Fake

Rin roused from her sleep. Tired and aching, she was not happy. But, then again, who would be? The noise level felt uncomfortably high and she was going to puke any minute now. As the thought of puking came to set in her mind, Rin lifted herself from the comfortable king-sized bed and groaned, her hands lifting to cradle her aching head, then lost the war completely and slipped back down into the bed. She should not have sat up so quickly. Trying again, Rin hefted herself up and slowly, yet with the hurry known to only women who had ever suffered morning sickness, moved her feet off the bed and down into the carpeted floor. Once her feet were firmly planted on the expensive carpet below, she proceeded to stand up. Rin cheered inside her head when she found her precarious balance, only to be racing to the bathroom the next second.

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Wiping her mouth, Rin came out of the bathroom and whimpered. How she had managed to get to her intimate friend the toilet, she could not guess at, but her aches and pregnancy were not what had her belly churning.

No, it was her imminent future. She was dead, now that she was back here there was going to be even less of a chance for her to escape. Sesshoumaru would make sure of that. And if she could not escape, he would find out about the baby. Then, not even the servants would be able to help her. Already they did too much by helping her hide her unborn infant's scent.

"My lady?"

Rin turned and greeted the chambermaid as the youkai girl entered her room to do the daily clean up. "How are you, Tsutsuji?"

"I'm alright, my lady, thank you for asking. But if I may be so bold as to ask. . . How are you doing?" Tsutsuji commented as she closed the door and headed toward the bed to straighten what few creases Rin had created in it.

"Oh, I'm tired like I usually am nowadays, but aside from that I'm disappointed." Rin answered, refusing to talk about the other pains that plagued her, but not because she was suspicious of the light-purple haired and eyed Tsutsuji After all, she had become a good friend over the course of the last month Rin had spend locked behind those huge walls her mate called home. Plus, Tsutsuji had been one of the ones to help her escape yesterday, as useless as that endeavor had proven to be. "Who?"

Tsutsuji didn't ask as to what she'd meant. "It was that female, Master's lover, Kusatta. She saw you about ten minutes after you left."

"Idiot woman," Rin muttered as she slumped on the bench built into the window and cradled one of the six pillows there. If that youkai had been smart she would have let her leave and she could have stayed as Sesshoumaru whore, with no one present to be able to challenge that. Not that Rin would ever challenge that whore's position. To do so, she would need more then the servants backing, she would need her mate's.

Rin sighed as she thought of the other woman. It hurt her to acknowledge Sesshoumaru's lover, but she had to face reality. The man she loved was hers in name alone. And, then, many would argue otherwise. But she knew differently, he was hers, had been hers for one night. Unfortunately for Sesshoumaru, one night had been all that had been needed for their nightmarish union to bear fruit. The child growing in her womb was proof of that. Thanks to that, no woman would ever be able to take her mate from her, unless Sesshoumaru did something about it before it became common knowledge.

"Agreed." Tsutsuji replied.

Rin closed her honey-colored eyes as Tsutsuji continued her work around the room. She was tired. Maybe a little nap would. . . How the hell did I get back to the palace?

"My lady, if you wish us not to know your thoughts please don't talk them out loud. But, if I may say, Master carried you back." Tsutsuji said as a small smile graced her full, strawberry-shade lips. Her mistress could be quite silly and forgetful sometimes, but the little human had an even more endearing trait, she talked to her self, sometimes forgetting people were about. Then again, Lady Rin probably did not even realize she did it half the time.

Rin's face turned red as she turned her face away. She really should keep her mouth in check, but she didn't even realize she talked out loud half the time.

"My lady, before you fall asleep, don't forget to drink the liquid."

. . . . . . . . .

She'd forgotten. "Thank you, Tsutsuji" Rin whispered as she rose from the couch and headed to the dressing table. Bending down, she opened the last cherry wood drawer and retrieved a pint-sized bottle with a yellowish-colored liquid inside of it. Until her belly gave her away, this was the only thing keeping the pup's scent hidden. Not bothering to stand up, Rin opened it and laid the cap in the chair next to the small dresser. She lifted the bottle to eye level and dipped her index finger inside it. Taking a deep breath, Rin lifted her finger and popped it in her mouth, sucking the juice completely off her finger.

A moment later she was closing the bottle and putting it back where it belonged. Rin made sure that the drawer was closed and stood up. "Tsutsuji, it tastes as bad as ever."

"To bad, my lady. We can't make it any sweeter or it'll lose its effect."

"Right."

"AND you're lucky you only need to drink so little and not a spoonful like us youkai females would have too."

"Thank Kami for that," Rin grimaced as she went back to her window ledge. She was lucky she didn't need to drink so much because she was a human. After all, the liquid had been designed for female youkai and as such could have been too potent for human women, but her doctor, Dr. Kuronuma, had asked her if she would like to try it. Fortunately for her, in very small doses, it did work for humans.

"Well, my lady, I'm done so, excuse me." Tsutsuji stated as she headed to the door. She opened it and immediately closed it again.

Rin turned and observed the girl standing against the door. "What's wrong?"

"My lady, Master is coming." Tsutsuji said hurriedly, then turned around and headed for the bed where she proceeded to undo it into a messy heap.

Rin closed her eyes and turned to face the window again. She didn't need to ask Tsutsuji what she was doing since it was something most servants did when their Master had rarely come to talk to her. It was their way of preventing him from doing her harm because he would not lose his control or harm his 'official' mate in front of them. Or so they hoped, so far yesterday had been the only time he had touched her after their wedding night.

But fear still crawled into her guts and stayed firmly there. Sesshoumaru did not need to lay a finger on her to produce it. He never had. The fear was born from what he had done to her heart and from what she had heard he was capable of doing. He killed once simply because he had not been heeded and a poor idiot had not gotten out of her mate's way. If he had murdered in cold blood for such a mundane reason, what would he do when he found she was carrying a child he had made clear he never wanted from her?

A minute later the door opened and Sesshoumaru glided in.

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Ja'ne (bye)

Yoru no Chandra