The silence that filled the room was a tense one. Kagome almost regretted her actions. Almost being the key word here.
"Sesshomaru?"
Silence.
She gulped, she still didn't regret what she did but that didn't mean that she couldn't be worried if she did the spell wrong…maybe she wouldn't pass as a miko like Kaede. This did not bode well.
"Um, Sesshomaru?" Swallowing her fear, "Are you alright? Do you need help?"
Next thing Kagome knew she was slammed up against a wall, choked by a powerful arm. Tears blurred her vision but she knew who it was. And she knew that they were royally pissed. 'Bad pun Kagome.' she thought grimly.
Blinking away the irritating tears, Kagome made eye contact with the ticked off Taiyoukai of the West. Sesshomaru's eyes burned with fury, red flashing through the gold depths. "How…dare you!" he hissed.
Kagome flinched, this could be her very last moment alive.
"I'm sorry." She managed to gasp, "I didn't mean for the whiplash in the spell--"
He slammed her against the wall again, "You didn't mean for the whiplash! What about the spell itself girl!"
Kagome could barely breathe at this point, "That….was well…deserved."
Sesshomaru couldn't believe it! This weak, pathetic excuse for a human had her life dancing before her eyes and yet she would not apologize. 'How dare she? How dare she!' His demonic temper was going up, eyes flashing the bright red of a precious ruby. He was about to give her a verbal and perhaps a physical lashing when the door slammed open.
Rin stood there, the look of a gleeful child, not having to worry about the cruel ways of the ruthless world. As she took in the violent atmosphere, she began to tremble. The trembling morphed into uncontrollable shaking, the sound of her teeth chattering as if she were standing in a frozen pond with a summer kimono only.
Kagome was the first to notice Rin's presence, Sesshomaru was too angry to turn around and see what the miko was staring at.
"Miko, if you ever think you're going to make out of this alive--"
"…if you ever think you're going to make out of this alive--"
"--then you've got another thing coming--"
"--then you're as dumb and stupid as the village says--"
"--and I assure you it isn't pleasant or short."
"--and I got ripped out of my money!"
"SESSHOMARU-SAMA STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT! PLEASE LET MOMMY LIVE! PLEASE DON'T KILL HER! I LOVE MOMMY!"
Sesshomaru stood still. How long had Rin been standing there without him knowing? He released Kagome who fell into a crumpled heap on the floor, trying to catch her breath.
'What…happened?' the dog demon asked himself, searching for a reasonable answer that may rid him of the guilt that overcame him. Without a word, he turned and left the room.
Rin dropped the tray of food she had been balancing and ran to Kagome. "Mommy, mommy, are you alright?"
The miko was coughing still, throat dry from lack of air. Rin sprinted outside the room for a moment and came back with a pitcher of water and a cup. "Here Mommy. Drink." Kagome grasped the carafe and drank greedily. As soon as she had her fill and set the cup down, she was tackled by Rin.
"Oh Mommy am I so happy to see you! You don't know how scared I was that Sesshomaru-sama was going to do something bad." Rin cried into Kagome's shoulder. Kagome only rubbed Rin's back and said nothing as the small girl sobbed.
As she was doing this she wondered if this had happened before. 'That's stupid. Sesshomaru's always protected Rin, he would never allow such a thing.' her conscience declared. 'Well what if it was Sesshomaru who did something?' Kagome shot back. At the quiet nothing in her head Kagome knew there was a secret Rin was keeping. Maybe the Taiyoukai was aware of it. Hell, maybe he told her to make it confidential.
All this gave Kagome uneasy thoughts.
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The great hall that was in the castle was being prepared with a flurry of demonic creatures hustling and bustling with decorations. Some magical beings murmured spells for candles to be brighter than they usually were, almost as golden as the sun itself. Others carried trays of fresh meat and fish, scurrying to the kitchens to be broiled, fried, grilled, baked and steamed. Colorful scarves were magically draped in mid-air to sway with an invisible wind and glow with the shining candelabras.
Back in her room, Kagome was being fussed over what seemed a mob of maids, each tugging and pulling her in one direction and then the other. She had been hidden away from the sight of mirrors, for they all wanted her to be done with before she could complain about anything which was highly unlikely.
After what seemed entirely too long, the crowd pulled her to a colossal mirror where she gazed at her reflection in disbelief.
What seemed to be the bluest of blues and the grayest of grays overlapped one another in a richly layered kimono. Starting from the outside in, the kimono was a dark, shimmery blue fading into a lighter shade following into another and another and so on. The blues blended into a light gray that seemed close to a washed out white. The obi was a deep gold with a flowered pattern in a much lighter gold.
The kimono was such and adorned with white, purple and black butterflies twirling along the bottom of her ankles and the sleeves. A few were on her shoulder and curled onto the back around a crescent moon.
Kagome's hair was done up with many intricate loops and twists and folds. Her breath caught in her throat and she reached out to the mirror. Many gasps circled her as the maids appreciated her beauty and their hard work. It wasn't difficult to dress or make her up, but to accentuate her looks and not change them.
The miko broke out into a smile, "Thank you all so very much. Every single one of you. I can't tell you how much I'm grateful. Arigato gozaimasu." As she tried to bow, a few of the maids giggled as she caught herself from falling with all the weight of the heavy fabric.
One of the maids spoke up, "Lady Kagome, are you ready for the ball?" At this, an uproar of giggles and whispers shattered the hushed quiet.
"Yes, yes!"
"You're ready!"
"She's beautiful!"
Kagome could only smile as she was led to the exit of her room. The door opened, and she stepped out, into the line of sight of the Taiyoukai of the West.
Thank you all my faithful and patient readers! I promised I would update and I have, this chapter was a bit short because I'm not sure on how to carry on to the next part which is going to be lengthy.
Thanks so much for the support and encouragement.
-tomboi chic