The Strength of Love
Chapter 14 - Surprises
Rin was only a tad sleepy, so she had not lied. However, there was too much in her head to fall back to sleep. She felt fine, though her body felt tender for some strange reason. The stew had certainly appeased her hunger, but she still felt somewhat strange. Maybe she needed to stretch her legs. If she had been asleep for more than two days then it was possible she simply needed to get up. She waited until the mage left her alone, exiting through the door to the right. She slipped out of bed, noticing for the first time that she wore a robe not her own. She tied the belt at her waist and decided to explore. Now that she knew the door to the right was an exit, she turned her attention to the door on the far left wall, which she had only noticed while she was eating. She had seen the one leading outside and the one leading into the castle upon first waking, but this third door was interesting. She had to know where it led.
When she turned the handle and slowly opened the door, she was surprised to see what looked like a large white wash basin in the middle of floor. On its flat side all around were candles, not lit. To the right of that was another, smaller basin, with a funny metal thing coming out of the side of it. There were more metal things sprouting from the large basin. She touched one to feel its texture. She had only touched metal a few other times in her life. Once was the tin roof when her father let her up there while he repaired a hole. The second time was the bottom part of the fence that surrounded the fish reserve in her village. Neither time had the metals been this smooth or this shiny.
She was awed at the sight of these seemingly random pieces of metal and put more pressure on one than she ought to have. When it turned suddenly she fell into a heap, as it gave out from under her hand. She panicked, thinking she had broken it, when a loud roaring noise came from inside the basin. She went up on her knees slowly, and peered over the side of the basin. Her wail of despair was heard only to Kaiba, who had returned to her room at just that moment. Kaiba rushed into her room, not sure what to expect, and found her bed empty. He was perplexed only for a moment until he heard water running in the bathroom. He went to it, finding the girl leaning over the side of the tub, desperately trying to stop the water from coming out of the spout. Her tiny hands were covering the open end of the spout, only accomplishing a spray that sent water in every direction. He went to her side, bent over, and turned the knob to ‘off’.
“I’m so very sorry! I didn’t mean to break it! I just was looking at it and it started leaking! Please forgive me!” Kaiba chuckled at her, making her eyes go even wider. She was living the most humiliating moment in her life and he was LAUGHING at her!! Rin knew, just knew that she had broken something of value and she could not afford to replace it. What was she to do?
The child’s look of shame and guilt immediately stopped Kaiba’s amusement. “It is okay, dear Rin. This is called a ‘bathtub’ and that thing, where the water comes out, is called a ‘spout’. It is meant for your use; that is why you were placed in this room.” Kaiba spent the next few minutes explaining how it all worked. When Rin realized she had broken nothing and done nothing wrong, she became transfixed with the idea of water coming out INSIDE the house! Even more than that, it DRAINED as well! She asked Kaiba why it didn’t leak onto the people’s heads on the first floor. He couldn’t help be delighted at her wit and clarity of understanding. He took more long minutes explaining to her about pipes and drains, and how it was all connected. He also explained about the second basin, called a ‘toilet’, and its use. She understood about half of the complex explanation but nodded anyway. She was beginning to like this mage.
Later that evening, after taking her first indoor bath in memory, including the first hot water she had ever experienced, Rin asked to be alone. Kaiba, ill at ease with consenting to this request, decided to send someone to stand sentry outside of her door. That would appease Sesshomaru and Rin both. He bid her a good night and left for his tower. Rin wasted no time going out onto the balcony. Here she found she could see the stars and the moon very clearly. The entire sky seemed lit up just for her. She stayed that way half the night simply sitting and watching the moon as it made its journey across the sky. Every now and then her breathing would be punctuated by a sigh, as she wondered where her Lord Sesshomaru was. She knew something must be very important to keep him from her. As she turned to once again climb into the massive bed, she smiled to herself. He would come for her soon, and their journey would continue.
Rin had no idea how long she had slept this time, but when she awoke the sun was streaming through the open balcony door, making a happy pool of light on her floor. She sprang from the bed, no longer feeling achy, and tripped to the balcony, smiling at the glorious day. Today he would surely come and they would leave! Rin watched some people working in a garden for a little while. They seemed to be planting flowers. Imagine, she thought, planting worthless flowers instead of vegetables! They would be sorry when winter came and they were starving! That was not her concern, however. She knew she would be long gone from here before that happened. Even as this thought came, smiling, into her brain, she saw her friend, walking within the walls of flowers. She had her hand raised and her lips parted to call out to him when she saw a woman, beautiful even from the distance, trailing after him. Rin watched as he paused, waiting for her, then took her hand in his, and they continued their slow walk, side by side.
Rin drew back into the shadows of the doorway, her face screwed up into a pout. Was SHE the reason he had not yet come for her? Was that woman what was taking up his time? With an unseen look of budding jealousy, Rin turned to find her clothes. She would find out right this instant! She quickly donned her own clothing, folded and laid neatly on the now-unoccupied chair in front of the desk. She had never had shoes, so dressing took only an instant. Then she flew out the door on the right, knowing it led out, and ran right into the hard body of the mage, coming to see her.
“Whoa there, child. Where are you going in such a hurry?” Kaiba, surprised at her pell-mell exit, caught her arm just before she hit the floor. When she looked up at him, he was surprised to find her face full of agony. What could possibly make a child so young so dreadfully sad? “Why, what is wrong child? Are you hurt? Are you ill again?” His concern for her was written in his face.
When Rin looked up at his kind face and heard his concerned words, she burst into tears. It took him several long minutes to get the story and her questions out of her. The hiccupping start and stop of her speech made him squat beside her, listening intently as she spilled the story out. When he had the gist of her pain, he gently wiped her face with his robes. She had settled to a quiet whimper. He picked her up, ignoring her gasp, and carried her back to her room. He set her gently in the middle of the bed and once again settled himself into the desk chair. This was going to be a long day, he thought.
As Kaiba attempted to placate the child, a gentle knock came on the door. Rin, who expected only Lord Sesshomaru, eagerly called out to enter. When it was only a small demon, Rin was disappointed.
Hiei entered the room, all but ignoring the girl. “The Princess would like to see you, Kaiba. Shido is preparing to leave and requested some potions for his clan.”
When Kaiba excused himself and stood, Hiei glanced at the girl for the first time and nodded shortly. He had no experience with children and did not wish to start with this one.
Once both men were gone, Rin continued to sit quietly on the bed. Daylight began to give way to dusk, and still Lord Sesshomaru did not appear. She was left alone until well after dark.
Rin had just begun to drift off, still sitting upright on the bed, when another knock sounded on the door. This time Rin called “enter” with barely a tiny hope. However when Lord Sesshomaru walked into the room, regal and beautiful as ever, Rin leaped off the bed and straight into his arms. She thought she had never been so happy to see anyone!
Sesshomaru, taken by surprise at her launch across the room, only had time to reach out and grab her, lest she fall. When she made it clear she had no intention of letting go of him, he relaxed and hugged her in return. His heart was heavy over what had transpired, but there was no going back. He had to tell her what had happened.