InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Corrupted the Blind ❯ Ancient Feelings 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Ancient Feelings

 

~*~@~*~f~*~

 

The passageway masked entry door opened subtly, revealing a weary-looking, young woman. He could see it in the way she walked. In the way her chest heaved with every breath she took. Her steps were less punctuated; it almost looked like she was floating on her delicate shoes. Come to think of it, her shoes weren't the usual kind of shoes she wore; they seemed to be the kind of comfortable shoes a servant would wear. He paused from his work to frown at that last thought.

 

Before he could avert his eyes from her, she had already reached him and thrown some grimy looking herbs on his desk.

 

“God damn it, woman! I was working here! You didn't have to throw these on my desk!” he yelled at her but she didn't seem to have heard him. He wanted to yell at her, to ask her what the Hell took her so long, but he saw her slumped shoulders and unsteady steps. This wasn't her at all. If she wasn't in this mood, he was certain she would feel ashamed of the way she looked. Instead, he shut up, deciding to be sensitive for once.

 

“It took all of my strength and willpower to withstand it this time,” she commented miserably and he was instantly mollified by her admittance.

 

“Thank you. Where did you find it? In the woods, again?”

 

“No. I told you last time that there was no more left in the woods. I had to pass through the Gate this time. At the beginning they wouldn't let me. They kept saying I wasn't dead enough,” she said and he chuckled, but she ignored him. “But I swear I drank your potion.”

 

He laughed a bit at her incredulous face and felt the need to reassure her. “You did a great job. I guess I forgot to tell you my potion didn't make you dead for the Guardians, too. There is nothing that can trick them, unless you really are dead. But how did you manage to come back?”

 

“Well,” she started, “first of all I stabbed myself in the heart and had to watch the blood ooze out of the wound. It was disgusting, especially since I knew I was the one bleeding my way to certain death. I did not forget to make sure I wouldn't hurt or anything; it was easy magic, after all. But then came the tricky part. I had to make sure that I didn't stay dead, if you know what I mean. That is when your potion came in handy.”

 

She smiled when his eyebrows cocked curiously. Who said she wasn't as creative as he was? He really had to give her some credit.

 

“I managed to reverse the effect of the potion, because - if you remember correctly - the last time you asked me to bring you three Phoenix tears that you mixed with snake venom so it could become deadly. Well then, that is when my dear, personal snake came to the rescue. He recognised the venom and took it out. Of course, I had to strain a little to lead the snake to the venom. That shrinking spell of yours is no good, by the way. It only works on humans. Anyway, if I remembered accurately, the Phoenix tears heal, so that is exactly what I had them do. And here I am; a bit shaken, but alive nonetheless,” she stated proudly, her worn-out face twisting into a rather uncomfortable smile.

 

“I must say, you really are inventive,” he praised her, swiping her into his arms. “You always are,” he said, planting a rather forceful kiss on her lips, to which she responded after a couple of moments.

 

“What did you want it for, anyway? The same old spell?” she asked curiously.

 

Instead of answering, he said, “Darling, can you go check on the girls? I think they have been restless lately. Give them this,” he told her and gave her a potion, before continuing, “and see to it that they drink it. I think they are becoming a danger to us. They know way too much. I have been treating them too kindly. I haven't even had my way with them… And the torture they have had wasn't torture enough. I think it is time we upped the stake.”

 

“Very well, lover,” she said somewhat seductively, but her voice was obviously still laced with exhaustion.

 

She went over to the bookshelves and took out a book that read `Dark Magic. You're cursed if you touch it' and flipped it open dispassionately, her right foot tapping against the cold floor anxiously. The shelves split in two parts that moved to either side to reveal an apparent stone wall behind them. She whispered a few words in an ancient language and the stone wall turned into a door that opened slowly, revealing a dark staircase that led to an underground tunnel that led to the dungeons and torture room.

 

She sighed, thinking about how much she had to walk until getting there. They had had to take extreme measures in case `the girls' somehow managed to escape and now she had to walk this rather dangerous path full of traps. There was a serious reason why they didn't go very often to see the girls, and this was it. It was true that they cast the protective spells, but that didn't mean those didn't also give them trouble.

 

She rolled her eyes as a big, scary lizard appeared in front of her, trying to catch her head in its ugly mouth. “Be gone,” she whispered harshly and waved her hand in front of it, making it disappear in a flash of blazing light.

 

When she reached the tunnel, she waited patiently for the next spell to make itself known and shrugged when it didn't.

 

`I guess he took it off,' she figured and moved forward, but immediately stinging vines wrapped themselves around her ankles, drawing blood. She hissed and cursed.

 

“Not after I had such a bloody nasty day!” she exclaimed and reached into her cleavage for the special dust she needed to make them disappear. When she was done, she realised she was slightly limping.

 

“Me and my stupid ideas,” she complained, remembering that she had come up with the `vines' idea.

 

Suddenly, she saw the wooden door of the dungeon where the girls were and stopped, a ghost-like figure appearing in front of her.

 

“You'll be dead in the next minute unless you tell me what the most important thing in the world is.”

 

She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Life” and the ghost vanished in thin air. `Not a bright one, lover,' she thought. The answer to that was pretty obvious, but she didn't want to bring up this subject.

 

She looked at the key slot and the door suddenly unlocked itself and opened with a creak. She heard the girls gasp and smiled. She liked having this effect on people.

 

“Hello, girls,” she greeted when they didn't say anything, trying to adjust to the sheer darkness, before remembering that she could do magic and suddenly a light invaded the room. Her smirk didn't go unnoticed by the four women, who were barely adjusting to the flood of light.

 

~*~@~*~f~*~

 

Kagome thought about the night before. Inuyasha had had dinner at her house and said he'd return as soon as possible. Apparently, he had some errands in this area, so he could visit her more often. She shivered in delight at that particular idea.

 

Then there was something strange happening.

 

In her bedroom there was a large mirror. It was fairly old, but there was something odd about it. Every time Kagome looked at it, it would show a younger version of herself. Or rather, that's what Kagome thought, then usually shrugged off. But then, the mirror would briefly - if only for a couple of seconds - show Kikyou's image smirking triumphantly.

 

Now she spent a lot of time in front of that mirror, trying to make it show Kikyou once again, but it seemed like the damn thing only did that when Kagome least expected it.

 

She decided she had to pay dear old Kikyou a visit, but not before going to see Lady Caroline.

 

Kagome had spent a few hours talking to Sango about Caroline. She wanted to know as much as possible about her relationship with that woman, and from what her favourite servant was telling her, they were very good friends, exactly as Tsubaki had stated.

 

The next morning, Kagome found herself standing in front of Lady Caroline's house. Miroku - the butler and Sango's husband - had offered to accompany her and was now knocking on the door, until a rather young girl opened it.

 

Kagome's eyes instantly softened in empathy when she saw tears on the girl's face.

 

“Eveline,” a deep, male voice resounded from within the house, “how many times have I told you not to answer the door like a common servant?”

 

“Many times, Papa,” the girl answered politely. “But it could always be Caroline,” she said miserably and Kagome frowned at the distressed voice. The girl - Eveline, it seemed - looked up at the twosome and graciously invited them inside.

 

Kagome ignored the setting - she didn't remember any of it - and focused on the girl. She wasn't familiar at all.

 

“I came to see Lady Caroline,” Kagome announced, even though she'd realised the woman wasn't at home.

 

“But Kagome,” the girl said, “you never call my sister `Lady'. What has changed?”

 

“I have lost my memory, unfortunately. Eveline, right?” she asked miserably and the girl gasped and nodded.

 

“So that is why you did not visit my sister anymore! Did this happen about two or three years go?” Eveline asked hopefully, but Kagome shook her head.

 

“No, it has been a few months. Why do you ask?”

 

“Oh.” The girl seemed disappointed. “Because that is about when you stopped visiting us. And a few months ago,” she started but paused letting a few tears fall, “my sister disappeared. No one knows where she is now… She might be dead, but I know she is not! I can feel it! I know it for certain. Look, she knew something she told me and I have been dying to tell you” the girl said excitedly and Kagome's interest spiked up when she suddenly remembered why she'd come here after all.

 

“If Lady Caroline is not at home, you can leave it to her sister”

 

That's what Inuyasha had asked her to do.

 

“Excuse me for interrupting, Eveline, but wait a second. Before you start telling me, and we go on and on forever, and I forget what I came here for, take this,” she said and extended the hand with the odd object in it. Eveline peered at the object, before grabbing it herself. She remained staring at it for a few minutes, before Kagome snapped her out of it.

 

“Eveline?” she asked tentatively, a little surprised by the odd way the girl was behaving. It was like the object had captured her entire interest.

 

“Sorry?” the girl said, her eyes suddenly locked with Kagome's. “Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise you were speaking to me. It is just… this object is so beautiful, isn't it?”

 

“Yes, it is,” Kagome agreed with a smile. “Now tell me what you wanted to say earlier.”

 

Eveline's look of confusion matched Kagome's. Eveline coked an eyebrow before asking, “Did I intend to tell you something?”

 

“Yes,” Kagome told her, her eyebrows knitting together. “About what your sister told you that made you desperately want to tell me,” Kagome reminded her, but the girl shrugged.

 

“I think you imagined that,” Eveline said.

 

“Actually,” Miroku started, “you did say you had something important to tell Lady Kagome.” Kagome sent him a grateful look and he nodded in acknowledgement.

 

“I do not remember,” Eveline said casually, shrugging. “Now, I am sorry, but you should leave. I have to put this somewhere safe,” she said, looking at the object in her hands, before leading Kagome and Miroku out, missing the look of bewilderment in their eyes.

 

~*~@~*~f~*~

 

“I cannot say I have missed you, girls, because that would be a lie and we all know I am not a liar,” the woman said, revelling in the frightened whimpers she was receiving.

 

“Why have you come?” Lady Caroline asked, a little harsher than necessary.

 

“My, my. Feisty, today. I like you,” the woman stated seductively. “Well, ladies, I came to give you something good to drink,” she announced, showing them what she'd brought. It looked like someone had puked in it.

 

“Another one of your potions?” Kaede asked sarcastically. “Is it so hard to realise we are immune to it or are you two really blind?”

 

“Oh, but it is not the usual one. It is an improved version,” the woman explained and saw the others trade nervous glances. “Maybe this way you shall forget once and for all. Keep in mind, girls, that if you do not forget, we shall have to kill you eventually. We cannot have you in this dungeon for the rest of your pathetic lives and there is no way we can set you free; so you must understand our reasoning. But at least you will get to die an original death. We shall think of something creative and painful for you and you only. You should feel privileged,” she said, pushing the glass cup with the potion against Audrey's lips, forcing her to drink.

 

Audrey shuddered suddenly and her eyes rolled back into her head. The woman's eyes widened and she stepped back, the cup falling out of her hands, the content flowing freely on the dirty floor.

 

She cursed quite loudly, looking between the broken glass and Audrey. She killed the distance between them and waved her hand at the young woman's face. When she didn't blink, she frowned.

 

“Do you remember anything about Kagome's life?” the woman asked.

 

“Kagome?” Audrey asked, looking rather confused. The three chained women gasped loudly.

 

“Do you remember who Kagome is?” the woman asked, smirking quite widely by now. Her mood had definitely improved.

 

“I… don't think so,” Audrey said wistfully, scrunching her nose and right then the three women realised she was lying. Her left eye was twitching and that only happened when she lied about something and was very nervous about it. Fortunately, the terrible witch didn't seem to realise it.

 

So this was a ruse to convince the dreadful twosome that the potion had been effective. Audrey was very slick and sly! This was probably their only chance of survival. Why hadn't they thought of it before?

 

“You are coming with me,” the woman announced, waving her hand and Audrey's chains suddenly snapped open. However, Audrey didn't dare try to escape; she knew the woman was very powerful and had magic on her side, whereas Audrey had nothing but sore limbs and a headache. And an awful taste in her mouth from the nauseating potion.

 

“Why?” Audrey asked indignantly.

 

“Do you think I could let you here where the others can corrupt your mind? You are clean now; you should come with me.”

 

Audrey played her part well, when she suddenly looked around and exclaimed, “Oh, Gods! Where am I? I demand an explanation! And why am I here with these three commoners?” she demanded to know. Now it was true, the other three indeed looked like commoners, if not like slaves.

 

The woman smiled brightly at Audrey, before grabbing her by the elbow and escorting her out of the room.

 

“I am afraid there has been a misunderstanding, Lady Audrey,” the three women heard the nasty witch say with a sugary voice, but they couldn't understand any more. Now all they had to do was prey the Caveman sent another round of potions so they could get out of here, too, and tell Kagome about this whole thing.

 

~*~@~*~f~*~

 

“That was odd,” Kagome commented on the way home.

 

“Did you see the way she acted after seeing the object, Lady Kagome?” Miroku inquired.

“Yes. It was… puzzling, to say the least,” she admitted.

 

When she arrived in front of her mansion, she saw an unfamiliar horse and frowned in confusion. Whose could it be? Was it a stray horse?

 

However, her question was answered when she stepped into the house. She immediately noticed Inuyasha staring back at her with his beautiful eyes. Her breath caught midway out of her throat; she couldn't do anything but gawk at him stupidly.

 

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A/N: Okay, I think you will enjoy the next chapter, InuKag lovers :) Expect some fluff to happen.