wow...this is great! and i just have to add...not many people could pull off 130 reviews on a first chapter ; )

i like the kenshin/kaoru interaction...very well done! kenshin is all nice and possesive, yet not scaring her off, and kaoru is very aware that she isn't in a position she likes.

i don't quite get misao's jibe about tomoe not liking the jewels...

i can't wait to see more!

Dea-chan

aw... i hate hw too! and especially projects! boo to them! and kudos to you for writing these stories! i hope you update soon!

Looks good! Glad that you weren't banned. I'm sorry about you're work load, but I'll be waiting for the next chapter!

me like...very much...lol...it's a great story so far. i'm loving all this 'magic' stuff that's going on. it all seems pretty cool so i hope u can update soon.

I wonder what Kenshin will do once he realises that Kaoru is really of royal blood. Got to say Kenshin seemed shallow when he said if it wasn't for the bond then he would have tossed her aside. Such a meany :P I wonder if will realise Kaoru's heritage, considering that dead giveaway of her not being born a slave.

Exciting chapter! Even better than the first one. I'm so happy you updated so soon, I was expecting a much longer wait. Thank you! Oh and goodluck with your homework! :D

Great chapter once again.

16 pages is quite a lot, so good job there.

I hope to read another chapter whenever you can post it, but homework is first. Don't you just love it?

Well as always keep up the good work, and update soon.

By the way this was a very interesting chapter.

God Bless

Sapphire Lupe

WARNING! EXTREMELY LONG COMMENT AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Yay! Oh that first section of the chapter alone was marvelous. I had to go change the laundry right after I read that part, and I was practically dancing in excitement to come back and see what Kenshin would do. I do adore your stories, I hope you know that. I am in the midst of writing a steamy scene for “The Slumbering City,” and was starting to get bogged down. This gave me just the rush of energy I needed. Your angry and possessive Kenshin is so fun and yummy. I love the possibilities behind the sentence, “He was enraged and his magic always responded to that.” Oh, and this line, “Her fingers were work worn and as wonderfully calloused as he remembered,” conjured up all sorts of delightful images in my mind. Kaoru was so brave and stubborn as she struggled to speak even though she was exhausted. I was totally rooting for her. And when Kenshin explained that they would have to ‘reforge that night’s work,’ I immediately perked up and thought, another love scene! Whoot! Of course, I never actually saw anything, so I shall sadly assume he just meant the potion. So I’m also assuming that the drink the priests gave her severed the bond? I can’t wait to see what these acrobatics that Misao is alluding to are, not to mention Kaoru’s reaction to them. Kenshin caressing her hand was really sweet. Am I perverted to wonder what Kenshin was wearing when Kaoru woke up in bed with him? Probably. I loved your description of his hair and voice, and that his back was turned to her at first. Kaoru’s last thought before sleep took her, that she wasn’t going to make this easy on Kenshin, also delighted me. Also, the whole thing about women being weak after the sex so that they could be protected sounded like chauvinistic hogwash to me. Obviously this is a spell made by men in an attempt to get women used to the idea of being protected by a man, because if real trouble came along she’d be too weak to do anything about it herself. How unfair! I also think that there is a chance that Kenshin would help her find her father’s killers if she only asked him. Then again, he could be too busy worrying about his kingdom to chase after years-old phantoms. I guess her fears make sense. I found Kaoru asserting her independence and arguing with Kenshin very fun to see. Thank you for another delightful chapter and good luck with your homework! Oh, and congrats on so many reviews for a first chapter. That was awesome!

As I’ve warned you before, I’m a bit of a grammar nitpicker, so I’m going to point out a few things. Feel free to ignore this entire paragraph, because once I get started it can be hard to stop. If fact, looking over this I probably should have stopped right here. Sorry! Hopefully you will take this as a compliment that I like you enough to help instead of taking it as an insult. “Aoshi and Sano rode on each flank, there own eyes hard.” The word “there” in your sentence should be ‘their.’ This is a bit of a sentence fragment - “The binding that would include, the idea that he had shared his soul with a complete stranger, broke her heart.” Another sentence fragment, “As darkness settled in the temple lights flared up behind him, and the street lights, powered with magic that came from the sacrifices the people gave on a daily basis.” This sentence just needs a space after ‘setting,’ “she was also planning on settingsomeone’s hem on fire.” That scene in front of the gate was full of tension and fun to watch. I liked Misao and Aoshi’s thoughts. These sentences also have spacing problems: “He knew thatif it wasn’t for the bond crumbling between them,” and “But theirdice had been cast,” and “Misao complained,her voice petulant as she turned her nose back.” The word ‘there’ should be ‘they’re,’ in “There planning something,” Misao mused out loud.” This is either a sentence fragment or confusing, “Two days before we must give her the counter potion.” Confusing “softly questioned her name questioning.” You only need 3 ellipses in the midst of a sentence, and you could probably just say ‘or in her early twenties,’ “It was a woman….late in her teens and or? early in her twenties.” Spacing, “It’s themost we can hope for,” and “We have to counteract theirspell and re-forge.” In “murmuring of thanks under the man’s breath but she couldn’t be for sure,” you don’t need the word ‘for.’ “wide awake and capable of her own horse,” you should insert ‘handling’ before own horse. I assume you meant to delete ‘can delete’ in “his fingers ghosted a bit longer, then she was left can delete alone.” Delete the question mark in, “cross the border it’ll? be safe to travel faster.” A random ‘e’ is bolded in the word ‘damnedest’ for some reason in, “The mages are already doing their damnedest.” This is a nice description, but the question mark seems weird, “his eyes were a smoldering indigo-violet color?” Spacing “Royalty loose theirvirginity as a completely.” This part was nice and yummy, “You are mine now.” He told firmly. “I do not give up what is mine,” you just need the word ‘her’ after ‘told.’ I was a bit confused by this sentence, but it could have just been me, “She wanted to agree with him, needed to, because she hadn’t been able to spend as much time getting used to the elements of the weather as she would have needed to be unaffected.” Fix the ‘and’ in “He gave Aoshi and look and moved his head.” Change ‘than’ to ‘that’ in, “It didn’t matter than she was already fighting the drag of sleep.” (Obviously I got carried away and I apologize. I shall now slink away and go wash the dishes instead of putting it off for another hour.)

GLOMPS* THAT WAS GREAT! I SO WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENDS NEXT! TEHEHE I WONDER HOW KAORU IS GOING TO REACT WHEN SHE FINDS OUT WHATS GOING ON AND I WONDER HOW KENSHIN AND THE OTHERS ARE GOING TO REACT TO KAORU'S LINAGE HEHEHE SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!

Wonderful! I can't wait to see what happens in the next chapter.

Good luck with your work load.

- Em

A wonderful start to a chapter, considering I'm only about a quarter of the way done! I love your writing Rayvn, you always come up with the most unique plots. As I am a blonde, I have a quick question before I return to reading your chap and finishing my review: what exactly is an earth curse? Is it like the thing (how descriptive of me) from 'Shadowed Mountain'?

Cait's Review pt. 2: MREOW! I love a possessive Kenshin! It just throws me into to fangirl bliss. Now, can you tell me what the thingy (descriptiveness abounds) between Kenshin and Kaoru is called? Is a link or a bond or...cheese? Anyway, this chap was 16 pages of wonderful writing and I cannot wait to see how a) the link/bond is redone and b)how Kenshin reacts to a stubborn AND fully energized Kaoru. Ja ne!

great chapter I love it

I know your pain. College reports are such a pain in the ass.

I think this is the best story you've written so far. I really love it. But its a disappointment to know that you wouldn't be updating within the next couple of weeks. That's okay, school business always comes first! so far, its good and I'm waiting for more.

Another great chapter! Oh how I love this story :) I cant wait for the next update.

As always I believe you are an amazing writer. This was an awesome chapter that cleared up a few questions. Hope you get the next chapter out soon.