Thousandfurs

Chapter 13: Suspicion

A few days later, Myoga was still noticeably absent. Inuyasha had been avoiding contact with her – not that it was that difficult for a prince to avoid one kitchen girl – and Miroku still had not spoken with Sango. It was a mess, but Kagome tried to keep busy, with her mind off of these things. With Naraku around, it wasn't difficult. She scrubbed and washed and dusted and chopped and hauled with no complaint, her face always twisted into concentration, as if removing lime stains was the most important thing in the world.

Sango was up and moving again – that was the one bright spot in Kagome's misery. The demon slayer still walked stiffly in the morning, but Kagura had pronounced that her burgeoning demon abilities would prevent scarring. However, the taijiya joined the princess in her depression, speaking little and shuffling around to her tasks with mindless obedience.

None of the demons noticed the two girls' bad tempers, except perhaps Kagura and Kanna, who had to live with Sango and her crying. Shippo was decidedly concerned, but he was kept quite busy himself and only had the time to visit Kagome each night on his way to bed. So both of them wallowed in their loneliness for almost a week, until they hit the next bump in the road.

At the moment, Kagome was at the well, attaching the bucket to the rope with her frozen fingers that had almost turned blue. The wind screamed around her ears, poking and finding every place her cloak did not satisfactorily cover her body. She cried out in frustration as her numb fingers slipped and undid the knot again. She sat back for a moment and breathed slowly. Tears would literally freeze to her skin in these temperatures and she could not afford to waste energy crying. She tackled the rope again and growled. Snow was wedging itself around her feet and she shook them. Frostbite was the last thing she could handle right now!

She fought with the idea of going back to Naraku without water when warm, clawed hands closed over hers. "Keh, stupid human. If you'd just calm down, you'd get it."

The prince had crept up on her without noticing, but Kagome just sighed and let him take the bucket from her without comment. He was garbed in his traditional red, but this day, even he wore a cloak, woolen and dark brown. Kagome looked down to see that he still wore no shoes though. "Thank you, Your Highness," she said softly, as he tied the bucket to the rope with ease. "It was just too cold."

Inuyasha spared a glance for her fingers, which were tinged with blue. The snow had long ago washed off the soot up to her wrists. "You're going to lose them like this," he said, not very kindly. "Who sent you out here, instead of a youkai?"

"Naraku."

He didn't take offense to her dropped honorific as he sneered. "Of course." He went to the well and lowered the bucket quickly, grimacing when he heard the crash of wood. "It's frozen solid," he huffed, drawing the bucket back up. "I hope you have enough water already for dinner."

Kagome shrugged. She didn't have much to do with the actual cooking, unless it was the prince's bread soup. "I'll go tell Naraku-san."

Inuyasha looked at her with golden eyes for a moment, making her shift in discomfort, before nodding. "Yeah, tell him. Then come back." He frowned as she gave him a look of surprise. "You need to get checked out by the healer. You'd be pretty useless as a kitchen girl if you lost your fingers and Naraku would never send you. He forgets that servants can't be replaced easily."

Kagome fumbled with the bucket and then bowed. "Yes, Your Highness," she murmured.

They walked towards the kitchen in a silence of the sort you find after saying goodbye to an acquaintance and then realizing you're both heading the same way. Kagome gladly broke away from him at the entryway to the kitchen, but then hesitated and looked back. Inuyasha appeared contemplative in the whirling snow, kicked up by the harsh wind. "I'll wait here," he said simply, barely looking at her.

She slid open the door and dropped the empty bucket before walking up to Naraku and bowing. "The well water was frozen, Naraku-san. I'm sorry, I could not get any." She was shaking, the warmth of the kitchen sending her muscles into spasms after her exposure to the freeze outside.

The blood eyed demon scowled at her. "You useless little brat," he sneered. "Fine, get to work then! I want the hearth to shine by the time you're done scrubbing it!"

"I'm sorry, Naraku-san, but His Highness insists that I see a healer," she said softly.

Her words gave the tyrant chef pause. "His Highness?" he echoed. "Why would the prince care about your health?"

Kagome held out her blue hands, now turning purple as the blood rushed back to her extremities. Her joints were stiffening and she frowned at the dull ache that began in her wrists down to her fingertips. "He thinks I may have a bit of frostbite," she said.

"Again, why would he care?" said Naraku. His voice had dropped to a dangerously soft tone as he narrowed his eyes. "You were there when the prince and Koga-san killed that little girl, weren't you?"

The princess scowled inwardly, unsure of what this had to do with the painful tingling in her hands. "Yes, Naraku-san."

"Something happen there that we haven't been made aware of?" he sneered, leaning in close to her body. "They say that little girl was a princess of some sort."

"I don't know, Naraku-san," she said, uneasy with the disbelief lacing his voice. "It all happened very fast. I was just there to give my prayers to the kami."

The chef scoffed and straightened his back. "You're a useless twit anyway," he snapped. "Go with your prince. See if it does you any good!"

Kagome frowned at his words, but bowed and fled from the kitchen, aware that the prince was waiting for her in the cold. When she emerged from the warm building to see that he still stood there, she breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you would tire of waiting for me," she explained as he quirked a white brow at her. "Thank you for staying, my prince."

He began to walk towards the guard barracks, where the healer also resided with her by his side. "Naraku kept you, I guess," he said.

It wasn't really a question, but the girl answered anyway. "Yes, Your Highness. I don't think he believed that you would care about the health of a servant girl."

Inuyasha shifted his shoulders, drawing the cloak closer to his body. "I hardly believe it either," he said, sounding irritated. His face softened, his eyes trained on the barracks. "I guess I get you in trouble with him a lot, eh?"

Kagome almost fell over in shock at his concern. "No more than any other servant," she said finally, when she had recovered. "He ignores me unless I'm not doing my work to his satisfaction."

"Which must be a lot," he said. When she shot him a rather hurt look, he explained. "I mean, Miroku has this crusade against the guy and keeps saying that Naraku will punish anything and everything, even if it's good by any other standards. It'd be nice if the pervert gave us some proof or a witness of abuse. Then my father could do something."

Kagome frowned. "Everyone is afraid to come forward."

Inuyasha sighed, his ears flattening against his head. "Here we are," he said quickly, jogging the last few steps to the barracks and opening the door. "Come on, before the healer goes to eat lunch."

The princess followed, stepping into the pleasantly warm building. Forgetting their earlier topic of conversation, she closed the door and reveled in the perfect temperature. Not cold, like her own quarters, and not sweltering hot, like the kitchen. Just perfect. She smiled at the prince, who turned his head away and walked down the narrow corridor.

It was quiet, in the way a building was when all of the inhabitants were sleeping peacefully. The paper walls were dark with age, but strong and some were glowing with the light behind them. The pair turned down hallway after hallway, all with the same appearance that Kagome would have marveled at the prince's sense of direction if each door hadn't been numbered. They arrived at the corner of the building closest to the castle and it opened up a bit. One door stood in the wider hallway and it was ajar. Inuyasha sighed. "Good, she's not busy."

Kagome followed him into a large room, which smelt of herbs and ashes. A woman sat near the fire in the middle, stoking it with a long stick as something bubbled in a kettle. She looked up at her visitors and the princess saw that one eye was covered by a thick patch. "Prince Inuyasha! And what have ye brought me today?" She turned her good eye, sparkling with life, to Kagome's fur covered figure.

"Servant from the kitchen. She might have frostbite," grumbled the prince, as if he were rethinking the whole expedition.

"Unlikely. She doesn't have the look of it. But I'll see what I can find." The old healer stood up and motioned to the cot behind her. "Get to the bed, child. I have to look at ye."

Kagome sat down immediately, sensing that this woman didn't go in for nonsense. She gave her hands up for careful inspection as the healer clucked her tongue. "Do I have frostbite?" she asked, after several minutes of her hands being poked.

"No," she said, dropping the girl's hands. "They'd be white if ye did have it. Purple isn't a very good color either though. You're a bit frozen girl, but you'll keep all your parts."

"Thank you," the princess said. She tried to stand but the healer pushed her down again.

"I didn't say ye could go. Ye need to stay and warm up a bit." She eyed the thick, damp cloak. "Take off the furs and socks and I'll go fetch ye some more blankets."

Kagome nodded dumbly, wondering if she would have to go back to work that day. "I really don't feel that bad, you know," she said.

The healer put her hands behind her back and gave her a careful glance. "I know, girl, but if the prince brings someone to me, I take extra caution. You're shaking and you're colors that no human should be, and that's enough for me. Now sit and be quiet. The name's Kaede by the way," she said as she shuffled out.

The princess turned to Inuyasha, who had shed his own cloak. "She's human, isn't she?" she asked.

"Keh, she used to be, a long time ago," said the prince, settling down on the floor. "She saved my dad's life once, supposedly, so he brought her here to be his healer. She's good. She saved my mom too, when she almost died having me."

"Your mom almost died?" asked Kagome softly. "I didn't know that."

He blushed and turned away. "Most people don't." He gave her a sidelong glance. "You're supposed to take off the furs, remember?"

Kagome froze. The soot still covered her skin, except her hands, of course. But without the fur cloak, wouldn't he recognize her shape? He had held her so close that she didn't doubt that he could. Looking around, she grabbed the one blanket that she had so far. It was thick enough, she decided, weighing it in her hands. "Turn around, please, Your Highness," she said, standing up.

"Don't be stupid. You're wearing clothes underneath."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Is this why he stayed? He could have dropped her off and left. He was a prince – he surely had other things to do than baby-sit a sickly human girl. It was because he knew she would have to remove the cloak! "Well, that's true, but it's still not proper," she said, improvising wildly. "In my old home, a woman does not shed her clothes in the same room as a man she is not married to."

She got the desired effect as the prince blushed again. "That's dumb. Good thing demon territories aren't so uptight," he said. He scowled at her and turned around to face the wall. "There. Happy now? Be quick about it."

Kagome dropped the furs to the floor and shook out the blanket, wrapping herself in it from head to toe. It was surprisingly warm and she fell back on the cot, wanting to curl up and sleep. "Thank you," she said. "I'm finished."

Inuyasha turned back and discreetly swept his eyes over the girl, scoffing. "You have some serious problems, Thousandfurs."

"Probably," she conceded. "The one I'm most concerned with at the moment, however, is why you felt the need to save me, Your Highness."

"Keh, you call that saving you? I was just bored. Besides, it wouldn't be very convenient to lose another scullery maid."

Kagome bit her lip and looked away. "I would think I'm easy to replace."

Inuyasha picked up the salty scent of tears and threw her a stricken look. "Oy! Thousandfurs, what're you crying for?"

"I'm not crying," she argued, rubbing at her eyes. "I'm just trying to understand you!"

"Why the hell would you care about that?" muttered the prince, standing up and walking towards her. He stared down at her for a moment before sitting down beside her on the cot. "Understand me? Damn it, Thousandfurs, I don't understand you either."

Kagome wiped away the last of her tears and stared at him. "Inuyasha," she said, with a smile, "I'm just a servant and you're a prince. Why would you want to understand me?"

"Something tells me that you're more than just a servant," he replied, stiffening his spine. "Why have you been lying to me? I know you know her."

"I will tell you," she said, watching his eyes widen, "but first you tell me – truthfully – why you really are taking care of me."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Because you do know the truth about that girl."

Kagome nodded, wrapping the blanket tightly around her body. "Okay, well then, I'll tell you. I know the girl because I was the one that knew her best in my last home."

The prince drew away from her and scowled. "That doesn't do me any good! Tell me the whole truth!"

"You first!" snapped back Kagome. "Why. Did. You. Help. Me."

Inuyasha flushed red again and they glared at one another for several moments, until Kaede finally appeared again. "Well! I had a time finding these! I should have guessed that the guards never did their laundry." She frowned at the tension between the prince and the servant, but hobbled over anyway. "Here are the blankets, child. Wrap yourself up, nice and warm now. Ye should remain here until at least dinnertime. Tell me if anything ails ye." She gave a sharp look to the prince, effectively breaking his anger and forcing his eyes to the floor.

The pair sat in cowed silence for several long moments as Kaede went to her work desk and began mixing and grinding herbs with her pestle and mortar. Kagome tucked the new blankets around her, but did not lie down on the cot, as Inuyasha remained next to her. Why wouldn't he go away, she mused angrily. If he wasn't going to talk, he should have to decency to let her get some rest.

A guard came in and poked his head around the corner, completely missing the presence of the prince. "Kaede-san, that damn lieutenant-what's-his-name disregarded your orders and stood on his ankle. I think it's completely broken now, instead of just fractured."

The old healer lifted herself to her feet with an irritated cluck of her tongue and gathered some prepared ointments and bandages. "Let's hope not. The commander would be most displeased," she said. Without looking at her patient and the prince, she addressed them. "Behave yourselves. I'll be back soon enough, broken ankle or not." She left, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Inuyasha stood up. "I should go," he said uncomfortably.

Kagome frowned. "Why? I thought you said you saved me because you were bored. What do you have to do now?"

"I…" He stopped and scowled. "Why do I have to explain myself to you?"

"You don't," she admitted. The prince watched as she arranged herself on the cot, burying her body beneath the blankets. "I'll just sleep for awhile, Inuyasha-sama. Thank you for taking care of me."

Her large, brown eyes peered out at him with a naked sadness. He sighed and scratched at his ears. "I helped you because I felt guilty," he muttered. He ignored how she sat up quickly and stared at him. "Dad said that I would feel guilty until I apologized, but I don't apologize! Not to servants!"

Kagome blinked. "That's alright. You don't have to, Inuyasha-sama."

"Don't say that!" he snapped. "I still feel guilty! I tried a lot of other stuff first, like asking the kami for forgiveness and just trying to plain forget that you were around." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked at the ground. "It didn't work."

"So did you help me to make yourself feel better? Or was it your way of apologizing?"

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. "Isn't it enough that I feel guilty? You're just a servant!"

Kagome's eyes narrowed in anger. "Just a servant that you think has information about your precious dancing partner! I would think that you should treat me at least as well as your horse!"

"Well, at least the horse has some use to me!"

She began to shake again, but not from the cold. "And obviously, you don't actually want any information from me. You just antagonize me for your own amusement! Why don't you admit that there is more to me than just causing you guilt? Than just being a source of information?"

Inuyasha took a step back, either from surprise of her calculating anger or her brazen accusation. He sneered as he steadied himself. "You're delusional. Wouldn't that be perfect for a little brat like you? You think a prince like me could have any feelings beyond pity and revulsion for a creature like you? I'm no knight in shining armor, little girl. I don't save maidens – virtuous or not – from servitude. So get the idea out of your crazed head!"

"Believe me," spat Kagome, "if ever I entertained the idea of having a prince save me from this hell, it wouldn't be you!"

He laughed, hollow and cruel. "Oh? Who would it be? Koga? He nearly ripped your throat out."

Kagome's eyes pierced him with a look that almost silenced the laugh in his throat. "Then he is a far better choice," she retorted. "At least with him, I would know where I stood."

Inuyasha leapt backwards over the fire in the center of the room and landed before the doors. "I'll find the girl without your help, Thousandfurs. And if you try to stand in my way again, I will have you thrown in the dungeon with the other criminals." He lifted his chin at the shocked expression she gave him and stormed out of the room.

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The king shut his bedroom door and immediately shed his armor with a sigh of relief. "I'm getting old. Those young ones are catching up with me," he said, looking up at his mate, who was standing silently at his window. They had separate apartments, as did all royalty, but Izayoi only used her rooms when her mate was away from home. For his part, the king rather enjoyed her constant companym unlike many of his peers, who complained about it when talking about their own mates.

Izayoi turned her head to look at him with a soft smile. "And how many were you sparring with today, my dear?"

"Seven," said the monarch, returning her smile.

She nodded solemnly. "Ah, only seven? Perhaps you are slowing down in your old age."

The king frowned, despite her gentle teasing. Her scent was dark with concern and sadness. "What's wrong, my mate?"

"I worry for Inuyasha," she replied. "He seems obsessed with that woman he danced with twice, but he cannot show proper respect to even the scullery maid. I worry that he sabotages his own chances with women with his cruelty. How did I raise a son that was even capable of that?"

The sovereign sighed and joined his mate at the window, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to his chest. "I realize that his treatment of the servant girl was cruel, but I do not think that our son is a cruel creature. You always call me generous, but I am capable of much worse than throwing a shoe at a girl. Sometimes, my dear, I think that you forget that we are youkai."

Izayoi nodded and leaned into her mate. "Perhaps I do. And perhaps I ask too much of Inuyasha. If Sesshoumaru had done the same, I would not have worried so much, although I would have been surprised by his lack of self-control." She bit her lip. "I know you spoke to him, but maybe I should as well."

"The boy feels guilty enough, Izayoi, without his mother admonishing him," said the king, pressing a kiss on the crown of her head. "Have faith."

A knock separated the pair. The queen went to the door and opened it. "Inuyasha," she said, sounding slightly surprised. The hanyou rarely came to his parents' apartments. She wondered for a moment if he had heard their discussion. "Come in, darling."

Their son stepped into the room, his eyes dark. "I have to talk to you," he said gruffly. "I have a proposal I want you to consider."

His parents exchanged a glance. "We are always happy to listen to your suggestions," said the king, motioning for his mate to close the door. "What do you have in mind?"

Inuyasha's ears flattened against his skull as he kicked at the floor. Izayoi was quite used to this stalling tactic of her son's and waited patiently while the king stared expectantly. "I want you to have another gathering," said the prince finally. "A weekend thing. Another dance."

Izayoi hesitated. "We've barely recovered from New Year's," she said. "And you hate the dances we hold."

"Yeah," he replied, his face flushing scarlet, "but it's the only time I get to see, well, her."

The king shifted uncomfortably. "You mean, you want to put your mother through the hell of planning another feast for the sake of seeing a girl that I could easily find if you would just let me? You could see her anytime, without half of the kingdom gawking at you."

Inuyasha let out a defeated breath and then glared down at the floor. "Yeah, but I thought you and Mom would want the opportunity to immediately announce that I've found a mate."

Izayoi let out a little gasp and clutched at her mate's arm. "Inuyasha…" she murmured.

"Are you sure?" said the king, keeping his emotions firmly in check.

The prince nodded. "If you let me see her again, I promise that I'll ask her to become my mate. And if doesn't work…" He paused and scowled. "If it doesn't work, I'll let you pick out a female for me."

Izayoi frowned and stepped towards her son, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Inuyasha… you don't have to do this. We want you to be happy. Mated too, of course… eventually… but it doesn't have to be now."

"You were the one telling me just a short time ago that I should ask that girl and that was back when I'd only met her once!" replied the prince hotly.

"Inuyasha," intoned his father, stopping the hanyou's rising temper. "We will support you in this. I think that this girl – whoever she may be – will be an excellent choice. She is royalty, of course?" He grimaced as Izayoi elbowed him in the ribs. "Not that it matters, if you're pleased with the prospect."

"She said that she was worthy of me," said Inuyasha, remembering her words and the soft smile that accompanied it.

"Then I'm sure she is," said Izayoi. She embraced her son, a few tears escaping her eyes. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Mom," he replied, turning red again.

"Izayoi, give the boy some air." The king took a deep breath and gave his son a smile. "I look forward to meeting your future mate, Inuyasha. Any girl that has taken your attention so quickly and so entirely must be a unique creature indeed. Do you think that she would be willing to live in a youkai territory? Does she understand what that means for her own life?"

Inuyasha thought for a moment. "She liked it here. And she liked me, just because I was me, not because I was a prince." He sighed and scratched at the back of his neck as he remembered how their last parting had went. "I just hope it's still true."

"Why shouldn't it be?" said Izayoi, suddenly concerned again.

The prince sighed. "Kikyo interrupted, last time we talked."

The king's eyes widened slightly. "Wonderful. What happened?"

Izayoi held up her hands as Inuyasha's blush returned in full force. "Let's not talk about it. I have a feeling we don't want to know. If our son has confidence in his ability to convince this girl to become his mate, then I will have confidence in him, so let's just stopping nagging him and start to plan this feast." She put her hands on her hips. "We'll have to announce that it's an engagement feast, otherwise no one will come so soon after New Year's."

"Right. Everyone will be interested in who's mating the freak," muttered Inuyasha.

"That's not what I meant. I just-."

"I know," said the prince, cutting off the queen's explanation. "Just… plan it how you want and I'll do my part."

"Alright," said Izayoi softly. "Two weeks?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Two weeks." He nodded at his parents and left.

The king and queen looked at one another. "Maybe we should worry," Izayoi said with a sigh.

"Maybe."

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It was past midnight when Sango burst into Kagome's little cupboard. "Kagome!" she called, falling to her knees and shaking the girl. "Wake up! Come on, wake up!"

"The building better be on fire," muttered the princess as she rolled away from the light streaming through the open door. "What time is it?"

"Late, but you're not going to get sleep anyway!" warned the other girl.

No sooner were the words out of her mouth and youkai started pounding their way up and down the stairs over Kagome's head. She groaned and gave up, pushing herself up to sit on the edge of her cot. "Fine. I'm up. What do you want? What's going on? And why can't this wait until morning?" She rubbed her eyes and stared at the other girl. "I guess your back is feeling better."

"Much," agreed Sango, her fingers twisting together.

Kagome suddenly noticed that, unlike the last time she had been woken up at an ungodly hour, Sango wasn't smiling. Her excitement was a downhearted one, although the voices outside sounded highly entertained. She blinked and nodded at her friend. "Well? Are you going to tell me?" She frowned. "Is it bad news?"

The other servant shrugged. "It depends. Do you love the prince?"

"What?" Kagome pulled away from Sango as much as the cupboard allowed. "What makes you think that? Haven't I told you my answer before?"

"Well, that was awhile ago, before the first feast you spent with us." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You've spent more time with the prince lately."

Kagome scoffed and crossed her arms. Although she would have to lie to Sango about her feelings for Inuyasha, she hadn't forgotten – or forgiven – him for being so cruel to her earlier that day. "He brought me to the infirmary when he thought he was in danger of losing the girl who makes his bread soup." She held up a hand and ticked off each encounter with the prince. "He and Koga killed a little girl in front of me. He threw a sandal at me. He made me suffer through another meeting with Kikyo. Should I go on?"

"Okay, okay," Sango said, holding up her hands to stop her. "Then you'll have no problem with the fact that they're holding another feast for him in two weeks."

Her heart leapt into her throat as she thought of her final kimono, the one made of diamonds, that glittered like the stars. She didn't think she would need it so soon! But Kagome trained her features and shrugged. "So? More work for us. Is that why you woke me up in the middle of the night?"

"That's not the news," Sango said, rather exasperated by her friend's grouchy attitude. "They're saying that Inuyasha is going to choose his mate by the end of the feast! We'll have a new princess!"

"Oh." Kagome closed her eyes for a moment. "Does anyone know who it'll be?"

The demon slayer sat back on her heels. "Not really." She pointed to the ceiling, where dust was still raining down on them. "Half of them think that he's going back to Kikyo. The other half thinks that he wants this new girl, the one he's been seen dancing with at the past two feasts."

The princess started to draw in shaky breaths. "Who told you?"

"One of the castle servants. He said that Inuyasha visited his parents in their room – which he never does – and then the queen started giving orders for a feast to be prepared. And she wanted the rooms next to Inuyasha's prepared for a permanent female resident. It wasn't hard to put two and two together." Sango put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I thought you might want to hear it from me first, instead of in the kitchen. Although, I guess it doesn't matter if you don't love Inuyasha." Her eyes crinkled in concern as Kagome's gaze shifted wildly without seeing anything. "Hey, are you okay?"

Kagome felt her lungs constricting, her heart speeding up to a manic pace and she pitched forward with a wave of vertigo. "I… I can't breathe," she rasped.

Sango's eyes widened and she pulled on her friend's arms, urging her out of the confined space under the stairs. The common area was no better though, as it was clogged with gossiping youkai. They didn't notice as the demon slayer half-dragged, half-carried a hyperventilating scullery maid out the door and into the night snow. Once outside, Sango's strength for Kagome's dead weight gave out and they tumbled into a snowdrift. Icy water slid down Kagome's back and she jolted to life again.

"Thanks," she said, taking long, deep breaths. "I couldn't be in there anymore."

"I got that," panted Sango as she pushed herself to her feet and dusted off the snow. She stared down at the princess, still lying in the snowdrift. "So, you do love him."

With her mental functions returning, the princess decided to give Sango as much truth as she could afford. "Yes, I do," she admitted.

Sango gave her a hand and pulled the princess out of the snow before she caught cold again. "I'm sorry," she said, with all sincerity.

"So am I," said Kagome. She plastered a too-cheery grin on her face. "But hey, I'm the scullery maid. It's not like I thought I had a chance, even if he is a hanyou. I mean, he practically told me so this afternoon when we were in the infirmary."

Sango frowned. "He said what?"

Kagome shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She looped her arm with her friend's. "We'll be lonely together, you know?"

"I can't believe either of us got our hopes up," said the demon slayer softly.

"At least you had hope. I just had… well, nothing. A lot of insults."

They stood in silence for awhile. Kagome thought of all the many moments she had spent with Inuyasha, both as a servant and as a princess. He wanted to marry her! Or at least, half of the palace servants thought so. The others still thought he wanted to marry Kikyo. It was rather amusing, how they had split themselves down the middle. She had a feeling that Inuyasha was divided in his heart too.

Of course, it didn't matter. She couldn't reveal her true identity and risk being sent back to her father – because, what else could the king do when he knew who she was? So she couldn't marry Inuyasha, or mate with him, or anything of the kind. Their stolen kiss in the castle courtyard was as close to romance as she would get, for a long time.

She would go to the ball though. She couldn't deny him that. Even if she didn't love the prince, she would have cared enough to say goodbye, a proper goodbye as princess to prince. She remembered their last meeting and how he had struggled between her and Kikyo, when she had asked him to make his choice. Well, now he could! She would go to the ball, say goodbye and drop the Shikon no Tama into his soup. Then he could become fully human for his first love, for Kikyo. It killed her to think of these plans, but it was what had to be done, to preserve her own identity and therefore, the peace of all the kingdoms.

Who knew? Maybe one day, she would fall in love with a man who she could show her true face to. And just to think of it! He wouldn't care! Or better yet, he wouldn't know who he was looking at. He would never know that their children would carry half of the blood of royalty. And she would never tell him. She wondered if this future husband would be human or demon. Would he take her away from the castle? Let her live as a farmer's wife? Or some other vocation that didn't have her taking beatings from Naraku?

But even as she thought of these things, she put Inuyasha in the place of her future husband, and Kagome knew that she would never be truly happy with another man. She couldn't do that to any male, human or demon. She wouldn't have him trying to live up to the dream of a prince. So she would remain alone and lonely.

"Lonely together," Kagome breathed.

"It won't be so bad if I have you, and Shippo and maybe Kagura," replied Sango, whose thoughts had clearly reached the same conclusion as the princess.

"We should go inside," said Kagome, her vision becoming watery with tears.

Sango nodded. "We need our sleep." She started back towards the quarters and then stopped. "By the way, Naraku has been asking me questions about you."

Kagome's head snapped around to look at her friend. "Questions? What sort of questions?"

"About what I know of your past, especially, although he seems to be interested in your present movements too," she replied, her eyes bright. "He even visited me while I was still recovering from his beating. He asked me a few odd questions about you and the prince too."

"What did you tell him?" she asked.

Sango shook her head. "Not much. How could I? You haven't been very talkative about your past and our trip to the city was fairly uneventful. And I would never have divulged my ideas about your feelings for a prince." She nodded at her friend. "Of course, even if I knew you were spy direct from Nakao kingdom, I wouldn't have told that bastard anything. The king, yes, but Naraku? I almost laughed in his face for asking. I would have if he wasn't carrying that riding crop again." She shuddered, remembering how it had felt falling across her back.

"Thanks for the support," Kagome said with a smile.

"There's no contest between loyalty to you and loyalty to Naraku."

"Has he ever done this sort of thing before? With other new servants?"

"Occasionally," said the taijiya, "which is why I'm telling you about it. If I didn't think it was something to watch out for, I would have just kept quiet. I don't want you to worry yourself, after all. But Naraku has a way of discovering secrets. It's his greatest power over us." She appeared very grave and Kagome knew that she was thinking of her little brother and how Naraku had threatened his life.

Kagura had warned her, hadn't she? She had said as much as Sango did – secrets simply were not kept around Naraku. He always knew. Kagome shuddered, thinking of what a greedy, malevolent creature like the chef could do with her secrets. "Thanks. I'll watch my back," she assured her friend.

"I'll help. It never hurt to have a second set of eyes where Naraku is concerned," replied Sango.

"Let's hope it's not needed," said Kagome somberly, as they headed back inside.

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A/N: I'm not particularly fond of this chapter. It wasn't working for the longest time and I still haven't quite gotten it, but unfortunately for me (and fortunately for all of you) the next chapter was begging to be written and so I've moved on to the 14th installment of this little story. I hope that it will be worth it! Please review, especially if it's to assure me that I'm my own worst critic. Haha. Thanks!