Lost, But Not Forgetten by Bonequishia

Prologue

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Lost, But Not Forgotten

Prologue

"I don't want to be Queen. Why can't Kikyou take the throne?" Kagome seethed. "I can't live up to the country's expectations; they will not accept me as the new Queen. They love you mother, not me. They hardly even know I exist!" She hissed at her mother.

"Kagome, you know that they love and cherish you, which is why you have been chosen. Your brother . . . .if only he were here, he would take the throne, but as you know he declined, and took up the holy job of a monk. We give you the throne because we do not have faith in Kikyou; she is too hardheaded and not as understanding as you are. You have the power to run the country, not your sister. We bestow the throne to you, Kagome Antoinette Higurashi, second daughter of Suki Higurashi and Rumij Higurashi, King and Queen of Brookehaven. You are the rightful heir should anything happen to the King and Queen; you will be given the throne in time after the mourning time has passed." One of the advisors, Duran, spoke with calmness Suki didn't know he possessed.

"I will not accept this. I have a say in this, do I not, father?" Kagome turned towards her father in despair, as he shook his head at his little girl.

"Forgive me, I am sorry, sweetheart, you do not have a say in what the advisors or the King and Queen say. You are only to nod and accept your future as Queen of Brookehaven."

The voice of her father did not register after he spoke, "Forgive me . . ." She couldn't believe her ears. They had put her up to this.

"I will not accept this. I will not forgive you, any of you, if you do this to me. Especially you mother! You know I do not want the throne. You were the one that promised me Kikyou would have it!" Kagome fumed as she left the room, in a rush to run to her room.

Crying in front of her vanity, she watched as the tears marked shiny trails down her face, leaving small grey marks on her cheeks from the mascara.

I will never live the life I want if I become Queen . . . . .

(BOOM)

Kagome jerked awake by the thunderous sound as the castle walls vibrated with the force of a blast.

Jumping out of bed, she donned a wrapper and quickly went to her doors. Applying strength, she pushed both doors out without a sound. The halls were overrun with demons and humans.

Endless streams of both, carrying away lines of castle valuables down the hall. Two demons heard her gasp and turned, in their hands, an English chest of jewels and gold.

"Aye, lookie 'ere, Bugsy. Ookit this piece 'o meat!" Shouted the black-haired demon whose eyes traveled up and down her disheveled form.

"Well, well, well. If'n it ain't the Queen herself come 'n greet us humble subjects!" sneered the purple haired demon, advancing upon her in a malicious manner.

Queen? Kagome hiked her skirts up and ran to the King's Royal Hall, and dashed inside the unusually open door.

The sight that greeted her made her crash to her knees in a barely suppressed scream of horror.

Before her, sat the King and Queen of Brookehaven, the late King and Queen,---beheaded. Queen Suki, her white silk gown and coverlet, stained a hue of red so dark, it was almost black.

King Phillip, in shimmering gold and white jacket and pants, bathed a crimson scarlet, like red lamé.

Kagome could no longer keep her vocal chords locked, as the unearthly scream worked its way up her throat, before she was hit in the temple, and then darkness swallowed her world, or what was left of it.

"NOOOOOO--"

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"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

Kagome sat up in the dark room, scanning the area around her once, twice, and three times, until it finally set in. I'm not in my room, at home, in the castle . . .

Quickly taking note of what was in reach, she saw the glint of steel, and lifted herself towards is, and a heavy weight allowed her no movement.

"What?" she stammered out.

Lifting up the objects around her, she found her impediment. On her ankle was a demon weight, made to keep her in place. But why didn't they just use a shackle?

"A good question, kitten. Will you not let me explain?" Came a smooth, soft voice from the shadow of the window's light.

"Who goes there? What is the meaning of this outrage? I am the Princess of Brooke--"

"Haven, yes, yes. We all know."

"We?"

"You must not think or speak, little brat. We can hear you." Gritted out a roguish, and deep voice from behind her.

Kagome whipped around to see the speaker, but met only the dark behind her. It seemed to swallowing her whole, coming closer than when she had awoken. Devouring her only light from the window. Scared suddenly, she put up a face of courage.

"Show yourselves, or are you too much of a coward, hiding behind the shadow of light? Be good men, or as best as you can, and show me the face of my captor." Her voice reached throughout the room, and she heard chuckle, and harsh laughs, until the first spoke again.

"Ah, but little kitten, you do not need see our face, for the last head you will see before death are the late King and Queen." The information processed a second later and the shock set in her body.

Oh, my lord. I have forgotten my mother and father! I have sinned to have not mourned their death! Tears choked at the back of her throat, welled up and threatened to be let out.

"Aw. Ookit 'ere. She gone all misty eyes on's us, boys. Ey, Boss, what do ee want done wit her?" one random body called out.

But she recognized it. That voice! From the hall! He hit me!

"You! You captured me! You brought me here! How dare you defile my being with your sinned hand! The God's should strike thee upon thy head with rage. You have brought upon me great ill, and loss. My revenge will not be spared on the likes of you, for my thought will not go as low as yours." She spat, voice full of enough venom for the occupants in the room to take a step back.

"Little kitten, you are in no place to be making threats, or promises. You are the slave to us now." What she assumed to be the 'Boss' said.

"If I am given no leeway, then give me the privilege of why I was captured and my captor's name, if not that, the least of all, then a little bread and water, and be gone from my sight, and presence." Seriousness, etched in her face and voice, let them know she was not to be messed with, and could make out any meanings and twist them her way. She was smarter than everybody in that room. Except the Boss.

"Well, little kitten, I might indulge that information to you, if the time should come by that I feel like it. However, I do not take lightly demands from my captives, they learn to keep their mouth shut, or I shut it for them." The threat hung in the air, and she caught the meaning of it.

My teaching books did not lie, they are barbarians. Sins of flesh, sins of adultery, sins of lying, and torture. What do they not do?

"Yes, we do a lot of bad things, do we not? But, alas, we cannot change it, that is the way of a pirate." He said again. "Do not forget, we can read your mind, little kitten. You cannot hide from me any longer. She may have been able, but not you . . ." he trailed off.

She heard footsteps, and supposed that he was walking away, but felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned her profile to see long, black fingers, and yellow claws adorning them, and tensed up.

"Let her go, Akins. She will not be touched by anyone, unless given my permission." He said, authority underlying in his smooth voice, giving her shivers, and raising goose bumps along her arms and legs.

"Back to your posts. NOW!" He barked the orders, and she picked up anonymous curses, and snippets of sentences, as feet shuffled out of the door, she found out to be on the far-left side of the room, or right. She didn't know anymore.

"Go, to sleep little kitten, I'll have a surprise for you when you awake."

"I want answ-er-er-er-ersssss . . . . ." The yawn left her wide mouth, as she brought a hand up to cover it, and she noticed a slightly sweet smell, emanating from the man behind her.

Mmmmmmm . . . .I wonder what that issss . . . .

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"What do you want me to do with the little brat, woman?" The voice was slightly more rough than the smooth

"I have no idea. You were the one who gave me the idea. Why don't you figure it out?" She screamed back, frightening the outsiders on the other side of the door.

"You told me to take her, I did, she is now taking up precious space on my ship, and I plan to get rid of her, but I don't want her coming back, tell me now, or I will just kill her." He spoke to the crazed woman pacing the floor in front of him, sitting in the King's throne chair.

"I can't let you just kill her, she's my sister. Why can't you think of something else? Yes! Why don't we just dump her off near a deserted island? She can just stay there, and if she dies, then it won't be our fault." She looked up to him with a smile, and started toward his figure.

"I couldn't have thought of any better plan, love." He sat back and waited. He wasn't disappointed.

"Well, we'll just have to celebrate won't we?" She pulled her skirts up to her hips, and her white pantalets became visible, and steadied herself on his lap.

"Yes, Kikyou, love."

His hands came up to her derrière, and gripped them firmly, as she leaned toward his ear.

"The proposal will be made tomorrow, and we'll be married by December. I just can't wait. Me and you, King and Queen, all will love and hate me."

Her other comments were stopped by his hungry mouth, and the ripping of her dress, as he continued their activities.

"Oh, Naraku!"

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"Ah. You are awake. You sleep like a rock, little kitten." He spoke softly again, like the other time she heard him.

"Ohhhhh . . .what happened?" She rubbed her head, and tried to sit up, but a heavy hand pushed her down, and a bright light flashed in front of her eyelids.

Her eyes shot open to meet dark violet. She gasped in surprise, as the hand fell away from her body.

Scrambling backwards, her breathing faltering as she recognized his face. The scream wanting to be let out would not come up. The voice she had yesterday, not daring to sound. All she could think about was why.

"Why do you fear me?" The question seemed innocent enough, but she knew better.

If she answered it, he could use it to hurt her, make her tremble, or try and escape, just to hurt her more.

"I do not fear the likes of you, Onigumo. You are nothing in my eyes but an eyelash, a impediment, a flicker of non-thought. You mean nothing." She could scarce believe that she sounded like that. Her thoughts were jumbled, and incoherent. She could hardly tell what she was thinking, much less, start a sentence.

"Little kitten, or might I say Kagome, you know me all too well." He said, as he started toward a plate on a table, full of food.

"Why did you take me, why did you do this, bring me here?" She gestured to the space around here, signifying the room or place she was in.

"Why, dear Kagome, I did this for someone very close to me. She means the world to me, as a matter of fact." He waved his hand to the food set up neatly on the table.

If she hadn't been a captive, she would have thought she was back at home, the table was so properly made, like a royal dining hall. So startled, she stood in a stupefied trance and walked toward the edible food.

Surprised when he pulled the chair out, she sat down hesitantly and let him push her in. As he put the napkin on her lap, his fingers brushed against her thigh, and she tensed as the hand rested there.

Sensing her unease, he moved to the left of her chair and sat down. He nodded his head as she stared at the food hungrily, and noticed she bore a starved face.

"Have you not been eating at the castle, Kagome?"

"Not as much as my advisors would appreciate. I have been working too hard to notice such things." Training to be Queen can be unbearable at times, I wish mother had understood it. My last word's . . . . . Strengthening her resolve, she was determined not to feel bad. As she started eating the food, she trembled as she felt him stared at her.

He sat there, unmoving as she ate the food set before them, alone.

He didn't touch anything or eat any of it. Slowly realizing that he wasn't joining her, she stopped and came to a conclusion.

"It's poisoned . . . ." she trailed off, holding the bread in her hand.

"No, you see I need you alive, actually. Go on and eat, enjoy what you can do now, and think about what you can not later." He replied with that smooth voice that made her shiver every time he spoke.

"Why did you bring me here? You never answered my questions earlier." She sniffed the bread slowly, as if inspecting it, and then began to eat it with more hesitation than before.

"Surely you do not think I took you. I have saved you from the barbaric beings that captured you. You are in my debt, Kagome. You know what that means, do you not?" Looking into her eyes, he saw the fear and shock in her beautiful eyes.

"Debt? I do not know if I owe you anything, Onigumo. You should be grateful enough that I am to talk to you." Having her fill of food and conversation with the forked tongue of Onigumo, Kagome slid out of her chair, and walked toward the window of the estate she was in.

Green fields covered vast amounts of the land, with fences here and there, and horses running, eating, and frolicking around, oblivious to the worry, sadness, and woe that resonated from the structure of the house.

Trees were sparsely located in even intervals down the driveway, along the fences of the house, the gardens, and near the lake in front.

The place was beautiful in all aspects, But even the most innocent of places can hold the treacherous snakes; Oh Duran, I wish you were here to guide me.

"Don't worry, Miss Kagome, you are in safe hands now. Very safe hands." Onigumo purred from behind her still form.

When did he get there? I didn't hear him mov-

"Uh!" Kagome's small form tumbled to the hardwood floor in a small pile, her hair starting to unwrap itself from the night bun she had two days before. The wrapper which was once white, was now a dull white, like eggshell, with small large black lace flowers adoring the outside, and lace trimmings.

No longer fit for a Queen, he thought. Bending down to pick her up, he was surprised at how light she felt, like a penny. But worth so much more. Onigumo walked to the slightly open door, where another girl, almost the exact copy of Kagome stood, impatiently wringing her hands.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Came the obnoxious voice. Her hair was pulled back, only an imitation of the real one.

"I'm leaving tonight, we are taking one of my ships, the Arachnid, then we will find a unsuitable island, and dump her, after she awakes, that is." He walked past the woman briskly and down the hall. Opening another door, he tossed Kagome on the bed, and ordered the awaiting servant to find more suitable clothes for her. With that he left.

"Yes, master Onigumo." Was all she said, opening the closet door, she pulled out a elegant crimson red gown that had a matching red corset with gold lacing up the front.

The servant laid it on the Victorian hardback chair and waited outside the door for her Lady to wakeup.

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"What happened?" Waking up for the second time that day, Kagome took in her surroundings once more. Hearing the door open, she looked for the intruder.

What a horrible nightmare. I'm glad I'm home now. I don't think I'll be sleeping for a while.

"Lady? Are you awake? My master wants you to get dressed and ready for departure."

"Who are you? Who goes there?" Kagome searched for the body of the voice in the dark, usually there was a lamp beside her bed. Where was it?

"Here let me." The light flashed and Kagome shielded her eyes for a brief second, as she got used to it, she looked at the strange woman beside her bed, holding what looked to be a gown.

"You are to get dressed and meet his Lordship in the foyer." She beckoned Kagome to her and in a trance; she went towards the strange girl.

"When I am done, I'a lead you to the foyer, I jus' hope his Lordship tain't mad. We slightly late, milady." Pulling the dirty wrapper and nightdress off, the maid went to work on her undergarments.

Stepping into the ruffled, bone lined, hoop skirt, Kagome felt an odd sense of being home, and preparing for a ball. Lifting her arms, she felt the soft satin and silk of the dress as it slid down her form and bunched at her feet.

Kicking her feet out, she felt the dress even out until it rounded out like a large bell. I haven't worn these dresses in ages.

As the maid wrapped the corset around her bust and waist, Kagome noticed it was a little too big.

"Is that the smallest one you have?"

"Yes, milady, buts I can make it fit, jus' be patient, and go'n hold onto the bedpost and I'a tighten it." Was all the servant said.

Moving over the black stained floors, she wrapped her arms around the bedpost as the chambermaid pulled the strings with enough force to pull a wagon, Kagome pulled her stomach in further and the effect of the corset fell in.

As she tied the laces up front, she lifted her bust and settled in the top of the dress. Once finished, she breathed in and out to see what she could do.

"Thank you very much, ma'am." Kagome said, as she rooted for a pair of slippers to wear.

"Oh, it's no problem milady." Waiting for Kagome, the girl opened the door and ushered her out when she was done.

"You'ns be departing for the Arachnid shortly, it is always nighttime when my Lord travels to the docks. Don't worry, nothing will happen to you, milady."

Opening the double doors to the foyer, Kagome saw Onigumo standing there in all black as he waited with an entourage of people, for her arrival.

"Come little kitten, it is time to leave." He grabbed her arm and interlocked it with his and strolled out of the house into a nice sleek Lincoln Navigator. As the car started, she edged away from the man next to her and sat on the other side of the seat.

"Why do you shy away from me, Kagome?" He asked.

"I would rather not answer that inquiry." She replied.

"Well, we will be there shortly, so how about a game of twenty-one questions?"

"I will decline that offer. I am still slightly tired from the past few days." She stared out the window, as the scenery flashed by, and the full moon shown overhead, reflecting in the tinted glass of his windows.

"Boss, we're here." Came a voice from up front, as the engine turned off.

"Good job, Kagewaki, just take the car back to the house."

Opening the door, Onigumo pulled Kagome out with him, and onto the docks of water before her.

Glancing up, a three-story ship rocked in the water, as men and demon alike boarded it with boxes and crates. Her vision, not as good as a demon's only allowed her a small amount of sight, and the way the moon hid behind the clouds did not help.

She found herself to be walking without knowing it. The walkway onto the boat was just ahead of her and she found herself being guided up to the deck of the boat.

"I'll show you to your room, and you will be able to rest your body."

"Yes," she began. "I would like to be able to sleep."

Approaching a set of stairs, they went down, Kagome then Onigumo, and turned towards the doors on the left. Opening the only door without a name, he led her inside, and turned on the light.

"This will be your room, until we get to your----our destination. I mean." Turning around and leaving, he closed the door, and left Kagome there, by herself.

The first thing she did was sit on the full bed, and slowly fall back onto it, hearing the crinkles of her crinoline, and the wrinkles she imagined would be in the dress. However, she didn't care.

Closing her eyes, she imagined herself back at home, with her mother and father, and years ago with Souta, her older brother. How I miss them all. How will I ever get out of here and go back to my home?

Tears softly fell from her closed eyes, as she soundly drifted off to a peaceful sleep, one with dreams of flowers, and fairy tale love, without hate, and anger, and death. Everything she wanted her life to be, but it wasn't.

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