Chapter 6

Kagome slowly opened her eyes and tried to focus them. When nothing came into her vision, she tried to lift up her arms to rub them. She screamed out in intense pain panicked when no noise came from her throat. Suddenly she felt a demon aura come close to her that she did not recognize and she threw up a miko barrier.

"M'lady!" said the voice from the demon aura. "Please, there is no need to be frightened! You are in Lord Sesshomaru's palace," the voice pleaded.

Trying again to see, Kagome opened her eyes. She saw the silhouette of a woman with hair as black as ebony and eye glowing the most brilliant green. Focusing further, detail finally came to her vision. When it cleared, Kagome locked her eyes on the demon woman, gasping. She was utterly beautiful. Her hair cascaded down her back and barely kissed the floor. She wore maid's clothing which was modest and all white. The sharp contrast of the clothing with her hair was breathtaking. Her eyes did not in fact glow, but the green in them was so brilliant that at first glance, one would think they did. She had a single beauty mark above her lip, which Kagome thought was very much like Marilynn Monroe.

"Who are you?" Kagome managed to whisper out.

"I am Kei. Lord Sesshomaru assigned me to be your maiden, M'lady," she answered with a respectful bow.

"Alright. Why can't I move my arms?" Kei lowered her eyes and began busing her self with cleaning her work area. Kagome saw a pile of bloody wraps for a wound and ointments for healing. Remembering what had happened last night between her and Sesshomaru, Kagome blushed deeply.

"You had a very deep wound in your shoulder. Nothing a few ointments couldn't fix though. You are almost as good as new. However, Lord Sesshomaru's poison will take longer to heal."

"Poison? He poisoned me?!" Kagome almost screamed out.

"No! No, M'lady. He transferred a small amount of his poison to you so that in the near future, you would not be hurt by him in that way. It is something done to most high ranking people within the palace. He would give it to all of us, however it is common for lower members of the palace to betray the Lord. Better safe than sorry," she said cheerfully.

Kagome tried to take in everything and was finding it very hard to believe Sesshomaru poisoned her for her own good. She used her feet to kick off the cover from her and she used her abs to make herself sit up straight. Kei eyed her carefully and walked over to her.

"I think it is best if you remain in bed until the fever passes," she advised.

"I am fine," Kagome stubbornly objected. Noticing that she was only dressed in a brassiere and briefs, Kagome tried to look for her clothing. Not finding a thing, she looked up at Kei for help.

Sighing, Kei reached for the armoire door beside her. "Milord had it crafted early this morning by the silk-sewer. He is very skillful and works very quick. On top of that, there are no two kimono's alike." She opened the armoire and retrieved a colorful kimono. Kagome's eyes widened and she looked to Kei in disbelief. "That's not for me, is it?"

Nodding excitedly, Kei held it out in front of her for Kagome to see. It was a sky blue color with faded looking crescent moons all around the hem of the gown. The cuffs of the kimono were white with a black strip separating the cuff from the rest of the kimono. Kei flipped it over and Kagome saw the large purple crescent moon which took up the majority of the back. Right on top of the bottom point of the moon, Kagome noticed a symbol she did not recognize. Eyeing it closely, she saw that it looked sort of like a white daisy with a diamond shaped symbol in the middle.

"What is that?" she asked. Kei looked to where she pointed and smiled

"That, M'lady is the Miko Crest. The daisy represents the connection to natural power and the diamond represents a clear mind. Milord is having a meeting tonight with all the other lords. You are to wear this when you attend."

"He wants me there?" Kagome was utterly shocked. "I can barely move my arms. How am I supposed to attend a meeting with all the other demon lords. I don't know anything about the court! I'll humiliate myself!"

"Please relax, M'lady. Lord Sesshomaru will speak with you and explain to you what is expected. You are not going to be left in the dark. But as I understood, you are his advisor now, so you must attend all the meetings. This is especially important because tonight, he is introducing you to the court," Kei explained.

"Introducing me? Oh God!" Kagome sprang out of bed. She never did well under scrutiny. Flashbacks of her 7th grade Beauty and the Beast play raced through her mind. She was playing the magical tea pot and when it came for her first song, she froze on stage and forgot to even breath. She passed out flat on the stage floor.

"I can't do this, Kei. Can't he postpone it or tell them I am sick from this, this fever or what ever you called it?"

Suddenly there was a deep baritone voice that came from the door. "Miko, why are you not dressed yet."

Looking at the door, Kagome saw Sesshomaru standing in the doorway eyeing her hard. He looked all the part of a very unhappy warlord. His shoulders were squared and his eyes were narrowed. His demon aura was overpowering and his air was all the more arrogant. Kagome wanted nothing more than to just slap him across the face. Then, realizing she was still naked, she wanted to gauge out his eyes.

Screaming and taking the Kimono from Kei and wrapping it harshly around her form, she sent an angry look towards him. "Don't you ever knock! I'm not dressed!"

"It is my palace. I don't have to knock. Dress quickly we have much to discuss and even shorter time to do it," he said pivoting on his heel. Leaving her to dress, he stormed down the hallway growling at anyone in sight. Shippo backed against the wall when he passed him and waited until he was out of sight before bouncing into Kagome's room.

"Shippo!" Kagome almost screamed. She dropped the kimono to take him into a huge embrace. She didn't feel it shameful to be in that state in front of her son since he wasn't even pubescent yet. Shippo nuzzled her neck and was very careful about the bandages still wrapped to her shoulder.

"I waited all night for you to wake up but Lord Sesshomaru wanted you alone so you could heal faster. I stayed with Sango. I heard you scream so I came as fast as you could to make sure you are okay. You, are okay, aren't you?" he explained in one breath.

Kagome couldn't' help but laugh. He meant the world to her and she couldn't bare to have the look of worry in his eyes. "I'm fine, love. But I hear that the palace is going to be very busy and I have some things to take care of. How about we find Rin so you both can play?"

"Rin?! I haven't played with Rin in a long time! I'd like that a lot," Shippo said bouncing off of her.

"Okay, let me get dressed and we'll go look for her." Kagome went to take the kimono from Kei, but Kei snatched it back.

"Sorry, M'Lady but Lord Sesshomaru ordered you and all your friends bathe before dressing. The bathhouse is ready for you when ever you would like to go," Kei explained.

"Oh," Kagome blushed. "Alright."

"Can I come too? I missed the bath with Sango so I figured I could just go when you woke up," Shippo said shyly. He knew Kagome didn't like it when he didn't bathe on time, but she let it go. The way he dug his foot into the ground and gave her big sad fox eyes, she just couldn't be upset with him.

"Of course. Let's hurry, though. I feel that a certain Lord is not pleased with me and I still feel weak from last night," Kagome finished lowering her gaze. Damn demons. To think she thought she was making a better deal by joining Sesshomaru. She only begun to regret it.