Chapter 2

Megahna paced her room back and forth, her fury radiating through her jaki, causing all of the nearby servants to take alternate routes in their chores, even if it required longer trips. No one wanted to mess with the inu-youkai woman when she was this mad. She had a tendency to mangle first, and then mangle again second. The servants hated her, the nobility hated her, and she hated them equally in turn.

But most of all, she hated the hell that her father had sold her into, and the fact that unless she wanted to be scorned for the rest of her life, she was forced to stay in hell. Every young noble youkai knew that their lot in life was to be married for political or financial reasons, but some part of her, a large part, had always dreamed of being married to someone she loved, someone who loved her, someone she could spend the rest of her long life with.

"Damn him!" she howled and threw her harp across the room in a fit. The strings howled in anger as they hit the floor and snapped. It was bad enough that she was forced to deal with her station in life, but to add insult to injury, she was forced to associate with those vermin of human beings, and worse, to have Sesshoumaru flaunt them in her face as his adopted family. It was bad enough when he made that runt half-breed of a nephew into his living heir, but to keep the offspring of his favorite pet around generation after generation, was beyond insulting.

'Perhaps he should send me home, I don't know which is the worse slight on honor,' she thought as she gathered her robes about her and headed for the hot springs to try and relax her anger away in the steam. The quick patter of feet gave her a light amusement as the servants dashed out of her way. Good, they should be afraid of her, it was their rank in life, to fear youkai.

This growing modern era had given the humans a false sense of security. As their technologies advanced and their world and the understanding of such grew, they began to forget the old ways, and the old ranks. Youkai were becoming more and more myths and legends, creatures of stories meant to serve a purpose, but never real. Her father sent her countless letters explaining the things that were ongoing outside the walls of her palace. Of course, Sesshoumaru never let her leave the palace, perhaps he feared that she would gather his nobles to rise against him, in his weakened 'human loving' state. She grinned and rubbed her hands together at the thought. Oh yes, that would be a splendid idea.

But for how long? She knew the nobles would rise up against her, viewing her as merely a woman and not capable of truly running and holding the lands on her own. No, there had to be some other way out of this hell.

She glided down through the trees to the springs, shedding another layer of her kimono as she went, knowing full well that there would be a servant following behind to gather her robes and bring her fresh ones. Her skin tingled as she slid into the steaming water, the rich mineral smell filling her nose and instantly relaxing her. She leaned her head back against a rock and let the water's natural motion massage her muscles.

"You should be more careful where you bathe Megahna, or else you might find yourself naked and in the presence of a lesser youkai, how would that look upon your honor?"

Her eyes shot open and through the thick mist of the fog, she saw a silhouette on the other side of the spring, hidden from sight by the voluminous clouds of steam and scent by the minerals in the air.

"No man could have me against my will," she said indignantly, and felt the water shift as he swiftly moved to her side, his golden eyes stabbing at her.

"You dare to think so, and yet if I chose, I could," he threatened. She paused a moment and then laughed.

"Do not jest with me Sesshoumaru, we both know that your loins have no interest in your noble wife," she said sharply and heard his growl, before grinning again, "Perhaps they have found interest in other things." She grinned as she felt the heat of his fury rise over the water.

"Out of my bath woman," he snarled and she crossed her arms.

"My bath, and I do not think I shall be leaving soon, besides, I will not impede my honor by having you gaze upon me unclothed. You have lost that privilege long ago," she smirked.

He paused a moment, "Perhaps you are right, the water does seem fowled now, I think I will make my exit." He rose from the water with liquid smoothness and through the fog Megahna felt her cheeks redden deeply. It all her self control to keep her scent from being affected by it. He was a beautiful man, she could not argue with that. All of his power and stature was reflected in every bend in his body, the curve of his him, the muscles that rippled beneath his skin. She could not help but watch him as he moved to where his robes lay and cloth himself.

Megahna caught herself wishing for a moment that all things were different, that perhaps he could have been the love she dreamed of as a child. He would certainly keep her bed warm at night.

"Are you done staring at me, or would you have another showing," his cold voice came through the air, shaking her from her thoughts and she looked away with a hrumph.

"One sight was enough to blind me," she muttered but knew that it was half hearted at best and knew that he knew as well. He faded into the darkness, leaving her feeling more than alone as she bathed in the starlight, thinking about how things could have been.

In her solitude, she allowed herself to slip out of the shell that she had once sworn to keep about her, to keep her heart safe. She sighed deeply and relaxed into the water, feeling hot tears slide down her cheeks unwillingly.

Heaven help her, if they chose, she hated the man, and at the same time... no she wouldn't say it, because it wasn't true. She loathed him, loathed everything that he stood for in her life. Her loss of love, her loss of freedom, the controlling nature that her father had once had over her and now he held. She loathed being a woman, looked upon as something lesser than a man, and equally unimportant.

"Lady," she heard a soft whisper behind her and froze, making a quick motion to wipe the tears from her face. Her nose searched through the fog of minerals and found the smell of youth and health, tinged with the faint smell of rose oil. It was that brat, Kirai.

"You dare defy my bath," she growled.

"I wished to speak to you m'lady, and perhaps share your bath," she said again, and stepped forward from the mists, wrapped in her thin yukata, poised at the edge of the spring.

"I would rather die than share a bath with a filthy creature like yourself," Megahna scowled.

To her credit, she didn't shrink away, but stood even taller, as if her poise would give her an advantage if Megahna so chose to attack. "You can do so if you wish, but I will still speak to you." She said calmly as she slid into the water.

Megahna watched her suspiciously. This was very unlike her husband's pet, to be so forward and courageous. This must be a matter of great importance to her.

"Make your words quickly, before my patience runs out," she snapped and swore she could see the smile on the girls face, while the rest of her features were still veiled from her view.

"Of course Lady," she said. "I wish to speak to you of my grandfather."

"You should address your Lord as such, and not on such familiar family terms. You are not his granddaughter, you are not a child of his blood. You are simply a human pet to humor him, and no more." Megahna held her chin high.

"I don't care what you think anymore," the girl snapped, rising out of the water, the heat of her anger overwhelming the heat of the spring, and even Megahna was taken aback by its power for a moment, "My grandfather is suffering and its all your fault, why don't you just go away! You don't love him, you don't care anything about him. You have your own lands and provinces, you don't need his. Go away and let him find someone that he can be happy with."

Megahna stared at this girl, and for the first time in her life, she felt something akin to respect for this girl. Never had a human dared raise her voice to her, and it intrigued her.

"You would think it could be so easy, to dismiss myself and return to my own lands. Simple human girl, has my husband taught you nothing of youkai laws? I would think that he would have had you drowning in propriety, as he did his first pet, the one you resemble so much."

Kirai for her part was amazed that Megahna was speaking back to her, and for once wasn't taking it for granted. Perhaps if she could get past that shell that she felt she was carrying, then perhaps she might find a way to help Sesshoumaru.

"I know that a mated marriage is until the death of one, but you are not mated. I know the marks, and I haven't seen them on you. I don't understand this, and I won't ask why, but I will ask, if you are not mated, why do you stay? Why don't you leave?"

"Would you be so happy to see me leave? Would that please your simple heart?" Megahna asked spitefully.

"No," the young girl answered softly, much to the youkai's surprise. "I would not be happy. You are the closest thing I have had to a mother since I was young. I know the thought of having a human close to you makes you ill, and so I have admired you from afar. I have tried over and over to please you, till I learned to accept that it is my nature that displeases you and I am unable to change who I am. I would like that someday you might see me as more than a pest, a brat that runs at your heels, but a woman like yourself, someone who can speak to you about things I cannot speak to my maids about."

Megahna opened her mouth to say something cruel and harsh, but her heart wouldn't let her. She hadn't realized until that moment that she too craved another female companion around, someone that she could trust, that wouldn't use her words against her. But a human? She would never, she could never give in to a human.

"I don't expect you to answer now, but give it a thought. I don't think you are as horrible as everyone might think. I think that deep down, you are as lonely as Grandfather is, that you are both looking for something that you feel you have been denied."

'Damn if the girl wasn't correct, but how did a human brat understand so much?' The brat was too intuitive for Megahna's tastes and she had enough. She rose from the water, flowing like the liquid itself out of the spring and into the waiting clean yukata that she knew would be there.

"Your disillusions amuse me at best, annoy me at worst, you are a child who needs to grow out of her menial daydream and prepare yourself for the reality of the life that awaits you," she snipped as she turned and walked away.