"Speak." Alyona demanded, as if she did not have any connection to the prisoner, as if he was another scumbag off the streets. But Sesshoumaru just kept glaring at her. Alyona knew Sesshoumaru long enough to know he was going to keep his mouth shut until he felt like talking.

Alyona smiled. "How is it that the 'great Lord Sesshoumaru' is in chains, next to a lowlife bum who tried to rob a house?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes were cold and vicious, like they were back when the two just met, not knowing who each other was. He slowly leaned in closer to Alyona, as if threatening her.

"Remember who you are talking to... I can rip through this entire city in a heartbeat." He snarled, fangs bared. Alyona raised her eyebrows.

"You...are threatening me? Shall I remind you what I am capable of?" Alyona stood up and stepped closer to him. He had a smirk in his eye and tugged on the chains, making them disconnect and fall to the cot. Before the metal could even clink with the cot, the chains stopped in midair and Sesshoumaru felt the familiar sensation of drowning, but he kept glaring at Alyona with his usual cold eyes.

"I can stop your blood from flowing in a second. I can stop your heart from beating even faster... then what will you do?" She hissed at him.

Sesshoumaru managed to stand up and stare down the woman. "No use threatening me with that. You won't do it."

Alyona scowled. Sesshoumaru felt a pang of pain as his heart seemed to skip a beat. He took a deep, but short breath, barely sufficient enough to maintain himself.

"You can't do it." He growled weakly, and again felt the pain in his chest, more intense than the last time. Sesshoumaru bowed his head and attempted to take deep breaths, then looked up at Alyona. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she had a blank, icy expression on her face. He stared at her for a moment, as if provoking her, until he felt a pain greater than he ever experienced. He collapsed to the floor, at Alyona's feet, clutching his chest and gasping for air. The woman remained immobile and glared down at Sesshoumaru.

"Why are you in here? What have you done to anger my father?" Alyona demanded after Sesshoumaru seemed to breathe slightly easier.

"You won't do it." Sesshoumaru gasped and glanced up at her, still recovering from Alyona's torture. She grit her teeth in frustration.

"Answer the question." She demanded cooly.

Sesshoumaru glared at her for a moment then attempted to stand up once more. He stood up and stared at the woman.

"Talk." She threatened when Sesshoumaru made it obvious he was unwilling to speak. His eyes flickered.

"Ask that sniveling coward why."

"Then why are you still in here? You could easily have escaped. Knowing you, you wouldn't let anyone put you in cuffs, or even come near you. So why are you still here?"

Sesshoumaru smirked weakly. "Why don't you leave? You can't kill me. You're as useless as the rest of you fools."

Alyona stared at him in abhorrence. -That's not what you said to me when you promised me anything I wanted ...just to be with me...- Again, Sesshoumaru found himself on the floor at her feet, a searing pain in his chest. This time he was sure she was going to kill him. She didn't say a word; just grabbed her jacket, and walked out the cell door, locking it behind her. She looked into the dim lit cage, seeing the amber-eyed man glaring at her while he tried to recover from the pain. Alyona thought about throwing the key into the cell... so he would be able to leave back to Japan without destroying her city. She fumbled around with the keys, trying to decide what to do.

"Leave my people and my city be...go back to your significant life with your princess and neverending commitment to snobbery." Alyona said quietly and threw the key onto the jail cell floor before walking out of the prison into the room. She tried her best to supress the anger and pain she felt.

"Why is that man in there?" Alyona asked, hate lacing her tone. Anatoli turned to the woman, while her father merely looked up from his chair.

"That scum tried to assasinate you and your family." Anatoli said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Where is the evidence? The witnesses?" Alyona retorted.

"I saw it. I arrested him." Anatoli growled.

"When did you see this? Are you absolutely positive this stranger was attempting to kill us?"

"Are you questioning the validity of my testimony?"

"What does it sound like I am doing? Answer the damn question."

"I saw him breaking into your home with a knife on his belt."

"When?"

"About 10minutes before you came home."

"What were YOU doing outside my home? You have no jurisdiction over what I do- Has it ever crossed your mind that he came in just to speak with me? Or ask the orphan girl living with me to come back with him?" Alyona was flabbergasted.

"General. That man infiltrated our city, and attempted to kill your daughter in revenge for her leaving him and writting to him that she will forget about him shortly and that she no longer needs him in her life. He obviously was enraged. He planned to get her power in his lands, without anyone interfering, but when we braught her back home, he followed her."

Alyona glared at him. -It was you, wasn't it? You wrote that letter... You did this to him...- She walked up to Anatoli.

"The letter... You wrote it." She hissed.

"I do not know what you speak of. Please elaborate." Anatoli crossed his arms over his chest and frowned.

"Typical answer for a guilty man. You were the one always against-"

"Enough!" Alyona's father interrupted. "Anatoli... Leave the building. You are dismissed of your duties for the remainder of the day."

"General, I-"

"Did I not make myself clear? OUT!"

Anatoli scowled, but did not dare disobey the General. He nodded, reluctantly, and marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

The man with gray hair looked at his daughter for a while.

"Papa...what happened? What really happened?" Alyona got down on her knees and placed both arms, one on top of the other, on the desk, and rested her chin on them. Her father rubbed her shoulder.

"You heard it yourself."

"I do not believe Anatoli. I don't trust him. He's up to something."

"Don't be foolish, Alyona."

"Papa... I think he's the one that wrote the letter to Sesshoumaru... I obeyed the elders' and your orders. I never communicated anything to anyone outside of our borders."

"Tell me why you would think that."

"I found out about the letter late last night. Sesshoumaru showed it to me. I never knew anything about it until last night. How could he possible know exactly what awas written on it?"

Alyona's father replayed Anatoli's words in his mind. -"That man infiltrated our city, and attempted to kill your daughter in revenge for her leaving him and writting to him that she will forget about him shortly and that she no longer needs him in her life." That bastard... he would have brought the letter to me or the elders if Alyona would have written anything. How could I not have realized that? All mail was screened to make sure none of it was from my daughter... That sleazy, good fo nothing -

"Papa..." Alyona repeated loudly for the third time.

"I didn't even pay attention to what he was saying. If you would have written a letter, I would have been first to know. You know that the mail was screened... He had access in and out of the city..." Her father tried to put the pieces together.

"Now do you believe me?" Alyona asked.

"But it's too late..."

Alyona frowned and shook her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Anatoli already notified the elders... even before me. If I had been here in the headquarters earlier..." Her father glanced at his daughter. "They placed him on deathrow."

Alyona was shocked, and for a moment stared blankly at her father. "Well... he's a demon. He can easily break free."

Her father shook his head. "They have their own, secret, twisted ways of ridding our lands of heathen. I do not know what they will do to him... but they know the extent of his strength... they know of his capabilities."

Alyona stood up and put on her black jacket. "I am tired of this, papa... I've had enough..." She said quietly, not letting her tears show. She pulled the hood over head. "I never asked for this damn curse."

It hurt her father to hear those words, for when he and his wife found out that the elders chose their daughter as the guardian, they were distraught. Their daughter was condemned to a life of fear, constant caution, if not even seclusion. Yet Alyona never showed her hatred of the power given to her. She always tried to reaffirm her parents and make them believe that she was content. It finally was eating away at the last bits of her strength.

Alyona's father did not know what to say, and dropped his head into his hands. Alyona left the room and closed the door behind her. Alyona stormed out of the military headquarters. Before she could exit the buiilding, she saw Anatoli standing and huffing at the door. He glanced up at her but before he could say anything she shoved him throught the doors outside, making him fall and roll down the stairs. The few passerbys stopped in their tracks and focused on the commotion.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Anatoli shouted as he slowly stood up, holding his back with his hands.

"You sleazy, coniving scoundrel..." Alyona walked down the stairs toward the man, who was now bleeding from his nose.

"You're insane." He grumbled, wiping the blood from his face.

"Am I?" She hissed in his face. "I'd like to see you in my place." She said and walked past him.

Alyona's father looked up from his hands at the door to the prison. He stood up, walked over to the door to his office, and locked it. He pulled the heavy curtains closed over the windows, and finally walked to the prison door. The General opened it walked in, closing it behind him. He marched toward Sesshoumaru's cell, the thunder echoing inside the stone prison. He stopped infront of the demon's cell.

Sesshoumaru was sitting on the cot, his back against the wall, one leg off the cot, the other on it, bent at the knee and his arm resting upon it, the key in his hand. He was looking at the General with a blank stare. The man saw the key in the demon's hand and glanced up at his face.

"Do not drink or eat anything they give you. They will not kill anyone tomorrow, it being a holy day. Tomorrow night is your chance. Get out. And fast."

Sesshoumaru was surprised to hear the father of the woman who nearly killed him ten minutes ago is telling him to escape from prison. He was also surprised the man spoke in Japanese.

"Don't bother chasing after my daughter, that will only jeopardize your freedom...and hers. Don't believe anything anyone says or anything you recieve from her, unless she says it to your face or hands it to you herself. The letter that appearantly made you chase her all the way here was never written by her either. All mail was screened to make sure it was not from or to her, or had anything, anything whatsoever to do with her. You fell for a hoax." The General continued.

"That is not why I am here. I came for the orphan girl." Sesshoumaru answered. The General scoffed and a weak smile crossed his face.

"Do you take me for a fool, boy?" The General crossed his arms over his chest. "I knew you back when you had nothing but two buckteeth and wobbled around your father in diapers."

Sesshoumaru unconsciously flushed red and looked away from the General.

"You and Alyona were inseperable as kids. And now... You both go to great lengths to even see each other. She told me everything that happened. I've lived twice as long on this earth than you have so far. Don't try and tell me that you're not here for my daughter... Any coward can hide his feelings and pretend to not care, but a real man isn't afraid to admit it, Sesshoumaru." The General said and departed.

Sesshoumaru ran his hands through his hair and sighed heavily. He thought about what Alyona's father had told him seconds ago. He felt like a fool. -I chase her around the world, then say it wasn't for her. Yet I do it over and over again. I love her and tell her I hate her. I shelter her, covet her, and then tell her face to face she's worthless... Fool... She's forgiven you, once, twice...she won't this time. How can she? I went too far. I destroyed everything we had. You damned fool!!- Sesshoumaru cursed himself. He stood up and paced around the cell. He stooped and slammed his fists against the wall, gritting his teeth in frustration. -How could I not see it? How could I believe that scratch of paper was from her? She wouldn't stab herself to save my skin, then tell me she'll forget about me quick enough, get on with her life and all will be happy and normal again. You moron... How could I let myself act so selfishly and childishly with her?! -

Alyona returned home, not trying to show her sadness to her mother. She dismissed any questions she asked and excused herself into her study, on the other side of the marble staircase. Alyona's mother notified her that Rin was still asleep and left the house, sensing something was bothering Alyona.

Alyona locked the door to her study, which had high, arched ceilings, a marble column in each of the four corners of the room, a large window with paned glass, an elegant champagne colored divan in a pine frame under it, shelves and bookcases lining the left wall, a desk with an oil lamp, a framed map above it, tapestries on the walls and a statue fountain of a woman pouring water out of a vase into a pool of crystal clear water, flowers hung from pots suspended from the ceiling or walls, two miniature cherry blossoms framed the doorway.

Alyona walked into the room and took off her coat, hanging it on the back of the chair. She leaned over the windowsill and closed the windows shut, so the rain would not get into the room and wet everything. She sat down on the divan and looked out the window. Alyona could not hold back the tears anylonger. She dropped her head into her hands and sobbed. She took out the hairpins at the back of her head and chucked them at the floor. -I can't take this anylonger.... How many more will stab me in the back? What the hell did I do to deserve this?! I didn't ask for this God forsaken power- bullshit... its a curse...I can't even live a normal life... God... Sesshoumaru...I don't need your mind games on top of everything! How can you be so heartless?! Does it entretain you to know that I love you, and you pray on that?! Look what you made me do... I nearly stopped your heart. I could have killed you faster than the blink of an eye.- Alyona tried to stop crying, but she kept seeing Sesshoumaru in pain on the floor in the cell at her feet. She wanted to run to him, hold him, feel safe in his arms once more...but she was afraid he would betray her again. Besides, there was another woman for him now... Her love for him didnt mean a thing appearantly...She could cry all she wanted and nothing would change.