The Snow Angel by SunsetMiko

The Outrage

Chapter 89 - The Outrage *Time of Rebellion* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge)

"He did what?!" the Western Lady screamed, sending servants running for cover. The young maid who made the mistake of mentioning that juicy little bit of gossip where the Lady could hear quivered in fear, stuck in the enraged demoness's gaze. "Say that again," she hissed.

The servant prostrated herself before her mistress in the hopes that her show of submission would save her life. She did as she had been ordered. "I said," she whimpered, "that Lord Sesshoumaru formally acknowledged his younger brother to an entire demon village just outside the West."

A shriek echoed through the halls before the Lady began to pace in her fury. "Half-brother, you little twit, and where did you hear such blasphemy?"

"This information is not new, My Lady," the General of the Western Army said coldly.

Several servants had rushed to retrieve him in the hopes of saving the little maid's life before it was too late. He hadn't been far, as his Lord had ordered him to keep watch over his mother, and he was doing so. The General glanced at the maid and gave her a nod. "You are dismissed," he said softly while stepping into the Lady Mother's line of sight.

"What do you mean, 'not new'? This is the first I am hearing this vicious lie," she hissed.

"Ah, My Lady, it is not a lie. Very reliable sources have confirmed this. Our Lord acknowledged Inuyasha as his father's second son."

"Why was I not told?"

"For this very reason, My Lady. You were guaranteed to overreact."

"Overreact?" she repeated, outraged by the assumption. "It is not an overreaction. Sesshoumaru will answer to me for this, and he is not my Lord!"

"But he is, My Lady. Do not forget that he has already stripped you of your title and told you of your fate."

"I haven't forgotten his petty revenge, but it will not stand. He would not dare do such a thing to his mother."

The General chuckled, greatly amused with the situation. The Lady knew that she could not lift a finger against him, as he had been charged by Sesshoumaru to supervise her, thus giving him authority over her. She could be as angry as she liked, but it was not going to change a thing. She would finally be held accountable for her atrocious behavior and for her continued disrespect of Lord Sesshoumaru, and he couldn't wait for his Lord to return and do just that.

Things in the palace had been tense, everyone walking on eggshells in hopes of not invoking the Lady's anger. She was especially short-tempered and had done little more than pout and rant. By now everyone, from the lowliest servant to the highest ranked soldiers, knew the atrocity the Lady Mother had committed, and what Lord Sesshoumaru had done and said to her at their last meeting.

She knew everyone was whispering about her and it was making her insane. She had never been treated with such disrespect in her own palace before and thought it to be unconscionable. She fully intended to teach her unruly son a lesson once again when he finally showed his face. A small part of her hoped that he never succeeded in bringing down the barrier, because that part of her knew she was in the wrong and that Sesshoumaru had every right to punish her in any way he saw fit for casting that spell on him.

However, she was not going down without a fight. She was not going to leave the palace with her tail between her legs and never return. It was her palace and they were her lands, and had been for decades before her ungrateful pup's birth and for the centuries since. There was no way she would let him cast her out, no matter what she had done. She was his mother, after all, and he owed her respect.