The Caged Bird by Uniquewriterllama

The Caged Bird

Blanket Disclaimer: Don't own!

The Caged Bird, Chapter One.

Kagome pressed her hand against the window, looking longingly outside, and then looked at the bed behind her and the sleeping demon in it. She sighed, remembering the village where she lived and how Lord Sesshomaru discovered her.

Her village had been attacked by rogue demons, and because they lived in his domain, he came to protect them. But, mistaking him for one of the attackers, the last fully trained miko used the last of her energy into shooting an arrow at him, succeeding in purifying his right arm off.

He had continued to fight, fulfilling his duty as protector, but as soon as he had finished, he landed in the middle of the village, demanding the miko come repair his arm. When he learned of her death, he demanded that the next of power step forward and fix his arm, so it came down to Kagome.

She had calmly stepped forward, and told him in a clear strong, respectful tone, 'Milord, I am nowhere near being fully trained, so please sir, do not be surprised if I cannot accomplish the task you are asking of me.'

With that, she knelt to the ground, and asked him to do the same, which he did, albeit, grudgingly. She held her hands over his stump of an arm, bent her head, and focused. After a few moments, her hands began to glow a bright blue, and Sesshomaru's arm appeared in pieces. First his upper arm, then his elbow, his lower arm, his wrist, and finally his hand.

When it was done, she pulled away and collapsed, her energy spent. But she managed to rasp out, 'It is but a small repayment for what you have done. Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru for protecting us so.'

He stared at her for a long time before saying, 'You will return with this Sesshomaru to his castle. I have much need for a healer.'

This leads us to now, five years later. She of course, had fought him on it, but in the end he took her, by force, to his castle, and that night, to his bed. She was only 16.

She was 21 now, a beautiful, graceful young lady. She was the unspoken Lady of the Western Lands, and in private Sesshomaru listened to her opinions, and secretly, she was one of his most trusted advisors.

He gave her everything. Fine kimonos and jewelry, sumptuous living spaces, and decadent food. Everything but freedom and love.

She was well aware that it was wrong, falling in love with the man, nay, demon who took her from her home, and by all accounts, raped her, but she couldn't help it. And it didn't matter, for he would never love her back.

And even though he did not love her, for some reason, he kept her locked up tight. There was a private garden that she could visit, that only she and Sesshomaru were allowed in. Other than that, she was only allowed out of the castle accompanied by Sesshomaru.

So, for the life of her, Kagome just couldn't figure out why a man who didn't love her would protect her, and protect her so.

She absentmindedly fingered the scars on her upper right arm, thinking of these things. One night, within her first year of staying with him, Sesshomaru had gotten insanely possessive, and carved his name into her arm, saying that she belonged to him. No one else could see it, for it was hidden under her kimono, but Sesshomaru was fond of tracing it out when she was in bed with him.

"Miko." His voice came from behind her, crisp and sharp. She smirked slightly. Even first waking he never sounded drowsy.

"Yes, my Lord?" She said quietly, not bothering to raise her voice. He would hear.

"Come back to bed." Was the command, and she silently obeyed. Once she was within his arms, he drifted off to sleep again, but she did not, instead she looked at him.

For a man, a demon, he was beautiful. Long, silver hair, silky smooth, which put her own head of raven hair to shame. Piercing amber eyes that could tell if you were lying, just by looking at you. He had a thin, slight body, that caused many to underestimate him, but in reality he held more power in one finger than most men held in their whole body.

And then there were his markings. Twin magenta stripes on each of his cheeks, that was repeated on his wrists, hips, and ankles, that were all velvet to the touch. And Kagome's favorite, the most important, and the one that proved his birthright as Lord of the Western Lands, the crescent moon in the middle of his forehead.

She reached out and traced its outline with her finger, and then began to stroke it softly, smiling as he began to purr happily in his sleep. She stopped, and began to giggle softly when he frowned and began to growl. She obliged and gave him one last hard stroke, before snuggling next to him and falling asleep.

--

The next morning, Kagome was awoken by a slight tickling on her nose, causing her to squirm in her sleep and wake up by sneezing.

Her eyes flew open, and for a moment, all she could see was whit. At first she thought there was something wrong with her eyes, but then she realized that Sesshomaru's tail was coving her face.

"Hey!" She spluttered, pushing it off, to see a smirking Sesshomaru. "What's the big idea?"

"If this Sesshomaru had not woken you up, you would have slept all day." He responded, rising gracefully from the bed and offering her his hand.

Kagome frowned thoughtfully. Something was up, he didn't usually wake her up, usually he opted to just let her sleep while he went to his study.

But she decided to shake it off, and roll with it, if Sesshomaru had anything to do with it, she couldn't stop him. Even if she had no idea what 'It' was.

She took his hand and rose just as gracefully from their bed. She longed to go over to her own wardrobe and pull something on, as she was cold, but she knew she could not. Sesshomaru was Alpha, and as such, he was dressed first.

So she walked over to his wardrobe, and was about to pull his customary red and white kimono out when he spoke from behind her. "We will be having company." And with a sigh, Kagome returned the red kimono, and in its stead, removed a blue kimono with silver trimmings.

She returned to his side, and held it out for him to slide into. When he did so, she tied it together with a silver obi into a manly, discreet knot at the back.

She then retrieved a brush and gently began to brush what little knots there were out.

When she finished, she walked over to her own, smaller wardrobe, and withdrew a kimono that was like Sesshomaru's, but in opposite. The kimono was silver, and the trimmings were blue. Sesshomaru beckoned a servant from the hallway in, and the handmaid tied Kagome's silver obi in an elaborate bow. Then the handmaid brushed out Kagome's hair, and twisted it an elaborate bun atop her head.

She then brought out pots of makeup, and began to apply it liberally. When she had finished, Kagome checked it in the mirror, first checking her makeup, then her hair. She gave the handmaid a small smile and a quiet 'thank you Mai'.

Sesshomaru merely snorted and inclined his head towards the doorway, and giving an 'eep', the handmaid named Mai fled.

Kagome gave him a severe look which he ignore, and offered her his arm, which she took, giving him a dazzling smile, which he also ignored.

A/N: I know this chapter is a little boring, but I had to set the premise, but tell me what you think! It'll get more interesting in the next couple of chapters. I'm not expecting this to be a long story, but we'll see.