Here's chapter two. Hope you like it.

Warning: Rated R for attempted rape, language and violence.

A slight note: Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Rin are all full-fledged adult demons. Miroku and Sango are tiger youkai while Shippo and Rin are kitsune youkai.

A Simple Dream

Ch. 2

Guests of Honor

"Slave! Fix my hair!" Kikyo demanded.

Kagome bowed hastily and scurried to her mistress, gently brushing her raven-black hair back and tying it in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck with a silky white ribbon. She put white flowers in her hair and stood back to allow Kikyo to admire herself in the mirror.

Kikyo smirked. The one thing good about having Kagome as her personal slave was that the girl knew how to make her pretty. Her other personal servants had been terrible at the job.

She turned to the quiet Kagome and said, "Come! The honored guests of the West are coming!"

"As you wish, Lady Kikyo," Kagome murmured, keeping her head low.

They arrived in the gargantuan dining hall, where the creepy Lord Naraku was already seated at the end of the table where the head of the household would sit. Kikyo turned to Kagome and whispered harshly into her ear, "Now, slave, bring us our food! The guests shall arrive any minute now."

Kagome bowed and hastily made her way to the kitchen, so as not to evoke her mistress's anger. She'd already had enough being smacked around by her, though she patiently bore the stinging pain. No one would rescue her, fearing Naraku's wrath.

She and a few other servants of the castle brought out plate after plate of fresh, steaming food. They set them down upon the table before excusing themselves. Only Kagome remained by Kikyo's side.

"Lady Kikyo, would you like something to drink?" Kagome asked, awaiting her answer.

"Bring us six bottles of Blackberry Wine. That shall do for dinner," Kikyo sneered.

Kagome left the room in a humble manner, quickly returning with the bottles of wine. She set them down in a line across the long length of the table. Turning back to her mistress, Kagome asked, "Is there anything else you would like me to do, Lady Kikyo?"

"No. Go to the kitchen and wait until I call you," the woman said, a cruel glint tainting the endless chocolate depths of her narrowed eyes.

Kagome nodded and hurried from the room. Kikyo took Naraku's hand and pressed herself close to him, cooing as she stroked his long, wavy black hair, "Oh, my dearest Naraku, is Lord Inutaisho here yet?"

Naraku's blood-red eyes gleamed in the light. "They have just arrived and are waiting for us to invite them in from outside," he answered, putting an arm around his wife. "Now, Kikyo, we must persuade Lord Inutaisho to give us his wealth."

"Yes," Kikyo said, a malicious smirk spreading across her face. "Then the Western Lands shall be ours!"

Sesshomaru glanced out the window at the looming Southern castle. "Father," he said quietly, never taking his eyes off the gloomy stone structure. "An evil aura permeates this place."

"Yes, I know. Lord Naraku and Lady Kikyo are the sources," Inutaisho answered.

"What do they look like?" Inuyasha asked, yawning in boredom. "Is Kikyo a hag or something?"

"No. On the outside, Lady Kikyo may look beautiful, but don't be tricked; she is a cruel, unjust soul who torments her people for no reason at all. She is greedy as well. She is after our wealth," Inutaisho said.

"Jeez, I don't see how someone so evil could be chosen as the ruler of the Southern Lands," Inuyasha said. "Wouldn't they have picked someone a lot wiser?"

"Kikyo once was a fair shrine maiden in the village of Edo. That was in the Eastern Lands," Inutaisho said quietly, gazing at his younger son. "But Naraku was the son of Lord Onigumo, so he inherited the Southern Lands. He chose Kikyo as his bride.

"At first, Kikyo objected, saying she did not want to become the wife of a lord. She had wanted to remain as she was in her village. But Naraku persisted, showering her with riches every day, tainting her with whispered lies and hatred, so Kikyo consented, and they were married.

"After being fed all those lies by Naraku, Kikyo started to hate. She became a cruel and unjust ruler, torturing her castle servants. She found Sir Kouga wounded on her lands and treated his injuries. Sir Kouga, by then, was starting to become widely known as a sinister assassin and murderer, as well as a master torturer. So Kikyo hired him. Now she is as you know her now."

"How sad," Sesshomaru spoke coldly.

Their carriage finally came to a halt in front of the castle steps. They exited the carriage and began to climb the steps up to the castle. When they reached the large, double doors of the castle, they swung open, revealing Lord Naraku and Lady Kikyo standing in the front entrance.

Naraku smiled a perverted (the corrupted definition, not the lecherous one) grin and said in a cool voice, "Lord Inutaisho. How nice to see you. Come in and have dinner with us."

Sesshomaru kept a straight, blank face as they entered. Inuyasha was looking everywhere at once, trying to see everything in the castle. They followed their father into the dining hall.

Naraku turned to them and said, "Now, we are awaiting Lord Miroku and Lord Shippo before we feast."

Inuyasha eyed the delicious looking food unhappily, but held his stomach back.

Kikyo swiveled on her heel and barked loudly, "Slave! Bring me my script!"

"As you wish, Lady Kikyo," a quiet voice said.

Inuyasha's breath hitched when a young teenage girl stepped out from the kitchen holding a scroll. She was dressed like a slave, but the filthy garments did not take away her beauty. Long black hair, luscious lips, a curvy body, long lashes, beautiful sapphire eyes…

Sesshomaru did not stare like Inuyasha did, but he too was captivated by the girl's gorgeousness, despite her servant clothing. She handed the scroll of Kikyo and bowed once before exiting.

Inutaisho asked Kikyo, "Who was that?"

Kikyo shot a small glare back to where Kagome was retreating. "Oh, her? She's nothing special; just my personal slave."

"What's her name? Surely you know to address your servants by their proper names," the Western lord said, narrowing his golden eyes at the Lady of the Southern Lands.

"I don't see what use you could have with her name," Kikyo answered haughtily. "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt…the slave's name is Kagome."

"Kagome…" Sesshomaru tested her name on his lips in a quiet whisper. It was a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.

Just then a servant came running in, breathless. "Lord Naraku! Lord Miroku and Lady Sango have arrived!" he announced.

A handsome young tiger demon came walking in, his left arm linked with his mate's right arm. Miroku was grinning widely, his violet eyes centering on Lord Naraku and Lady Kikyo. Sango clutched her mate a little tightly, her slim orange tail swaying around behind her.

"Good evening, Lord Miroku," Kikyo said.

"The same to you, Lady Kikyo," Miroku replied.

Naraku gestured for them to have a seat. "Now we are awaiting our last guests, Lord Shippo and Lady Rin," he said. "They will be arriving shortly."

Five minutes later, the same servant came scrambling in. He straightened up and said, "Lord Shippo and Lady Rin have arrived, milord!"

An attractive young female fox demon came waltzing in, hand-in-hand with her stunningly handsome mate. Their bushy red tails waved behind them as they danced to their seats and sat down.

Naraku smiled. "Now that we are all here, we shall begin the feast!" he said. Raising his goblet high, he continued, "A toast to our gathering here!"

All his guests echoed him with empty glasses.

Kikyo turned towards the kitchen and yelled, "Slave! Come pour our drinks for us!"

Kagome walked out from the shadows that bordered the kitchen doorway. Wordlessly she walked over to the wine bottle nearest to Naraku and uncorked it, pouring a generous amount into both Kikyo's and Naraku's glasses. She then proceeded to pour wine into the glasses of the other guests.

Sesshomaru watched her carefully, making sure that he looked more like he was interested in his drink by sniffing it. She indeed had a lovely body and a lovely face, but since she was a slave, she was shackled from freedom. And that was what she wanted the most. At least that was what Sesshomaru deduced from her body language and the hidden emotions in her eyes.

She finished pouring the wine and exited the room, leaving the guests to their dinner.

Later that night, after the guests had all been shown to their rooms for the night, Sesshomaru lay upon his bed thinking. Thinking about the girl, Kagome.

I must free her. But how?

These words kept echoing in his head, reminding her of their purpose. Sesshomaru had to free that girl, otherwise she would be doomed as a slave for the rest of her life, or until Kikyo decided to kick her out.

Little did he know that Kagome was thinking about him as well.

Sesshomaru… Kagome sighed wistfully, glancing out of her little window into the dark sky beyond only lit up by the light of the full moon. How long had it been since she first yearned after him? How long had it been since she first became infatuated with the stoic young demon prince?

"How long…Sesshomaru…" she whispered to herself, thoughts of the prince lulling her slowly to sleep, her dreams plagued by the mysterious Western heir.

He would be the one to free her. She was sure of it.

Sorry, short chapter. Can't really write long ones. Hope you liked it anyway.

Review responses:

yusukekuramagirl – Thanks. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

Jade Lotus – I'm trying my best!

Ichigo Mirai – I have enough time on my hands…I think…

Raider's Pride – Don't worry. I'll drag Kikyo's torture out soon.

itachigurlsaiyaku – Poor Kagome indeed.

Dark Darianna Minamino – Yeah, I hate Kikyo when she abuses Kagome.

my name is paper YAH – Okay!

Vampire Miko 159 – Wow, is my style of writing that good?

-lazyblackbird- - I'll try to!

OhBrother – Thanks!

Music ADD – Yeah, someone will hurt Kikyo…very very soon.

Demonic Cho – I dunno, I haven't thought about it yet. I think I'll make her have dormant miko powers.

hotshorty – Thanks.

EternalLove495 – Sorry, it's hard to write long chapters.

takeshi-ai – Thanks for the review!

XxHisLilLoverGirlxX – I will.

g2fan – I'm trying.

WhiteDemoness11 – Yeah. If she was being brainlessly obedient, that wouldn't be too good for the planning of Kikyo's downfall.

zoey tamagachi - I dunno if they're gonna die, but I know for sure they'll fall from grace.

Chibi Sessho-chan – If only stupid Kikyo would let Kagome kick her butt…

Anime Punk Kitty – Well, they're both cruel, evil people, so why not? I know, I can't imagine such a disgusting thing either.

shiori no yume – Don't worry, Kagome shall give Kikyo what she deserves!

Kidnapped by a Demon – Mm, soon, I hope.

Thanks everyone! I got 23 reviews for the first chapter!

Sayonara!

MangaFreak15