Theme: Thorns (nothing to do with plants)
Include: A Clock
Word limit: 1500
Kagome awoke alone near the bone eaters well under a turbulent deep purple sky. Dizzy and disoriented, she looked about, confused by the unusual vegetation and misty surroundings. Sitting up, she set her back firmly against the well, grateful for something solid and familiar behind her.
'What am I doing here?' thought Kagome hazily as she hugged her knees into her chest and looked about at the unusual vegetation. It defied description. 'Where are all the trees?'
Kagome tried to remember what she was doing right before she woke up here. She could remember nothing and she decided instead of sitting she would discover what was going on.
Her confusion increased as she walked deeper into the once familiar woods. 'And the plants and the flowers? The well is here...but where is everything else?'
A sudden thought pierced her heart and she ran as fast as she could to The Sacred Tree.
There was no tree. Standing in the exact spot the ancient Sacred Tree once stood was a little girl who was singing softly to herself. As Kagome looked more carefully at the child she recognized her as Sesshoumaru's young ward, Rin.
"Rin?" called Kagome. There was no response. She approached the child slowly and cautiously. Everything about the child and her immediate surroundings awoke every sensation of unease within her.
As she neared Rin she saw much to disturb her. Rin's eyes were vacant and her skin unusually pale and in place of her brightly colored yakata was a traditional kimono of deep red, a cascade of white sakura blossoms down her right sleeve and an undecorated obi of deepest black. Before her she held an odd looking clock. Its face looked antique, Victorian almost, but the outside was covered in what looked to be an intricate twisting of briarwood. The thorns long and painful looking.
Kagome called to her again and as before, she received no response.
She kneeled close to the child, near enough to hear her clearly.
The slow haunting lullaby delivered by Rin's soft innocent voice, chilled Kagome to the core. As Kagome listened, Rin's voice and the ticking of the clock, was all that she came to hear.
"Listen to the prickity clock Tickity tock, tickity tock Counting down the lovers rhyme Tickity tock, tickity tock Counting down the lovers time Tickity tock, tickity tock Thorns of Love do hit their marks Tickity tock, tickity tock Watch it pierce the Lovers hearts Tickity tock, tickity tock Thorns of Hate may hit that mark Tickity tock, tickity tock If one Mate is too late Tickity tock, tickity tock Quickly now it's getting late Tickity tock, tickity tock"
Rin repeated the song again, her haunting voice never wavering in its wretched tune.
Kagome felt a stab of fear knife through her and she called out to Rin as she slowly backed away. 'Where is Sesshoumaru?' thought Kagome, her stomach a cold tight knot of nervousness. 'Why isn't he here? If Rin's here, Sesshoumaru shouldn't be far.'
Kagome grew even more fearful of the once beguiling and charming little girl as the odd clock she held became even more mysterious. It began to glow a deep blackish red and her eyes became fixed upon it and she found it impossible to look away from its shadowy depths.
Within the swirling mists of the clock face, indistinct images began to form and materialize.
Kagome watched as images of Inuyasha emerged and vanished, showing a series of events long past. She crept closer still as images of Sesshoumaru became clear and distinct.
"Sesshoumaru!" cried Kagome in vain hope that the Sesshoumaru in the mirror could somehow hear her pleas. "Sesshoumaru!"
The Sesshoumaru in the mirror did seem to hear her cries for he turned his eyes upon her. She watched in shocked surprise as he reached thought the clock, his hand reaching for her throat.
She opened her mouth to scream and jerked awake. A cool hand was pressed firmly against her mouth and she panicked momentarily before seeing that it was Sesshoumaru. He nodded to her right and she looked, seeing Inuyasha still passed out from drinking too much good wine with Miroku. She looked up to Sesshoumaru and nodded, fighting to control her labored breathing. He released her and swept out of the hut, closely followed by Kagome.
They walked in silence up the hill away from the village. There was no moon this night and Kagome thrilled in seeing the expanse of bright jewels.
"Another nightmare?" asked Sesshoumaru quietly. His deep voice, soothing to her nerves.
"Yes."
"What was it this time?"
Kagome explained her dream. It felt good to tell someone else, anyone else but Inuyasha. And talking to Sesshoumaru always felt more...comforting. They had talked privately on more than one occasion and this was the third little trip into the night of the new moon, Kagome leaving Inuyasha sleeping in the hut.
"Do you think it means anything?" asked Kagome, looking up at Sesshoumaru's angular profile. His silvery hair blew gently in the breeze and if was not for the armor and the swords he would look almost angelic.
He turned his face to her, he gold eyes studying her for a moment. "Perhaps you feel that you are trapped with Inuyasha."
Kagome was surprised by his reply. She hadn't expected that. She was sure he would say something more like "Perhaps you foresee your death by my hands, it will happen eventually you know. You have tried my patience before and Inuyasha will not always be around to save you." It had almost become a private joke between them, she had thought on one occasion that she almost made him smile when she joked about it.
"I don't feel trapped by Inuyasha. He's my best friend." said Kagome, unsure what to think or what to say at that moment.
"Yet, you are still not married, though you called me 'Brother-in-Law' once."
Kagome covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. He nor Inuyasha had seemed to find it as amusing as she did. She dropped her hand and looked down at her lap. He was right, however. Inuyasha and her had not married as Kagome thought they would, even though he had remained by her side. He had never asked and she had never pressed the issue.
"Perhaps your dreams are showing you the way to another." offered Sesshoumaru.
Kagome could still feel his eyes on her and she didn't want to look up at him, unsure if she would see the same thing in his eyes she was beginning to hear in his voice.
"Do you remember the song from your dream?" asked Sesshoumaru, kneeling down near Kagome, close enough his furry pelt brushed against her.
Kagome began to sing the song, consciously aware of how close Sesshoumaru was to her.
"Listen to the prickity clock Tickity tock, tickity tock Counting down the lovers rhyme Tickity tock, tickity tock Counting down the lovers time Tickity tock, tickity tock Thorns of Love do hit their marks Tickity tock, tickity tock Watch it pierce the Lovers hearts Tickity tock, tickity tock Thorns of Hate may hit that mark Tickity tock, tickity tock If one Mate is too late..."
Sesshoumaru cut off her song with a kiss. Gentle, light and undemanding.
It was the sweetest kiss she had ever experienced and it set her world on end. She began to kiss him and pull on him hungrily and he swept her into his embrace.
At his touch her body flushed and her insides squirmed and ached. Sesshoumaru's kisses seemed to tap into a hidden well of sensations and she felt altogether confused, frustrated, gratified and delighted.
They stayed together for a time, until an intense light glowed about her brightly and for a moment Kagome thought she might be in heaven, but when she opened her eyes, she saw with regret that it was the dawn. Inuyasha would be changing back into his demon form any moment, and his sense of smell would return and he would know that she was gone and he would know that she was with Sesshoumaru.
"I have to go." Kagome said regrettably.
"I know. I will return," Sesshoumaru cupped her face with his hand and looked into her eyes, "anytime you need me."
He kissed her once more, deeply, savoring her very soul, before rising into the air with her and depositing her at the hot spring.
Kagome watched him fly away and wondered. "What would a fling with Sesshoumaru be like?"