively, and after a moment, offered him her hand, which he kissed repeatedly to show his utter fealty. Kagura sighed sharply and snapped her fingers.
"Enough of that. Up now, boy." She pulled back a bit and took in his appearance carefully. "I will not exile you or your family. It would be foolish of me to hold them responsible for a child's error. However, I believe that you are now indebted to me, dear Kouga ka'Ookami. You and I shall have a little chat tomorrow afternoon at four o'clock. You will not be late, and you will be alone when you come to my chambers. I do not feel like a large audience is needed to witness your personal failings, dear boy. Now then, off with you, and think of what I will do if I ever hear of this sort of behavior from you again."
"Yes, your Majesty." And he was gone.
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The End (Of Part 14, That Is)