A/N: Sorry everyone for the late update... too many things going on, too many stories to work on, and too much panicking about losing ever single thing i uploaded to fictionpress... wah! i do hope things work out, if not, i guess i'll just have to reupload everything i have on my pc... wah! and my originals were doing quite well to begin with... the reviews would be wasted... i'm so sad.. ,( i just hope it was just a minor glitch and everything would return... anyways, read, enjoy and review this chapter... : )

CHAPTER 9

Kagome tip-toed quietly inside the foyer, she managed to convince the stable boys to forget about reporting to their superior the time of her arrival. She didn't realize that the sky could easily turn pitch black in a number of minutes here unlike at her time, or maybe it has something to do with the lack of electricity. She would have gotten back earlier if she didn't turn back and found herself entranced with the haunting beauty of the night, with pale moonbeams from a half-crescent moon turning the leaves into silver. It was only when the wind picked up that she gotten back to herself and urged Tenshi back towards the castle, looming against a backdrop of shadowy trees, illuminated by the many burning torches inside the stone walls.

"I suggest you just turned around now and explain why you were gone for so long before I do something drastic to get it out of you." A voice filled with threat said directly behind her.

Kagome froze on her steps and slowly swiveled her head. There before her stood Lady Sango, her hands resting primly on her waist, eyes narrowed dangerously. Gulping, Kagome faced her fully and hoped that her voice won't betray the pounding rhythm of her heart. "I was out on the lands. Having been gone for so long, I lost track of time familiarizing myself with our territory." Kagome silently congratulated herself on the authoritative tone she had managed, and the regal look that hides the uncertainty she was battling against.

"I understand that, but you do realize that you're worrying everyone when you turn up absent for almost the whole day. They don't have to go through that all over again. You'd been gone before without anyone knowing if they'll ever see you again." Lady Sango went off chastising her for some time while Kagome tried to avoid flinching at the furious tone coming from someone who was supposed to be the hime's best friend.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think of that. It was just that being surrounded by so many people after being just us overwhelmed me a bit. I just had to get out." Kagome interjected when Lady Sango paused for breath. "I assure you that it shall not happen again. But at the moment, I am quite tired and in need of some rest. If you are done with me, I would very much like to retire to my bedchambers for the night. We can have this discussion in the morning. Good night." With that said Kagome turned her back on a stunned Lady Sango and marched off down the corridors in the direction she had walked from early in the morning.

The light of morning brought little respite and more hopelessness. It wasn't a dream after all. The whole crossing-the-world was as real as the ache on Kagome's back.

Groaning, Kagome turned to her side and tried to burrow herself further in the down bed. It was the least she could do to gain some semblance of comfort on an otherwise strange world full of strangers. Not used to being on horseback for long lengths of time, she felt as if needles were being inserted in various parts of her body. Even her thighs seemed to be throbbing.

Bleary eyes trained on the form of the maid who opened the door so gently that it emitted merely just a soft pop, almost indistinguishable from the soft chirping of the birds if one had gotten used to life in the castle. Carmen headed to the fireplace to stoke the dying embers. Next, she went to the curtains and opened the side near the fireplace, careful to avoid making any sounds, determined to offer her charge more rest 'fore the hime should make an appearance at the breakfast table. She busied herself at the wash stand, laying out fresh towels and the handmade soap for the early morning cleansing, unaware that the form she had thought to still be in deep slumber sitting up in bed.

Kagome watched all she did, fascination clear in her eyes, at the many duties a lady's maid performed prior to the task of waking up the mistress. It involves far more work than they, that is, the drama club, had ever imagined. Staging play after play showing what goes on inside the mistress' chamber, and yet, they hadn't once tapped on the important roles the lady's maid take on to ensure the mistress is ready for the day ahead.

Humming almost inaudibly a haunting melody of sorts, Carmen went on her way until she caught sight of Kagome. She almost dropped the pitcher in surprise and was startled further when Kagome let out a giggle. Carmen quickly stood up; pitcher supported more carefully in her capable hands, she did a small curtsy. "Good morning milady. I am quite sorry for not noticing her ladyship had been awakened by my puttering."

Kagome let out another peal of laughter, her fascination with the life so far removed from her own momentarily covered her own fear and uncertainty. "Good morning Carmen. No need to apologize. I was already very awake when you came in. I would have returned to sleep if I could, but I guess sleep had deserted me." She suddenly noticed that Carmen looked at her oddly. "What is it, Carmen?"

"Your ladyship seemed to be in a cheerful mood of late, and seemed inclined to talk more than ever. Whatever could have caused such a change?" Carmen, who had been the hime's maid when she was just merely a girl of fourteen summers and the hime but a child of two, had shared a far deeper bond that allowed to address the young woman in a somewhat casual manner.

"Why? Had I really changed much? In what way?" It was Carmen's puzzled words that reminded Kagome of the role she had been asked to play.

Carmen went to the chair situated next to the fireplace to retrieve the silk robe she had left the night before. "Well, let's get you ready for the day and we shall speak of it as we go along." Ushering her charge off the bed, she helped Kagome slip herself into the luxurious fabric. "After your return from hiding, you had become quite a sullen young woman, very clipped in your answers. Being forced to hide must have been tough on you." Carmen said softly, brushing the hime's hair with a wistful smile on her face. "But now, I think you had adjusted quite well. Having seen you exchange banter with Lady Sango had brought tears in my eyes. For I had felt that the child I had served from the day she had turned six had returned to me." She paused momentarily at her gentle ministration and Kagome thought she heard a tell-tale sniffle. "Your ladyship travels must have done you some good. And I see you had learned quite a few new words. Tell me, had you met someone in your travels?"

"What!" It was Kagome's turn to be surprised. "How ever would you think that?" she phrased carefully, mentally relieved that Carmen had not question her speech any further. "Had there been talks down in the kitchens, or the stable maybe?"

"Oh no, none of the sort milady." Carmen exclaimed gaily, "It is just that I had served your ladyship more years than I dare count and had been privy to thy moods. It had been sometime since I had seen the hime quite animated, just like the time you came home on Tenshi telling everyone you had made friends with a dog of the woods."