Chapter Five - The Meeting of the Lords
Ok! Chapter five... right. Don't have much to say... so... read on!
Thank you to the following people for reviewing!
Nova Alexandria: Thank you for everything! Believe it or not, I read over each chapter, like, 20 times. I hate spelling errors...punctuation errors I can live with; but spelling errors annoy me. -.-U
Ryunosuke-sama: I hope I finish it too... or at least get to the best parts that I'm thinking up!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and I don't own the following characters: Akio, Kitami, Teraea and Toushi
Two weeks had passed since the battle and conflicts had come and gone like the churning winds. Villages were burned and massacred overnight with no hint nor warning. Tribes of demons switched sides back and forth between the two battling regions; while others remained neutral altogether. Just recently, the neutral-siding Panther Tribe, led by their Lord Suzu, had joined the Western Province against the Dark Lands. An unlikely pairing indeed, but that meant one which would take the enemy lands by surprise... and so the alliance was excepted.
Fortune had swept their way a couple times, resulting in captured prisoners and fought off assaults. But the prisoners never knew anything worthy of remembrance and so were executed to be sure they wouldn't be freed somehow.
It took a long time, but eventually the Lord and their Ladies each arrived at the Western Palace, most of which snapping at the Dog-Lord, saying how they left their Lands under the guild of their best warriors and staff. Some, however, took another root altogether and decided to stay behind and fight off attacks in their Lands, sending their mate or heirs to stand in for them.
In the end, the Western Palace held Lady Teraea of the Northern Wolf Province, Lord Suzu and Lady Touran of the North-West Panther Province, the heir to Lord Michio of the North-East Tiger Province and Ryokan of the forests. Plus, Lord Kitami and Lady Akio of the Eastern Fox Province and, of course, Lord Sesshomaru of the West.
Inuyasha, after hearing countless disappointing comments from the prisoners brought in, had become quite quiet and kept most of his thoughts to himself. He felt so out of place in the damn palace that it would have killed him if their wasn't the courtyard to spare with Kouga in. But, even that, he begun to go to less and less, spending his time roaming around the hallways of the castle checking out different rooms which called to him. If he wasn't roaming, he was either sharpening his blade or staring off into space.
Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara and even Kouga and Sesshomaru began to worry about him, for never before had they seen him wander in such a daze. They knew where his thoughts were, and so mainly left him alone, understanding his need to be so. However, as the end of the second week neared and the attacks on the West became larger and more destructive. It was plain to see the war couldn't be put off for much longer and so the Gathering of the Lords, which had been put on hold in the account of Michio, came underway. The sudden jolt into action caused the usually fiery hanyou to spin back into his usual self.
"SESSHOMARU!"
Said Lord turned at his called name to see his red-robed half-brother come running towards him. He waved the Lord of the North-West onward, saying he would be with him and the other Lords and Ladies shortly in his meeting hall. After that, the Dog-Lord didn't have to wait long for the half-demon to join his side.
"Good, Inuyasha. I was thinking I was going to have to send for you"
"I'm not here for that!" said half-demon growled, biting his tongue before he said his 'nickname' for his older sibling "I want you to tell me I can finally get outta here! I've asked you several times... but now the war is here and that's that! Let my friends and I go on ahead of you!"
"...No" the Lord turned to walk away, but a hand on his shoulder turned him back around
"You bastard! I stayed out of the way for nearly three days now! I have been ASKING to leave! Now I'm telling you! I'm outta here!" this time it was Inuyasha who turned "I've been waiting for this political shit of yours for long enough and it may have lost me both Kikyou and Kagome. Catch up with us when you can... if you can"
The Lord growled in reply "your friends' lives don't mean much to you, than?"
Inuyasha scoffed "they'll come with me"
"They have already been summoned to the Meeting Hall for the discussing of the issues and are waiting with the others"
The hanyou stopped and turned "you did WHAT?"
"They are waiting on us, little brother"
It was hard not to sense the tension in the room where so many different races had accumulate. It probably would have been bad enough if it was just the wolves, tigers, foxes, dogs and panthers... but the presence of a certain half-demon seemed to have put everyone on edge. Inuyasha could sense it and he had forced himself (after catching many cold-glares from his brother that said 'say it and you die') to hold his tongue. Out of everyone, however, Inuyasha would have to say that Lord Suzu of the Panther Tribe was the worst, even with his mate, Touran of the Ice, sending him glares among other things.
But that was not to say all the arguments were centered around Inuyasha, for there was a point where it seemed Prince Kenji (Michio's son), Ryokan of the Forest and Lord Kitami were about a hair away from slicing off one another's heads. Then, of course, there was the slight yelling match between Sesshomaru and Touran. Having had a long past history with one another, it was surprising to everyone that that was all they did.
It had been a long meeting, and now, through the window, everyone could see the day fading into night and the first stars begin to appear in the evening sky. If it had not been for the heated atmosphere inside this one room, most would have commented that it was the kind of sunset which calmed the soul.
"Furthermore," Sesshomaru continued as his glare moved from the snarling female-panther, Touran, to Inuyasha "through our allies, we have been able to aquire a sketching of Naraku's castle" the Lord turned and grabbed hold of a large scroll on his desk before spreading it out on the large table that everyone had gathered around. "Before we depart for today, we must come up with some kind of plausible attack strategy"
"And you kept this a secret from me, why?" Inuyasha asked with an irritated growl, lifting his eyes slightly. This had been the first time in over an hour that he had spoken; most of the time, he had simply rested his head in his hand in boredom.
Miroku, Sango and Kouga, all to Inuyasha's right, cast each other a glance with both uncertainty and excitement in their eyes, then they all turned to the Western Lord to await his reply.
"You cannot be too careful in war"
With a slight roll of his eyes, Inuyasha glanced over the paper laid out in front of him. Rough sketched lines stated different walls, passages and stairs, other lines showed doorways and others still showed traps and defense-army set-ups. Arrows pointed to designated weak-points in the structure and a red line proclaimed what was thought to be the best way in for the attacking troops. Miroku, Sango and Kouga said nothing, but Inuyasha had a word or two to say about it.
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he glared up at his brother "this is a joke, right?"
"What?" Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed challengingly, a challenge the hanyou gladly excepted.
"Don't give me that, ya bas - Sesshomaru. This is shit and if you don't know that... than you're stupider than I thought you were! Naraku wouldn't have his castle in such an open and obvious place, not after he has spent all these years hiding away from us! Attacking us, from just out of our reach..."
"He's right" Sango commented to Miroku as she stared at the plans. There were no complicated rock formations which would aid Naraku in defense, no beds of water. All there was, were two mountain edges on both sides of the castle. Both of which could be swept free of any archers by a handful of flying demons.
To everyone's utter surprise, a smirk came upon the Lord's lips "very good, Inuyasha. You figured it out in a quarter of the time it took Lord Suzu" he stated with a slight hint of amusement.
The male Panther immediately cast a cold glare to both brothers, his tail swatting irritatingly behind him "I was not expecting to be deceived, Lord Sesshomaru. Quite frankly, I don't think you're in a posit–" a sharp elbow in his side from the blue-haired Touran was the only thing that cut him off.
"You tried to trick me?" Inuyasha growled "dammit, Sesshomaru! I've been tracking Naraku since he made his first appearance three years ago! I've always been on his trail and he has always been hiding from ME, nobody else... from ME! Dammit it all, Sesshomaru! I've nearly killed him countless times and you know it!"
"Sure we do," Suzu crossed his arms with a mocking smirk "and you sure showed him the last time you met in the battlefield, now, didn't you?"
The hanyou snarled with clenched fists, partially getting up from his spot "you looking for a fight?"
"Come now, I wouldn't fight you... everyone knows you would just call in the monk and demon-slayer if you started losing and I have no interest in wasting my time with humans"
"Why you–!"
"–Enough" Sesshomaru cast a glare to each "we have more urgent matters at hand than your pointless bickering"
"He's right" Teraea nodded with a gentle yet dominating voice "like how are we planning to protect our boarders when we move into an attack? Naraku is cunning and the North is wide open for his attack. With the fall of the Eastern Lands," she cast a glance to Akio "his next move will be on the North-Eastern and Northern Lands." her stare moved to where Kouga, her son, sat (doing his best to ignore her stare upon him) "If I am correct and these are his movements, he will attack the Panther-Province and, after that falls, then he will attack the West from both sides" she looked to Sesshomaru "if the Western Lands in cornered like this, it will fall like the others, no matter how you set up your defense. There will be no stopping Taji, Naraku and Torio if they break the boarders of the North!"
Sesshomaru snarled ((yes... Taji of the South-West... I had nearly forgotten that slithering fool of a snake-demon))
"What makes you think the North-East will fall so easily, Lady Teraea?" Kenji asked with a heavy-set brow "our Lands are strong and will fend off any attack"
"That is, if you don't surrender and switch sides first" was Suzu's addition to that comment, which received him another shot to the side by his mate.
Rage flickered in the young-demon's eyes as he harshly came to his feet "how dare you make such accusations against my family's honor! Besides," he changed his glare to meet Teraea's "how are we to know these damned wolves won't turn savage and attack US?"
This time it was Kouga who rose "you can't talk to her like that! And, as the Prince of the North," he slammed his fist into the palm of his hand "I think you need to be taught a lesson, ya stinking cat!"
This set off an up-cry from not only the Tiger Prince, but the Panthers too, feeling that the comment insulted them as well. Soon, Akio and Kitami were dragged into the argument under grounds that they shouldn't have given up their position so easily and were accused of being in alliance with the enemy, a claim Sesshomaru was quick to cut off. After all, if he hadn't, he might have shaken ties with an old friend of the Dog-Demons... and, Sesshomaru had said it himself more than once to shut up Jaken from time to time, allies are in short supply.
In fact, the only ones NOT yelling in the end were the Demon-Slayer, Monk and Hanyou. The first two sat rigid, as though unsure of what to do... but Inuyasha yawned and idly turned head to stare out into the sky. The sun was now a mere sliver over the distant rolling mountains and almost all the stars were up in the moon-less sky...
Inuyasha's eyes widened and glanced across the darkening sky, indeed, it was a new moon tonight... and he was stuck in a room full of enemies. His heartbeat quickened as his golden orbs searched the sky from his spot on the floor... hoping beyond hope that he was wrong. But he wasn't, and he knew it... tonight was the night he would lose all his powers as a demon. Tonight was the night he became human.
The hanyou's eyes whipped back to the mass of yelling demons, then dropped to his hands to see his claws disappearing by the second.
((This can't be happening!))
"Inuyasha?" Miroku asked quietly as he looked at him from his side "what's wrong?"
The half-demon took one last look around the room, then made up his mind. There was no way he would have his secret revealed to so many demons, enemies and allies alike. He had to get out of here and make for the only spot he knew where he MIGHT be safe until dawn.
Taking a clump of the monk's robes in his weakened-hands, Inuyasha pulled his friend closer to him so only he could hear his words. "You know the door to my room, right? Well, four doors before that door is a real old room. Get there as soon as you can... make up some excuse and go there immediately" the hanyou turned back to the yelling fit "tonight is THAT night."
Miroku's eyes went wide and they instantly went to look out the window; but while the monk did this, Inuyasha was already up on his feet. The hanyou could suddenly feel his brother's glare upon him, but, then again, that might have just been the paranoia of what might happen tonight. As he jogged to the door at a respectful pace, he kept imagining that he sensed a hand about to grab his shoulder and spin him around... trapping him in this room where there was no hiding the truth of his problem.
But there was no hand, no barrier that made escape impossible... it was just him, fleeing from the room in a flash of red... and running down the hallway with - hopefully - no one on his tail except the friends he hoped were on their way.
He made it to the room with seconds to spare. For just as he slammed the door shut, the last glimpse of sun faded and the skies went black. He paused slightly as he felt the last of his powers drain, his ears moved down from on top of his head and became human at his sides while his hair became jet-black and his eyes turned brown. He looked down at his hands again to find only nails... his claws were gone... and so were his fangs. He could not be in a more helpless position than what he was in right now.
He moved through the room as fast as a slow mortal man could and found himself looking for somewhere to hide until Miroku showed up. His weak-human eyes looked about the dust-covered room and he instantly began to feel a bit safer amongst the possessions of his parents. He knew it sounded corny and wimpy, but, like Sesshomaru had said, you cannot be to careful in war. Those that were in the meeting were potential allies, that was true... but they were also potential enemies too, and it was bad enough Kagura knew his secret... he didn't need every demon in the whole damned world knowing it too!
Deciding to conceal himself in the only place that offered the most amount of protection, Inuyasha quickly drew open the closet doors and slipped in amongst his parents old clothes. After he slid the door shut behind him, he was engulfed in near-darkness and cursed at the uselessness of human eyes. It took so long for them to adjust to sudden change that he wouldn't even know if something else was in there with him until it was too late.
Apparently, nothing was in his parents' closet and later cursed himself for thinking such stupid things. He looked around him in the little dark room and found a small spot on the floor where he could sit almost-completely concealed. He waited there for many mounting minutes, finding himself holding his breath each time his weak ears heard footsteps down the hallway.
After what must have been five minutes (which felt like hours to our impatient hanyou), Inuyasha saw something above him which caught his eye. It was small, he could tell, but it seemed to weigh down the fabric which it rested inside. Reaching up with his human hand, he grabbed hold of a small chain which hung loosely out of one of his mother's pink robes. Only, when he pulled on it, a small pendant fell out from within a pocket in the robes and dangled securely on the end of the golden chain. Holding it up in front of him, the hanyou could see it to be a green stone - most likely an Emerald - with the painting of a white dog on the front where only the dog's eyes were left un-colored.
Lowering the stone and chain into his other hand, Inuyasha made a note of how warm the jewel felt and attempted to examine the jewel more carefully... when a familiar face of a beautiful, black-haired woman passed over its surface. He would have thought on it further, if a knock had not startled him back to his present problem.
Slipping the stone - only a bit bigger than the Sacred Jewel in size - into his robes, Inuyasha carefully pulled himself up off the floor and peeked out from his spot in the closet.
"Inuyasha?" a male voice called with a stronger knocking this time "you there?"
"Get in here, ya moron!" said hanyou replied with a hiss as he pulled himself out from amongst the clothes. As the monk entered with Sango right behind him, Inuyasha scowled "took ya long enough"
"We ran into problems with your brother" Miroku explained
The demon-slayer nodded "he wasn't pleased at all when he found out you ran off"
"Does it look like I had a choice?" Inuyasha growled with crossed arms "or care, for that matter?"
Miroku tried to smile a bit at the somewhat neurotic-sounding human before him "We didn't say you did have a choice... or that you cared"
Sango leaned in close to the monk's ear "it's too bad the moon doesn't change his attitude too"
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
Both smiled innocently and waved their hands "nothing!"
An expression came to Inuyasha's face of what looked like a pout "can we please solve my problem without you two love-birds whispering to one another? This is a matter of life and death to me, in case you haven't noticed!"
"But what can we do?" Sango asked, a worried look coming to her eye as she clutched her hand over her chest "you can't leave this room, and Sesshomaru is bound to notice the change in scent as he comes down the hallway... where are we anyway?" the woman asked as she looked around "everything is so old and... dusty"
Inuyasha looked away, burying his hands deep within his sleeves as his brown eyes scanned over the room "it's..." he sighed as he remembered the last little visit he had in here just a day or so ago "...it's my parents room."
He didn't have to look at his two friends to know their shocked expressions. He had never talked to either of them about his family history - besides Sesshomaru. He had always had these little 'chats' with Kagome... but she wasn't here.
Miroku bowed his head towards the bed and uttered a small prayer under his breath. Something about apologizing for intruding on the domain of spirits or something of the such. But Inuyasha wasn't really paying attention too much, his thoughts returning back to the object he had found and pocketed in his parent's closet.
After his little ceremony was done, the monk turned back to Inuyasha who had turned his back to both his friends, allowing Miroku to only see his red robes and long black hair "I can think of only one way to make sure the others in the castle don't find out your secret by pure accident..."
Inuyasha turned, a snarl on his lips "I know what you're going to say, so don't even say it!"
Waving the warning aside, Miroku continued "...you should tell Sesshomaru."
"No way!" the hanyou snarled again "no fucking way! I called you here to help me! Not turn me in!"
"Inuyasha, I see no other answer for you. Sesshomaru's a dog-demon with a keen sense of smell. The moment his meeting is over with the other Lords and Ladies, he will come to find you, thinking you are in your room. And since this room is on the way to your room, we can't even hope he will take another route. He won't even have to be anywhere near this room before he realizes something is up."
"You think I don't know that?" Inuyasha growled, then turned again and fidgeted with the rosary around his neck "I'm screwed, it's as simple as that."
"I don't think Sessho–"
Everyone stopped at the sound of steady footsteps approaching the door. They were coming fast and Inuyasha doubted they were his brother's... but they could easy be one of the other Lords or Ladies and... that would be even worse if one of them were to find him. Yes, the footsteps were growing closer now, so close that if Inuyasha had had his normal ears, we would have recognized them.
The footsteps seemed to almost go by the door to the room, only to screech to a halt and throw open the door. Inuyasha jumped, then growled as he clenched a fist at he who entered.
"Get your damned ass in here already and shut the damned door!"
Kouga hesitated a moment, then did as the hanyou instructed "Ah, fuck. Couldn't you have picked a better night to do this stupid trick of yours, mutt-face?"
"I've had a bad couple weeks, alright?" was the half-demon's reply "so, shove off!"
"Kouga," Sango began as she turned to the new arrival "is the meeting done yet?"
"Almost," Kouga smirked as he walked up "Sesshomaru is one pissed dog and he's out for your head right now, mutt, so I think he's planning on wrapping up the meeting pretty soon."
"Well?" Inuyasha growled "what are you waiting for?"
"What?"
"Go stall him!"
"That's a laugh. I'm not getting my head lobbed off on your account, dog-brain"
"It would be helpful, Kouga," Sango nodded as her kind but worried eyes flickered around the three with her "just for the night."
"No way" the wolf-demon scoffed with crossed arms "I am on the edge with the Big Mutt right now and, if I push to hard, I'm going to fall of the ledge, if you get my meaning..." he shifted his stare to Inuyasha, of whom also had his arms crossed "...or should I speak slower, little mutt?"
"Oh, fuck off!"
"That kind of language will not help our situation" Miroku commented to his long-time companion "it all comes down to what you want to do. You know your brother will find out eventually and-"
"Not if I have anything to say about it" was the cold reply given with clenched fists "I will not let him have this to rub in my face and use to his advantage whenever he pleases."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"I'm gonna stay in here all night." Inuyasha's brown-eyed stare turned to looked out the window in the room and out to the moon which was still on the rise from the distant mountains "with any luck, I'll be able to cover my scent with the stuff in here that holds my parents' scents"
"Run and hide, huh? How... you" Kouga smirked and turned to the door "I'm out of here" he was almost out, when Sango's voice caused him to stop.
"Kagome would want you to help Inuyasha"
The wolf-demon sighed, of course she would... she liked keeping both him and Inuyasha close to her so they would land up helping one another in battle. Except, this wasn't the battlefield... and it certainly wasn't a life-or-death situation, at least on his part... so, why should he help?
"She would," Sango persisted as she took a step forward "you know she would"
"Alright." Kouga heaved another heavy sigh before turning to glare straight in his rival's human eyes "but you owe me big time!"
Inuyasha made no comment to that, he simply narrowed his eyes even further, a look that made him appear similar to his demon of a brother even though the hanyou was a mere human for the time being.
The feared Lord of the Western Lands moved slickly and steadily through the passages of his home with eyes so narrowed and cold that anyone he glared at shuttered. He was on the search for that damned brother of his, and everyone knew it and almost feared that the Lord would go too far with the punishment against the renegade of a Prince.
((Inuyasha,)) he snarled in his mind ((how dare you be so careless and embarrass me in front of the other Lords...)) his eyes flashed red remembering the way the others had looked upon him when he realized the half-breed was gone ((...it was the look of pure satisfaction... not on the Ladies faces and not on those who are close allies with me... but that damned Prince of the North-East, Kenji, and the Lord of the North, Suzu. They both had a look cast over their faces like they had won the war single-handedly without any help from us other Lords)) he snarled, his hands clenched so hard that his claws cut into his own palm ((Inuyasha... you will pay.))
The High Lord's head rose at the sound of footsteps coming quickly towards him, only to find it to be that Wolf Prince of the Northern Lands, Kouga. That damn fool was a great help at the meeting, especially when he insulted the two cat-tribes.
"Lord Sesshomaru," Kouga smirked as he came up before said demon "a minute of your time?"
"Unless you have come to tell me Inuyasha is dead, I am not interested" he stated as he breezed past the wolf
"No... he's still breathing..." Kouga's smirk grew "at least, for now, that is" he muttered to himself
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sesshomaru asked with a cold glare, finally stopping and turning back to face the Wolf Leader.
((You weren't supposed to hear that!)) Kouga shrugged "I don't know... he just doesn't wanna see you right now. Kinda preparing himself for war, if ya get my drift. He'd rather if you saw him in the morning"
"Since when did you become my brother's messenger boy?"
"WHAT? I'd never serve under that pathetic half-breed!"
"Than why are you trying to cover for him?"
"Not covering, just stating"
"Really?" Sesshomaru turned his back "where is he?"
"What?"
"Inuyasha" The West Lord repeated with an angered tone "where is he?"
"Look, I just don't think it would be the best time–"
"Tell me, wolf cub"
"Hey, if you would just hear me out..."
Resting his back against the far wall to be somewhat hidden from view should someone enter the room, Inuyasha tapped his fingers impatiently on his upper-arm as he waited for the wolf's return. They had decided that, after he had talked to Sesshomaru, Kouga would return to the room to report on what progress he had gotten. Miroku and Sango stood near the power-drained half-breed in silence, after all, there wasn't much to be said.
The wind had picked up outside, causing the large trees that surrounded the palace to groan in stress as they were pushed this way and that. Had Inuyasha been in his half-demon state, he would have sensed the on-coming rain-storm hours before hand.
Minutes ticked by like hours, but, eventually, a familiar set of foot-beats could be heard from down the hall. As they neared, Inuyasha pushed himself away from the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, almost eager to hear what the outcome had been.
Once the footsteps became slower paced as the figure neared the entrance to the room, the door suddenly swung open to allow the wolf to enter before said demon slammed the door behind him. A snarl etched on his lips and eyes narrowed in angry slits, no one questioned him for a moment, then Inuyasha broke the silence.
"Well? Did it work?"
"No," Kouga growled as he locked eyes with the black-haired human in front of him "but it would have... if that kid hadn't gotten in the way"
"You mean you didn't stop him!"
"I tried, alright! And that is more than you deserve, mutt-face!" the leader snapped "if that kid had watched where she was going, you'd probably be able to sleep tonight, dog-brain"
Miroku frowned and held up his hand "hold on a minute, Kouga, and slow down. What do you mean 'the kid had watched where she was going'? Do you mean Rin?"
"Yeah, that girl that my wolves killed and he saved" said wolf shook his head as his eyes dropped to the floor "she was running through the halls behind me and bumped into my leg. On pure instant I yelled at her... then she got all frighted and started crying and... Sesshomaru was even more pissed after that"
Suddenly, a fist was planted in the side of the wolf's jaw.
Snarling, Kouga snarled at his attacker "what was that for?"
"'What was it for?' You moron! You were supposed to calm my fucking half-brother down! Not put him on the verge of transforming!"
"Fuck you!" the other snapped back "I didn't even want to get involved... now I'm probably gonna have to kill that Lord too, just to be sure he doesn't come after me!"
Sango stepped forward "did you ever think of apologizing?"
"We're demons... we don't apologize" Kouga interlocked his fingers behind his head "besides... it got kinda awkward..."
Inuyasha nearly snapped "AWKWARD? You wanna know what awkward is? Awkward will be what happens where Sesshomaru finds me looking like this!" he snarled "dammit, Kouga! If I die tonight, then I'll damn-well taking you to Hell with me!"
"Just try it, mutt-fa..." his words died in his throat as the sound of solemn, approaching footsteps drew near.
The room once again fell into a pit as quiet as the dead, for even the humans could just barely hear the High-Lord's steps now. They came towards them, like a clock that ticked short on the time left for the hanyou. With each step (which could now be heard even without strained ears), Inuyasha could feel his heat skip a beat. This was it and he knew it. How could he had ever been so careless to forget this night?
((No where left to hide... no where left to run...)) Inuyasha sighed and, as he caught Kouga's gaze, held up his middle finger to said wolf ((...I never thought it would come to this...))
The foot beats stopped right outside of the door. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, in a flash of light from the lite torches that were set against the stone wall in the hallway, the door to the room flew open... and a High Lord of elaborate, white robes stood glaring in.
OK! That's it for this chapter! Ooo! A cliffy! What do you think will happen next? I don't have much to say but sorry for the very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, VERY late update! Sorry, everyone! But, it's up now, right? And that's all that matters, right? -.-U
R&R