A/N: Many thanks to all those who have been following this story. I very much appreciate all your reviews and comments.
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Chapter 2
Sesshomaru took a deep breath, hoping to work up some interest in what Jaken was saying.
The little toad was droning on about some matter that Sesshomaru knew was important, but it wasn't enough to hold his attention.
It had only been two months since he had returned, and after living in the wild, alone for so long, it was a strange thing to find himself in the midst of a great hall, in the presence of others.
This was how it must have been for Rin when she first arrived here, he thought suddenly. Thrust into a strange new world, with Jaken as reluctant guide.
At this odd flare of kinship, he turned his head to observe her as she sat a few feet away from him, in the formal position demanded by the court.
He remembered her sprawling in the fields when she had been younger, and felt a momentary sense of loss, for what had been, and would never be again.
The demon lord did not let people into his life lightly, but when he did, he usually expected them to stay.
He had allowed a child to follow him, and now that he had returned to a woman, he found that he missed the child.
He quirked an eyebrow when her eyes raised to meet his, and she blushed in surprise before dropping them again.
It was getting annoying, this habit of hers. Surely she had been looked at before!
'—and the Leopards grow stronger daily, my lord, something has to be done about them soon,' Jaken ended, and he turned his attention back to his servant.
He paused a moment. 'You shall have my decision tomorrow. Send the scrolls to my study.'
Jaken nodded and bowed, prompting the other courtiers to bow also. Somehow he found his eyes drawn back to Rin. The sunlight entering through the windows reflected off her glossy, dark hair as she inclined her head.
Standing, he strode regally from the room, and made his way to his study.
He drew the door shut behind him, and took a deep breath. This place had been his father's, and his father's before him. Centuries of the Inu daiyoukai tradition were steeped in these four walls.
The panels running around the room depicted scenes from the past, glorious feats of his ancestors that were immortalised for all eternity. He hoped, one day, to have performed something worthy of having it painted up there, beside the greatest of his forebears.
There was a knock on the door.
'Enter,' he called.
The door slid open, then shut, as Rin entered the room.
'My Lord,' she said hesitantly. 'I have come with the scrolls Master Jaken bade me bring you.'
He nodded, still not moving his eyes from the pictures gracing the panels. 'Bring them here.'
She came to him, and he turned his gaze to her, taking the scrolls from her hand.
He read them quickly, and felt a surge of weariness. This was what Jaken had been droning on about at court: the Leopards and the Mountain Lions. Fighting again, when he was least in the mood for having to intervene and impose peace as their lord.
He looked up from the writing detailing the history behind the decades old vendetta between the two clans. Having made his decision, his gaze fell on Rin.
He remembered her impatient fidgeting as a child. Now, she was standing perfectly still, waiting for him to speak.
Had her mind changed, as well?
'Rin,' he said suddenly. 'You have heard what Jaken spoke of at court. What would you do, were you asked to solve the conflict?'
He could see that he had shocked her by asking for her opinion; she blinked once before answering hesitantly.
'I would arrange for an alliance between the heir of the Mountain lions, and the daughter of the Leopards. She is said to be a great beauty, and the alliance would end the violence between the two clans.'
He nodded, pleased. She had matured in thought, it was the same solution that had presented itself to him.
The daughter of the Leopards was rumored to be a great beauty, but she had a brother who was looking for a bride, as well. If he would arrange for a marriage between him and the daughter of the Lions, and an alliance between the Lion daughter and the Leopard heir…peace would be ensured between the two clans for many generations to come.
'Ask Jaken to meet me here,' he said to her by way of dismissal. She nodded, and left, sliding the door shut behind her.
Turning back to the scrolls in his hand, he decided to find out who Rin's tutors had been. He would have to see that they were adequately rewarded for developing her mind so well.
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One week later, the Leopards and the Mountain Lions came to court.
The patriarchs of the clans bowed before Lord Sesshomaru in equal humility and respect, but when they faced each other, Rin could see the resentment and hostility that simmered between them.
'I have called you here to command that you leave this violence behind you,' Lord Sesshomaru said, his amber eyes moving between the two minor youkai seated before him. 'Hundreds of your kindred have been killed in this petty war between your clans, and it is time that it came to a stop.'
He paused then, staring at the two suddenly nervous youkai before him.
'You have both a daughter and a son, each of marriageable age?' he said, turning to the leader of the Leopards.
'Yes, my lord.'
'As do you?'
'Yes, my lord.'
'I suggest that the daughters of each of your houses marry the heirs of the other.'
'Are there any objections?' he asked coldly, surveying the two youkai, who shook their heads simultaneously.
'Then it is settled. Three months hence, we shall celebrate the two weddings on the first full moon day.'
The other men nodded and bowed profusely, thanking Lord Sesshomaru for his wisdom and his compassion. He appeared unconcerned, and merely called for a servant to bring some sake, that he might drink to the success of the new alliances.
Rin watched, feeling her heart swell with pride at the praise heaped on her lord.
As the the three youkai drank their sake, they made desultory conversation amongst themselves. Her attention wandered, and she found herself staring at her lord as he lifted the cup to his lips. She had always admired his easy, unconscious grace, and now she found she couldn't tear her eyes away from him.
'And who might this lovely creature be?'
She blinked when she saw Lord Sesshomaru raise his eyes to her, belatedly realising that she was being addressed by the leader of the Leopards.
She stood up and bowed to the minor youkai as he beamed upon her, feeling her face flush in embarrassment at her abstraction.
'This is Rin,' Lord Sesshomaru was saying as she straightened up. 'My ward.'
There was an odd gleam in his eye as he took in her pink tinged cheeks, and Rin wondered what he was thinking.
She had no occasion to dwell further on the subject, as the two youkai began to engage her in the conversation, as well.
It was to be two hours later that she made her way back up to her room, feeling drained, but happy that she had been able to please her lord.
Jaken had asked her to sing for the court, and she had complied, with Hitomi accompanying her on the koto. The two youkai had expressed their admiration for her efforts, and she had seen the glint of pride and satisfaction in her lord's eyes as they had praised her profusely.
She had flushed as he had looked at her, feeling hot all over, wondering for the hundredth time why it was that he caused her body to behave so.
Perhaps Hitomi would know.
She turned to her lady in waiting as she sat on the futon. The female youkai was smiling as she unpinned Rin's hair, slowly uncoiling it from her head to let it hang to its customary length.
'Hitomi,' she said hesitantly. 'Why do I—why does a girl feel hot all over if a man looks at her?'
The maid stopped her ministrations, her hands going still in the girl's hair. Rin's eyes met hers in the mirror, innocence shining in their depths.
Hitomi swallowed hard as she realised that the child simply did not know. Likely as not, one of the minor male youkai in the court had caught her eye some time ago, and now she had come to her, Hitomi, for advice and help.
She would have to tread carefully. It had always been obvious that the Lord Sesshomaru held this girl in some regard, but now that she had seen for herself how protective he was of this frail human child…if he were ever to feel that she had been corrupting his naïve little ward's mind…
Hitomi gulped again, picking her words carefully.
'It means that the girl is slowly becoming a woman,' she said hesitantly. 'It means that she…cares…very deeply, for the man who looks at her.'
'Oh.'
Rin nodded, satisfied. What Hitomi had told her made sense. She did care very deeply for her lord, and now she knew that that was the only reason why she was behaving like this.
She beamed at her maid, who seemed to relax suddenly. The youkai turned and fetched for her the kimono she wore to bed. With a bow, the other woman left the room to retire to her own room.
Rin sighed happily as she shrugged out of her heavily ornate kimono—the one she only wore to court—and stepped into the softer fabric that hugged her skin. She lay down, and was soon fast asleep.
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Rin felt her hands shake as she picked up her ninth cup of sake and drank from it.
The day of the weddings had finally arrived, and Lord Sesshomaru had decided to preside over the ceremony in his capacity as the Lord of the Western Lands, along with a few select nobles of his court. Rin had been delighted when she had been told she would accompany him, it would be the first wedding she had witnessed.
The marriage would not be considered complete until all nine cups had been imbibed, and she was determined to perform her part of the ceremony, though she did not relish the sake.
She would not let Lord Sesshomaru down.
Her eyes drifted to where he sat between the two clans, drinking his cup of sake with a graceful flick of his wrist.
'My lady,' a soft voice admonished at her side. 'You are not used to sake, please sip it slowly.'
Rin turned to meet the concerned eyes of her maid. 'I'm alright, Hitomi,' she said expansively. 'I feel so happy—though the sake does not taste very nice…'
Her maid said nothing, eyeing her warily before turning away to her own cup.
Rin expelled a small sigh as she looked at the two brides. They looked very beautiful, painted a pristine white, with their matching white kimonos a striking contrast to the bridegrooms, tall and handsome in black.
Once the guests had emptied their cups of sake, the heads of the two clans ceremoniously introduced their new daughters and sons to the people gathered at the wedding.
The good natured teasing and shouts of congratulation to the bridegrooms died down when Lord Sesshomaru stood up and made his way to the newlyweds.
'The past is the past,' he said to them gravely. 'Leave behind the foolishness of your clans and embrace your future together.'
He paused.
'I advise each of you to take very good of these young ladies, I would not like to hear of any…maltreatment…' he let his sentence trail off, and the two youkai bridegrooms shivered, nodding emphatically.
Rin stifled a giggle at their fear, and Jaken glared at her. She held her tongue, and turned back to see that the ceremony was officially declared to have been performed and the guests were invited to make merry in honour of the occasion.
Things were very stiff between the two families at first, but after a few more cups of strong sake had been drunk, there was much singing and dancing. She smiled to see so many people enjoying themselves; it seemed that the differences between them weren't so very great, after all. Once again, her lord had made the right decision.
'It will be your turn, soon, Rin,' a voice said behind her, and she turned around slowly to see that the leader of the Leopards had a big smile on his face as he regarded her. 'Soon, your lord will find you a nice young man and you will settle down with him.'
Over the youkai's shoulder, she met Lord Sesshomaru's eyes, he appeared as unperturbed as ever, but she caught a hint of displeasure in his gaze. The sake made her reckless, and she was speaking before she was fully aware of it.
'I do not wish to be married,' she said firmly.
'Not be married!' the youkai echoed in astonishment.
Rin shook her head firmly, opening her mouth to further elaborate when Hitomi arrived. 'My lady,' she said with a nervous glance at the daiyoukai. 'You have had nine cups of sake tonight; it is time for us to retire.'
The other woman's words recalled her back to herself, and she was glad she had not embarrassed herself further. With a self-conscious smile, she bid the gathering goodnight, following her maid to the rooms that had been allocated to her in the house of the Mountain Lions.
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'A most charming young girl,' the leader of Leopards sighed as she walked away from them. 'Despite what she says, Lord Sesshomaru, I know of an excellent alliance that would suit her extremely well, if I may be so bold—'
'You may not,' he replied brusquely, strangely discomfited at the thought of his Rin being married off, and leaving his court.
The other youkai nodded, apparently having sensed that he was intruding, and soon drifted off with a deep bow.
Sesshomaru clenched his fist as he wondered at his own contrary nature. He had long known that one day, Rin would grow up and get married to a suitable human boy that he picked out, and she would then leave.
He knew this, but the thought of her actually leaving was still somehow uncomfortable. He was just beginning to become accustomed to the changes in her after his eight year absence, and he was loath to let her go without becoming better acquainted with her first.
He remembered her declaration of a few moments ago, and suppressed his sigh. Rin's maid had spoken the truth; she had imbibed more sake than was good for her, the wine making her tongue too loose.
It would not hurt to make sure she was alright, he well knew that her human body would not handle demon sake well, even one so weak as this one, which had been specially prepared for the ceremony.
He silently drifted away from the celebrations. Jaken made to follow him, but he stopped him with a shake of his head. The toad would only slow him down with his stumbling, when Sesshomaru wanted to be quick and discreet.
Soon, he was below the rooms he knew to be hers. The screen door was open; he could hear her maid's voice as he drew near. He heard the female youkai wish her lady a good night, and he knew Rin was alone. He stopped below her balcony, and looked up at her open window.
Rin was standing with her back toward him, entirely oblivious to the fact that he was watching her. She seemed to be unaware that the window was even open. Truly, she had had too much sake.
Even as he watched, she slipped the kimono she was wearing off her shoulders, leaving her body bare in the moonlight. With languid grace, she tipped her head back, moving a hand up her throat and into her hair, which now fell unchecked to her waist. She rolled her shoulders, her hand dropping to run slowly down her body.
With a faint sigh that nonetheless seemed overly loud to the watching daiyoukai, she arched her back and stretched.
His mouth went dry as he stared at the apparition she made in the moonlight, her round bottom thrust out toward him as she moaned—a soft, shuddery sound that sent a bolt of lust shooting through him.
She relaxed like a cat, rolling her shoulders again as she picked up another kimono and pulled it on, her movements slow and utterly unbearable to the suddenly aroused demon lord who stood watching her, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight.
She made to turn, and he suddenly realised that he had to leave before she would see him.
In a moment, he had taken flight, deciding not to go back to the wedding, where he was sure his altered mood would be cause for comment and concern.
He had to go somewhere where he could clear these confounding thoughts from his head.
He had come across something that was never meant for his eyes, and it was imperative that he disregard these momentary feelings that he had no use for.
Rin was his ward, nothing more.
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And things finally start heating up. ;)
Also:
--The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument.
--Weddings were arranged for political gains in Feudal Japan. I got the details of the ceremony from off the internet, apologies if there were any mistakes.
All comments and concrit are very welcome. :)