This is the sequel to my first story Words Unsaid and will be written in the same mood and style. In this story, I shall try to give glimpses of our favorite couple's life after their marriage, while trying to connect it with some elements from the Yashahime series that we have seen so far. Actually, I had intended to write this much later, but I was extremely stressed after the developments of episode 4 of the new series which affected my ability to get some actual work done. So, I wrote this as a stress buster.
Some elements of the plot will be easier to follow if Words Unsaid is read first, but a standalone read should also work. In the last chapter of Words Unsaid, I had discussed the possibility of Sesshomaru having to renounce his title, so it is a bit reassuring to know that the creators might have been thinking along the same lines. I hope to address the topic in this fiction. His marriage was also confirmed which is another relief for me, and from the facts that we have till date, I am 94.2% sure that the wife is who I want it to be leaving the rest 5.8% for - ahem, unforeseen circumstances.
Hope you like this chapter.
Winter had arrived at the Western lands, bringing with it the layers of fresh snow on its highest mountains, and gushes of cold wind blowing over the empty paddy fields in its plains. The days steadily grew colder as the new Lady of the West settled down into her husband's household after their marriage. They had exchanged their marital vows about a month earlier, when the last of the dead autumn foliage had been steered to their final resting place on the earth's lap.
Over the weeks following her marriage, Rin had grown accustomed to spending her evenings in Sesshomaru's study, poring over his books, while he carried out the routine paperwork that came with his title. That evening was no different, apart from the fact that occasionally, she found her eyes being drawn away from the pages of the open book in her hands to the face of the young lord who remained focused on his work. Their marriage seemed to have little effect on his demeanor, and he clearly was not lost in the romanticism of a newly-wed husband, unlike his wife. Not that she minded though. She was just glad to be there with him every day, and being familiar with the nature of the person she married, she was more than happy to explore their new relationship as a couple in the slow pace that she knew he preferred. She was so much in love with him, and though she knew that he felt the same for her, she would wait to hear it from his mouth, and she was sure that she would one day.
"Rin, probably you should pick yourself a different book to read if my face seems more interesting to you than the one you have in your hand at the moment. Your tea is getting cold," Sesshomaru said without stopping what he was doing. Turning her gaze to the desk, Rin saw that a large piece of paper was spread out before him, which he was scrutinizing closely, as he made certain marks on the paper with his brush. While his voice carried a hint of amusement, his face remained inscrutable. Oops, Rin blushed. She was caught stealing a glance at her own husband over the pages of her book.
"I am afraid that no book meets that criteria," Rin replied playfully, deciding to tease her new husband just a little bit to see if she got any reaction from him. Did he not know that his eyes and his face was the book that she had devoted her life to deciphering, in the hope of gaining access to whatever treasures he had locked away in his heart?
"So, you believe that the books that are presently at your disposal are inadequate to capture your interest?" Sesshomaru asked in a low voice. Either he had missed the joke completely or he decided to play along with her humor, although she could not tell which was the more likely case from the flat tone in which he spoke.
"No, my lord, that's certainly not the case. Most of these books are very interesting. But as much as I love reading them, no information that I could ever find in the pages of a book could be a substitute for what I see in your face. I just meant that they are incomparable," she smiled at him, stirring that warm feeling in his heart that was exclusively associated with her smile and was becoming ever more familiar in her presence lately. He regarded his wife for a moment, and then turned his attention back to his work. The first thing that he had told her as soon as they got a chance to speak in private after the wedding was that she could stop using the honorific while addressing him, but she insisted on calling him "Lord Sesshomaru" and "my lord" anyway. However, being an observant person, he had not failed to note the very few times when she had also used a third form of address. He did not want to push her to change her old habits and whatever was comfortable to her was perfectly acceptable to him.
Seeing her lord husband shift his attention back to his work, Rin too forced herself to focus her eyes on the pages of her book. She wrapped both her hands around the fine china teacup placed before her and took a sip, taking in the warmth that the tepid liquid still offered. Perhaps, it would have been easier for her to avoid looking at him so often, had the sight of him been just a tad less captivating. How could she blame herself, a woman who was deeply in love with him for letting her eyes get lost in the beauty of his youthful face, when men, women and kids alike seemed to stare at him with a mixture of awe and wonder in their eyes? A smile formed on her lips as she recalled their wedding day. While it was more common for the brides to be receiving compliments for their appearance in such occasions it was her demon husband who seemed to be the primary center of attraction that day. Sango's twin girls could not stop discussing between themselves how gorgeous their uncle Sesshomaru looked next to their pretty aunt Rin, and she had overheard Shippo commenting to Kohaku that he had to admit that he did not think that such a brooding guy could be so attractive. Kohaku's restless gaze had darted back and forth between her face and that of their lord's and Rin thought that the poor young man looked somewhat confused.
"Rin," the deep baritone of the demon lord's voice brought her attention back to the present. "I shall be leaving for my patrols tomorrow," Sesshomaru informed his wife once she looked up from her book.
"Oh, when shall we be leaving my lord?" she asked energetically, folding her book shut.
"In the morning, but it is only I who will be going. You and Jaken are to remain here," he stated.
"I see," Rin's shoulder slumped, evidently discouraged by the information that she just received. She wanted to ask him how long he would be gone, but did not want to appear as if she wanted him to cut his patrols short for her sake. She knew and accepted the fact that her husband belonged to his lands just as much as he belonged to her.
"Where will you be going?" she asked instead, hoping it would give her an estimate of the length of time that he expected to be away from his castle.
"Come here," Sesshomaru called his wife to his side. When she came over on his side of the desk and sat down beside him, he placed his index finger on a certain spot on the sheet of paper that was spread out on his desk.
"This is our current location, and this is the route I intend to take," Rin saw her husband's slim finger start from a point and trace out a semi circular trajectory on what appeared to be a map, probably of his lands. She saw that he had marked some dots on the trajectory he traced, which she conjectured were important landmarks or other strategic locations intended to serve as the checkpoints on his journey. However, she was at a loss trying to fathom the distance between one checkpoint and the next, or the total length of his route, and naturally, the original purpose of her question remained unserved.
"How far is this point from where we are at?" Rin asked, pointing to a checkpoint on the far end of the semicircular arc, her finger touching the tip of the demon's claw. Without answering verbally, Sesshomaru moved his finger to one edge of the map where several numbers and symbols were printed in smaller font. Apparently, these abstract symbols and numeric figures were there to help one figure out the distances and other information. She squinted her eyes and bit her lower lip for a few moments trying to make sense of the esoteric information presented before her, but soon gave up and looked at her husband's face with a hopeless expression.
"I reckon that you have not been educated in cartography," Sesshomaru said, sensing that his young wife was not making any progress in comprehending the information conveyed by the map.
"That's true," she said. "I am sorry that I could not follow."
"If you like, I shall teach you how to read maps when I return. It can be a useful skill," he remarked quietly, placing an assuring hand on the top of her head.
Later that night, Rin made her way to the large bed chamber that she shared with her husband, musing about the possible duration of time her husband planned to be away from home. Will he take a week or a month to complete his patrol? She sighed, not having the least clue. Usually, after dinner she would read or write for a while in their bedroom before going to sleep. Her daily training sessions in self-defense early in the mornings had been making it increasingly difficult for her to stay awake at night for more than a couple of hours after dinner. Rin did not really understand why Sesshomaru insisted on her practicing her self defense skills with him every morning. She was clearly not a fighter, and thus that part of the day was perhaps her least favorite. Nevertheless, it was also the only thing that he had ever requested of her, and so she complied, if only to put his mind at ease. Her husband usually came in to rest much later during the night if at all, as two to three hours of rest were more than enough for him. Since their marriage, perhaps it was just a couple of times in her sleep that she felt herself being pulled to his broad chest and held safely in his arms after having tossed and turned in the midst of her frightful nightmares. Another time, she was sure that she had fallen asleep at her bedroom desk, but found herself tucked in the bed in the morning. She could see plainly that her husband worked very hard at his official duties, and felt a little guilty that his negligence over the past months was indirectly on her account which had caused more documents to pile up than what he could handle without overworking himself. Nevertheless, the grace with which he undertook the additional burden made her more proud of him.
However, that night to Rin's surprise, Sesshomaru was already there, quietly sitting on the low cushioned seat beside the large bay window of their bedroom, gazing out into the starry sky through the glass panes. Their impending separation made her heart a bit heavy. She approached him from behind and looped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him from the back.
"My dearest, could you not take me with you?" Rin asked, pressing her face against the silky silver veil of his long hair. Sesshomaru made a mental note that the rare form of address had been used again, and tilted his head slightly backward so that he could see her face.
"Rin, don't make requests that I have to turn down," he replied.
"I promise that I won't be any trouble, please," his wife still insisted.
"That's not the point," the demon lord said, a hint of impatience seeping through his voice. "Don't you realize how cold it already is outside? The temperatures at the altitudes at which I usually fly would hardly be suitable for a human. Rin, hypothermia is not something that I can protect you from, even if I want to." he added. Indeed, during his patrols he preferred to fly at higher altitudes so that he could get a bird's-eye view of his lands, it was simply more efficient that way. Flying at a lower altitude or travelling on the ground would take much more time. Having spent the last decade in a human settlement, his Rin was no longer accustomed to living in the wilderness, and that fact combined with the prevailing cold weather meant that her body would give in to exhaustion before long.
Rin said nothing, but he heard her sigh softly. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and spoke in a softer tone, "I expect to be back before the end of two weeks from now. You can accompany me on patrols when it gets warmer in spring."
"Why do you have to travel in such harsh weather then? Can't you defer your patrol till spring?" Rin blurted in a sharp tone.
"As the Lady of the West, I thought you would know better than that," her husband responded.
In the very next moment, the young lady seemed apologetic for her words. She unlocked her arms from around her husband's shoulders, and came to sit in front of him. "I am sorry for being so selfish. Lord Sesshomaru, you have given me so much, and yet I ask for more," she said holding his hand. "Perhaps I wouldn't have been like this had I not known that there would be a day when I cannot be with you anymore. Due to that knowledge, even a day away from you seems like irreparable loss," she brushed her eyes with the long sleeves of her flowery sleeping yukata as she confessed the deepest source of her distress to him. "I tried to fight the feeling away, but I couldn't," she said biting her quivering lip.
Sesshomaru looked away from his wife for a few moments. The question of her mortality was a topic he did not like discussing, and tried to banish the thought from his conscious mind for the time. It was not that he was an escapist, he simply abhorred the feeling of helplessness that had engulfed him whenever Rin had raised the topic in the past, starting from her childhood. Finally, he turned his face towards the troubled girl and extended his arms to draw her closer to himself.
"Rin, you will lose what we have if you keep pining for what we don't," he said, placing a hand on her cheek.
"I know that you are right. I shall try harder, I promise," she said but did not raise her head to face him.
"That's enough now Rin, look at me. I have something to give you before I leave," Sesshomaru said, placing a hand under his wife's chin and reaching for the small box beside him with the other, wanting to redirect her mind towards more pleasant topics.
Rin saw that her husband was holding a familiar looking jewelry box. "That's what I gave to you Lord Sesshomaru. Why are you-, wait, what?" she left her sentence incomplete as he opened the box to reveal its contents.
A couple of weeks before their marriage Sesshomaru had sent her an exquisite pearl necklace with a crescent moon pendant carved out of sapphire that presently adorned her neck. It was similar to what she had seen Lady Mother wearing, only the pearls being smaller in size, and the pendant being much smaller than the meidou stone that formed the pendant of Lady Mother's necklace. In fact, the pendant was of the same size as the moon on her husband's forehead. On seeing the priceless ornament, Kagome said it was both her engagement gift as well as her regalia as the next Lady of the West. Sesshomaru had also sent her a letter through Jaken who also carried the gift, but his letters never discussed his gifts or their purpose, and that time was no exception. In return of the many things that he had unconditionally bestowed on her since her childhood, at that point Rin wanted to give her fiancé something for once. When she expressed her desire to Kagome, the young priestess suggested that a ring was the best gift to give a future spouse, and said that in her era couples would almost invariably exchange rings before their marriage. The idea seemed agreeable to Rin. So, with the help of her friends she had procured a ring for Sesshomaru from a distant village that Miroku knew of, which was home to a clan of merchants who dealt in jewelry. The next time Jaken came to the village to deliver her wedding kimono amongst other stuff, she had wasted no time to snatch A-Un's reins and take off to the sky, picking up Inuyasha and Miroku on the way, leaving poor Jaken stranded at Lady Kaede's hut. The imp who was as such befuddled by the recent developments was left to wonder what had come upon the crazy girl whom his lord had suddenly decided to marry.
After a thorough look through the wares the merchants had to offer, a relatively simple silver ring with a single dome shaped opal center stone had caught Rin's eye. It was simple, yet elegant and at that point, she understood her lord's persnickety taste well enough to know that he would not like anything more garish. Also, it looked like something she would be able to afford. Miroku proved himself to be a man who could strike an excellent deal, although Rin had to trade in a few of her childhood kimonos to acquire the gift for her lord. She had expected that the meager savings that she had acquired over the years as Lady Kaede's assistant in administering medication to the village folks would not be enough to make a decent purchase and thus she had come prepared with a few of the fine silks that her lord had gifted her in her childhood to compensate for the rest. The silks were good as new, perhaps not worn more than a couple of times before she outgrew them and she had felt a little guilty for using her lord's earlier gifts to buy a gift for him, but that was the only way before her. The merchant who sold the ring to her said that the jeweler who made the item said that it was a very special piece, although at that point, it did not look anything out of the ordinary. Regardless, Rin was elated with her purchase and the grumbling Jaken was largely disregarded on their return.
"Rin, why on earth would you disappear with A-Un like that? I can't believe that milord had chosen such an irresponsible and puerile woman to carry the title of the Lady of the West," he had ranted in his shrill voice.
"Don't tell me ya didn't see it coming, toad," Inuyasha had riposted. "As if any other woman would want to marry that snooty brother of mine."
While inspecting the gift later on in the solitude of her room, Rin had found out what its special feature was. The center stone was actually hollow and the head of the ring could be opened using a clasping mechanism to reveal a serrated groove which seemed to have been designed to house another stone. When she had shyly slipped the ring box in her newly wed husband's hand shortly after the wedding, whispering "a small gift for you," he had said nothing and merely kept it. It would be a lie to say that she was not even a little bit disappointed to see that he had neither worn her gift nor mentioned it to her later on, but knowing his nature, she had let it go. Now, the box that was opened before her revealed her gift, and beside it a second ring, almost identical in appearance but with a smaller diameter, that looked like it was crafted for a woman's finger.
"That's your gift, combined with my mother's," he calmly mentioned. He picked up the one that Rin had gifted him and opened the top to reveal a brilliant violet glow that shone within. The groove inside the ring was now fitted with a stone that emitted that glow. Rin recalled Lady Mother's words when they went to her palace after their wedding as she had wanted of them. She had a private conversation with her son and daughter-in-law after the council meeting that she had convened was over.
"Sesshomaru, I trust that you will make good use of my gift" the dowager Lady of the West had said at that time as she handed her son a small glass box revealing two brilliant violet gems inside. "While carrying one of these if one feels great fear, grief or anxiety, the one who carries the companion piece will know immediately. The two stones are connected," she had explained. If you still fail to protect your wife, do not come crying to your mother. I won't be able to help you any further," she had added.
"And the other ring?" Rin questioned.
"I just asked Jaken to find a jeweler who could design a replica of it and fit both with the stones. I do not know how it works or even if it does, but probably you should keep this one with you all the same," the Lord of the West said to his wife.
"I am sure that they work if Lady Mother has said so," Rin smiled brightly, "My lord, they represent our connected hearts, isn't it wonderful?" she said as she examined the two rings with admiration. Her lord's plan was perfect, for on the outside they were just normal rings which served well to conceal the magical stones that they encased.
"Keep it safe," he said. "I will keep the one that you had given me," he said, picking it up from the box.
"Lord Sesshomaru, do you mind if I put it on you now? I- uh, I just want to see how it looks on you," Rin said. In truth ever since she heard of the ring exchange ritual from Kagome, she wanted to do it with her lord. Sesshomaru merely gave a small nod in reply.
Rin promptly took the piece of jewelry and slipped it on her husband's ring finger. It was a perfect fit, and looked good on the elegant hand that looked like it belonged to an artist rather than a warrior. She was thrilled at the success of her gift. He must have examined it closely enough to know that it had a groove built in to house another stone. Moreover, her aristocratic husband must have found it agreeable enough if he had Lady Mother's gift fused with it. She was about to try the one that was made for her when Sesshomaru took it from her hand and slipped it on her finger. At that point, Rin felt that her husband could literally hear all her unvoiced wishes.
"My lord is the best," Rin giggled, hugging him once again. "It will let me know that you are safe whenever you are away from me," she said.
Hmm, it is intended to serve the opposite purpose, but the silly girl can only think about my safety, Sesshomaru thought as he gazed upon his wife fondly. She yawned, and he saw her eyelids were drooping as she leaned into his chest. He stood up with Rin in his arms and carried her to the bed.
As she was put to bed, the sleepy Rin felt her husband reach for the back of her head and untie the clip that held the heavy mass of her hair together so that she could rest her head more comfortably on the pillow. As he pulled the blankets over her, she extended her hand and grabbed his sleeve.
"Sessho-maru, stay with me, please," she requested in a drowsy voice, her half-awake state being responsible for addressing him without the honorific for the first time.
The Lord of the West understood that his wife probably feared that he would leave on his patrol before she woke up the next morning, depriving her of a chance to see him off.
"Sleep, Rin, I shall not be leaving till you are awake in the morning," the rich voice as well as the large hand placed on her forehead assured Rin, who soon drifted off to a peaceful sleep, as her husband ensconced himself on the bed beside her, reflecting on the dramatic turn his life had taken since he had met the girl who broken all the impregnable barriers to claim the heart that he once thought was invulnerable to love.
There will be more flashbacks to their wedding day in the next chapter once Rin is left alone. I hope the ones who enjoyed the last story and asked for their wedding would find it agreeable. It will be cool to hear your thoughts through reviews.