Chapter 21

Soon after all the plans had been made and all had been set to motion the Lord of the West began to great all those that had come early in hopes of speaking with him ahead of time in hopes of earning his favor. While he was otherwise occupied Inuyasha had begun to run their fathers lands while his sister surprising had stayed at his side and had greeted those that had appeared the day after all the letters had been delivered. Of course he had been surprised when she had told him that she had retracted her order to their Lord General about any candidates from the east on the condition that whoever proved to be the strongest at the end of the new moon would have to spar with her to ensure that the demoness that won would have what it took to become his equal. While it was not something that he had been expecting, it had been a welcomed surprise to the Lord of the West.

Meanwhile in the east, after Rin had been given the chance to kill the three fools that had dared to harm her friend, Rin and Miku had quickly gotten to work. While Miku had sworn she would do all that she could to help her return to those she saw as her family, Rin knew that she would have to make her own promise. She had promised Miku that she would return should her Lord turn her away after finding the truth of her blood and that if her lord accepted her for who she had been born as that she would still return for her, since she was after all her Lady in waiting. It was now the day of her ball and for some reason Rin felt as if she couldn't wait for it to start. Her mother and father had asked her to stay silent about her past live since some of the Lord of the West allies would be present that evening and she had of course agreed to stay silent since it would no longer matter. 'My Lord…will you let me stay by your side or would you rather I turn back to the human you had saved so long ago?'

Just as she was about to go deep into her thoughts so that she could figure out just why she was excited about the ball that was being held in her honor or why it was that she was questioning if she was changing and allowing the demonic blood lust to overtake her, Rin turned to the door when she heard it being open and held her place as she heard her mother's voice call out, "Aya, Aya are you dressed? May we come in?"

"You may, I'm sure you and father would just love to remind me of my role for the evening." She growled out in anger and hate as she stood her ground.

"We trust you to make the right choice dear, we are only here to tell you how proud we are of you and of all that you have been able to prove to our…your people." The Queen gently explained in a calm and soothing voice.

"We are very proud of you Aya, and I'm glad that we have you back in our lives." Her father growled out as he narrowed his eyes at her, "And I now know that we can trust you right?"

"Of course father, you can trust me. I will make sure to keep up appearances and I will do what is expected of me as the second heir of the East but I am not looking for a mate now or in any future while I am here in the East." Aya replied in a cold and angry filled voice. She was no fool, and she of course had already gotten Miku to hear and tell her the rumors of her father's secret motives for the ball being held so quickly."

"Of course dear, it is far too soon for you to find a mate of your own. You still have much to learn and still have to get use to your lands, your people, and yourself." Her mother explained as she too glared at the King of the East.

"Good, than if you will excuse me, I wish to have a few words with Miku before I, we make our way down." Aya stated in a calm voice as she turned to look at her two parents.

"We sent her down to the ball already dear, she had an escort that was present and he had already been made to wait long enough. I'm sure you understand why we sent her on her way so soon and without you." Her father explained with a grin on his face.

"Of course this does not mean that you need an escort of your own in such a short notice." Her mother had quickly added in once she had seen her daughter's enraged look. "You may escort yourself however it will prove to show that you are available for courtship."

"I understand that and I promise you both now that I will handle things with the greatest of delicacy. I will be down in the court yard shortly." Aya answered in a strong filled voice as she made her way over to the mirror to make sure that the jewels that had been given for her to wear were all in place and that her hair was still as she had set it.

Once she had been left alone to her thoughts and to finishing looking herself over, Rin stared herself in the mirror and could not believe that it was her standing in front of her. Instead of her long black hair, she now had a royal blue color that seemed to turn silver in some places. Her eyes were a brilliant hazel color and glowed with her power when she was enraged. Within her hair, her sister had waved in a few leaves and white flowers that would help bring out her natural beauty. Having no more time to wonder what it was that her great Lord would say to her now, Rin let out a long sigh before walking out of the door and making her way toward the ball that had been planned in her honor.

'I am Rin, daughter of Kagome and Inuyasha, ward of the great Lord of the West and no one can take that from me.' Were her last thought as she began to make her way toward the court yard that was currently filled with nobles, Lords, and allies of the East and West and other lands; people of royal blood, of strong heritage and more there to see her and greet her and judge her for her actions and her words. Just as he had reached the steps that would lead her down and into the area where they had held the ball in her honor, Aya took in a deep breath and greeted everyone with a smile as she heard her father's proud filled voice growl out over the group, "And now my I present to you all, friends, guest, and allies, my youngest daughter, the second heir to the East, Princess Aya, the dragon of storms and the Lady General of our lands."

'Lady General? What the hell? Was mother able to convince father so soon? Why, why did they chose now, of all times, to announce their intention to all?' Aya thought in a confused filled voice as she continued to smile while inwardly she was hoping to find her answers this evening.

"Aya dear, come, we have many that wish to meet you." Her mother called after her when she had made no move to join them all on the mind floor of their ball room. While they were from there and had always lived in Japan, they had incorporated a lot of different types and styles of homes into their large castle. While most of the castle was filled and designed to be traditional Japanese styles, they had some western and some other types of designs that filled the castle with the changes of the world since they were forever changing just as their powers were as well.

"Of course mother, forgive me I was a bit over whelmed." Aya spoke so that she could be heard by those that were closest to her.

"Worry not my daughter all is well, now come, we wish to introduce you to our most trusted and loyal friends before you begin to walk and meet people on your own." Her father growled out as he offered her his hand for the last steps that she still had to walk off of the stair case.

Once she had taken her father's hand, as much as she had not wanted too, Aya stepped off of the steps and joined her mother and fathers side with her sister to her right while her brother stood behind her. As she took in a deep breath, Aya made sure to keep her fake smile, a smile that not even her sister could tell was faked as she heard her mother say, "Do not worry, Miku is out and about with her escort meeting and greeting those that she needs to know as your Lady in waiting. Now, first I would like to introduce to you a very trusted friend and ally to us, Lord Yuki, he is the leader of all the fox clans."

Relaxing that she did not have to fake her smile to meet the demon before her, Aya offered him a small nod of her head and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, I remember running into some of your young, the tricks that they can play on humans and demons alike at such a young age always made me interested."

"We like to have our magic in hand and well trained should we ever need it to escape any dangerous situation while we are young. I only hope that the young you met were not a handful." He answered with a smile on his face as he returned her gesture.

"I assure you that they were not any trouble what so ever. But I thank you for the worry Lord Yuki."

"While we are glad that you seem to be faring well, perhaps we can all catch up once we have introduced our daughter to the others, you will be staying or a while right Lord Yuki?"

"Of course but as we spoke I am only here for the evening, I do have to get back to the rest of my clans and to my family but you will have me for a while before it is necessary for me to take my leave." He answered before moving away to allow them to speak.

"What did you promise him love?" the Queen of the East asked her mate in a low whispered voice while her eldest daughter introduced their next guest.

"Nothing that you need to worry about love, I promise you that you will have nothing to worry about." He promised her as he kept his hand on her back.

"This Aya is Lady Ayume, the daughter of mother's former Lady in waiting, my best friend. Ayume this is my little sister, Aya, I'm sure you remember her."

"Of course Maya, Aya, Princess Aya, it is good to see that you are doing well." The dragoness replied.

"Thank you, but I'm sorry to say that I don't remember you."

"Don't worry, you wouldn't Aya, she was unable to play with you and your sister once you were old enough since she and her family had to leave for a while." Their mother's soothing voice was heard as she entered the conversation.

"My Queen, my mother wishes that she could be here but she was needed at the village and could not come. She does send her greetings and wishes you well." Ayume stated with a smile on her face.

"Ayume please, you know how I feel when you address me so and I do so hope that you tell your mother that while I am thankful to have such a loyal friend and sister to aid me with our outer villages by the sea I do so dearly miss her and wish she would visit me more often." The queen replied.

"I'll be sure to let her know when I see her in a few days time. Maya has asked for me to stay and go over her plans for her travels. I agreed to stay and help her plan them; of course should I be a burden I would be more than happy to go home."

"You will never be a burden to us my dear, we hope to speak with you shortly." The king of the east stated with a smile on his face as he turned to great the next person in line.

"This is Lord Kenta; he is a member of our courts." Her father introduced.

"There is some unexpected news that I received and have heard from the West, I do so hope to tell you about it, but since you are with a mate I'm not so sure that I should be telling you such news." Aya heard Ayume's whispered voice tease her sister as she stayed by the two dragons' side.

"It is good to meet you Lord Kenta; I am glad that you have been helping my parents and that you have been loyal for them all this time." Aya quickly answered as she kept her focus on her sister's friend's words.

"News of the different places also intrigues me, you know this Ayume; now tell me, what news have heard you from the West?" Maya stated in a calm voice knowing that her sister would be closely listening in.

But before she could listen in to what she had to say, Rin quickly tried to control her anger and fury as she turned her full attention to her worried parents and their guest. With a sweet smile on her face, Rin offered them an apologetic smile and said, "Forgive me, could you repeat your question, I thought I had heard my lady in waiting calling on me."

"Oh no worries my dear, I was simply asking if you would be looking for a good, capable young man to court you now that you have returned to your people." Lord Kenta asked in a sweet innocent voice as he motioned for his son to make his way over to the three.

"No," Aya quickly growled out in anger, "I am not, I have no need or interest in looking for such things when I have only returned. I still have much to get use to and so much to learn of my heritage before I can even begin to consider such things."

"Oh of course, I understand, I hope that you will give me a chance to speak with you at a later time tonight, if you will excuse me."

"That was not nice Aya," her father growled out in angry voice.

"I meant nothing by it, he shouldn't have asked the question to being with." She growled back as she turned to look at her mother to ask, "How much longer do I have to stand here before I can walk around and meet people on my own?"

"Just for a few more couple, there are just a few more people that we wish for you to meet however they have not arrived." Her mother answered in a soothing voice.

"I want to go for a walk." Aya growled out in an annoyed filled voice.

But before her mother or her father could say another thing, Aya froze in place and unintentionally took a step back as she heard a voice say, "I am Lord Koga of the wolf demon tribe, we have chosen to accept the treaty and hope that we may work together in the future. This is my mate Ayame."

"Lord Koga, we had not heard from you in quite some time, we were unsure if you would be showing up." The surprised King was heard say as he turned his full attention to two wolf demons.

"Miku…" Aya whispered in a worried and frozen filled voice as she took another step back and away from the two guests.

"It is a pleasure to meet with you however I believe my mate has spoken to soon about the treaty. We would like to wait what the Lord of the West has to say on this matter and until he has joined your offer of a treaty we will remain natural." The wolf demoness was heard growl out as she glared at her mate.

"Oh, what ties do you have with the Lord of the West?" the Queen asked in a calm and soothing voice.

"We are friends with the current Lady of the West, Lady Kagome; she is like a sister within our pack. Should she approve we will honor the terms in which you invited us into your treaty." Ayame answered as she turned to look at the frozen dragoness.

"Good evening I am Lady Miku, lady in waiting of Princess Aya," Miku was heard say as she appeared out of thin air before the rulers of the East and their daughter and guests. "Who would you be?"

"Do we know you?" Koga asked as he locked eyes with the youngest of the east. He had no idea why but she seem really familiar.

"Miku why don't you show them to our privet study so that my mate and I can speak with them on the matter of the treaty in private." The Queen ordered as she took note of the slight fear in her daughter's eyes.

"Is everything alright here?" Hiei's cold and worried filled voice was heard as he appeared in front of the princess.

"Koga…lets go." Ayame growled out as she began to follow after the dragoness that would be showing them in.

"All is fine, mother, father, I'm going to walk around, meet your guests and get some air." Aya stated before storming off and on her own.

"Hiei, I trust that you will make sure that our guests are properly tended to. Maya you and Haku please excuse your sister and ourselves from our guests and help tend to them." The Queen ordered as she began to make her way toward her study with her mate close behind.

"Maya, just what happened?" Ayume asked in a worried filled voice.

"I have no idea but I'm sure I'll be able to explain things to you at a later date. For now though I would love it if you could help me do as my mother asked." Maya answered in a stressed filled voice.

Rin ran, she didn't care that she looked weak before so many, she didn't care that she had upset her father and she sure as hell did not care to answer anyone's questions. All she wanted to do was find a place where she could breath in the night air and where she would relax and try to short through her memories so that the fear she once had of the wolves and of the wolf demon that killed her as the child she was while tending to her lord. Once she had found herself alone in the forest and away from the ball that was being held for her, Rin let out a low growl of annoyance and fear as she turned around toward the water of a pound to her left and unleashed a part to her power at it. She watched as her power lit up the water and allowed the released of her power to calm her. 'He isn't a danger to me, I am a demon, I am a trained Taijiya, and I am no longer a human child…' Rin continued to tell herself as she fought the tears that had threatened to fall.