InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ White Rose ❯ Chapter 1

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: lil6ter

Love. It�s a funny thing, really. Over the years I have been told many things about love. That it can change lives forever, or make people do stupid things. I have even been told that it can overcome anything. I believe that. It changed my life. The person who loved me did do a stupid thing because of it. Because of her, I am this now...this...thing�this monster. Why? Because I didn�t love her in return. So now I wait. For fifty years I have waited for someone to love me. Do I believe that love can overcome anything? God I hope so. I pray I can find the one who can change my life forever. I have a chance to now, but can she learn to see beyond what I am, and discover who I am? She alone has the power to change my life forever, but for better or worse? A Monster� A Beauty�A Curse�A Rose�The Time Has Come�Let The Fairytale Begin�

The end has come and their love shall be tested.

Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shoujo / Romance / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.13.2008 | Pages: 10 | Words: 11.1K | Visits: 691 | Status: Completed

Disclaimer: I love the only Inuyasha related thing I own. My cute little chibi inu key-chain which lives out its happy life on my iPod making fashion statements everywhere (Ha! Take that Parris Hilton! You want something hot? Then look at my iPod cuz it's so cute and knows how to accessorize.)

"What do you want?" He ground out.

Her smirk widened as she leaned forward as and licked the side of his face, trailing upward until she reached his ears and whispered the only phrase that he feared more then death.

"I want more then just your body Inu, and I think we both know that."

"Are you asking…" he could not finish it. He could not bear to finish that sentence, let alone that thought."

"I never ask. This my dear, dear Inu, is your payment." She told him, letting the truth of her words take hold. "You belong here Inu. You always have, and now I will take you as my own." She left him alone on the bed without so much as a backward glance to see how devastated he now was.

~~~Chapter 23~~~

Dawn could not come soon enough for Kagome. She had slept as pleasantly as she could in Inu's giant bed, but she still longed to start looking for him. She was sad in a way, she supposed that she would be leaving his sent behind for a few days, but she knew that she could not take his pillow with her. She wanted to travel as light as she could. Kagome clutched the pillow to her chest as the first rays broke through Inu's window, signaling awakening of a new day. A tear ran down her cheek, and Kagome truly felt sad about leaving her makeshift Inu behind. She was not sure how she would manage it without something that would still hold his scent after she saturated his shirts with sweat. She looked down at the pillow, and before she could stop herself she had it stripped of its case and had the cloth thrown into her bag.

She dressed quickly, wanted to get out of the castle as soon as possible. Without Inu here, the walls felt like they were closing in on her. Like they were some formidable enemy that would never let her out of its grasp. She felt trapped and alone here, much like she had when she first came to live with the now gone Inu. She shivered at the though and quickly finished pulling up her, or rather his, pants. She tucked the shirt in and strapped her belt around her waist before she grabbed the things she left by the door the day before and went to the kitchen to eat.

She did not feel like preparing much this morning so she examined the fruit that was available to her. She smiled softly at the round spears that greeted her. Grapefruit. She grabbed the fruit and a few croissants and made her way to the dining hall. She might be living in the wild for God only knows how long, but she did not want to loose her civility now by standing to eat in the kitchen. She barely looked up from her food as she ate, but she made the mistake only once. One time, and that was all it took for her to see the last thing that she and Inu had done together before he had confessed his love to her, for there atop of the mantle rested the painting that she had made.

She knew that such a place was reserved for only things of great honor and pride. Things like family portraits done by famous painters where all could see. It was a place reserved for families most treasured works of art so that they might brag about them to guests, and yet Inu had chosen to place the painting there. She had thought that he would have put it in the sitting room or in the gallery, but never above the mantle. Her heart warmed at his actions before it constricted and she felt a lump in her throat again.

Strength. She had to keep reminding herself of that if she planed on making it through this.

She never looked up again from her food again until she was finished, and then it was so that she could take her dirty dishes to the scullery. She stuck them in a basin and poured the now cold boiled water from the day before over them, but now was not the time to wash them. She had to leave to find Inu, and the time was now.

She was determined. She could do this. She had to do this.

Kagome took a deep breath before she pushed on the giant doors leading out, and started in the direction that she had seen the wolves take her Inu in.

***

Inu's vapid gaze saw nothing as he felt tiny hands press against his chest. It was like he was void of all life. Emotionless. Numb. Blind. He was just there. It was like he simply existed as a rock did. It was like his soul was gone. Like he was an empty shell. He was a shadow of the man he used to be.

He had ignored the hands when they first appeared to bath him in sweet smelling lavender. He had ignored the hands as they brushed his hair. He continued to ignore the hands as they pressed leaves to his chest.

He knew that he would never be able to see Kagome again, so he had sought the sweet feeling of numbness that over came him when he learned of his fate. If he was numb, then he would not feel the pain of loosing the woman that he loves.

“My Lord?” a tiny, child-like voice started. His eyes flicked in her direction, giving the briefest indication of recognition. “My Lord, might you raise your arms? It is most difficult to connect the leaves with your arms at you side.”

He obeyed, slowly raising his arms until they created a flat plane of muscle with his shoulders. Inu did not know what the young fairy was doing, but soon a mirror was placed before him. He took in his appearance and was startled to discover that he was now dressed in vegetation much like the rest of the spirits and fairies of Eurosegia. Two large leaves crossed over his chest and there were leaves peaking out from the bottom of the X to cover his belly. Golden string helped to keep the shirt together and to add some extra decoration to hid strange garb.

His reflection scared him. It scared him so much that he never noticed the little fairy leave him. He felt terrified, and all because this garment, this simple shirt made it look like he finally belonged somewhere. Here. He did not like this one bit at all.

***

For a few hours, Kagome stumbled through the woods. She walked in the direction that she had seen the wolves take Inu, and she knew that if she stayed in that direction, she should eventually find him. Though she had only been searching for a few hours, she was getting tired. She was not accustomed to the weight of the heavy duffle and the two swords, and she could not help but doubt herself, and her ability to come to Inu's aid.

She refused to give up, however. She could not. Not this soon, not because she was merely tired…She told herself that she had to be stronger than that.

A whisper in the wind caused her to look around, for she was sure that she had heard a voice. She was sure that she ad heard something. Like someone was calling out to her. A hidden angel looking out for her. Inu called her his angel…Oh Inu…was he all right?

"Hey!" something called again, and this time, Kagome recognized that she was not loosing her mind and that something was trying to get her attention from up above.

"Show yourself!" Kagome said, clumsily raising one of the swords in what she hoped was a threatening manner.

Nothing whatsoever happened, except for a little brown swallow landing on a bush in front of her.

Kagome looked up into the canopy of the trees. Whoever had called to her from up there had gone…

"Hey!"

Kagome looked around, still hearing the voice, but unable to locate the location of it. Maybe she was losing he mind from grief. Was that even possible?

“Over here!”

She must be. Was she not already going through enough at the moment? Did she really need to start hearing voices too? What had she ever done to deserve this?

A small bird flew over to her, landed on her shoulder.

“Hello there little bird,” she whispered softly, raising her hand to gently stroke the soft feathers upon his crown. It did not move and looked right back at her. But…the bird couldn't have spoken…could it?

"Are you listening?" asked the bird.

The sword that she had been holding silently fell to the earth, making only a light thump upon impact. The bird could talk. That was impossible. No sooner had she reached this conclusion, than she remembered that she was trying to find a half-demon who had been carried off by two eighteen foot wolves. Suddenly, the talking little sparrow did not seem so impossible anymore.

"Who…who are you?" Kagome whispered to the little bird.

The swallow puffed out its tiny little brown chest. "I, my good lady, am Jeffrey!" he said.

"Jeffrey I am Kagome." she whispered in aw. "Did you…did you see two giant wolves run through here yesterday? They had a man with them."

"I did, my lady. They took him to Eurosegia," Jeffrey tweeted.

"Where?"

"Eurosegia," Jeffrey repeated. When Kagome still looked confused, he added, "the fairy realm."

"The fairy realm? How can you be so sure?" Kagome asked.

"I followed them yesterday after I saw you running after them. Those wolves are acquaintances with the Queen, and I followed them to the mountain range. The Queen lives in Eurosegia," explained Jeffrey.

Kagome sank to her knees. 'Another realm?' she thought. 'How can I ever reach him there?'. Never in her life had she ever felt more hopeless in her entire life. She could feel the hot tears burning under her eyelids, but she did not want to let them fall.

"Kagome," said Jeffrey. "I can take you there."

"You…you know the way?" Kagome asked, hope flooding back into her.

"Yes," said the bird. "It will take seven days, I think. But, I can take you there."

Kagome did not care that it would take seven days. She wouldn't have cared if Jeffrey had said that it would take a year. All that mattered was that she was going to see her Inu again. Where only a moment before it had seemed utterly impossible, it was now possible again.

She stood, and gathered the heavy duffle and the swords, barely noticing their weight, anymore. She smiled at Jeffrey, and said, "lets go."

;

***

After Esmeralda left the room, Inu sat up on the bed. He was in a room unlike any room he had ever been in before. Everything was made of wood, and seemed to be grown out of the very walls. When he looked out the window, he realized that he was in a tree, but not exactly. The room, and it seemed Esmeralda's entire home, was grown right out of the tree. It was as if some magic had forced the tree to build itself into living quarters. It was magnificent, truly a beautiful place, but Inu could not enjoy it.

The only thing on his mind was Kagome. His angel. Where was she, now? Had she truly been about to return his feelings for him? He needed to find some way out of this mess, someway to get back to her. But how?

Esmeralda entered the room once more. With her red hair cascading down her back, her bright green eyes, and a green dress that seemed to be woven out of leaves, she looked like the embodiment of Mother Nature herself. She smiled at Inu.

"Lunch will be served soon," she said. "You will meet me in the dining hall."

Inu could do nothing but glare. He had no desire to eat with her, much as Kagome had had no desire to dine with him. As politely has he could make it, he said "no."

The queen did not falter in her smile. "I did not ask you, my darling Inu," she said. "You will join me."

"No," Inu said again.

She raised her hand, long golden fingernails glinting in the light. Inu found himself mesmerized by her hand. He could not look away from it. She moved her hand until it was right in front of her eyes, and Inu found himself unable to look away from them. He was now just as captivated by her eyes as he had been by her hand, and try as he might, he could not break the gaze.

"You will join me," she said again, and the words seemed to echo into his soul. Lunch did not really seem so bad, and he wanted to do what she asked.

"Yes, my Lady," he said.

***

For six days, Kagome and Jeffrey had been walking, and they were not, quite literally, out of the woods yet. Jeffrey was sitting on Kagome's shoulder when night fell, feeling too tired to walk any more.

"We should make camp, Kagome," Jeffrey said.

"I want to keep going a little longer," Kagome said.

"You need to rest!" the bird yelled. "You said the same thing yesterday, and the day before! If you keep this up, you'll wear yourself out!"

"I do not care!"

"You should. We have a few more days of travel left. You need to rest!" said Jeffrey.

"No!" said Kagome.

"Yes!" said the bird, and he bit her ear.

Kagome screamed. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you are the most stubborn human girl I have ever met!"

Kagome continued walking, and Jeffrey nipped her again. She tried to ignore it, but he would not stop. At least, not until he found a change in strategy.

“Would Inu let you do this to yourself? Would he let you try and kill yourself from exhaustion just to save him? Would he really rather you be weak? Why are you looking for a man that would let you kill yourself over him? If you will not stop for me, then stop for him if he would want you safe.”

At long last, she relented.

"All right, Jeffrey," Kagome said. “We shall stop and make camp."

"Good!" said the little sparrow. “I am glad that you can see reason. Inu would want it this way, you know. If he truly cares about you, he would not want you to get hurt.”

“I know,” she whispered as she started a small fire and sat in front of it.

Her mind drifting back to Inu and all the good times they had shared over the past two months. It was amazing, absolutely incredible, that she was falling for the man that she had once despised enough to cut with a letter opener…

"So," Jeffrey said, now perched on her knee. "Tell me about him."

"What do you want to know?" Kagome asked.

"Whatever you want to tell me," he said. "You look like you want to talk about it."

"Inu…he is a good man. No…a great man," Kagome began, realizing that she did indeed want to talk about him. "He is…he is gentle, and kind. He saved my life once, you know."

"He did?" asked Jeffrey.

"Yeah, I was falling off a ladder in the library. But, he saved me."

"Wow."

"When I first met him, I thought that he was disgusting, cruel, mean. I hated him for what he had done to my family. I even cut him with a letter opener!" Kagome laughed at this memory.

Jeffrey let out a startled chirp. "What ever made you change your mind about him?"

"I got to know him," she whispered. "I realized that while he was a half-demon, he was not disgusting. He was beautiful. And he was incredibly sweet…kind…loving. He would never do anything to hurt me, Jeffrey. He is….perfect."

"How long have you known him?" asked the bird.

"About two months," Kagome responded.

"That is a pretty dramatic change of mind," Jeffery told her.

"I know," said Kagome. "Have you ever been in love, Jeffrey?"

"No," he said. "I cannot say that I have, my lady."

"I think I am," Kagome sighed. Finally saying out loud was a relief, and a realization. Up until that moment, she hadn't been sure how she felt toward Inu. Or more, she hadn't known what word to use to describe it. "I think I'm in love with Inu."

***

After dinner, Inu returned to his bedroom…their bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. He could not remember why he had agreed to eat with her...for he distinctly remembered saying 'no'. Somehow, after she had…what had she done? He couldn't really remember that, either. But, she must have done something to him.

Inu rose, and walked over to the window. It was a long way down, but he wondered if he could make it. He couldn't stay here. He had to get back to Kagome. Attempting to climb out the window and down the tree might be risky, but it seemed to be a risk worth taking. Inu had to get out of here.

'Damn!' he thought. 'If I had not made that potion…if I had never asked for the Queens help…' Inu could not help but feel angry with himself. This was, after all, his fault. He had agreed to pay whatever the Queen wanted she desired, but he could not do this. He did not want to do this. Being forced away from his angel like this was more than he was willing give. Much more. He felt dirty for even thinking about it.

He sighed softly. No matter how much he did not want to go through with this, he knew that he would have to. He is a man of his word, and he gave the Queen his word.

There was a knock at the door, but before Inu could say "come in", Esmeralda entered. She approached him with a bright smile on her face, though it altered when she took in Inu's expression.

"Why are you so sad, my dear, dear Inu?" she asked.

"I do not wish to be here, My Queen." Inu choked out.

"Inu," said Esmeralda as she walked over to him, "We made a deal."

Inu said nothing, turning his head to look off to the side as she started to caress his chest. He already knew this, but that did not make it any more enjoyable to hear, and that did not mean that he would enjoy gracing her bed every night for an eternity.

Esmeralda raised her hand as she had done the other night, and once again Inu was captivated. She guided his eyes with her hand until he was staring into her own. He lost all sense of control. No thoughts entered his mind as he gazed into the depths of Esmeraldas eyes.

"You will love me, Inu," she whispered huskily into his ear.

Images of Kagome flashed in his head. He saw her smiling at him. He saw the fury in her eyes. He saw the first time that they had kissed. He felt her clinging to his arm as the thunder and lightning frightened her. He saw her in that red robe from the time that he had interrupted her bath. And finally, he saw her eyes. Those beautiful eyes of hers from right before she pushed him underwater when he admitted his love. The spell was broken. For a moment, he was disoriented. He looked as the queen, who looked utterly stunned.

"Did you…?" Inu started, taking a frightened step away from her. "Did you try to enchant me?"

Esmeralda nodded, the stunned look on her face replaced with one of comprehension. "Yes," she said.

"Is that what you did to me before? So I would eat with you?" Inu half-yelled.

Again, Esmeralda said "Yes."

"And now, you are trying to make me love you?" he asked, barely able to stop himself from screaming at her.

"It did not work," said Esmeralda. "It is that girl, is it not? You love her."

"Yes, I love her! And why should you care? How do you even know of Kagome" Inu exclaimed.

“You say many things when you dream, Inu. You truly love her? There could never be another in your life?”

“Never.”

"Than go," she whispered.

Inu felt his anger start to disappear despite himself, his mind refusing to believe what his ears had just heard. "You shall let me leave? Without paying my debt?" he asked her.

"You love her," Esmeralda said. "What good would it do me to keep you here, Inu? Your love for this girl is stronger than my powers of enchantment. I can make you eat with me, maybe other things…but not love me. Not like I love you."

"So, I can leave?" Inu asked her again.

"Kiss me, Inu…just once," Esmeralda told him. There was a look of sadness in her eyes as she spoke. "That shall be your payment to me. Just one kiss, and you may leave."

Inu did not need telling twice. His heart was racing with excitement, he was unable to stop himself from smiling. He walked to the queen, and quickly kissed her, before walking to the door. Inu paused only to say "thank you" before he ran from the room, from the tree, from Eurosegia…to Kagome.

***

On the seventh day, Kagome and Jeffrey stood facing a large and treacherous river. Jeffrey had told her that to get to Eurosegia, they would have to cross it. But…crossing it did not seem like it would be easy. This part of the river was deep, and the current was fast. After traveling in opposite directions, Kagome and Jeffrey met back where they had started. As dangerous as crossing at this spot would be, the river only got worse in either direction. She would have to cross here.

"Be careful, Kagome," Jeffrey said, preparing to fly across the water.

"I will be," she told him. "But, if I don't make it…tell Inu I-"

"I know," said Jeffrey. "I'll tell him." With that, he flew to the opposite bank.

Now, it was just Kagome and the perilous river. She checked to make sure the swords and heavy bags were securely strapped to her, and stepped into the water.

It was not that bad.

It came up to her waist, and Kagome was able to move fairly easily, providing she took slow and careful steps. The current was pushing at her, but she held her footing. She was midway across the river when it happened.

She slipped, and lost her balance. Kagome was being carried downstream, and was unable to right herself again. The water rushed over her head, she couldn't breathe.

When she broke the surface, she took a deep breath and tried to scream only to be forced underwater once more. The weight of the heavy duffle and the swords made it harder for her to get above the rushing water. The river was taking her further and further down, she couldn't breathe, she knew she was going to drown.

Something strong grabbed her under she shoulders, she was able to breathe. In what felt to her like nothing but a blur of movement, she was dragged against the current. Pulled out of the water entirely, and finally, laying on solid ground.

She heard voices from far away, someone calling her name. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and the world came back into focus. She was alive, and kneeling beside her, dripping wet with a look of fear on his…was Inu.

Groggily, Kagome sat up. "Inu? Inu, is that you?"

It could not be him…he would never wear leaves on his chest like that. Had she died and gone to heaven? She loved this place then. Her good attributes must have over ruled her bad ones, and she was sure that she was now looking at the face of her own angel.

"Kagome…" he sighed. "Yes, it's me." Before she could say more, he pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her close to him and shaking slightly.

Heaven felt so nice and wonderful. She loved this place.

“I love heaven,” she whispered, “my angel, might I kiss you? My heart is still sore and I miss the one that I lost.”

“Kagome, you did not die,” he smiled, joy filling his heart at her words.

“Inu…you are really here?”

“Yes, Kagome, yes! We are both alive and well!” he laughed, bringing her into his arms.

"Oh Inu…I missed you so much! I thought that I was never going to see you again!" she confessed tearfully as she pulled face away from his chest to start plastering his face in kisses. She was so happy to see him that she had forgotten that she had nearly drowned only moments ago.

"You have no idea how scared I was," Inu told her, pulling her lips away from his cheek and redirecting them to the correct location. His lips. When they finally pulled away from a lack of air, Inu whispered, "I thought that I was never going to see you again…I almost lost you…" he said, as he rose and helped her to her feet.

"I…missed…you…so…so…so…soR 30;so…much," Kagome said, burying herself in his arms once more. "I never thought that I was going to see the man that I love again."

His breath caught in his throat. She…loved him?

"Kagome," he said, his voice sounding breathless and excited. "Do you mean that? You love me?"

She looked up into his eyes, a wide bright smile on her face. "Yes, I mean it. I love you so, so, so much, Inu!"

"The entire time I was there with Esmeralda, you were the only thing I thought about, Kagome," Inu said. "I love you, too!"

She smiled, and he kissed her again. Than suddenly, he dropped down on one knee and took her hand in his. He looked into his angels beautiful eyes, those glorious windows to her soul. "Will you marry me?"

Kagome smiled down at him. "Are you mad?" she asked. "We're soaking wet and…and….Yes, you silly man! Yes, I'll marry you!"

She pulled him to his feet, kissing him and pouring all of her love for him into that one final kiss. That was the last time that she was to kiss Inu, for when she pulled away she found herself looking into the eyes for Inuyasha, and she knew then that this was the man that she was going to be spending the rest of her life with. And she didn't care. She loved this man no matter what form he was in. All that mattered was that they were together, and that they would be together for the rest of their lives.

~The End

A/N: *sniffle sniffle* the story is over. Not quite how I was going to end it, but it works. I like it more then option 1 or 2.

I would like to do a MAJOR shout out to Dark Author for helping me get though writing this. This chapter was a joint effort for the two of us, so she gets just as much credit for this last post as I do. She helped me get this done and bring myself to write it, so everyone give her a round of applause, or, better yet, read her story All Things Will Come!

Here is a link to it. It is dark (thus the name) but good and MUCH shorter then this. The only problem is that you kinda have to be allowed to read NC-17 stuff.

Take out the spaces…

http://ik-eternal. net/viewstory. php?sid=651&ageconsent= ok&warning=2

That one is for IK-eternal, but you have to be a member to read it. She is going to eventually post it on MM.org…but again…eventually (next week).

And here is a link to Of Love And War (which I will be betaing).

http://mediaminer. org/fanfic/view_st. php/156453/

She is new so lets give her some loving. `Sides…if I am helping her with it, how bad can it be (major ego moment)?

I hope that everyone liked the last chapter to WR, and even though it was not my original plan, I still think that it ended not too shabbily.

Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed! They mean the world to me, and I promise that I WILL get to everyone. I just got a landslide when I left for China, so I am a bit behind…

PLEASE READ THE A/N ON THE 15th! IT IS IMPORTANT!

Again, thank you to everyone, and check out my other stuff! I just posted a story called Training Hearts, so I am not disappearing from the fanfiction world. It is cute, funny, fluffy, punk ass, and has some…dare I say it…hopefully twists?

Anyways, tell me eeeeeeeeverything that you loved AND hated about this story. I mean it…I want hate mail (the queen and cutting it short does not count).

Thank you so much to everyone that read!

Now onto the AR's!

To: Inukag-mirosan lover

Hehe…actually, the wolves are aligned with no one. They thought that Kagome was going to drown Inu, thus why they stole him given his track record with human women. Yes…I know…it is tragic. I did not want to end it this early too. Lol, really? Well, we are actually checking the place out on the 16th, but we are gonna be in Georgia for a while, until about the 20th cause we wanna get back in time for the start of school. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed the final chapter of WR, and look for the final A/N on the 15th! It is important!

To: December Love 05

I am glad that you liked it, and I am glad that this helped some. I hope that all goes well with your boyfriend with his training. Really and truly I do. I hope that since you will not be able to take comfort in WR anymore that you can find it in my other stories. Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you liked the last chapter. Don't forget to look for the final AR on the 15th! It is important.

To: Fookie

Already replied to.

To: Inu_Does_Me

Lol…as you can see, you know what never happens, and the Queen isn't THAT evil. Hehe…in theory the Queen does go bye bye…only she does not die… Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you liked the last chapter. Don't forget to look for the final AR on the 15th! It is important.

Reviewed By: Midoriko-sama

Hehe…cat in hen house? That is the first time I ever heard that one…sadly though, in this case, it is I either throw together a last chapter to “tie” everything up, or I never post one, do to recent events. I wish that I could finish this the way that it was meant to be finished, but this will have to do. I need to do a “rushed 'lets-get-on-with-it' finale”. Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you liked the last chapter. Don't forget to look for the final AR on the 15th! It is important.

Reviewed By: uchihacutie

Awww…can you honestly blame her though? I mean really? You have to admit…I made Inu's personality veeeeeeeeeery attractive. Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you liked the last chapter. Don't forget to look for the final AR on the 15th! It is important.

To: Kawa-Misuterii

I can assure you that sine my dad made the name, it has nothing to do with Tenseiga. He actually made it with the word “rose” in mind. Notice how rose is in the middle of it. this is kinda funny though now that you point it out… Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you liked the last chapter. Don't forget to look for the final AR on the 15th! It is important.

Again…thank you so much everyone! It has been wonderful writing and sharing this story with you!