InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen Rose Petals ❯ Star Gazing ( Chapter 4 )

 

Fallen Rose Petals

 

Star Gazing

 

Chapter 4

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and will not ever own Inuyasha.

 

 

 

"As you know," The Queen continued. "My daughter, Kagome, will be married by the end of the month, and you are all invited."

 

A low murmur went through the room at the Queen's words, giving Kagome an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Though most everyone in the room had already known, the previous announcement had yet to become official, and now that it had, the nervous feeling she'd been fighting all evening had come on her full force. Somehow, Kagome found the strength to walk onto the make shift stage and plaster on a fake smile.

 

The Queen went on, "She has yet to make a decision." A few sighs of relief filled the room. "We will inform you when she has." Her mother continued on, informing the crowd of their situation. She was careful to leave out certain parts and play up others. It was important to appear in control, especially when you weren't.

 

After the short speech was over, Kagome felt like her whole body was shaking with nerves. With a hasty bow, she left the stage and headed for her room. Never in her life had she felt so embarrassed. Her cheeks were flaming red. Covering them with her hands, she could feel the heat radiating off her face. When she had first been told of her fate, varying emotions had gone through her. She had been sad, angry, and nervous. She'd even felt a feeling of emptiness for a while, but it wasn't until she took the stage that she'd been hit with the strange emotion. Suddenly, under the gaze of all the people, she'd finally been confronted with it.

 

All the nobility of the lands, or at least all the noble bachelors, had been standing in her home, staring, almost gapping at her. Being a princess meant she was stared at often. She had grown used to the behavior of the citizens of Shikon. But in that room had been princes, even kings, all looking at her. And they all wanted her hand in marriage.

 

Kagome shuddered as she rounded a corner and took the stairs two at a time. She had a month. Only one more month of freedom. Soon she'd be waiting on some jerk with an over inflated ego instead of taking the slow walks through the forest she had become accustomed too. She would no longer live the life she wanted too. It was unfair, she wanted love, but instead she would become the princess in all those horror stories her mother had told her when she was younger. It had been an attempt by the Queen to guarantee her daughter's marriage before something like this happened, but neither of them had ever dreamed it would come so soon.

 

Still, she might get lucky. Though most of them had been obviously fake in their attentions, there were a few men she had truly believed would treat her kindly. Kouga, King of the Wolf Lands, just to the north had treated her with the utmost respect. She had truly felt like a lady dancing in his arms. There were also many political reasons to choose him. So many of her people died every year from petty fights that broke out along their borders. An alliance might lessen these fights, if not cease them completely.

 

Then there had been Hojo, the second son of the king of The Great Valley, a large country to the far north, which spread from one side of the continent to the other, and more. He had been such the gentleman, and Kagome knew he had been truly sincere. The poor boy didn't seem capable of lying.

 

There were many others of course, all nice to her, but it was hard to tell how long that would last. Most of the men, sadly, had been so obviously fake in their intentions. Kagome sighed. There had been Hiten and Manten, the infamous Thunder brothers who had fought over her like two siblings who didn't want to share their toys. There had been the kind, but obviously uninterested Nobunaga. Then there was Ryu, who had spent more time staring at the other men than at her. The list went on and on, but few were even standable.

 

Kagome entered her room, and immediately went to her balcony.

 

Then there was that one man, the strange man who her mind keep straying back to as she went over all the guests that had been there. He'd been so different from the others. He had been so...real. He hadn't wasted time with forced compliments or presenting her with small presents like the others had. Instead, he had just made her laugh. Of course he'd made her angry too, but that interested her more than anything. She wondered if he'd even known who she was. It was possible he'd simply been accompanying a brother or a cousin and had had no interest in her.

 

Kagome frowned. She remembered several other silvered haired inu youkai at the party. The Western Lands shared a border with Shikon, and being so populated with inu youkai, there had been many at the party. None, however, had had his ears. She closed her eyes and drew up an image of him standing in the moonlight beside her. He had certainly been a strange one. Hopefully, she would see him again.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Naraku paced back and forth through his barren quarters, anger pouring off of him in waves. Though Naraku was widely known for his cool demeanor, there was one thing that could set him off - being wrong. And he had been very wrong. What he thought would be an easy task, had just proved itself harder than he'd ever imagined. The princess's apparent hatred for him had somehow failed to be brought to his attention. The worst part was that he had no one to blame.

 

"Naraku."

 

Clinching his fists, Naraku continued pacing the room, his steps growing faster with increased rage. He'd tried so hard to charm her, and she hadn't even given him a chance. She couldn't possibly know his true self, so why did she despise him so?

 

Kagura sighed loudly. "LORD Naraku?"

 

"What the hell do you want at this ungodly hour?" he screamed.

 

The wind youkai merely raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "If you must be angry, do so more quietly, you'll wake up the whole castle at the rate your going."

 

Naraku was in front of her in a flash. "How dare you speak to me that way."

 

"If you don't like it, kill me," Kagura challenged. She knew he would do no such thing. Her power was too much for him to waste, but she almost wished he would. Anything to be free of him.

 

"I wouldn't waste my time," he countered.

 

Pouting slightly, Kagura moved to an upturned chair, righting it before sitting down. "What bothers you?"

 

"It's no business of yours."

 

"It's about the girl, right?"

 

Naraku turned ice-cold eyes in her direction.

 

"I'm insulted," Kagura exclaimed. "Don't you think I'd know a thing or two about women that could help? I am, after all, one of them."

 

Someone knocked timidly at the doorway before cautiously coming towards Naraku.

 

"Naraku, Sir, I brought—"

 

The servant was dead before he even entered the room. Naraku's hand outstretched and broke his fragile neck all in one motion. Killing a human wasn't out of character for Naraku. He went around stepping on the inferior race like ants. It was the fact that he'd used his own hand to kill the man that scared Kagura. The action only meant one thing. Naraku was beyond anger, beyond fury, beyond rage.

 

Quickly, Kagura exited the hellish demon's quarters. She may entertain the idea of death, but when faced with it, she ran like every other coward.

 

Naraku laughed as she left, tripping over the body of the servant. Women were so easily scared. Maybe he could scare Kagome. He glanced around the room. It would have to be his last option; Kagome didn't seem the type to scare easily.

 

Straining for a plan, Naraku was beginning to regret scaring off Kagura. She may have actually been able to help. He pulled back his heavy curtains and gazed out upon the moon lit gardens. Suddenly, he had an idea.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

"Sir?"

 

Inuyasha responded by throwing his half full glass towards the former messenger, a low warning growl sounding from deep inside of him. The messenger dodged the shattering glass and shot a hard glare towards the hanyou.

 

"Touchy."

 

Inuyasha glared back at the disobedient messenger. Though he had improved considerably since they'd kidnapped him from the service of King Sesshoumaru, he still held a deep hatred towards his new master.

 

"Go jump off a cliff."

 

"Gladly," the messenger shouted over his shoulders as he quickly exited the room.

 

"Bastard," Inuyasha mumbled. With a deep frown on his face, he brang his bare feet up to the edges of his chair, laying his head on one knee, and wrapping his arms around his legs.

 

"In full pout mode, I see."

 

"Fuck you, Miroku."

 

"I do hope you didn't speak like that to the princess," Miroku stated, grabbing a stray apple from the table.

 

A mental image from earlier that night of a very pissed Kagome came to him. Her fists were clenched tightly at her side, jaw firmly shut, and she was glaring at him like he'd just killed her grandmother. And what had he done? - he'd called her a bitch. "Feh, of course I didn't."

 

"Good."

 

Of course, she'd just insulted him right back. She sure didn't act like a princess. Maybe she wasn't the princess. No, she had to be; he'd seen her up on the stage, with that little runt from before. Still, she was a lot different from what he'd expected.

 

"Right now," Miroku continued, oblivious to Inuyasha silent debate. "We need all the help we can get."

 

Inuyasha watched as Miroku began tossing the apple into the air. The two companions fell into silence as they were engulfed by their own thoughts. Inuyasha sighed as the princess's face invaded his mind again. There seemed to be no escaping her tonight. He'd only known her for a handful of hours, and already she was taking up all his thoughts.

 

The laconic hanyou glanced towards the window. Outside, the first quarter moon lit the abandoned roads. Though he would never admit it, the princess had looked absolutely beautiful standing outside on the balcony with the soft moonlight pouring over her soft features. He mentally traced over the constellations in the sky as he tried and failed to erase her face from his thoughts.

 

For a moment, he wondered if he was falling in love. But the moment was soon forgotten with a snort and a quick shake of his head. Inuyasha, Prince and heir to the throne of the Western Lands, did not fall in love. Love was for people who had nothing better in their lives.

 

"Oi! Monk!"

 

"Huh?" The airborne apple hit Miroku on the head as he turned to the interrupting hanyou.

 

"Feh. We're leaving."

 

"What? We can't leave, you have to convince the princess too—"

 

"I said, we're leaving." Inuyasha didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of marrying the princess and he knew it. He wasn't one to stick around where he wasn't wanted. There were plenty of other men would were willingly to swallow their pride for a chance at commanding the Shikon army, but he wasn't one of them, no matter how much he wanted it.

 

Besides, the strange emotions he was feeling were beginning to scare him.

 

Miroku tossed the uneaten apple from hand to hand, "It's not like we really have anything better to do."

 

The prince opened his mouth to retort, but could think of nothing. The monk was right in a way. He did have better things to do than suck up to the princess, like poke needles in his eyes, for instance, but he had no better way to defeat Sesshoumaru.

 

"Just give it a few more days. It couldn't hurt."

 

Inuyasha seemed to think the comment over. He lifted his head from its place on his knee and looked out towards the window again. Outside, the stars glowed brilliantly. He remembered standing by Kagome, looking out over the balcony. He'd felt so comfortable just being near her. Surely, he'd messed up all his chances, but what would it hurt to try?

 

"Feh," the hanyou grunted.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Above her, the stars shone in all their glory, but she paid them no heed as she walked on towards her destination. For more than a week she'd been traveling, giving herself little rest in between the long walks, only enough to take care of the bothersome necessities of eating, drinking, and the occasional nap.

 

Behind her, a small child followed, armed with herbs of all kinds. She struggled with the load, awkward as it was, but the woman ahead of her paid her no attention. She kept her face forward, and, no matter what challenge they meet, continue onward. She was a woman on a mission, and nothing stopped her, defiantly not a whining child, so the small girl keep her mouth shut. After several failed attempts, she'd found that complaining proved useless.

 

"We're close."

 

The child blinked, surprised by the woman's voice. She rarely talked. Only taking the time to form words when it was absolutely essential.

 

"We shall arrive by morning."

 

Nodding, the child ran up to the woman's side, peering over the large hilltop at the walk that lay ahead. From the looks of the stars, morning would not come soon enough. It would still be four or five hours of laborious hiking before they arrived.

 

"Miss, could we rest for a few moments?" the child asked, praying she would not again be punished for her question. Last time, they lady had turned upon her with a look of pure evil, causing her pain by merely staring. The young girl had thought it to be a trick of the mind when the woman looked ahead again and continued on walking, but soon found a rather nasty looking burn mark on her left shoulder. She shuddered at the memory, but her feet brang her more pain at the moment.

 

"Very well," the woman spoke, startling the young child.

 

The woman graciously sat down on a nearby fallen log, while the child plopped unceremoniously on the ground and began to massage her aching feet. They were still covered in dirt from the journey, but that fact didn't bother the child much. The woman, however, looked disgustedly at the child's feet.

 

"There's a creek a little ways to the west. Wash. I shall rest here until you're done."

 

The child nodded graciously and ran towards the water, stripping off her torn dress as she went. She jumped into the low water, and splashed around with her feet, before lying down and letting the creek wash over her. The cool water felt so good on her sore muscles. Laying down, looking up at the sky, she was glad, for the very first time, that she was traveling to the capital of Shikon.