Trading Places

chapter 4

The norimono ride was much bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. There was some sort of enchantment on it,clearly, because there was enough room for the princess’s enormous junihitoe,and him,but still there was enough room that he didn’t have to touch her at all. They sat a comfortable distance away. He was able to lean back against the wall behind him and he stared into his lap,unsure if he was permitted to look at her. After what he had been through on his own, it seemed silly to need permission to look someone in the eye,but that was a move of power. If there was one thing Sesshomaru understood,it was power. He,as a young Lord,knew that he had the right to look almost anyone in the eye. He also remembers that in his youthful tyranny he would punish servant demons for this offense. Later on,as they integrated humans into their services,as petty as he was,he would always opt for maximum punishments against them,only for Izayoi or Touga to save them. His face muscles twitched down at the thought of them. ‘No,’ he wouldn’t think of them.They were part of his past and behind him. He noticed that through his thoughts the ride had not been as silent as he thought. The whole time,the princess had been humming. A sweet tune that fit her angelic voice. There were sounds from outside,too. The sound of the plodding steps of the large demon footmen,as well as their breathing.There was a rustle of wind through the autumn leaves,and strangely,Sesshomaru felt at peace. The peace didn’t last long,of course.

“You're a dog demon,right? I’ve never met a dog demon. I have many wolf demon friends,but no dog demon friends. I would think it rude to assume you’re anything alike,to group you like the common animals.” The princess spoke up after a long span of silence. Sesshomaru would have prefered for it to stay silent, but at this point, he had no right to demand her compliance. Thus far,she had been surprisingly pleasant,but seeing as he had only known her for a few minutes,and his previous company had been that of sadistic old women and oafish, money hungry men,and starving wolves. Sesshomaru would be a fool to trust her so soon.

“Won't you tell me your name? I like to know the names of new friends.” The princess tried again. She was trying to get him to talk,but Sesshomaru had long since resolved himself to silence. He would ignore her until he couldn't,and only then would he speak.The princess gave a tiny huff,not an exasperated sigh,but a sad one. “I won't force you to speak,but I would like it if you eventually would. I like to talk, I've always been told I talk too much,but for a long period of time, I didn't speak at all. I think I talk so much now to make up for lost time. Well, I think it would be rude for me not to call you by name at all, so what if I give you a name-until you tell me yours,at least. How about Shiro,or Noboru,or-"
“Sesshomaru"
“What?”
“Sesshomaru. My name.”
“Oh. I knew I would get you to talk eventually" the princess smiled at him and he looked away.
‘Damn’  He really didn't want to tell her,but it was either that or let her continue to prattle on,and probably name him something absolutely ridiculous. Honestly,for this girl to be as old as she claimed,she acted only as old as she looked,or perhaps even younger.
“Well, I'm glad that we've passed that milestone so early on. We’ll reach the palace soon,and I can show you you're new home.” The princess looked genuinely happy. Sesshomaru didn't know whether or not to be scared,but he knew he wasn't gonna like it.

.oO0Oo.
The ride in the norimono ended soon after,and Sesshomaru was finally allowed out. In front of him was an enormous palace, probably big enough to rival that of the Western Land's. The palace was red,unironically. ‘The Blood Princess lives in a blood palace,huh" the subtlety was not lost on him. The highest tenshukaku loomed over the rest of the buildings menacingly. The palace was built into the rolling hills around the edge of the forest they had traveled through. The palaces tell tale musha-gaeshi sloped well into the stone. Even though it was called a palace, this could easily be confused for a castle.

Sesshomaru jumped out first,not wanting to be in the cramped space with the young woman any longer. The princess got out of the norimono was set down behind him,and turned to the demons who had carried it.
“Thank you so much for your hard work,take a rest. Next time,I'll take Ah-Un out with the carriage.”
They entered into the front gates and a demoness came to greet them. She was of average height,with reddish-brown hair down to her waist,with moss green eyes,a young round face,and pointed ears. She wore a matcha green kimono with pink flower shaped splotches.Her obi was red,and tied to the front in a large, whorish bow.There was something familiar about her and he thought it over for about it for only a few moments before it hit him: this girl was a panther demon! His natural inborn instinct as a white dog demon dictated that he immediately attack this girl. He growled,and felt his face begin to contort into his true demonic form,and his stance dropped from where he was standing just over the princess’ shoulder. The girl also seemed to realize what it was that he was. She also hissed and dropped down,her legs began to bunch and flower petals flew to her palms from seemingly nowhere. The princess who was trapped between them looked between the two of them and frowned,furrowing her brow.
“You two,what is wrong with you?” she queried The two gave no indication that they heard her,other than hisses and growls.
“Shunran! Stop it! Stop hissing at once!” In an instant,the panther- Shunran supposedly- stopped hissing and righted her posture. Then she spoke.
“I’m sorry R- ah, Princess.But he is a dog demon! A filthy White Crescent Dog from the West! My people’s sworn enemies! How do you think I got here? It was that Inu no Taisho that-”
“That’s enough Shunran,more than enough. Please restrain yourself. Please excuse yourself until you have calmed down.”
“Yes Princess,of course.” Shunran gave a small bow at the waist  and turned to walk deeper into the castle,but not before throwing what might have been considered a withering look over her shoulder at Sesshomaru.Sesshomaru didn’t raise himself from his battle ready stance until the demoness was out of range of any damaging attack. The princess turned to him and spoke again,this time the furrow in er brow slightly relaxed, so she looked more exasperated and apologetic than anything else.
“I’m so very sorry for that. Your first impression of your new household is ruined. I was so excited to have a new friend that I forgot about the friends I already had. I had also forgotten about the blood feud between the Panthers and the Dogs and Wolves. Shunran is usually the first to greet me upon my return, and I didn’t think about the fact that you two would disagree upon first meeting. For that I do apologize.” The princess tilted her head and looked sad. For some odd reason, Sesshomaru instantly felt bad,and he wanted to tell her that she didn't have to apologize,but as he threw his hands up to tell her not to she spoke again.
“Oh, in all this excitement, I didn’t realize that I had forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Rin,and I want to be your friend.”

I know I swore I would update this once a week,but it looks like it might end up being once every two weeks instead. I know I disappeared for about a month,but it won’t happen again. College sucks intense balls.