Chapter 26 Christmas (A.N. Reloaded with AN at the end, eh heh, oops)
As the night passes, the castle hums with activity, as the last decorations are put up. There is a slight commotion at one point when, in an attempt to help string the garland, Shippo had gotten himself hopelessly tangled in it. But after a few minutes and a little patience, the situation is handled and things go on without incident. The final touches are put on everything as the sky just starts to lighten as dawn draws near.
The castle is quiet for a few minutes, the sound of a door creaking open can be heard, the soft russle of cloth against cloth as the figure does it's best to sneak along. It softly opens another door, closing it quietly before looking to the bed to make sure it didn't wake it's target Satisfied that it hadn't, it stalks closer, closer, a smirk flitting over it's face. The first rays of dawn peek over the horizon when it pounces, yelling, "Wake up! It's morning!" The yell is followed by a scream, then a loud thump.
Kagome giggles as she peers over the side of the bed, where Inuyasha lay, scowling, with his blankets wrapped around his legs. The rudely awoken hanyou roughly kicks the blankets off. Jumping up to stare at her, "What the hell was that for?" he seethes.
Kagome just giggles again, saying happily, "Well, I had to wake you up someway. This is the way I used to wake Grandpa. I figured that if an old man like Grandpa could handle it, it'd be no problem for a big, strong hanyou like yourself." As she says this last part she bats her eyelashes mischievously, knowing that the move had worked when she sees his anger fade and a look of thinly veiled uncertainty.
As he continues to just look at her, she rolls her eyes and smiles, jumping off the bed and dragging him behind her, "Come on! We've got work to do!"
Inuyasha wrinkles his nose a bit as he allows himself to be pulled along, "Work?"
Kagome nods, chuckles, "Yes, work. The servants worked really hard to make this place look really nice, I figured that making breakfast for them is the least we can do to say thank you for all of their hard work."
Inuyasha tilts his head to the side a little at this thought, "All the hard work?" To be perfectly honest, he'd never even considered that it had taken effort on another's part to make the castle look the way it did now. He'd grown so accustomed to, having this that he wanted to happen, happen, that he didn't even think that it required work.
Kagome nods, "Of course, this is a big place, I don't care how many servants there are. I thought it'd be a nice gesture to do their chores while they sleep since they were up all night working. It looks like they cleaned while they decorated, so all we need to do is store the last couple of boxes away and make breakfast. Besides," she says smiling, "I think it's about time you learned how to cook."
Inuyasha blanches at the comment, but it's to late to back out as Kagome gets behind him and pushes him into the kitchen, his complaints falling on deaf ears.
After she gets him started on making some dough for biscuits, Kagome leaves for a few minutes, saying she was going to put some boxes away while the sausage was cooking.
When she returns she has a large smile on her face but keeps quiet while she helps the aggravated prince unscramble the mystery of the oven and how the pasty substance she had made him make turned into biscuits. As she does this, she also continues to cook the meat, lowering the heat to a shimmer after it's done before starting to make gravy. She has to threaten Inuyasha off with a wooden spoon to keep him away from the sausage, then sends him off to the pantry to find 'a large metal barrel full of a liquid that smells like apples.' as she put it.
By the time he comes back, Kagome is counting out plates, "There's the chambermaids, the stable boys, the butlers, and of course Miroku, Sango and Shippo. Along with all the others I counted already, I believe that's all of them. Oh, Inuyasha, you're back, good. Just in time too. I need you to take these plates out to the grand dining hall and put them in their places."
The hanyou whines at this point, "But Kagome, I'm the lord of this whole freaking castle! I can't do menial jobs like setting the table! Manual labor, sure, that's actually sort of fun, I even let you try to teach me how to cook, though I don't see the point, but I will not do this! It…it's…it's below me!" he says, gaining a more confident tone as he got further into his little speech.
That confidence is all but shattered as Kagome rounds on him, her eyes narrowing dangerously, "Below you? Below you!? Inuyasha, these people have served you for a long time very faithfully, isn't it the least you could do to help out with breakfast as a thank you? This isn't all that different from your real job anyways, so just do it!" With that she shoves the plates she's holding into his hands and turns back to the stove.
Inuyasha simply stands, shocked as much about what Kagome said as by her outburst, before regaining his composure and sulking out of the kitchen. His first instinct had been to yell at her and show his dominance over the bitch (AN Dog term, not cursory), but in a rare show of control, he had stopped himself. Today was Christmas dammit, and he'd march straight to Hell before he'd screw up his best chance of fanning his flame of hope into being a bit brighter. And, though he'd never admit it, she had a good point. He'd never thought about it, but those that worked and lived within these walls were extremely loyal to him, even after he had turned their world upside-down by condemning them to live in unnatural forms. 'If I were in their shoes, hell, I would've stomped off a long time ago.' he thinks as he reaches the grand dining hall.
He continues this line of thought as he sets a plate in each spot, "But then, why don't they? It's not because they're servile by personality 'cause Sango has more pride and spirit then I do almost, and it can't be because they don't know any better. Father and Mother made sure to vary the staff to include all types. Sango was a demon exterminator, Miroku had been training to be a monk, Kaede had been a traveling medicine woman, not to mention all the others, so what keeps them here?"
"They stay because they see something in you that no one else does."
Inuyasha's head jerks up and he sees Kagome walking up to the table, a few glasses in her hands. He looks at her, bewildered, "How did…?"
Kagome giggles, "You were talking to yourself. But honestly Inuyasha, that's why. They can look past your hard outer shell, past your appearance, and see the real you. Just like I can." She says this last sentence with more warmth, placing the last glass carefully on the table before looking to him. Their eyes lock, and time stops in it's tracks.
They keep each other's eyes captive for a long moment before looking away at the same time, a light blush coloring both of their faces, though Inuyasha's was unseeable due to his fur. "Well, uh, I'll go get the biscuits and stuff." he says before rushing off, trying desperately to get control of his heart. She uses the opportunity to put away some more boxes in an attempt to calm herself as well.
After they calm down and Inuyasha sets the food out, Kagome goes to wake the others while the hanyou disappears off someplace. Once everyone has congregated in the great dining hall and food set on the plates, Inuyasha slips in quietly and makes his way to the head of the table. There, still in the shadows, he looks over the table, at his servants. He had never seen them like this. They were so…so…happy. Who would've thought a simple thing like a breakfast of biscuits and gravy could make so many cheerful.
He then spots Kagome, she had a pitcher filled with that apple stuff and was walking around the table, filling the glasses as she went. As she passes by him, he grabs her lightly by the elbow and yanks her back. She looks startled at first, but then looks up at him questioningly. "Kagome," he says quietly, "are they always this happy at breakfast?"
The girl smiles and shakes her head "Nope, you gave them this Inuyasha. They can tell this was a gift given from the heart, and are more then happy to receive it. You made them happy."
"I made them happy." The prince repeats quietly, a silent wonder shining in his eyes. Kagome sees it and smiles softly, squeezing his arm lightly before going on to dill the rest of the servants glasses.
In Inuyasha's head, he couldn't help but stand in wonder at this revelation. He had made them happy. He had actually worked so they could relax, something entirely foreign to his mind, and yet, as he stood then, watching his servants laugh and smile and joke, he felt more fulfilled then he had ever felt before. Like he had really done something of value. He quickly shoves the feeling to the back of his mind as he finally steps out of the shadows and to the head of the table.
Everything goes quiet as he does, every eye riveted to him. He looks over the table before saying, "Every one of you knows me, you have served me for ten years at least, many of you longer. But I must admit, I've never seen you all so happy before. And so, in keeping with the holiday spirit that Kagome has seemed to force upon this solemn place, and because if I don't you'll probably complain behind my back, I'm giving you all the day off!"
At first silence ensues and Inuyasha's patience begins to wane. Just before he finally explodes, Shippo breaks the tension by jumping up and calling out "Dibs on opening presents first!" before rushing from the room. The sudden movement seems to dissipate the trance that had fallen over the staff and, one-by-one, they began clapping and cheering. Inuyasha's eyes find Kagome's where she's standing by the table, pitcher still in hand, simply smiling at him. That made it all worthwhile, that smile. He could get lost in that smile and not care a less. It was only after she shifted her gaze to place the pitcher on the table that he's able to look around.
He then notices that many of the servants were making their way out of the dining room and towards the great hall. He does as well, unwillingly to admit that he was curious as to what exactly was under the tree. As he passes Kagome, he grabs for her hand, blushing and not making eye contact with her. Kagome blushes as well, but doesn't pull away, instead holding his hand back. They think in unison as they walk towards the giant tree, 'You know, this Christmas might be the best ever.'
A.N. Man, I almost forgot about this. Eheh, whoops, I was so happy about getting this chappie done that I almost forgot. Anyways, this'll probably be my last chappie for a couple weeks, since on Sunday I'm going over to my boyfriend's so that I can spend Christmas with him and his family, and, considering that he lives in a different country, I doubt I'll have much time to write. Anyways, wow! I have exactly 150 reviews! I feel special! Alright, Reviewer Replies!
RoseMaiden- Thank you a lot, I'll promise to update as soon as I can after I get back, promise!
Rebel Writer- Don't worry, Kouga'll get what's coming to him soon, I promise. Thanks for the update as well! Oh, and I'm glad to see that you're so quick to read and review!
Neko-Yuff16- Thank you very much. I will update asap, promise!
Kiara-Star- Glad you're enjoying it, and I promise that Kouga will soon get what he deserves.
Oki489Tsubasa- Thank you very much, I'll try to keep up the good work!
NewSalemWitch- Thank you a lot for the compliment. You'll just have to wait and see if he got her anything! Everything like that coming up next chappie, I promise!
Aquariuspower39- Lol, well you know Inu-chan, he's denser than a lead block in matters of love lol. Anyways, you'll just have to wait to see what they got each other and as far as the new moon, I kinda had the curse switch the 'cursed time' around, both in time and effect. Thanks for asking though.