Chapter 3 – The hearing

Following the soldier through the corridors, I find this place astonishing. Should have expected this from the main palace in the Western Lands, but I'm still surprised.

Soon we walk up the staircase (which is by the way covered with velvet carpet) and after a minute we reach our destination, decorated wooden door, which must lead to one of the noblest rooms of this castle. The soldier knocks and when prompted enters the room.

In that short moment, the feeling of mild nervousness runs through my body. It's not a fear, just an uncertainty. 'How different will this second meeting be?' Just what kind of attitude can I expect?

"I've brought the captive, my lord," interrupts my thoughts and made me concentrate again. Just as I expected we stand in a smart office, with dozens of bookshelves, where at the desk sits my conqueror, immersed in one of the files lying in front of him.

"You may leave now" comes in an answer to the announcement. 'Probably not meant to me' a playful thought pops in my mind and I suppress the urge to giggle. 'Get back to the serious self.' I admonish myself.

The door closes, and I'm left in the study with the dog lord alone. For a while it seems my presence is ignored, because he continues with his business without paying me a single glance. I take the chance to study his features a bit. He has a calm look on his face, and just like me wears his hair in a high ponytail, however, his silver is way longer than mine. 'I shouldn't have let that goblin looking demon surprise me and take feet of my tress with itself as a souvenir.'Of course, I made him pay for that, but it still didn't make my hair grow back.

"So, how are you enjoying your stay in the western palace?" sudden question come, as a pair of golden eyes lays on me.

'For real, is he really going to start the hearing with irony? Well, guess it won't hurt to play the same card.'

"It's a significant place to be in, I must say, even from the tiny bits of it I've seen so far." I reply.

Now, it's his turn to study my features. Despite being a half demon, I do look almost as an ordinary human. Maybe just the claws and sharper teeth - and more pointy ears - could mark the difference. Well, my hair colour could be revealing as well; after all, even other clan members had darker shades of brown – most of the time you would consider them to be nearly black.

Sometimes humans have viewed me as one of them, if I hadn't let them see my palm, or I shall rather say fingers, or even better, my 'nails'. But that does not work for demons – because the smell of my blood is different.

"Does that mean you have no objections to being dragged here?" he continues.

"Honestly, I believe that I should be rather grateful for being dragged here in one piece after what had happened back in the forest, shouldn't I?" My answer makes him smirk in amusement.

"Well, in the end you did not seem to be a spy, neither a threat to our strategy; you just happened to be at a wrong time in a wrong place." 'Yes, that happens to be my habit from time to time,'I nod to myself.

"In addition, it is no longer common to see a member of a Seigyo clan around," he continues, "especially a one who is a hanyou, and whose parent is a dog demon." A small "was," escapes from my lips as I lower my head.

'That explains the second part of the fight; this lord had no intention of killing me, mostly because of my father's origins, and the wound on my back being just a payment for eavesdropping.'

"Was?" comes a prompting, asking for my background information. "My father died twenty-three years ago. So, we only had limited time to spend together..." And feeling that the next question may relate to her I add: "And 10 years ago I've also lost my mother in 'that' incident."

Even after a decade, it's not easy for me to speak about what exactly happened. I'm probably the only one who survived the attack on the castle, thanks to my mother's sacrifice. By luck some other clan members were away from the castle, but I haven't met any of them since then.

"So, now you are an orphan... How old are you exactly?" "I've turn 27 a few weeks ago," I answer, still concentrating on the ground in front of me.

Silence falls upon the room. For about five minutes neither of us says a single word. Then the dog demon lord proposes an idea that completely takes my breath away:

"If you wish, you may stay in my palace." Astonished I look straight into his eyes, 'Could it be that he's joking?' But no, I can see that he's completely serious. 'But... why?'

He seems to understand my confusion, so he adds: "I have to admit that you're quite interesting one, seems to be quite mature for your age, young girl." Finally, I find my words, however, I only came up with the worst possible reaction: "Well, I'm in my late twenties, so I'm already an adult." "By human's standards yes, however by demons' standard, you are still considered a pup." 'Oh... I see.'

Somehow, I feel like I simply can't avoid his staring gaze – I realise that he's waiting for my answer. Part of me wants to say that I'm able to take care of myself on my own, but the other calls for an end of this endless lonely travelling. And I am fully aware which one is stronger...

"I... would greatly appreciate if you let me stay her for some time... my lord," I add after a short hesitation.

"Good decision, young one. When I'm at it, you still haven't mentioned what your name is." "You haven't asked until now, my lord," I reply playfully, letting a smile appear on my face for the first time. "It's Natsuki."

Suddenly someone knocks on the door. "Come in." The familiar soldier appears and this time he announces: "My lord, your son wishes to talk to you." 'His son?'"Alright, meanwhile lead Natsuki to the host room and then send one of the servants to her." "Yes, my lord."

I bow slightly before following the soldier and taking my leave. "Come in, Sesshomaru," I hear the lord of the Western Lands say as I happen to pass the one addressed. He looks a lot like his father, having the same golden eyes; however, his gaze is a lot colder. He successfully ignores me and enters the study.

'So, his name is Sesshomaru... I shall remember that.'

A/N: I quite enjoyed writting this chapter, hope you will enjoy it as well.
And big thanks to the first reviewer. Recieving feedback, despite having written only two short chapters made me happy.

Natsuki - this name can have various meanings (differing in kanji symbols used for it); just a brief information for those interested in it I decided to go for 夏希 which stands for "summer, hope" but the written interpretation 夏姫 - "summer, princess" will also have its importance in later chapters.

Published: September 25, 2016