Chapter 1

Wind whipped through a forest, howling a lonely tune. A little village, tucked away in a valley, seemed almost a ghost town. All the towns people hid in their homes, huddled by their fires. One home, the largest by far, was not as peaceful as the others. Inside lived the villages headman, his daughter, and his son. In his study there was a guest, as well as his daughter Kagome, both staring at him. The guest, Koga, was overjoyed, while Kagome looked at them both in horror.

"Father? You can't make me do this!" She yelled, outraged. She took a step back, her sky blue eyes filling quickly with tears.

"I can do as I wish with you, you have reached an age where you can marry, and with your mother gone I have nothing to do with you. You will marry Koga!" her father snarled.

Kagome looked over at Koga pleadingly, hoping he would side with her. They had been friends for years, but nothing more. 'He wouldn't push me into a loveless marriage, he's my friend!'

Koga smirked, and Kagome's heart sank. She knew that particular smirk, it was the one he got when he got his way. "You asked for this didn't you? Koga how could you?" she asked. She backed away towards the door, reaching behind her for the handle. Her hand connected with the handle and she turned swiftly and flung the door open. She sprinted out and headed toward the front door. She quickly fastened on a cloak and hood, then was gone.

Mud splattered everywhere as she ran straight down the main road. Taking a quick glance behind she realized no one was following her. She stopped, then looked around and turned down a small road. She walked slowly, not caring about the rain that slide down her cloak and into her clothing. Tears mixed with rain and her eyes swelled, her thoughts running in circles. 'Why would they do that to me? I have do nothing to make them think I want to get married! I can't go home, oh god, if I go home it's all over, they'll never listen to me. I'll have to find somewhere else to go. The only place near by is Lord Inuyasha's castle. I'll go there, maybe he needs a new maid…'

The rain was slowly letting up, but the soul inhabitant of the dark gray castle didn't care. An inner room filled with over stuffed chairs and love seats held a silver-haired man, his head resting on the arm of a day bed. He lay with his arms thrown around his head and one knee bent.

He swiftly stood at the sound of his door ringing. 'I haven't gotten a visitor in years, almost a decade. As long as it isn't my asshole brother I could care less who it is. Fresh blood is always welcome.'

He seemed to vanish, and mere seconds later he stood in front of the door. A small smirk crossed his lips and he slowly swung the door open. In front of him stood the most stunning woman he had seen in his lifetime. Long raven hair fell in wet clumps, and clear blue eyes stared at him in pure amazement.

"H-hello…" she stuttered, shivering in the cold wind blowing.

"Come in, please, it's freezing out there and your soaked." He told her, pulling her in quickly. "What are you doing out on a night like this, you should be at home with your husband, where it's warm."

Kagome stiffened, and stepped away from him a bit. "I don't have a husband and I don't want one." She turned and looked him straight in the eyes, "I want to work for you, I'll do any job you want, but I need a place to stay. Please?" she muttered.

Inuyasha's eyebrow rose, but he just nodded. "I no longer have a maid, the last one had to leave. If you don't mind cleaning and being the only one in the castle other then me I am fine with hiring you. We will settle on what to pay you later, for now lets get you out of those cloths. What's your name?"

"Kagome, and thank you." She answered, following him as he led her up a grand staircase.

The wound down many hallways, so many that Kagome was certain that she would never find her way back. She hurried her steps when she realized that she was quaking too much and not walking fast enough. Finally Inuyasha stopped in front of a door and waited for her to catch up. When she reached him he pushed the door open, revealing a large bedroom, a beautiful canopy bed resting in the center of the opposite wall. A vanity was on her right along with a door, and two doors on her left.

"This will be your room." Inuyasha told her, walking past her and toward the two doors on the left. "This is the closet," he pointed toward the door closest to the bed, "and this is your bathroom."

Kagome just nodded dumbly and stood next to him, in shock at the sheer size of her new room. Inuyasha opened her closet and pulled out a midnight black dress and held it out to her. Kagome took it and just stared. 'This is better cloth then I have seen in my entire life. I can't possibly wear this…' she thought, looking uncertainly at her new employer.

"Go on, you can change in the bathroom." Inuyasha told her, pointing towards the bathroom door.

Kagome shook her head, holding the dress back towards him. "I couldn't possibly take this, or this room! These things are made for true lady's, I'm going to be your servant!"

Inuyasha let out a small chuckle, stepped back, now out of reach. "I have no one else to give these too, we are literally the only one's in this castle. If you are to work for me you must have the best." Without another word he turned and left, leaving her alone.

She stood there for a moment in shock, then slowly headed toward the bathroom. She opened the door and gasped in amazement. A large bath, big enough for at least three people lay to one side, on the other was in indoor toilet, something she had yet to see. Shaking her head she quickly changed, being very gentle with her new dress. She looked over at the sink next to the toilet and saw a mirror there. She walked over and looked in it, making her eyes widen. The black dress had made her skin even more pale, and made the blue highlights in her hair stand out. It had a square neckline, and went a little low for her comfort. The dress was tight to her waist, but fell loose from there on. Her favorite part was the sleeves, a style she had never seen before. The bottom was tight on her wrists, but the rest was loose, and two slits allowed her arms to peek out every once and a while.

A knock on the door jolted her out of her daze and she hurried over to the door. She swung it open to reveal Inuyasha standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. She saw his eyes flick up and down and couldn't help but blush. She lowered her head and looked away, not wanting to look him in the eyes.

"It looks nice." He said softly, then took her hand and led her out of the room. "Now I'll show you where I'm going to need you to clean. For cleaning there are some more appropriate cloths in the closet, and all the cloths should fit you, so wear whatever you want. The rules of my home are simple; do your job then you are free to do as you wish for the rest of the day. I will only require you to clean my room, your room, the kitchen, and the living room."

Kagome nodded and followed as he lead her to the door next to hers. "This is my room, we have a connecting door should there be an emergency." After a moment something seemed to pop into his mind and he hit his forehead. "You must be starving! The kitchen is open to you whenever you need it, I will cook you dinner tonight, and you can explain what forced you out of your home in such crappy weather."

He led her to the kitchen and pointed toward a stool. She sat in it and watched as he rolled up the sleeves on his blood red shirt. He waved his arms and the air and bowed, "What is it you wish for dinner my lady, anything you want."

Kagome laughed and shrugged, "I'll eat anything you know how to make."

"Chicken and rice it is!" he said and turned to gather the ingredients. While he cooked he asked Kagome, "Why were you out tonight?"

Kagome sighed and looked away, trying not to get upset all over again. "My 'father' decided that marrying me off would be better than putting up with me any longer. After my mother died he never really was same, and I turned to my friend Koga, some friend he turned out to be. He talked my father into making me marry him, when he knew that I never would marry him. So I left, it was better then staying and living with that bastard!" Kagome clapped her hands over her mouth, then babbled and apology for her language.

Inuyasha erupted in laughter, waving a hand at Kagome to say he didn't mind. "I've said worse, and should either of them come looking for you here I won't let them take you, you're the best entertainment I've had in years."

Kagome just smiled at him and sat lost in thought as he finished dinner. She ate quickly, wanting to just rest after walking all night. By the time she reached bed it was well past midnight, and she as soon as her head hit the pillow she was fast asleep.

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Dawn had come and gone, but a storm that lingered overhead blocked all light from reaching the ground. Men who searched through the thick forest grumbled, unhappy with being forced into searching for a lost women. It had been almost a week since she had gone missing and they had yet to find a single trace of her.

Their leader, a man named Yuske, hurried to the front of the search party and tapped Mr. Higurashi's shoulder. "Excuse me sir." He whispered.

"What do you want?" He snapped.

"I don't think we're going to find her, I really think we should ask for the Lords help..." Yuske suggested uneasily. Ever since his daughters' disappearance Mr. Higurashi had been heartless, determined to get her back.

"Fine, but I'll wait another couple days before going to him. I will not beg that half blood's help unless I have to." He snapped, eyes narrowing.

'That bastard, it would serve her right if Kagome went to him for shelter. I never did explain what he is to her, I doubt she would think he was half vampire. Human when he wishes, and amazingly can eat human food, but must drink blood once every week. If she's with him, I hope he bleeds her dry for disobeying me like that.'

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Back at the village a little boy looked out his window and stared at the once again stormy sky. 'The sky looked this bad when Kagome ran away, maybe the rain will bring her home again and Dad will forgive her. It's not like she did something horrible...please come back?'

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Kagome stood alone in the living room, looking at her handy work. She had been here for almost a week already, and in that time she had seen her new master maybe five times. She had spent her time cleaning the rooms she had to, but when she had extra time she would sneak into the library she had discovered only a day after arriving.

She started to walk out and walked straight into Inuyasha's chest. Kagome jumped back and blushed, "I'm sorry, I was just...I didn't mean to...I'm sorry." She babbled.

Inuyasha chuckled and shook his head, "It's fine, I came to talk to you, I'm glad I found you."

He pointed at a chair and sat across from her. "I need to tell you a secret of mine that only the headmen of the local villages know, to 'protect themselves'. I am half vampire, and I need a favor from you..."

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End of chapter 1

Yes, I know it's a cliffy, but I love them! Hehe, I hope you liked it, and please review? I will try and update soon, I'm usually good about that, but I have a lot of random school work. Um, I'll update at the latest next weekend! Thank you

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