A/N: Yeah...I had a little bout of writer's block on this chapter (okay, so it took a week to get rid of and was probably more than a bit), but I made it a little longer for you as an apology. I couldn't make it too long, though, seeing as I think I know what my next chapter will be. But since I'm going in a much different direction than I first anticipated, I don't know how long until I get stuck again.
So...A couple questions I would love to know answers to!
Yes, well, I hope that got your attention, because I'm serious about this. First, I would like to know if any of you would like to see someone portrayed in this story specifically, like someone playing as Sebastion or something. I have an idea, but I love opinions. They give much needed inspiration.
Second, I would like to know if it would be helpful if I put in a list during my author's notes telling which character is representing one of the Disney people in a little section. Like saying who's supposed to be Ariel (duh...), who is Grimsly (any suggestions), etc. Also, if you've read Truth, should I go back and do that with that story as well?
Third, I would like to know if I'm getting people pretty in character. Sesshoumaru doesn't count, though...we all know he would never say as many things as I have him saying, but I need it as a plot device. We have to get this adventure starting somehow!
Finally, any comments on how it's going? Too fast, too slow, too informational, not enough information...that kind of thing. I love everyone's opinion. They help out a lot when I'm writing.
Oh, wait, I lied. There is ONE other thing...I've been wondering this for a long time. It's really random, but...are any people reading this story guys? Just curious...X3
The sea king was a formiddable person, but you wouldn't know that from looking at him. With brown hair that was never taken care of, always getting in his face and covering his eyes, and matching brown eyes that he had passed down to all daughters but one, the sea king Koenma looked more ready to laugh than put his metephorical foot down
Even his royal blue tail, which none of his four daughters had inherited (much to his disappointment), he swam forward towards the throne. A small entourage of beings followed him; the shark-like guards, the dolphin tailed scribes and philosophers, and even a rare manta ray mercenary completed the crowd.
Kagome knew almost every face among them. The only new faces, and she thought they were the reason that their father had called them all to the room, were a handful of what looked to be delegates from another sea. The new people were looking around the hall, unimpressed with what they were seeing. They carried an air of superiority that grated on Kagome's nerves.
However, manners dictated that they hadn't been rude or cruel as of yet. Kagome just had a feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong very soon, but that wasn't proof enough to get away with being rude herself. So she grit her teeth and bowed with her sister's, using the proper forms to the exact degree and not a bit more.
Koenma moved up to his daughters, pulling them into hugs one after another. "My girls, how are you doing? Well, I assume, otherwise you wouldn't be here." Koenma paused after hugging Kagome before moving to Keiko, and Kagome wondered why that was. "I'm glad you're all here, it will make this go a lot smoother."
With minimal fuss, soon everyone was in their proper place: the king in his throne, his daughters to either side, the scribes one step below, the guards one step below them, and all of the other courtiers fanned out from there. Clearing his throat for attention, the king waited for the murmurs and shifting to cease.
Spreading his hands wide, Koenma smiled. "Before I get down to business, I would first like to thank the ambassadors from Pacifica, Baltic and Mediterrania." He nodded to the three regal-looking people.
Much fuss and formality went into getting the greetings over. Kagome had never liked them, so she just hid a yawn behind her hand and played her part. Her sisters were much more enthusiasti- excepting, possibly, Keiko. Then again, Keiko had never really enjoyed any of the formalities observed by the Atlantis Royal Court.
When manners dictated that they could begin with business, most of the courtiers left, excluding the parties involved in whatever it was that brought them into the throne room. That left the royal family of Atlantis and the delegates, making the once crowded room seem vast and intimidating.
Koenma took his chair, a masterpiece made out of peices of reef from the warm oceanic water of the equater, and shells bred and mined by the oddly colored folk of the Eastern Indies. Settling in, Kagome swam to her place behind her father- just behind his left shoulder.
Each girl had her own spot where they would appear to "support" their father. It gave a largely illusionary appearance of the kingdom being whole, united and strong against the other seas. Botan, as the eldest, had the honorary right-hand side of the sea king. Kikyo was next to the cotton-candy girl, standing just behind the king's right shoulder. Then it was Kagome, followed by Keiko on the left hand side.
The delegates spread themselves out into a semi-circle, each an equal distance from the other. The brightly colored Mediterrania ambassadors were standing farthest to the right, and the burly Baltic representatives were farthest left. Pacifica's people were directly in the center.
One of the Pacifican travelers was a handsome fellow, with delicate features and an imperial, 'better-than-thou' attitude. His deep mahogany dolphin tail kept twitching as if it was constantly itching but nothing could be done about it. His features were like those found on a sandollar- delicate and easily broken. His eyes nearly matched perfectly with his tail, and the creepiest thing was that he kept stealing glances at Kagome when he thought she wasn't looking.
What, did she have something on her face? Kagome crossed her arms, sending him a glare when he looked at her again. He responded with a sickeningly sweet smile, and Kagome swore that he would blow her a kiss before he turned away. Thankfully, he didn't.
"Now," Koenma started, "we can start. After much debate over your offers," he addressed the visitors, "I have decided who shall be sent where."
Kagome was confused. People were going somewhere? Who? And for what reason? She hadn't heard of any planned trips, and nobody had told her. She would have heard anyways; she had connections to counselors of her father, and she was positive they would have said something to her. After all, what were friends for?
The delegates all bowed, and Koenma turned around halfway. "Girls," he said, "in order to keep alliances strong and make sure we don't repeat the War at Burmuda- we all know we can't afford to have another enchanted graveyard like that- we are going to have to make sacrafices and do what we may not like for the greater good of all."
Kagome didn't like what she was hearing. In every tale told by her old nursemaid, "for the greater good" were words that told you you should run in the other direction, screaming your head off that you would have no part of whatever it was they wanted from you. But even with the warning bells going off in her head, Kagome didn't move.
He turned forward. "That is why three of you will be married and on your way to your new kingdom within the season," he said bluntly.
The girl's reactions were spread over the spectrum. Botan, always a romantic at heart, nearly squealed and clasped her hands together. "This sounds just like a story book," she was saying to nobody in particular. Her tail was moving back and forth, a sure sign that she was as excited as she looked.
Kikyo frowned, looking over the people, knowing that she might be married off to one of them in the near future; after all, you didn't send ambassadors to a kingdom to make a marriage alliance without sending the prince's to be married off.
Beside the prince from Pacifica, the other two paled in comparison. The one from Baltic was a lot more buff and had wild facial hair, his tail that of a large, grey shark's. The other, from Mediterrania, had an exotic but sharp look about him; his features were angular and his skin dark, with almond eyes and a tail that appeared to be ray, dolphin and sea horse meshed together. Anyone looking at the second eldest sister would know she was eyeing the Pacific prince with appreciation.
Keiko was in shock, her mouth hanging open slightly in surprise. Anyone who knew a tenth of what went on in the palace knew that Keiko had the world's largest crush on one of the castle occupants. She had been stuck in love with him for well over half her life, yet refused to admit it to her crush when the guy was too thick to see her infatuation with him.
Kagome just squeaked. Swimming quickly in front of her father, she began to, if not shout at him, speak incredibly loudly. "What do you mean, we're to be married off? Don't we get a say in anything? Isn't this our lives you're meddling in? This has got to be some joke!" She threw her arms in the air, turned a pleading look to the ceiling. "Please, tell me you're kidding!"
Koenma fixed Kagome with a stern stare. "Kagome, this is uncalled for." Kagome looked at her esteemed father. "Go back to your place and keep quiet until we can talk privately. All of you!" he barked.
His daughters, ever obedient (for the most part), did as they were told. Kagome sulked as she floated over to where she was before, grumbling under her breath about the unfairness of it all.
Koenma turned his attention to his guests, his children out of his mind for the moment. "Now, like I was saying, I have chosen which daughter will go with whom. For you, Jinenji, I am sending me eldest, Botan." Jinenji was apparently the prince of Baltic, since he flushed and looked away.
Kagome couldn't help but think that, for someone who looked incredibly tough and bully-like, he seemed pretty sweet and innocent just from that small bit of red on his face. She couldn't help but wonder if the burly chap wasn't just a big softy inside.
The next person to be adressed was the royal from Mediterrania. "For you, Hiten, I give my second eldest, Kikyo." Their reactions were somewhat the same. Kikyo was nonchalant, not sad that she didn't get the best looking of them all, nor happy that she got a better looking prince than Jinenji. Hiten just stared her down, a small battle of wills to test Kikyo's strength. It didn't work- Kikyo noticed his stare and met his eyes, and Hiten was the first to look away.
Having been on the recieving end of Kikyo's malicious glare, she could sympathize with him. And she would have, if she didn't have that ominous feeling telling her that the final prince, who had taken to looking at her like she was some peice of meat, was going to be announced as her future husband.
Sure enough, she wasn't disappointed. "And Suzaku, I give you the elder of my two youngest, Kagome." Nodding with finality, Suzaku's stare took on a more predatorial look. Kagome would have collapsed to the floor had she had two legs, yet the water kept her up even though she didn't move her fin any.
The delegates bowed themselves out, turning to talk with and congradulate each other on their catches. Botan and Keiko followed soon after, the elder talking about all of the stuff she would find out about her new finacee and the younger breathing a sigh of relief at escaping the snare that had snapped around the eldre three. Kikyo followed after a smirk at Kagome, knowing the young brunette didn't want choices made for her, before following the others.
Within moments, Kagome was left alone with her father. Swimming back in front of him, Kagome let off a tidal wave of emotion she had been carefully holding back. "What was that all about? What are you getting at, shipping me off to some lecherous, arrogant, idiotic blonde with a bad hair day?" she screamed. Her temper was flared, knowing that her own choices were being pulled from her grasp.
Her tirade continued, and she didn't see her father's face slowly darken. "I don't get it. You didn't even talk to us! Don't we get a say in our future? Isn't it our lives? You always do this, always, and in the end it's us who end up getting the sour end of the deal. That isn't fair at all, and--"
Koenma cut her off. "Kagome, that is enough," he bellowed. "You don't stop to think for yourself, do you? That maybe we need this alliance to prevent our kingdom from being torn into peices." His face took on a disapproving stare. "I never though that I would raise such a selfish daughter."
Kagome's face burned. Whether from anger or embarrassment, she couldn't tell. "What do you mean, selfish? If you would have talked to me about it, I probably would have agreed!"
Koenma shook his head. "We both know you are too hot-headed and stubborn to agree with anything I present you with. You would have tossed my request aside, and would have still ended up in the position you are now."
Kagome fisted her hands at her side. "You don't know that. You haven't had any time for me for a long time, let alone any time to find out who I've become. I'm not a child anymore, and you know it!"
Koenma fixed her with one of his stares, the one that said she didn't know what she was talking about. "I only treat you how you should be treated. If you act like a child, then a child you will be!" He took a breath, wanting to not lose his temper. "You and I both know you have a good head on your shoulders, even if you don't necessarily use it much." He held up a hand to forestall what Kagome was about to say. "However, I will explain this. You, out of all of my children, are the most adept at dealing with matters of state.
"As one of the largest kingdoms in the seven seas, that is required of someone with your status. The prince from Pacifica is the heir to the largest kingdom of all- I need to send someone who will know what to do and say with a certain detatchement from her emotions. Botan gets too caught up in her feelings, Kikyo could care less, and Keiko is too young to be married off at such an age. That leaves you, and if you don't like it, that's too bad."
Kagome's hands were shaking with anger at this point. "So what, I'm just a bartering chip? You couldn't have figured out a different way to make this alliance? Is that all I'm good for?" she shouted.
Koenma's stare hardened. "Suzaku wouldn't accept this alliance without one of my daughter's hands in marriage, and he specifically asked for you. I will not jeapordize this kingdom for a spoiled, selfish brat!" Koenma pointed to Kagome, who was staring at her father with fury. "You will do as your told, and be grateful that I won't be leaving you to fend for yourself!"
Kagome didn't bother responding. She spun around, swimming as fast as she could to the door without looking back. She nearly unhinged the large obstacle as she fled over the threshold, slamming the large slab behind her.
On land, in the large anteroom that made up the seaside king's throne room, Youko was having a similar problem with his own father. Lord Sesshoumaru, a ruler that used an iron hand gloved in velvet over his citizened, had presented the most recent bridal choice to his heir.
The girl herself wasn't too bad looking; she had dark black hair and eyes so dark, he couldn't tell what color they were. She was fully figured, to be sure, and had been wearing a very flattering navy-colored, silk dress. However, she also gave off an incredibly dark aura for someone so sheltered looking.
Shortly after meeting her, the girl- called Tsubaki- was sent away to sit and talk with Youko's mother and Rin. The last look she had sent him was one of possession, and Youko shuddered to remember how much like some carnivor she looked like, one eyeing a particularily juicy peice of a choice cut.
And he no doubt would have shuddered, had he not been so angry at his father. They had been arguing for the last candlemark or so, back and forth between duty, freedom and responsibility. Currently, Sesshoumaru was giving his son 'the lecture'.
"You are old enough now to take a hold of the throne. I'm not a young man anymore- I will die soon, and I want to be secure in the knowledge that my kingdom will be secure as well. It is your responsibility, as crowned prince, to marry and make an alliance with a kingdom that will help support my people- soon to be your people."
Youko's father, a tall man with white hair and golden eyes, shifted in his throne. He wore no crown unless it was required of him; he didn't need one to project the aura of commanding that always surrounded him. Picking up where he left off, he continued to lecture at his son.
"Without a wife to help take care of the household, you will not be able to concentrate on the more important things- your people, and your kingdom. If you spend too much time worrying about matters in the home, your enemies will persieve it as a weak point and attack you while you are vulnerable. The world is cruel, and it is no place to lose your attentiveness..." The king continued to talk, but Youko let his mind wander.
He had heard it all before. Do your duty, marry a nice woman, have a horde of children...it was all the same. Nothing had changed in 'the lecture' since it had first been told. Youko could have recited it, word for word, using the exact same tones his father used if he had wanted to. The young prince found it incredibly amusing to imagine his cold-seeming and distant father to be pacing about his study, a sheaf of papers in his hand, memorising the very things that were coming from his mouth at that very moment. It was so unlike his father, the picture nearly brought a smile to Youko's face; only years of practicing to keep his features blank had prevented the grin.
Abruptly, Youko realised that his father had stopped talking. He looked up with apprehension, only to see that his father was standing not two feet in front of him, looming over the young man. A disapproving look was masked on the king's face, one of the few emotions he openly displayed.
"What were you doing, daydreaming like that?" Sesshoumaru asked in a cold voice. "I thought I had taught you better. If I were an assassin, you would be dead by now."
Youko looked up, trying to keep annoyance from his face. If his father had been an assassin, the killer wouldn't have gotten into the room- his father's paranoia (not that the king would ever admit it, of course, but that was what it was) saw to that fact. "I wasn't daydreaming," he stated.
Sesshoumaru raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Oh? You were, prehaps, thinking about your future wife?"
Youko crossed his arms. "I wouldn't waste even a single bit of my energy thinking about her, since I'm not going to marry her. I don't care what you say, but she can just go back to her kingdom in the morning for all I care."
"You will marry her. It is your responsibility, as crown prince, to--" Youko cut off his father, getting tired of the same old speech.
"To hell with being prince, then! Go form Rin into your own little miniature, I'm not going to marry her!" Youko stared defiantly up at the elder ruler.
"Rin is in no position to be groomed for a throne, not in the amount of time it would take. You were raised from birth for this position, and you will take it up as is your birthright. Rin has other duties, creating another alliance in the future- one which you will pick out for her. You will not push your problems off onto her young shoulders."
Youko scoffed. "You spoil her, no matter what you say. You always put the pressure on me to be perfect, to memorize everything, yet did it ever occur to you that I might want my own life? That maybe I had other ideas on what to do with my future?"
"And what would you do? Demote yourself to a common sailor? There is no chance that you will be killed or die before your time comes to take up the throne and rule over the kingdom. You and I both know that, as we both know that you are running out of options quickly. If you don't want to marry Tsubaki, you should have considered the repricussions of your actions before you chose to dismiss every other girl that has come along before her. Tsubaki is the last person who is willingly to marry into our family; you should be grateful we have even her. You have offended nearly every other princess to come through our doors."
"Oh, so it's all my fault now, isn't it? It's always me!" Youko didn't bother hiding his anger, his arms getting thrown up into the air. "So why don't we blame all of the sea storms on me as well. After all, I'm such a horrible person, I must have created them!" His eyes were blazing. "What else can you possibly blame on me?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes were in a cold fury. "You don't seem to understand that you don't have a choice in this matter. This is one marriage you will not get out of, no matter how smooth your words are. You will marry Tsubaki, and that is final." His voice had dropped dangerously low, sounding in a feral snarl. "Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
Youko smoothed out his face, knowing that anger would just bring unwanted trouble onto his shoulders. "Perfectly," he said with a flat voice.
Sesshoumaru didn't stop him as Youko turned around and stormed out of the room.
End Chapter
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