Chapter 1
"I don't want to China, mom...can't I just stay here with you?" Kagome begged her mother as she was pushed onto a train with many other children fleeing the country to stay safe from the ongoing war.
"Honey, it isn't safe for you here. The war is only going to continue to worsen as time goes on. You will be better off in Juban city. And this is only temporary dear, I promise." Her mother replied to her with a kiss on her daughter's right cheek. "I want you to take this with you as well," Kagome's mother handed her fourteen year old daughter an old back journal that was worn out and slightly torn on the spine. "It's the very same journal I kept when I went to china...use it well my dear."
"All aboard!" The train conductor yelled down the busy train station.
Kagome nodded are gave her final farewell to her mother whom she would miss dearly. She held her hand out the window of her seat and reached for her mother. "Mom..." She mumbled to herself as a tear trickled down her face, but shortly after she could no longer see her face. Kagome took a deep breath and deep breath and threw herself deeper into the uncomfortable train seat.
The trip to china was going to take an entire twenty-four hours. That was a long trip to be taking by yourself especially without any idea as to where you were going and who you were going to be staying with for the next possible few years. All she knew is that she was going to a safe house with a good friend of her mother's from child years. She wasn't allowed to bring any more than one suitcase, so she did not have a lot of stuff...certainly not everything she would have wanted to keep. All she had of her mother was the run down old journal she had given her right before the train pulled off.
"Oh mom...I already miss you," Kagome whispered to herself while hugging the journal close to her heart. More tears ran down her face and started dripping onto the cover. Kagome could have sworn she'd seen a faint glow come from the book when her tear hit it. "Huh..." She stopped crying and examined the book, but the glow had stopped. Kagome thought perhaps maybe it was just her imagination and she shrugged it off. She decided to open the book however and began to read the words on its pages. The journal her mother had given her was no journal at all, it was a fairytale her mother must have written as a young girl. As Kagome read, the story seemed to play inside of her head as if watching a movie on fast forward. It was an adventure of a girl named Rai named after her mother who found a magic paint brush that made anything she drew with it come to life. Rai drew a picture of a fantasy world where she was a valiant warrior, and a gentle queen. She cared for her people, she protected them and listened to them. She fought in a war and fell in love with a man named Cedrick. Together they ruled over the mighty kingdom of Chronis, until the one day where their adventure came to an end and they had to return back home, then ...the magic paintbrush was nowhere to be found. The picture of the magic world lost all its power and wouldn't let Rai and Cedrick back inside.
Kagome raised her eyebrow at the book. There were so many holes in the stories plotline...so many unanswered questions. Kagome knew the only way to have her answers were to make them up herself. She grabbed a pencil out of her suitcase and began writing her own alternate ending...
And thus, her adventure begins.
--
Kagome was dozed off when an announcement roared over the loud speaker of the train, "Attention passengers, we are now arriving at Juban city China. Last stop." Kagome stretched her arms and yawned heavily. It was the early afternoon, but the time difference made it seem like much earlier. Once the train docked into the station, Kagome grabbed her only suitcase and of course her mother's journal and lined up with the remaining children on the train waiting to get off.
This was the first time Kagome had ever truly been on her own, she had no idea who this man was that she was supposed to meet, or even what he looked like. All she knew was that he was a middle aged man, with blue eyes and grey hair. She just hoped he knew what she looked like. When she finally stepped off, everything looked foreign; she couldn't ready any of the signs and didn't recognize anyone. Immediately, she wanted to break down and start crying. But even if she attracted attention, the language barrio would prevent her from asking for help anyway. Just then, someone grabbed hold of Kagome's shoulder. The gesture terrified her and she was afraid to even turn around.
"You are Kagome, Rai's daughter?" A male's voice asked her from behind. She turned and looked at who was talking to her. It was a man between his late forties maybe early fifties. He had grey hair and blue eyes like her mother described.
"A-are you the man I'm supposed to be meeting? You know my mom?" She asked skeptically.
The man nodded, "I am...you can call me Dr. C." The man took her hand and started leading her outside of the train station.
The two were walking in silence for about twenty minutes and it was starting to become very awkward, so Kagome decided to finally speak up. "Dr. C, how do you know my mother?" She asked curiously."
"Your mother was a very good friend of mine. She lived here, in china and we were neighbors. We grew up together, until she moved to Japan. We kept in touch through letters for a while, but even that came to an end eventually. But when I received her letter asking if I would take you in, I was more than happy to. I am a very busy man though young lady, so I won't be able to entertain you much during your stay. "
The two stopped outside of a large set of French doors. Kagome looked at the house she was to be staying at. It was huge, but it was really old. The wood was deteriorating, the walls were thin, but it was still a lot larger than any house she'd ever been in. Dr. C opened the French doors and Kagome was instantly filled with awe. Despite the houses run down exterior, the house was beautifully decorated on the inside. Kagome dropped her bag and started walking around, "This is really your house?" She bellowed in amazement. Dr. C just picked up her suitcase and started walking up the tall circular staircase, "Follow me..." He said.
Kagome quickly followed behind not wanting to fall too far back and get long in the giant home. Dr. C led her down a long hallway that was filled with paintings. Somehow, the paintings looked vaguely familiar. One was a castle; another was of a young man and woman sitting on thrones and many others. However, Kagome couldn't figure out why the pictures seemed so familiar to her. When Dr. C stopped walking, the two were outside of a door. "This will be your room, Kagome." He said while pulling out a key and unlocking the door. Kagome could hear the click when the key turned. She sure hoped this man wasn't about to hold her captive in this room alone by herself. Her mother wouldn't do that to her...would she? Dr. C pushed the door open and stepped inside, Kagome followed suit. The bedroom was nothing exciting, just a small bed and a simple dresser. The room was filled with so much dust that even if someone without asthma entered, it could trigger an attack. That was to be expected in an old room right...nothing out of the ordinary. But one thing did strike Kagome's attention. There were two extra doors in the room, one opened and one closed. The opened one naturally was the closet...but the other, Kagome had no idea, the door also had no door knob.
"You'll find fresh sheets inside one of the drawers. Dinner is at six...I shall see you in a few hours." Dr. C spoke up breaking Kagome's thoughts.
"Wait, Dr. C..."
"Yes?"
"What is behind that door, sir?" She asked.
Dr. C smirked faintly enough that Kagome hadn't noticed it. "I have no idea my dear. I have lived in this house for thirty seven years have seen every square inch of this house, except for that door."
Kagome thought that seemed a little weird, "Haven't you ever wondered what was in it? Why haven't you ever looked?"
Dr. C shrugged his shoulders, "Never got around to it I suppose, plus...there is no door knob, so I never worried myself with it. I have to return to my work now young lady. I will see you at dinner time." He replied and closed the door behind him.
Kagome sighed heavily as she looked at the strange door. She decided she shouldn't worry about it, though that did not stop her curiosity. But since the door clearly wasn't meant to be open she would let herself rest about it for now. To keep her mind off of it, she unpacked what little bit of clothes she had and made up her bed. When she finished that task, Kagome decided to read her mother's journal once more. She imagined her mom reading it to her, after all that was all she had to remind her of her mom. She liked to think of Queen Rai in the story as her mom, and every time she made it to the end of the story, she would write more. She wrote in a new character...a princess; Daughter of Queen Rai and King Cedrick who got a hold of the magic paint brush and made her way into the land Chronis. But before she knew it, it was six o'clock and time for her to go to dinner.
Back down the painting filled hallway she walked and examined the pictures more closely. She even noticed one she hadn't seen the first time. In fact, she was sure there was another picture in the same spot when she first walked by. But now there was a picture of a young girl with long black wavy hair and brown eyes sitting graciously on a throne. "What happened to the painting of the couple sitting on the thrown?" She asked herself, "I'm sure it was here." She looked up and down the hallway trying to find the picture of the king and queen on thrones but couldn't find it. "Wow...that's so weird, I know what I saw." But the painting had somehow vanished...or wasn't there at all. Kagome gave up and decided to just go to dinner.
Somehow, by mere miracle she found her way to the dining hall and found Dr. C sitting at the head of the table reading a book while forking up the contents on his plate. Kagome sat at the other end of the table where a plate was waiting for her as well. Dr. C never looked at her when she entered the room, he just kept reading. The silence was almost like when she first got to China and the two walked from the train station in complete silence. Kagome wasn't sure if she would be able to live in a house where she didn't talk the only other person that lived in it. It would be weird. Wasn't it weird for him as well? Didn't he want to talk to her? Did he not like her? Why was Dr. C so distant? Was he hiding something?
"I trust that you settled into your new room without any problems?" Dr. C spoke up.
Kagome nodded while taking a sip of the soup that was in front of her. "Yes, everything was fine."
"Nothing...out of the ordinary struck you by surprise?" He asked her raising an eyebrow at the girl.
"No..." Kagome thought for a moment, she would sound crazy if she said she thinks one of his paintings just got up and left his house. But she was still very curious about them; she decided to beat around the subject. "Um, those paintings upstairs in the hallway...where did they come from? They're really beautiful."
Once again, the corners of Dr. C's lips curled into a faint smirk. "Actually, they were given to me by your mother. She made them herself."
Kagome's mouth dropped, "Really? I didn't know my mother could paint!"
"Well, naturally I suppose you wouldn't...your mother used to cling to this special paint brush that she painted everything with. One unfortunate day though, she lost it and never painted again. She was actually quite a brilliant artist, but I guess when she lost the brush, she also lost her will to paint."
"Why didn't my mom just get a new favorite paint brush? There are tones out there..." She asked.
"I couldn't answer that for you because I don't know myself. The paint brush she had was special though, without it...I can only imagine that Rai felt that without it, her work wasn't special. She told me once that she lost the paint brush here. The very last day I had seen your mother, she came here to say goodbye and gave me a new painting to hang up in that hallway upstairs. The paint brush was in the pocket of an old jacket she had with a tear in it. I assume the brush fell out and she was gone before she noticed it was gone. She wrote me a letter asking to look for it and to keep it safe, but I never found it either, and I searched everywhere in this house. Since I couldn't find the brush, your mother and I eventually lost touch. It was like the magic in the paintings she drew that kept our friendship alive. When the magic died...so did our friendship. "
Kagome had to fight the threat of crying at the sad story. "I'm so sorry..." She said.
"Don't be, I had wonderful adventures with your mother and I am always reminded by the paintings she left behind." He looked into her orbs deeply, "I trust the paintings will remind you of her too."
With that said, silence once again settled between them and Kagome quickly finished her meal and headed back to her room. She changed into nightgown and simply lay across the bed. She wasn't tired and she really didn't have anything to do. But her mind was busy...she couldn't help but think about the story that Dr. C had told her. Something about it seemed too bizarre. If her mom was so good at painting, why would she just stop because she lost an old brush? And what did Dr. C mean about the paintings keeping the adventures he had with her mom alive?
Kagome's head was spinning due to too many thoughts racing through her head. She sat up on the bed when something came to mind. She looked at the journal a few feet away from her on the dresser. She thought about the story her mother had written inside of it about the Queen and her magic paint brush. That story ended with not being able to find the paintbrush either. "Perhaps...that's where mom got the idea for her story from." She said out loud to herself, and then she looked at the mysterious door in her bedroom and thought back to when Dr. C first brought her here.
‘I have lived in this house for thirty seven years have seen every square inch of this house, except for that door.'
Then again at the dinner table, ‘look for it and to keep it safe, but I never found it either, and I searched everywhere in this house.'
Kagome pondered for a moment, "He said he looked everywhere for the paint brush...but he also said he's never been behind that door." Kagome stood up and walked over to the door; she pressed her ear up against it and knocked on it three times. She heard nothing come from the other side, but her knock accidentally pushed the door open a little. Kagome gasped and pushed it opened a little more with her forefinger and stepped back. There was a staircase leading up to somewhere and Kagome debating on taking the chance at following it. "This is way freaky..." She said while quietly ascending the stairs. When she got to the top she found an old black box. It wasn't very big, perhaps the size of a standard jewelry box. The stairs did not lead to anywhere in particular, just a really old painting of what looked like a kingdom. There was an ocean and a waterfall, some cottages where commoners lived Kagome assumed, a bright blue sky, and some mountains; but on top of the mountains where a beautiful, big castle.
She examined this piece of art in front of her, more specifically at the waterfall. It almost looked as if the water was moving and even some of the people on land looked like they moved a little but Kagome knew it was just her imagination. She picked up the box she found and went back downstairs. Kagome sat on her bed and just starred at the box contemplating on opening it or not. But somehow, she locks on the box unlocked themselves and the lid popped open. Inside was a gorgeous solid gold paint brush with brown bristles that look as if they had never been used and next to it was a small glass vile that had nothing in it.
There were words engraved on the inside of the lid, ‘the magic in this brush can bring forth your deepest wishes...and darkest desire. The brush its self is a spell, use it well...little princess.'
Kagome had a flashback; her mother had said something like that to her before she left. Kagome grabbed the journal from off her dresser and sat back down on the bed.
‘Use it well, my dear...'
She opened up the next black page in the book and picked up the brush and vial. Kagome started breathing heavily as she dipped the brush inside the empty glass jar. Her heart started to pound while she began inching the brush to the blank page in the book. She decided to draw something simple...a bird. Kagome was no artist and she knew what she drew would be nothing like a bird, but what ended up on the paper was something more magical that she ever dreamed. She merely tapped the page and a beautiful cardinal drew its self on the page. Kagome wasn't even touching the paper after the one dot she made. Still, she picture drew its self...then, she heard a faint tweet.
Kagome gasped when she heard the sound. With her other hand she went to touch the page, but instead...her hand went inside of it. When she pulled it out, the cardinal from the picture was on her finger. It was beautiful magic, and Kagome couldn't believe what had happened. The bird was real, living, breathing...tweeting. It flew off of her finger and out the window of her bedroom.
"Weird..." She whispered. But then...it struck her, the story from the journal was real. What her mom wrote really happened. The paintings on the walls must have really been the places she and Dr. C had went together.
"Dr. C..." She gasped, "King Cedrick!" Kagome squealed and ran into the hallway only to see another site that took her breath away, every one of the paintings that was on the wall when she first got there, where gone.
"Kagome, did you say something?" Dr. C heard her squeal and started coming towards her room. She knew if he saw the paintings were missing he would blame her and she was in for a world of trouble. She had to get out...but there was nowhere for her to run.
"Unless..." She looked that the mystery door.
"Kagome, are you alright up there?"
She could hear his footsteps getting closer to the hallway. Kagome grabbed the magic paintbrush, and the bottle of clear paint as well as her mother journal and run back up the stairs behind the mystery door. Kagome tried to stick her hand through the painting but nothing happened.
"What happed in here!?" She heard Dr. C yell. He must have seen that the paintings were missing and Kagome had to think fast. "Kagome, where are you!" He said.
Kagome dipped the paintbrush in the clear liquid and started making swivel marks on the old dingy painting. The wall glowed so bright that Kagome had to cover her eyes, she couldn't see that it started transforming into a new picture. She was more concerned about getting out so without thinking she stuck her hand through and followed with the rest of her body.
Kagome fell, but still had her eyes closed. Be neither her hands she felt grass. She was so afraid to open her eyes because she kept telling herself that none of what happened in the last few minutes real. She didn't open the mysterious door. She didn't find a black box. Kagome opened that when she opened her eyes she would be back with her mother. But when she did, Kagome saw a sight that was more than she would have ever imagined.
-x-
AN: And that's the end of the chapter. What do you guys think? This was just something a whipped up while sitting around trying to think of a new chapter for Sexy Baby. I have been completely blank-headed for coming up with a new chapter for SB. I kind of have an idea, but I don't think I like it just yet and thus, you guys got the Golden Paintbrush. Do you like it or not? Do you think I should continue it or not? Do you love it or do you hate it? Let me know in a review. I'm serious...REVIEW! >.>
-Kriss

 

Chapter 2
Kagome gasped as she took in the dreadful sites around her. She was in a forest where it looked like life had been barren for years. The grass was dry and withered, and the trees were dying. "W-where am I...? What is this awful place?" She whispered while placing her small hand on one of the dying trees. "This is horrible...who could have done something like this?"
Somehow, a flow of gentile energy flew from Kagome's hand and into the tree and before her very eyes, the health of the tree she touched was restored. Kagome gasped, "D-did I just do that..." She asked her self while snatching her hand back and examining it. "My hands still look normal enough...but, how did I-" Her words were cut short and as something quickly flew past her face and punctured the tree.
Kagome yelped and fell backwards, "An arrow..." She said while starring at the wooden arrow now stuck inside the trees trunk that she somehow just gave life to. "Who shot that arrow?" Kagome started looking off into the barren woods, but saw nothing. Two more arrows were fired at her and barely missed. Kagome stood back up to her feet and started running for her life. She didn't know what she could have possibly done to make someone want to kill her. As she ran for her life, more arrows were launched in her direction. "Stop it!" She screamed, "I didn't do anything!"
Suddenly, Kagome screamed in pain and fell to the ground. She had been hit in the back of her left calf. Kagome groaned and cried from the pain that was now being shot through her leg. "Mom!" She called out, though she knew her mother couldn't help her. "T-this is it...I'm going to be killed." Kagome shielded her head with her arms and buried her face in the grass below her.
"You there! Who are you and what business do you have here!" Came a man's voice.
"Careful, she possesses magic and may try to use it against us! She could be a witch!" Said the voice of a female.
"N-no...I'm not a witch. I'm just a normal girl!" Kagome begged, but still did not lift her face.
"As if we are going to believe that." The female said, while lifting Kagome up by her hair and looking her straight in the eye. "Tell us who you are!" The female yelled in Kagome's face.
She was frightened and her heart was pounding, not to mention, Kagome's leg was still bleeding from the arrow stuck inside her. "Please...don't kill me,"
"Sango, stop!" The man's voice shouted from a few feet away. "Look what she had with her..."
The woman looked away from Kagome, and in the direction of the man she was traveling with. He was holding the journal Kagome's mother had given her, and the gold paintbrush she was carrying. She gasped, "Queen Rei's magic paintbrush-" She uttered out and looked closer at the girl in her hands. "Oh, your majesty, please forgive..." The woman was never able to finish her statement, for Kagome had fainted from blood loss.
-X-
"Hm..." Kagome groaned and began opening her eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but her eyes quickly adjusted. She took in her surroundings; she was inside of a small wooden cottage with very little handmade furniture. There was a small fire in a fireplace, not too far from the hay filled bed she was laying in. Kagome tried to sit up, but the pain in her leg made it difficult, but she managed. She noticed that the wound in her leg had been bandaged up, and her clothes had been changed. She was now in a soft green, long, dress with gold trimming and a V-neck. "Hello..." She spoke up.
"Oh, good...you are awake." That same males voice from before rang in her ears. Momentarily, the mystery man was now standing in front of her with a cup of some hot liquid inside of it. "Drink it...you'll feel better,"
Kagome eyed the drink that was in her hands and did not want to take her chances. "N-no thanks, I'm not thirsty..." She said, and handed it back to him.
"Fair enough, my name is Miroku. I live in this hut with my childhood friend, Sango. Sorry about attacking you earlier. It's just, with all that has been going on here lately, its every man for himself. We really didn't mean to scare you." He said sincerely.
"Um...where is here, exactly?" Kagome questioned.
Miroku stood up and peered outside the cracked window in his hut. "This, is the country of Chronis...well, what's left of it at least."
‘Chronis...that name is familiar...' Kagome thought, and wondered where her mom's journal was. "Hey...I um, I think I left my things back in the woods. So, I'll just be going now. Thanks for taking care of me-" Kagome tried to gather her strength to stand but her leg ached. She started limping and almost fell down, had Miroku not caught her before she fell.
"You aren't in the right shape to be walking around just yet. The arrow went in pretty deep...it took me a while to get the head out without causing you permanent damage. You need to stay off that leg for a while." Miroku picked her up and carried her back to the makeshift bed she was on when she woke up. "It's obvious you're not from around here, so where do you come from young lady,and how did you get here?"
"More importantly, how did you come to possess this...?" The woman who attacked her before butted in, holding the gold paint brush and journal in her hands.
Kagome took a deep breath and began to tell her story, "I'm from Japan, but I'm currently living in china with my mom's old friend because there's a war back where I really live. My mom gave me that journal. She said she used to write in it when she was my age. When I got to the house with my mom's friend, I found that paintbrush...then, a bunch of stuff started happening, and I ended up here. I really don't know how.
"That story is all a lie! You stole these things from our beloved Queen Rei right after you killed her, witch!" The women yelled at Kagome.
"Sango, calm down. I hardly think that this frail little girl could have killed our queen when she doesn't even look old enough to have lived that many years ago to have committed the crime. Queen Rei and King Cedrick have been missing for over twenty years, this girl isn't even close to being twenty years old. But, that does trigger the thought of how you came to possess these items at all."
"I told you, my mom gave me the book...and the brush, well I just found it in some old black box!"
"So then...your mother killed our Queen," Sango snapped.
Kagome thought momentarily, "No...no, I uh...I think the queen you are speaking of, is my mother. My mom's name is Rei; and she really did give me that book, and I really did find that paintbrush. My mother must have disappeared so many years ago because, she went back home...to the world where I was born."
Miroku looked closely at Kagome and noticed the harshly close resemblance between the girl in front of him and the pictures of his queen he had seen as a small boy. "You do kind of look like her. And, if you're our queen's daughter, then that makes you our...princess."
Sango's eyes widened and she fell to her knees, "Finally...peace will be restored once again thanks to the return of our long lost princess."
Miroku took Kagome's hand and kissed it, "What is your name princess?" He asked.
"Princess? No...no, you have it wrong. I'm no princess. I-I'm a normal girl, my name is Kagome. I go to school, I'm not from here...I-"
"If you are the daughter of queen Rei, then you are our princess." Miroku explained. "It is your birth right..." Miroku kneeled down before her, "Will you reclaim your mother's kingdom, and lead her people, Princess Kagome?"
"I...I don't know." Kagome stood up again and started limping towards the door and opened it. But, on the other side was a massive crowed of people, and forest creatures bowing before her outside the hut. "What is this?"
"Please lead us, princess." Someone shouted from the crowd.
Miroku followed her to the door, "You are the true heiress to the thrown on Chronis, and we need you."
Kagome sighed and thought of her options, either she stayed here and be their princess, or she went back to china and be punished for something she did not do. As she thought more, Kagome realized that she did not even know how to get back to her world, or even really know how she got here. "Okay-" She said, "I'll do it, I'll be your princess."
Cheer broke out from the crowd and Sango placed a crown of flowers on her head. "It isn't much...but it's the least I can do for shooting you earlier, my princess."
Two men, stood up from the crowed and hoisted Kagome up on their shoulders. "All hail the Princess of Chronis." They all started shouting.
-x-
Two days had passed since Kagome arrived in this new world and already her life seemed to have taken a ninety degree turn. She went from zero to princess in a matter of hours and she had been briefed that since her mother and the former king left, many bad things had happened to this world. A neighboring kingdom attacked and took over their palace; they also forced the citizens of Chronis out of their country and into the woods.
Kagome sighed as she looked over the cliff she was sitting on. Across from her, on top of a mountain, she could see the castle that was supposedly hers. She remembered that same castle in the painting on the wall in Dr. C's house. It didn't look quite the same, not as peaceful. In the picture, there were buds of flowers and vines that covered the place, and a beautiful water fountain flowed from it into the ocean below. It didn't look like that anymore, the flowers were dead, and the water fall stopped flowing. That must have been due to the attack of that neighboring country. The castle is now home to some new horrible monarch family.
"What do you think, mom? Think I'll make a good princess?" She said out loud to no one in particular. "What have I gotten myself into?" Kagome knew that in order for her to reclaim her kingdom...she would have to get rid of the new monarchy. But how was she to do that? She wasn't cut out for murdering people.
"Is something troubling you, princess?" A voice came from behind a bush, but Kagome didn't see anything except a black rabbit. She shrugged it off and assumed she was hearing things until that black rabbit hopped into her lap. "Is everything alright? Why do you seem so down?"
Kagome gasped, the voice she heard didn't come from a person at all. It came from the rabbit. "Y-you can talk...?"
"Yes, I can; and so can you. Now that that's out of the way, why do you seem so down?"
"You...are a rabbit." She announced, still in slight shock.
The rabbit shook his head, "No...I am a monkey. Are you done pointing out the obvious?"
Kagome nodded her head, "Um, how are you able to talk?" She asked.
"All the animals can talk here...we have the gift of voice just like you do, princess. Now, if you would like someone to talk to...I'm all ears. No pun intended."
The shock of the talking rabbit wore off after he'd told her that all the animals could talk. "Um...not really. But, if there anything you can tell me about my mother...and maybe this?" She asked while pulling out the golden paintbrush and showing it to the rabbit.
"Your mother was a great ruler, and this brush was her greatest weapon. Everything she drew with it came to life. It helped her fight the Great War right before her reign. When the war was over and many creatures and people had lost their lives and homes destroyed, you mother used the brush to rebuild the country and healed wounds so everyone could return to life. After that great deed of selflessness, the people of Chronis chose your mother and her companion as the new rulers of our world. Queen Rei and Kind Cedric was our royal family. They were loved and adored by all their subjects. When she became pregnant, it was the talk of the country..."
"Wait, my mom got pregnant here?" Kagome interrupted.
"Yes...with you? Our princess, but alas, before you were born, the king and queen disappeared for..."
"Twenty years...?"
"That's right, what's wrong princess?"
"Mr. Rabbit...how old was my mom when she first got here?" She asked.
"Uh, well...younger than you. She was definitely the youngest queen ever, but she ruled for about twelve years.
"But, how old was she?" Kagome pressed.
"Since she disappeared when she was twenty years old, I imagine she must have been about ten or eleven when she first arrived here." The rabbit replied.
Kagome started doing some mental math. Something just didn't make sense. Kagome was born when her mother was twenty years old. But, Dr. C told her that she lost her magic paintbrush before she moved to japan as a child. But, if her mother got pregnant in this world...what happened to that child? And, if that child really was Kagome, how was it that she was born another ten years after her mother moved out of China?
"Time must move faster in this world," Kagome whispered to herself.
"What do you mean, Princess?"
"Oh, nothing...just thinking out loud." She said.
‘Something just doesn't add up. How could my mother be twenty in this world, but back to a child when she returned home? And if she was pregnant in this world, how was she not still pregnant when in the real world? Unless, she was...and the pregnancy stayed dormant until her age back home caught up with her age here!'
Kagome stood up nervously, accidentally forcing the talking rabbit out of her lap. "It's been nice talking to you Mr. Rabbit, but I have to go now." She said while limping down the mountain she was sitting on in the direction of the castle she was staring at before.
"You shouldn't go down into Chronis, Princess! You are all we have, and the only descendant. Your presence could be considered a threat, and they might have you killed! Don't be rash!" Mr. Rabbit exclaimed while hopping after her down the mountain.
"I don't think it will cause too much of a problem. No one in the city knows who I am, or where I came from. But, I have to find out more about my mother and the kings life here. Or else, how can I reclaim the kingdom?"
The rabbit stopped in front of her, and halted her rout. "You must NOT go into the palace! That is a bad idea! If you go in there you put yourself at risk of the ruthless king, and his not much better son! It is dangerous in the palace! If you go, I'm coming with you!"
Kagome blinked a few times while processing the words of the rabbit in front of her. "Well, I hope your feet are lucky," She joked. "Because I guess we're both going to Chronis!"
"I was hoping you were going to say the opposite..."
-X-
Kagome and her new friend, whom she named, Mr. Rabbit, finally made it into Chronis after a long increment of walking. The distance, and hills took a toll on Kagome since her leg was still pretty sore from being shot in the leg with an arrow a few days before. She had been walking around with a big stick that she used as a crutch to make walking easier, but even that didn't lessen the pain she was currently feeling from the long distance of walking she just did.
The two arrived at what looked like a strip mall with different stands and shops with tradesmen, and peddlers. Kagome took a seat on a crate outside a bake shop. "I won't be able to talk to you much in the presence of all these people. Animals don't talk around here since the takeover. If I start talking to you, it would give it away that you and I, are Chronians. It would be in your best interest to deny ever having anything to do with the lost kingdom of Chronis. This country is called Takahashi now, since the new monarchs took over. No one around here is pleasant, and everyone hates everyone for the most part."
Kagome nodded while still taking heavy breaths trying to regain her strength from all the walking. "I...understand," She forced out.
"You there, what are you doing outside my store! You little thief!" The voice of a grungy old man came from behind Kagome, grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up to her feet. "What do you think you are doing, you little bitch!?" He screamed in her face.
Kagome was terrified. What could she have possibly done so wrong that this man took her as a thief? All she did was sit on top of an empty crate to catch her breath. "N-no, sir...you've got it wrong. I didn't steal any-" She was cut off when the violent man threw her to the ground and stomped on her leg. Needless to say, it was the leg that was already injured and he ended up reopening her wound. The blood started to seep through the green dress she was wearing, that was given to her by Sango.
"Vial, little wench!" She yelled at her again griping her by her collar and slapping her back down to the ground.
"B-but, I didn't steal anything!" Kagome screamed, hoping this brutality would lighten up. Why was he being so violent towards her? He didn't even have proof that she took anything. Yet and still, he was beating her up on a false accusation. Mr. Rabbit was right about people not being pleasant, but Kagome wasn't at all expecting this.
"What is going on here!?" The voice of a young male broke the baker's attention, causing him to stop attacking Kagome.
"Your majesty," The baker said while picking Kagome up by her hair. "I caught this little she devil trying to steal from me!"
Kagome cracked her eyes and was met with beautiful golden orbs that stared angrily at her. Before her, there was a man with long silver hair, dressed in red garbs sitting on the back of a black stallion. "I didn't steal anything! I was just resting because I hurt my leg a few days ago, and it was hurting to stand and walk." She tried to plead her case with the man that stopped her vicious beating.
"Silence, wench!" The baker yelled at her, and threw her back to the ground.
Tears were rolling down Kagome's face as she grabbed her bleeding leg tightly, trying to stop the blood that was coming out again. The silver haired figure noticed her blood stained clothes, and the anguish in her face. "Do you really need to you all this force, to take on ONE small woman!?" He yelled at the baker.
"B-but, your highness, she is a thief! She deserved what she got!" He protested.
"Get out of my site!" Kagome's silver haired savior yelled, causing the baker to run back into his shop. The young man dismounted his horse, and walked over to Kagome. Mr. Rabbit starred suspiciously at the guy, knowing fully who he was, and what he was capable of. "Are you alright?" He said.
Kagome sobbed from the pain that was shooting in her leg, but managed to nod a yes to the question she was asked. "Thanks...for stopping that man."
"Who are you? Where did you come from?"
Remembering what Mr. Rabbit had told her, about not revealing who she really was to anyone. She thought carefully of response. "My name is Kagome. And...I'm not from around here. I don't know how I got here exactly. I was walking, and I just ended up here."
"Is that so," The boy replied. "I'm Inuyasha, I'm the prince of this country. You really did a number on your leg here." He said while pulling her dress up to her knee and examining the wound that was bleeding through its wrappings. Inuyasha unwrapped her leg, and cleaned it with some water he had with him, and redressed the wound. "That should stop the bleeding...at least for now. But, you should come with me, and see a doctor. We have one inside the palace, and you can tell me more about how you got here."
Kagome didn't open her mouth, she was too distracted by the gentleness of Inuyasha's touch. Mr. Rabbit, Sango and Miroku all described the monarchs as cruel, soulless people. But, here was the prince treating her as a normal human being.
Without even realizing it, Inuyasha had hoisted her up onto his horse and remounted himself. The two rode into the palace in silence.
AN: Okay, well as I explained in the new chapter update of Star Struck, I have revived myself and come out of my fanfiction coma. My goal is to finish this story, and Star Struck by the end of my semester break...which is until January 21st, 2014. Let's see if I attain that goal.
Anyway, hope you like this chapter. Believe it or not, five out of the eight pages have been written since like March...I just got a huge block, and didn't know where I was going with this for a while. In all honesty, I STILL don't. I'm going with the flow as I write this. So, bear with me if it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I've never written a fantasy story before. But, I guess Fantasy doesn't have to make sense. Anything can happen in a fantasy.
Whatever, no more rambling for me. Please R&R!
-Kriss