Chapter Ten – Of Ladies and Concubines [Part Two]
Kagome had always had the unfortunate habit of blurting out whatever came to mind without stopping to think that what she was going to say might not be the best choice. So, upon entering Lady Chiyoko's tea room and seeing Lord Sesshomaru seated beside his mother, the first thing out of her mouth was: "What is he doing here?" Immediately, she clapped her hands over her lips and wished she could suck the question out of their ears and back into her throat. "I-I'm sorry, my lord, my lady," she stammered in apology, eyes screwed shut in embarrassment and the deepest bow she'd ever done straining her back. "Sit down," Chiyoko commanded, the usual monotone of her voice layered with annoyance. Quickly, so as not to irritate the woman further, Kagome did as she was told, folding her hands in her lap and willing her fingers to stop trembling. 'You haven't seen the man in a week and three days, and that's the first thing you say? Brilliant, Kagome.' "Girl, I have not the time for your insufferable shyness," Chiyoko said, pulling Kagome out of her thoughts. "Serve my son and yourself tea so that I may take my leave." The words startled Kagome out of her mortification, and she looked up, feeling her eyes widen. "Where are you going?" A thin brow cocked, and Kagome pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and pinched her wrist, hoping that the sting would last long enough to remind her to keep her mouth shut. "If you must know," the demoness responded after a moment, "I have business to attend to overseas." Her fan, decorated with a smattering of cherry blossoms along its face, waved through the air in a lazy movement. "But that is neither here nor there, nor is it any of your concern. Serve the tea." Mentally sighing, Kagome nodded and reached for the decanter sitting in the middle of the table. She still remembered her very first lesson on how to properly serve tea, and feeling the phantom pain of a scalding burn on the back of her hand, she cleared her mind and calmed her nerves. 'I'm not going to mess up this time,' she thought, catching her breath in her throat and holding it there. 'Not in front of Lord Sesshomaru.' Her determination carried her through the pouring of the still-silent inuyoukai's tea, and it was not until she set the decanter safely back on its tray that she allowed the breath caught behind her tongue to pass silently through her lips. "You are improving," Chiyoko murmured as their eyes met, "but you have quite a bit more to learn, remember that." Before Kagome could respond, she turned to her son. "I shall return in one moon cycle. Have you a message for the man?" Sesshomaru inclined his head, and Kagome realized that he was looking at her, staring at her, even as he responded, "Tell him that this is his last chance to accept the offer." "As you wish." And then she was gone in a flurry of deep violet silk and silver hair. Kagome looked from the shoji screen to the inu still seated across from her and felt a sudden sense of awe skitter down her spine. He looked different than she remembered, more refined than she recalled. The white silk kimono he wore enhanced his pale features, sharpening the color of his facial markings to the point of stark contrast. His hair shone brilliantly even in the slowly growing sunlight coming through the window to their left, and she wondered if it was as soft as it looked. In the instant that the thought crossed her mind, she felt her face heat in embarrassment. Hoping he didn't notice, she cleared her throat and remembered the manners that long hours spent with Lady Chiyoko had imbued into her being. "Is the tea to your liking, my lord?" Long fingers closed around the tea cup in front of him, and he watched her with a blank expression over its rim as he lifted it to his lips. "It is acceptable," he responded, the cup finding its place on the table without a sound. Kagome nodded and looked down. 'Gods this is so embarrassing,' she thought. 'Why did she have to leave me here with him? She should have just told me that she wouldn't be teaching me today.' Resisting the urge to cross her arms over her chest and pout, Kagome pulled her bottom lip between her teeth instead, frustration curdling in her belly as the silence stretched, thinning her patience as it went. 'Oh come on Kagome! Just say something already!' "You look nice today, my lord." She heard the words, felt them vibrate in her throat and sweep over her tongue, but the rational side of her mind insisted that she couldn't have allowed herself to say them. She would never be so careless…right? A vindictive little voice whispered its denial in her ear, snidely reminding her that she had, after all, been just that careless upon walking into the room not ten minutes before. She stared, wide-eyed, at his face, and even as he lifted the tea cup to his lips again, the bored expression never wavered. For a suspended, brilliant moment, she thought that he was going to ignore her words—prayed that he would ignore them—and then he said, "Indeed," and that same hope turned into vicious embarrassment. "I—I mean…my lord, I—" "Silence, girl." She bit the inside of her cheek and looked away, only to glance up again when a nearly silent huff met her ears. Lord Sesshomaru was still watching her, an odd expression on his face. As she watched, it changed to something that bordered on outright amusement. She narrowed her eyes. "Are you laughing at me?" she asked, trying to remember if she'd done anything remotely humorous. A perfect silver brow inched up to hide in his bangs, and she suddenly felt as though he'd traced her thought and read her confusion like a scroll of unfurled parchment. "And if I am, miko?" Kagome frowned. "You shouldn't be," she answered, "I haven't done anything funny." "Hnn." He took a sip of his tea. "On the contrary, onna." "Oh?" "Yes." She resisted the very strong to cross her arms over her chest like a child, remembering now how utterly irritating the youkai was. "Pray tell, milord," she implored, keeping her voice calm. Something like a smirk quirked the corner of his mouth. "You are simply doing...that," he responded, reaching forward to take his cup into one hand and gesturing toward her with the other. She noticed the graceful swoop of a pair of maroon stripes on his wrist, but then the actual movement and not the skin it exposed registered to her mind. For a moment, Kagome could do nothing but stare at him. 'Did he just...?' She cleared her throat and forced the shock at his motion all the way down into her toes. "You just...gestured to all of me, didn't you?" she asked slowly, feeling as though she had missed some very important note. "Hnn." Instantly, the surprise at his action curdled into indignant anger. How dare he make it out as though there was something…wrong with her? She felt the distinct urge to open her mouth and tell him exactly what she thought of him and his infernal 'hnn', but the triumphant voice of her pride echoing in the back of her head stopped her. 'Don't do it, Kagome...not this time. He's doing it on purpose, remember? Don't you dare give him the satisfaction!' She cleared her throat. Opened her mouth. "Well, if it pleases my lord, shall I continue it?" And for one brief instant, surprise flitted through his gaze. Kagome smiled.
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"In a good mood tonight, little one?" Kagome looked up, and the sparkling blue of her gaze shimmered brighter in the moonlight. "I saw Lord Sesshomaru today," she responded, a lilt to her tone. Kotono felt one brow raise in question, and the pink blush that crossed the miko's cheeks made her chuckle. "And that makes you happy?" "Well, no—I mean, yes, but that's not the reason why—erm, well, that is to say..." She trailed off, and rather than tease her, Kotono waited. "I surprised him today," she said at last. "That's what I meant." Pausing on a dark wood bridge, she leaned against the railing and looked down at the water rushing beneath it. Kotono joined her, inhaling the calming scent of the pines that took root at the beginning of the kaiyu-shiki. Even from here, deep in the sprawling gardens, their soothing odor was strong in her nose, and she found herself glad that Kagome had asked to take a walk. "My lord is not easily surprised," she said, glancing at the miko from the corner of her eye. "What did you do?" Kagome grinned. "I didn't react the way he expected me to." "Oh?" A small laugh tinkled through the air, and in the minutes that followed, Kotono found a similar chuckle passing through her lips. The image of a shocked Lord Sesshomaru, no matter how brief the moment of surprise, was one she hadn't seen in quite some time, and to hear the miko describe it gave her a feeling of intense complacency that poured from her soul in warm waves. 'It seems things are going well, then,' she mused as they resumed their walk, the miko's previous amusement still dancing in her eyes. 'Or as well as they can, with her still learning.' They came to a body of water, the moonlight shimmering liquidly on its surface. Breathing her awe at the clear reflection of the rising moon on the lake's surface, Kagome walked to the bench just a few feet from the water's edge and settled delicately on its surface, straightening the bow of her obi. "Oh, it's beautiful!" Kotono sat beside her and looked around. "Indeed it is," she responded, seeing the area as the petite onna must have seen it and feeling its exquisite appearance reverberate in her chest. The paved path that led around the lake hugged its banks like an illicit lover on one side, while its other side was hedged by cherry blossom trees that sheltered the area, cutting it off from the rest of the strolling garden and giving it a secluded, peaceful feel. Though the trees were no longer in bloom, the fragrant wood gave off a sweet scent, the smell of sap and earth soothing Kotono's nerves. Water sloshed briefly, and Kotono followed the movement of a fish as it darted back down into the water, its indifference at seeing its visitors making her smile; it seemed that even the animals that belonged to her lord took after him. Her gaze slid from the ripples on the water's surface to the miko seated beside her, who gazed after the fish with a faraway look in her eyes. It was obvious that the woman hadn't actually been looking at the fish, but was lost in her own thoughts, distracted and mildly troubled if the slight downturn of her lips was of any indication. "What do you think of, Kagome?" Kagome jumped and turned wide blue eyes in her direction, confusion momentarily lighting her gaze. Realization soon followed, however, and she licked her lips, looking down to worry the edge of the large bow below her breasts. "I was just..." She nibbled her bottom lip. "I was thinking about...home." "Do you miss it?" Kotono asked gently, not wanting to break the fragile wall of apathy she could see in the miko's gaze. For a moment, though, she feared she'd said the wrong thing. Kagome stopped her nibbling, but instead of releasing the abused flesh of her lip, she simply clamped it between her teeth and held it so securely that Kotono could see the small red vessels just beneath the skin, completely at the mercy of her blunt white teeth. Her eyes grew large and swam with unshed tears, and as an immediate response, Kotono felt her muscles tense in preparation to gather the girl into her arms. However, despite the expression on her face, Kagome drew in a deep, shaky breath and composed herself. Her tongue swiped soothingly over her freed bottom lip, and she clenched her hands in her lap so tightly that her fingertips turned white with the pressure. "Yes," she answered simply. "I miss it very much." Kotono watched her. 'She is strong, that much is certain.' She cleared her throat. "If you would like, I can get you parchment and ink so that you may write to someone." The words brought a grateful smile to the miko's lips, and the melancholy that had consumed her fled with the breeze. "That would be very kind of you. "You say that as though I have been unkind to you, little one." Casting a hurt glance at her, she twisted her lips into a mock pout. "I sincerely hope you shall not be writing to beg that your dear Daisuke come and rescue you from the evil dragoness?" Kagome took the tease in stride, laughing lightly. "And if I shall?" she asked, pitching her voice in the same dramatic tone. Lifting her nose in haughty nonchalance, Kotono sniffed. "Then I shan't show you any other kindness," she responded, using the same royal tone that Lady Chiyoko often employed when speaking to those she believed lower than herself. Kagome burst into peals of laughter. "You s-sounded just like C-Chiyoko-sama!" she gasped out, laughing freely as Kotono chuckled at her merriment. "That was the goal," she answered, not bothering to keep the amusement out of her voice. Kagome wiped at her eyes and shook her head, but even as they watched the moon travel higher into the sky, small chuckles fell from her lips in sporadic bursts. "Silly little human," Kotono murmured after one such event many minutes later, smiling lightly at the sparkle in the human's eyes. "I'm sorry...I can't help it." "As evidenced by your inability to stop," Kotono said lightly. Kagome giggled again, and now it was Kotono's turn to shake her head. "Come now, little one. Would you rather laugh than have me teach you?" Almost instantly, Kagome sobered, staring at her with wide eyes. "But I thought you said that I would learn what I could when I would." Kotono shrugged. "You will, but I cannot simply expect you to learn with no guidance in the right direction, can I?" "Well, no...I suppose not." She paused for all of a moment, and then her eyes brightened in the moonlight. "What will you be teaching me, then?" Pleased at the young woman's eagerness to learn, Kotono cleared her throat and straightened her back. She noted with some amusement that Kagome did the same, and idly wondered if the human's enthusiasm would last. She was, after all, about to get very, very personal.
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"Have you ever pleasured yourself, little one?" Out of all the things Kotono could've asked, Kagome hadn't expected that. For a moment, her mind skidded to a halt and any excitement she'd felt from finally learning something from the regal, elegant lady died and floated in her veins at a sluggish crawl. "Wh-what?" Kotono cocked her head to one side, the fall of her thick hair spilling into her lap in moonlit chunks. "Have you?" "N-no, never," she managed to stammer, the shock of the question melding with the embarrassment of having to answer and rendering her nearly mute. "Why not, if I may ask?" Kagome shifted, a little uncomfortable, but remembering that this was the woman who sheltered and befriended her, she shoved the emotion away. "I…don't know. I just—I always thought it was…" "Wrong?" Kagome nodded, dropping her head to stare at her hands. "Were there times when you wanted to?" Kagome shrugged. "I was curious, because the village women would whisper about how they did it, but…" She shrugged again. Kotono hummed. "Have you ever been aroused?" Kagome swallowed, but the sudden constriction of her throat didn't lesson and she looked away from Kotono's piercing gaze, far too embarrassed to respond while looking the dragoness in the eye. "I-I don't know," she whispered, hoping that the woman had heard her even though she'd barely heard herself. 'Stupid, stupid girl! How I managed to go this long without even knowing what it's like to be—' But she couldn't even think the thought, and her innocence was suddenly a terrible weight, unbearably heavy over her shoulders. She jerked violently when Kotono touched her, and thought that perhaps the demoness was going to tell her that maybe she wasn't suited to being a concubine, but instead, the green eyes that met hers were gentle with understanding. "It's alright, little one. I think no less of you for what you do not know." Kagome nodded, and Kotono smiled softly, the sincerity in her gaze making her face achingly beautiful in the moonlight. "I will tell you what it feels like, how's that?" "Okay." Kotono allowed her hand to drop back into her lap, clawed fingers lacing together in a ladylike fashion. "There are different stages of arousal, and each one builds into the next, like the way a creek builds into a stream into a river and finally spills out into the ocean," she began gently, her voice pitched at an informative murmur. Feeling grateful for the analogy as well as the unimposing tone, Kagome nodded, picturing the different bodies of water. "The creek is the first stage. It is small and sometimes so quiet that you do not notice it." For a moment, she paused, and then continued. "Most of the time, it is a subtle quickening of the heart, a small rise in body temperature. Your cheeks may flush and your hands might tremble, as though you are angry or upset. As it rises, though, there are far more noticeable signs, just like the difference between a creek and a stream. "The stream is more constant. Whereas the creek may stop and start in different places, the stream flows steadily and without preamble. At this point, the beat of your heart will have doubled in speed, and there will be a warm blush all over your body. Your thoughts may begin to slide into many different directions at once, and with the scattered mind comes the need I told you about once before. Do you remember it?" "The need for a touch," Kagome responded with a nod, vividly recalling the short talk of gratification. "Correct. It is that need that feeds the stream until it grows into the river. By this point, all thought leaves you, and you are left with only sensations. The blood will roar in your ears but creep through your veins, hot and heavy like a kimono during the snows. Your skin will be sensitive to everything, every inch of your body as responsive as a spider's web to the lightest of touches. Your most secret place will swell and grow wet with desire, and…" She trailed off, lips parted, and a sigh passed through the plump pieces of flesh. "And then there is the ocean," she finished softly. "The ocean?" "Mhm." She paused, tongue swiping across her bottom lip. "It is…exquisite, to float amongst those waters; the highest form of pleasure there is, I think." Her words were slightly slurred with how little effort she took to form them, emerald eyes hazy with some sort of memory that Kagome suddenly wished she could possess. What sort of journey was this one, to go from creek to stream to river to ocean and end up with such a look on one's face? 'I want to look like that,' she thought, ignoring the distant mortification that flared to life in her belly at the shameless musing. After all, she was sure that if the manifestation of a remembered occurrence was that expression, then the act itself had to be something worthy of a dream. As the thought crossed her mind, Kotono physically pulled herself out of whatever had snared her mind, blinking numerous times and straightening out of the complacent slump she had rested into. "Was that a well enough explanation, little one?" Kagome nodded, licking her lips and feeling her cheeks heat in embarrassment. Kotono nodded, her gaze pleased. "Good. Now, is there a time when you can remember feeling like that, even a little?" Kagome worried her bottom lip. 'I know I haven't felt anything like the stream or the river…or the ocean…but…' When she looked up, Kotono was watching her expectantly, and she gave a tentative nod. "W-when Daisuke and I were younger…maybe fifteen summers or so, we'd scattered the livestock and run into the forest to get away from the punishment of herding them all up again." She smiled lightly at the mischievous memory, and then went on. "We thought we heard someone calling for us, so he pressed my back to a tree and stood very close to me, pressing his c-chest to m-mine. I think…I was…then." "What did it feel like?" Kotono asked after a moment. "It was…soft," she responded, unsure of how to explain the fluttering feeling that had erupted in her stomach back then. "Like nervousness, only…" "Deeper?" the dragoness offered. Kagome nodded. "Deeper." Kotono hummed. "But...how do I know the difference between attraction and arousal?" "Attraction is a light, refreshing thing," Kotono responded, looking out over the water. "Like the coolness of a breeze in the heat." She stared for a moment more, and then turned her sharp gaze to Kagome's face, clawed fingers pushing a few tendrils of deep violet hair behind a delicately pointed ear. "But arousal is headier, like the scent of sake on a warm night." Kagome nodded, remembering the deep thrum of awareness that had passed through her chest that day. "I haven't felt anything like that since," she whispered, somewhat ashamed. Was she destined to have only felt such a thing once, and from the nearness of a childhood friend at that? "No need to worry, little one," Kotono murmured, interrupting her thoughts. "You will feel it again when you are ready." Kagome sighed. "How can you be so sure?" She looked up, and the wicked gleam that found its way into Kotono's eyes nearly made her shiver in apprehension. "My lord will make sure of it," she responded quietly, and her voice was filled with such confidence that Kagome felt almost compelled to believe her. It wasn't until later, staring up at the ceiling in her room with her covers draped over her ankles and her sleeping yukata loosely tied, that she realized that the utter conviction in Kotono's voice hadn't been for reassurance. It hadn't been simply something to say, because Kotono could not simply say what she wanted. Kotono could not lie. She did shiver then, violently so, and she pulled her covers up to her chin and rolled over onto her side. "Dear gods…what have I gotten myself into?" There was no response in the quiet room, and Kagome went to sleep with something dangerously close to anticipation curled up in her belly.
Author's Note: Last chapter for tonight! Thanks for reading!
Also, I would like your opinion. I'm going to create a forum soon, and I have three possible name/motto combinations. They are:
1. Marigold Fields Forums - Where passionate creativity flourishes.
2. Ink Smudge Forums - Go ahead. Splash a little ink.
3. Write Joy Forums - Because this is what we do.
Please tell me which one is your favorite! Your contribution is greatly appreciated and highly valued!
~Aubrey
p.s. - Yes, the "You just gestured to all of me, didn't you?" line is purposefully reminiscent of How to Train Your Dragon. Awesome movie, awesome line, so I tweaked it. Of course, I don't own that little bit of wonderfulness either; I just thought it funny to use the premise.
