TRIGGER WARNING: PLEASE READ

TW for graphic description of violence. The paragraphs are between the *******. You will not miss any of the story if you choose not to read that section.

The room was spinning at a nauseating speed while Hana clutched the herbs close to her chest, pressing herself as hard as humanly possible against the door. "No... no," she pleaded no louder than a whisper.

"Hana? What's the matter?" Kagome asked, stirring in her bed from her nap. "You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"I... I..." tears welled in Hana's eyes. "I overheard Lord Tengu." Her breathing became erratic as she played back the conversation she accidentally overheard. "He.. he..." she choked out. "I think he's going to kill you," she sobbed.

Kagome took a shaky breath as a pit formed in her stomach. "Okay." Trying to process the informatoin, she pressed the palms of her hands against the slides of her forehead and dragged them down her face, stopping at her jaw line. "Okay, we can figure this out."

Doom washed over Hana as she slid slowly down the door hyperventilating. There was no way out of this, and knowing Lord Tengu she would have to watch the execution and then be forced to clean up once it was over. Hana began dry heaving at the thought.

"Hana, take a deep breath," Kagome reassured her while cupping her face, forcing her to look into her eyes. "I have something to show you." Gently grabbing her arm and helping her up, Kagome brought Hana over to the wooden armoire on the opposite side of the room. Inside scraps of clothing littered the bottom, while a thick colorful rope was twisted around the pole that once held garments. Hana's mouth dropped at the sight. "Come with me," Kagome urged.

"When did you..." Hana asked in a daze.

"At night after you went to your room. I wasn't planning on leaving just yet, but..." Kagome trailed off and picked up where she left off with her makeshift rope.

Hana's rhythmic footsteps around the room were the only thing that disturbed the deafening silence that followed. "Hana," Kagome coughed. "Sesshomaru will give you a better life than you ever would have here. I promise," she whispered. Although she tried to convince herself that she was calm, the reality was that her stomach was in knots and she questioned her ability to escape on her own. She knew she only had once chance at survival; no one was coming to save her this time.

"Why? Why are you helping me?" Hana questioned with misty eyes. No one had shown her such kindness for as long as she could remember. This castle sucked the soul out of everyone and left nothing but a shell of the person they once were.

"Because," Kagome smiled and clasped Hana's hands. "I couldn't just leave you behind. I can see you don't truly want to serve a Lord as vicious as him." Neither of them dared to address the white elephant in the room. If Kagome escaped under her watch... it would be at the expense of Hana's life.

Hana closed her eyes and forced herself to take a breath. "Okay," she exhaled. "Lets get to work."

While the two girls continued braiding quietly in the corner of the room, Hana's nerves began to settle when she finally allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts of a better life. A small smile would tug at the corners of her lips every so often when her nerves were replaced with hope.

The faint taste of blood danced on Kagome's tongue at the sight of the sun slowly being replaced by the moon. Hana rose from her spot on the floor and gave Kagome a faint smile as she went to retrieve their nighttime tea right on schedule. You can do this, Kagome she reminded herself. You've been able to stand on your own before.

The servants kitchen was bustling with others who were finishing up their evening tasks. "Hana, I forget you're still here!" one of the other servants joked with her while washing some dishes. "You've been spending all your free time with your new friend."

Tengu's ear twitched at the statement while passing by, and he decided to pay them all a visit. "Is that so?" Tengu beamed at Hana, causing her to chuckle nervously. "I didn't realize you were taking your assignment so seriously." Once she was on her way to Kagome's room and out of sight, his smile faded instantly and his tone became harsh. "What did you mean by that comment?" The servants in the kitchen cowered and looked amongst each other. "WELL?" Tengu barked impatiently.

"I- I... I just meant we never see her n-n-not with the priestess lately, m-my Lord," one servant stammered. "She seems much happier compared to usual," another one spoke up.

Tengu looked up towards the ceiling and wondered what has been going on two floors above. Have I trusted her too much and been too lenient? Thankful that they spoke up, he tossed the servants some copper coins. "Very well." The servants were all squealing with delight as he left to retire to his room on the third floor.

While sitting at the table drinking their tea, Hana and Kagome went over the plan while waiting for Tengu to make his nightly visit. "I'll go first," Kagome reminded her. Her strength was dwindling each day from her illness, but she knew this couldn't be put off any longer. "Once we both reach the bottom, we'll sneak around front and crawl across the bridge. When we reach land we'll run as fast as we can to-"

Tengu burst into the room unannounced, causing the girls to jump. "I feel as though I've barely seen either of you all day."

"Ha. Yeah. Well," Kagome made sure to cough while saying it, despite her tea being loaded with herbs to help silence her cough temporarily. "When you're sick you don't feel like doing much," she shrugged.

Tengu eyed them suspiciously. "I suppose. Well, in any case, have a good night."

As Tengu's footsteps faded, an uneasy feeling washed over Kagome. "He knows something's up," Kagome whispered frantically with her eyes glued to the door. "Tengu hasn't entered my room like that since my first night here... he always knocks first."

For some reason, Hana thought back to the night her husband begged her to leave their village with him. Scared to leave what she knew, she refused. Two nights later he was killed trying to defend their village with the others while it burned to the ground. She never forgave herself for not listening to her husbands pleas to flee, but this time she knew she had to face the unknown in order to have a better life. "Let's get going," Hana whispered while she shed a tear for her dear husband.

Hanging out of the window, Kagome gave the rope a few good pulls to make sure it was secure. To avoid anyone noticing the rope right away they tied it to a rock that was jutting out from the castle below the window. "Here goes nothing," she sighed while sliding out of the window. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she slowly descended down the rope with the sound of the waves crashing around her.

Tengu looked over at the empty side of his bed, imagining what it would look like if Inukimi was laying there. Her scent was still lingering on his skin even all these hours later. Taking in another deep breath of her scent, he imagined how and when he would kill Kagome. Does he do it slow and painful? Or just quick enough that she barely has a reaction? He chuckled to himself at the thought. Something about Inukimi made him feel so... bloodthirsty. Or... he shot up in his bed. I could play a game. See if they take the bait... then kill them both if they disobey. Laughing, he fell back into his soft oasis. Now you really sound like Lady Inukimi. The thought excited him so much, he decided to let the girls know now that they would be spending some of the day tomorrow foraging in the forest.

Kagome had just a few more feet to go before reaching the bottom; her hands burned from the friction of sliding. She refused to let the pain of her hands being rubbed raw ruin their plan. Two lives depended on it. "Come on," Kagome called up as quiet as she could be. "I'm close enough to the bottom."

Just as Hana was about to slide out the window herself, her breath caught in her chest. Footsteps. Heavy footsteps. Her eyes darted around the room as the footsteps became louder and louder. She prayed that the footsteps would continue down the hall and down the steps, but they stopped directly in front of the door. "No," a terrified whisper escaped Hana's lips as she trembled.

"Great news, you're both going foraging tomorrow," Tengu said sarcastically while once again walking in unannounced. Scanning the room, he only saw Hana leaning against the wall next to the window. "Where... is... Kagome..." he asked slowly with an uncontrollable rage brewing inside of him.

Hana felt as though she could pass out at any moment. Her pulse thumped loudly in her ears. Staring at the Lord before her, she knew she had to give him an answer. She could easily spare her life right now and tell him that Kagome was escaping at this very moment, proving her loyalty to him and hopefully giving her a higher status among the other servants. "She went to the wash room to freshen up before bed, my Lord," Hana said confidently with her head raised high.

In an instant, he was in front of Hana gripping her throat. "I don't recall hearing any footsteps, Hana," he said through gritted teeth and a tightening grip. Before throwing her to the side and slamming the door shut he called out, "I'll be back."

Kagome's voice floated up through the window. "Hana! What's going on!"

Rubbing her throat and gasping for breath, Hana was paralyzed with fear. This is it she thought sadly to herself with tears flowing silently down her cheeks. Pulling herself off of the floor, she went over to the window and leaned out. Her tears mixed with the raindrops that were falling below on Kagome. "He knows," she said in a raspy voice.

"Wh-what?" Kagome gripped the rope tighter while looking up to her friend. "Just come on, hurry!" she pleaded with her.

Hana shook her head in protest. "There is no time, Kagome," she answered sadly. "If I join you on this rope he will find us both and kill us. If I stay here... you have a chance."

"No Hana. Please. Just try," Kagome begged desperately while blinking back tears. "We can do this, hurry. Please."

Hana shook her head while the sound of footsteps became louder in the distance. "Thank you, Kagome. For your kindness. For everything." she said with a sad smile. "Good bye," she whispered while taking one last good look at her friend dangling below, hoping she would make it. With one last sad smile, she turned back to await her fate.

Without giving it a second thought, Kagome began climbing back up the rope towards her room where Hana was now out of sight. Once she heard the door slam open again, despite every instinct she had to save her, she knew she was too late.

**********TW*************

"You lying wench," Tengu roared, striking Hana across the face so hard her vision temporarily went black. Staggering to her feet, Tengu unsheathed his sword with a sinister smile on his face and sliced Hana on her arm causing her to yell out.

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut as hard as she could, hoping somehow that would drown the noise out. Hana she cried silently to herself.

"All you had to do was be LOYAL!" Tengu once again roared waving his sword around, but this time stabbing her clean through her thigh. A blood curdling scream filled the air while she pushed her hands on top of her wound trying to stop the bleeding. Tengu smiled at the sight of the human bleeding out before him. "You know... I could stop here and possibly spare your life. Hoping you've learned a lesson," he mused out loud while walking slowly in a circle around her. Hana whimpered. "However," he shoved the sword shallowly into her side below her rib cage. "What fun would that be?"

Hana's vision was becoming blurry and her body felt as though it was on fire while she laid on the floor in agony. She tried curling into a ball but Tengu grabbed a fistful of her hair and brought her face to his. A small knife was pulled from one of his boots and swayed in front of her face. "Where. Is. Kagome?" Tengu asked again while making tiny cuts across her face. Breathing heavily, she still refused to answer while blood poured from her side. "If you're not going to answer me," he plunged the knife deep into her throat. "You won't be needing this then." Hana's gurgling reached even Kagome's ears, her stomach lurching at the sound.

******END OF TW*********

Frozen in place, she was forced to listen to her friend be slaughtered just feet above her. After a few minutes it became eerily quiet and Kagome mustered up the courage to look up, almost expecting to see Tengu staring at her. Nothing. Slowly beginning her decent back to the bottom she muffled her sobs, but reality told her she had even less time than she had planned to escape. The moment her feet hit the ground Kagome threw up; she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to get that noise out of her head. While making her way towards the only bridge that lead to the castle, she carefully inspected the ground for any kind of weapon she could find. Now armed with a small knife and a snapped sword, she stared at her only path to freedom.

Is this a trap? Surely enough time had passed for Tengu to gather at least a few people to look for her, but the castle was still quiet. She looked down at her raw and bleeding hands and cringed at the thought of crawling across the pebble littered bridge. Do I make a run for it? Her lungs and ribs ached from coughing. The wound on her back from Inukimi was infected. Her prior fatigue and body aches had subsided for now thanks to the adrenaline running rampant in her body. Taking one last deep breath, Sesshomaru's words echoed in her mind again. 'You are weak.' Yeah? I'll show you weak. Clenching the knife in her hand, Kagome ran onto the bridge not knowing if she would live, or die.

Author's note:

Happy almost Saturday, friends!

Last months numbers have me blown away, I am truly so thankful for all of you. I have a good chunk of the next chapter written already, so I'm hopeful to get it out in a timely fashion!

Poor Hana, huh? I felt so bad doing that to her.

I was hoping to get this posted earlier in the day, but I've been picking at the chapter for a few hours... so here we are. I've been a little distracted because a week ago today we had to put one of my sweet dogs down. She had a long, good life, but it's still sad nonetheless.

That being said, even on the dark days, try to find some light. Life goes too fast.