In His Arms

All previous disclaimers apply.

“Kaida! Kaida, wake up!”

Kaida, the most sexually experienced and knowledgeable of the Lord Sesshomaru’s concubines, was jerked rudely from her sleep by the voice of one of the twins. Even now, so many years after meeting them, she could never tell one from the other just by their voices. Most of the time she couldn’t tell one from the other even if she saw them. She wondered idly, before opening her eyes to look at who was bothering her so early in the day, if half the time the twins even knew which they were. Kaida growled from deep in her throat, a warning to whomever had come to wake her that if she continued to shake her she would have a scar that would give them all an easy way to tell her from her twin sister.

“Kaida, please, wake up! It’s Kagome!”

At the mention of her newest little sister’s name Kaida opened her eyes an sat up in one fluid movement that looked almost rehearsed. It was a useful skill she had learned in her childhood, how to come awake in an instant and be prepared for whatever faced you, be it farm work or battle. Ah, it was Akina kneeling on the floor next to her. The twin in front of her was the gentler of the two and often reflected her personality with pastel colored clothing. At the moment she was in a pale blue sleeping kimono, her golden hair was loose and flowing, she had not yet put any cosmetics on her face, and her eyes were wide and terrified.

“What is it, sister love?” Kaida questioned quickly, standing and tying her own unruly fire-red hair back. She took Akina’s elbow to help her up, “What is wrong with our sister?”

Akina, always the most emotional and sensitive of all of them, gripped Kaida’s kimono in her filed claws and looked her in the eye even as her own overflowed, “He made a liar out of all of us, Kaida.”

“What are you talking about, Akina? Who made a liar out of all of us?”

“Lord Sesshomaru! I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen her for myself. He hurt her, Kaida! She can barely move. She’s weak as a kitten, can’t even lift her head to sip broth. Miyuki went to her late last night when she was sure the lord had done with her and found her in immense pain. She summoned Hoshiko and they sat with her the rest of the night. This morning I walked past the room and they called out for me to get you. You may have salves for a night of particularly rough lovemaking. They think it is perhaps the best thing for her. He . . . he didn’t pleasure her enough to ease the way for himself to enter her, Kaida. Why would he do something like that? He would never be so careless with any of us.”

“I don’t know why he would do something like that, sister love, but we must not dwell on it now. I am going to her. Wake the others. She will need all the encouragement we can give her now. And bring Mistress Rin. Sometimes there is more that a child can do than a thousand women put together.”

Kaida wasted no time after Akina left. She didn’t change, she didn’t do anything to her hair and face. Kagome had quickly become their little love. They all cared for her deeply and could not stand to see her hurting in any way. So, her vanity would always come second when it was placed next to the need and comfort of the little miko who had become their sister in every way. She gathered her soothing, numbing lotions quickly and was at the other end of the castle in Kagome’s rooms as quickly as she could. When she got there, Kagome was sitting up, using Hiroko as a support for her back. Hoshiko was offering her broth slowly, spoonful by spoonful while Miyuki wiped a damp cloth over her forehead, her neck, and her upper chest. She was sure the others would not be far behind.

“Hello, my love,” Kaida sat next to Kagome and smiled. Kagome tried to return the smile, but it did not reach to her exhausted eyes, “How are you feeling?”

“Sore,” Kagome rasped as Miyuki stood and left the room quietly, leaving the other concubines to take care of the little miko as she went to fetch Rin, “And weak. But, there is no fever. I will heal. I wish you all wouldn’t make such a fuss over me.”

“We like to make the fuss, little sister,” Hiroko assured her.

“I have some creams here that will aid in your comfort, little sister, but I need your permission to apply them.”

“Please,” the word was spoken so softly Kaida almost didn’t hear it, but it spoke to her the way nothing else could just how much pain Kagome was in. She knelt between Kagome’s legs and did her work quickly and efficiently so that her little sister would feel nothing but relief as the soothing balms began to take effect.

“Oh, thank you,” Kagome murmured, “Thank you so much.”

“It was nothing, sister love,” Kaida smiled gently and touched a finger to the lines created by pain and stress on Kagome’s forehead, pleased when they smoothed under her touch and she began to relax against Hiroko.

“Oh, darling!” They didn’t doubt that the whole palace knew when Cho entered the room with Akina and they both knelt next to Kagome, “Darling, I’m so sorry. I never thought the lord would . . . He’s always been so gentle with me . . . with all of us . . . I never thought . . .”

“Cho,” Kagome whispered, touching Cho’s cheek, “It was no one’s fault. The lord will treat me as he sees fit. I am a miko. I cannot expect the same amount of consideration as he gives to you all.”

“You are his favored,” Etsu said quietly from the doorway, “As such you have a right to demand your pleasure from him just as much as he demands his pleasure from you. You must learn this little sister. You are not a common whore, you are a concubine to a great taiyokai. There is honor and respect in such a position. And although, I have great respect for Lord Sesshomaru I cannot accept his actions toward you last night. They were positively barbaric.”

“We know, sister, that you would have done nothing to earn his wrath,” Aiko stepped into the room beside Etsu and they both knelt gracefully on the floor almost as if they had choreographed it, “Jealousy can be a very powerful motivator and and a very powerful releaser of inhibitions.”

“Jealousy?” Kagome questioned quietly, beginning to get drowsy after drinking the fruit juice spiked with painkillers and sleeping aid that Hoshiko had given her. They all smiled at her and looked to Aiko to explain in her own quiet way exactly what she meant.

“Sesshomaru had always been jealous of Inuyasha. His freedom, his devil-may-care attitude, the love their father had for such a creature, for his mother, the love and devotion he saw that you had for him. Inuyasha had everything he had ever wanted, but had never been able to have due to his restrictions as the taiyokai, a title their father had left to him with his death. It is not hate that keeps Lord Sesshomaru so angry with Inuyasha. It is jealousy. It is this crippling jealousy that led to Lord Sesshomaru’s rejection of the humans that his father so loved. But, seeing Mistress Rin’s eyes, so like yours, he was unable to do anything but take her in. It is also the reason why he lost control with you last night. He could not stand that his bastard half brother had the one he wanted before he was able to take her. Before he was even able to admit to himself that he wanted to take her. His bastard half brother's miko bitch.”

“You . . . must be insane,” Kagome murmured around a yawn, not seeing in any of their eyes the dawning of understanding. They had finally realized that what Aiko had known all along. All of the actions their lord had taken in recent years, they all finally seemed to make sense where they hadn’t before. Because of this, they were able to understand, if not quite forgive what he had done to their little love the night before.

“No, darling, she’s not insane,” Hoshiko helped Hiroko lay Kagome down, “She’s absolutely right. And I’m sure now that you realize that you’ll be able to understand him just a little bit more. Unfortunately, you won’t remember this when you wake, so you’ll have to discover it slowly on your own, with Lord Sesshomaru.”

“You won’t remind me?”

“Of course not, darling,” Cho giggled behind her hand, her good spirits restored by the realization they had all just come to, “We’re your friends. We’ll help you as much as we can, but we won’t do everything for you. You have to figure some things out for yourself. And so does the lord.”

“You’ll figure it out first, Kagome,” Miyuki said as she walked in the room, “Lord Sesshomaru will be more stubborn. But, we all believe in you. My self, the other ladies, my husband, and . . . your child.”

“Kagome-lady,” Rin ran right to Kagome and laid down next to her, “Are you hurt very bad?”

“Oh, no, darling,” Kagome stroked Rin’s black hair gently, barely able to keep her eyes open, “I’m just very tired. Will you take a nap with me?”

“Of course, Kagome-lady,” Rin snuggled down next to her and began methodically stroking her arm, “I won’t leave you until you feel better.”

The ladies all stood quietly, leaving their lady and the young mistress of the castle alone to sleep. When Hoshiko turned around after closing the door, ready to ask the others why they hadn’t moved, she froze with the rest of them to see Lord Sesshomaru standing in front of them, all blazing glory and superiority in his finest clothes. He glared at them all disapprovingly and they lowered their eyes respectfully and bowed low.

“The Lady is unable to see you today,” Kaida murmured, “She needs rest and the time to heal from your ‘attentions’ last evening.”

“I will see The Lady if I see fit. You will remove yourselves from the doorway now,” Sesshomaru glared at them and used a tone of voice that had made strong men tremble. His ladies and Miyuki did not even flinch. Nor did they move even a single inch.

“You dare disobey our lord?” Leiko stormed up to them and drew her arm back to strike the closest to her, the smallest of them, Etsu. She let her hand fly, and gasped when Lord Sesshomaru reached her before she could strike, grabbing her roughly by the wrist.

“That will be quite enough out of you, Leiko,” Sesshomaru pushed her roughly to the ground, “You have forgotten your place. You come upon me in meeting with my generals, you try to strike at the others, you actually thought you could strike the favored and stay. I have had enough of you, Leiko. Leave my palace now. Go back to your village in shame. Pray that they will care for you. You no longer have a place here."

“My lord,” Leiko fell to her knees in front of him, grabbing onto the heavily dyed silk of his abundant clothing, “Please . . .”

“You have received numerous chances, Leiko. Leave my sight. You are disgraced. Do not dishonor yourself further.”

“Of course, my lord,” Leiko growled from deep in her throat, her eyes burning with hate as she glared at them all in turn. They all smilply looked back. Years ago, they might have felt sorry for her. They might have even begged Lord Sesshomaru to keep her on as a servant in the palace. But, since she had struck Kagome, none of them could even think of a good word to say about her. There was no remorse felt as she looked pleadingly at Lord Sesshomaru one more time and, when he didn't even look at her, turn on her heel, “As you wish.”

No one said a word as she drew herself up straight and tall and stalked down the hall. When she was finally out of their sight Sesshomaru turned his attention back to the ladies blocking his way into Kagome’s rooms. They carefully masked their pleased smiles and cast their eyes downward once more.

“You honestly refuse to let me pass? You refuse me access to the favored?”

“For the time being,” Kaida murmured and they all gave a small sound of agreement.

Then, Sesshomaru did something that they did not expect. He smiled. And he chuckled, “You have become quite protective of the little miko, my ladies. Very well. I will not approach her until she has your seal of approval on her health.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Miyuki straightened as Sesshomaru began to swoop down the hall just as grandly as the lord he was.

“What just happened here?” Akina asked quietly.

“I’m not sure,” Miyuki turned to all of them and smiled, “But, I do believe, ladies, that it is a step in the right direction.”