The hand maidens were doing their morning routines of waking up their princess. Ayame called out to Kagome through the rice paper but there was no answer. So she called out again and there was no answer. Finally after the third call Ayame slid open the rice paper and what she saw made her scream and run to Kagome's side.
Kagome was snow white, shivering, and beads of sweat rolled down her face. Ayame ran out of the room and screamed to the other hand maidens,
"Go! Get the royal doctor! Princess Kagome is ill! Hurry!" Then she ran to grab a pail of cold water and a rag before hurrying back to Kagome's side. When she reached Kagome's side, it seemed like Kagome had gotten worse if that was possible.
She dabbed the cool water onto Kagome's forehead but to no avail. Kagome would not awake no matter what Ayame did.
Finally the doctors and nurses ran in and started to examine the princess. They listened to her heart; they took her blood pressure and even looked down her throat. While the doctors were examining the princess Ayame ran out of the building, heading straight for the eastern building.
She ran as fast as she could through the snow and wind coming at her. When she reached the palace she forgot about customs and started to bang on the doors with tears flowing down her face. The door opened angrily, and there stood the king of the east.
Ayame dropped to her knees, crying and bowing.
"I am so sorry your majesty, but it's the eastern princess your highness." Ayame said through choking sobs.
"What happened to the princess?" Kouga's voice hit her like a brick as he stood there, worry coating his features. Ayame shook her head and continued to cry more as she raised her eyes to look into the princes.
"She is extremely ill you majesty. She will not wake up. The doctor is with her now but it isn't looking good." Then she lowered her head back down to sob into the snow.
Kouga did not even take a second look as he ran out of the building with his father calling after him. He felt like his world was falling apart. The girl he just confessed to, the girl who held his heart in her hands, the girl who he was about to spend forever with, was sick?
He got to the building and ran in without caring for modesty of the girls or anyone else for that matter. He only had one thing on his mind, Kagome. He saw the open rice door with nurses coming in and out, so he hurried to that room and walked in.
The nurses gasped at him and whispered. Even the doctor said it was unwise for him to be there. But he walked to the other side of the princess bed and sat down. For the first time in all of his life he felt tears push to the surface.
Kagome was lying limply on the ground, her mouth was open slightly and Kouga could hear her lungs fighting to breath. Her once beautiful chilled skin was now chalky and like fire to the touch.
He picked up her hand and held it tightly; all he wanted in the world at that moment was for her to squeeze back. Then something that happened that made the tears in Kouga's eyes flow onto his cheeks.
Kagome start to cough, she was coughing so hard the doctor turned on her side and put a cloth to her mouth. Once the coughing stopped he laid her back down. The cloth however was soaked in the blood she was coughing up.
Kouga lifted his eyes to the heavens and cried. He did not care who saw him cry or what they said about it. Right now all he cared about was the girl next to him who could barely breathe. The doctor left a few hours' later saying he would go and research the illness in his study.
The other girls were off taking their queen lessons. But Kouga remained at Kagome's side, turning her when she was coughing and putting the cloth into the cold pail of water and applying it to her head. He did not know how many hours passed, and he did not care.
"Just look at him. What could have caused such an illness?" Miroku asked from the doorway. Naraku sat on the ground messing with a dagger, and Sesshomaru leaned against the nearest wall.
"I don't know. They better find out soon or we will find a new doctor. Kouga was our clown, he never let us have a dull moment, and now he is the one sulking instead of Naraku." Sesshomaru said while glancing into the room.
"Hey jerk wad! I am not always sulking." Naraku said with a glare.
"Sure you're not Naraku, sure." Miroku said while rolling his eyes. He looked at the other boys before pushing himself away from the door and signaling that it was time to leave Kouga alone with his sick princess.
The other boys followed him out with little complaints. Kouga however had stopped crying and resulted in just talking to Kagome.
"You know, I never saw my life like this. I know you never admitted to seeing me in your dreams but I like to think you do." He smiled down at Kagome and stroked her hair back.
"I never, in a million, years, thought that, the girl, from my dreams." He had to stop because he could not finish the sentence as tears started to clog his throat.
"That the girl from my dreams would become real, become my wife. But here you are. Now I am loosing you." Kouga put his hands over his eyes as he started to shake as tears rushed down his face.
"My prince, why are you crying?" Kagome's voice called out hitting Kouga like a brick. Kouga dropped his hands and his blue eyes searched out her chocolate ones.
"You're awake, how are you?" Kouga said as he lifted her hand back up. He looked out of the room and nodded to Ayame who ran off to grab the doctor.
"I hurt Kouga. What is going on? What happened?" Kagome asked as another round of bloody coughing fits hit her.
"You're sick. You caught something and now it is trying to take you away from me." Kouga said as tears fell onto their conjoined hands.
"My prince, nothing on this earth will take me away from you forever. If I die, I will be there for you, in our dreams." Kagome said as she closed her eyes and gasped for breath.
"So you did dream about me?" Kouga asked as he squeezed out the cloth and filled it with more cold water. Kagome smiled weakly and nodded before half opening her eyes.
"I dreamed about you. When you first told me, I did not want to tell you. Because I thought you would think I was lying to you." Kagome said with a soft smile before coughing again. Kouga shook his head as his chin quivered.
"I trust you Kagome. I know you'll get better right? You can fight through this." Kouga said as he touched Kagome's heated cheek.
"My prince, do not get your hopes up for my life. I may die, and I don't want you to think it was your fault." Kagome said as she lifted a weak arm to graze his cheek before it fell and she gasped for breath. Kouga started a new batch of tears as he looked at how weak she was.
"You need to fight Kagome, for me…for us…for our future children…for our people, please fight this." Kouga cried out as she blinked slowly. She smiled at him and nodded weakly before going back to sleep.
The doctor showed up then and started to run all sorts of tests. Kouga watched on in silence as Kagome was moved around by nurses. Then suddenly four new doctors showed up. They bowed to Kouga and the one wearing white said,
"Your majesty, Prince Sesshomaru sent for us to help your betrothed." Then they got to work with the middle kingdom doctor.
As the light outside grew dim the doctors came to a conclusion. They all left the room to discuss it and kept looking back at Kagome and Kouga. There whispers grew stressed and agitated as they discussed her outcome, and a maybe cure.
Kouga left the room then leaving Kagome with the nurses, closing the rice paper door and approached the doctors.
"What is it, tell me." Kouga said with authority as he sized up the doctors with puffy red eyes.
"She has a demonic disease. She did not just obtain this your majesty; someone had to give it to her." The middle doctor said while looking at his feet.
"There is a cure your majesty. It is a flower in the north, it is said to cure anything. It is hard to find though and it is at least a day's ride from here." The northern doctor said. Kouga was about ready to leave when the eastern doctor said,
"But we do not know if she even has a day left your majesty. Her heart seems to be failing and her lungs are filling with blood. We do not even know if she will make it into the afternoon tomorrow." This made Kouga look down at his feet with tears in his eyes once again. His voice cracked as he said to the southern doctor,
"Arrange for Prince Naraku to know we need this flower. Tell him to alert one of his hunters in the north and bid them to give it to a flying demon. If she is not going to live into the afternoon, then we will get it before the afternoon." Then he left the building without turning around.
The southern doctor ran out of the building and straight to the northern palace to tell Prince Naraku the request. Prince Naraku acknowledged it and sent word to his Hunters to find that flower at all costs and who ever found it would be paid.
Kouga sat by the koi pond in the snow at that point. He turned a stone in his hands as the day ran through his mind. He was supposed to be jumping for joy, he was supposed to be marrying that girl tomorrow but now she is at deaths door and he is powerless to stop it.
It was then that he heard a scream and heard running. He turned around and saw Prince Miroku's bride in a full sprint. He got up and intercepted her by her slamming into his chest. She was bawling and screaming Kagome's name. She was begging for him to let her go so she could be at Kagome's side.
Miroku ran out of the meeting building at this point and placed his hands on Sango's shoulders. She fell to the ground wailing. She cried and cried and then as she was calming down in Miroku's arms as he rocked her she looked into Kouga's eyes and said.
"She is the light of my world. We grew up together; we weren't supposed to say that. But she is my best friend, my sister. Now she is dying. Why is she dying? Do you know?" Kouga should have been surprised by the information but at this point he was numb, numb to everything but the pain in his heart.
"She is dying form a demons plague. They say she will not make it." Kouga said as he fell to his knees next to the woman who was his beloved's best friend.
"I am sorry that you cannot see her. We do not want you to catch it too. Trust me; if I could I would let you in there. But I do not think she wants anyone to see her in that state right now. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm just…I'm sorry." He then started to cry into his hands as all the information hit him like a brick.
This in turn made Sango start to bawl and even Miroku buried his face into Sango's hair and started to shed tears for the girl who was fighting to live.
Kagome on the other hand was awake and heard the exchange. She felt tears run down the sides of her face wetting her hair. Then she pushed herself up with the last bit of strength she had left. She pulled herself over to her desk and poured water into the ink bowl.
Then she started to write a letter, her writing was shaking and she stopped twice while writing for a coughing fit. Once her letter was done she folded it and crawled back to her bed. She cried then and whispered,
"I'm so sorry Sango, Kaede. I am so sorry Kouga, I am sorry that I have failed you as your princess. I just…want you to know…how much I care for you." With that she closed her eyes as her breathing started to slow down…