Author Note: Wow…someone guessed correctly within the very first chapter! Yes, this is based on Once a Princess by Johanna Lindsey. Congratulations to moonstar31548 for getting it on A Single Spark!
It's not going to be the exact same, though. I have a few more tricks up my sleeve, but the basis of it will be similar. But I'm ecstatic that it was guessed so quickly, since that's usually a good sign that I'm on the right track.
And thank you everyone for the reviews! I really didn't think I'd get as much as I did for the first chapter, since there wasn't too much action going on in it, rather just explanations. You guys pretty much made my inspiration force me into writing the next chapter, and on the same day as the first one! It's probably chocked full of mistakes too, but I'll probably revise it later on. Right now, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my coffee (pretty much the only thing keeping me from passing out on my keyboard ) while I hope you enjoy the next chapter. I did, as I'm sure you'll see. Hehe.
(Whoa, I just now noticed that this chapter is 17 freakin' pages long. Maybe I should write when I'm bushed more often!)
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Chapter Two
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Four men stood outside of the Demon's Claw tavern with wide eyes. Well…three of them had wide eyes; the fourth just bore an aggravated expression.
"This can't be the place, can it?" one of the men spoke.
"Indeed, it is hard to believe so," another answered.
"Well, even if it isn't I'm glad we stopped. I could use a drink, since I've just about had it traveling with you guys."
"Oh, would you can it, Kouga! You think we enjoy spending time with you!"
"Inuyasha, it would be wise to stop this argument. Don't you see it's annoying our prince?"
Inuyasha folded his arms and snorted. "Like I care what His-royal-pain-in-the-ass thinks, Miroku! I just hope this whole thing is over soon so I can go home!" He expected his brother to supply a remark to that, but the other man just pushed past him and walked through the open doorway of the bar.
Miroku sighed. "And you wonder why His Highness treats you so badly, Inuyasha." The three men trailed Sesshoumaru inside.
The prince was seated at spot near the back of the bar in the darkest corner. The rest of the group followed suit and sat around the table.
"So where should we start?" Miroku asked.
Inuyasha shrugged at him. "We could get something to drink before we ask. We just got here, anyway." He clapped his hands loudly and yelled, despite the groans and shaking heads of the rest of the group.
"What do we have to do to get some service around here!"
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"Sango, do you have those drinks ready yet?"
"Right here, Kagome-chan," the bartender said, setting a tray in front of Kagome. The younger woman smiled.
"Thanks," she said before grabbing it and moving back towards the customers who had ordered them.
She noticed four new faces in the crowd of tables. They all were somewhat attractive--for the bar's standards, anyway. Kagome smiled as she made her way towards them.
"Can I get you guys anything?"
All the men at the table turned towards the voice. A pause came over them and it didn't take her long to realize that they were staring at her makeup. But she was used to getting those types of stares from the newer people. She took it as a compliment. It usually meant that her job putting the stuff on was pretty good.
Kagome gave them a quizzical look before repeating herself. The man with the dark low ponytail blinked before telling her his order before the rest of the group followed. All except the man on the end.
The way he was staring at her made her nervous. She tried to hide it by not looking directly at him, but only through the corner of her eyes. He was just sitting there, watching her with his brilliantly golden eyes while she listened to the orders. Kagome wiped her hands on her long denim skirt, and straightened out her shirt, fidgeting at the men's scrutiny. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer.
"Can I help you with something!"
He didn't blink, nor look abashed at her anger. That just made her even more irritated. "I did not give you an order, so you may assume that I am not in need of you at the moment."
Black brows shot high as she refused to believe that he had said that. 'Why tonight?' her mind asked. 'Everything was going so well too. Why did this jerk have to come tonight!'
Kagome closed her eyes, counting backwards from ten in her head. "Whatever. Just thought you'd have a reason for gawking at me. Didn't your parents teach you not to stare? It's rude, you know!"
"And I also assume your employer did not teach you to refrain from yelling at your patrons? It's bad for business…'you know'," he said, mocking her.
She huffed in annoyance. What was his problem? "I'll be back with your orders. You, on the other hand," Kagome said, pointing at the man. "Can go drink in the water fountain outside if you're thirsty. I'll rot in hell before ever serving anything to you." With that, she turned on her heel towards the back of the bar.
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All of them stared at her retreating figure, taking in her almost non-figure, shapeless torso, and messy bun at the top of her head.
Kouga gave a low whistle. "Well, she wasn't much to look at, but at least she had a temper on her!"
Inuyasha laughed. "Yeah, very few people ever mess with the asshole…At least she makes up with smarts!"
Sesshoumaru just glowered at the pair.
"Maybe it would be a good time now to go and ask about Higurashi-sama's whereabouts," Miroku said as he tried to change the subject. He could obviously tell that the heir's patience was running thin.
"And where do you suggest we start?" Kouga asked, crossing his arms.
"Hmm…" He looked around, before a dark smile crept onto his face. "If you gentlemen will excuse me," Miroku said, standing. "I'll go and ask that lovely bartender over there."
"I trust you will remember that we are here on a mission, and will also bear in mind that this is not an opportune time for you to pick up women," Sesshoumaru glared.
"But of course." Miroku smiled, bowing slightly. "I wouldn't dream of doing so on His Majesty's precious time." He began to walk towards the back of the bar.
The rest of the group watched him for several moments, ignoring the woman who returned with their drinks.
"He's going to do it anyway," Kouga commented.
Both brothers nodded.
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"Excuse me…"
The woman whirled around at the voice, attention falling on the man who had spoken. "Yes?" She wiped down the countertop in front of him. "What would you like to drink?"
Miroku waved a hand as he slid onto a barstool. "Nothing, thanks. I just wanted to ask you a few questions."
She eyed him warily then. "About what?"
"Whether or not there is a Kagome Higurashi inside of this establishment."
"Kagome-chan?" she asked. Her brows rose in slight confusion before slashing downwards. "What do you want with her?"
His hands went up in defense at her tone. "Just to talk with her. Unless that's too much trouble," he said, smiling.
"Depends on what you wanted to talk to her about."
"We have just discovered that she is…entitled to a few things since someone of importance is in dire condition."
The woman gave him a strange look. "Huh?"
Miroku sighed. "It would be better if I could talk to her directly about it. Would you mind taking me to her, or have her come down here to meet with me, if it's more convenient."
She stared at him for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to trust him. "I'll take you to her. She's kind of busy with things right now to sit down and chat." She moved from her position behind the bar to stand next to him, preparing to take the lead.
He couldn't resist. "There are a few places I'd love to take you as well…" His hand went to her derriere, not registering her pause and twitch of her eyebrow. He did feel the pain of her slap, though.
"Hentai! You can go to her yourself! I hope she spills your drinks in your lap when she gives them to you. Maybe then you'd cool off." The bartender wasted no time resuming her position at the counter, sending him a glower that would have burned him alive, if she had that particular power. He began walking back to the table, cursing his hand.
A few split seconds later, something clicked in his head.
'I hope she spills your drinks in your lap when she gives them to you… Maybe then you'd cool off.'
No that couldn't mean--
Sesshoumaru was not going to like this…
He returned to his seat, nursing his stinging cheek. The others just looked at him, shaking their heads.
"You'd think for as long as you have been trying the routine, at least one of them would buy it!" Kouga smirked.
"Most of them do," Miroku stated as he sat down, sighing wistfully.
"The important matter at hand is not that woman." Sesshoumaru frowned at the man. "Were you, or were you not able to find out any useful information?"
"Yeah, but…" Miroku looked off to the side, a grimace cast on his face. "I'm not sure if it's correct."
"What'd she say?" Inuyasha asked, taking a swig of his drink.
"That the woman who served us earlier is, in fact, Kagome Higurashi."
Silence passed over the table. That was before Kouga and Inuyasha looked at each other, and then suddenly doubled over with laughter. Kouga was hunched over the table, holding his sides while snickering at the idea. Inuyasha, however, had it worse. He was cracking up with his forehead to the table's surface, banging his fist against it with tears of delight streaming down his face. Sesshoumaru glared at them, mutely imagining killing them both in the most painful methods he could conjure up.
"If you two are quite finished," Sesshoumaru stated blandly. "Perhaps we can attempt to make sense of the news that was given to us."
"Like hell I'm finished!" Inuyasha said as he gasped for air. "This is too good! You have to marry an ugly bitch! I'd say karma's coming back and biting you in the ass! Wait until everyone back home sees this--!"
There was a loud crack and Inuyasha swore, jumping up and clutching his knee. Miroku and Kouga looked around the table in confusion before coming to a realization. Sesshoumaru just stared at his brother unruffled, as if he did not just deliver a fierce kick beneath the table. None of them had even seen him move, much yet flinch during the action.
The prince would have rolled his eyes at the entire situation, but such an action was undignified. "Understanding that thinking is clearly not my brother's strong point," Sesshoumaru stated, not amused. "It is up to the three of us to shed light upon this matter."
"Well, we won't know anything until we talk with her," Miroku said.
"It's probably a mistake," Kouga spoke up, hiding a smile, but not wanting to get on the heir's bad side as Inuyasha managed to do. "Your father couldn't be that cruel…"
"Undoubtedly, you do not know my father."
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"Where is Kagura? The people are starting to get rowdy," Kagome said over the noise of the crowd, bringing yet another order up to Sango.
"I don't know," the bartender said worriedly as she filled up numerous glasses from various bottles. "Something needs to be done soon before we have quite a…situation on our hands. I don't think they will wait too much longer.
Kagome bit her lip. Kagura was absent, yet there was a room full of people expecting a performance. She was usually on time but had obviously missed this night.
The waitress had little choice.
"Sango, could you take this tray to table seven? I'll be back in a while," she said, shoving the tray in Sango's hands.
"Kagome…what are you planning on doing?" The other woman looked down at the serving dish and back to the young woman again.
Kagome turn and ran, waving her hand and yelling. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon!"
She ducked under the burlap curtain and hurriedly removed her clothes and the ashen makeup on her face and reapplied some more brightly colored makeup, going heavy on the eyes. The face veil would cover the rest of her face, after all.
Getting dressed in the spare costume that was kept in the back for such emergencies, she scrambled to place the tape containing the music into the player. The noise outside of the backstage area instantly quelled and she moved to stand in front of the crease in the curtains.
Kagome took a deep breath before flinging the cloth aside.
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Miroku and Sesshoumaru sat together at the table, mulling over what would be the next move. Kouga had excused himself earlier in favor for a trip to the restroom. Inuyasha had left the group long before that, wreaking chaos no doubt, as that was what usually happened when the younger prince imbibed alcohol. Sesshoumaru ceased to care.
The description of the late queen of the Higurashi family--he had heard it countless times in the past--was portrayed as a female having inky black hair and brown eyes--both of which the servant woman possessed. She was also rumored to be unmatched in beauty, a trait that obviously was lost in the genetics of her daughter. Even though the wench was hideous, she was still among the same age as the princess would be if the wench was indeed one and the same. Miroku had also mentioned that the bartender had called the woman 'Kagome-chan', meaning that he could assume from the casual tone she was not lying when she had pointed the tavern wench out. Unless they had another female hidden within the establishment, Sesshoumaru was certain that she was the one he was looking for.
His thoughts were broken with the loud clamor the people around him were making, chanting someone's name over and over. 'Who is this Kagura?' he wondered, following the point of where everyone's attention was placed with his eyes. They were staring at a miniature platform shrouded by a thick curtain. It sparked his interests, to say the least.
Then music began to play and the curtain was moved, revealing one single feminine figure dressed in purple and red clothing upon the stage.
She started to move with graceful movements in a sequence he had never seen before. The dance was captivating, and he found out was difficult to turn away from it. There was a series of dips and sensuous hand movements, executed in an arousing manner, stirring even the slightest bit of somethings within him. He glanced at Miroku sitting next to him and vaguely noted that it had affected him as well. His burning golden eyes returned and glued back onto the presentation.
The song ended after a while and the dancer gave a slight curtsy, crossing one foot in front of the other and bowing ever so slightly, pausing in the applause and roars of her audience.
Sesshoumaru stared, still stunned at the innocent sensuality of the dance. He now had a full understanding of why the people had caused such a commotion earlier. It had not even been particularly lewd as he figured it would be at the very beginning, yet had still managed to be rather erotic at the same time.
Miroku finished clapping, his dark blue eyes widened slightly. "I've got to go meet her."
Sesshoumaru snapped out of the trance and sighed. So that was the infamous 'Kagura'. At least the trip down here had not been a total letdown, he mused.
'Although, wouldn't it be nice if she was the woman I was to marry…'
But the fates were never that kind to him.
The serving wench--or Kagome, he noted bitterly--soon returned to clear Kouga and Inuyasha's empty glasses from the table. His eyes took in the added black smudge on her face that was not there earlier. Granted, he had not seen her since the lovely performance, but there were no fireplaces or dirt around that could have caused such a mark. The wheels were turning in his head.
'Do not tell me…this woman is the one who was on stage!'
She placed the glasses on a tray, glaring at him. "What is it with you! Why do you have to stare? Haven't you seen a girl before!"
He had to test this theory.
"I was just looking at the black stain on your eye. Have you been clumsy enough to have fallen somewhere? …Or perhaps missed a spot while you were applying some makeup?" He watched her closely.
She gasped as she rubbed both of her eyes, trying to clear her face at his statement. Unfortunately, the black blotch smeared even further, but he did not bother to say anything about it. He had confirmed his suspicion.
'So…which one is she truly? The haggard woman, or the temptress?'
She stopped rubbing her face suddenly and glared. "Why should you care if I fell or something, anyway? Don't you have helpless people to torture?"
"You are correct, but I am confused as to what you believe I am doing now," Sesshoumaru said, brow raised in ridicule.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever. I don't have time for this." The woman grabbed the sides of the tray, walking away, leaving Sesshoumaru to ponder over the new developments.
This woman…the one he was supposed to marry was working in a tavern.
She also preformed seductive dances as well, good enough to affect even his own self.
He vaguely wondered if she was as loose as many tavern wenches were. It would be perfect. The fates were beyond cruel, and that would be such a lovely element to add to the mix, if his bride-to-be was in fact, a whore.
Only one way to find out.
His eyes snapped to Miroku. "I have another task for you."
Miroku arched a brow as he looked at Sesshoumaru over the rim of his glass. "Yes?"
"Go over to the wench and perform your usual routine."
He almost did a spit-take at the statement and Sesshoumaru looked at him in distaste. Miroku was cringing at his request.
"You want me to do what?" the young man set his drink down. "I assure you, Your Highness, I may have failed with the brunette bartender, but surely you do not believe that I am that desperate!"
"You will not presume anything, merely do what I have asked."
The other man's shoulders slumped. "Well, I have heard of doing charity work…but this is just ridiculous," Miroku said under his breath before rising from his seat. "What if it does work this time? What would you have me do then?"
"That is up to you, if it does succeed. I do not care."
Miroku furrowed his brow at him, trying to understand why the prince would ask him to do this. Shrugging his shoulders, he marched off, preparing to face the music.
"I can't believe he's making me do this…Even I have standards!"
Not that Miroku wouldn't mind doing it if the woman had been attractive, but this one was almost unsightly. What was Sesshoumaru thinking when he asked him to do this!
'Well, the faster I get this over with, the sooner it'll be over…'
He walked up behind her and cleared his throat. "Miss?"
The woman turned around, her chestnut eyes questioning. "Hmm? What do you want?"
Miroku almost winced at the prospect of what he was about to do, but quickly stomached it. "I wanted to know if I could have another round brought to our table."
She nodded. "I'll be sure to bring it right awa--"
"--And to ask if you would do me the honor of bearing my child."
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Kagome's eyes bulged at his last statement. The only sentence that came to mind was, 'What did he just say to me!' There probably would have been more time to form another thought had she not have felt something moving on her backside.
Looking down, she discovered it was a hand.
…That seemed to be connected to this man.
"You pervert!" Kagome screamed, eyes closing, her hand slapping him full in the face. She never saw Sango leap over the counter--nearly knocking down another patron seated at it. She did, however, hear the sound of glass shattering and a dull thud. Her eyes opened to see Sango standing over the man, a smashed wine bottle in her hand.
"Are you okay, Kagome-chan?"
"Yeah, although I think you should be asking him that…well, at least when he regains consciousness." She wrung her hand. She made a face as she heard the scraping of chairs and shout of others. Kagome looked around and was horrified to see that her outburst had triggered a bar brawl between the drunkest of men in the room.
Sango also noticed and climbed up on a table to stand above the noise. "Alright…everyone out! The Demon's Claw is now closed for the night!"
The racket stopped as they all turned their attentions towards her. Some left immediately as they knew her temper. A few others stood and watched.
"I wonder if she'll do anything up there if we pay her a few bucks…" someone said.
Sango's eyes sparked in fury as she looked towards the unlucky man who had made the comment. "You…" she said, jumping off the table and pointing the jagged glass in her hand at him. She caught the man by the collar and dragged him outside, where the majority of the remaining customers followed, hoping for the promise of a fight.
Kagome sighed and grabbed a broom from behind the bar top, sweeping up the glass. She really hoped Myoga didn't hear about this one. However, she was soon interrupted by a voice.
"Well, Kagome Higurashi…I assume that is your actual name?"
She turned and glanced at the owner of the sound and frowned at the white-haired male. "Yeah? What of it?"
He smirked--she really didn't like it when he did that--and took the broom from her. "Pack your things. We are leaving."
The woman gaped at him in disbelief, placing her hands on her hips. "Oh? And why the hell would I do that!"
He looked at her strangely. "You do not know?"
"Know what, you jerk?"
He stared at her unphased before continuing. "You are to be wed to the future king of the Western Lands."
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Author's Note: Geez…where did that cliff come from?
:runs for the hills: