Fading Pages
By Angel Maiden
Dear Loyal followers, I know it has been so long since I even looked at the stories I have, but that is due to some fact of the drama that has unfolded in my life. It does have a name, some call it hell, and others call it college! I hope you can forgive the long pause I will try to keep up my stories better! Thanks for all your understanding!
Angel
Chapter 2: The hunt begins
Kagome's eyes Fluttered open due to the sunlight streaming in through the library's stained glass windows. Her heart fluttered to life thinking that maybe it all had been just a dream, and that she was back in her fathers home; but as she looked down at the journal in her hand she realized she was wrong. She looked around the expansive room her limbs groaning in pain from sleeping in the chair. She stood and made her way towards the door still clutching the books in her hands, she was determined to not only find this treasure, but to have a long hot bath. As she walked into her room she squeaked with surprise to see a maid standing there.
"Good morning my lady, your bath is prepared and your breakfast is waiting down stairs when you so desire to eat.'' The maid said in a small voice.
Kagome nodded walking towards the steaming room; she stripped out of her soiled dress throwing it out the door for the maid. Sinking into the heated porcelain bathtub she let all her troubles flow from her and sunk into the lightly scented water. A bang at the door interrupted her relaxing thoughts.
"I'm not done yet!" she yelled to what she thought was the maid.
The door flew open and in stormed her worse nightmare her husband to be. "Do not raise your voice to me woman!" he yelled at her seeming not to notice her state of undress.
She ducked beneath the water little bubbles coming up from where she was. He glared down at the bubbles; she had to come up at some time. Her head reappeared moments later gasping for breath.
"Why have you come bursting in upon me when I am in my bath, what could be so important as to disturb me?" She said looking into his livid eyes.
"The lord of the south has decreed war upon us and my father seeks council with you now." He said his voice dropping back down to its normal monotone voice.
She rolled her eyes, "I'm not needed for something as trivial as war that's a boys game now go away and let me finish my cleansing in peace!" she said sliding back down into the water.
She felt a hand grip itself around her arm and yank her forth from the tub, she cried out in dismay realizing not only was a perfectly good bath going to waste, but she was naked!
"Get dressed now woman or I will do so for you." He said throwing her towards the closet. She walked inside slamming the door behind her. She grumbled on about perverted men and male chauvinist pigs for a while before finally deciding on an elegant crimson gown. She walked out sending a glare towards Sesshomaru's back before following him out the door towards the desired meeting place.
Smoke floated around her head given off by the cigars the overly stuffed rich men had positioned in their mouths. She stood nervously in the middle of the room each mans eyes glued to her form.
A voice from a man seated in front of her filled the room, "Gentlemen this is the young lady I was telling you about, my oldest sons Intended." All the men nodded their heads bobbing up down.
"Kagome," there was a slight pause as he waited to see if she had any objections to him calling her so informally, "Kagome, it has come to me that the lord of the south who goes by the name naraku, has waged war against our kingdom."
Kagome nodded previously being educated in this by Sesshomaru.
"What the council here wishes to ask you." He took a pause taking a long stoke from his cigar before continuing. "What we wish to know is if you have any knowledge of the shikon jewel."
"Yes, my father use to tell me the legend of the shikon no tama when I was a but a child." She said trying to keep her voice steady.
"Good, Good!" He rasped out in excitement.
"Now we have another question for you, do you know where the shikon lies, it is must important to find it before the army of our enemy gets here." He said sitting up straighter in his chair and leaning towards her as if to receive a great secret.
"I'm sorry your highness I do not know as to where the jewel now resides, it was taken from our family several years ago and we have never been able to find it." She said hoping that no ill will would come to her from the truth.
A low murmur spread around the room, as if a wild fire had just caught up.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen please!" He said trying to grab their attention back to the situation at hand.
"Now, kagome it has come to my knowledge that you spent last night in the library with a certain book."
She nodded slowly scared of the reprimand she thought about to come her way.
"As you know that book is my late wife's journal, and in it is the knowledge of some hidden treasure." His eyes locked into hers and all she could do was nodded dumbly.
"I want you to follow her words, and find the treasure or shikon jewel as I have come to know that this is what she held."
"Sir, should you not find someone who is …more qualified at finding treasures then me?" She asked her voice low, and strained.
"The council trusts only one from the line of the higurashis to find something of such value." He said putting out what was left of his cigar.
"Yes your highness." She said before bowing low then heading steadily towards the door.
Outside of the high councils room she collapsed a jittered, shaking uncontrollably, mass of arms and legs. Sesshomaru stood beside her watching her try and collect herself. She stood grabbing the hem of her dress, she ran from what, or to what she had no idea but she wanted out of there and quickly. Sesshomaru looked down and there at his feet lay two red silk slippers, so she liked to run barefoot? He turned in the opposite direction knowing that one of the servants would get the slippers later right now he could care less.
Kagome's feet pounded against the cold stone floors that stretched through out the castle, every couple of halls a carpet would give them a break from the damp coldness, as if playing some kind of sick joke on her feet. She stumbled into her room; she wanted to go home she no longer looked at this as if some great thing had happened, but as if a terrible curse had been placed upon her as soon as she had entered into these walls. She set down at her desk, and pulled out a sheet of paper that held a western crest now mixed with her families own. The black ink swirled across the page as she wrote.
"My Dearest Sango,
I wish desperately for you to come and visit me. Mother willed me to come here, and marry the kings son for reasons I don't understand and now I regret it. I'm sorry for doing this and pulling you away from your family, but by order of the Future queen to be I demand you come and visit until otherwise noticed.
My Deepest Apologies,
Kagome Higurashi-Takashi"
She sealed the letter her heart flying with it as she slipped it to wear the servants would retrieve it later. She felt though as if she was being held hostage and she would never escape. Sesshomaru seemed like an frozen block, while his younger brother was crazy and have stark raving mad, while their father seemed to be a mixture of the two that she couldn't stand. They floated around projecting their attitudes trying to intimidate people. She scoffed kicking some pillows that lay next to her chair. All of this for honor, she no longer wanted it. The book set before her, sighing she opened to where she had left off. At least she could get a heads start on this thing.
"Dearest Diary,"
"It has been to long since I last wrote among your friendly pages, but so much has happened since. An evil presence over ran the castle, and in order to keep the jewel safe I have had to put it deeper into hiding."
"Of ruby red and stunning gold
A child's fairy tale is told,
This is the key which unlocks the door
To find where the jewel has been stored."
I'm sorry I can only write down certain things my friend but if this book was to be found and the jewel fall into the wrong hands it would be a fate worse than death. I most go I hear someone approaching."
Queen
"P.S. I'm pregnant!"
Kagome snapped the book shut. So that's when Sesshomaru came about, she blushed at though of how and turned her mind back towards the mission at hand. Damn whatever evil thing that was it just made her job that much harder. She walked over to her bed and laid down her energy gone from dealing with the council. A few minutes rest couldn't hurt, her brain spun as she laid there trying to think of something, but finally her dreams over took her and she slept book in her hand. If she could have stayed awake a little longer she would have heard the door creak open and seen the two yellow eyes that stared at her, but neither her or the owner of the yellow eyes saw the shadow that watched them both trying to sort out its evil plan. It was determined to have what it had tried and failed to take earlier own in life. This time it would have successes with out the woman dying to save the rest, for she played the most important role to what he sought… Power.