Chapter 11: The Real Prince
Toki gasped, her eyes wide with hate and horror. "You have gone too far, speaking to the prince of Tama in this way! Prince Inuyasha, how can you let her speak to you so? She cannot go on unpunished!" She rapidly turned to Kikyou. "Kikyou-sama! How disrespectful this girl is! Inuyasha-sama, please let me punish her!"
"SHUT UP!" Inuyasha, annoyed at all of the babbling, glared at the maid Toki intensely. At his shout, Kikyou jumped and her maid shut right up, her gaze dropping to the ground in fear and humiliation. "Mind your own business! And YOU!" Inuyasha abruptly turned to the maid on the ground.
Kagome flinched involuntarily as Inuyasha turned to her, staring up to his angry and annoyed face.
"You're coming with me! Get up!" Inuyasha leaned down and grabbed her arm, dragging her up and pulling her towards him.
"B-But Inuyasha-sama!" Toki tried again. She was met by another angry glare from the Prince and bowed her head down again, fearing she would be punished. "Stupid, stupid maid!" Toki muttered under her breath after the prince had gone with his maid.
Kikyou watched coldly at their retreating backs, the uneasy feeling she always encountered when seeing Kagome resurfacing. That feeling was stronger today, somehow, as she witnessed the previous scene. Why had Inuyasha not punished his maid, but screamed at her Toki? As she walked away pondering, she could not help the growing of her uneasiness.
"Just what the hell were you doing!" Inuyasha screamed at Kagome. They had returned to his room. Inuyasha was pacing angrily in his room as his maid knelt on the floor, staring at the carpet. "Why didn't you come when I called you! I go and search for you to find you stirring trouble with Kikyou!"
"I-It's not like that!" Kagome dared to counter, lifting her gaze to meet his.
"I beg to differ?" Inuyasha spun around in his circles of pacing, grinding his attention on her.
She quickly returned it to the floor as she realized just whom she was talking to. It was different now. He was—he was—a prince. "I-I mean," she stuttered, "please let me explain."
A little surprised when she said "please," Inuyasha paid her close attention. "You had BETTER. Start."
"W-well, as you see, my lord…" Looking down as she was, she did not see the prince roll his eyes in disbelief at hearing her address of him of such on her free will. "I was on my way to your chamber and was stopped midway by Kikyou-sama and Toki-sama who were playing mahjong. They invited me and I tried to refuse saying that you were waiting for me, but they wouldn't excuse me. I couldn't back out of it because Kikyou-sama and her maid kept on insisting, so I sat and played."
"And then?"
Kagome dared lift her face a tiny bit to steal a peek at the prince's reaction. Unexpectedly meeting his eyes, she quickly dropped her gaze again. "I learned how to play and won a game. I didn't know that I was supposed to let Kikyou-sama win, so I told them that I won. After that, Toki-sama started to scold me and then you came." As she repeated the story, she felt a small anger building inside her.
"What?" Inuyasha said in disbelief. "All that commotion over the winner of the game!"
"Yes, my lord."
"How ridiculous!" the prince exclaimed, shaking his head. "They yelled at you because Kikyou was supposed to win but you did?" Inuyasha scoffed unbelieving her words.
"I don't understand it," Kagome contributed, the anger building. She lifted her head and looked straight into his eyes as she always did. "I can't believe there's such a rule as that in this palace!"
In agreement, Inuyasha nodded as she said so and added, "It's absurd! Never heard of!"
"I know!" For once, they could agree. As she faced him the way she always had, fearless, confident, and natural, she suddenly remembered. What was she doing, talking to him this way? Looking at him this way? He was the prince! Immediately, she once again lowered her gaze, aware of her status and his. "A-Are you really a prince?" she found herself asking. Though she wondered it, she hadn't meant—hadn't dared to ask—but it was too late now.
"What, you didn't know?" Inuyasha focused on her with amazement. She had been living in the palace for a month and she had not found out until now? Yet another unbelievable event. But hey, the advantage was his, now that she knew. Smirking, he raised an amused brow, watching her fidgeting figure as she knelt. "So NOW you're scared, eh? Not back when you kicked me the first time we met, not all those rude times back then, but now?"
A chill ran up her spine as Kagome remembered all of her past encounters with him, of which she was oblivious to him being a prince. She had treated him as a commoner the whole time, someone equal of her status. Never had she thought that he was a prince, even when she knew that he was a guest of the palace and that the prince of Tama was staying there for some time. She never made the connection, believing that such a jerk couldn't possibly be a prince.
She had to admit, she was scared. After all those times she had argued with him, had made fun of him when she wasn't aware of his true status—she knew something was coming. She was convinced that he was going to do something horrible. She wasn't scared of him, this prince—rather, was afraid of what he could do—of the power he held. Something was coming, she just knew it. Would he go so far as to sentence her to death? She wondered. Kagome sighed, knowing that her life was going to be over.
Kneeling for so long started to take affect on her legs. Slowly, she started to feel a million needles pricking them softly. 'Oh whatever,' she thought as she lifted herself off the ground. 'I'm going to die anyways. It won't matter if I offend him now. It's all OVER.'
"Who said you could get up?"
"I don't care anymore," Kagome replied bluntly. "Kill me or whatever." Heading over to the round table in the middle of the room, she seated herself on one of the four stools and massaged her legs. "I mean, it's too late to say sorry for what I've done. You're probably not gonna forgive me anyways. And I'd like to say that I'm NOT sorry for what I've done. I never knew a jerk like you could miraculously turn out to be a prince."
Inuyasha scoffed disbelievingly at his maid, unable to find any words to retaliate. How dare she! Was she not scared that he was a prince, that he could kill her? But of course, if he did, then all the fun of living at this palace would vanish along with her life and he had no intention to. He had never thought of killing her before, until she mentioned it just now. But still, wasn't she scared! Shouldn't she be kneeling in front of him, clinging on to him for mercy! Though he certainly thought so, he felt a ting of relief, which he refused to admit. If his being a prince scared her into respecting him, then she was not the Kagome he knew. But she had done the opposite, had disregarded him. He was kind of glad. In defense, he related to her, "Like I'd dirty my hands for YOUR sake! No one should dirty their hands over YOU, so don't be so full of yourself! Keh!" Pretending to be angry, he folded his arms across his chest and spun around, taking back his attention.
Upon hearing this, Kagome jumped up, all fear and formalness disappearing. "Really! You really mean it!"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and answered sarcastically, "No duh. If you die, I'll be the happiest but I won't be wasting my time plotting on YOU. You totally don't deserve that kind of attention!"
"Hmph!" Kagome, hand on her hips, smiled at the back of his head. Not arrogantly, like she always did—not with a smirk—but the first real smile for him. Through his harsh words, she could sense the kindness in them. She took this to mean that they would continue on like normal, prince or not, with daily arguments and taunts. "I'm glad!" she yelled back at him.
"Whatever!" Inuyasha shouted back, unable to think of anything else to say. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep now, so get out of my room!"
"Like I want to be in here!" Kagome watched as he walked a few paces to his bed and jumped on it. He laid down and pulled up his covers, yawning widely.
"Be here by five—seven o' clock tomorrow morning. Blow out the lamp on your way out."
"Go do it yourself," Kagome muttered, but found herself blowing it out anyway. "Sleep tight. Let the bedbugs bite—your legs white!"
"Whatever…" she heard the prince whisper softly through the dark, sleepy and energy-drained.
Yawning herself and starting to feel the effects of a long day of hard work, she was careful to tread softly and gently closed the door so as not to disturb him. Normally, she would have cared less and would all the more want to disturb him. But hey—this prince wasn't so bad.
Once outside, Kagome was embraced by the chills of the freezing night. Hurriedly, she made her way back to her chamber in the West Wing wondering that maybe, there was something more to this prince than he seemed.
"Here is more hot water to warm you, Kikyou-sama." Toki poured the bucket of steaming water that she had fetched into the wooden tub her mistress was bathing in.
"Thank you, Toki."
"Anything I can do for you, Kikyou-sama." The maid in turn bowed goodbye and left the room.
Kikyou sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the warm water on her skin and the fragrance of the flower petals in the water. A moment later, she opened her eyes and began to wash her arms with a white towel. Moving down to her left hip, she washed over a burn mark she had gotten as a child. Strangely enough, it resembled a star.
Sleepily the next morning, Sango trudged her way into the royal kitchen tiredly, rubbing her eyes. The kitchen was bustling busily as always with maids and servants running around, preparing breakfast for the royal family. "Good morning, Gramps," she greeted the head cook on her way in.
"Ah, Sango! Good morning to you!"
Sango produced a sleepy smile and made her way over to a side of the kitchen where several maids were scrubbing dishes clean. "Good morning," she greeted them as she squatted down, folding the hems of her robes up so the water wouldn't wet her attire. Like every morning, she reached for the pile of dirty bowls and for a sponge when Rika, the maid sitting next to her, grabbed it away from her and exclaimed, "You can't do this!"
"Huh?" Sango looked at them confusedly, scrunching her face up. "What are you talking about? Give me back that bowl!"
The other maid beside her gave a mischievous grin and nudged Sango's shoulder. "Stop playing dumb, Sango! You're different from us now! Go serve your lord! Lucky you, you don't have to stick to this kind of work anymore!"
More confused than ever, Sango could only respond with another "Huh?"
"That's right!" the head cook, who was listening in on the conversation, pitched in.
"You're so fortunate to catch the lord Miroku's eyes!" Rika told her.
"What!" was all Sango could say, staring at Rika as if she was crazy. "What are you guys talking about? I don't understand!"
"Of course you know what we are talking about," Rika said, winking. She sighed and continued in a dreamy voice, "You and Kagome are so lucky, you're all personal maids now. You don't have to stick to this kind of work anymore!"
"Personal maid?" the confused girl repeated. "What about a personal maid?"
"Oh! I can't believe you!" Rika shouted in exasperation. "YOU are a personal maid! Miroku-sama's maid! We all know it already, Sango! You don't have to hide it from us!" She had become annoyed.
"Are you kidding me!" Sango shouted back in return. "When the hell did THAT happen! I think you got something mixed up here, Rika!" Just what were these people TALKING about? She didn't understand it one bit. She was Miroku's personal maid? Impossible! Why were they kidding around like this? She didn't get it.
"Oi, Sango, did you mean that you have not yet received the news?" Gramps asked from where he stood over a stove, flavoring a pot of soup.
"What news?"
"Ah, I see. You haven't been informed yet," Gramps explained.
Rika turned a disbelieving face to Sango. "Are you for REALS? You don't KNOW yet!"
Sango shook her head obliviously.
"This morning, you officially became Miroku-sama's personal maid!" explained the cook. "With permission form Maaya-san, you will serve him now and will no longer be required to do the work of a regular maid."
"WHAT?" Sango's eyes widened dramatically. "Are you serious, Gramps? Me? A personal maid? For MIROKU?"
Both Rika and the cook nodded respectively.
"But—But—How could this be! I don't get it! Isn't Miroku a servant? Servants can't have personal maids!"
Now, it was Gramps' turn to widen his eyes. "Good God, Sango! Where have you BEEN? Miroku-sama is no servant! He is a special guest of our Shikon Palace! He is from the court of Tama and is befriended to Inuyasha-sama, the prince of Tama! How could you have thought he was a servant! Good LORD!"
Sango didn't know what to say, too shocked was she. It was too much for her to comprehend—rather, she could NOT comprehend. "Excuse me, Gramps. I'll be right back!" Without saying another word, she stood up and ran out of the kitchen, in the direction of the North Wing. Running all the way there, she stopped before Inuyasha's room.
The door to his chamber was open and she could hear Inuyasha's and Kagome's arguing voice.
"Hey! I told you to wipe that shelf!" she heard Inuyasha yell.
"But it's not even DIRTY!" her friend's voice sounded from the room. There was a moment of silence before she heard Inuyasha proclaim, "Well, now it IS! So go wipe it!"
"Oh, I can't BELIEVE you!" came Kagome's voice. "Why did you have to go do that! Now there's ink all over the place!"
"Good! Now you have something to do! So go do it!"
"You jerk! I hate you!"
Sango was about to go in and ask where she could find Miroku when a maid from behind approached her and tapped her shoulder. "Sango-sama," the maid politely acknowledged, bowing, "I have a message for you from Miroku-sama. He is waiting for you in his room just over there." The maid pointed to a room that was two room to the left of Inuyasha's.
"Thank you," Sango thanked the girl before setting her mind and marching over to the room. The other maid bowed and left. When Sango was standing in front of the room, she sighed and politely knocked on the screen door.
Miroku opened the door to find Sango with her hands on her hips. "Sango!" he called out, delighted. "You came!" Excitedly, like a kid, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room before she could resist.
"W-Wait!"
He continued to pull her in. Pulling her to the middle of the room, where the round table was, he pushed her down on one of the stools. "Sit!"
"H-Hey!" she tried to protest.
Miroku stood before her, highly satisfied, his arms crossed over his chest. A grin lightened up his face as he gazed at her. "So, how do you like it?"
She had been angry when she entered his room, but it faded as she lifted her face to look at his figure. Kirara, who had been sleeping on Miroku's bed until she was awakened by the commotion, stretched and jumped off the bed. It happily treaded over to Sango and leaped onto her lap. "Oh, Kirara!" the girl exclaimed, surprised.
Miroku smiled at the sight. "You said you wanted to be a personal maid, so there you have it. What do you think?"
"Eh?" Sango tore her attention away from Kirara as he spoke. "I—don't know. It's all so confusing!" Frowning , she accused, "And you! Why didn't you tell me that Inuyasha was the prince of Tama? Why didn't you tell me that you weren't a servant! I never knew!" Her anger was resurfacing.
"Well, you know NOW. Come on, Sango. Don't be so mad! I'm sorry, ok?" He walked over to her and patted her shoulder, trying to console her. "Aren't you happy that you're a personal maid now, like you wanted to be?" Kirara helped him, rubbing her cheek against Sango's arm pleading.
Sango sighed. "Alright, alright." She sighed again. "Ok, so what are my chores?" She hoped he wouldn't be merciless like how Inuyasha was towards Kagome…
Miroku straightened himself and grinned. "Your chores? They're very simple."
"Oh?" Sango wondered.
Miroku seated himself on one of the stools, leaning his arms on the table. Smiling at her, he conveyed to her, "Your two most important chores is to be the first person I see when I wake up and the last person I see before I sleep."
"W-What?" Sango felt a blush rising in her cheeks. What was this? "I don't understand you."
"Meaning," Miroku continued, "Come and wake me up every morning, and put me to sleep every night."
"Go wake yourself up." Sango, feeling a little shy, turned away from his gaze and focused on Kirara, petting her soft fur.
"Fine then, don't. But so you know, I won't wake up until you come in and wake me! Even if I am already awake, I won't open my eyes until you come!" He winked playfully at her.
"Hmph!" Sango felt her cheeks redden a little more. "Whatever! How about my real chores?" she demanded.
"But those ARE you real chores…" Miroku answered her. "Oh, and also to keep me entertained. But then again, watching your expressions is more than enough entertainment. So yeah." He gave her a kind and amused smile.
It became silent, as Sango did not know what to say. His words were sweet, and it was the first time somebody had said something so nice about her. She hated to admit it, but she felt a little tingly inside and her heart did skip a beat, if not beating a little bit faster. She hoped he didn't notice or otherwise, she'd be so embarrassed she'd never be able to look him in the face again. But she allowed the corners of her lips to lift up into a small, shy smile. "I guess…I'll accept this job of…being your personal maid."
Kikyou stood in the middle of a bridge connecting two courtyards, leaning forward on rails of the bridge. Her elbows balanced on the rails, her hands were right above the pond. In her hands, she held the beautiful jewel necklace that Inuyasha had given her, admiring it dreamily. It was a beautiful, beautiful gift—from Inuyasha. She turned the necklace in her hands, rubbing the smooth pink jewel. She would cherish this gift forever.
Turning the precious gift in her hands once more, she was not careful enough as the jewel, being the heaviest part of the necklace, rolled off her hands. "Ah!" Kikyou reached desperately for the chain as it trailed towards the bottom of the pond but could not catch it. In the blink of an eye, the necklace had dropped into the pond and had disappeared. With eyes of regret and sorrow, Kikyou stared at the part of the pond where the jewel had dropped; staring into the vibrating ringlets the drop had created. A few tears escaped and followed the necklace into the pond.
Oh, she was so dumb! How could she have been so careless! Now, it was gone. Inuyasha's precious gift was gone. There was no way to retrieve the necklace now. There was no way. Oh, how she hated herself.
Pouting, Inuyasha sat at the round table in his room, his arms crossed over his chest and his feet rudely resting on the table. He was bored and dissatisfied and there was nothing he could do. What COULD he do? The queen had taken away his fun, had taken his maid away. And he was in the middle of torturing her too! But nooooo! The queen had to appear in her regalia and take her away—well, not that Inuyasha had anything against the queen—it was just that now, he had nothing to do, no one to laugh at, no one to argue with.
Half an hour ago, the queen had knocked on his door when he was luxuriously sipping tea at his table, laughing at his maid while the girl grumbled while she worked, her face pinched in dissatisfaction. "Just so you know, I hate you!" she'd yell to him. He'd say, "That's your tenth love confession to me, ya know. I'm so touched."
"Ok," she'd say. "I'll make it eleven. I hate you."
"Why not make it twelve?"
"I hate yo—"
And it was then that the queen entered his room. Inuyasha had immediately straightened and stood up, bowing to the queen as his maid did the same. The queen searched the room with her eyes and smiled when they had fallen upon Kagome. "Ah, Inuyasha, dear," she began her request, "if you don't mind, I'd like to borrow Kagome for lunch."
Kagome's eyes widened in surprise and so did Inuyasha's. He wished he could refuse, but it was impossible. Like he could answer no to the Higurashi queen. Kagome WAS given to him by the queen, after all… "Of course, Your Highness. Please take her away," he had agreed, hiding the dread he felt.
"Ah, thank you, Inuyasha. Come, Kagome." The queen nodded to smiled at Inuyasha once and nodded towards Kagome. She turned to leave.
"Yes, Your Highness," Kagome answered. Looking back at the discontented, pouting Inuyasha, she stuck her tongue out at him before trailing after the queen. And it was how she had left our Inuyasha alone and lonely.
Upon approaching the courtyard in which he was going to lunch in, he peered around to find a stone table set with delicious food—but no one was around, except for Maaya-san and a few maids and servants setting the table. "Yay, we're eating in a courtyard today!" Souta exclaimed to himself, delighted at not having to dine in the royal dining room for once. "Where is mother and father?" he asked Maaya-san.
"Ah, Prince Souta. You've arrived." The old maid bowed low with respect to the kid prince and straightened up. "I am sorry, but I do not know. I only know that she will be back shortly and that the king will arrive at a later time."
Speaking of the queen, Souta looked beyond the maid to find his mother approaching with Kagome. This only increased his delight. "Kagome!" He made a beeline for the girl.
"Oh! Souta!" Kagome exclaimed as he ran into her and wrapped his arms around her waist in a hug. The queen looked affectionately at her son and the maid, feeling a warm rush enveloping her. There was something about this girl…
Seeing Maaya-san, Kagome bowed to the head maid. "Good afternoon, Maaya-san," she greeted.
The old maid nodded her acknowledgment and turned to the queen, "Lunch is ready, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Maaya." Turning to Kagome, she gently took Kagome's arm and pulled her toward the table. "Come sit, Kagome."
"Kagome is having lunch with us, Mother!" Souta shouted, jumping up and down excitedly. "Is she! Is she!"
The queen smiled at him as she seated herself, nodding. "Yes, she is, Souta. Now put on your best behavior for her."
"That's right, little prince," Maaya-san added, leading the prince to his seat.
"Eh?" She was going to have lunch with the queen and Souta? She did not anticipate this would happen. She thought that the queen needed her to do something—never did she think that that something was to have dinner with the royal family! Kagome couldn't do anything but let Maaya-san lead her to her seat, next to Souta.
Maaya-san patrolled the table and set a bowl of steaming rice before each person.
"Try this, Kagome!" Souta picked up his chopsticks and caught some fried fish, dropping it in Kagome's bowl. "It's very good!"
"T-Thank you," Kagome politely thanked him, picking her chopsticks up slowly, timidly.
Seeing the girl like this, the queen told her, "Don't be afraid to eat up, Kagome. Today, you are our guest." The queen met her own eyes in the shy girl's and felt a sudden longing merged with a sudden happiness. It was as if—it was as if…
But nonsense.
Maaya-san, standing behind the queen, had never seen the lady in such a trance before; so lively. Peering over to the younger maid, she noticed for the first time just how similar this girl resembled the queen—her eyes, her face, her nose, her mouth. How strange it was that there could be such a person resembling the queen so much. It made her wonder why she had not spotted the similarities of this girl before. Had she seen the queen and this girl without knowing their identities, she would have thought this young maid was daughter to the queen. But nonsense. How could this be? Maaya-san found herself shaking away her train of thought. The Higurashi princess was long dead.
Kagome ate slowly and shyly, occasionally glancing up to the queen and quickly withdrawing her gaze; not knowing what to say. Oh, what to say! What to do! She felt so out of place…
"How is the food, Kagome?" the queen asked her.
"Delicious, Your Highness," the young maid replied.
The queen smiled in response to the answer. "Good. Then eat more. You are too skinny."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Oh! Father!" Souta looked up from his rice bowl and waved to the person.
Father? The king? Kagome glanced up to find a man approaching them. Though she had never seen the king before, she knew instantly from his regalia. "Y-Your Highness," she stuttered, putting down her bowl and getting off her feet. Lowering on her knees, she kowtowed before him.
"Oh?" The king looked at the girl in surprise as she gave her formal greeting. He hadn't noticed her as he approached. "You may stand." The girl did so and bowed low again.
"Have a seat, dear," the Higurashi queen called out to her husband. "And you, Kagome."
"Yes, Your Highness," complied Kagome, her nervousness increasing. She was sitting right across from the king!
"I see we have a guess today," the king acknowledged, glancing at Kagome with a soft smile.
"Yes, I invited her. She is the maid I've told you about."
"Yes yes!" Souta cut in. "She's Kagome! Remember I told you about her, Father!" Kagome glanced away bashfully at her mention. She was surprised that they had told the king about her. It never crossed her mind that they would and for what matters.
"Ah, so she is Kagome?"
"Yep! It's her!"
"Ah," the king acknowledged again, turning to the maid to examine the girl. His son had talked about nothing else but the maid recently and his wife had mentioned her a few times. He had been curious about the girl, wondering just what kind of girl the maid was for his wife to smile when talking about her. She rarely showed any happy emotion since seventeen years ago, and it was more than surprising to see the change in her emotions. Just what kind of an amazing girl was this maid? "Look up, Kagome," he ordered her.
The maid complied.
As the young prince was enjoying his lunch, he heard the creak of stool being pushed and the his mother whispering, "Dear, what are you…" Souta raised his gaze to find his father no longer in his chair but standing up, leaning across the table. One hand was on the table, and the other was touching Kagome's cheek gently. He shot a glance over to Kagome to find her shocked; eyes wide as she stared fearfully back into the king's eyes.
"Y-Your Highness…" she uttered, fear coursing through her body. What was the king doing? Was she in trouble? Oh, please help her, God. What was happening? Someone, save her! The king's hand moved towards her eyes. Kagome shut her eyes closed from fear and instinct.
"Dear…" the queen tried to stop her husband, feeling somewhat frantic. What was he doing? Surely, he wasn't going to harm her, was he? What was wrong? He was acting weird. "Dear…" she said again, but he ignored her. His fingers continued to trail over the maid's tightly closed eyes and down to her nose, then to her hair.
He was mesmerized. This girl…this maid…
She was the spitting image of his wife when she was young. It wasn't just an illusion as he had thought. As he touched her cheek, her eyes, her nose, her lips, he felt a sudden warmth and nostalgia overcome him accompanied with an inexplicable sense of pain and perhaps longing. He felt suddenly happy somehow and the exhaust that had filled him was all gone. It was this girl who looked so much like the young queen that had made him feel this way in which he could not explain. He withdrew his hand and cleared his throat, sitting down.
Kagome dared to peek one eye and after finding the king settled in his seat again, opened both eyes and gazed down, at a loss of words and action.
"I'm sorry for surprising you just now," the king apologized. "It was just that you looked so familiar to the queen when she was young, I thought I was seeing an illusion. How foolish of me."
"Ah, so that was what it was all about." The queen sighed, relieved.
"I do not deserve your apology," Kagome humbly replied to the king. "You have done nothing wrong. It is I who must apologize for reacting so rudely."
"Not at all," the king countered her. "Now, let us continue with our lunch before it becomes cold. I am glad that you were introduced to me today, so let's have a joyous meal."
"Yes," the queen agreed, nodding. She picked up her bowl and chopsticks again and began to resume dining.
"Father, so when Mother was young, she looked like Kagome?" Souta asked curiously, somewhat confused of what was going on.
The Higurashi king chuckled and nodded, glancing over at the maid. "Yes. When your mother was young, she looked exactly like Kagome. She was very beautiful."
Kagome felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment at the indirect compliment.
"Whoaaaa, how cool is THAT!" Souta shouted. "Especially because Kagome is not related to us, but she still looks so much like Mother!"
At that, both the king and queen laughed. 'How weird,' thought the king. He wasn't feeling sad. Usually, when mentioning anything that reminded him of his daughter's death years ago, a small flame would ignite and burn his heart. Strange how now, he felt no sadness. Rather, he felt warmth and…joy. He felt a strong bond with this maid. It was almost as if…
"That would be very nice, Souta," the king replied to his son. He turned to Kagome. "Souta seems to have developed much affection for you and so does the my wife. And now, it is as if I, too, am falling for you also! What curse—or blessing—have you bestowed on us?" The king joked.
"Oh, no! Not at all!" Kagome frantically answered, embarrassed. "I am very, very honored to be able to share a meal with your Highness." She shyly looked down, not knowing what to do or say.
The king only chuckled. "No worries, maid. Now, since you are here, let's enjoy this meal together. I've heard from my wife that you are not from the capitol; I bet you have many interesting stories of the outside world. Come, we shall eat and you shall tell me of the outside world."
Kagome shared a wonderful meal with the royal family. She felt warm feelings and much comfort still left as she walked back to Inuyasha's chamber. Certainly, it was like a dream-come-true. It never once crossed her thoughts that she'd come to have such a close relationship with the royal family. It was a little scary, but it was also very comforting. How weird that was, Kagome thought, when she had nothing to do with the royal family. Perhaps it was fate?
Deep in her thoughts, the maid didn't notice Toki walking towards her in the opposite direction. She was on her way to Kikyou's chambers, carrying a basket of roses. Catching sight of the maid triggered a spark of hatred in Toki's heart.
The bridge the two were about to cross connected two courtyards separated by a deep pond. The bridge was under construction, as the rails on each side were becoming weak and old, needing to be rebuilt. The servants had only finished the replacing one the rail of one side of the bridge, leaving the other side without any support.
As Kagome reached the bridge, she looked up and saw Toki on the other side. "Good afternoon, Toki-sama," she greeted politely.
Toki returned a sarcastic smile. "Watch where you're going or you'll fall into the pond."
"Yes, Ma'am," Kagome answered, bowing to the other maid. "Thank you for your concern."
"Just don't say I didn't warn you."
As the two came closer and closer, Toki took to the side of the bridge with the rail.
When she was side by side with Toki, Kagome bowed again, this time expressing her farewell. "Have a good day, Ma'am." Just as she passed the other maid, she felt a soft collision and Toki exclaiming, "Whoops!"
Before she could stop herself, Kagome felt herself losing her balance. Seconds later, she found herself clinging desperately to air as gravity pulled her downwards, into the deep, deep pond.
It was so goddamn boring! GRRRRR. Why, oh WHY did the queen have to take her away at a time like this! Why couldn't she have taken her away when he was busy? Now, he had nothing to do and he was sooooo freakin' BORED. "Oh, god SAVE ME!" Inuyasha screamed to no one in particular.
Pacing around in a courtyard somewhere near the royal chambers, he heaped a huge sigh and sat back down again, for the twentieth time. It had been an hour since the queen took her. AN HOUR! "HURRY UP AND COMB BACK ALREADY! I'M SO BORED!" he yelled again. "GRRRRRRRRR!"
He tapped his foot impatiently and he moved restlessly.
Suddenly, his ears perked up, detecting sound.
A shrill scream.
He listened a second longer. Without his awareness, his heart began to race.
In the blink of an eye, he was running with all his life in the direction of the scream. A strange fear swallowed him. As he ran, his heart pounded faster, faster, faster; he felt it was going to burst.
The scream was hers. It was filled with fear, struggling desperately for survival.