Chapter 6: Introductions
Nooooo! This one word was all Kagome thought as she felt her face hit the carpet with a low thud. She had no time to think about it, but as soon as she made impact, immediately she got up, almost causing herself to faint from moving to stand so quickly.
She swayed a moment, and shook her head to clear it off the weird dizziness. Once she could see clearly though, she quickly wished that she couldn't.
The Queen looked absolutely shocked beyond words. Her mother's lips opened and closed, but no sound came out. Inutaisho looked at her with slight sympathy while Sesshomaru looked at her as if she just said something extremely dull.
And Inuyasha, he was looking at her with the widest smirk she'd ever seen.
She felt like going back down to the floor. At least then she could get away from their gazes. They were all just staring at her! She'd never felt so clumsy in her life! She could feel the beginnings of tears welling up in her eyes, and she felt the impulse to turn and run. How could she face them after falling like that?
"Kikyo, dear? Are you all right?" her mother had finally found her voice, but her eye twitched as she spoke. It didn't seem that she cared too much if she was hurt, but rather if she was all right in her mind. Well this isn't something Kikyo would have done, Kagome thought dejectedly. She nodded in response to her mother's question.
"Princess, that was quite a fall you just took. Are you certain?" Inutaisho spoke, his voice sounding neither cruel nor joking. He sounded genuinely concerned, but that may have been to look good in front of the queen. Either way, Kagome was grateful, and her tears seemed to disappear.
"Yeah…I didn't really plan to do that." Kagome smiled, trying to make light of what just happened.
"Keh! I would hope so!" a voice commented.
Kagome turned to Inuyasha; surprised he had spoken to her. He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. She looked at him in shock. Had a prince really just spoken to a princess in such a way? Weren't they supposed to be all manners and chivalry? He smirked at her, revealing a sharp canine tooth. She felt her temper flare at his comment.
Inutaisho had sent his son a reprimanding look.Inuyasha frowned, a slight growl coming from his throat.
Kagome watched Inuyasha broad in silence for a moment before taking her seat next to her mother. The queen looked at her with slight annoyance, and when she was close enough, she whispered, "Kikyo? Where is your head tonight?"
Kagome looked at her apologetically, and replied, "I'm sorry."
Her mother sighed. "I just hope you don't do anything like that again tonight. We're trying to impress them so the marriage will be a solid one. Don't ruin this." She said this in a loud whisper, leaning back quickly to smile to the king and his sons.
"So?" She began, gesturing to Inutaisho, "How was your journey? I hope the weather was fair."
Inutaisho answered with the same false cheer. "We traveled smoothly. The weather was favorable the entire trip."
"Splendid." The queen replied.
Kagome sighed. They were making small talk. Could she really talk about nothing for the entire dinner? She tried hard not to sigh. She looked down at the embroidery in the tablecloth. It was a design of swirling gold loops. Soon, she was lost in her own thoughts. If she looked close enough she could see different shapes in the design. She almost saw Totosai's big, round eyes. What was that shape over there? Could it be-
"Kikyo?"
Kagome jerked her head up, realizing that someone had just asked her a question. It was mother. She looked at Kagome expectantly, awaiting the answer. Kagome smiled sheepishly, and asked,
"What did you say again?"
Queen Edogawa frowned, but asked once more, "Do you wish to tell our guests about yourself? I'm sure Inuyasha would love to learn more about you."
Kagome looked at Inuyasha. He sent her a glare, clearly saying, "I don't think so."
Kagome gulped. "Well…I like horseback riding." She watched Inuyasha roll his eyes. "And I like to read occasionally." He looked away, folding his arms once more. She felt herself get angry and depressed all at once. Sango had said to make the best of things, to try and be friends with him. How could she possibly make friends with him? He seemed so…so…uninterested.
Oh, come on! She told herself. You can't just judge him from the way he's acting now. Think about it! He probably doesn't want to get married any more than you do. Would you be interested in someone that you had to marry against your will?
That is true, Kagome thought.
"So you like the outdoors, I take it?" Inutaisho asked, filling in the empty silence coming from his youngest son.
Kagome nodded, glad again for not having to tell a lie. "I do. It's just something about the forest. Whenever I'm there, with the trees all around me, and the sun beating down, it's the best feeling." She'd told the truth, and because she had, she smiled happily.
Inuyasha was looking at her now, an odd look on his face. He seemed to be sizing her up. She looked over at him timidly. What did he think of her? Did she sound completely boring? Kagome quickly looked away, unable to bear his gaze any longer. Turning to her mother, she asked calmly,
"Is the dinner ready yet?"
"It should be here any moment." The Queen replied evenly.
Inutaisho smiled heartily. "I'm looking forward to this meal. Our journey was fair weathered, but a nicely cooked meal from your castle will be a treat."
The Queen smiled as well, each one of them a false grin on their faces. "I do hope you enjoy it." She replied.
Kagome rolled her eyes. How could they stand to talk to each other that way? It made her sick. They were only doing it to show one another which of them were the most polite and hospitable. So far, it looked like a tie.
"I hope this dinner's filling. I've eaten nothing but meat for ten days." Inuyasha commented dryly. His tiny dog-ears atop his head twitched when he spoke, and Kagome only just then noticed how adorable they looked. Before she could take it back, the words were out of her mouth.
"Your ears! They're so cute!"
Her cheeks flamed in embarrassment. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Inuyasha, as well as everyone else, turned to look at her. Inuyasha's golden orbs stared into her own wide chocolate ones. For some reason, she saw a humor in his eyes that she hadn't before. She thought maybe he would laugh...or something, but he didn't. Instead, he looked away from her, grumbling something along the lines of, "Stupid girl…"
The door flew open then, causing Kagome to almost fall out of her seat in surprise. She watched the huge platter of food as two cooking servants brought it in. She thought one of them may have been Kohaku, but they left just as quickly as they entered, so she didn't get a good look at either of them. Totosai had come in as well, and stood at the entrance.
With a flourishing bow, he announced, "Dinner is served."
O
The dinner was spent in almost total silence. No one really spoke, though every once and a while Inutaisho would make a comment such as, "This is quite delicious" during which the queen would return a cordial, "Why, thank you." Kagome tried hard not to look at anyone, but instead focused on her table manners. Kikyo had tried to teach her that as well, but she had so much trouble eating her soup without sipping it!
Occasionally, when she felt brave enough, she would look up from her meal. Every time she did, she would look to find that Inuyasha was staring at her. He seemed to ponder something about her, which made her blush and quickly return her eyes to her soup and bread. Once again, she wondered: What could he be thinking? His expressions were so hard to read!
She puzzled over his stare throughout the meal. When everything was cleared away, they sat in silence a moment more, before the queen stood up, and with another false smile said,
"Well, I certainly enjoyed our meal together. I know you must all be very tired from your journey. Your things have been brought in and are placed in the guest rooms in the north hallway. I'm sure you'll find them quite comfortable."
Inutaisho stood as well, replying, "Thank you, Queen Edogawa. Your hospitality is most gracious."
"Your welcome. If you'll come with me I can lead you to your rooms." She moved to the doorway, Inutaisho and his sons following close behind her. Kagome stood up, wondering what she should do. Maybe go back to her room as well? It seemed logical, and she went to a separate set of doors at the other end of the room. She had her hand on the handle, ready to turn it, when her mother's voice floated over to her.
"Oh, Kikyo dear. Why don't you escort Prince Inuyasha to his rooms? His is the one on the far right."
Kagome turned around, her mouth open to protest, but instead of seeing her mother, she saw only Inuyasha. She stood there a moment, open mouthed, before she quickly snapped her jaw shut. He stood there across the room, his arms folded yet again. That must be a habit of his, she thought.
She stepped forward, racking her brain for something to say. "Um..."
He quickly interrupted her. "You're not much of a princess, ya know that? I at least thought you would be pretty..."
Kagome was dumbfounded. What did he say? Something inside of her snapped. She couldn't take it any longer! The whole night he'd done nothing but stare at her, and when he did say something, it was always rude! Despite Sango's advice to try and be friends, she exclaimed,
"Well you don't seem like much of a prince!"
Now it was Inuyasha's turn to look shocked. Kagome smirked triumphantly. He's probably never been told off by a girl before, she thought with a laugh.
Slowly, a wide smirk spread across his features. This wasn't the reaction Kagome had been hoping for. She'd hoped he would get angry with her and storm out, but now he looked almost pleased that she had talked back to him.
"Just lead me to my room. I don't got all night." He barked, walking toward her. He came up to her, just an arms length away.
She felt her breath leave her once again. He was just so handsome! She felt her knees growing weak under her dress. How could she be so infuriated with him at one moment and so attracted to him at another? What was going on with her! She realized she was staring too late, for he told her,
"Quit gawking, and get a move on." His tone of voice quickly shook off any good emotions she'd felt toward him a second before. With an un-lady like snort, she walked ahead of him, wishing she could punch him.
"Follow me," she called over her shoulder. A faint "Keh!" issued from behind her, letting her now that he had heard. Soon they were walking down the torch lit hallways, Kagome ever aware of Inuyasha's footsteps behind her.
AN: Well...what a great first start, huh! Kagome seems pretty angry with Inuyasha...how will things go on the way to his room? Look for the next chapter coming soon. Thanks for reading! &Niiroke&
