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An animalistic groan thundered past Kagome's lips as she was dragged blindfolded and bound from the wagon and tossed mercilessly onto her stomach to the dirt. Her chest hit the ground with so much force that the very breath was knocked out of her body, and she gasped with pain.

Shippo stood up instantly with every intention to assist Kagome, then suddenly he remembered his position and the plan; for the time being he was the enemy captain and could not offer her any support. He cursed under his breath; this was going to be a lot harder than he'd initially thought.

He watched as she struggled to stand, and as the soldier nearest to her kicked at her ankle which sent her crashing into the ground. This time however, her chin impacted hard with the rough surface. She cried out long from the blinding pain and spat up blood caused from the injury to her lips.

The soldiers laughed, amused by his mother's discomfort. He closed his eyes tight and turned his face away. He couldn't bear to watch while his mother was being mistreated so cruelly and her broken cries pierced not only his ears but his soul as well.

He had to do something before they hurt her any further, and hopefully Kagome would recognize his voice and remain upbeat, though he had to be careful, because one false move could ruin their plans. But this one time he would let his true voice slip and pray that she would catch on.

He tore his murderous gaze away from the other soldiers as he approached a guard that took some sick pleasure in terrorizing Kagome. He folded trembling fist, trying in spite of the hurt that he felt at seeing his mother so vulnerable, not to let them see his anguish as he cautioned them.

"We are here to keep the woman safely in custody until the princess's arrival, not to damage her, that is all," he said all this while he watched Kagome's features for signs of recognition.

"Hai captain, just thought that we'd have some fun with her to pass the time," the soldier that had kicked her responded.

She heard his voice, felt a familiarity to the strange aura. But how could that be? She questioned herself? The soldiers had called him captain. It was just a gut feeling on her part, but she was sure that was Shippo just now. She kept silent as she waited and hoped to hear the voice again, it never came.

She sighed and shook her head; something Sesshomaru had said to her months ago came to mind in spite of the stressful situation that she was in. He had told her to be strong and that he would never be far away. Now more than ever she had to believe in that promise.

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Sesshomaru heard the sounds of hoofs in the distance as well as the turning of metal wheels over rough terrain, his wife and some of her guards would arrive within the hour. The knowledge pleased him and he huffed. Soon he would have is day.

Shippo was relieved to see that Kagome had calmed, her entire body visibly relaxed. He wasn't quite certain if it was his voice that had done the trick, or if it was his mother's fighting spirit that had returned, either way he was pleased.

The minutes dragged on while Shippo watched Kagome periodically, she was calm as she sat on the dirt floor, though blood still seeped from inside her lips to the outside, and every minute or so she would shift her head and wipe her mouth on her sleeves.

She was a mess he observed; her hair matted at the back from dried blood, her clothes torn, she was dirty all over and smelled of vomit. He cringed in distaste; his mother was a stickler for cleanliness. To see her so unsightly was not something that he could tolerate for long. Sesshomaru had to make this quick, because he could not vow to keep his cool for long under the circumstances.

He sighed quietly and shifted his head to the window. In the distance he heard the distinct sounds of hoofs trampling the earth. At this point he could only hope that Kagome's ordeal would be over soon for all their sakes. He wasn't certain how much suffering he could watch her take before the need to save her outweighed the cost of all their sacrifices, and acting irrationally had no merit if they were to succeed.

Sesshomaru surveyed the new arrivals and saw a caravan along with thirty soldiers on horseback, making the total number to be thirty five; the other five guards were inside the building with Shippo and his mate.

He watched from the trees just beyond the prison gates as a high ranking officer moved forward and dismounted, then proceeded to the carriage and opened the door. It was not surprising who the occupants were as they disembarked, it was his wife, her mother and her confidant Jade.

With a flick of the wrist he signaled to sixteen of the twenty youkai guards whom he had sent to watch over his family to surround the building, while the other four dispersed in different directions to keep watch.

He observed as three women entered inside the prison while the royal guards waited in the large dusty compound outside. Nonchalance sprinkled the air around them, which was foolish because they were trained soldiers and should be on alert when on duty. Well their lack of discipline would be his easy victory.

Maemi and her companions entered the holding area with the priestess, respectfully the guards moved to the front to acknowledge her and bowed. However, in doing so they blocked her view of the captured woman, she wasn't amused, regardless she nodded stiffly and proceeded around them and saw a blindfolded, disheveled black haired woman that sat on the ground. She hesitated; she could hardly believe that this was what had caused all the misery in her life.

Stunned, she turned to the captain with an arched brow. "Is this a joke, where is the real priestess?" She asked, her voice laced with haughtiness as she stared fixedly at him.

Shippo had met the princess briefly, but now he could see why she was so hated, physically she was beautiful and that's where the similarities stopped between her and Kagome, both were very stunning women. There wasn't any warmness in her personality, only ice, and the privilege of a noble birth deluded her into thinking that she should be respected without earning it.

She hadn't even greeted her subordinates only the barest of nods before she moved straight into the matter at hand. He cleared his throat trying to rid of the raw edge that might give him away before he spoke.

"My lady I am afraid this is the real priestess, her appearance is unfortunate at the moment but I can guarantee that she is authentic."

She barely canted her head before she approached her two companions and whispered. Shippo listened, but it was only idle chatter.

Kagome listened silently as well as they talked about her, frowning now under the blindfold, clearly having a difficult time with the uncertainty and wishing that Sesshomaru would come soon and save her.

She couldn't tell what was happening around her but she heard as heavy footsteps came towards her. She became frantic and moved her head in the direction of the sounds just as hard hands clamped down on her shoulders and yanked her to her feet. She screeched and tried to bite the hands on her body.

But just as quickly it was over and she was pushed roughly onto a tough chair, her bottom burned from the impact and she panted harshly.

"What is your name?" The smooth voice of a woman asked that came from the left of her.

She blinked under the blindfold and did not respond, because she had realized from the moment that they were joined by the females that she was in the company of Sesshomaru's wife.

"I asked you before what is your name?" The woman said again only this time with an edge of annoyance.

Kagome refused to answer and turned her head to the side instead.

Another voice spoke up this time, one raw with disdain. "Tie her to the chair."

Before she could object, strong arms held her down and bound her tightly to the chair with a heavy length of rope. She struggled to breathe from the tension of the cord and panted heavily, uneasily just to catch a breath.

Shippo stepped forward, but stilled as he remembered just what they hoped to accomplish. His hands were tied for now. He closed his eyes and looked away, wishing to every god to give him the strength that he would need to endure his mother's bitter torment. For he was certain that he could not watch quietly for much longer without doing something, and his actions would inevitably destroy all their careful planning.

Lord Sesshomaru had told him not to do anything until his wife had ordered the execution. Only then would he have the means to legally charge her with treason for carrying out such an order on his mate, the mother of his children without proper sanctions from him her husband and lord.

She had made the mistake of letting her soldiers apprehend Kagome just outside of her brother's territory and into the west's borders. That in itself was no coincidence, because it was on lord Sesshomaru's orders that Sayoka had insisted that Kagome peddle her wares in this market instead of the ones that she would normally visit. If he could not prevent her from being at the market, then all he had to do was to chart around it.

Here the emperor had no jurisdiction, and strategically the demon lord was more than inclined to believe that his brother in law had no idea of this fact. Because it was a mere hundred and fifty years ago that lord Sesshomaru and a band of neko(cat/panther) youkai had fought over this same spot of land and he had been victorious.

sksksk

A feminine hand was shoved under Kagome's chin and tilted her head up, her face was suspended for a few moments and she guessed that the woman assessed her. She swallowed hard feeling strange as she could only assume what was going on into the woman's mind.

Like a statue Sesshomaru stood and watched the interaction from afar unseen, he knew that Kagome suffered for he could feel her fear. He hissed through clenched teeth as he became infuriated. A thousand flashes of memory formed into his head. Everything burned bright and oh so painful. His mate's hopes and dreams, his regrets. He didn't move.

He could hear himself breathe huskily as the tears trickled from Kagome's eyes. The defeat and hurt that he'd been trying to bury, to correct for the last two and a half years was only a breath away, but it was deftly taking a toll on him. He wrestled with himself to keep calm and not let his emotions spiraled out of control and ruined their well laid plans.

He continued to watch, this was the only way, if he had another option the woman and her followers would be long dead. Unfortunately he needed her alive to see all the sacrifices that he and his family have made breathed life.

The princess paused as she let go of Kagome's face, she lingered, looked at the woman's half hidden features. She was skeptical, and until she satisfied her own curiosity she was less than inclined to believe that the dirty woman in front of her was her husband's whore.

She had only one way of knowing for sure because she had seen the priestess's image. Kagome tried to remain calm although she was uneasy but not for long, as slender fingers touched her face and reached for the dirty rag that restricted her sight and eased it over her head.

Her eyes remained closed as the sunlight rushed behind her lids, to open them suddenly would be painful.

"Kagome," her name spilled from the woman's lips sharply. And her eyes flew open from the shock as they were meant to do.

The princess involuntarily took a step back while her companions gasped in utter bewilderment as they stared into warm sparkling blue eyes, and even with all the grime and dirt that clung to every surface of skin that she had exposed, there was no mistaking it, the woman was beautiful.

Envy bloomed into the princess's heart once more, as large, slanted, cerulean eyes stared at her. Kagome was equally shocked by the woman's appearance, she was tall, slender and had pretty hazel orbs, but they were empty and cold.

The elder of the three women came closer and gazed at her with unreadable eyes, but Kagome wasn't fooled, like the princess her eyes had no soul, they were voided.

"Do you know that to be a consort to the lord, to be his mistress is something that has to be agreed upon by the first wife?" The elder female asked calmly, though spite and amusement was evident in her gaze.

Kagome inhaled sharply and then locked her lips tight. She would not engage any of them in conversation. It would serve no real purpose, they were here to kill her and nothing she could say would change that fact. Please Sesshomaru get here quick! She pleaded inside her mind.

Princess Maemi moved closer again. "I see that you will not say anything to defend yourself, but my dear we have ways to make you talk other than being civil," she said, a bemused smile played across her lips.

Kagome studied the woman a moment and saw deep hatred in her eyes for her, and was mystified. She didn't know her and had done her no wrong and yet she was disliked with so much animosity.

From the little conversations that she has had with Sesshomaru it was plain to see that he'd been right all along, the woman really believed that it was because of her why he did not love her. She was deluded and really thought that if she was out of the way then Sesshomaru would be free to love her.

A shock of concern passed through her, because delusional reasoning's like that meant that she was in grave danger.

Kagome watched her from her peripheral vision as the princess moved to the side and signaled to two soldiers who approached her briskly.

"Take the whore to the next room and tie her to the posts."

Kagome exhaled sharply and sank into the chair, Shippo drew closer, Sesshomaru continued to watch, his jaws tightened almost painfully in an effort to stave off the urge to charge madly in and snap his wife's neck. It felt like an eternity and yet only minutes had passed.

She was viciously grabbed from behind, the ropes cut and was pushed roughly to the ground. She kicked out wildly at them when they tried to apprehend her again and caught one in the face. He retaliated swiftly with a kick to her abdomen, she couldn't breathe, and only a gasp of sound left her mouth.

Shippo stiffened; tension coursed through every fiber of his being as he turned away, because just like before he could not watch. Sesshomaru jaws locked with rage, the force he used to clamp down on his rage gnashed his teeth together in a painful crush.

Everything happened quickly after that; Kagome's was brutally dragged on her bottom to the next room in resistance. She cried and screamed as her hands and feet were stretched so wide apart until her muscles ached, and she felt as though her body would simply split in two as she was tied to two posts.

Jade turned her head away; this was not right, the priestess was a woman like them and did not deserve to be mistreated in such a way.

Maemi and her mother approached the priestess, the soldiers were present, Shippo also followed but did it reluctantly. He had no other recourse; he was there to make sure that the events unfolded sequentially so that it was the princess herself who gave the order for execution.

The nightmare was daunting in her head; this wasn't happening and where was Sesshomaru? She wondered for the hundredth time. A trail of sweat trickled down her spine as real fear started to climb.

The princess drew near again and glared at Kagome, malice evident in her eyes. Briefly she looked away from the priestess as she removed the heavy outer robe that she wore and set it aside, the temperature had grown quite warm suddenly.

When their eyes met again, deep hatred had enveloped her eyes, they had darkened even further.

"Priestess," she said slowly, "there is something that I need to know, you are a woman like me." Kagome hissed at the comment and looked away, clearly letting the princess know that she was nothing like her.

Regardless, Maemi smiled and continued. "We are both females and physically we are pleasing to the eyes, so what do you possess that I don't to make him love you so?"

The shock that widened Kagome's eyes did not go by unnoticed, Maemi smirked. The woman's statement sounded like a threat, she didn't know what to make of it. But before she'd even had a moment more to think about it the answer left the princess's lips.

"Strip her of her clothes, I need to see," she said it coolly, with utter disregard for the priestess who she believed was beneath her.

The look that Kagome gave her betrayed her spirit; feelings of fear increased exponentially, encrusting her soul in spite of her will to endure.

Shippo move toward the princess quickly. "My lady is that really necessary, and besides you said it yourself that your husband could be back in the west today, we need to hurry and get this over with soon."

He was hoping that with his words she would see reason, because she feared Sesshomaru, but her mother stepped in on her behalf.

"Captain whose side are you really on, let my daughter do as she pleases?" He kept his mouth shut, the question he could not respond to unless he was prepared to give himself away, which he was not.

The princess hesitated but in the end decided to continue on the same usurious path. Kagome's soft blue eyes seared her heart or what was left of it and she looked away, but envy and a false notion that to destroy the priestess Sesshomaru would be free to love her negate her conscience.

"Strip her," she ordered the guard nearest to Kagome.

Audibly, Kagome sucked in a breath, her eyes shone with tears; the wind gusted through the single window in the room and blew a few loose tendrils away from her face as the soldier reached for his sword.

He had a perverted pleased look on his face, and as she looked anxiously around the room on the other males except the captain, their expressions were all the same.

Cold steel brushed against her skin as it travelled down the length of her body, and with a few more well placed slashes of the blade the fabric fell away and left her completely bare.

She closed her eyes as a keening sound tore passed her lips. She didn't want to see as a room of strangers gazed at her nakedness, shame almost swallowed her up and she flashed her head from side to side in humiliation. She couldn't hold it in any longer, the room felt smaller, she struggled to breathe, but a heat in her chest burst through the indignity and she screamed.

"Sesshomaru I can't take this anymore, please come and save me please...please!"

It was a cry of despair, of hopelessness and fear, and it tore into his heart, he could not stay still any longer. Sesshomaru winced as Kagome's desperation struck hard him like a wicked blow. His failures ate at him. Kagome didn't deserve any of this.

Shippo felt the moment the lord's ire rose; he had to get the princess to say the words now before a very irate Sesshomaru ruined everything. If only Maemi knew that the woman she was trying to destroy wasn't any common priestess, would she have acted any differently?

Everything spun out of order, not only did the princess wanted to kill Kagome, she humiliated her with the hope of damaging her spirit before she stole her pure light away. He had to do something now.

"Princess," he almost begged, "what is it that you wished to do?"

The mocking smile still played about her lips as Kagome hung embarrassed and naked. Shippo would never dishonor his mother by looking at her shame. He averted his eyes but watched the soldiers intently whose hakamas bulged with lust.

She laughed. "Twenty lashes of the whip and then take her to the guillotine," she said and turned away from the priestess's voluptuous body. And although she laughed she knew in her heart that she couldn't compete with the priestess.

Two soldiers moved to cut her from the posts. Sesshomaru moved swiftly; with deadly lightning elegance he turned on the balls of his feet, a gust of air rushed in between their midst. He released his sword at its zenith in a downward arc, the blade stopped with thudding density, impaling and killing all five soldiers in the splitting of a second.

It happened in a blur, and by the time the others realized what had happened Sesshomaru had Kagome wrapped up into his haori clinging desperately to him while she cried.

The noise outside intensified as his youkai soldiers engaged his wife's royal guards in battle. It wouldn't last for long.

He deposited a shaken Kagome into the hands of one of his guard's as he took her outside and away from her tormentors.

A short time later he returned inside the abandoned prison, the bloody sword in his hand made him seemed more menacing as he stepped to his wife. She gasped and uttered. "Husband," but it came out as the breath she'd lost than a word while the other two women looked on fearfully.

Six feet four of pure masculinity towered over her, roughened even more by the rage in his eyes. The sheer stature of him overwhelming, it frightened her now more than ever, and her fear was compounded by the energy she felt radiating off him, he had presence in spades.

Sesshomaru chuckled at the stunned woman. Finally he mused; the long journey was almost over. He took in her exterior and the amazement in her orbs, and his smile broadened. He raised the sword over her head and she closed her eyes, the others stilled as they forgot to even breathe.

A spot of blood dropped from the sword unto her nose, she twitched and opened her eyes. The sword came down as if to strike her dead, she screamed inciting dread in her companions who matched her tone bellowing in terror, however, after many moments had passed, and she did not receive a death strike, and the blade was pointed instead at the captain's neck, a gush of air rushed passed her teeth as she exhaled now that she was able breathe.

"What do you have to say to save yourself from death by my hands?" He asked the captain cunningly, who was Shippo in disguise.

"My lord," Shippo said and prostrated before him. "I have a wife and two daughters back in Osaka; I was only carrying out the will of the princess who I have taken an oath to serve as a soldier."

Princess Maemi glared at the faithless man as if he had grown a second head and in seconds attacked him with vicious slaps across the face, which he shielded with his hands.

"You traitorous dog how dare you betray me?" She cursed and hit him many more times.

Shippo laughed in his mind as Sesshomaru restrained her easily; he yanked her away and pushed her aside roughly.

As the room quieted, and only the sound of Maemi's harsh breaths were heard. Sesshomaru approached the captain again. "To save your life and that of your family will you be willing to give an account of the events that led up to this day."

"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "I want to see my wife and children again."

"It is done," Sesshomaru agreed sternly, as he held onto the joy in his heart.

Afterwards three youkai guards were summoned by Sesshomaru to restrain and arrest the princess and her accomplices.

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