A/N: This chapter was late, and the next one will probably be late too, because I graduate on friday and have a ton of stuff to do before then. Plus, there's the weekend party, so don't expect one until next Monday, probably. Whee, what a fun time.
Anyway, I can't believe how many people guessed how this would turn out! I am loosing my plot twist touch!
And don't think its over yet! You still have the epilogue, remember!
Chapter 34: Miracle
All was silent in the princess's room as she sat on one of the couches in the sitting room, sewing a handkerchief silently. Though it was silent as if no one was in the room, Sango and Miroku were there as well, trying to offer her support. Though Kagome seemed functional as it was, inside, her heart was as cold as stone. It had been two days since Inuyasha had left, and he showed no signs of coming back. Ever.
She had cried the first day he had left, but clung on to a small hope that he would remain loyal, and would come back to her. After all they had been through, surely he couldn't leave her, could he? But slowly, as it sunk in that Inuyasha was gone, and most likely gone for good, her tears had dried up, to leave an emotionless mask over Kagome's face. She couldn't cry now, not when every thing that made her what she was had disappeared.
Kagome wanted Inuyasha to come back, so very much, but she knew it was something that was too much to hope for. There would be no way they could ever be together, not when the consort of the princess of the human lands had to be human himself. That was the final barrier between them, one that could never be broken. As long as she was princess of the Human Lands, Inuyasha would be separated from her, and that was that.
She had thought of running away again, to find him once more so they could live as they had planned, but what would it accomplish? She didn't know where he was going, and putting everyone, including her mother, through the worry they had when she left was something her heart wouldn't allow.
Thus, they were the tragic lovers of the story as she knew they would be. Separated not by death, but by simple politics.
Inuyasha wasn't the only one leaving her these days. Sir Kouga had come and said he was leaving the capital, to go back to his original post in the western palace. Another friend was being whittled away, and Kagome knew Sango would leave soon as well, since she received a letter from her brother and was getting worried about his health once more. Soon, there would be no one left around her but what she had before…before her life took such a turn that it could never be put back on track to what it had been.
While in these thoughts, Kagome wasn't watching what she was doing, and poked herself with the needle. She gave a small gasp of pain, one that seemed to awaken everyone in the room, and pulled her finger away, to see it bleeding.
"Are you all right, Kagome?" Sango asked, glancing at her finger.
Kagome seemed almost in a daze as she answered, "Yes…it's just a little prick of the finger…nothing to worry about."
Though her finger was fine, a small, droplet of blood fell from it, on to the while handkerchief she was embroidering, to make a large, red dot right next to her initials. "Now, look at it!" Sango exclaimed, taking the cloth. "Here, I'll go get some water so I can wash this off." Without another word, Sango, took the handkerchief with her, and left the room. A moment later, Miroku followed, leaving Kagome grateful for a moment alone with her thoughts, which Sango suspected she needed.
Out in the hall, Sango barely got to the stairs, before the monk stepped up behind her and asked, "So, how long are you planning on not talking to me?"
The exterminator paused for only a moment, before turning back to him. "What do you—"
"You heard me," Miroku cut her off, stepping closer, making her step back up to the wall. "You've hardly said two words to me ever since the battle. Were your words just spoken in the heat of battle then, only to be forgotten once it was clear we were alive?"
The look in those indigo eyes was scaring her…there was a passion in them, so unlike what Sango had ever seen before. "Lord…I mean, Miroku…when we fought…" her eyes averted only for a moment, to glance back a second later, "What I said…it wasn't a lie."
That seemed to calm the monk, but only for a moment. His voice was softer, however, when he asked, "Then why haven't you spoken to me since then?"
Breaking free from the hold he had her in, she began, "It's not you, Miroku…I'm just…" she walked away from him, her eyes on Kagome's room far down the hall. "I'm worried about Kagome. She's been through so much, and now that Inuyasha has left…I don't want to see her in pain."
The monk sighed, "Yes, she is in great pain, but you cannot blame him; Inuyasha did what he thought was right."
"Right for whom?" Sango debated. "Did he honestly expect Kagome to be happy about it?"
"He left for what he thought was her own good," Miroku explained. "After all, they both know that they could not be together…and what was his point of sticking around if he could never have her? To be there just to ruin her own reputation."
The exterminator couldn't help but clench her fist. "So, just because she is higher up in status than him, he won't even try? I thought he said he loved her! I thought he said he wanted to be with her after the battle ends!"
Were they still talking about Kagome and Inuyasha? Miroku couldn't remember. "Words whispered in the heat of battle are for comfort and determination. Perhaps he does love her; loves her enough to know when to step aside for the benefit of her reputation."
"And what if she doesn't care? What if she wants to be with him even if it does cross the line?"
The monk stared for a moment, surprised by her determination. She really…did not care? But, even so…there were more trying problems at the moment then their own. Sighing, he gave up the charade. "I'm not going to leave you, Sango…but with the princess's sadness must be sorted out first."
Glaring, Sango whirled around and spoke, "Who said we were talking about ourselves?" leaving him behind to fetch the water for Kagome. Miroku merely watched her go, knowing his defeat, but feeling a bit better all the same knowing, despite her lie, she really didn't care about their differences at all.
But until the princess's affairs were sorted out, nothing could be done in their own relationship.
"Damnit!" Inuyasha roared, slamming his fist into a tree in the western forest. He had been traveling away from the capital, and Kagome for two days, and would have thought the guilt he had felt would go away, with removing himself from her life and saving her reputation. But now he felt guilt of a different kind; Kagome's harsh words and her tears seemed permanently etched into his soul, to torment him all hours of the day and night.
Why did he have these regrets? Wasn't leaving her the right thing to do? Kagome was a princess, and could never marry him now…it was best for her to be gone from her life.
But now, after all they had been through together, everything they had shared, Kagome had wormed her way into his heart, and into his very being as well. Without her, Inuyasha didn't have a purpose; there was no reason to do anything in his life anymore. Without her, he felt empty…Had the emptiness been there all along, before he met her? And he only realized it now?
She meant everything to him…did she feel the same way? And if this was true…how could he live without her?
No…I can't think like that…its best for her that I go.
It seemed that Inuyasha's argumentative mind came back to him, saying the same things Kagome had said before. But how do you know that's the best thing for her?
Because! I'm only ruining her reputation!
And what if she doesn't care?
His fist pummeled the tree again in frustration at the way his inner voice argued back. He had to admit, it did have a point. Kagome had begged him to stay. That meant she did want him there after all, even if he thought it was hopeless.
I do want to be with her, Inuyasha admitted, but all the same…I would just be ruining her reputation…I just don't know what to do anymore…
He glanced away, back to where he horse was grazing a few feet away.
A week now, Inuyasha had been gone, and Kagome had lost all hope whatsoever of Inuyasha coming back, or ever hearing from him again. He was gone, and gone for good, never to walk in to her life again. That was fact now, a fact she had to accept.
But why was it so hard to accept it? Every time she heard of a tournament, she remembered that tournament of knights where she first met him; when she heard of someone falling ill, she remembered Inuyasha being by her side when she was ill, saving her life by finding the cure; and whenever someone spoke of the Midlands, all the memories of their time there were brought back, bringing tears to her eyes at the very thought.
Inuyasha had taken her heart and even though he was gone, it would never be relinquished from his hold. Living without him wouldn't be easy, if all these memories came to haunt her on occasion. She missed him, but he wasn't likely to be coming back; they couldn't be together, and he wouldn't want to see her married to another man…
Kagome was still musing when there was a knock on her door, to which she replied, "You may enter."
Hannah came in, glancing at her mistress seated at the window seat, looking out at the city far below. "Her Grace is here to see you, My Lady."
Her mother…what could her mother want now? Nevertheless, Kagome nodded, and rose from the window seat, where she had been seated. She wasn't completely dressed for the day, only wearing a simple gown, with her feet bare and no other adornment upon her. But, it wouldn't matter for her mother.
As Kagome entered the sitting room from her bedroom, her mother couldn't help but notice the solemn expression on her face, just like it had been ever since her knight protector had fled. "You wanted to see me, Mama?" she asked softly, in a voice that attempted to be cheerful.
The dowager queen sighed and admitted the truth as she sat down on one of the couches in the sitting room. "I just wanted to see how you were fairing, Kagome."
"I'm fine," she said at once, but the queen knew it was a lie. Kagome hadn't been fine for a week, and that wasn't likely to change, but perhaps she could bring her spirits up.
"I also wanted to tell you that prospects have been looking up lately."
"They have?" Her voice seemed to be slightly skeptical, but Kagome did not take it further.
"They have," the queen repeated. "Despite the…recent events, a prosperous lord came to Lord Bankotsu with a generous offer of marriage, and they're quite positive that this man is no demon—"
Kagome had turned away, knowing that a new offer of marriage would slip her life back into what it had been before she met Inuyasha—just a puppet in Lord Bankotsu and Lord Renkotsu's master plans for the country. She thought she couldn't control her life then, that she could only go where the wind took her…but her time with Inuyasha changed all that. She was no longer a naive, incapable girl. She was a woman how knew how she could run her life the way she wanted, and damn what anyone else said.
"He must not have heard the recent rumors," Kagome spoke softly, standing up, her pale violet gown shuffling around her. "Once he does, he will have no interest whatsoever."
"Kagome," her mother tried to comfort her. "I cried on my wedding day, thinking my choice to have a life of my own was older, but I eventually came to know, and care for your father dearly. Perhaps, if you are lucky—"
"If I am lucky," the princess repeated, her voice becoming sharper as her position became more defiant. "Not guaranteed for certain. Marriage here is not intended for love, but to form alliances."
Knowing it would not be what her daughter wanted to hear, the queen decided to voice her opinion anyway. "Kagome, you have been so melancholy these past few days…I think the business of planning a wedding and having a family would be just what you need—"
"That is the last thing I will ever need now." Kagome spoke, her not sharp or commanding, but resigned. She couldn't look her mother in the eye as she continued, "I am different now from the way I was before, and can never return to the life I would have had. I learned what it was like to love, and after that, I could never allow myself to be given another man that I could care less about."
Her mother didn't speak as Kagome revealed her innermost thoughts, thoughts she had kept bottled up for so long. "If I will be queen, than so be it; but I will be a spinster queen, not the slave of a man whom I do not love. If any man would take me the way I am now, anyway."
Her mother more then well understood, though she sighed and turned away for a moment. "And, you do not regret…"
"No, Mama, I do not. What I did was for my own purpose, and no one else's. Now, at last, I can be free of endless marriage proposals, and will be able to keep myself true to him in my heart, even if he shall never return."
"You shall be content, like this?"
The princess nodded, her resolve firm. "Yes, as content as I can ever be."
Inuyasha had ridden night and day, never stopping as he continued on frantically, towards his destination. He had made his final decision, and could not go back now. No matter what happened, no matter what resulted, he would never, ever go back to the place he had just left. There was one place and one place only he belonged.
Beside Kagome, forever more.
As he pulled his horse through the gates of the palace, all his thoughts were on Kagome, as they had been for the entire ride back. Everything was surreal, as if a dream as he fantasized their meeting once more, as she realized her knight, ever faithful, had come back to her at last.
She would be angry for sure, as it was her nature, but as his horse was put in the stables, the hanyou couldn't help but smile, knowing she would forgive him anyway.
However, his wonderful thoughts were shattered as he heard two courtiers speaking outside the palace. "Did you hear the news? I heard a new offer of marriage has been proposed for the princess! A noble lord from the east, too!"
"Is he very wealthy?"
"Oh most certainly. The princess is sure to accept, being in such a need of a hasty marriage."
Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks. No, it couldn't be. Kagome wouldn't accept a marriage proposal so soon…would she? Not after everything they had been through… A loud growl came from his lips. "Kagome!" he snarled in anger.
Up in Kagome's room, were she had been with her friends, a sound was heard through the open window. It sounded like a growl…no, a distinctive growl of her name. Out of all the group, only she fully recognized that voice. "No…" she whispered silently, making everyone turn to her.
"Kagome?" Sango asked, as the princess jumped to her feet, rushing into her bedroom to look out the open window. Her dark eyes dashed around the scene, and at first, her heart sank, not seeing him anywhere, but then…she saw a flash of silver dart into the palace, and her heart soared.
Without even thinking as to how it looked, she raced back, past her concerned friends. "Kagome!" Sango shouted in confusion, jumping up and following her as Kagome continued running down to the lower levels of the palace as fast as she could, past puzzled courtiers, until, at the bottom of the grand staircase, she saw him. Looking furious as it was, but even so, Inuyasha was here. Inuyasha had come back.
She couldn't remember running down the stairs. Nor could she recall running in to his arms. But what she did remember her own voice calling his name and tears erupting from her eyes as she felt the wonderful feeling of being in his arms again, safe and loved, forever.
But instead of him holding her gently and pledging his love to her before all, he did something unexpected. Inuyasha grabbed her by the arms and spoke harshly, "Kagome, goddamnit! What's this I hear about you getting betrothed!"
Even though a large crowd had gathered around to see the truth revealed at last, Kagome looked up at him, tears still trailing from her eyes as she spoke in a dazed, befuddled voice, "Wh-what?"
It was hard for Inuyasha to remain angry when, after dreaming about their wonderful meeting again, she looked so happy and loving at this moment. "Don't play dumb! I heard you are getting betrothed as soon as possible!"
Any other time she would have countered back, but she was so relieved to see him that she merely shook her head and whispered, "No…never, Inuyasha."
Well…Damn. The hanyou looked away to avoid blushing in shame. Stupid court gossip! He should have known better than to believe it, but…
Now, Kagome spoke softly, stepping back a moment to release her hold on him. All was silent as she asked softly, "Inuyasha…why did you come back?"
Her eyes were pleading with him for an answer, and the hanyou knew he had to give her one now. There was nothing he could say but the truth. "Because…" his voice was enough to make her quiver, and her heart to race as it had for so very long. "I love you too much to let you go."
A gasp from Kagome, and then, before all the crowd that they hadn't noticed was there, the knight fully proclaimed his love for her to the world as he pulled her in to his grasp and kissed her passionately. Damming propriety for now, Kagome kissed him back, and though they were in a world of their own, the courtiers could not help but smile slightly.
Every woman had dreamed of this moment; whether it would come to them rested on their own fortunes. And despite her struggles, in the end, the princess seemed to be the most fortunate of all.
There was still one struggle that had be sorted out, however. After Miroku had alerted them to the crowd by "congratulating" them, the King's Council had been summoned. And they seemed to be an even more impregnable wall than Naraku had been.
"Absolutely not! What you're suggesting is forbidden by law!" Lord Renkotsu roared, his shiny bald head glowing slightly pink in his outrage. "No demon may ever marry the princess of the Human Lands, no matter what 'affection' they might have!"
"I don't care!" Kagome shouted back, more than a match for him as she fought to make her life the way she wanted it to be. "This may be our land, but it is my life to choose how to make it, and I have been through Hell enough to choose what I want!"
Inuyasha, also in the room, as well as Lord Bankotsu, and the queen, couldn't help but mutter, "You won't be able to stop her, either."
Lord Renkotsu rounded on him now. "And you, Hanyou, you should remember that no matter what favors Her Highness bestows upon you, you are still a knight, and should not presume to act above your station."
Growling menacingly, Inuyasha made sure to show off his sharp fangs and claws for a moment, making Lord Renkotsu back up for only a moment. However, before a full fledged fight erupted, Lord Bankotsu strided into the center of the room to attempt to salvage the situation.
"The laws, to which we are all bound," he shot a warning glance at Inuyasha, "state that the princess of the Human Lands must marry a human and carry on the pure bloodline. It was the birthright she was born to, and to which she must hold as long as this country needs an heir."
"Besides," Lord Renkotsu said snidely, "A spinster princess is better than a harlot that sleeps with demons."
"What did you say?" Inuyasha roared, and before anyone had time to stop him, his fist collided with Lord Renkotsu's stomach. The man doubled over in pain while Kagome ran to Inuyasha, holding him back.
"Stop it, Inuyasha, before you get us in worse trouble!"
"Did you hear what he said?" the hanyou yelled, his amber eyes lit fiercely. "How could I just let him—"
Sighing, Kagome replied, "I heard, but if you think they're just going to let you get away with it, then you're wrong." If Lord Renkotsu kept baiting him, than any chance of them being together was over already.
The dowager queen was quite glad to see a page run in to the chamber just as Renkotsu rose to his feet, sputtering curses. "I bet your pardon, Your Grace, but there is an important visitor who wishes to see you."
Glancing back at where she saw Inuyasha and Lord Renkotsu glare at each other, the queen shook her head. "I don't think right now is the best time."
"I'm sorry, but he will not wait—" Sure enough, the visitor didn't let the pageboy finish. To everyone's surprise no less than King Sesshoumaru himself walked into the council chamber of the Human Lands. There was no more fighting, but silence as the demon lord glared upon his inferiors, wondering once again why he was going to all this trouble
Inuyasha was the first to reply after standing struck by his sudden appearance. "What the Hell are you doing here, you bastard?"
Though most who said that to Sesshoumaru would have been killed in an instant, the demon lord mere glared at him. "I am here because I was on my way back to the Demon Lands, when I seem to have been attacked by a scraggly band of humans in the Midlands."
Inuyasha merely stared at his brother. "What? You came all this way to tell us that?"
"If you would hold your tongue for one moment, I will explain, little brother." Everyone in the room that hadn't known about Inuyasha's lineage had wide eyes at the comment, though since he was not a known prince, everyone figured he must have been illegitimate, as he was. "That little territory has been my problem for too long; it needs to be a country again so I can go back to ruling my own country instead."
"We quite understand and sympathize with your cause, Your Majesty," the dowager queen began. "But I have to agree with the knight; this is really not the time. We are attempting to sort out matters of state—"
"I have my own matters of state that must be dealt with as well." King Sesshoumaru strided to the center of the room, and even Lord Bankotsu couldn't help but look up in awe at this man. "I propose a truce with the Human Lands; to ensure the violence will cease, we should make the Midlands its own country again, and to give it a strong leader."
It slowly dawned on Inuyasha as to what his half brother was trying to do. However, Kagome didn't quite understand. "But a ruler would never be agreed on, since both the Demon and Human Lands claim the Midlands as their own country, and one would be angry with the choice."
"Is there a compromise that could be made?" The dowager queen asked.
Sesshoumaru turned his icy amber glare on to her, but the queen did not flinch like so many others did under his eyes. "I do not compromise easily, and I have already chosen, for my part, who shall rule the Midlands."
"Who?" Lord Renkotsu demanded, attempting and failing to match the king glare for glare.
"The Human Lands are ruled by humans, the Demon Lands are ruled by demons. It would be only fitting that the Midlands are ruled by someone who is neither of those…" he glanced back at his brother, who stared wide-eyed into his gaze. "Inuyasha."
"Inuyasha?" Kagome gasped, so shocked by this news that she found it hard to say anything."But…wait, I thought you didn't want—"
The hanyou silenced her by grasping her hand momentarily. "Don't, Kagome," he muttered, making the princess give him a puzzled look at that. Sure, he didn't want what Sesshoumaru had just granted him, but for one reason, and one reason only.
"Then by my power as King of the Demon Lands, I appoint Inuyasha as king of the Midlands," Sesshoumaru proclaimed, though his voice was as monotone as it had been before. There was no kneeling, or ceremony. King Sesshoumaru had said it, and thus, it would be done.
While Lord Bankotsu and Lord Renkotsu turned to each other to mutter, Inuyasha, having so many thoughts hit him at once, came closer to his brother with an expression of full thankfulness on his face. "Sesshoumaru—"
The king remained aloof. "Don't get any wrong ideas. I didn't do this for you, but to take a headache off my hands that's been there for too long."
Finally, Bankotsu turned back to Sesshoumaru, who was already on his way out. "But there's still the matter of how the rule will be split between the Human and Demon Lands, or the population would never…"
Now Kagome's eyes flickered back to Inuyasha, realizing what had just occurred.
The queen silenced Lord Bankotsu, looking back at her daughter with a smile. "I think there is a small compromise in order." With that, she shuffled the two lords out, shutting the door firmly behind, leaving both Inuyasha and Kagome alone in the room, both nearly too overwhelmed to speak.
When Kagome turned back to him, the man she had known as a knight and eventually became her lover, she couldn't help but smile. "So…you're a king now…"
Inuyasha smiled at her for a moment. "Yeah…I mean…its sudden, and now everything's so different from yesterday, where I was used to wiping other men's boots, and now, I suppose, I get people to wipe mine for me."
Kagome came closer, her smile even brighter than the sun. "But you're still the same old, argumentative Inuyasha that I know."
Now, his smile turned into an evil grin as he spoke. "You can't talk to me that way now, Your Highness. I'm a king, and you're just a lowly princess. No more taking your royal orders. Now you have to take mine."
He was getting closer, crowding her until her back was nearly against the wall, desire and love filling his beautiful amber eyes. "You—"
"And as king," he cut her off, his voice sounding nervous and confident at the same time. "I order you to marry me."
Tears she had tried to keep back erupted from her eyes. Realizing that at last, all her hopes and dreams were coming true…She felt his arm move to take her around her waist. She barely had time to murmur, "You insufferable—"
Inuyasha pulled her close and kissed her, a kiss of longing, and at last, finally getting what you wanted. And Kagome kissed him back, never leaving him any doubt in her love for him, and the life with him she wanted so very much. At last, things had come full circle. At last, they would be together, with nothing in their way.
Their story hadn't ended like the tragic princess and the knight. Their story was one only told once in a lifetime—happiness, well deserved after so long a struggle.