"I told her I was lost in this world,

and she smiled, because she was too.

We were all lost somehow,

but we didn't care,

we had in the chaos

found each other." - Atticus

Chapter 5

Kagome was numb. She had withdrawn into herself and rejected all outside stimuli. She hardly registered where she was or what she was doing. She was locked in a dark, cold room and her wrists were shackled to the wall behind her, and she was waiting for Inuyasha to come kill her – that's what she knew. She sat on her knees, slumped in on herself considering the merits of biting her tongue off so she'd drown in her own blood. It wouldn't be quick or painless, but at least it was a certain end on her own terms. It'd take as much force as biting through a stick of butter, she convinced herself as she tested the thick flesh between her teeth. She was good as dead anyways. If Inuyasha didn't kill her then this fever would, she concluded feeling sweat drip down her spine and collect in the hollow of her neck. Heat radiated off of her in waves and the room spun every time she moved her line of sight. She was without modern day antibiotics or medicine and doubted that this was something an herbal remedy could fix. She blinked slowly and licked her cracked lips.

Why did Inuyasha want to kill her?

She may have been filthy and injured but she still looked and scented like Kagome, right? There were so many other questions that needed to be answered but her call to execution was most paramount. This was asinine – there was no question who she was. A small flame of anger flickered deep in her belly. Now that she thought about it, she was almost certain that there was no mistaking who she was yet he still treated her like she was dirt on his shoe. How many other women looked and scented just like Kagome Higurashi, had miko powers, and were searching for him specifically? Wasn't he happy to see her? Hadn't he been dreaming of the day he'd get to see her again, like she had? Obviously not! No wonder the well was overgrown and ill-maintained – he had abandoned it to be some haughty King! It was everything that the Inuyasha she knew was not. Her lips curled up in disgust. The small flame in her belly grew rapidly into an all-consuming wildfire. A detached, rational part of herself wondered if this was a last-ditch survival self-preservation technique so she wouldn't give up entirely, or the infection-ridden delirium was finally settling into full-blown hysteria. Either way, she let it take over and allowed herself this, at least.

Hot tears rolled down her face and Kagome tried to wipe them away with a shrug against her shoulder, succeeding in only smearing mud, blood, and salty tears across her face. Kagome was spurned on and seethed in frustration, never having been so enraged before in her entire life. She had been betrayed by the one person she trusted most until the very end. This was all his fault. She was injured, sick, and dying because of him. He should have taken care of the well! He should have stayed in Kaede's village and protected the people! He should have waited for her! She knew she was being unreasonable and unfair but she had worked herself into such a rage that she teetered on the edge of a complete meltdown. The events of the past several days weighed too heavy on her psyche and she was cracking under the pressure. Kagome's body was on fire and her heart was beating too fast. She panted at the clammy air and clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly.

I hate you, she thought to herself, testing the words together in that order. She felt the tight grip of fury in her stomach relax just a hair. It felt foreign to her so she tried again and again.

I hate you! Red hot tears scorched down her cheeks.

I hate you! I hate you! The sound of footsteps and a youkai presence filled the room.

She looked up and Inuyasha was standing in front of her. A hot ball of rage swelled in her throat and she didn't hold back.

"I hate you!" she screamed as loudly as she could, straining against the restraints, brows knitted together tightly, her face screwed up in pain. The words fell thickly on the silent room, floating in the air between them like a heavy fog. Neither of them moved for many long movements. Kagome glared at him with her one good eye and Inuyasha betrayed nothing with his stone-cold stare. He reminded her so much of Sesshomaru in this moment – detached, languid, aloof. Kagome had never seen Inuyasha so shockingly inhuman.

In one fluid movement Inuyasha reached across his body to his hip, resting his hand on the hilt of Tessaiga, and drew it. The blade transformed and Kagome felt the strangest urge to laugh suddenly finding herself at the wrong end of the weapon. Inuyasha turned the blade and nestled the flat side of it just under her chin, the tip grazing her neck. He held her chin up, forcing her to hold his gaze long and hard. Kagome was at a loss. This was it, she supposed. Her journey to the past was coming to an end. She'd spent six years crying and begging any Gods that would lend an ear to allow her just one chance to come to the Sengoku Jidai era. Maybe none of the Gods listened for so long because they knew this was the cruel fate that was waiting for her.

"You know it's me and you're still going to kill me." She spat at him, finding her voice.

He finally broke his silence after a thoughtful pause.

"I don't." is all he said.

Maybe it was the fever, or the delirium, or the fact Kagome only had one fucking eye to see out of, but she wasn't sure if for just but a second, she saw his carefully crafted expression falter to something painful before defaulting.

Kagome scoffed. "What do you mean? It's obviously me!" she shouted incredulously losing her patience, "Do you want my birthdate and social security number while you're at it? You're such a selfish ass – you haven't changed one bit! You drag me through hell and back and the welcome party I get is a game of "Guess Who?" to death with his royal highness!" she screamed at him, pressing against the tip of his sword daring him to flinch and get it over with. "You- you." She coughed and drew in a shaky breath, "I searched for you! I put my life at risk to find you! When I was attacked I cried for you! Look where that's got me!" Kagome was embarrassed but unloading this burden was critical in this moment – nothing else mattered. She spurred on uncontrollably, "I wish I'd never come back looking for you! I – I – You disgust me! You're horrible! You – You - – SIT!" she finally choked out, her voice going hoarse. Kagome was left trying to catch her breath after her rant and waited for the satisfying clap of his face smacking the ground, but it never came.

The sword transformed back into its smaller, rusty form and was slowly sheathed. Inuyasha lingered for a moment longer, studying her, before turning and striding out of the prison room. The lattice door clicked shut and locked behind him. Bewildered, Kagome slumped again into herself as she felt the adrenaline and fight leave her body. In her fit of rage, she had worked out some of her mental and emotional anguish on the perceived bane of her existence. The crushing weight was gone and she could breathe easier, however the number of questions she now had doubled. What the Hell was going on?

Kagome couldn't see them but she could hear them whisper. Youkai were coming and going quietly trying to get a look at the captive human, peeking through the gaps in the doors and murmuring to each other. She could feel their youkai energy pushing and pulling against her own in her chest every time they came close and walked away. One demon, a young woman, approached her with a bowl in her hands flanked by two armed men. She stopped several feet away, uneasy, and waited for Kagome to acknowledge her.

"I'm going to try to clean you up." She said as the armed men placed their torches in the wall sconces. Kagome wasn't sure if she even understood the words correctly but nodded dumbly. The prison room was freezing and had a horrible draft, and Kagome wasn't sure if getting her skin wet in the winter was a good idea, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't desperately want to feel cleaner.

The demon woman knelt down in front of Kagome and retrieved a cloth from the bowl of water. Her large violet eyes and searched Kagome's before tenderly placing the cloth against her forehead and wiping. Kagome groaned in pain but the woman continued her duty, wiping layers upon layers of grime, blood, and sweat from Kagome's face. The water quickly turned mucky and thick with filth but the demon woman continued to wipe down Kagome's neck and arms, at least wiping away the worst of it. Kagome didn't feel fresh by any stretch, but she felt marginally cleaner, and for this she was thankful. The demon woman finished, pulled back, and inspected her work; she made a face.

"I'm sorry, it's the best I could do." She admitted sheepishly.

"No, no I appreciate it. Thank you." Kagome muttered, another line of sweat already forming at her hair line.

The demon woman nodded before standing and walking out the door and taking the armed men with her. Kagome sat in silence, willing her goose pimple skin to settle as it dried in the drafty room. At least the men had left their torches – that had to offer a bit of warmth, right?

Much later the door opened again and the armed men were back with another demon woman in tow. This woman was much older and analyzed her with narrow yellow eyes that arrested Kagome and made her nervous. The was short and plump with long white hair that fell over her shoulder in different sized braids.

"Get her out of those shackles but tie her hands – I don't feel like getting purified today." She crowed. The men scurried into action, releasing Kagome's arms only to bind her wrists behind her back with heavy iron cuffs. By the way these men moved with urgency, Kagome sensed this woman carried some weight around here. Kagome sat and stared at the woman, and if she hadn't been, she would have missed her snake-like tongue flick out with lightning speed.

"Let me see your foot," she flicked her tongue out again, "the left one."

Kagome unfolded her legs and presented her oozing swollen foot to the woman. She took it gingerly and inspected it before, to Kagome's horror, her tongue zipped out and touched the open wound.

"Mmm, I see. That's a nasty infection, girl. Another one on your head. You shouldn't let your wounds get so dirty." She lectured. Kagome began to protest in bewilderment but resigned. This wasn't a battle worth fighting, she told herself.

The old woman took a handful of dried herbs and leaves from her breast pocket and chewed them in her mouth before spitting them in her hand.

"My name is Harue. I am the palace healer." She explained as she rubbed the chewed-up mixture on the bottom of Kagome's foot. The ministrations to the bottom of her foot caused Kagome to inhale sharply in pain but Harue held her ankle fast. Next Harue took Kagome's head into her wrinkled hands and repeated the process.

"I'm not here to heal all of ya, just the sick parts of ya. Don't get used to it." Harue warned with a mouthful of medicinal herbs.

"Do all prisoners get healed before Inuyasha executes them?" Kagome asked sourly, her voice barely above a whisper. Kagome wasn't expecting an answer, and it was a good thing because she didn't get one.

With the salve rubbed on her head and foot Harue departed after warning her to not walk on that foot or touch her head. Kagome nodded and looked at the armed men expectantly, hoping they'd remove the cuffs. They left the room with Harue and Kagome sat on the floor of her prison drumming her fingertips behind her on the dirt floor. She wasn't sure what to do now – she was still hungry, cold, and in pain, but there was very little she could do about these problems right now. After a while, minding her foot, Kagome dragged herself underneath one of the torches still resting high above her and allowed herself to teeter over onto her side and try to rest.

For the next two days Kagome waited anxiously for Inuyasha to come back and finish the job, but he didn't. She slept fitfully and fought unseen demons in her sleep every night and kept a wary eye trained on the shadows during the day. She was anxious, on edge, and wasn't herself. It was her fever breaking, she told herself as she sweat through her yukata at night, waking up each morning feeling better than the last. The wound on the bottom of her foot had healed completely and a shiny jagged pink scar was all that was left.

Harue was more than a healer, she was a miracle worker. I need to learn her tricks. Kagome thought as she tenderly let her fingers explore the top of her head. Her hair was caked and matted with crusty, dried blood and muck, flakes of it raining down around her every time she turned her head.

The guards had released her hands from the cuffs the first morning when the demon woman with violet eyes brought her food. She eagerly gulped down the meager meal of meat and fruits as soon as it was handed to her. Kagome was disappointed when she was left hungry, but the woman promised to return later that day with a little more food after dinner. Like clockwork, she returned much later with a small portion of rice and meat. Eternally grateful, Kagome thanked her and shoveled the food into her mouth.

It was now the morning of the third day that Kagome had spent prisoner in her small cold room. Her fever had passed, her injuries were healing, and she could now open her right eye although it was still very sore to the touch. The demons didn't come by her cell and whisper anymore, in fact it seems they avoided it. Kagome had a pretty good idea why. She lifted the front of her yukata, the thin material now stiff with dried sweat, and smelled herself. She was rank. How much time had passed since she'd last had a shower? If you don't count the time she'd been nearly drowned in the river by Ryuu, it could have been anywhere from a week to two weeks! She'd spent those weeks in the mud, blood, pus, and sweat. Kagome couldn't recall a time she'd smelled so bad. The thought of smelling so bad that her stench wards off demons was a pleasant one, but quite honestly Kagome was becoming nauseated by herself, too.

It seems Kagome's violet-eyed friend (could she call her a friend? She hadn't threatened to kill or hurt Kagome yet and that was better than every other demon thus far) shared the same sentiment because today was the day Kagome could bathe herself, she declared. She sprung up from her position on the dirt floor and impatiently waited for the guards to saunter into her cell and loosely shackle her wrists in front of her. They positioned themselves behind her and the demon woman led the convoy out of the room and down a dimly lit hall. Was there a spring nearby? Or a bathhouse she could use? Surely there had to be in a palace of this size. How many times had she hopped in a warm bath at home or taken a quick shower all for granted? Never again, she swore. Her hopes fell when the foursome approached a deep basin at the end of a dimly lit hall full of water. She chided herself, because this was better than nothing and she really ought to be grateful, but this was going to be unpleasant. A draft in the air raised goose bumps on her skin and she shivered involuntarily.

"I tried to warm some of the water over a fire before filling it," said the woman as if reading Kagome's heartbroken expression, "hopefully it won't be too cold. I was told humans aren't able to regulate their body temperatures very well."

The demon woman waved the armed men away and they stood around the corner to give the two privacy. Kagome nodded to the shackles on her wrists and the woman shook her head at her regretfully.

"I'm sorry, but those have to stay on." The woman said bending over a basket that Kagome hadn't noticed on the ground. She pulled out a cloth and a lump of soap and set them near the basin. "I've heard you're quite good with a bow, Miko-sama, those restraints will ensure you're not." She said with a teasing smile.

Kagome stared at her blankly, not sure what to say, before she blurted, "Kagome. I'm not a miko. You can call me Kagome."

The woman paused in the middle of folding a clean yukata and stared at Kagome with her wide violet eyes, "Misuzu," she finally responded, "My name is Misuzu."

Misuzu revealed a small blade that caught the dim light of the torches hung on the walls around the basin and cut Kagome out of her filthy yukata. Kagome slowly lowered herself into the basin and found that the water was somewhere between lukewarm and cold, uncomfortable and okay. Kagome was embarrassed to see that the water clouded a murky brown as soon as she submerged her entire body in the basin. She ducked her head underwater and scrubbed at her messy thick locks furiously in an attempt to work out the layers of muck that had accumulated there. When she surfaced Misuzu supplied a jar of oil that Kagome tested between her fingers. Camellia Oil. Kagome worked the floral oil through her long black hair and tried to detangle the rat's nest on her head to the best of her ability. The heavy clunky iron shackles on her wrists made her hands move clumsily and slowly as she fingered through her tangled tendrils. Next, she took the cloth and soap and began the tedious task of scrubbing her skin clean while also avoiding wounds, taking care to not open any fresh wounds and unnecessarily lose any more blood. Misuzu generously offered to scrub Kagome's back, and she wondered if the demon woman was doing it out of kindness or it was because she was tired of smelling her stench. Either way, Kagome emerged from the bath clean and feeling more optimistic than she had in weeks.

Misuzu fetched a key from her breast and unlocked Kagome's cuffs so she could dress. She quickly donned the yukata that was presented to her which was made of a thicker, woolier fabric designed for the winter. She was allowed to dry her hair with a scrap cloth and give the Camellia oil one last run through her locks. The restraints were secured back into place and Kagome was led back to her room, the ghost of a content smile on her lips.

"Are you going to do it?" The old woman asked, her yellow eyes narrowing. Her long, curved claws drummed along the table in an annoying rhythm of clicks as she impatiently waited for her answer.

"Yes."

Her forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air. Uncertainty. That's what the air tasted like. She was clever, too clever for her own goddamn good. She tossed a thick braid over her shoulder in favor of a thinner braid and began to finger it thoughtfully. As a member of the council and an advisor, it was her job to question everything he did, and quite frankly it was infuriating.

"You know, this could be the one." She pondered.

"No, it can't." Inuyasha huffed angrily as he stood up and grabbed Tessaiga from its resting place on the floor next to him. He was done waiting around – he'd kill this woman and be done with it. He began to stride out of the room when Harue's voice stopped him.

"Wait – " she crowed. He turned just in time to catch something flying through the air at him that was no larger than a quarter. "Keep this with you."

He caught the dark round article and studied it in his hand. Inuyasha turned and snarled at the cocky woman, baring his fangs at her – how did she get her hands on this? But she was back to sipping her tea peacefully, decidedly ignoring him. That healer knew how to dissect him, pull apart his fibers, and take a deep look inside at everything he wanted to keep hidden; he grated his teeth and shoved it under his breast plate tucking it safely into his Haori.

Inuyasha thrust open the shoji door and slammed it behind him and then took a moment to compose himself before striding lordly down the halls of his palace. Servants and noble folk scurried out of his way and bowed to him as he passed but he kept his eyes trained forward. He could hear them whispering and gossiping about the human miko prisoner that was brought to the palace. Why had Tsunekane, the captain of his scouting efforts, taken it upon himself to find this woman and drag her half way across the country to his court? Now the entire palace was in disarray and unfocused. He could hear the commotion at the front gates and knew what was coming. The way Tsunekane strutted around the palace with his trophy miko in tow reminded Inuyasha of a peacock with its watercolor feathers spread on display, reminding everybody how impressive and unforgettable it can be in a moment's notice. That man needed his feathers trimmed.

"My Lord!" cried a voice and a pair of footsteps scuttled up beside him. It was the nervous, grating voice of his personal secretary, Gaku. "Please forgive me if I am disturbing you while you are busy, My lord! I don't mean to get in your way! I only -"

Who hired him? Inuyasha wondered, tuning the small demon out.

"What is it, Gaku?" Inuyasha asked sternly interrupting Gaku.

"Oh! Well I wanted to run your schedule by you since it seems that things for the day have been moved around due to the arrival of that… uh… woman." He stuttered. Inuyasha waited for Gaku to continue as little demon struggled to keep up with his long strides. "A council meeting has been called in 20 minutes and your presence has been requested-"

"I call the council meetings, and last I checked I didn't call a council meeting." Inuyasha interrupted him. Gaku flipped through some papers he was tightly clutching in his hands, dropping a few and leaving them discarded on the floor behind.

"It looks like Tsunekane called this meeting, Sir." Gaku offered. Inuyasha's jaw settled into a hard line and his eyebrows knit together – he was going to pluck that peacock.

"That meeting will last 2 hours, Sir. By then Ryuu should be out of the healing ward. He's having his leg removed and it's best you see him." Gaku continued reading from his mess of papers.

"If I see Ryuu, it'll be to disembowel him for disrupting my court." Inuyasha stated plainly.

Gaku fumbled for words before crumpling a paper, "I'll send a message to Ryuu that you won't be visiting today." The two men stepped down from the halls and entered a large court yard in the middle of the palace and cut across the frosty grass. "You also have combat practice at the dojo today that's been pushed back until later this evening."

"Why so late?" Inuyasha prodded.

"You have paperwork waiting on your desk in your study regarding the woman, the scouting team, damages, and money withdrawn from the accounts that were given to the guards in The Ruin." Gaku quipped. Inuyasha groaned, the mention of paperwork soured his mood even more than it already was. This entire affair was causing more problems than it was worth. Inuyasha stopped his pursuit toward the dungeons and ran a sharp clawed hand through his thick unruly bangs and exhaled. Killing this woman wouldn't even put an end to his problems, it'd just lead to more paperwork.

Gaku nervously kicked at the snow at his feet, "My Lord, if you'd follow me we could go to the council meeting now and perhaps get a good seat..." the little demon trailed off as he caught the heated glare his Lord tossed his way.

"I'm the King, I always get 'a good seat'." Inuyasha said indignantly, "Besides, I have something I need to take care of." He finished as he walked off again in the direction of the dungeon leaving Gaku behind.

"Oh yes, the woman!" Gaku shouted, "Do not spill blood on yourself, My Lord, it would not sit well with the council!" he cried after Inuyasha.

"I hate you!" she screamed, the volume of her sudden proclamation ringing in his sensitive ears. She looked like Kagome, sounded like Kagome, and he was sure she probably smelled like Kagome under all that filth. He allowed himself to study her closely now that they were in private and in close quarters. This woman was battered and bruised, a shadow of the woman she may have been before. Her left eye was painfully swollen shut and blood bubbled from an open wound on top of her head. She was disgusting and he didn't want to be in here longer than he had to be. She bared her teeth at him – a challenge – and he took it.

Inuyasha drew Tessaiga easily from its resting place on his hip and he rested the flat side of his blade just under her chin. She was brave for a human, and he'd give her the dignity of looking him in the eye as he cut out her throat. Then, she said something that surprised him:

"You know it's me and you're still going to kill me."

Inuyasha was about to make the swift flick of the wrist to sever her ties to this world when he stopped to think. There was so much venom in her voice – so accusatory. She was so full of herself, in fact, keeping up this charade so far into this game of hers. She was about to die and she was still keeping up the charade – he expected she'd be begging for her life by now. Also, how exactly would he know it's her? After so much heartache, so much loss, so much trickery, so many years – he wasn't falling for it. This woman was a fool if she thought he'd fall for her tricks.

"I don't." he answered, suffocating a swell of unpleasant thoughts and memories bubbling up at the back of his brain.

The small woman in front of him smelled like she was on the edge of death, but she somehow found enough life to explode into a string of expletives and rage. He stood focusing on the ebb and flow of the pure power rolling off of her body. It was weak, very weak, but he could feel it resolutely press against his own demon aura trying to find any cracks or gaps it could flood into and attack the source. She was an honest to Gods miko, there was no denying it, and not many of those had walked (or been dragged) through his palace gates since Kagome's disappearance. She was a brave, fiery little thing, and a small, still human part of him wanted to pity her, like you'd pity an injured kitten that you know won't live through the night.

"You're horrible! You – You - – SIT!" Her voice reached its crescendo and silence fell upon them.

Inuyasha should have cut her throat then and there, but his brain wouldn't send the signal to his wrist. He stood there frozen in place. The bead of subjugation, tucked in his haori, thrummed against his chest and sang with life. The earth stopped moving for just a moment while he struggled to process what the Hell this meant, all while the pure song of the bead rang in his ear. The world started to spin again on its axis and his mouth was suddenly too dry, his tongue suddenly too big for his mouth, and his sword suddenly was too heavy. He quickly sheathed Tessaiga and regarded her in suspicious awe – it was impossible. This was not happening. Her features had softened and tears freely fell down her face. Inuyasha fought the urge to rip her damn face off by spinning on his heel and walking away.

Fuck whoever sent this woman here to haunt him.

"Kagome?" Misuzu's sing-song voice pulled Kagome out of her sleep. When had she decided to take a nap? She inspected the palms of her hands - still angry red and raw - and then rubbed her eyes with the back of them.

"I'm here to bring you your dinner and then take you to see Lord Inuyasha." She informed. Kagome stopped rubbing her eyes and peered up at the woman.

"I'm… going to see Inuyasha today?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, Lord Inuyasha would like to see you in his study." Misuzu said, stressing the title.

"Why?" Kagome asked as Misuzu set down a slab of wood with rice, meat, and fruit – slightly less food than this morning. Kagome frowned for a split second before plastering a grateful smile on her face.

"I couldn't tell you," Misuzu thought out loud, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall, "It's not often My Lord requests to see prisoners in his study. Normally he kills them immediately."

Kagome paused mid bite, chop sticks poking out of her mouth, before chewing and swallowing. Had Inuyasha really been planning on killing her or was it a stunt for the court to save face? She supposed if he was really planning on killing her he would have done it by now. She finished her food quickly, now not too upset that there was less to eat because a knot of nervous energy in her stomach took up most of the room.

Guards entered the room and they shackled her wrists behind her back again. Misuzu led the group out of the cell and as they walked down the hall Kagome noticed for the first time that she was the only prisoner here. Out of the dungeon and across a court yard, through a shoji door, and onto the beautifully polished floors again they walked in silence. For the first time, Kagome got a glimpse of all the demons that had been watching her over the past several days from the shadows. Now, they spied on her from around corners, or through the cracks of doors, or passed her side-long glances over the tops of fans clutched in their hands. Their whispers were deafening, but for the life of her, she couldn't single one out and decipher what they were saying. Kagome resisted the urge to turn around and shout "BOO!" and send most of them scattering. She hoped, at least, that they were more afraid of her than she was of them.

It felt like ages of winding through the maze of the palace before Misuzu stopped in front of two large doors. She turned around and looked Kagome up and down before tugging at her yukata to straighten it out.

"You look presentable – enough." She smiled hopefully. Kagome quirked an eyebrow, not even sure what that meant.

"I'm assuming the restraints stay on." Kagome guessed tiredly.

"That they do. Now remember, use honorifics, bow, and behave." Misuzu nagged as if she were sending Kagome off to her first day of grade school. Kagome nodded, becoming increasingly unsure of what was happening the more the woman chatted. Wasn't she a prisoner? What was she doing outside of a study? As long as Inuyasha – er – Lord Inuyasha wasn't planning on butchering her in his study, Kagome guessed she'd be okay.

Misuzu gently slid open the doors and ushered Kagome inside.

Hello all! I'm so happy to see so many returning readers excited for this story rewrite and a ton of new readers as well. I really appreciate the love and support. For those of you who read the first rendition, you've seen some minor changes but this chapter is where things began to diverge. When I write these chapters I split screen the old chapter on the left, and a blank document on the right. From this chapter I really want to diverge from the original script moving forward. You'll see some of the same story, you'll see some key differences. I promise you'll love all of it.

For those of you that are left wondering "What the HELL?!" Don't worry! All will be revealed soon! For the new reader's sake, try to not leave spoilers in the reviews if you remember what happens further along in the story, folks! Note to new readers: don't read the reviews. You won't thank yourself and it likely won't make sense because I've changed everyone's names. Ha! Thank you, as always, everyone! Stay safe and healthy in these trying times.