Kiss Me or Kill Me by EternalLove
The Assassin
Kiss me or Kill Me
Chapter 1: The Assassin
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She faltered, her fingers slipping on the waxed strings and a sharp sound slit the trailing music that had smoothly danced up to the ceiling. The string stood curled in the air, an unwanted flaw in the perfection of her reality. Nevertheless, a rhythmic wave of applause filled the air and with a flawless bow she swiftly exited the room, leaving behind her humiliation. Silently, her personal maid appeared and walked alongside her mistress, looking at the corner of her eyes to gauge the expression on the princess's face. It was stoic and betrayed nothing, but years of practice had taught her to read through a court mask of indifference.
Hesitantly, the maid tried to give a smile of assurance but the smile went unseen as the princess turned quickly around a corner, her skirts flaring behind in warning. The maid gave a small nod of understanding and whirled around the other direction to follow the orders that had been wordlessly given. Leaving her maid, the princess continued to stalk down the hallway and outside to the stables. Without a care to the expensive fabric of her clothes, she hopped on to a horse and sprinted outside the stable without a saddle. Ten miles later she ceased her ragged galloping and jumped off the horse. After carefully looking around, she took a deep breath and readied herself for the oncoming storm that was ready to erupt.
"AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
She screamed until her lungs were ready to burst, her arms tight at the sides. She quickly sucked in oxygen and flopped to the ground, flinging her arms and legs out and peered up at the fading blue sky. The embarrassment her parents must have had! She knew she was in for a lecture once she returned home and it would be the same redundant words. All the nobles must have been sniggering amongst themselves after she had quickly excused herself. It was the most crucial day of the year and of course, what important day couldn't be complete with her somehow ruining a special moment in it? She flung an arm over her face to block out the warm sun and gave a loud groan. That sharp sound had echoed everywhere in the immense room and nobody could have missed the snap of the wire being broken. Broken wires were a bad omen...
"Argh!!" She said out loud and was ready to vent another torrent of screams when a slight rumbling caught her attention. She could feel the ground shaking harder and harder and now her ears could pick up a crashing sound in the distance. Was it her father's soldiers? Did they already catch her? She quickly stood up and faced the direction of the sound, readying herself for the no nonsense captain of the royal guard. A fiery blur shot into the clearing of trees and stopped immediately in front of her. A man had suddenly appeared and had his back to her, his head moving all around the clearing. His shoulders were tense and she looked down at his hands to see....claws?
"A-anoo..." She said timidly as he slowly relaxed his guard. He had the oddest features she had ever seen. Long silver locks tumbled down in disarray with a sporadic leaf hanging from several strands. He had dressed in all red, an aggressive color that quickly caught the eye. But he had turned his face away from her and she couldn't see who he was.
"Are you hurt?" He said gruffly, his voice sounding like rough velvet.
"N-no, why would I be?" She asked cautiously as she backed away from the stranger. He didn't have any weapons, but he had those odd claws on his hands and he could be some dangerous criminal carrying out revenge against the royal family. She took another step back, this time in fear. Was he an assassin perhaps? "Um, I have to get back now-"She whistled for her horse, which good-naturedly trotted over. She smoothly vaulted onto the horse's back and kicked its sides. "Bye!"
She spurred her horse into a sprint and looked back after a few seconds. She gave a scream when she saw him sitting on the horse's rump with a bored expression on his face. Without even thinking she shoved him off her horse and kicked harder at her horse's side. Sensing her agitation, the horse ran faster, skimming the ground underneath in a dash of desperation. She looked back again to see a cloud of dust and the man sprawled on the ground. She put a hand on her chest to slow her speeding heartbeat and gave a sigh of relief as she turned to face the front once more. She had to hurry and warn her parents of an assassin on the castle grounds.
The castle soon came in view and she jumped off the horse before it came to stop, hiking up her skirts and ran to her parent's quarters. They would be taking tea and getting dressed for the banquet. The guards spotted her down the hall and opened the doors for her. With a wave of gratitude she disappeared into the room and the doors closed shut behind her. With anticipation, the guards perked up their ears to listen to another bellowed lecture from the king to his rambunctious daughter.
"Father! Mother! There's an assassin on the castle grounds!" She yelled as she stepped into the tearoom. She froze in her steps to see the red clothed assassin from the forest. He was holding a bag of ice against his head, his clothes dusty and torn. Her parents both had cups of tea at their lips and had frozen in their movements as well as they viewed their daughter's disheveled appearance. The man had replaced his bored expression from before with one of guarded annoyance.
"WHAT have you been doing Kagome? Why is your hair so messy? And why is your dress smudged with dirt and grass? Didn't we just send you to your room to get dressed for the banquet? Have you been playing in the mud again?" Her father demanded. Her mother placed an arm on her husband's arm but the king ignored her as his face grew red with anger. "And I haven't even started on your performance earlier!"
"I swear, I didn't make the string break on purpose!" She argued as a servant appeared with another chair. Her mother motioned for her to sit down and she sat with a plop, crossing her arms against her chest and slouching in her seat.
"I'm talking about your treatment of the imperial prince Inuyasha! But I'll be discussing with YOU later about your musical performance." The king growled as he took a quick sip of his tea. "But we lack of time for me to properly punish you, so we will continue this discussion in a more convenient hour. Go to your room and get dressed!" He bellowed as his wife tried to calm him down.
"Fine!" She said as she gave a stiff bow and turned around to go to her rooms.
"Fine!" Her father replied just before the doors slammed shut. The guards stepped back into their positions and pretended to stand attentively.
"What do you think?" She asked the guards as she paced back and forth before the gold enameled doors. One of them rubbed his chin while the other scratched his head.
"Taking into consideration of the volume of his voice and the level of anger...I'd say hide out and play the good girl for a week or two. Or take the usual punishment he gives out." Said the guard on the right.
"No, I don't think a week or two is necessary, remember last month? When she played that joke on the foreign ambassador? It took two weeks of good behavior that time. I'd say an estimate of four days, five at the most. Or, there is the usual punishment."
Both nodded their heads at the last suggestion and she muttered a thanks before walking off to her room. She was putting a hand to open her door when it opened by itself and she stood face to face with herself in the rich satin of tonight's banquet. With a smile, her twin opened the door wider to let the princess in.
"I had a feeling you were coming soon and waited a bit longer before meeting the king and queen." Her maid said while Kagome stripped off her dirty clothes and hopped into the bathing room. There was a loud splash as the princess stepped into the tub and promptly began to scrub her skin with the perfumed soaps set out for her.
"What would I do without you Kikyo?" Kagome called out as she began to put some soap into her hair.
"Well, that's what I'm here for, am I not?" The maid slowly pulled off her elbow length gloves and placed them neatly on the bed. After the jewels and the dress had been taken off, Kikyo slipped on her usual uniform and folded up her sleeves to help the princess bathe.
"My father was being his usual belligerent self again." Kagome pronounced as Kikyo began drying her hair. "And was entertaining an assassin, but of course he completely ignored me, again!"
"An assassin?" Kikyo asked curiously as she began to twist Kagome's hair into an stylish bun. Jeweled clasps held stray hairs in place and a fragrant rose was placed off on the side.
"Well...I thought he was an assassin. He had sharp looking claws on his hands and he was able to get on my horse without me knowing!" Kagome stated as she put on her dress. "No normal person can do that."
Surveying herself in the mirror, Kagome gave a snort at her elegant figure. She was raising a hand to take off a few of the clasps but her maid gently slapped her hand away.
"Nuh uh, you're keeping your bangs out of your face tonight. Your parents have decided that you're at the age to start receiving suitors and thinking of getting married."
Wisely, Kikyo covered her ears to wear off the intensity of Kagome's yell.
"WHAT?!!!!!"
Kagome was getting ready to open the doors and head for her parent's room when her maid held her back. "Kagome-hime, please wait till your father's temper wears off. You know it will only speed the marriage up if you anger him even more."
The princess slumped her shoulders, defeated in the logic of her servant. Without a word, she sullenly walked out to the banquet hall. This day was not boding well.
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She met her parents at the top of the stairs and gritted her teeth as she gave the customary bow. To her extreme dislike, the assassin was with them, this time in a less flamboyant color of black, though the color only added to the image of an assassin. She threw a wary glance at him and he returned the favor by pulling down the bottom lid of his right eye down with a clawed finger. Blushing in irritation, she was about to stick her tongue out when her father's voice jerked her back to reality.
"Kagome!" He said, aggravated.
"Ah, yes father?" She said sweetly while still keeping an eye on the assassin.
"Prince Inuyasha will be escorting you to the banquet and your mother and I have decided on a suitable punishment..."
"Father, please, no more manners lessons! I've had hundreds already and I know them by heart now." She begged desperately, a brief memory of her last lesson already flashing before her horror filled eyes. If she had to go through such torture again, she would break.
"If you know them by heart, then perhaps you would be able to use them accordingly!" The king snapped. "And your punishment will not be manners lessons but to attend to whatever Prince Inuyasha is in need of during his stay here. If in any way he is displeased with the manner you are presenting him, I will enforce your usual punishment of manners lessons, which will very well last until the day you miraculously show respect to your betters." With another word, he led the queen down the stairs, leaving the two to stand and stare at each other.
"........"
"Oy, you heard your old man, let's go." The man said as he held an arm out for her to take.
"Why don't YOU show some respect and address the king properly." She retorted.
"Why don't YOU learn not to get into trouble." He argued back.
The two stared at each other until Kagome gave an exasperated sigh and slowly placed her hand on his arm. Refusing to fraternize with a man she thought to be an assassin, she tipped her head high and made her back ramrod straight, not saying a word to him. They descended down the stairs and followed her parents to the banquet room. Servants held the door open for them and a low buzz of chatter filled the long room of tables. Silk tablecloths of dark blue, gleaming silver plates, and decorative floral arrangements graced the large room and the colorful fabrics of rich clothing added to the festive atmosphere. The man led her all the way to the front, where the royal family and guests of honor sat. With an irritated sigh, she smoothly sat in her gilded seat next to her mother and stared down at her glimmering plate. This was stupid, attending to the wants of that idiot prince who was probably planning on assassinating her parents. Well...perhaps that thought was a bit extreme, but who in the world has sharp claws on their hands?
"Oy, pour me some wine." The prince demanded.
"If you think for one second that I'm actually going to-"
"King Hirugashiiii." The prince drawled.
She gritted her teeth and roughly grabbed the pitcher of wine in front of her. Her foot searched around for the end of her long skirt and when she found it she quickly stood up. The effect was instantaneous. There was a loud rip of her skirt as she tripped and bumped into the table and her hands carelessly released the wine pitcher into Inuyasha's face.
"ARRGH!!" He bellowed as he rubbed his alcohol stung eyes.
"KAGOME!!!" The king bellowed as the queen dropped her face into her hands.
"GASP." Went the crowd.
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"This-this completely undermines all the etiquette and morals you've been teaching me!" Kagome complained desperately as she watched her belongings being placed into the room. "Not to mention what the court would say of such a immoral punishment!"
"I'm afraid that your father has had the last straw Kagome. He is utterly set in this new punishment and you'll just have to bear with it till Inuyasha leaves." The queen said gently as she watched her agitated daughter.
"But-but," Kagome stammered. "What does staying in his room accomplish?! And just when is he leaving?!" She pointed a finger at the said owner of the room. He gave a roll of his eyes as he surveyed the drawers and trunks being taken in.
"Until the marriage negotiations are over." Inuyasha said nonchalantly.
Kagome fainted dead away.