Miho entered her mistresses' bedchamber when she allowed her inside. She slithered as a small yellow-spotted snake and turned into her humanoid form sitting at the edge of the golden bed.
"Well, don't keep me waiting," Lady Chiyoko said pulling down her covers from her body and proceeding to comb her white locks with her fingers that weren't tied in her usual two-ponytail hairstyle. The fact that Miho was here at all, confirmed that Lord Sesshomaru's honed senses were weak.
"It's as you've feared, milady. Lord Sesshomaru and his human ward are in love."
Lady Chiyoko cracked her fingers with her thumbs, "Love, you say. Is she marked by him?"
"I couldn't tell milady. His lordship turned my direction and I fled. I am sorry."
Lady Chiyoko wasn't surprised by the news. It did not matter to her who Lord Sesshomaru took as a concubine, but there wasn't a detachment between him and Rin as there was with the ladies of his harem. He cared for Rin. If they were indeed in love, that could pose a problem when it came to his duties and she couldn't allow that. As a mother, it was her right to guide them the proper direction. To keep him from making the same mistakes as his sire.
"Milady," Miho interrupted breaking Lady Chiyoko's thoughts, "Not only his lordship is interested in Miss Rin."
This caught her attention. Her golden eyes met her yellow-eyed servant.
"Oh? Who else is after this popular human ward?"
"General Tsukuyomaru, milady"
"I see," she smiled impishly. "That's good news. It is about to time for the old bat to settle down."
"We have brought you your breakfast, Miss Rin," Mika voiced quietly with a tray balanced on her palms. Her sister carried a tea set on another tray. They stood just a few feet from her door with an ashamed look on their faces that Rin didn't notice because she rose from her writing desk.
"I'll eat in the sunroom," Rin informed gently as she walked to the shoji doors that led to it. With a nod, they silently followed behind her.
The sunroom was small, minimalistic in furniture and the spread shoji windows that took the whole wall, allowed the sun and cool breeze to enter. It was a perfect view. Calming. From this floor, she could see the sea and the sky become one in the distance. She sat on the cushion with her legs bent under her and scooted closer to her rectangular floor table. The middle of it was packed with fruit Lord Sesshomaru had gathered on his trip around the West. He had delivered it himself before departing on business this morning. Some fruit was oddly shaped and vibrant in colors.
The maids placed various shaped plates in front of her filled with grilled fish, miso soup, eggs, rice, and vegetables. Mikazuki lowered to place a patterned napkin over the human's lap.
"Thank you," Rin said grabbing her chopsticks between her fingers. She was expecting them to turn on their feet and leave without a word, so Rin was shocked when she heard one of the sister-maids speak to her.
"You're very welcome, Miss Rin. We want to thank you for speaking on our behalf," Mikazuki said looking down to the floor embarrassed. Rin's eyebrows drew in confusion, but Mikazuki continued. "We were rude to you and despite this, you defended us and kept us from being punished by Lady Chiyoko."
Mikazuki was the oldest of the sisters, working here after Lord Sesshomaru had reclaimed her homeland as part of the West. She elbowed her younger sister, who fought the urge to roll her eyes still not taking a liking to the new human ward.
"Please accept our apology, Miss Rin," Mika forced out and both curtsied.
Rin was so surprised that she could tip over, but she smiled. She was finally starting to see some turnaround since arriving.
"I accept your apology. I am the first human you have seen in years. I understand your caution." She gave a wide beam and they frowned surprised by her answer. "I will be off to school next month and when I return I would love for us to get know each other better, that is if you still wish to assist me."
She grabbed a slice of grilled pickle and placed it in her mouth. The teal-headed maids didn't know what to say to their new lady. She was odd and spirited and maybe not all that bad for a human…
After her breakfast, her maids helped her inside her wooden bath. The process of bathing that should be no trouble at all was filled with complaint from Rin. She was perfectly capable of taking a bath on her own so she did not understand why she needed their help in that department. They ignored her protests and refused to leave. Mika raked her lengthy hair out of the rim of the tub and the other grabbed a bucket that sat on hot stones inside the small hearth. After it cooled, Mikazuki poured the warm water into the tub and gently poured it over Rin's body. Even as Rin told them they were dismissed, they insisted that she had to get used to having her maids doing things for her.
"You must understand, Miss Rin," Mikazuki said calmly as she grabbed a wet cloth and passed it over her sore breasts that still ached from last night's handling. Her face burned more than the steaming bathing room at the memories. She was glad Lord Sesshomaru managed to not leave any marks.
Mika washed Rin's hair and raked her wet locks with a bone comb, "If you don't let us assist you what is our purpose here? Stay still."
"Aristocrats are spoiled," Rin breathed trying to relax, following the steam arising from her tub. She knew that since the Water Kingdom, but at least there, Yuna hadn't insisted in bathing her. Mikazuki grabbed one of her legs and scrubbed vigorously.
"That's the idea," Mika said casually, forgetting her position. "They have the power and lineage to never raise a finger in their life."
Mikazuki threw a deadly stare at her sister who quickly apologized for her outburst. The eldest sister apologized for her younger sibling. "My sister can be loose-tongued," she said as she checked the water in the bucket over the hearth with her clawed fingers. She hauled it and began pouring it over Rin's back as Mika lifted her hair. They both eyed silently the pencil thin scars on her back.
Rin eyes dart back at Mika, "There is really no need to apologize. If we are going to be together there must be trust between us. I want us to be friends."
The maids knit their brows confused at the words. Maids and ladies weren't friends.
"We are here to serve you not to be your friends," Mika scolded. "You are a ward of the Kingdom. You are above us. You must make sure to keep a distance."
"No one is above anyone," Rin said with a little smile. "In death, we are all the same, you know."
Mikazuki laughed at the seriousness on Rin's face, but Rin didn't think she had said anything funny. How could anyone judge the life of others as more worthy? She had lived in a world where her life was worth less than a fish. She knew how it felt to be insignificant until she met her lord. He had saved her from death. He had protected her with his life. She indeed held some type of value to her lord, but was it because Lord Sesshomaru believed her different from humans? He hoped he could see her for who she truly was someday.
Mika smiled for the first time in her presence, "You're strange, Miss Rin and very much naïve."
They both thought deeply about Rin's words. They found them bizarre in a world where there was no such thing as equivalence. Rin was unaware at just how much power she held by having the title of the Lord's Ward. Would she say the same after she returned from school?
After being dressed her maids guided her to Lady Chiyoko's chamber, up some stairs and boundless halls. They leave her at the door with a bow. Rin knocked with her knuckles, "My Lady?"
Miho opened the tall doors and led her in the room that was too overtly decorated with tapestries and wood carvings. Despite that it was daylight, the room was dim with paper lamps the were the only source of light. The windows were shut closed with thick velvet draperies over them. Lady Chiyoko stood in front of a giant floor mirror in a plum sleeping yukata. Her long white hair fell over her shoulders and Rin felt strange seeing her without her silk robes. She turned Rin's direction with a smile.
"You should consider wearing kimonos that suit your status, Rin. You no longer need to wear your traveling clothing," the demoness mentioned lightly. She scanned her from head to toe in the golden kimono embellished with emerald green. "I have some kimono I wish to gift you. Come in, child."
"You shouldn't have, my lady," Rin said walking to Lady Chiyoko who gestured her to come closer with an extended hand. Lady Chiyoko placed her arms around Rin's shoulders guiding her in front of the mirror.
"It's no bother at all," Lady Chiyoko said observing her.
Miho returned from someplace in her lady's chamber with a stack of folded kimono of assorted colors in her arms. She placed them in her elevated futon as the dog-demoness passed her fingers through Rin's damp hair.
"Such beautiful black hair, Rin," she admired. "Did you see the rest of the West?"
Rin noticed that without all her layers, Lady Chiyoko was quite thin.
"No, I didn't. I visited Tsukuyomaru's daughter, my lady."
"Ahh," she responded and walked to the kimono that Miho arranged on her ornate bed. "How is Shiori doing?"
"She is well. I visited the school," Rin said turning towards her.
"Good, Good," she said and pointed at a red kimono which Miho quickly grabbed and slung over her arm. Miho walked to Rin and began undressing her without saying a word.
"We are doing this now?" Rin asked a bit embarrassed as Miho loosened her emerald obi.
"We are both women here, aren't we?" Lady Chiyoko said with a smile as she helped Miho remove Rin's clothing. "I want you to think of me as part of your family too. You are a ward of the state and as such you have responsibilities. You will represent the humans that will move to Kingdom West. You are the proof of my son's good faith towards humankind."
Rin hesitated slightly but allowed her robes to fall at her feet. She remained with her undergarments as Chiyoko picked up her vast hair that was free from accessories. Miho accommodated the first black layer over Rin's shoulders and finished with a red one.
"Humans are returning to the Kingdom?" Rin asked unsure if she had heard correctly. She was unaware at how Lady Chiyoko eyed her neck and was relieved to find no mark in sight.
She noticed the scent-hiding bracelet on her wrist when she said, "It was my son's decision and I agree wholeheartedly."
Miho kneeled and wrapped Rin's waist with a broad silver sash and fluffed, tugged, and arranged the obi in several ways. Was Lord Sesshomaru bringing back humans because of what she had said? Noticing that Lady Chiyoko awaited her response, she brought her thoughts to the matter at hand.
"I am here to help in any way I can."
Lady Chiyoko met her brown eyes through the mirror. "I am glad. This is your home and I expect you to protect the West and the subjects who reside here."
"Of course," she replied immediately as Miho finished dressing her and rose from her knees to rummage through a carved wooden box on the small table behind her. Rin felt heavy in the boxy obi and weighty robes. She tried to adjust to the bulk and thought of Lady Chiyoko's words. She had the sudden sensation that there was a specific reason she was called here in the first place.
"Protection means vanishing your own emotions for the sake of the West. Are you capable of doing so?" Lady Chiyoko dropped Rin's hair and arranged it neatly over the tall obi.
"I don't understand what you're trying to ask me, my lady," Rin said looking her straight in the eye as Miho returned and combed one side of her hair and secured a ruby comb in place.
Miho proceeded to dress Lady Chiyoko next in total silence.
"If Lord Sesshomaru doesn't mate his betrothed war will fall upon the West. The peace we have had for years will be destroyed."
"And why wouldn't he mate her?"
"Because of you, of course."
Rin stiffened. Any foolish last hopes of Lord Sesshomaru evading his marriage vanished. The gravity of never truly being with Lord Sesshomaru came to mind once more and it still hurt as much as the first time she found out. He had to mate her even if he didn't want to for the sake of his kingdom. There was only one spot Rin could take and that was as his concubine. Could she do it? If he asked her, could she be with a man that would never be completely hers?
"I would never get in the way of the interest of his people or kingdom," Rin responded solemnly. That fact was true. Rin would never allow his kingdom to suffer for her sake. It wasn't marriage she was demanding from Lord Sesshomaru anyway. She wanted the truth regardless of what she would end up deciding in the end.
Lady Chiyoko was satisfied with this answer and walked a short distance to kneel on a cushion by her concealed shoji window. She was already dressed in her multicolored robes that were different shades of red. Miho began to comb her lady's white hair with no expression on her face.
"You have a sensible heart. Something I expect from a woman," she voiced. "You are not marked by him, you know," she side-glanced Rin whose hair looked gorgeous over red. "Men, especially demon men, take joy in claiming women. It's part of their animalistic nature. They take joy in claiming virgins as if they were conquering territory. They are foolish and they think with their second head. I like to believe my son is rational as well and that he assesses the situation completely not just one aspect. He knows that duty comes first. With that being said, he is attached to you, which could lead to issues when it comes to giving you off in marriage. He is a dog-demon and he has gotten territorial. Don't confuse that with love."
Rin regarded herself in the mirror as his mother's words penetrated her ears and thoughts. She stared at the elegant robes that decorated her body. Just these robes could feed an entire village. The ruby pin in her hair could feed countless more. Was this the life for her? Was this her place?
"You have to choose your fate carefully, Rin. Put your foot down if he does not let you go. You can find someone you can grow to love. I don't think a human, unaccustomed to demon relationships, would enjoy a life of a concubine. Being second, watching him raise children with another is not easy. Trust me."
The demoness stood in her signature two-ponytail hair style. There was a motherly sound to her voice and features when she walked to her.
"We all have to make sacrifices. I did as well when I married Lord Sesshomaru's father. I didn't love him. I was in love with someone else when I met him, yet I knew my kingdom would benefit from Inu no Taisho's influence and I mated with him without a second thought. I bared him a legitimate son and buried all my emotions for the one I loved." Pain flashed on her features but was quickly concealed. "But he fell in love and couldn't handle it. He went against everyone for his human princess and it got him killed and a lot of the West was lost because of him. Ultimately, the choice is yours. What life do you want to live?"
Was it as easy as just making a choice? If Lord Sesshomaru confessed his love, would that love be enough to sustain her if she chose to be by his side as his mistress? The lord himself couldn't face what he felt for her to even consider that as an option.
She looked up at Lady Chiyoko with heaviness in her heart.
"Don't worry. I won't put the West at risk even if it means stepping aside. Maybe next time you will say what you wish to say without putting the pretext of gifts, my lady," Rin said gently.
She was tired of these daiyoukai not saying things upfront. Rin excused herself, but just as Lady Chiyoko was about to stop her, someone knocked on her door. Miho swiftly heaved the carved wooden doors opened. A maid lowered before them.
"My lady, sorry for the interruption, but Princess Sayumi has arrived."
Rin's heart skipped at the familiar name. Lady Chiyoko dismissed the maid with a fling of her hand and turned her attention back to Rin.
"It was no pretext. As a ward of the state, it is only proper for you to socialize with the future Lady of the West." Rin did not say a word as Miho handed Lady Chiyoko a fan printed with ocean waves. With a flick of her wrist, it snapped undone. She fanned herself and turned to the human girl, "Now that we are dressed, let's be going, Rin. The princess is dying to meet you."