She ran through the palace courtyard with the vigor and energy of a colt, stampeding her way around demon servants and henchmen. Each of them gave their own disapproving glance but they were undeniably used to this human girl prancing about the territory by now. She weaved through the gardeners and guardsmen, her smile filled with the naïveté that they all felt just as happy to see her face as she did theirs. She pushed herself through the heavy castle doors to the main entry; a task that only her recent stature and age had allowed her to accomplish. "I'm home!" she breathed in an exasperated whisper.

The main hall before her held delicate layers of red and gold stitched into the folds of rugs and drapery, while huge columns, complete with antique carvings of demons and patterns, curved their way up to support the massive architecture. Just ahead of her, a wide gaping space for mingling had its own pair of stair cases on the left and the right while a door laid dead center just beyond them.

After a moment to catch her breath, she straightened her posture and ran for the door just ahead. There she emerged to an elegant dining hall that held twenty purple linen lined tables and eight white dining sets on each. She swept her eyes across the open kitchen beyond the seating area and was greeted by Cesaria, the castle's elite chef. The beautiful demoness held features like a human while inside the confines of castle. She sported red hair pulled tight into a lifted French bun. Her brown eyes were not necessarily normal for a demon's. But Rin especially liked them, for Cesaria was the only one who shared a common feature with her in the castle. "Rin! You are back, I take it you had a good trip to the herb gardens?"

"Barely!" the 16 year-old adolescent reported, "The last of the cumin was nearly taken by Ostro! I had to tell him it was on the explicit request of Lord Sesshoumaru to get him to give it to me!"

Cesaria chuckled, "Well, in a way it is for his Lord. If you and I are filled to the brim on Corian Chicken then he won't have to be bothered by the growls of our stomachs, in theory of course!"

Rin laughed and said, "Yes! I am quite hungry…" she paused and looked to the side, "So… dinner won't be ready for awhile right? Is it alright if I go and play a little?"

Cesaria smiled and insisted, "You don't have to ask me for permission, Rin, you are his Majesty's ward. You are able to do as you please. Aside from the schedule he sets for you which means-" She gave a thoughtful glance at the chicken simmering in the pot , "-You aren't required to be back here for another thirty minutes. By all means, please go and enjoy your time."

Rin smiled and blushed a little, the thought of just how blessed she was to have a life this luxurious habitually plagued her mind. But what also had a habit of following these thoughts was a sense of doubt. Why did she have this life? Why did Lord Sesshoumaru even keep her around when he barely talked to her? Sure there were times when she was allowed to sit with him and study while he busied himself with political documents and affairs but… There was never much more than that.

Rin had turned to walk away but glanced back at Cesaria, "Say… Can I ask you a question?"

Cessaria blinked in confusion at the sudden seriousness in Rin's voice, but replied, "Of course darling, what is it?"

"Promise you won't tell Lord Sesshoumaru I asked you this… Okay? Promise?" Rin badgered.

Cesaria laid down her pair of cooking chopsticks, scratched and chipped from years of service to her Lord's house, "Where is this coming from? You've never said such things… Keep something from our Lord?" Her eyes pierced Rin.

"It's really nothing dangerous or bad or anything," the young girl mustered timidly, seeing a hint of Cesaria's demon aggression, "I'm just curious is all…"

"What is it?"

"Do you think I will be here for awhile? Like… for the rest of my life?" Rin caved.

Cesaria tilted her head in a mixture of sympathy and wonder. What was this girl thinking about that had her asking such things. Mortality versus immortality?

"I don't think you have a need to worry about it, Rin," she now bore the eyes of a loving mother, "Lord Sesshoumaru may be cold-hearted to the average living thing-" she picked up her chopsticks once more, "-but you bring out a certain warmth in him. I believe he has taken a liking to that warmth."

Rin looked down, pondering her words, then finally, "Thank you Madam Cesaria… You have cleared my head a little," she smiled once more, expressing gratitude, "I think I will go now. I only have twenty-six minutes left of free time before I eat like a pig!"

Cesaria gave a guttural laugh, "How did you manage to not learn the womanly way to speak growing up in such a prestigious castle!"

"Jaken, of course!" Rin answered, already galloping through the hallway.

The demoness shook her head and laughed.

Rin slowed herself at her room on the second floor of her Lord's castle. She sighed big and blushed as she thought about this "warmth" that she gave to her Lord. She was happy. Happy she could be useful. Happy that her presence made things easier on him, since the situations she would often get herself into definitely did not.

She opened her door and stepped in. Her eyes fell upon her cherry vanity table, given as a gift by Lord Sesshoumaru's mother. Although the gift was nice, she knew it was given only to appease Lord Sesshoumaru when his mother proclaimed her ill feelings on Rin moving into the castle, compelling her Lord's anger. Rin's eyes swiped to the familiarity and beauty of her canopy bed. King size. It was way too big for her, but her Lord had thought about every detail of Rin's needs, including her flip-flopping sleeping habits. Finally, her gaze rested on her wardrobe, a gift from Kagome and Inuyasha. She walked over to it, sunk to the floor, and opened the lowest drawer. She looked upon her most valuable possession: the shredded, dirty, burgundy kimono that was the last gift from her parents. But that wasn't why it was important. This was the cloth that she had worn when she first looked upon him, when she first smiled at him, and when she was brought back to life by him. Years have gone by and even though the orange kimono that she was gifted by her Lord lay folded and pristine just next to this one, it could never replace it in memory. For, this one bore the connection. The first glance and the first witness to their relationship. Their relationship?

"Rin!" Jaken burst through the door with a thud.

Rin's heart jumped and she shoved her kimono back down as she yelped, "Ah! Don't do that Master Jaken! It freaks me out!" She shivered as if a cold had struck her.

"Sorry sorry," he waved his staff jokingly, "I came to tell you the good news! His Majesty shall return tomorrow at dawn!"

Rin's eyes lit up like fireflies, "What?! How? I thought he was to be at this conference thing for at least seventeen nights!"

The toad demon closed his eyes and stood tall in all-knowing power, "Ahem, a message was received earlier this evening stating that business was to continue after a checkpoint was reached. Which means a whole lot of nothing to us except for the part where he comes back! Great news, yes?"

Rin grabbed Jaken and spun him round and round, "This is great! I can't wait to see him again! Then we will be all together once more, eh, Master Jaken?!"

"Impudent girl! Put me down! Don't you know I get motion sick!?" Jaken gurgled.