Rin's staccato footsteps echoed in the living room outside the study, making Alyona wipe the tears off her face and take a few deep breaths. The little girl pooped up to the glass doors and peered into the room. The sleepy child smiled when she saw Alyona. The woan stood up and walked away from the couch, smiling back. She opened the door and hugged the little girl.

"Good morning, honey. Did you sleep alright?"

"Yes. Where did you go this morning, Lady Alyona?" Rin asked, still drowsy.

"Just to talk to my daddy..."

"Oh..." Rin retorded, glancing down at the ground. Alyona realized that she must have reminded her of Sesshoumaru. She stood up and looked down at the girl.

"How about some breakfast, Rin?" She asked quietly.

"That would be lovely." The little girl smiled and walked into the kitchen, Alyona following her.

It rained that day, and night, and the whole next day. Nonetheless, Rin spent the whole day playing with a little red-haired, green eyed girl in the orphanage. Alyona did not see or speak to her father, and spent the whole entire day wandering the streets of the city, her mind racing with thoughts of Sesshoumaru, the war going on in his lands, and what she should be doing.

Alyona found Rin playing in the courtyard of the orphanage and called her back home. Alyona smiled and waved to the other children still playing in the courtyard, shielded from the rain. Rin ran up to Alyona, who put a cloak onto the girl, and pulled its hood over her head and smiled.

"Did you tell the nuns thank you for letting you in?" Alyona asked, in a motherly tone.

"Yes. I even brought them flowers!" Rin smiled back and said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Good, now let's go home, it is getting dark." Alyona took a firm hold of Rin's hand and walked her out of the orphanage and toward her secluded home. The city was dimly lit in twilight and the air was filled with the crisp smell of rain. The evening was warm and calm, with no wind and only the sound of crickets chirping and the soft murmur of those still out in the streets. Alyona and Rin made it home after the sun had set further behind the mountains and it was almost completely dark.

"Alright Rin, go upstairs and change into something clean." Alyona said as she set the keys to her home down on the marble windowsill in the mainroom. She took off her coat and hung it on the coat rack. She wore a navy blue button up shirt with the collar turned up and the buttons running down her sternum unbuttoned. She wore gray pants and black boots, and her hair was slicked up into knots on the back of her head. She looked out the window toward the coast, seeing the pillars of the military headquarters. -You will face their wrath tomorrow Sesshoumaru... What the hell are you doing? Why haven't you broken free yet?-

The General routinely pulled all of the curtains closed over the windows, and blew out all of the candles. He stopped in the dark as soon as he heard the jail door creak open. His hands slowly descended to the sword on his belt as he looked out of the corner of his eyes behind him. A pair of amber orbs flashed faintly at him. The General loosened his grip on the sword.

"Are you ready?" The man asked the demon, reminding him of the plan he had laid out for him earlier that day. Sesshoumaru walked over to the General, who was standing before his the desk, and picked up the scroll of old parchment.

"Then stay to my left." The older man ordered and walked up to the main doors, and waited for Sesshoumaru to arrive at the door as well. In the dark, the demon pulled the hood over his head, and the dim glow of his amber eyes was obscured. He walked up to the door, to the General's left, silently, unrolling the parchment in his hands. The man glanced at the demon next to him, and also pulled the hood of his cape over his head. He opened the doors and walked out first, followed by Sesshoumaru, and closed the doors behind him. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed in on the guards at the front, but as soon as one of them turned toward them, he focused on the scroll in his hands. He and the General walked down the hall.

"It's no use for me to ask you not to bother seeing my daughter before you leave." Alyona's father mumbled quietly, pointing to the parchment as if the two were discussing whatever was on it. "And...and I fear what will happen... I fear the choice I am certain she will make... but whatever happens... Sesshoumaru... I beg you... as a father... keep her safe. Keep her unharmed."

Sesshoumaru did not expect this from the General. He glanced at the man next to him. The General held the young man's cold gaze, as ifexpecting him to say something. As they approached and passed the guards, The General began to speak and gesture with his hands.

"The smaller military units shall be set up along the coastal ports..." He made it seem to the guards that he was discussing military strategies with another promenant officer. Then he turned to the guards.

"Close it down. Goodnight, gentlemen." The two walked out of the building and into the rainy night. One guard locked the front door and proceeded to lock all other doors. After he finished, another guard walked into a vault like room and pulled the heavy, large iron lever toward himself, sending an electric current through the walls of the prison and the bars of its cells. He walked back toward the guard station, whistling and spinning the keys on his finger.

Sesshoumaru rolled up the scroll and placed it in the pocket of his pants. The General walked briskly, but calmly, as if he was simply rushing home, not escorting a convict. "If any harm, any pain whatsoever comes to my daughter, Sesshoumaru..." The General glared at the demon. "I swear on my soul that you will pay for it. You are not your father and you certainly do not replace him in my eyes... But my daughter chose you...and fate unfortunatly allowed and appearantly favored it... Once again, Sesshoumaru... I beg of you, I plead that if she does choose to go with you... you keep her safe. You keep her out of danger. "

Sesshoumaru kept looking ahead of him. "She will not leave... -"

"I know my daughter. She will...and I am afraid that soon, she will be no safer here then in Japan. Swear boy, swear on your life, your lands, your people... that my Alyona will be alive and well and unharmed."

Sesshoumaru's egomanaged to overwhelm his feelings and thoughts. "I've already made such promise to my father."

"And you broke it... multiple times over. How can I trust you with my daughter's life and wellbeing?"

Sesshoumaru stopped walking and turned to the General. "Is me leaving my father's empire to perish just so that I could see her again not enough? As much as I despise it, I would give my life for her....and take however many to keep her safe." He growled, then turned and walked up the wooded hill to Alyona's villa.

"I hope and pray that there is truth behind those words." The General spoke over the rumble of the thunder and followed the demon.

Alyona was in the stable behind her home, brushing the mane of a black stallion after feeding him. She placed the brush on the shelf in the horse's spacious pen, and walked back over to him.

"Isn't that better, Teyn'?" She asked, petting the stallion's shoulder. He nuzzled her hand and let out a soft grunt. Alyona smiled and rubbed his powerful neck. "Goodnight, my friend. " She whispered and rested her forehead against Teyn's. She closed the pen as she left, and locked the doors to the stall before making her way home. Alyona walked into her home, took off her boots and cape at the door, letting them dry, and jogged upstairs to her bedroom. She washed her hands in the sink. Rin was in the dressing room in a light green cotton night gown, sitting crosslegged in front of the mirror, humming, and brushing her hair. Alyona smiled and sat down behind the little girl, taking the brush from her and gently stroking the girl's hair.

"Did you have fun today?" She asked Rin.

"Yes, m'lady! We played hide and seek in the court yard, then the nun brought us pastries with apples in them! I got my feet wet though. I accidentaly stepped into a puddle."

"Did you? That's not too good. You could get a cold. How long did you play with wet shoes?"

"Not too long. It was just before you c-" Rin was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Alyona looked at Rin's reflection in the mirror and listened closely. -What the hell? I locked the door...- She placed the brush on the floor and stood up.

"Stay here, Rin, and don't make a sound. Hide somewhere. If you hear something is wrong, run out through the balcony to the orphanage, alright?" Alyona whispered a warning. Rin nodded and stood up as well. Alyona grabbed a sai from under her bed and closed the door to the bedroom behind her as she silently made her way toward the staircase. She peered into the main room from the railing and relaxed her muscles as she saw her father in the room.

"Damn it, daddy, you scared me." She said and sighed in relief. "It's alright Rin, it's just my father." Alyona said loudly and walked down the stairs.

"What's the matter? Why such a late visit?" She asked, twirling the sai in her hand at her side. The General shut the door behind him.

"Would you stop that?" He grumbled.

"Sorry." Alyona stopped twirling the blade in her hand. Another man appeared from behind the corner. Alyona's arm tensed and she gripped the weapon in her hand tightly.

"Don't." Her father warned as the second man pulled down his cape. His golden eyes flickered at her.

"Why are you here?" Alyona hissed.

"I got him out." Her father answered.

"I need to speak with you, Nanami..." Sesshoumaru glanced at the outraged young woamn before him. "Alyona." He corrected himself.

"I think I have heard all you had to say."

"Alyona..." Sesshoumaru remained collected and serious. She glared at him in silence, then at her father, before storming off through the main room and hall into the study. Sesshoumaru glanced at her father, who walked in the oppasite direction past the kitchen into the dinning room, and sank into one of the chairs. Sesshoumaru walked into the study, Alyona glaring at him, and shut the doors behind him. The two just stared at each other in silence in the room, dimly lit by a triad of candles on the desk.

"Well? Speak." Alyona grumbled.

Sesshoumaru just kept looking at her, at the beautiful woman before him, one who he loved to death but was too proud to admit it.

"I cannot do this any longer. I am sick of hiding everything."

Alyona scoffed. She crossed her arms and raised her chin a little higher. "Is that all?" She mocked him. Sesshoumaru frowned.

"You dissapeared for three years...without a word... without a sign... All I had was that letter from you. One telling me to forget everything and thay you would easily do so too. What was I supposed to think?! You nearly died, vanished from me and then you tell me that everything between us is a waste of time?!" Sesshoumaru's frustration was laced in his voice, and his expression was one of impatience and irritation. "My lands were-and still are-at war! I have a duty to protect my lands, my people. Yet I am here...for you."

Alyona scowled and put her sai on the desk. "You mean Rin. Isn't that what you said before?"

"Do you honestly think that I would let her out of my sight so far as for her to end up here? I knew she would lead me to you. I knew where she was exactly all along."

Alyona crossed her arms again. "So what? She does not want to go back with you. You have nothing else here, so go." Alyona murmured as she made her way past him toward the door. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes for a moment and grit his teeth. He turned and grabbed Alyona's arm and pulled her in front of him.

"Let go." Alyona growled.

"No. Not until you stop the foolish-"

"LET GO OF ME!" She tried to pull her arm free, but Sesshoumaru effortlessly twisted her around, crossing his arms, pinning hers to her chest, and then pinning her to himself, her back against his chest. Alyona squirmed and let out indistinguishable curses.

"Stop." Sesshoumaru whispered.

"If you do not let me go right now, I will repeat today's jail visit." The young woman snarled.

"If that will make you listen, then so be it." Sesshoumaru said and within a moment felt a sharp pain in his chest, but remained in place and kept his grip firm.

"Tell me, do you honestly think that after all I have done, after all the hell you put me through that I am here for nothing?! You've made a complete fool out of me ever since you showed up! I've done things I would never even think of for you!" The man nearly shouted.

"Then why do you change your mind every other day?! I'm the world to you one day, then a useless rag the next!" Alyona yelled, turning her head to look at Sesshoumaru.

"I'm afraid, Alyona!" Sesshoumaru shouted. The young woman glared at him, surprised.

"I'm afraid of becoming like my father. I'm afraid of meeting the same fate he has. I try to distance myself from you, but I can't! I always end up looking for you!" His voice seemed to struggle with the words. It was as if he was revealing a dark secret. "I came here... I counted every second until I would see you. And when I did... you were dancing and cavorting with a drunkard! What else could I have thought? After that damned letter?!"

"Oh and the princess in your home is just a housekeeper? Do not make yourself so innocent!" Alyona was furious that Sesshoumaru incinuated that she was having an affair, whereas he had a princess living in his house, and claiming to be his future wife, his queen.

"I did what had to be done! By taking her in I bought myself time to find you! Her father is Lord of the Northern Lands, who now protects my empire because he thinks I'm on the mainland killing the cretin that attacked us! Instead, I'm here having this foolish argument with you! Perhaps if you stop being so selfish, you would actually hear what I have to say..." Sesshoumaru growled and shoved her away. Alyona stumbled and turned to face him. Thunder rumbled outside and rain battered the window.

"Selfish?! Don't you understand why I am here?! Why I cannot leave past these borders?! I bringpain and suffering and death wherever I go! Wars were fought in my name! I've been hunted like an animal ever since I could first walk! They've erased me from the world...Sesshoumaru. Outside these walls, I am dead. My power gone...I see no reason for you being here...Rin ran away from you. She doesn't want to live with you anymore. She says you tend to 'forget' about her." Alyona hissed. Sesshoumaru scoffed.

"Too bad everyone knows exactly where you are. And none of you here seem to know what really is happening... That you have been betrayed since the moment you arrived here. And that you are blissfully unaware that you are in a trap... betrayed by your own kin."

"Why should I believe you? You have decieved me enough." She growled. "I think it is time for you to leave... Lord Sesshoumaru. Your princess awaits you."

Sesshoumaru grimaced. Alyona knew what she was doing... she tore at his heart. She raised her head high, staring him down. "I believe you know the way out."

He looked at the young girl before him. She was beautiful, as ever, her skin like ivory, her eyes the color of the stormy seas, her lips pink as roses. Her eyes seemed to reach into his very soul. Sesshoumaru's breath trembled, in both rage and sadness.

"I will not leave without you." He said.

"Get out." She threatened.

"I am not leaving you here. I swore to your father to keep you safe, and if I leave you here, I leave you in danger."

"Did I not make myself clear?" Alyona took a step toward Sesshoumaru. "Leave!! I do not want to ever see or hear of you again!"

Sesshoumaru grit his teeth and swallowed his pride. He walked up to her, making Alyona reel backwards until her legs hit the divan under the window. She glared at the man, not knowing what to expect from him, and her eye quickly darted toward the sai lying on the table, then back at him. Sesshoumaru locked his eyes with hers, and kneeled down. Alyona stood awestruck at his behavior. She kept staring at him.

"Come with me...please..." He whispered. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. I want you with me, safe from harm. "

"Who will hurt me here, Sesshoumaru? I think you are the one I need protection from." Alyona remained heartless.

"Anatoli...but he's only the middle man. He's working for someone here...He has been feeding the army overseas informat-"

"Sesshoumaru! You must hurry! Time is running out!" The General's voice warned from the main room.

"Alyona...please... come with me. I've made an oath to you... to be by your side. Have you forgotten?" Sesshoumaru whispered. Alyona closed her eyes, took a deep breath while rubbing her temples with her hands, then opened her eyes and looked at Sesshoumaru.

"I don't believe you, Sesshoumaru. It all sounds like a hoax."

"I'm begging you..." Sesshoumaru whispered again, his eyes fixed on her. Alyona was surprised that he even got down to his knees and admit that he was begging her. Something deep inside her told her that she should go with him, that he was right about whatever was going on. But her mind said the opposite.

"Alyona!!" The General's voice boomed again, making Alyona shrug.

"Alright!" Alyona said in a frustrated whisper, still looking at Sesshoumaru. "I'll go." She closed her eyes and shook her head. Sesshoumaru stood up and Alyona immediatly began to walk away. He caught her wrist and pulled her toward himself. She wrestled it out and grabbed her sai.

"Don't touch me... " She growled and walked toward the door. "I hate you." She stormed out of the door and Sesshoumaru heard her rush up the staircase and open the door. He turned toward the desk and rested his arms on it, haging his head down. -It's happening again... She despises me. What do I have to do this time for her to forgive me?- Sesshoumaru looked up, took a deep breath and walked out of the room, pulling the hood over his head.