The Miko Princess

Chapter Two

Lord Tannoku paced in the throne room, awaiting the sentries that he sent out to find his daughter. Lord Tego watched him with displeased eyes.

"You promised me your daughter, Tannoku. If they fail to find her I will have to do what I said I would," Tego said in an oily voice full of malice.

"You will not have to go to war with us, Lord Tego. They will find her. I am sure of it," Tannoku said in a confident tone. However, inside his mind, he was nervous. His troops had never failed him before, but they could start now.

"I should hope so, Tannoku. For your sake, I dearly hope so," Tego replied and went back to watching the doors. Tannoku cursed the man mentally and scolded himself for getting into this mess.

You should have never talked to him. You should have pretended to never even gotten his message, he told himself.

But his army is huge! He could have crushed you as a boar kills an ant! His conscience replied. But before could answer himself, the doors burst open and the guards he had sent came forth.

"My lord!" one of them panted, breathless.

"Yes, what is it? What news of Kagome?" he asked, trying to make his tone nonchalant. In truth, he hoped with all his heart that she was all right. Kagome was his only child and he simply did not know what he would do if anything happened to her.

"She…she eluded us, my lord," the guard said. Tego's eyes flashed with anger, but Tannoku didn't see and continued drilling the guard.

"So she is all right?" Tannoku demanded.

"Well, my lord…she fell," the guard admitted.

"Fell? Where? And off of what?" Tannoku inquired, worry evident in his voice.

"Off Inunoke's Cliff," a young guard said and stepped out from the ranks.

Tannoku's face fell. "What were her last words?" he asked quietly.

"She said to me, 'Tell Father Kagome says goodbye'. And then she let go of my hand and fell," the young guard answered softly.

Tannoku sat down on his throne. "So she is dead then," he whispered quietly and bowed his head.

"Milord, although it may not help, I watched her fall, and I thought I saw a white streak or light when she was about to hit the ground. Maybe she used her miko powers to save herself. She may still be alive," the guard theorized and stepped back into his place in the rows of soldiers.

"Hmmmm…indeed," the lord mused. Could Kagome still be among the living? Don't get your hopes up, he told himself. "You are dismissed," he said in a more regal tone.

The guards bowed their heads and left. Tannoku stroked his black beard (he couldn't scratch his head—he was bald) and mused about what had been told to him.

"Well, Tannoku. It seems your daughter has struck the fancy of a youkai," Tego said as he watched the guards retreat.

"Hm? A youkai? Now why would you say that? Why would a youkai rescue a human? And there are no youkai in these parts—they disappeared around the time Kagome was born," Tannoku said.

"Mm, her miko powers must have warded them off. But that "white streak" the young man told you about was no burst of miko strength. Nor was it any ordinary youkai. It was the taiyoukai of the Western Lands. I know him very well, in fact. Her miko powers could never keep this one away," Tego said.

"But won't he harm or enslave her? I have heard most youkai hate humans!" Tannoku asked.

"Yes, and this one is no different. He will surely enslave your daughter and make her a servant of some sorts. Or he could've already killed her already now. For this one has little patience," Tego said, ensnaring the lord in his trap.

"Tell me the name of this youkai I will slay for the sake of my daughter!" the king yelled, enraged that a youkai would dare do anything to his only child.

Tego narrowed his eyes, smiled, and told Lord Tannoku.

"Sessho-Maru."

I hoped you liked this look into what's going on at the castle with Kagome gone. I'm leaving for my vacation tomorrow, but I'm bringing my laptop and I promise I will have typed a million chapters by the time I get back. Thanks for reading this far (I know my story's kinda boring) and PLEASE REVIEW!