InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Not My Fairy Tale ❯ Sun, Moon, and Stars ( Chapter 3 )

Part Three

Sun, moon, and stars

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“Once upon a time, in a far, far away land, there was king and queen. The queen had a child, a pretty little daughter but the queen was sickly and died soon after her daughter was born. She was a vain woman and made the king promise he would not remarry a woman any less beautiful than she, but since she was the most gorgeous in all the lands, she was sure he'd never remarry.”

 

“She sounds like that witch queen from the snowy girl story.” Shippo offered his professional opinion, standing on the mountain created by Kagome's bent knees under her sleeping bag. His small claws dug into the slippery fabric to keep his balance, catching and pulling tiny threads out. Kagome just smiled and nodded.

 

“That's right, she's probably a lot like her but not to such an extreme.” She reached a hand to help the kitsune keep steady but it was quickly withdrawn just before he could grasp her fingers. She covered her mouth as she coughed a little. Shippo slid down her legs to land in her lap, big teal blue eyes staring up at her in concern. The kind-hearted girl used her other hand to gently pat his head.

 

“I'm fine, don't worry.” She glanced around the camp to see if anyone else was listening in on Shippo's story. No one was. It was early afternoon and thanks to the chill she'd caught the previous night they'd ended up spending all day in the same place. She'd been too dizzy to stand that morning let alone travel so Sango insisted they remain, Miroku agreed, and after some cajoling and shouting, InuYasha finally relented. She knew he was only keeping up appearances, she'd woken up several times during the night and early, early morning to find his haori cast over her and her guardian angel watching attentively over her. She knew he was worried for her, he just didn't want anyone else to see that.

 

“Well the king agreed but as the queen predicted, there was no one that equaled her beauty. Years passed and the king never married. One day, while watching his daughter at her sixteenth birthday ball, he saw that she had grown to be as beautiful if not more beautiful than her mother. He declared that he would marry his own daughter.” Kagome was interrupted by Shippo's `ewww' and a disgusted grimace from Sango. She gave an apologetic wince and continued. “But the princess was appalled by the idea, it was sick and wrong and everyone but the king knew it but there was no going against him. So the princess set to him a task that no one could accomplish. She asked that he give her three dresses, one as shining gold as the sun, one as glowing silver as the moon, and one that glistened like the diamond stars. She also asked for a cloak made from the fur of every animal in the kingdom.” Shippo gripped his tail, a look of dread on his open face.

 

“Don't worry, they only took a little snippet, there were thousands of animals, they could only take so much and make a cloak dainty enough for a princess.” She stroked his ginger hair and tugged his puffy ponytail. He grinned and settled once more. “It didn't take very long before the king had the dresses and cloak made by the best seamstresses but the moment the princess realized he had succeeded she packed up the gowns and the royal ring that marked her as a princess then threw on the fur cloak and ran a-” A fit of coughing cut her short and she turned aside waiting for it to pass. When it did, she took a swig of water from the bottle that had mysteriously appeared by her side since she had started her story. She glanced around but InuYasha was ignoring her lost in an argument with Miroku, and Sango was hanging her newly washed yukata between two stakes on the other side of the lunch fire.

 

Kagome took a careful breath, feeling a little warm and dizzy as she leaned back on her hand, suddenly wishing she was still braced against the tree she'd slept under last night. Instead, she motioned for Shippo to hop off her lap and she struggled to pull herself to her feet, much to the fox cub's dismay.

 

“Ka- Kagome, you shouldn't be up, InuYasha said you'll get more sick if you move-“ At the sound of his name, the moody hanyou was by her side, growling about stupid weak wenches.

 

Kagome took a deep, exhausted breath, and realized her head hurt too much to reply to the half-demon's insult. She wavered as she took a step forward, her sleeping bag dragging behind her.

 

“Hey! What the hell're you doin'?!” He demanded, catching her around the waist as she faltered. She blinked slowly and looked up at him, as if not entirely seeing him. The boy's amber eyes widened as he studied her pale features, her figure all but limp in his arms.

 

Her sorrel eyes focused on his and she smiled. “I just wanted to go back to the tree.” She said, pointing to where she had slept the night before.

 

“Feh, you shoulda asked then.” He scooped her up, sleeping bag and all and carried to the base of the specified tree. The silver-haired boy set her down and let her put her bed to rights, waiting by her side to make sure she didn't need anything else before scowling at her and the kitsune by her side.

 

“Quit bothering her, pup, let her sleep.” Shippo frowned up at the tall hanyou, leaping onto his back as the older boy turned to walk away and tugged on one of his furry ears.

 

“I'm not bothering her!” The young fox demon protested and hopped back down before InuYasha could bonk his head. He waved the water bottle Kagome had left behind, undeniable justification of his presence by her side.

 

“She's already asleep, baka, go play somewhere else.” Shippo's brows furrowed and he turned his surprised gaze to the girl. She was dead to the world, leaning against the tree trunk, her legs still bundled in her blankets, her open palm fallen across her lap, the other by her side.

 

When he turned back to the hanyou, he was walking away. Shippo pouted a moment then left the container in the miko's lap and trotted back to InuYasha's side. The next couple of hours, he hunted the hanyou's twitching ears, the rings on Miroku's staff, and Kirara when she was willing.