InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ I Will Follow You Into The Dark ❯ Life At the Castle ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Yep, checked yet again and have found that I do not own Inuyasha.

A/N: okay, slight change on the end of the last chapter because a comment my reviewer made…which is entirely a good thing. I really like having those helpful hints to help me develop my stories better. And now to my reviewers, my responses to your comments are at the end because some r really long! (I'm SO happy that I have more now! Please PLEASE keep reviewing!!!) Sorry I took so long to update!!! I had exams and my life is EXTREMELY hectic right now because of all the activities I'm in!!!

With that said…here's the chapter!

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Everything about the Atsugian castle was so sinister and cold that I felt even lonelier just looking at where I was. The walls were made of large gray slabs of rock, and large portraits of previous kings hung upon them, with large red curtains framing their outsides.

A long red carpet also stretched along the floor, upon which we were walking, and there were hardly any windows; there were one or two that let only little light shine into the very large hallway.

I could realize that we were coming to more of the servants' quarters, because everything became much less furnished, and the walls were becoming old and musty from the lack of cleaning. Since it was, after all, only the servant's quarters. We then came to a part of the hallway that was no longer made of rocks, but instead of loose dirt.

A knight was standing at an entranceway as we entered: the only light coming from lanterns hanging from the walls: and it was then that I saw the cages.

All the prisoners were either kept in barred chambers, or in steel cages that hung from the ceiling. I could hear the shrieks and cries coming from the prisoners being tortured that were nearby. But yet, Kouga still led me further inside, reminding me, “You were the one that wanted to see him.”

I kept my eyes lowered and tried to block out the noises. We reached the end of the small tunnel we had been traveling down to come to a dark chamber with a wooden door. I struggled to free from Kouga's grasp as I went ahead to peer through the metal bars that were part of the small opening with which I could look at him.

It was so dark that I couldn't see the prisoner, who I hoped was Inuyasha, and that he was still alive. “Inuyasha?” I called quietly. There was no answer, so I tried, “Inuyasha, it's me, Kagome.” The ache in my voice was apparent.

I wanted him to be there so much, to know that he hadn't been killed. But then I heard it, a soft cough followed by, “Kagome?” It was a choked whisper, and I could tell it took all of his strength to just mouth a noise. But the mere fact that he was alive made my heart rejoice.

I whirled upon Kouga and demanded, “I want these doors opened immediately, and I must see him.” “But, Princess Kagome-“ I could tell he thought I was being foolish again, but I cut him off saying, “As your future wife I demand it. I'll do anything.” The thoughts that must of crossed his head at that moment were probably wicked or perverted of some sort, because his expression became amused, and he almost immediately ordered the knight over who possessed the keys.

The door was opened quickly and I hurried inside. But I immediately regretted this, as the smell that then filled my nostrils was a mix of rotting flesh, urine, and uncleanly human beings. But I could finally see the outline of his body crumpled into a ball.

I rushed over to him and knelt down next to him, turning him over to look at his face. His shirt was off, I could see he had been whipped numerous times by the angry bleeding welts that I had seen on his back, and he could barely move. His silver hair lay like a matted rug upon his chest, moving up and down, as he breathed slowly. “Oh, Inuyasha.”

I was appalled by his wounds and had to bring a hand to my mouth to hold back a cry. “This is all my fault.” I whispered. I felt Inuyasha's hand come to rest upon my hair, and it fell rather heavily to rest there, as he tried to calm me.

I spun around on my knees and pointed at Inuyasha as I yelled at Kouga, “He can't even move!” But Kouga just looked at me with an indifferent expression, he didn't care. But why would I expect more? I turned back to look at Inuyasha, smiling a little as he had come to open his eyes.

I stroked his dirty face with my free hand as I whispered to him, “You look a little worse for wear.” It broke my heart to see him smile weakly, as he said, “I'm feeling better now that I know you're here, and that you're safe.”

“Oh, Inuyasha.” I brushed his lips lightly with my fingertips. I heard a cough in the background and turned to see Kouga staring down at me, with a look that could only mean that I was going to have to leave soon, not by my own free will.

I turned to look again at Inuyasha, knowing that I couldn't help him then. But I leaned down, placing both my hands on either side of his head to whisper in his ear, “I will save you, I will.” I voice was unsteady as I continued, “You wait for me, and I will be back to find you. Don't leave me.”

I left a lingering kiss upon the side of his head, one that Kouga could not see. But that kiss was a promise that I would keep with Inuyasha. It was almost evil to steal such a kiss, since neither of use had expressed our feelings to the other openly, but I knew now that I deeply cared for him.

As I lifted my head, Inuyasha's eyes were fully open, and I could tell he was up for upholding his end of the promise as well: to stay alive. And I knew he would, stubborn ass that I was coming to…love.

I rushed back to Kouga's side, not wanting to stare at Inuyasha any longer in the state he was in, because I knew if I did, I would never be able to leave him.

Kouga then led me silently away from the chambers, out of the servants' quarters, and back into the vast hallway. To change subjects I asked, “Where will you be taking me now?” He looked at me to answer, “It is time for you to see the rest of the family.”

He led me yet into another large hallway and into a spacious room with at least a 20-foot ceiling, and columns with which to hold it up. A large rectangular table was sitting in the middle of the room and I counted six people that were sitting down with a large feast prepared in front of them. One, I noticed, was my mother.

“Oh, mother!!! It is you!” My heart leapt up and I thought that it would break free of me if I did not go rushing to her.

Kouga released me, noticing my intent, and I ran into the open arms of my mother. The deluge of tears was released: I was so relieved to see that she was alive. It was a miracle that we could be together again, for I was sure that I had said my last goodbyes when I had left home. It was unfortunate that we would meet again under these very sad circumstances, but nevertheless, I was still glad to see her, as she was elated to see me.

I had barely wiped away my joyful tears when Kouga took me back, rather roughly from my mother's arms, and forcedly sat me in a chair next to him. I made no effort to hold back the hostile glare I shot him. He waved it off, and I was introduced yet again to King Naraku, Queen Kikyo, and Kouga's two siblings, Rin and Kichiro. All of them looked eerily different, like they were a many different puzzle pieces that didn't fit together to form a cohesive unit.

I wanted to be as evil as possible to them, but I found it hard when all they would do was offer my different types of food and asked politely how my stay had been going.

I was a bit thrown back by their courtesy, even if it was forced, so I couldn't help but feel awkward when King Naraku rose his glass and toasted, “To the combining of two countries.” The rest of his immediate family raised their glasses to join him, while my mother and I sat silently in our chairs, sending a worried expression to each other.

There had to be someway out of this nightmare, but I still had yet to think of a plan. As King Naraku continued by congratulating the new couple, a few things happened at once. First, Kouga turned to me to give a small smile, second, I felt myself wanting to hurl, and third I heard my mother gave a small gasp. And then she was on the floor.

My mother was taken into another chamber quite hurriedly. Everything occurred so quickly after that that I couldn't even remember what happened. For her to faint, they must have mistreated her somehow. I had noted that she did look somewhat underfed.

My thoughts were interrupted as Kouga whisked me away to my chamber, taking me away from the entire ruckus now going on in the castle. I heard whispers heading back that my mother had fainted from too much emotion upon seeing me. Others said she choked on a small piece of food. I hoped it was the first; at least she would recover from that. But I had no more time to think, for I was placed upon my bed by Kouga and he had gone to shut the door.

I had laid down on my stomach and my head crashed into the pillows at the head of the bed. I prayed that my mother would be all right. I had just seen my mother for the first time in about a week, the longest I'd ever been away from her, and now she was gone and had taken ill, from an unnamable something.

But my thoughts clouded over as I felt a hand grab mine and helped me stand up. I was facing his chest and his lips were at my ear, “You always have me, you know.” Kouga nipped at my earlobe and got even closer, breathing onto my neck. I pushed him away, but he came back again to wrap even more tightly around me.

I pit of fury raged in my stomach. There was no time for silly games like this! Especially the ones he wanted to play. I shivered in disgust.

I tried to pull away roughly, but his grip was firm around my waist. I stared angrily up at him. “Do you have any respect? Did you just happen to see what happened to my mother? And you think now is the best time to be doing this?” I spoke angrily as the words flowed from my mouth.

He didn't seem to get the point. He turned my face with his hand clasping my chin to look at him. “You said, `anything'.”

I shot back, “You are such a baka! What creature are you to be thinking things such as this?”

I spat in his face, full of anger and rejection. He would not take this though. Rejection, in fact, was the last thing he had on his mind. He wiped off his face but came closer and whispered, “You will have me, whether you like it or not.”

His lips were then on mine, kissing me in earnest, his tongue trying to force a collision with mine own. But I bit his tongue as hard as I could and I finally put my arms in the right position to push him off me with such a force that he fell on his back while his head collided with the wall, quite hard, I might add, to my satisfaction.

The look on his face as he arose was deadly: the words, `if looks could kill' flashed through my mind instantly, seeing as if that was the very first thing on his agenda at this point. “You will regret your actions princess.” He growled as he exited the room with a slam of the door. I was just grateful he left. I sat back down on the bed with a sigh and brushed away the goose bumps that had begun to form.

I don't think I could bear the man for another second, let alone the rest of my life. I needed to escape; to find Inuyasha and his brother and free them; and to save my mother.

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I woke again, and to my dismay, I will still in the same dreary room as I was when I had gone to bed. Maybe that was a good thing…considering it could have been Kouga's bed. Just thinking about the fact that I had agreed to marry him made my skin crawl, even if it was a blatant lie, but luckily for me, Kouga was not the smartest of men and could be easily persuaded that I did seek his hand in marriage.

I got out of bed and walked over to the window to open the curtains. When I did, it was still fairly dark outside, and no inklings of the sun could be seen yet. No wonder that snooty maid hasn't come to wake me up yet. I didn't even try going back to sleep because visions of my mother fainting kept coming back to me. She looked so ill and I felt helpless since I had no idea where she was and what was wrong with her, except for the assumption that they were practically starving her. At least she hadn't suffered a physical punishment as Inuyasha had.

I raised a hand to my mouth and willed away tears as my eyes closed. I could still see him so clearly, sprawled on the floor. What scared me most was that I had looked at Inuyasha as if he was an invincible being, which he very well seemed to be. Actually, that situation making me scared was an understatement…I was downright terrified. I had to act strong to appear as if what Kouga was showing me didn't faze me.

Little did Kouga know that he was doing all the right things to break down my one defense: to appear as if I was dealing with this horrible ordeal. Almost nothing fazed Inuyasha, and the fact that he was now lying helpless and wounded down in his cell was nothing short of heart wrenching.

I was deeply enraged that they had shown me Inuyasha just so that I would agree to marry Kouga. If only I hadn't let it slip that I knew Inuyasha and had labeled him as my protector. Then he may have been set free. And what had happened to Miroku and Shippo? Were the Atsugians hiding them somewhere as well, away from my sight? Why did everything have to rely on me?!

I sat down in a nearby armchair in order to gather my thoughts. There were too many people to care for at once. Oh Kami!!! And what had happened to Souta and Sango!!! How could I have forgotten them, and Mrs. Ayumi, my counselors back in Yamoto. As much as I disliked some of them, I had grown up with them, making them feel almost as if they were my family.

I had no concept of time as I sat in that chair for what seemed like hours until a maid suddenly came bustling into the room at top speed. Her brilliant red hair was a mess and her clothing was put on hastily I could tell. What had she been doing to be in such a rush? She went to the bed, obviously to wake me, but when she found I wasn't there, I laughed at the bewildered expression on her face. She then turned her gaze to me and blushed at the fact that I had been watching her the whole time.

She came to stand before me and curtsied, “Your ladyship. I am Ayame, your new chamber maid.”

I just nodded and turned my head out the window, plainly sending the message that I wished to ignore her. After some time she gave a short cough, “If I may, it is time I dress you, for Prince Kouga,” she blushed furiously when she said his name, which I noted. “He wishes for your presence with him in the dining hall.” Is that just me or did her expression just turn from showing me geniality to jealousy. But soon enough, Ayame was back to her happy-go-lucky personality and quickly stood me up and got me dressed.

I was very happy to note that Ayame was not as robust as Sango and couldn't tie the corset nearly as tight. But the sole fact that I was wearing a corset reminded me of my dear friend. Where is she now? I was quiet as Ayame dressed me in a midnight blue gown and tied my hair up on the back of my head.

“There you are, and now off you go.” She started pushing me out the door and I was about to turn and ask her how she thought I knew where was going, when I heard a most disturbing voice, “My, my, and how is my woman today?”

Both of us turned to the voice to the right of my doorway, and there was Kouga, leaning nonchalantly against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Oh, I'm gre-“ Ayame squeaked and stopped her sentence off immediately, making me very suspicious.

I stared at Ayame for a moment, trying to decipher what that meant and turned back to Kouga, who looked very tense and was now staring intently at Ayame. A sudden realization dawned on me, “Oh no, you don't mean to tell me-“ I was ready to go on a full yelling spree, finally uncovering the prince for who he was, when he cut me off by gripping my arm so tightly I was sure it would be bruised and whispered harshly, “Why don't we go to breakfast NOW.”

He then proceeded by drawing my to him and put his arm around my shoulder, gripping me in an iron vise that I had no hope of escaping. My arm was throbbing from where he had held me. We left Ayame back at my room, as I struggled to keep up with Kouga's inhuman pace as we made our way to the dining room.

As always, the whole family was present, except for my mother, which I was very depressed to discover. As I sat down in the chair Kouga had pulled out for me, Queen Kikyo asked me, “Sleepful night?” There was no life to her voice, which almost made her seem like a moving corpse. “Um, fine, thank you.” Conversation was scarce and too awkward, so I chose to stay quiet besides the times that either young Rin or Kichiro asked me innocent questions. I didn't even think they knew why I was in the castle.

They would ask things like, “Where are you from?” “How old are you?” “Do you like to draw?” So I ignored the other older company and focused on talking to them, which happened to be better conversation anyway. When I had finished my breakfast and the young sisters seemed done with the million questions, I waited for Kouga to get me again and escort me to our next destination. I would be compliant for now, but none of them knew of the plan formulating in my head.

There was no way I would stay in this castle for another day, especially after today's developments, and I had to save Inuyasha before he was wounded further by the Atsugian guards. There was no chance at the moment to save my mother, but Inuyasha I could get to because I had memorized where he was in relation to my room. Maybe I could convince Kouga to let me see him again today.

Kouga and I had been walking for a while, and then I looked up to see that we had gone outside and we were doing a tour of the outside of the castle. I was surprised to note that there was no turmoil outside of their castle: they had obviously defeated our soldiers since the last time I saw my home, it was in turmoil.

I checked the outside of the palace walls and noted where a small dungeon window was: the only one, and it happened to house Inuyasha. At least Kami favored me in one thing that would end up saving me and Inuyasha. Kouga shook me out of my reverie by pulling me under his arm again. We were out front of the castle, and I gasped as I noticed how close we actually were to my home land of Yamoto. Kouga sighed, “Someday, all of that will be ours.” I wanted to gag, for I knew very well I wasn't giving it over that easily. He made it sound as if I was a woman to be tossed around simply for her property.

I couldn't stay with him anymore, and I needed time to form my plan. “Kouga, I believe I must retire to my rooms for an afternoon nap. My travels have been exhausting and I have not yet recovered from so little rest.”

He looked like he wanted to protest, but thought better of it and said, “Of course, I'll take you back.”

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As soon as I was safely back in my room, I thanked Kami for getting away from that vile man and only wished I had something to throw up in. Having someone's tongue stuck down your throat in a disgusting kiss would want to make you vomit as well. I didn't HAVE to do it, but if I was to be left alone, I would have to have Kouga trusting that I was not against him.

“Eww, weklajefowej, yuck, yuck, yuck!!!” I shook out my hands. There was nothing to wash it out either. `Oh well,' I thought grimly.

Now about that plan…

I walked outside of my room and into the hallway when I saw no one was there and looked around to see if there were extra supplies I could score. As I winded down the hallways, making sure I knew where I was going so I could make it back to my room, I turned and saw a sight that I wish I never laid eyes on. Kouga and Ayame…kissing? And very intensely in fact: so much that I had to turn away.

I moved away quickly, wanting to get away as fast as possible. I walked down a separate hallway. At least now I know he really is a foul man, not like I couldn't have guessed that already. Ah!!! No wonder Ayame looked so disheveled this morning! So THAT's where she was…ack! Poor girl didn't even know what she was in for. Oh well, at least that solves my problem of keeping Kouga busy for the time being. Now to find the rest of the stuff I needed…

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A/N: Will Kagome get out??? Hmmm…

Again, review, review! Tell me how I can improve this story!

Until next time,

<3 AkaiiNeko

Superstitious: thank you so much for taking the time to review! I'll try to keep the story as enjoyable as possible!

Sexy101: thank you for your time to read my story AND review! I'm so glad you are liking it, your review was wonderful.

Princess Tiger Lily: thank you for the constructive comment, it gave me incentive to go back and change that little bit in the last chapter. Kagome's change in character is confusing, and I definitely did not explain those changes well enough. I hope I will come to explain them better later in this chapter. As for previous chapters, that was my mistake in not developing Kagome as a character. From now on I will make a conscious effort to keep Kagome's character in progressive mode instead of her going back and forth between a weak and strong character. And I'll definitely try to explain some of her emotions better if she seems to be getting out of character. Your review helps so much!

Minirowan: thanks for the review!!! I'm glad u like it so far. I'll try my best to give u as much of my writing as possible with each chapter.

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