Author's Notes:

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry for how long this update took! Life has been crazy and a bit rough for me the past few weeks. For more details on what was going on, please check out my blog and check out the last 2 entries. It's a lot and don't want to bore anyone who is here for the story.

(Since FF won't allow anyone to post links, please DM for my site or find this story on AO3 and you can find the link there.)

Anyway back to the story at hand, this is a short chapter but I felt it was perfect to leave it where it is. Don't worry though, I am already working on the next chapter as we speak. I am actually house-sitting and when I house-sit, I find it so much easier to write. No distractions at their home

I plan to have the next chapter out by this weekend for you guys!

Now if anyone is interested, when you're reading this, play Little Nightmare 2 and start at track 20 A Little Warmth. Trust me, the soundtrack fits for chapter and this is what I was listening to when writing this.

Chapter 5

What Lays Beneath

The rest of Rin's week passed quietly with no other interruptions. Her coming-of-age ceremony was now only three days away and preparations were underway. Rin still found herself angry at her parents but could not say anything because of her promise to Kokoro.

Once Rin had learned that her parents were still keeping things from her, Rin had become suspicious of everyone around her. If her parents, the ones who raised her, the ones who said they loved her, were keeping things from her, who knew if the rest of the castle staff was not doing the same.

Rin even became suspicious of Maiko.

Today Rin was watching Maiko as the servant was changing her bedsheets. Rin could tell that Maiko was trying to make conversation with her even though Rin was barely talking to her. After discovering that her parents were still keeping things from her, Rin had started keeping to herself. Rin no longer knew who she could trust.

"Have you had any more dreams about the tree, Princess?" Rin heard Maiko ask.

Rin turned and eyed Maiko.

"Why do you ask?" Rin inquired.

"I was curious, you haven't mentioned anything else about the tree since last week," Maiko stated while brushing imaginary dust off her kimono.

Rin studied Maiko and then realized that Maiko was hand-picked by her father to be her personal maid. Her father controlled everyone who surrounded her. Deciding to test Maiko, Rin quickly formulated a plan.

What would happen in the next day or two would show Maiko's true loyalty.

Rin came to face Maiko, "Actually I had another dream, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, ok? Not even my parents."

"Of course, princess, you have my word," Maiko stated while smiling.

~oOo~

King Ishida gasped, looking wide-eyed at the bowed servant in front of him. Queen Kaori's hand clutched at her chest.

"You are certain that is what she said?" King Ishida asked.

"Yes, my king. The princess swore me to secrecy," Maiko stated.

"But how….she said she would make contact with her once she was with the Inu family and mated." The queen sputtered out.

"It's too soon, much too soon…." King Ishida said, standing up now and pacing his study.

"What do we do, Ishida?" Kaori asked with a shaken expression on her face.

"Maiko, tend to Rin as normal. Do not say anything to her about her dream. Wait until she brings it up, is that understood?"

"Yes, my king," Maiko stated bowing.

"Come, let us see what our daughter is up to," Ishida stated while grabbing onto his queen's hand leading them all out the study.

~oOo~

Rin sat in the garden absent-mildly playing with a few leaves on the ground. She had brought a blanket with her so she could get comfortable and one of her study books. Since she had told Maiko about her "dream" she had been waiting to see if her parents would show up. She knew she needed to be ready to play the part so sitting outside seemed perfect. Rin brought her head up when she heard rustling and looked to see her parents making their way towards her.

'So it begins….' Rin thought to herself.

Even though her parents were lying to her, Rin had hoped that Maiko was loyal to her and that she would be able to confide in her trusted servant. At this point, Rin felt nothing but isolation and loneliness.

Rin had tried to confide in Kokoro a few days after Kokoro had revealed to her the whereabouts of the book, but Kokoro was so nervous about being around her princess that Rin dismissed the shaking servant.

Now Rin felt completely alone.

She also hadn't had any more dreams about the amber-eye man or the tree.

Rin couldn't talk to her twin brothers, they were too young to understand and …if Akashi was still alive, she probably could have gone to him.

"Rin, you picked a pleasant day to study outside." Rin heard her father state once he reached her position.

Rin made her parents wait a few moments in silence before turning to greet them.

"Yes, it's so nice out and I felt….something calling to me."

"Oh…..would you mind sharing what it was that called to you?" Her father inquired a bit forcefully.

Rin ducked her heard, her face being hidden by the curtain of her long hair, and smirked to herself, 'So Maiko did betray me….'

Rin lifted her head looking towards the sun and closed her eyes, soaking in the warmth.

"It's hard to say…..it wasn't so much as in words but a sensation," Rin said while still looking at the sun.

Silence only filled the empty space between the king, queen, and princess standing in the eerily quiet garden.

"Silly me, I'm sorry father, was there something you wanted?" Rin asked, warmly smiling at both her parents.

"No…nothing my dear Arina, your mother and I were merely taking a walk and wanted to visit you on this pleasant day. Go back to your reading, don't mind us." King Ishida said while carefully examining his daughter.

"Of course. Father, Mother." Rin said, grabbing her book and began reading it.

Rin felt her parent's presence a bit longer before they finally departed, leaving her alone with her book. Looking up again, she saw that her parents were gone and quickly dropped the smile from her face.

Throwing the book down, Rin heaved out a sigh of frustration and felt anger start to form in the pit of her stomach. Her vision started to grow dark, and a quiet whisper fell from her lips.

"Maiko."

~oOo~

Maiko rounded the corner in the hall and headed towards her room, she wanted to freshen up a bit before heading to the kitchen to help prepare for the evening meal. As Maiko continued down the hall, she quietly sighed. The servant felt nothing but guilt for revealing her mistress's dream to the king and queen, but she had no choice. She had been instructed by the king himself to always, always inform them of all matters concerning their daughter. She also had to protect her family.

Maiko didn't know how much longer she could keep this up, she loved her mistress and would do anything for her but the spying…Maiko felt her stomach churn. The past week she had barely been able to eat, her body was on constant alert for any little thing the princess said or did. She could not lose favor with the king or queen.

When Maiko was informed that she would be moving with the princess to the western lands, Maiko had actually felt relief. Once in the western lands, she would no longer have to report to anyone on the happenings of the princess. The princess would be where she was supposed to be. Maiko could finally relax a bit knowing that her princess would be protected by the powerful Inu family. Everything was falling into place just like the king said it would.

Maiko reached her room, pushed open her door, and walked in. She quietly shut the door and pressed her forehead to the cool door and let out a sigh.

"Is something troubling you, my dear Maiko?"

Maiko gasped and quickly turned to find the princess sitting on her bed, Rin's head titled to the side, her eyes boring into her.

"Princess! You scared me." Maiko said with a laugh, trying to cover her nervousness.

"Hm…" Rin said while running her hand across Maiko's bedsheet.

"Was there something you need princess? You could have sent for me; I would have come to you." Maiko stated while moving away from the door, hands clasped in front of her.

Rin let out a deep breath and then stood, walking slowly until she was just a few inches from Maiko.

"Perhaps... You see Maiko, I think there may be a problem with my parents," Rin said, stepping even closer to the servant causing Maiko to back up.

"Oh?" Maiko asked, trying to keep her face blank.

"Yes, it's so strange…..you see I was outside enjoying the sun because something called me to go out there and my parents showed up," Rin stated while once again stepping closer to Maiko causing Maiko to once again back up until her back was pressed up against the door with nowhere to go.

Maiko visibly swallowed.

"My parents asked if I could explain what called me to go outside. Unfortunately, I was not able to explain what called me out because….well you see, nothing called me out there." Rin said with her voice hardening at the end of her statement.

Maiko's eyes widen in shock at the princess's confession and realized what she had done.

"You purposely lied to me…." Maiko whispered out.

"Yes."

"But why?" Maiko asked in a shaky voice.

"To find out who you are truly loyal to," Rin said in a calm voice.

Maiko felt the room grow cold and she could swear that Rin's eyes flashed red before it felt like an overwhelming weight on her chest. She couldn't breathe….the shaking servant pressed a hand to her chest trying to suck in oxygen but found nothing. Maiko closed her eyes trying with all her might to breathe, her breath coming out in harsh pants.

Everything in the room suddenly felt stiff like something was oppressing the air within the room itself. Maiko opened her eyes to see Rin staring at her. Maiko saw a darkness on the princess's face. Rin was breathing harshly and her eyes….Rin's eyes were shifting from their normal hazel to red.

Maiko stared in horror, now understanding the true extent of the princess's abilities.

"Now you're going to tell me everything you know," Rin said in a voice that was not hers.

~oOo~

Author's Notes:

Please don't kill me for the cliffhanger! I was going for horror and ominous feel for this chapter. I hope I was able to achieve that. I do have a horror story in mind for a favorite couple but that won't be for a while. Like I said, I'm already working on the next chapter and plan to have that out by this weekend to make up for how short this chapter was.