THE INVITATION
"Your majesty!" A short blonde haired woman said rushing into her queen's personal study.
"What is it Kilala?" A woman dressed in royal red and pink garb asked sitting in a large deep crimson leather chair. The queen had dark brown hair and eyes and was surprisingly young looking for a queen, appearing about twenty years of age.
"I have big news from Jutaria your majesty", the woman said excitedly.
"Kilala, we've been friends for years you can call me by my name when we're alone, I've you this a thousand times", the Queen smiled at her childhood.
"Sorry Lady Sango, I sometimes forget", Kilala chuckled rubbing the back of her head.
"So what is our neighboring kingdom up to that has you so excited?" Sango asked.
"Well it's not Jutaria, but word had spread of the lost kingdom of Lunaria finally being open to travelers", she said handing her the newspapers she acquired from local stands. "Everyone's talking about it".
"Interesting, my grandmother told me stories of Lunaria, she said the prince had a great magical power", Sango hummed in thought.
"Do you think that could be true, I mean the kingdom just became miraculously accessible now", Kilala silenced herself when Sango raised her hand.
"Of course I don't, the tale of the magic prince is just a bed time story. Most likely an earthquake opened the mountain paths and now the kingdom is open again", the queen said not believing in the supernatural or fantastical forces.
"So what do we do about it?" Kilala asked.
"Well it would be in our best interest to perhaps start on good terms with whoever the current ruler is. Kilala have an invitation to my brother's wedding sent to the kingdom", Sango said looking over the newspaper article once again.
"As you wish Lady Sango", Kilala bowed and left to prepare the letter and find a messenger who was ready to travel.
"It's strange, no one has ventured to the now open kingdom yet, it sounds like they're afraid of a few measly fairy tales", she chuckled to herself reading the articles.
JUTARIA
In a large circular room with desks surrounding a podium a group of fifty men conversed about a growing political issue. Jutaria was not ruled by a single ruler, rather it was controlled by a single parliament made up of twenty five young men and twenty five old to keep a good balance of views. They were talking about the lost kingdom of Lunaria and how the pathways have been open and accessible for over a month now.
"Why should we be worrying over a lost country, I doubt they have much fighting power up in the north", an elder said.
"Perhaps we should send an emissary to find out exactly what it's like there and if they are peaceful?" A younger man questioned.
"There's no telling how dangerous that kingdom could be, we've all heard the stories and stories like that are used to ward people away from dangerous places", another man said.
"Let's just extend an olive branch, we send an invitation to the lord of Lunaria asking him to come here and then we can find out his intentions, but on our territory where it's safe", a lot of the parliament agreed with the man's idea.
"I hate to break it to you all, but her majesty Sango of Queensland has already beat us to the punch", a bunch of startled murmurs followed. "Our sources say she has sent an invitation to the ruler of Lunaria to come to her brother Kohaku's wedding", more words and arguments were sparked from that.
"I've got it, why not just send one of our own members to the wedding and talk to him?" A young man suggested. "We also received the same invitation right?" They all began debating who should be the one to go until one young man in his early twenties stood up.
"I volunteer to be the one to go to the wedding and meet the lord of Lunaria", the man had black hair with a small tail in the back and was dressed in a dark blue suit and tie.
"Do you think this is wise Miroku?" an elder asked.
"I'm sure I can smoothly handle whoever this lord may be whether he be friend or foe", Miroku smiled assuring the rest of the parliament. The young man politely excused himself from the meeting to make preparations for the trip.
LUNARIA
The castle was fully restored in the past month with a few changes that made it seem lighter and less oppressive then it used to be. Inuyasha's mother Izayoi stuck around for the month getting to know Kagome or as she liked to think, her future daughter in law. Izayoi had also helped her son find someone to replace the late Kaede as head of the kitchen staff. The magical queen had went on a hunt to find the best chefs in the kingdom and ironically the best was already working in the castle right under their noses. Ayame, the girl that was made part wolf, and the woman that General Koga claimed would be his future wife was surprisingly an amazing cook for being an ordinary servant girl. After Inuyasha and Kagome tasted one of her dishes he immediately promoted her to head of the kitchen staff. After that Izayoi left to continue traveling, much to Inuyasha's disappointment, but promised to come back and visit frequently.
"Dammit", Inuyasha swore quietly placing his head on the table in front of him. The rest of the staff of the castle's work shop stared at their lord curiously. A few days ago Lord Inuyasha came into the castle's workshop wanting to use the equipment for a personal project of his. He wouldn't say what it was or who it was for, but it was pretty obvious with the dozens of gold rings scattered on the table.
"Problems your highness?" an old long bearded man said. The elder had large bulbous eyes, tiny horns on his head and hooved feet like a bull's.
"Mister Totosai, now that you mentioned it, yes I am having problems", Inuyasha sighed looking down at the 'failures' as he called them.
"What is it your trying to make you highness?" Totosai asked while Inuyasha took a moment to make sure no one else was listening to their conversation.
"I'm trying to create the perfect ring, it's important", he admitted honestly.
"Couldn't you just use your power to transfigure a spoon into the perfect ring?" The old craftsman questioned scratching his long beard in thought.
"I thought so too, but that's too easy, too simple. The person this ring is for deserves more than just a trinket I waved my fingers to make", Inuyasha said looking at his work. "These aren't good enough, it's needs to be better".
"Tell me your highness, does this person expect perfection from you?" Inuyasha had to think about that for a moment before answering.
"No I doubt she would", he answered.
"Do you think she would want something perfect and gaudy?" the old man asked.
"No", Inuyasha answered waiting to see where Totosai was going with this.
"Then perhaps she would like something imperfect, it would come more from the heart if she could tell you crafted it with feeling instead of aesthetic", the elder craftsman explained with wisdom.
"I see", Inuyasha had moment of realization as he rolled up his sleeves and got to work on something he believed Kagome would like. Totosai walked away to his own work station leaving his lord alone to complete his project.
"Ah, young love", he commented with an amused smile.
"You know he's like a century old right?" one of his assistance said, reminding the old man that Lord Inuyasha wasn't actually as young as he looks.
"Yes, but the concept of love is still new to him", Totosai corrected.
LATER
Inuyasha sat in his office finishing some paperwork and sending the appropriate funds to the workers and their families that helped with the castle reconstruction, he also sent a hefty reward to the blacksmith Marion and his business, a reward for sabotaging the weapons of Naraku's soldiers. Kagome was currently busy helping Ayame reorganize the kitchen staff.
"Your highness, we have a situation", one of the wolf men came into the office with a bow.
"What is it Ginta?" Inuyasha looked up from his desk.
"A messenger from Queensland has arrived with a letter for you", the wolf said, apparently this was the first traveler from another land they had since Kagome came here months ago.
"Send him in", Inuyasha expected people to come here and was prepared for this after he opened the roads in and out of the kingdom. A few minutes later a very nervous and scared looking young messenger came in. He kept glancing around in surprise at everything and everyone.
"Surprising isn't it?" Inuyasha said startling the poor young man.
"Oh! Um forgive your highness, I-I didn't think the stories were true", the messenger stuttered and bowed. He had to pass through the town to get here and was quite shocked to see the fantastical creatures and part human part animal hybrids everywhere.
"I am Prince Inuyasha, Lord of the kingdom of Lunaria and the one who those stories are about", Inuyasha introduced himself with pride. "Now what is this message you have brought with you?" he slipped back into his old persona for a moment to intimidate this lowly messenger.
"Yes your highness, it's an invitation to her majesty Queen Sango's brother's wedding", he got out as fast he could handing him the invitation with another respectful bow. Inuyasha opened it and read the contents.
"A wedding? How…interesting", he said reading between the lines and seeing the true purpose of this invite. He wanted nothing more than to send this invite back to its sender telling this Queen Sango to stuff it, however it provided him with a golden opportunity that he needed right now. One it gave him a chance to visit another land something he had wanted to do for decades, but more importantly Queensland was Kagome's home country where her family lives. This would be the moment he was waiting for, he could take her back home, meet her family and have a question answered that he had been aching to know for a while now.
"Very well I'll except the invitation, tell your queen I'll be arriving a little early though", He waved his hand dismissing the messenger who immediately left eager to return home and tell her majesty Sango of what he'd seen here. Picking up the invitation he thought it would be good to surprise Kagome with it. Heading to the kitchen he walked in on the staff having a meeting and going over what the new methods of cooking and serving will be with Ayame.
"Lord Inuyasha, what a pleasure", Ayame bowed seeing him come in, this was becoming a frequent occurrence with him. Inuyasha had been popping on the staff a lot lately to see what they were doing and establish better relations with the servants, it was a welcome and refreshing change.
"Sorry to bother you, but I need to borrow Kagome for a bit", Inuyasha smiled warmly making all the women in the kitchen blush and sigh. Kagome quickly followed him outside wondering what he needed her for. "Take a walk with me", he said holding out his hand for her to take. The two of them walked the halls holding hands and not caring who saw them. After a few minutes they reached a balcony that overlooked the garden.
"Kagome would you like to go back home?" Inuyasha asked.
"Home, you don't want me here anymore?" Kagome immediately took it the wrong way.
"Don't be ridiculous, I was offering you some time to go visit your family", he replied correcting her. Inuyasha showed her the wedding invitation and explained that he planned on travelling to her home country. "I want you to come with me Kagome, you can see your family again while we attend the celebration".
"Wow, I've never seen Queen Sango before or attended or royal wedding", Kagome was excited about the prospect, she also could see what a great opportunity this was to see her family again and hopefully introduce them to Inuyasha. "Yeah let's go!"
"As you wish my dear, we'll be leaving in three days", Inuyasha smiled at her enthusiasm for this trip.
THREE DAYS LATER
Inuyasha and Kagome stood outside the castle on the large stone road that led into the town bellow. Their bags and cases were packed into a large six wheeled royal carriage. Inuyasha had commissioned Kagura to make Kagome some nice outfits for both of them to wear for their time in Queensland. He may not care for the ruler there, but he still wanted to impress. He was leaving the kingdom for a little over a week in his general Koga's hands, probably one of the few people he could trust. Everything would be fine since the castle was repaired, and the people were happier now that Inuyasha let the skies become clear.
"Where are the horses?" Kagome asked seeing none of them here to pull the carriage.
"Oh we won't be travelling by horse", Inuyasha chuckled his hand glowed a blue color as he pointed it at the carriage. Suddenly four clawed legs extended out of the bottom, the wheels turned into six giant yellow bird wings, and the front of the carriage transformed into two heads resembling the griffins of legend. "We'll be flying there, it's much faster"
"You just want to make a big entrance don't you", Kagome looked at him skeptically, Inuyasha fake coughed to avoid answering her.
"After you milady", he opened the carriage door and took her hand to help her inside the creature. The two of them got comfortable in the re plush seats. "Don't worry, it flies above the clouds so it will be smooth ride from here", just as Inuyasha said that he snapped his fingers and the creature/ carriage took off flapping its six wings. Kagome let out a shriek of surprise as they flew through the air, she held tight to Inuyasha's arm until the kingdom became a spec in the window.
"Wow, we're actually flying", Kagome looked out the window seeing clouds pass by them as they gently sailed through the sky.
"In told you, this way we'll get there much earlier and you can spend more time with your family", he explained sincerely. Kagome thanked him for being so considerate of her feelings and continued to look at the window in amazement.
QUEENSLAND
"Lady Sango, he's back!" Kilala said finding her queen standing on the balcony that allowed her to the ocean in the distance.
"Whose back?" Sango asked not really paying attention.
"The messenger we sent to Lunaria, he's back and says that he has urgent news", Kilala had a weird feeling about all this.
"Send him in", Sango said disinterested turning around from the balcony awaiting the messenger. He soon came in looking anxious and unsure of what he wanted to say.
"Your majesty", the messenger bowed dropping to one knee. "What I have to inform you of may sound strange, but it's the truth", before he could explain what he saw in Lunaria a sound like giant flapping wings and guards yelling came from outside. Sango looked past the balcony to see a large multi-winged two headed creature flying down from the clouds, it's main body looked similar to a horse carriage as it began its descent towards the castle, putting the entire staff on high alert. Sango watched in shock and disbelief as it approached the courtyard in front of the castle's entrance. She immediately made her way down stairs to the entrance with great hurry. When she arrived the creature had already landed, it's legs retracted into the wood, wings morphing into wheels and the two heads melded together forming the front of the carriage. Almost every guard in the castle surrounded the transport weapons drawn expecting an attack. The door opened and out stepped an incredibly handsome young man with long silvery hair, lightly tan skinned and golden yellow eyes dressed in a white button shirt, velvet black vest with silver buttons, matching black pants and shoes, with a black and gray cravat around his neck and a silver ring shaped like the head of a dog on his index finger.
"Is this how you greet all your guests?" Inuyasha asked removing the invitation he received from his vest pocket and showing it to them.
"Stand down all of you!" Sango ordered to her men. Inuyasha finally saw the ruler of Queensland with his own eyes and he was quite impressed by the young woman dressed in a black glittery dress. She looked very beautiful but he could also sense and air of authority around her, as lovely as she was though he still couldn't compare to the adorableness that is Kagome. 'Speaking of her', he reached his hand into the carriage now that it was safe and helped Kagome out like a gentleman.
'Who's that with him?' Sango watched slowly descending the stairs to greet her guests. She saw the woman gently lead out of the carriage by the lord, it was a pretty young lady with black hair combed nicely, wearing a red strapless dress with the back exposed and black frills lining the ends and top, black high heels and a silver band on her wrist. Inuyasha and Kagome approached the Queen, one was nonchalant and cool headed over the whole thing while the other was nervous and scared being in front of the woman of royalty for the first time ever.
"Good evening your majesty", Inuyasha gave a respectful bow, he was in her kingdom after all. Kagome immediately copied his actions not wanting to offend. "I am prince Inuyasha, Lord of the kingdom of Lunaria", he introduced himself and then gestured to his companion. "This is my…companion Kagome Higurashi".
"A pleasure to meet you your majesty", Kagome bowed again. Sango remained silent, focused more on Inuyasha than her, finally after a few moments of awkward silence she spoke.
"My grandmother told me stories about you, I always thought they were just fairy tales", Sango began disbelief in her voice. "But to see the magic prince himself come riding down from the clouds in a winged carriage, now that is something I can't deny".
"Seeing is believing it seems", He responded back with an amused smile.
"It's a pleasure to have you here for my brother's wedding Lord Inuyasha", Sango said politely to her guests. "And you as well Miss Higurashi. Please come inside and my uncouth guards shall get your luggage", she said with a heated glare at her soldiers for pointing there weapons at such an important guest. After showing the two inside and having a servant show them to their room, Inuyasha requested a single room that he and Kagome would share, Sango returned to her personal quarters where Kilala was waiting having watched the whole thing from the background.
"Well, that was certainly exciting", the blonde woman said with a hint of nervousness in her voice. She too was surprised that the prince from the old fable was real and attending the wedding.
"Exciting? How bizarre, insane, or even fantastical!?" Sango yelled pacing the floor. "Of all the things the ruler could have been, those stories were all true, we have an all-powerful magical prince staying in the castle", the queen sounded close to panicking. It was these rare moments that Kilala was glad to be her friend.
"You have to calm down milady, remember he's not here to start trouble, you invited him to attend a wedding right", the blonde assistant reminded her. "He's a guest here and we are trying to show him hospitality and get on his good side right?"
"Yes, that's right", Sango went back to being her normal cool headed self. "We can find out all about his intentions and his mysterious abilities while he's here", the queen said making plans to spy on the magical prince and find out all she can.
WITH THE GUESTS
"So how did I do?" Inuyasha asked Kagome once they were alone in the extravagant guest room they would be staying in for the next few weeks.
"I should be asking you that", Kagome said sitting on the bed putting her hands over her face. Standing in the presence of her majesty Sango and actually speaking to her was one of the most nerve wracking things she ever did.
"I've had practice and training for when I meet another ruler, but I've never put it to use until now", Inuyasha said sitting next to her on the bed.
"Well the transforming flying cart certainly gave everyone a scare, they were all pointing swords and spears at us", Inuyasha just smirked and leaned back to lay on the bed next to where she sat.
"That Sango, she looked like she couldn't believe what she was seeing", Inuyasha chuckled wishing he had a way to capture and preserve little moments like that. He gently ran his hand up her back where her dress didn't cover. "We have a few hours until we have to get ready for dinner".
"Any suggestions?" Kagome asked coyly seeing the look on his face, Inuyasha's smirk widened as he pulled her down to lay on top of him. "Wait! On second thought we can't do this in her majesty's castle", she urged pulling away.
"Why not?" He didn't see the problem with a little lovemaking in the guest bedroom of someone else's castle.
"It's not befitting someone of royal status like you", Kagome argued while Inuyasha sighed in defeat.
"I suppose you're right", Inuyasha rolled her so they were laying on their sides facing each other. "Then let's just lay here until we need to get ready", he said pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her.
"I need to take my dress off or it will get wrinkled", she tried to pull away again.
"You're the one who said we couldn't do it in our host's castle and now you're trying to seduce me?" He said with cheeky grin.
"I just don't want our clothes to get messed up you jerk", Kagome said playfully shoving him and giggled at the look of fake hurt and disappointment on his face.
"We'll just change into something else before dinner", Inuyasha said pulling her back on to the bed with his arms wrapped tight around her waist and his face buried in her soft dark hair. Kagome silently gave in and faced the other side of the room letting him hold her from behind. She eventually fell asleep, having not been able to take a nap the whole way over here. After her eyes closed and her breathing even out, Inuyasha gently took Kagome's hand and interlocked her fingers with his. He kept staring at her ring finger with longing, hoping what he planned would work.
So here's the thing, what I wanted to do for this chapter would be way too long so I'm splitting it up into two chapters. What that means is that this is not the second to last chapter like a wanted, so we have two more chapters to go.
It's pretty obvious what Inuyasha is up to, so I'm not going to spell it out. Also Sango being the queen of Queensland was an idea I had for the sequel I might do later down the road. Jutaria is controlled by a parliament, and that paves a way to put Miroku into this. Also Kilala is Sango's assistant and friend, not a cat in this. Kohaku is still her younger brother, he's the one who is getting married.
Next chapter Inuyasha meets Kagome's family.
Thanks for reading.