Trading Places

Chapter 3

Yo. Sorry this is late,it was finals week. Next week's chapter,will be faster,I promise. I'll try to update once a week,every week. I'm also writing a Fairy Tail fanfic  if you're interested. Please read and review.

Sesshomaru suddenly became awake.The hut wasn't very well made,as sunlight streamed into the room through the walls. He suddenly became aware of a few things. The first was that the woman had her back turned to him and appeared to be cooking something over the fire that was lit in the middle of the room.He was very hungry,seeing as he hadn’t eaten for more than a month. Demon bodies could go weeks without food,but seeing as he also hadn’t had any water,that time shortened significantly. The second thing he was aware of was the fact that he was bandaged. His entire upper body was wrapped in clothes that smelled like herbs.The woman had healed him,but why? Was this all a sadistic game where she would torture him again tonight.And who was the she everyone spoke of? He had many questions,but he really didn’t know what the answers were,nor did he want to ask his captor.

He sat up slowly,to test the limit of how much his wounds would let him move. Surprisingly, there was little pain,and he was probably just stiff from the several days he had spent on the ground at this point.

“For ye to be of the Great Dog Generals clan,ye sure took thy time to awaken. Before you ask,it's been three days.Enough time for her to have made her way here from the palace. Thou art a very lucky demon,to be bound to her.” The old woman had a wistful almost dreamy look in her eyes. ‘What type of princess incites this type of excitement in sadistic old ladies?’ Sesshomaru thought, bit wisely didn’t say out loud.

The old woman continued. “Our princess is an angel,no a goddess. A long while ago,when I was but a girl, this land was plagued by demons of all sorts. Our crops were ruined,our children stolen,and our men slaughtered for decades. One day,a girl no older than myself at the time arrived in this village. She was beautiful beyond compare,so much so that she literally glowed. The demons who took over tried to take her but she simply took out a knife,cut her hand,and flung the blood at them,and they bowed to her will. She went about the lands here and soon,almost all the demons here were under her control.” She looked pointedly at Sesshomaru. “And the few that didn’t met their end at the blade of the same knife.Since then,she declared us free,and we declared her our queen. She decided for herself that the title Princess fit better,and that was that. We built her a palace,and she has ruled with a gentle hand since then. May her wisdom continue to guide us,and her blood and blade protect us. So mote it be!” Kaede finished. It sounded like a prayer. So he was about to be handed from a sadistic which of an old lady,to some fanatical blood queen of an old woman that would rather call herself a princess? He found himself wondering if just one human whore was worth his title and this humility. He wished he was home,in the comfort of the Western palace,under the negligent eye of his father,and the disgusting hand of Izayoi. That was better than a band of human witches with demon fetishes!

.oO0Oo.

There was a sound like a trumpet. Kaede made sound like a squeal but her grizzled old vocal chords didn’t quite make the cut. “She’s here!” Sesshomaru was sure that if she could, Kaede would be bouncing off of the walls of the hut in her excitement. She pulled Sesshomaru from where he sat on the floor with surprising strength,and removed his bandages. To his surprise,all of his wounds were healed. After that,she began dusting off his dirty clothes -which were beyond saving-  and attempted to lay down his tangled hair. He was sure he looked like a wild animal. Kaede seemed to be vibrating, and she seemed like a little girl meeting her crush. Sesshomaru heard the sound of rhythmic stepping,which meant there was a norimono nearby. Kaede ushered him outside. The norimono outside was large,and decorated in ornate golden flowers, and was carried by 4 large demons,horse demons if he was correct. The door was opened by a 5th demon,a bird demon,just as Sesshomaru was forced into a low bow in the dirt by Kaede,who also rushed to bow in front of him. He he tilted his head back slightly so he could see who stepped out.

With his head still down,he could only see the woman’s junihitoe. The outermost layer, the karaginu, was a burnt,sunset orange, as was the bottom most layer,the nagabakama. The sleeves were embroidered in a pea green. The second layer underneath (itsutsuginu) was a pale orange. The hitoe was either a pale yellow or white,but it was hard to tell. Her uchiginu,which draped across the floor, was also white. Overall,she was impeccably dressed,as a princess should be.

Finally she spoke. “ Kaede. You and I have known each other for far to long. Raise your head and greet me properly.” Kaede perked up,and stood up. The princess came closer. And Kaede met her. The way the fabric rustled-were they hugging? No wonder the Kaede was so eager to hand him over to this woman! They were in kahoots! Two sadistic old women out to get him! They probably had his torture contingency plan already. He got lost in thought,and didn’t notice that the two women’s conversation had shifted and they had moved closer to him. “And who do we have here?” The princess asked. “This is a White Dog Demon from the west. They found him out in the woods half starved. They figured that you didn’t have anything like it in your menagerie yet. Or that you might like a pet to play with.” The woman came even closer. “What’s your name?” She asked softly. He didn’t respond. Kaede walked over to them fast,and smacked him in the back of the head. “Respond when Her Majesty speaks to thee,insolent hound! Do you need to be whipped again?” Sesshomaru shrunk back unconsciously. The woman stood up straight and grabbed Kaede’s hand before she could strike him again. “You have not yet even asked him his name?” She bent over again and placed her hand gently under his chin. She raised his head so he looked into her eyes.

The first thing he noticed was that the girl was actually young, only a few years older than him,if not the same age as him.She had a heart shaped face, with big doe brown eyes set atop a button nose and full,pink lips (he did admit,the old wanna was right,she did glow).She had dark brown hair that mostly fell down her back in silk tresses,except for a small portion held off to the side by her emotsutoi. Overall she was beautiful,after all,several days of sweaty men and a sadistic woman, her face was welcome. “What’s your name?” She asked again,sweetly. “Sesshomaru.” He replied quietly. Why had he spoken after he resigned himself from speaking. “Well Sesshomaru, from today on you’re my new friend. You get to come home to the palace with me. Would that be alright with you?” He found himself nodding,despite himself. “Wait, before you leave,I have something for thee.” Kaede ran back in her gut and returned with something in her hand. It was a necklace of black pearls and something else. They were white - were those his fangs? That they were,the same fangs that had been ripped from him, those days ago when he first arrived in Kaede’s charge. Kaede handed them to the princess. “Outside of thy blood, black pearls are the best in use for the subjugation of demons. These also soaked in thy blood for three days. With his fangs laced in, this necklace,along with a command word,will render him completely powerless. When you put on the necklace, say the word that you want to use to bind him.” The princess placed the necklace around Sesshomaru’s neck and said “Heel.” With what felt like the weight of a thousand suns,Sesshomaru was slammed into the ground. The princess was shocked to say the least as she flinched very hard as well. Sesshomaru,dazed,managed to pick his head off of the ground after a moment. The Saviour looked concerned,and turned to Kaede a hand to her mouth. “And it'll do that every time I say h- that word? Even when I don't mean to use the spell?” “Yes Thy Radiance, every time. It's fine most assuredly. He'll learn to heed thy call the first time" Kaede looked at him with a manic glint in her eye. The princess looked vaguely  uncomfortable and he felt the innate urge to hold her hand,or comfort her in some small way. He shook his head. ‘Where had that come from?’ That thought had certainly belonged to him!

The princess straightened up and cleared her throat. “Well we must be going now. Thank so much for this gift Kaede. You've given me a great friend,I can feel it. Here, make sure your helpers are gifted this as well.) The princess reached into one of her endless layers and pulled out a small pouch that bulges with what was most likely money. She placed it in Kaede’s hand. She leaned forward and hugged the old woman again. She turned back to him and said “Sesshomaru,come.” and he stood and his body began following him, out of his control and under hers. They got into the norimono,and Sesshomaru looked at the old woman one last time before the curtain was closed by a footman.