Title: Lady, Lord, & Mistress
Disclaimer: All characters in the following story belong to their creator Rumiko Takashi ©.
"Kagura! Get back to work! If Lady Sara finds you daydreaming with your head in space with all this work to be done, she will have your head! You and I both know she doesn't take kindly to maidens of the castle!" screamed the angry maid with a basket filled with fine linen needed to be washed.
"Yes Naomi, my apologies." Replied the raven haired servant named Kagura. She couldn't help it. How could she not wander off and dream? Especially after the former events that had taken place with her and her Lord in his chambers the other day, how couldn't she forget?
"Don't give me apologies, show me work. Don't expect me to aid you when your confronting Lady Sara of your laziness." Naomi suddenly replied.
"I would never expect you to Naomi."
Naomi. The only person in the palace who seemed to favor her than the other maidens in the castle to hold in decent conversation. When Kagura first moved into the palace to work, she was confronted with many jealous glances of her beauty from the other maidens. But as time when on, the others seemed to understand her aspects yet she still had no desire to socialize and gossip of the rumors spreading throughout the palace, whether it was regarding the Lord and Lady of the palace or the reason why the toad imp still (after all these years) remained the Lords humble servant rather than having been executed because of the occasional, unnoticed, desirable glances he gave his lord, it still made no difference to her.
"Kagura, you're doing it again. Please I beg of you, just do your work and get it over with."
"Get what over with? All we do in this castle is work anyway; I don't see why it matters when we get it done. I'm sick and tiered of it for one thing, and second, my body's getting sore from all this labor. Can we please just take a damned moment to relax?"
"Kagura, you are the laziest and certainly the most unladylike of all the other women I've seen in all my years of life! I for one don't know how you live with yourself." Said Naomi emphasizing the word certainly as she made her comment.
"Why thank you Naomi, that's the nicest thing you've ever said." Unfortunately for someone of the likes of Kagura, she took it as a compliment being the individualist that she is.
Naomi rolled her eyes and changed the subject. "So," with a curious tone "how was he?"
Slightly taken aback by the question, she pulled herself together, shrugged and answered.
"How do you think he was?" she replied with somewhat a seductive tone at the memory.
"Amazing?"
"There are no words to begin to describe how it was Naomi," her eyes glistened from excitement to a duller tone as she sighed deeply and came over a new thought. "It's too bad he doesn't love me the way he does her."
"What on Earth are you talking about? Of course he loves you…well…at least a whole lot better than he does her."
"What makes you think he loves me? What makes you think he loves anyone besides his ward and his mate? Better yet what makes you think he loves anyone? What's keeping the idea that he only has certain advantages to having such people around him? Tell me Naomi, I want to know!"
"Kagura, there are many reasons as to why we shouldn't speak of this. Especially at a place like this where we could be eavesdropped. But one thing is for certain. There is just something missing from Lady Sara and Lord Sesshomaru's relationship that is found in others. And you and I both know it is love."
"Somehow I find that very hard to believe." She made one last glance at Naomi and took her own basket of linen and headed towards the east wing, where her small cavity was held clustered with the other servant quarters.
With Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Sara…
"Sesshomaru, do you love me?"
No response.
"Sesshomaru, did you hear me? I asked if you loved me."
Again, no response.
Lady Sara looked down in disappointment, brushed the feeling off, and continued combing her thick, black tresses.
It's not like I expected him to respond anyhow.
"Yes" replied the deep, masculine voice that filled the room and belonged to no other than the Dai Yokai of the Western lands.
In complete shock to the sudden reply she gently put down the mirror in her hands and turned around to look at Sesshomaru, standing erect in all his glory on the balcony staring off into the setting sun in the horizon. "He really is beautiful in the light of sunset" she thought. "However, I prefer him in the moonlight. It shows off his features the best" she then decided.
"Hmph, Lies" she muttered rather to herself yet with his demonic hearing he replied.
"If you knew different then why bother to ask?"
"I just wanted to hear you say it."
Such an idiotic woman you are. I do not love. I know nothing of such a worthless emotion. It makes one weak and is beneath me.
Once he felt her at his side. He turned and headed for the chamber door.
"Where are you going?"
"I have no need to explain to you my whereabouts." With that she shut the door and left her alone to sob and weep.
Later on…
Kagura relaxed in the warm water of the hot spring she settled in. Her clothes folded neatly along the edge of the river. She sighed and relaxed her tense muscles from the day's labor.
The fact unknown to her that her Lord was ready and willing to take her again watching as she curved her body from the relaxing temperature. A smirk played across his lips as he thought of a devious scheme.
He removed his armor and clothing and slipped into the hot spring right next to her. Unnoticed to Kagura he was watching her every move and she turned around and opened her eyes, expecting to see the luminous moonlight but only found it was Sesshomaru hovering over her. Hot breath tickeling her cheeks.
Ohhhh, she was getting that feeling again…