Being Me by PublicDisaster

Just Me

"Are you sure this will work?" I asked my best friend Sango as I looked in the mirror

"Of course. No one will know it is you." Sango reassured me as she too looked in the mirror

"I just want to be away from him. Away from here." I said lowering my head as I looked at the tattered dress I now adorned

"I know, and that is why you must do this. Just until we figure a way out of this engagement." Sango said as she looked over the dress again

I had to admit that she did a nice job making me look like a servant, but was it enough. My life had been great, I mean what princess didn't like their life? Actually I did not like my life all that well. Yeah, it was great, for everyone else. I liked to think of myself as a free spirit, but how could I be free when I was locked up all day long? I also believed myself to be a romantic, but how could I be when I could not pick who I will marry. My father picked for me, and I have to say that he has the worst taste in men.

"I know someone who can sneak you into the Lord Inutashio's palace, but there will be hard work." Sango said snapping me out of my thoughts

"Will you also be going?" I asked hopefully, I needed my best-friend there, and I was not afraid to let everyone know it, well not everyone because I would never get away with this if I did

"Hai. After you go missing they will send me to find you, when they do I will go straight to you, I will just not let anyone else know where I am going." Sango said smiling at me

I was not afraid of work, I have done work, when no one was around to stop me that is. I was just afraid of being alone in a strange place. We only thought of this plan after my father said I was to marry Lord Naraku, I hate that man. He always creeped me out, there was always something about him. I had also heard he was already engaged to some princess that had the reputation of sleeping around to get what she wanted. He had assured my father that it was just a rumor, there was no truth in it, that infact this woman, Princess Kikyou I believe, was already betrothed to one of Lord Inutashio's sons. Inuyasha I think it was, I had only met him two or three times in my life. Once when we were just children, and two more when we were in our earlier teens.

"Kagome-chan?" I heard Sango ask in a worried tone, I always worried her with my frequent spacing out

"Gomen. I was just thinking of what could happen, and what has happened." I said looking at her with a smile, though I knew that she knew it was fake

"It is okay, we should be heading out soon. Lord Naraku said he would be arriving tonight." Sango said with malice in her voice

Naraku was the reason Sango was here in the first place. She had lived on his land since her birth, she lived with her father and younger brother. There was a war between one of the other Lords and Naraku, so he had called forth all the men and boys from the villages, they were slaughtered. Naraku's army was untouched, they did not need the villagers aid in this fight, yet they had called for it. Sango moved here alone after that with her fire-cat companion Kirara. I had met her as she was traveling by, and we became fast friends, now she works for my father because of her skills in fighting.

"Hai. I wish we had never met, then I would not have to leave my home." I said looking out the window down at the town below

So many people I envied, that were free, as free as they could be. They could travel where and when they wanted too, but me, all I could do was dream and wish. I wanted to go somewhere where I was not a princess or someone important, I just wanted to go somewhere where I could be me. Just Kagome, the plain girl I was when I was alone, without make-up and expensive cloths. I suppose I will get what I have wish for to an extent, but I knew what a servant was to do, I had so many how could I not. I treated my servants as well as I could without getting caught, I would sometimes take over their work when they were sick, I had gotten caught only once.

"You remember what to do, right?" Sango asked me for the umpteenth time since we had thought of this plan

"I am to play servant girl. I shall do anything my mast wishes, except sleep with him." I said looking at her, we had gone over this so many times, I knew the rules, I was to serve my master, but there was a law that servants did not have to sleep with their masters if they did not wish it, and they could not do anything about it

"The I believe we are ready to go. I will inform your father we are to take a short walk. We will then meet my friend and you will leave with him. I will come back beaten up and say a powerful youkai attacked and I could not save you from being taken." Sango said going over the plan the again, it's like she thought I didn't get what to do

"Hai I understand. Now let's get out of here before he arrives." I said stepping down from my stool so I could change back into one of my less dressy kimonos that I always wore when I was aloud outside

"Of course, I will be right back." Sango said then she left the room

I quickly changed and stuffed the servants clothes into a bag Sango had brought for me, usually I used it for flowers so no one would suspect why I had it with me. Sango cam back a few minutes after I was done changing, she looked happy so I knew it had went well.

"Are you ready Kagome-chan?" she asked smiling at me, so of course I could not help smiling back

"Hai!" I chirped now in a much better mood than I had been before

We walked out of the palace doors like nothing was going on, but on the inside I was worried that we would get caught and Sango would get into trouble all because of me. It did not take long to get to the place we were to meet this "friend" of Sango's. As we approached the forest a man appeared by a tree I knew it was the one I was to go with.

"Are you ready?" Sango asked as she grabbed my hand and squeezed it lightly

It was time for me to face my plan head on.

"As ready as I'll ever be."