A/N: Surprise!
I'm not sure I will be able to post the upcoming Sunday, bit I will do my best to keep up the weekly updates.
Beta; Cstorm86
14
A bark woke her. It came from the outside and sounded impatient.
Kagome opened her eyes and sighed as she looked at the ceiling above her. Slowly she stretched her body under the warmth of the blanket that was wrapped snugly around her. Then, with a sigh she rose from the bed and changed into a plain blue dress She blinked drowsily as she sat in front of her mirror and brushed her hair.
A silver chain wrapped around her neck and hid under the collar of her dress. With a warm smile she reached inside her dress to pull out a small pendant. It was an ordinary pebble with a hole that allowed the chain to go through and hold it. It was gray in color, with a couple of rusty brown dots scattered over its surface. Overall, it didn't look valuable or very pretty. But to her it held value and beauty.
It was a promise.
Inuysha's promise.
And the silver chain - it was now a regular metal chain, but it had been Inuyasha's hair braided by his own hands. He'd put this pendant around her neck three days ago, when they had watched the moonrise.
When he'd proposed.
Kagome put the pendant back away where it was safe in her clothing. Then she finished brushing her hair, tied it back and went downstairs to help make breakfast.
.
"Will you marry me?" Inuyasha asked, holding her hand in his own, looking at her in the gentle light of impending dawn. His ears twitched impatiently, but otherwise he didn't show any emotion on his face. Kagome gasped at his question, her hand trembling where he held it.
This was so sudden! She didn't know what to think, what to tell him. They barely knew each other! She didn't even know if he was a husband material. And how was it going to work, with him being a fae and her a human? He was handsome and funny, there was no stale moment when he was around. He was fierce and protective, honoring his word and listening to her when she wanted to tell him something. She was amazed by the world that he lived in, but knew he had little knowledge of her human world.
In stories there were marriages between fae and humans, but they were usually captured female fae that were bound by their husbands. A human woman marrying a fae was something she had never heard of. Would this ever work?
She had all these doubts, but also... Wanted to follow him whenever he led her. He was full of secrets she wanted to find and understand. The world of his kin was so new, so different from what the stories she knew had taught her. With Inuyasha, she felt she could be free and find new things. She could be herself and express herself in whatever way she wanted. She'd seen with the wolf fae that there was no discrimination between female and male members of the pack. In fact, it seemed that it was Lady Ayame who had the last say in any matter. Kouga, her mate, was her equal in many ways, but he obviously had no power over her. It was so much not like the human society, where even in enlightened families of the capital city the father had the last word.
During this night she'd felt as if she was a part of something primal, pure and free. It reminded her of the short minutes spent in the dusty room, talking to Inuyasha. It had been similar to this. At his side, she realized she could learn and explore, not being bothered by any restrictions based on her gender or age.
Besides... Being Inuyasha's wife wouldn't be a strife. Oh, it wouldn't be peaceful, for he was stubborn and tended to be mischievous, but it had this sense of adventure about it. They could learn more about each other and the wild hills and forests. She could fall asleep under his tree and dance with him.
Then her gaze moved to Souta. The boy didn't pay attention to them, watching the sky. Would it mean leaving her family behind? Was she able to do that? Would it be selfish of her? Would his family accept her? Would she be able to live among fae, human as she was? Would it be safe?
Kagome took a deep breath.
"No," she said quietly, looking straight in the golden eyes of the fae. He frowned.
"No? Are you rejecting my proposal?" he asked in a harsh whisper, making to let go of her hand. But her fingers grabbed his, mindless of his claws. Kagome looked at him pleadingly, silently begging him to stay and hear her out.
"I mean..." she licked her dry lips. "I don't reject you, I just... You know... We barely know each other... And would it be wise to marry a human for a fae like you?" She tried to explain herself. "I like you and I know you mean me no harm, but what about other fae? And I couldn't just up and leave my family to go off with a virtual stranger... Even if he's... even if he has cute ears and all," she felt her cheeks heating up and she glanced down, almost missing the smirk that replaced his scowl. "Maybe... We could... I don't know... Get to know each other a bit and then... maybe... see what will happen then...?"
Inuyasha was silent for a long while, just looking at her. He didn't make to free his hand from her grip, so she dared to hope he understood at least a bit of her reasoning."
"It's tradition," he finally said, causing her to look up at him. "To offer marriage to a spirited human, that freed one of my kind."
"So..." she bit her lip, trying not to feel sad. "You just followed the tradition here?"
"Yeah. But, you know," the fae leaned in a bit, peering into her eyes, inhaling deeply. "I wouldn't mind getting to know you better. You're fun to be around. And you smell nice."
Her heartbeat sped up at that and she felt that her cheeks were burning now.
"So..." she swallowed. "Friends for now?"
"Sound fine by me," Inuyasha wriggled his hand free from her hold and reached into the folds of his robe, producing a small gray stone with a hole in the middle of it. He smirked at her confused expression and pricked his finger with his claw. She watched in curiosity as he allowed a few drops of his blood fall on the pebble, then he put it in her hand.
"Hold it for me, okay?" he muttered and cut a few strands of his hair.
"What's this for?" she asked, watching him deftly braiding the hair in a neat string. He put the string through the hole in the pebble and grinned at her.
"This is my promise to you, Kagome of the house Higurashi," he said, his smile playful despite formal words. "By my true name, if you call me in need, I shall come and save you, whatever distance will be between us it will not matter."
"Oh, um, thank you, but how am I to call you? How will you hear me and come to me?" she blinked up at him, but the fae only smirked. He leaned in and put the string loosely around her neck. As he tied it, he leaned to her ear. Kagome shivered when his warm breath tickled her ear.
"You will call me as I am named. Inuyasha ap Toga, of the house of Inu no Taisho."
"Is it... Is it your true name?" she breathed out. Inuyasha moved back and grinned at her, reaching behind his fuzzy ear to produce his flute, adorned with autumn leaves.
"Almost. But it will suffice," he said and put the flute to his mouth. The music that surrounded her was like warm, fragrant mist, smelling of fresh leaves and spring, hay drying in summer sun, the baked apples of autumn and hot tea in winter. It made her forget her worries and doubts. Her body swayed as the music coiled around her, gently, tenderly lulling her into slumber.
When she woke up, she was in her own bed. She was still dressed under the blanket, which told her that the whole night hadn't been a dream. She also had the rock with the hole in it, hanging from a silver chain that had no opening and couldn't be removed over her head.
.
Kagome sighed as she busied herself cutting bread into slices. The maid was working next to her, happily talking about the change of weather; apparently there were going to be at least a few sunny days. Kagome tried to keep a conversation, but her thoughts went to the room that had once been hidden.
When she had went to Inuyasha's room that morning, she had found no fae inside. The room itself was much different than it had been before.
The air in there no longer smelled of wild forest. Now, it stunk of staleness of long closed places, with a hint of mold. The old bed was covered with dust, the sheets coming apart under the slightest touch. The dry leaves were the same, dissolving into dust when someone tried to pick them up. Webs that adorned every corner were full of long dead flies. The magnificent painting of the wild forest was no longer so splendid, nor did it look like trees. No, now the walls looked terrible, with patches of mold, wallpaper hanging here and there where water had weakened the glue that had been keeping it to the structure.
One thing was for sure - Inuyasha was gone, so was his magic.
What was strange was the fact that now the room had a second door, one that led to the corridor. And that suddenly everyone remembered that there was a sixth room on the second floor. Kagome had been shocked when grandpa had declared the previous day that he was planning to restore the room, so it could be usable again. He had been kind of ashamed that he and his father had allowed the room to get to this state of ruin.
It was reassuring that Souta remembered Inuyasha and that she had the pendant and the notebook to remind her that yes, Inuyasha wasn't a dream of hers, that he had been living in this house.
She already missed him. Without him everything that happened in the household was so mundane, so boring. She didn't have anything to look forward to when she did her chores. She no longer had her secret to feel this thrill of the unknown. All she had now was talking to Souta and hoping Inuyasha would come back soon. For now, it was enough, her brother was still telling her what he'd learned and they also spoke about the dog-eared fae on their walks.
They didn't pay much attention to a lone rider that was often watching them from a distance, a thoughtful look on his face as he followed the Higurashi daughter's movements with his rusty eyes. Then, when the siblings returned home, Lord Kagewaki would turn his horse to enjoy his ride a while longer, a small, hopeful smile on his face.
