Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I own its characters. I do own the ideas of this story and the characters I have created for this story (i.e. Saphira). Please respect patent laws. Comments and reviews are appreciated
Chapter 17: The Invasion
It was only three years later before the greatly anticipated invasion came.
"Your Majesty!" A soldier called capturing Saphira's attention. "Boats from the mainland have landed on the western shore."
Saphira, who had been riding with her toddler brother, stopped. "What?"
"The invaders have come," he repeated.
"Here," she said handing him the toddler. "Take him back to the castle and inform my mate of the invasion."
"Yes, your Majesty," the soldier saluted and ran towards the castle walls.
Saphira encouraged her horse in the direction of the western shores. What she came across astonished her even with her future knowledge. Sitting on a ridge overlooking a bay her jaw dropped.
She knew that not even the great Trojan War would compare to the war she would soon have to fight.
She looked down to see a bay full of battle ships and many of them already being pulled onto the shore.
Suddenly, a flock of arrows were shot into the clear blue sky. The were aimed directly at her.
But her horse neatly sidestepped and reared out of range. Saphira roared in warning allowing her jaw to temporarily take the shape of her dragon form. The sight of her fangs alone would have been enough to send any human scurrying.
As her voice ripped through the air, the horse that had been brought from the mainland cried out in fear. But then she heard the cannon fire. She hopped off her horse before the cannon blow blew the poor creature away. Midair she transformed into her dragon form and roared in anger.
She quickly flew over the ships and set many of them on fire. It seemed that the whole ocean, as far as her eyes could see, was full of mainland ships. Arrows and cannon balls soon filled the air trying to blow her out of the sky.
The sudden howl from the island sent shivers down her spine and she flew quickly to its source.
She landed neatly, in human form, beside her mate.
"You shouldn't be out there in your condition," he said carefully.
"They killed my favorite warhorse," Saphira complained.
"Achilles?" Sesshoumaru asked not sure which horse was his mate's favorite.
"Yes, he was so sweet too," Saphira said sadly. "Poor Achilles."
"Is this the only shore they're on?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"I haven't checked any others," Saphira admitted.
"Go and scout out the shorelines, they're probably coming at us from all sides," Sesshoumaru said.
Saphira nodded, transformed and took off.
"I have a bad feeling about all of this," Kagome said uneasily taking her son from the soldier.
"It's going to be long war," the soldier admitted. "There were ships as far as the eye could see."
"Has it started already?" Inuyasha asked walking up to them.
"The invaders have arrived," the soldier admitted. "I wish her highness had been wrong."
"Me too," Kagome said.
"Mama!" Inumaru called. "Mama, where's Sissy?"
"Scouting the coast more than likely," the soldier said.
"She'll be back soon," Kagome said. "Here, take him, Inuyasha."
The toddler squealed in delight as he climbed into Inuyasha's arms. The hanyou looked nothing like Kagome. His hair was a darker silver than Inuyasha's, but he had the same golden eyes.
Sesshoumaru returned to castle before Saphira.
"So, is it true?" Inuyasha asked as his brother approached them.
"Yes," he answered.
"How is she taking it?" Kagome asked.
"She's the one who insisted it was going to happen," Sesshoumaru sighed. "She was out there burning ships when I got there."
Inuyasha laughed.
But, Kagome frowned. "She shouldn't be doing that in her condition!"
"That's what I told her," Sesshoumaru said.
"Told me what?" Saphira said breathlessly landing next to them.
"Sissy!" The toddler squealed.
"Hey! How's my baby boy?" Saphira asked smiling and taking the toddler from Inuyasha's arms.
"Aw, do you love your Sissy?" Kagome said smiling at her two children.
"Yes!" The toddler shouted. "My Saphy!"
"Hey boy, that's my woman," Sesshoumaru said gruffly but playfully.
"Nuh-uh! She's my woman!" Inumaru said sticking his tongue out at Sesshoumaru.
"You better watch it, or something bad might happen to you," Sesshoumaru said letting his eyes turn crimson.
"Save me Saphy! Save me!" Inumaru squealed.
But Sesshoumaru scooped Inumaru out of Saphira's arms and preceded to toss the toddler into the air.
"Save me!" The toddler shrieked with delight as Sesshoumaru tossed him up and down.
"He's not going to able to take a nap now that you've got him all wound up," Kagome complained.
"That's alright, he wasn't going to bed anyway," Inuyasha smiled
"And just why is that?" Kagome demanded.
"Oh, Daddy's in trouble!" Inumaru laughed.
"How much damage did we sustain?" A short man demanded.
"The dragon managed to sink several ships, my Lord," the foot soldier replied.
The short man cursed softly under his breath. He ran his hand through his thick black hair. "I thought all the dragon clans had been killed off years ago. Did it have any markings?"
"Yes sir, it had two crescent moons that overlapped each other but were facing opposite directions," the soldier replied.
"What color were they?" The short man demanded.
"The one that opened to the dragon's left was purple, and the one that opened to the right was yellow," the soldier stuttered.
"That dragon has an alliance with the Western Dog Clan," the man muttered. "Have the ships on the eastern side of the island found refuge?"
"Yes, they found many abandon castles to house the soldiers and equipment," the soldier replied.
"Then that dragon is residing in the western lands with its allies," the man said. "Put the men back into the ships, we're going to meet our brothers on the eastern side of this god forsaken island."
"Yes, my Lord!" The soldier scurried away to announce the order.
The short man walked into a dark tent.
"You see, my visions have not forsaken you," a quiet but deadly voice said.
"Your visions had no dragons in them," the black haired man snapped.
"Shuhan, do you deny the accuracy of my visions?" The voice asked quietly.
"You know that I do not," Shuhan admitted.
"We have an ally on this island, we simply have to find him," the voice said slinking to the back of the tent.
"How are we going to do that?" Shuhan asked skeptically.
"He will call to me when we are near," the voice said lightly.
"Very well, we are moving to eastern side of the island," Shuhan said.
"Good, I do not sense his presence here."
Saphira was lying quietly on the bed. She was facing the open window. Sesshoumaru was snuggled up against her with his arm around her waist. She knew that he was awake because he kept rubbing his toes against her feet.
She sighed quietly watching the last few morning stars twinkle in the predawn light.
"Are you worried?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly.
"I feel like something bad is going to happen," Saphira admitted.
"Is it the pup?" Sesshoumaru asked worriedly. It had taken him over three years to impregnate his mate. He didn't want anything to happen to their first pup.
"No," she said smiling secretly. She hadn't even told her mother about her little secret, she was still marveling at how she could be so lucky.
"What is it then?" Sesshoumaru sensing that his wife was suddenly being secretive. "And what are you not telling me?"
"I don't know," Saphira said choosing to ignore that last bit of Sesshoumaru's statement. She would tell him when she was good and ready, but she was still savoring it herself. "Have you hear anything about my father?"
"No, I think you scared him off with all that talk about war," Sesshoumaru chuckled allowing Saphira to keep her secret for a little while longer. "The invaders have taken up camp in the eastern castles you know."
"I know," Saphira sighed.
"I told you that we should have burned them down," he said gently but firmly.
"I know," Saphira admitted. "But, they were my family's and I couldn't do it."
Sesshoumaru sighed into her neck, biting her ear softly.
"I don't want you on the front lines," he said softly.
"I don't want you on the front lines," Saphira countered.
Sesshoumaru growled in her ear making her shiver with delight.
"Seriously though, I want you to be careful," Saphira said.
"What do you think is going to happen?" He asked teasingly.
"I don't know, but none of our names are mentioned in the history books," Saphira said.
"But which side wins?"
"Ours."
"Then that's all that matters."
"It won't matter if you're dead!" Saphira said rolling over to bury her head into his chest.
"I'm not going to die," he said patting her back.
"How do you know? Are you a psychic?" Saphira asked tearfully.
"If I said yes will you stop crying?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"No."