Holy God! Another update! Who would of thunk it…
Lady in the Dog's Den
Little children with ears much like her captor's…
Chapter 13
The morning was clear, cold and sparkling, the previous day's snow lying frozen and glittering frostily in the pale sunlight. Kagome stood in the doorway silently appreciating the beauty of it, whilst at the same time cursing the snow. It had doubtless delayed her uncle, and she held few hopes of seeing him before tomorrow was halfway through. She glanced up at the cloudless winter sky and prayed that the bad weather kept away, and did not delay him further.
She sighed and her gaze shifted to the tall, strong figure of InuYasha as he and some of his men prepared to go hunting. It was a pity, she thought, that she could no longer be in sympathy with him, for such a man deserved better than the furtive life he was leading in the hills.
She caught herself up in the thought, and blushed at it, and almost at the same moment, her heart gave a sudden lurch for he turned from his horse, caught her looking at him, and began to walk towards her. She turned in confusion and went quickly inside.
There she encountered the hostile gaze of Sango, regarding her across the room with resentment glinting in the deep magenta of her eyes. Kagome did not blame her for being resentful – it must be galling indeed to be in love with a man who calmly announces he wishes to wed another for no better reason than to secure his safety. But at the same time, she wished only to avoid her and walked through to the chamber she had been given which was in fact, InuYasha's own.
There was no sanctuary for her there. Moments later, he came in and, giving her no more than a cursory glance, rummaged briefly in the chest that stood at the foot of the bed and pulled out a heavy cloak. He straightened, and folding the garment across his arm stood for a moment regarding her. 'You run from me, wench,' he said quietly. 'There is no need. I mean you no ill-'
'No ill?' she interrupted, and paused, forcing herself to keep her voice low. 'You would wed me, though. Is your conceit so great that you think that would do me no ill? It is Naraku I love and it is Naraku I will wed, Naraku who will return with me to Miro.'
He shook his head. 'I have known you but a few days, little one, and yet already I know you better than you know yourself. Naraku is a mere lad – what does he know of love?' He moved forward and gripped her shoulder with his free hand, brushing away the long hair she had left loose, and, bending his head, he very gently kissed her neck just about her shoulder. The sensual gesture sent a shiver over her, but she did not pull away. His mouth moved to hers, and this time her response to his kiss was positive and unmistakable.
When he pushed her gently from him, she was instantly filled with shame and turned away, sinking on to the bed and willing hi to go away. He did so, quietly, and she was left trying to answer a heedful of seemingly unanswerable questions.
She could not be alone with the turmoil of her thoughts however, for Kikyo wandered in a few minutes later, bored and petulant, and seated herself in the chair by the fire.
'That barbarian has gone off on his hunt thank God,' she said on a weary sigh. 'But he has made certain he has left enough men that we cannot escape—' she broke off abruptly. 'How pale you are! What is it?'
The younger girl pulled herself together and smiled. 'It is nothing. My head is still a little muzzy from the accident that is all.'
'That accursed man!' she exclaimed. 'That horse should have been killed. And I should have thought Hiroshi might have made some attempt to deliver us from this! How could he simply leave us here like this to suffer such indignities—?'
'Oh, Kiki!' Kagome, irritated, interrupted the complaint with less than her usual patience. 'He is gone to the King. How can he be in two places at once?'
'He has men, Kagome. He did not have to abandon us for three days. And what of Naraku? Surely you expected Naraku to make some attempt to free us? The fondness between you is well known.'
'We do not know what is happening with them, Kiki. It is useless to speculate. They are thinking of our safety and I am sure if they could do anything without endangering us, they would do so. We must wait.'
'Wait! How much longer? I think I will go mad with waiting. These people are churlish and sullen, InuYasha is a rude barbaric animal and this place is a damp and draughty hovel—'
'Oh Kiki! If you can only whine and complain, please go away. If the Shikoneans are less than sympathetic towards you, you have only yourself t blame for you scarce endeared yourself to them at Nightingale. In over a year you have learned not a dozen words of their language, and treat them abominable. And as for InuYasha, I feel quite in sympathy with him, and all those like him. Shikon is their country and we have taken it form them, and if it is ours by right of conquest, we can at least treat the people with a little civility. Can you blame them for wanting it back, or such small pieces of it as they can take back by any means? How would you feel if it were Miro?'
'Kagome!' Kikyo snapped the word in the tone of one rebuking an insolent child. And then did not seem to know how to continue. 'I do not understand you at all,' she said finally, and added sadly, 'You have changed a great deal since you came to Shikon.'
'I would not have come had it not been forced upon me, and that you know! But I am here, and life would be far pleasanter if only we could live in peace with these people and try to give them cause to lose some of their hatred of us.'
Kikyo stared at her for a long moment, and then stood up. 'I think you should get some rest. You are not at all yourself, and I cannot think that you would say these things if you were.' She paused, and added more kindly, 'I know how you must feel about all this—but the Hanyou is a fool, and Hiroshi will never agree to a marriage. Try to sleep.'
When she had gone, Kagome lay back on the bed and could not regret her outburst. They were things she had wanted to say to her these past six weeks, and had usually bitten her tongue instead. She felt a little better for having released some of the tension within her, but still had no answers for all those questions she kept asking herself about InuYasha.
Eventually she ceased to struggle with it all, and with a determined lift to her chin, she left the chamber and went into the hall. Children and dogs scrapped played together in the rushes and spilled outside, ignoring all the admonishing of the women attending to their various tasks, one or two of whom looked up and smiled as Kagome passed. Kikyo was again at the tapestry, but she did not feel in any humour to join her and went instead to the kitchen area in search of some occupation to help pass the time. Rin and Tohru were there, and after a little cajoling were reluctantly persuaded to allow her to help them. Surprisingly, she spent a very pleasant hour or so in the somewhat crude surroundings, preparing what little food there was to be eked out between the swollen numbers of InuYasha's household. There would be meager fare if his hunting excursion today was less successful than yesterday's.
As the day passed and Kagome amused herself with the children and working on the tapestry, she was aware of deference and a respect in the manner of the Shikoneans towards her that was more genuine than anything they had shown her at Nightingale. She puzzled over it for a while, until it occurred to her that it was because of Kyo. She, a Miron lady of noble birth, had saved the life of a Shikon child at great risk to herself, and that simple, instinctive action had done more to earn her respect and sympathy of the Shikons than all her endeavours over the past months at Nightingale. Even the men had lost some of their indifference.
There was a pleasant atmosphere in the hall and Kagome felt almost at ease for the first time since InuYasha had brought them there, which she could only attribute to the fact that he was away and she was able to relax.
'My lady—' Rin looked up from the tapestry and said shyly, 'My lady, I am sorry now that I betrayed your trust in me and did not warn you of InuYasha's coming.'
Kagome, surprised, smiled. 'It is forgiven, Rin. How could you have defied him? And you did try to aid our escape. We will not forget that.'
The girl ducked her head and murmured, 'Some of us have thought it is a pity you must hate him so, for we would not be displeased for him to have his way. There is none we would rather have as lady of Nightingale.'
Kagome could do nothing but gaze at her for a moment or two, for there was suddenly an inexplicable lump in her throat. However, she was spared the need to answer by a sudden commotion outside. The door was thrown open and the tranquility of the afternoon shattered, as InuYasha and his men spilled inside in noisy disarray.
No one did more than glance at the small deer that was flung upon the table. InuYasha himself, holding his cloak around him, strode tight-lipped across the hall and disappeared behind the curtains. The others threw themselves down on the benches or stood about with scowling faces. Several were wounded and Rin limped away for her box of simples and dressings.
There was little Kagome could do, and as the only words she could catch form the curses and angry muttering soft e men involved Mirons and a 'cowardly attack', she withdrew from the confusion and stood to one side with Kikyo.
A few moments later, Rin called to her and holding out a handful of her preparations, said quickly, 'They say my lord is hurt.'
Almost without thinking, Kagome took the pots and linen and went at once to his chamber. He was seated in the chair with is back to her, his head bent to examine his shoulder; but as she entered, he started almost guiltily. Ears twitching to hear if anyone else followed, he pulled the cloak around him and turned to face her. The frown creasing his brow deepened. 'What is it?'
Undeterred by his tone, she came forward quietly and stood before him. 'You are hurt,' she said causally, 'and Rin is too busy attending to you men.'
'It is nothing for you to concern yourself with,' he muttered, and turned away, dismissing her.
But the Lady Kagome was not so easily dismissed. The signs of pain she detected on his face lent her courage and she bent down beside him. 'Come, my lord. Let me attend to it.'
'I am not a child, wench,' he snapped. 'Do not talk to me as such.'
'Then you will let me treat your wound without making a fuss, will you not?' she replied sweetly, and was strangely reassured by the glare she received in reply.
He did, however, shift ever so slightly in the chair, and released his grip on the cloak. She freed the clasp and allowed it to fall away, drawing her fine brows together at the sight of the blood dried and matted to his tunic.
'You must lend me your knife, I think,' she said softly, holding out her hand. He made no move to give it to her and she raised her eyes to his in query. 'Your knife?'
His golden eyes searched hers and she immediately understood. 'Do you think I would use it on you, my lord?' she asked him with a shadow of a smile. 'So little do you trust me. What have I to gain from such an action? Certainly no my freedom, for I have no doubt that I would get no further than the woods before your men caught me, granted you probably be able to stop me yourself injury or no. I also have more respect than that for my life, and indeed more hopes for my survival without the need to resort to such measures.'
His eyes held hers, searching for some signed of trickery, and then, without taking his eyes from her face, took his knife from his belt and handed it to her.
She took it, conscious of somehow having gained something, and began, carefully, to cut away his tunic. But the blood had dried and made the fabric adhere to the wound, and she had to warm some water over the fire and soak it before lifting it gently away. Not so much as a tightening of muscle betrayed the pain he must feel as she worked, and when he gave an almost inaudible sigh as the tunic came away and the ugly wound was exposed, she was strangely overcome by a strong desire to pull his head down upon her shoulder and comfort him for all the strength he must show simply because he was a man and a demon.
But she recovered quickly and ventured to ask what had happened. 'You were attacked, it is obvious, but—'
'By some of your countrymen, wench,' he growled sourly. 'Over-zealous boys who cannot tell a hunting party from a band of warriors!'
'Your men were not happy,' she said quietly. 'Perhaps they will not now be so content to follow you to Washoru's side. Perhaps,' she added, 'you should abandon this quest.'
He regarded her quizzically. 'Do you never give up? No, I shall not abandon it.' He said no more but continued to watch her as she bathed the wound, dressed it and bound it with all the quick efficiency of one well used to such things. She was aware that he observed her, yet contrived no to blush under his gaze.
When she finished, she went back to the chest at the foot of the bed and pulled out a tunic for his approval. He nodded and she went forward to help him off with the one he wore, half-expecting to be pushed aside. But he made no demur, and indeed seemed grateful for her aid. It was not an easy task, for the wound greatly restricted the movement of his arm, but eventually it was done and the fresh tunic put on.
He donned his belt, took up the knife and went across to the door where he paused and looked back at her. 'My thanks, wench. You have a light touch.'
When he had gone, she stood for a moment staring at the closed door, with a slow warmth seeping through her at his grudging thanks, until suddenly she caught herself up on it and impatiently dismissed it as girlish embarrassment.
She shook herself and went to see whether Rin needed help, but she seemed to have successfully dealt with the casualties. Sango was hovering nearby, and Kagome felt the hostility of her gaze like a cold draught across the width of the room. Had it been some of the men from whom this increased animosity came, she could, perhaps have accepted it more easily, for they had been needlessly attacked by her kind. But they all continued to treat her with civility, although persisting in showing complete indifference towards Kikyo.
She seemed, that evening, to find Sango and her coldness weighing very oppressively on her thoughts, and could not dismiss her form them even when she and Kikyo retired for the night. She lay staring up into the darkness, and could not sleep, going over in her mind everything that had happened to her during the past few days and desperately trying to make some sense out of her feelings about it all. She tossed and turned until she was totally exhausted by it all. And then out of the fog that seemed to be slowly closing in on her, came the clear and sensible, rational thought that tomorrow everything would be resolved, and she would be free of the hanyou and his problems and his arrogance and the power he seemed to be able to exercise over her. Tomorrow her uncle would come to take her back to Nightingale, and then, no doubt, Naraku would take her back to Miro.
Oh, for Miro, she thought as sleep drifted in; Miro before the invasion of Shikon, when there had been peace and comfort and tranquility, where nothing so violent or complicated or unpleasant had ever disrupted her life into the emotional turmoil that seemed to have beset her since the death of her father.
Tomorrow. If only tomorrow would hasten. If only all these vague, uncertain, half-formed fears she had about the outcome of it all were proven quite unfounded.
Tomorrow. When she would see the white haired, golden eyed man, who had haunted her dreams every night and occupied her thoughts every day since she had been brought to this place….
oooooooooooooooooo
Please no comments on the fact that I called Inuyasha's shirt a tunic, I can't be bothered going and looking up the Japanese name like a lot of people would seem to prefer. I could have called it a yukata but my boyfriend informed me last night that a yukata is a summer robe and this story is set in winter so meh. My boyfriend lived in Japan for a year, be jealous! :P
I'm off to invade Singapore on Wednesday so for those of you who live there, be prepared! I'll be singing in a concert :D Yay QFC! Yay Orchestra of the Music Makers! :D
-Yawn- Bed time me thinks ^-.-^ -zzzzzz-