Eri ran her fingers through her bangs nervously as she looked in the mirror before her. Annika sat on Eri's bed brushing through her blonde locks. "Do I look good?" Eri asked her friend anxiously. Annika smiled. "You look fine Eri." A worried looked crossed Eri's face.

"Fine is not good enough. I need to look perfect." Annika got up from the bed and walked over to her redheaded friend, placing two hands on her shoulders. "You look perfect. What are you so worked up about anyway?" Eri stepped away from Annika and over to a vanity where she picked up a small perfume bottle and began to spray herself with it.

"I really want Sesshomaru to ask me to dance this time." Eri whipped around to face Annika with a somewhat angry and somewhat desperate expression. "We have attended 6 of these boring gatherings together and not once has he asked me to dance. No matter what I say or do all he wants to do is stand their watching everyone else with you. What do you talk about that's so interesting Annika? Because I just don't understand."

Annika shrugged and gave an apologetic face. "We don't really talk about anything, and I think that why he hangs around. Eri, Sesshomaru is not really the grand gesture type. With that being said he is not really your type...why are you so interested in him?"

A huff escaped Eri as she crossed her arms and looked at the floor. "Sesshomaru is tall and handsome, and strong...he is...he's perfect. I want someone perfect." Annika bit her lip as she listened to her friend speak. "That all sounds like very superficial reasons Eri. If you are going to pine after someone shouldn't it be for more then that?" Eri rolled her eyes.

"Listen, Annika, I get that you have the most open-minded parents in all the lands. Really I do, and if you want to go marry someone below the high standard of society then that's your choice. I, however, have two parents who have raised me to never settle for anything less than, and I will not settle for less than. Shesshomaru sets the standard. He is the Standard." Annika shook her head.

"No...he isn't. Eri the standard is what you make it."

"Maybe for you," Eri said in a slightly bitter tone. "Things are never so simple for the rest of us."

Eito snapped in his daughters face.

"Eri are you listening to me?" Eri blinked at him.

"Yes, of course, father."

"Then what is it I just said?" Eri thought and opened her mouth but words would not form. Eito shook his head in anger.

"Foolish girl. Do you not understand this war is for you?! That we are fighting so you may have what you have always wanted? What you deserve?"

Eri clenched her jaw and put her head down. "I apologize father."

Eito sighed. "This war is taking its toll. Sesshomaru's forces are strong and he has the north on his side."

"Annika is aiding him?" Eri said looking up with wide eyes. Eito nodded. "It appears your friend has chosen to side with someone she has not seen in almost a century. Such betrayal. I suppose it is not unexpected though. Annika has always been a ruler in question. This only proves those who are against her's point."

"Annika and Sesshomaru have always been close," Eri stated. Hurt but somehow not shocked to find out this news. A bitter feeling crept into Eri. Even after all this time he still chooses her. A cold laugh left her lips. And even after all this time she still chooses him. Had their friendship meant so little that Annika would so easily take his side over hers? After Eri stood by her when her father died, when her demonic power was taken when her mate died...Things Sesshomaru missed and probably did not even care about and she still chooses him.

"I'm going to the front of the ranks. Sesshomaru has agreed to meet with me. Hopefully, I can talk some sense into him and all this will be over. If not..." Eito trailed off. Eri watched him as he made his way to the window and held his hands behind his back. He had a sorrowful expression on his face. Katsu walked into the room and looked at his sister before turning to their father.

"Everyone is ready to go Father." He said in a steady voice. Eito nodded slowly before following his son out the room.

"Annika..."

Annika smiled lightly at the sound of his voice.

"Annika..."

Her eyes fluttered open to see the smiling face of her mate.

"It's time to get up." He said placing a warm hand on her cheek.

"Annika...Lady Annika." Annika's eyes squinted as her vision blurred and what was once to towering figure of her mate had formed to a small girl.

"Lady Annika it's time to wake up." Rin sat beside Annika's resting figure on her bed. She yawned and sat up slowly, resting her weight on her elbow and forearm. You never knew the last time you were seeing someone. You didn't know when the last argument happened, or the last time you had sex or the last time you looked into their eyes and thanked the universe they were in your life.
After they were gone?
That was all you thought about.
Day and night.

"What is it Rin?" Annika asked. Rin gave her a curious look.

"Lady Annika it is almost mid-day!" Annika's eyes widened. Had she really slept through the morning? Inukimi! Annika jumped out of bed, startling Rin slightly. Sesshomaru's mother would be there any moment and Annika had slept away her morning.

"Rin, go wash up alright? Your Lords mother is due to visit today and should be here soon." Rin jumped off the bed. "Ok!" She then ran out of the room to do as she was told. Annika quickly got dressed and called for her handmaid. Suki came to her room and bowed.

"What is it you need Mi'lady?"

Annika brushed her hair, preparing to put it in her usual ponytail.

"Is everything ready my Lady Inukimi?"

Suki nodded. "Of course, Mi'lady."

"Good. I overslept and I would hate to have had her waiting. Impatience is not her strong suit."

Annika smoothed out her outfit and quickly walked down the steps to the main hall. As she arrived at the floor, the front doors were pulled open and Lady Inukimi walked through the door. She turned and smiled.

"Annika my dear, how lovely it is to see you again."

Annika smiled back and gave a small bow. "A pleasure to see you as all ways."

Inukimi walked up to the blonde as she raised from her bow. She then twirled her finger around a small strand of hair from the front of Annika's head that she had missed when putting it up.

"Were you in such a rush this morning that you could not get all of your hair?" She gently let go of the hair and walked past Annika, making her way to the garden as she usually did. Annika sighed and closed her eyes as she pushed the strand behind her ear.

Sesshomaru sat on one end of a long table, Eito sat on the other. The men stared coldly at one another, not saying a word. In the end, Eito was the one to break the silence.

"Your father would be so disappointed." Sesshomaru's cold stare hardened slightly at the mention of his late father.

"Do you know nothing? Are you so simple that you do not understand the importance of an heir?" Eito asked, astounded.

"Such things are of no importance to me." Sesshomaru answered as if that was not apparent.

"Well, it should be. Let me ask you Sesshomaru, who will take over the watch of the western lands when you die? Do you think us immortal? No, my boy. We all die. You know, everybody dies. My parents died. Your father died. Everybody dies. I'm going to die too. So will you. The thing is, to have a life before we die. It can be a real adventure having a life" Eito said, his tone lightening a little. His eyes defocusing like he was living a memory. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Sesshomaru looked at the demon in front of him. He looked...tired. It was a somewhat surprising thought to the Lord of the West, is that it was rare that a demon could truly look tired.

"Why? What possesses you to so deeply to concern yourself my blood lineage?"

"Because I am dying Sesshomaru," Eito admitted.

"You have a son Eito, a son who will carry on your bloodline for years to come." Sesshomaru said still not understanding.

"I also have a daughter. Tell me? What is so terrible about the idea of mating with my darling Eri? She is beautiful, smart, devoted. She could give you strong heirs. Strong sons."

"Should I find the need for an heir I will do so with someone of my choosing, I will not be forced into a tedious relationship with some woman who had to be given away or traded to find a mate rather than obtaining one on her own."

"Waiting for love? I never took you as a sentimental man." Eito mocked.

"Love is a weakness." Sesshomaru retorted.

Eito looked down at the table and traced the markings on the wood with his pointer finger claw."And what of Annika? She loved Isamu, and he her."

"And then he died." Sesshomaru claimed. Annika's and Isamu's relationship had nothing to do with anything that was happening, but Sesshomaru would not let this man believe that his respect for the couple would lead him to believe any differently about the topic at hand.

"Do you know how he died?"

"Does it matter?"

Eito smirked. "Does it matter your own father died to protect his human lover? Of course, it does. It always matters."

Sesshomaru's jaw clenched. This talk was pointless. It would fix nothing. Yet, his own curiosity bestowed him. He supposed he could just ask Annika herself, but the unnerving feeling of doubt washed over him. Annika owed him no explanation, owed him no answers. There was a significant chance she would tell him nothing.

"I suppose there is some type of irony in it really. Your opinion on love being a weakness. You're not wrong. Loving his human lover is what killed your father and loving Annika is what killed Isamu." Eito saw the smallest flicker in Sesshomaru's eyes. A flicker of interest. He leaned onto the table and folded his hands.

"Annika's place at the Lady of the North was one in question the moment her brother disappeared. Woman do not typically rule alone, let alone as the head of the position. When she mated with Isamu...a commoner. Many believed that Annika was not the right fit. Obviously, people like myself, you and your mother, the south. Those of us whose opinion truly mattered did not care. Think her foolish? Perhaps. But how she rules her lands was her business. Lesser Lords and Ladies, however, the devoted but...traditional type, they had other ideas."

Eito got up from his seat and idly walked over to a wall of the tent that held a large map of Japan. He traced the northern border with his finger as the thought back to the story he was told.

"Rumors have never been something I have had interest in, but it is said that an army of demons came the castle front. That they threatened to destroy every human village in the North so long as Isamu stayed in the position of Lord of the North. They wanted both Annika and Isamu to be banished from the North, or better yet be dead. I heard that Isamu stuck a deal. He offered to give up his position, saying that Annika was the Lady of the North as her birthright and that he was the only one unfit. However, those demons did not trust Isamu to stay away from his beloved mate and told him the only way to ensure his truth was for him to die. Of course, to protect Annika and the humans of the North, Isamu accepted."

"Fool." Sesshomaru muttered.

Eito smirked. "That's something you and I can agree on."

Sesshomaru took in the information being given to him. Something was not adding up.

"Annika would have never allowed this." Eito scoffed.

"Allow it? I doubt that. However, that is the problem with a woman leading. They have soft hearts. Hundreds of villages...hundreds of human lives were being threatened. Mother, fathers, children. As much as I am sure Annika wanted some other option she and Isamu both knew how selfish it would be to risk all those souls for one. Perhaps it was the loss of her demonic aura that made her so soft...perhaps her father raised her to be weak."

Sesshomaru once again glared at Eito. "You would have done something differently?"

Eito turned to look Sesshomaru straight in the eye. "I would have killed every last one of them."

A feeling of uneasiness hit Sesshomaru like a wave hitting a rock. He agreed with Eito. He knew he agreed because he was doing it right now. He was in a war because he did not want to do something that every Lord and Lady was meant to do. Men were dying because of his selfishness. He agreed that had he been in a situation such as Annika's his response to it would have lead to bloodshed not sacrifice and that bothered him.

Eito walked back to his seat and gave a great sigh. "In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn't a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is."

"I see you have bonded with the human child," Inkimi stated as she looked at Rin who was now resting her head on Annika's lap. Annika softly petted the girls head and smiled gently.

"She seems to have that effect on people."

"Have you heard from my son?" Annika shook her head as she looked up at the Lady of the West.

"No, not recently. I did receive a letter from him about a week ago, telling me about the progress but nothing since. I assume he just has not had the time."

Inukimi sighed. "Yes, I suppose so. I wish this would just end already. I understand my sons need of independence but in all honesty, finding a mate is nothing worth going to war for."

Annika shrugged. The subject was conflicting for her. It brought painful memories for her to think about the sacrifice she and her own mate had made. This situation, of course, was different. Sesshomaru was fighting against the need to mate, not fighting for the want to mate. Annika had without hesitation decided she would help Sesshomaru, but the more she thought about it, the more unsure Annika became about the situation. Sesshomaru's want or lack thereof for a mate had started a war. It was selfish, sure, but being alone was what made Sesshomaru happy, or at least as happy as Sesshomaru was capable of being. Content seemed to be a better word. And who was she to deny his need to fight for what makes him happy? Perhaps she simply should not have gotten in the middle of it all.

"You know, " Inukimi began while examining her nails on her right hand. Her weight leaning against her other arm. "I had always had the suspicion that Sesshomaru was taken with you."

Annika raised an eyebrow and laughed lightly.

"What? You two were always so close, you can't really blame me."

Annika shook her head and smiled. "The only person Sesshomaru was ever taken with was himself."

"Or maybe you just did not read him as well as you thought you did."

Annika frowned a little bit before she could respond Run shifted and awoke from her slumber.

"Lady Annika, Run is hungry."

Annika's smile returned. "Let's get you some food then"