His new ward

Chapter 2

Kagome moaned and slowly moved her hand to her head.

Her head hadn't felt this bad after that time she and Sango found Kaede's stash of Saki. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up; she expected to see Inuyasha staring at her was slightly shocked to see a glamorous room with out a single hanyou hovering over her.

The room was huge. She went to get up from the bed and sighed when she saw the distance to the floor. If she ever wanted to get back on the bed she would need a ladder. She was interupted in her musings by a knock on the door.

"Come in" She watched warily as a female demon enter the room and bowed to her.

"My Lady, My Lord has requested that I bathe and dress you." She turned and disappeared through a door at the other end of the room.

"If you don't mind my asking-- what Lord do you mean?" Kagome crossed her fingers praying to Kami that the demoness wasn't talking about Sesshoumaru since he was the only Lord she knew, and then she remembered talking to him at their camp earlier.

Singa poked her head out of the door and saw the young girl sitting on the bed with her arms crossed across her chest and her fingers crossed on each hand. Humans are very strange. "By my Lord I mean Lord Sesshoumaru. He brought you and another human female, a fox kit and a neko youkai here earlier."

"Where is Sango, the other human, and what happened to the fox kit?"
Kagome turned around on her stomach and slid down the bed to the floor.

"Lord Sesshoumaru will explain everything in due time, My Lady." Singa came out of the room with a beautiful kimono draped over her arms and a pair of sandles in her hand.

"What is your name?" Kagome watched as the girl laid the objects on the bed.

"Singa, my Lady" She disappeared into another door and quickly returned.

"Well Singa, my name is Kagome." Kagome smiled at the girl as she came back into the room carring a tray with several jars on it.

"Very well, Lady Kagome. Now, tell me which scent you prefer." Singa picked up the first bottle and removed the top and lifted it up to Kagome.

"No Singa, just Kagome! No my lady stuff." Kagome shook her head no at the first bottle and jerked her head away from the second. The third bottle had her interest. It smelled lightly of flowers but it didn't over power a person. "I like that one."

"As you wish Kagome, now come we must bathe you now." Singa turned and led Kagome to the bathing chamber.

"Who do you mean by we?" As Kagome walked through the giant doorway she couldn't stop herself from asking the question that had been on her mind since she saw the size of the bed. "Is everthing around this place huge?"

"You will find that most everything around here is huge compared to human settlements. Since demons are much bigger than humans it stands to reason." She opened the overly large doors and escorted Kagome in. "This is the east wing. No male but the Lord is allowed in this wing."

Kagome stared in shock at the size of the hot springs. "You weren't kidding were you."

"I never kid." Singa helped Kagome out of her strange clothes and helped her into the springs. "It's not to hot for you is it?"

Kagome sunk down into the springs.

Oh it felt so good, "No it's just right."

Singa stepped back and with a clap of her hands several other demonesses entered the bathing chamber and climbed into the spring to help Kagome wash.

Kagome was in shock as the demonesses bathed her. One was working on her hair while another was washing her body. It made her uncomfortable to say the least.

Another was doing her feet and legs. "I can do this myself." She tried swatting her hands at the demonesses bathing her but they just ignored her.

Singa sighed and shook her head. "It would not do for a ward of Lord Sesshoumaru to bath herself. Now settle down and let the maids do their job before Lord Sesshoumaru decides to come and find out what the delay is for himself."

Kagome froze in fear at the mention of Lord Sesshoumaru. Then the ward part played back in her mind.

"What do you mean by ward of Lord Sesshoumaru?" She shouted.

"My Lord will be able to answer your questions, Kagome." She helped Kagome out of the spring and dried her off then placed a robe around her. "You will meet with him after you eat."

"I have to meet with Sesshomaru?" She exclaimed, then silently thought to herself, "By myself this can't be good."

Kagome was shocked. Before she knew what happened Singa had dried her and had the kimono wrapped around her. She was tying the obi as Kagome became aware of her surroundings again.

"You sit here your food is on the way." Singa guided the shocked girl to a table beside the window to the room. "Scrolls have been placed around all exits to this wing that prohibit your escape. Just thought I should warn you."

"Thank you, Singa." Kagome watched another servant enter her room this one carring a tray. Singa took it from her and placed it on the table in front of her. "With my Miko powers I might be able to break the scrolls."

Singa was not surprised that the Miko planned to try and escape. But she knew her lord would not let her. She waited till Kagome had finished before helping her up. The girl was obviously unused to kimono's. After wearing that outfit that she had destroyed earlier, it was no wonder. She should thank Lord Sesshomaru for taking her in and looking after her welfare, not try and escape from him. She led Kagome to a door at the end of the hall and opened it and shoved her into the room.

Kagome was shocked that Singa had actually shoved her into the room. She looked around and saw Sesshomaru sitting at a desk and across from him was Sango. A few female guards stood around the room. She listened as Sesshomaru talked to her friend.

"Do you now reside in the Miko Keade's village?" Sesshomaru asked Sango.

"Yes but only until I rebuild my village." Sango was visibly unhappy with the demon lord before her.

"Be that as it may, you live in the western lands now-- and you fall under my control. You will follow my rules until I find you a suitable mate." He nodded to the girl behind the Taijiya and waved to a seat beside the girl in front of him.

Kagome sat down and watched as a servant came and took an angry Sango's hand and led her out of the room. So now she was alone, but at least she got to see Sango for a second.

Sesshomaru watched the Taijiya leave the room then turned to the Miko. "Miko would you like to explain to me now why your grandfather can not meet me?"

"Not really no. That would not be my first choice." Kagome glared at the demon lord before her.

"Very well then I claim you now as my ward. You will remain here until I find you a suitable mate." He could feel her Miko powers rising with her temper.

He couldn't have her use her powers. He nodded to a healer behind the girl and watched as she was stuck with another dart.

"That should control her powers for the momment." She moved over to the Miko and placed a delicate chain around her neck. "And this will control her powers until you remove it my Lord."

Sesshoumaru leaned back and studdied the Miko and the new chain around her neck. "Are you sure that the chain will control her powers. She is a most powerful priestess not to mention one of the most unusual I have ever seen."

Ame nodded to Sesshomaru. "This chain was warded by an ancient Miko and an old priest. Though they were not happy to do such I gave them no choice but to do my bidding. If the Miko tries to use her powers the chain will absorb it. It will not harm her and it will protect the demons in this castle."

He nodded to the healer and looked back to the Miko. "Wake her."

Sesshoumaru waited till the Miko awoke again before he started speaking again. "Miko, since you can't control your powers, I will ensure that you do. You will have one week to rest before any suitors will arrive. At the end of the month I will decide if any of your suitors are worthy of you. If I deem it so then you shall be wed in the human tradition since you are human and if it is to a demon by demon tradition also. You may now return to your chambers." He nodded to a guard and she opened the door to allow Singa in to escort Kagome back to her room.

Kagome stood up and slammed her hands down on Sesshoumaru's desk. "You have no right to do this to Sango and I! Sango is in love with Miroku, the monk that travels with us, and I will not mate and or wed anyone you choose to pick for me. I am my own person and capable of picking my own mate/husband."

He stood up and leaned across his desk and actually glared at the Miko. "If the monk speaks of his suit I might deem him worthy of the slayer, but I make no guarantees. As for you being able to choose your own mate I must say you have done nicely so far. You pine for my baka brother, I have seen this myself and since he is already mated this tells me that you are unable to make your own choices. Unless you are prepared to be second mate to the hanyou and his dead bitch."

She fell back into her chair and tried to hold back her tears. "That's not true. He wouldn't do that and not tell us."

"He is mated, Miko. I smelled the undead bitch on him when we fought this morning. And do not think to question my words again. I may be many things but a liar is not one of them. Now retire back to your wing, I will summon you when you are needed.

All Kagome could do was bow her head lightly to him as Singa helped her up. She was in a daze as she was walked back to her room.