InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Things Never Meant to Be ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Things That Can Never Be

Chapter 9

Rin sat before the fire and played her pipe. Dinner had been delicious, and now she waited on the return of her lord. She hadn't seen him since that morning and could only assume that he'd left the grounds. She didn't wish to be the first one upstairs.

"Have you been practicing?" Jakken asked.

"What?"

He dusted the mantle of the fireplace with a large duster. "Your playing," he said. "It seems that you've improved."

A slight blush rose in her cheeks. "Oh, that," she said. "I suppose I could've gotten better."

He continued to clean the great hall.

"Jakken?"

"Yes?"

"My lord has moved me into his chambers."

He swung the duster at her. "That's no concern of mine."

"I didn't think it was," she said. "But I think you knew about it before I did."

"Whatever are you talking about?" he asked.

"Well, when I came back, all my things had already been moved. And you said you hadn't seen my lord in months, and that he'd left at the same time I did." She studied his body language.

"So what?" he said. "That doesn't mean anything."

"But if he didn't move my things, someone else must have," she said. "And you're the only one he trusts."

He pretended to go about his cleaning duties.

"Jakken?"

"What is it, now?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Do you . . . do you think he'll be rather rough with me?"

"Gahhh! Why do you ask me such things!"

"Well," she said, "you have known him much longer than I have. And the entire time I've been here, I've never known him to keep company with a woman."

Jakken scoffed. "My lord keeps his own counsel on such affairs."

"But don't you think it's odd?" she asked. "What do you think he does with all that . . . pent up energy?"

He busied himself with a particularly stubborn spot on the floor. "Again, why do you ask ME such things?"

She shrugged. "I'm just curious," she said. "Don't you think I have a right to be?"

"Jakken." Her lord appeared in the great hall. "Leave."

She watched the imp as he scampered out of sight. "I'm glad my--" Before she could finish her sentence, he yanked her to her feet and kissed her.

His lips were almost painfully hot, but his tongue was smooth and slick and wet. It gave her scintillating sensations as he searched out the cavity of her mouth, twisting and turning and teasing. Sliding it over and around her own, retreating and advancing, inviting her to open herself up to him completely.

"My lord . . ." she sighed.

He grabbed the hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her head back, pressing hot kisses along her neck and throat.

"My lord . . . my hair . . ." she tried to push him away, but he held her more tightly.

"Rin . . ." he tugged her head to the side and nibbled down the side of her neck, his fangs lightly grazing her highly sensitized skin.

It seemed that he was trying to draw blood. She grabbed hold of his kimono for support.

He licked where he marked her.

"My lord . . ."

He released her, gradually, seeming to take a moment to collect himself. He took a seat in his high-back chair.

She rubbed the back of her head with one hand, the side of her neck with the other. He had drawn blood.

They regarded one another.

"That was a little intense," she said, her voice shaking more than she intended.

"It had to be done," he said.

"It hurt," she said.

He kept his gaze even, focused. "I apologize."

She sank down to her cushion, still a little weak in the knees.

"Will you play for me?" he asked.

She reached out a tremulous hand and picked up her pipe. "What would you like to hear?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "Anything you like, Rin."

She put the pipe to her lips and began to play. A low, sweet, lilting tune. Something like a lullaby, but slightly more energetic. Controlled breathing, perfect pitch, flawless fingering. Rin knew her tutor would be proud.

She played until the song filled the great hall and crept into every crevice of the castle. It flowed over the rafters, a-lighted on the air, soared to the ceiling. She played with her heart, with her soul. And for now, they were both at peace.

He stared at her with a look of quiet contemplation.

She couldn't read his thoughts; she could only read into his actions. He'd kicked her out of the castle, but, possibly, followed her every step she took. He said she could never return, yet he had all her belongings moved into his chambers. He demanded to know how she felt about him, but he couldn't say one, kind word to her. He claimed that it was Jakken who had missed her, but he hadn't seen Jakken since she'd left. And he said he was an unemotional man, yet she could make him smile. True, he could be cold and cruel and calculating, but he took care of the things he considered his. And he'd just marked her as his . . .

If she just read between the lines, everything made perfect sense.

He nodded his approval.

She gave an acknowledging smile in reply.

He pushed himself up from his seat. "I'm going to bed, now. You may join me when you like."

She nodded her assent.

Jakken reappeared. "That was lovely, Rin."

She smiled at him. "Thanks." Previously, he'd referred to her playing only as "noise."

"Aren't you turning in for the night?" he asked.

She laughed to herself. "After I work up the nerve, and can get up the stairs without tripping over my own feet."

He nodded his understanding. "Wedding night jitters," he said.

She laughed out loud. "Wedding? Nobody's getting married. What are you-what are you talking about?"

"Whatta you think the new kimono's for? Why do you think you're staying in his room, now? Why do you think he marked you?"

"Because," she said rather shyly, "he has NEEDS, I guess. Not that I mind, but . . ."

Jakken scoffed. "He didn't have to do all that because of his `needs,' as you say. There are plenty of women in the world for THAT sort of thing. And heaven knows there are enough of them who wouldn't mind sinking their claws into our honorable Lord Sesshomaru. But he's chosen you, Rin. He chose to mark you as his mate. You're bonded together for life."

Her head began to swim. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Don't look so surprised," he said. "He's always had a soft spot for you."

She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself. "Married? Really?"

Jakken shook his head. "You don't look very happy," he said.

"I . . . I'm still in shock, I guess. I mean . . . isn't there usually a proposal involved? Don't you both have to agree to this before-hand?"

He stared at her in seeming disbelief. "You would reject our lord?"

"No!" she waved her hands. "Never, but . . ." Wasn't that what her lord had asked of her in her room? Would you reject me? Am I not a suitable companion?

Was that the proposal? If she'd rejected him then, she would've rejected him for life . . . And in not rejecting him, she'd accepted him? She'd accepted the proposal?

Was that why he was so "tense" at the castle gates? Had he been planning this all along?

"Rin?"

"I'm thinking," she said. Maybe it was all part of his plan. Maybe . . . maybe he had no real intention of kicking her out of the castle, at all. Maybe it was a test. A test of her worth. A test of her character. A test of her desire to stay by his side.

She recalled her night in the forest, screaming at the treetops, cursing the fates. Asking why she had to be so alone . . .

Yes, she laughed to herself. It was a test, and he was watching the whole time. When she slept in the cave. When she stayed with his brother. When she stayed with Shippo and Souten. And when she screamed at the treetops . . . He'd seen it all. He knew about everything . . . Even the cut finger.

"A test," she smiled. He'd tested her, and she'd passed. And this . . . she rubbed his marking on her neck . . . this was the end result. Thing that never could be, were now what they must be.

"Rin?" Jakken said again.

She stood and stretched. "So, this is as close as I'm going to get to a wedding ceremony, huh?"

"It's less pretentious," he said.

She tilted her head to the side. "I suppose."

"You seem to have calmed down a bit," he said.

"I just had to work through a few things in my mind," she said. "So, he really wants me, huh? Not just now, but for keeps?"

He nodded. "That's the way it works."

"And I'm going to be the lady of the house," she gloated. "The Lady of the Western Lands."

"Indeed," he nodded.

"And you'll have to call me `Lady Rin,'" she said.

He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath. "Yes," he said grudgingly, "Lady Rin."

She felt so giddy she wanted to jump up and down and clap . . . But that wouldn't be dignified. And the Lady of the Western Lands had to be dignified. "Thank you for your assistance, Jakken. You've been a great help."

"So you're going up, now?" he asked.

She nodded. "If I don't, he'll probably just come down after me. I wouldn't like to make a scene in the great hall."

He pretended to go back to his dusting. "Have a good evening, Lady Rin."

She was never going to get tired of hearing that. She bowed to him; he bowed back, then she made her way upstairs-to her husband.