Harvest

by Sereia13

He was their latest conquest—the unmistakable mark of a daiyoukai etched into his brow. The ground shook when he arrived, and it had taken the entire horde to get him into the cage. He'd snapped at her when she came close, no doubt assuming she was one of them, but after the third visit, he'd finally noticed the collar around her neck and quieted down.

2. Tend

Kagome supposed she should be thankful they hadn't done anything worse, but she was still a prisoner. Not the only prisoner, but even in her darkest moments, she refused to wish her fate on anyone.

Sighing, she brushed the dirt off her hands and got to her feet. It was just sundown, which meant she had at least thirty minutes before they came to check on her. Why they thought tending vegetables took up her entire day, she'd never know, but she'd memorized their basic schedule and could use it to her advantage.

Her first several attempts to run away had been met with sneers and lashings, the collar seeming to tighten around her neck as they yanked her back through the forest, but those had long since healed.

Not that she'd tell them that.

She still hadn't figured out who they were or what their purpose was. Right now, they seemed to be collectors, hellbent on torturing their treasures—or at least controlling them. Their skills lay in subjugation and power manipulation, and they hadn't attempted to understand or use her powers for anything nefarious.

Yet.

Leaning up against the stone wall of the fortress, Kagome strained to hear inside, the boisterous laughter and clattering of dishes signalling dinner had just begun. Gathering up the rags of her skirt, she ran silently down the steps and into the courtyard, keeping to the shadows until a large cage loomed above her.