What's mine is yours, But what's mine is mine

Chapter 14: Behind the shadows

Gossips sure spread fast in this parts of town. The lord of the west, will be heading north. He'll be leaving at dawn. With his wife. With Rin.

He had to move fast. Faster than he usually is and always had been.

He eyed the carriage, pulled by a two-headed herbivore beast. Ah-un. If he remembers correctly. The creature, a clear mixture of dragon and horse, had been known to have accompanied the great lord of the west in his travels.

Despite its appearance, A-Un is quite a benevolent and laid back creature, subservient to its master and even to Rin.

As the carriage went pass his field of vision, he jumped from the top branch of the giant tree he's been hiding at to the next one a few meters away.

His weapon, along with its long chain swung around to the nearby tree trunk, and grasped at it, leaving a rather huge mark. The mark of a claw.

He smirked. How efficient his weapon is. How efficient Kusarigama is.

The sound of metal ripping with wood could be heard from afar. Only that, it was disguised with the sound of metal wheels dragged along dirt. Dusty, rock filled dirt. Hoops and gallops too had overpowered the sound. The perfect cloak for the one watching from afar.

He could see him. Calm, cold, and stoic. Sitting across her inside the carriage.

She, flustered in her seat, pulling her rather short hair to cover her neck.

.

"Someone needs to put a warning sign on you."

"More like a stamp of ownership."

He inclined his head and didn't deny it. So she understood his intentions with his gift.

Later that night, after ordering Jaken to prepare Ah-un, for their little trip to the northern boundary, Sesshomaru came to her chamber. He found her sitting at the edge of the bed, contemplating what clothes to bring and wear.

He said something about her being beautiful in whatever she wore. But she couldn't remember much as she was then drowned in a haze, when he leaned down and kissed the exposed skin of her neck. He tugged gently at her sleeve bare her shoulder. He lingered longer than he usually does.

It burned where he kissed her. And only now did she found out that the gift he was referring to before they left the palace, was the hickey he gave her.

.

The trip had been a long one. Yet, it had been a remarkable journey. Rin had seen more than a dozen marvelous spots along the way. It would be a breathtaking lake for a few minutes, then a rather majestic mountain the next, then a lush valley when they passed a cliff, a stunning waterfall when they passed a virgin forest, or the beckoning sight of beautiful birds in flight.

They came to a stop. When she looked outside the carriage door, she gaped in awe at the wonderful sight in front of her. Flowers of all kinds swayed together with the grass as the wind blew. Trees lined the borders near the river. Then there was the elegant building at the right. But unlike the palace, it had a more homey feel to it.

"Rin." Sesshomaru called, now standing outside the carriage. With him in the picture, the place was perfect.

She contemplated him for a second, and then a look of resignation crossed her face. "Fine. I'll make a dignified exit with you."

They walked through the carpet of thick green grass, still wet with the morning dew and out to a terrace warmed by heated lamps. From there, it was a short stroll to the estate's grounds.

They had come to admire some of the estate's more exotic plants and small blooms.

He and Rin wandered along, stopping occasionally for her to appreciate a particular plant species. And for him to pretend to.

Sesshomaru studied her profile. "You seem rather at home here."

She cast him a look from under her lashes, chocolate pools gleaming under the light, as if wondering whether his comment was meant to be a reproach-his house, which was now her own as well, had the same cottage industries in place as her own way back at the village and she didn't seem to know it-or whether it was yet another meaning-laden invitation to make herself at home in his life.

.

The same chocolate orbs as hers watched from a distance. He too, studied her. Rin, she, looked rather happy with the lord beside her. He could not care less. Right now, he needed to get to her.

And he's about to do just that.