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Chapter 1

The window to my room was ajar, the birds called to each other in harmony and chill had settled into the room. The curtains were drawn so the room lay in black darkness. The embers from last night's fire had long since smothered in my huge fireplace.

A groan ensued from the bed's depths, its dozing master stirring unenthusiastically. The human started to relieve its cradle of warmth of its weight, when it hissed and drew its legs back to its chest as it touched the frozen floor. The window must have been open all night for its floor to be this cold. It shivered again remembering the temperature.

I screwed up my face to readying to adjust to the cold environment. I allowed a deep intake of breath to pass through my nose and leapt out of my bed. I sprinted to my wardrobe, only to notice I was completely nude. I found this extremely curious, but dismissed the thought. I believed to have thrown my clothes in a fit of slumber. I searched for the article of clothing that I had presumed to throw, but to no avail. The gown was nowhere to be seen. Again, I dismissed this, thinking that maybe my maid had visited early in the morning to finish her chores at an earlier time. I shrugged and walked to my wardrobe and unbarred its small wooden doors using the two pully-knobs that hung in the center.

I drew out a robe to warm myself and only then did I notice a blunt ache in the junction of my legs. It was an ache that spread throughout my entire lower abdomen, making me wince every time I moved. The pain wasn't so horrid that I had to double over, but it was incredibly uncomfortable.I thought this confusing and opened the robe, exposing my bare body. I conveniently glanced down and noticed a red substance that had dried near my sensitive pubic region. I gasped and stared down in absolute astonishment and shock.

It hadn't been a dream. An intruder had really commenced in sexual intercourse with me last night. I raised a quivering hand up to my mouth and backed up until I hit my bed's edge. I sat dumbfounded. It had really happened. Poking at the dried blood, confirming its tangibility, it cracked off into small flakes that floated to the hard wood floor like red snow.

I lifted my head, my mouth agape and placed a hand over my heart, failing in my efforts to alleviate the shock. If this had really happened, then where was her anonymous suitor? He had mentioned something about the sea and his name. Now what was that name again? My eyebrows furrowed in concentration to remember his name. Between his mouthwatering wooing and my inability to cease it, I vaguely remember his name. I recalled it sounding like a demon of some sort; Yasha...? What was the first syllable? Started with an I, I remember. In... Inu…wait! That was it! Inuyasha!

I was joyous that I had retained his name, so I leapt up and bounced around in pure accomplishment. Realizing that I was behaving quite childishly, even if I was in solitude, I straightened and raced into my bath to cleanse my inner thighs.

While in the pursuit to be clean, I remembered last night vividly. His clawed hands then only thing that gave me a hint to his true identity. I shivered as I relived what elating desires those claws had invoked in me. The way they had traced intimate swirls along my skin, promising more desirable actions. The way they had provoked an animalistic beast within me to emerge and yearn for more of him. The way he had so promiscuously taken my maidenhood. They way that I had done nothing to halt in his attentions that most of my time would consider ghastly. It was true he did rape me, because I did not wish him to seek my bed chamber, and had taken the clothes off of me. However, it was consensual, as I had thoroughly enjoyed it and even though he was nowhere to be seen, I did wish him now to seek my bed now more than ever.

I sighed and sat back in the chair I had been using to clean myself in haste. Why had he just left? I wish I could've seen his face. Oh, how I now long for his pleasuring lips, his nipping teeth and his warmth. I reached up to my shoulder to rub it and retracted my hand in pain. I looked at my shoulder and noticed two identical holes in my skin. Dried blood surrounded the area around the two puncture wounds and I stared at it curiously. Only demons marked their mates by this method. So her lover had indeed been a demon.

I cleansed off the remaining crusted blood and rose to find some clothes to find. I pulled on my under garments and pulled a rope that hung from my ceiling for assistance from my maid. She knocked on the wooden door a few moments later and asked what I needed. I lifted my corset to her and gave her an annoyed glance. She smiled knowingly at me and indicated for me to face one of the posts of my bed. She wrapped the damned thing around my waist and proceeded to tie it fast. I hissed every time it got tighter around my ribcage.

She patted my back to tell me she was done and I walked over to my wardrobe to pry a huge dress from within. I asked silently with my eyes if she could help me put it on. She smiled again and nodded. She held it open for me so I could step into and shimmied it up my body. She laced the ribbons in the front to hold it fast so it could stay on me. I thanked and dismissed her.

I turned to my small face mirror and pinned up my hair with red chopsticks that matched my Chinese red dress. I looked at my full length mirror, wrinkled my nose, and hmph'd at it before turning and exiting my room.

It had occurred to me as I was about to walk down the staircase that the blood from my womanhood might still be on my bed linen. With a quick gasp, I ran back to my room, my heels clicking at the wooden surface. I drew back the covers and looked for the incriminating evidence. Sighing, thankfully finding none, I pulled the covers back to where they had been placed and walked down to breakfast.

Nothing occurred for the rest of the day. In fact, it was quite dull. I half-listened to the annoying, chatting gossip at tea time with the neighborhood girls. My mind had been fully occupied by the events preceding this one. I sipped at my hot tea, grimacing when it scalded my tongue and lips and waited for it to cool.

"Gracious me, you wouldn't believe what my mother said she saw last night, Kagome," a voice interrupted my train of thoughts. I looked at her quizzically. She had on this mischievous glimpse about her and I was curious to know what kind of atrocious dirt she had picked up. I cared not for her or her mother, but my mother insisted I kept up with the latest "news". In reality it was the dirtiest, nastiest slander that ever 'graced' my ears.

"She had told me this morn that she had seen a young male figure walk to your house and stop at your door. She also said that she never saw him actually enter that way," She grinned maliciously. The other girls stopped their prattle with others and turned their attentions to myself and the young lady across from me. I eyed her warily and sipped my tea, careful not to show that I was indeed wincing at the torturous heat.

"She must indeed be going senile then, because I do not recall a male entering or exiting my house at all last night," I replied coolly. "If there was such a man, he must have been running a late errand for my mother."

"Yes, well I guess your mother is searching for another suitor now that your father is out of the picture," She said, rising an astonished giggle out of the band of girls around her. Kagome squinted angrily at this wretched comment. Anything that was mentioned of her father better damn well be nice. I don't use profanity very often, but when I do it's for a hell of a reason.

"Well seeing as your mother has already graced off with most of the available suitors in town, which just leaves nothing for us now does it," Kagome replied, less calmly. The girls around them drew silent and looked at the other girl to wait for her reply.

"I see, the neighborhood whore speaks," she seethed. I had had enough of this, I slammed the cup of tea down on the saucer, seeing it crack but didn't care. It wasn't my tea set and even if it was I wouldn't give it a second thought.I stood up abruptly and tossed the boiling contents of the cup onto the girl. I heard a shrill scream as the scalding liquid hit her skin. Not caring what happened after that, I walked briskly back to my property.

I swung open my door forcefully and slammed it. I knew it was irrational to act the way I did, but I didn't appreciate the girl's comments. I didn't want to deal with it at all. I leaned up against the bolted door and slid slowly to the floor. I let out a dry sob and continued to cry in front of the entrance. My maid spotted me and rushed to my aid, inquiring what was wrong. I shook my head and leaned into her embrace and continued to sob. I loathed this horrible lifestyle, I wanted out!

I soon settle for quiet, hiccupping sobs and thanked her for her kindness. I rushed up the stairs, into my room and drew the door shut. I flung open the windows and stared indifferently and coldly out into the open pastures. I bit the corner of my lip to suppress another upcoming sob and wished that my intruder, my lover, my rapist hadn't ran away so hastily. I ran about my room in a frenzy, swapping my gown for a more comfortable attire and washing my face in the basin near my tub to rid of the makeup. I sighed in defeat and looked at my reflection. Settling in a determined mindset I walked out of my room, down the stairs and out the door.

I passed the house where the girls had occupied before I left and I sneered angrily at it, loathing its very existence. I made my way down to the one person I knew would understand, the one who had always been there for me besides my beloved brother. I knew that this person would indeed aid me in my time of desperate need. I was heading towards Ricardo's.

I wasn't for certain where I was going to end up or how I would end up, but one thing I knew positively. I was going to visit Ricardo and speak to him about everything. I was going to tell him about my attacker turned lover. I was going to tell him about the misery that I wanted to pull myself out of. I was going to tell him to help me in what I wanted most from this place. I was going to ask if we could go to the garden labyrinth to speak about it. I was going to run away.

I had made up my mind. There was no turning back for me. I would ask Ricardo if he could continue to teach me in swords-play and aid me in keeping my whereabouts a secret. I knew I would miss mother and Souta dearly, especially Souta. However, even though I had been born into this glamorous world of prosperous families, I felt quite the opposite. I felt like an outsider looking in and regretting ever having looked in the first place. A solitary tear rolled down my face. Then I set my face in sheer determination and kept marching, not caring that the girl who I had thrown the hot tea on was shrieking at me as I passed by her house.

I didn't care, she should've held her tongue when talking about my kin in such a manner. For pete's sake, she could've at least waited until I was out of earshot.

I ignored her attempts to get a rise out of me and walked straight past her, my eyes not even veering from the road. She threw her porcelain tea pot at me, but missed as I walked briskly by.

I finally arrived at Ric's house and demanded to know where he was. His parents, shocked by my crude behavior mentioned he was in his room reading a book. Ignoring the horrified stares as I completely abandoned all my social rituals, I tromped upstairs in the small dress I wore and slowed down. I turned the knob to his room slowly and let it swing open on its own accord. Ricardo looked up from the page that he happened to be reading on his bed. He looked at me questionably and I couldn't even force myself to look at him.

I single dry sob and Ricardo rushed to catch me before I hit the floor. He swung my legs up in his arms and walked over to a rocking chair adjacent to his bed. Rocking slowly, he shushed at me tenderly. Drawing me close to his chest he planted small brotherly kisses on my forehead and stroked my face with his free hand that had pulled itself from underneath my legs.

"Shh, shhh, it's okay now," he assured. I sobbed silently in the cradle of his arms, invoked by the comforting, elder brotherly feeling that followed. He brushed back my black bangs and witnessed all the torture that presented itself in my expression. His eyebrows drew together in concern.

"What's the matter, Kagome?" He asked me gently, coaxing me to reveal what had disturbed me so.

"I'll explain later, but I need to ask you of something, Ric," he nodded to say continue. "I want you to help me run away."

I know, i know it's a short chapter this time, but I'm setting the scene. Next chapter will definitely be longer. Thanks please R&R!!! Dark