A/N: OMG! I have updated. I am so sorry. I can't believe that I didn't write for that long. I went to Dallas at the end of April for a DECA trip and I got top 10 in the nation! The trip was so much fun. The people were great and the experience will be unforgettable. Then when I got back I had to get ready for finals and for the AP test on World History. So I just took my AP test yesterday and now I only have one more day of school left and three more finals to take, but they're not going to be bad at all.

So again I'm sorry for not writing in like forever. I was thinking about posting a note discussing the delay, but I didn't want you guys to get an e-mail saying that I had updated and then just reading my note. That would be lame. So I did post something on my author's page, but I doubt anyone read that. So I was planning to revise chapter twenty, but in the end I decided that it wasn't too bad of an ending so I kept it. I'm not going to get all mushy in my story though, so sorry. Okay, I hope you guys will like this next chapter. I included less dialogue, because it seems like that is my whole story and I'm not writing a script, I'm writing a story. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-One

It was not meant to be known

They both looked deeply into each other's eyes, not knowing that there were still three other people in the room. Time seemed to cease between them. It was only the two of them left. Their feelings that had been long hidden from them surfaced. Love, care, trust.

Miroku coughed slightly to get their attention. In an instant the spell between them broke. Kagome quickly got up from the bed and brushed off her shirt as if she had been contaminated and Inuyasha did the same.

Both Inuyasha and Kagome were red, not knowing what to say. The room was completely silent. Miroku looked from one person to the next, waiting for someone to say something.

"You can have the bed, Kagome," Inuyasha mumbled to ground at last.

"Thanks…" Kagome responded to her feet.

In the end, Sango and Kagome got the bed and the three men were lying on the hardwood floor. Inuyasha looked up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. It was near midnight when someone tapped on his shoulder.

Miroku had been forcing himself to stay awake and waiting for everyone else to fall asleep. "Inuyasha? Are you still up?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha rolled to his side to face him.

"I just wanted to know… if you had been…" Miroku hesitated, "been crowned … emperor?" His last word was almost inaudible.

Inuyasha wasn't sure if should answer. Did he want Miroku to know? Yet since Miroku had already known that he was prince, it wouldn't matter.

"I was crown emperor a couple days ago," Inuyasha said at last.

Miroku nodded. He had known that Inuyasha was emperor and he had only asked to make sure. "You'll make a good emperor to China," and that was all Miroku said before falling asleep.

Inuyasha smiled. He only dreamed of being a good enough emperor of his people and with that thought in mind, sleep finally came to him.

&

Kagome did not believe what she had just heard. Inuyasha was the emperor of China. He was the emperor! She had been lying awake, unable to find sleep as well.

Words played back in her mind. Where are the drawers, you can't talk to me like that, I'm staying at the Forbidden Palace… Everything fit. Inuyasha was emperor. He had left her city right before the emperor had died… his very own father had just passed away. Kagome didn't know what to think of it. All this time she had been around him, she didn't suspect that he was so… royal. How was she supposed to act around him now? She couldn't tell him that she knew… and even for awhile, she thought that she liked him… loved him even so.

For the rest of the nights, random thoughts frustrated her and she was only able to get about an hour's worth of sleep before someone was shaking her.

"I don't want to get up yet," Kagome muttered, not even opening her eyes to see who was waking her.

"Kagome…" It was Inuyasha.

Kagome sat straight up immediately. "I'm up." Inuyasha looked at her perplexed. "We're going to be going to the palace now, so just get your stuff together."

She let out of sigh, why was she so tense around him now?

The sun was not even up yet. The moon still shone its light though their window. She got up and picked up her only bundle of clothing. Everyone had gotten up before her and they were already half way down the stairs before she even left the room.

Inuyasha had stayed behind to check that they had taken all their belongings and closed the door behind Kagome. "You look tired. Did you not get enough sleep?" he asked her kindly. They had ended on an awkward note last night.

"No, I did. It must have been the trip that exhausted me," Kagome lied.

Inuyasha nodded and they walked in silence to the carriage. Sango and Miroku were sitting on the left side of the carriage and Kagome and Inuyasha sat together on the right. "Everybody set?" Myoga shouted to them from the front.

"Yeah, we can go now," Inuyasha said.

Their trip was in total silence. Sango and Miroku feel asleep almost immediately. Kagome was trying hard not to fall asleep, but in the end fatigue overpowered her and her eyes closed. Her head soon rested on Inuyasha's shoulder. He looked down at her. She looked different than she had the first time they had meet. Her face showed signs of stress and worry. He wanted to be able to keep Kagome from all the dangers and worry of life, but he knew he couldn't. He remembered her so young before, and now it seemed that she had matured.

The carriage came to a slow stopped. They were at the entrance. Myoga showed them his golden passport. The guards asked no questions and didn't search the carriage at all. The gates were opened to them and would not be Kagome's first time in the palace.

&

Inuyasha nudged Kagome to wake her. "We're here." Kagome opened her eyes, noticing that she had slept on Inuyasha's shoulder, she quickly sat upright.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's alright," he looked at her. She wasn't acting at all normal today. "Is everything okay? You seem all uptight around me."

"No, no. Everything is fine. You said we're here; I want to see." She spoke fast and before Inuyasha could say anything she had already gotten out of the carriage.

Kagome looked around her in total awe. They had stopped right in the middle of a courtyard. There was a small pond in the center and a bridge that crossed over. Kagome ran over. She peered into the pond. Small catfish were swimming around and beautiful lotus flowers were floating on top of the water. On the other side of the bridge was a small gazebo with a whole assortment of different colored flowers that surrounded it.

Beyond this were four large buildings. Each looked almost newly built. The architecture was something that Kagome had never seen before. The roofs were a bright red tiling and the edges of the windows looked like they were engraved with gold.

"Doesn't it look beautiful?" Inuyasha asked her.

"Yeah, it's like a dream." She could hardly believe that she was here. It was so beautiful. Everything looked so perfect.

"I'll have to show you the entire place some other day because I have to go to a meeting pretty soon. Myoga will show you what you have to do. Take care of yourself here. Don't trust anyone and don't ever tell them how you got in here. Got it?"

Kagome nodded. "Thank you, Inuyasha… for everything."

Inuyasha smiled. "It was nothing." And he walked off.

&

Myoga showed Miroku, Sango, and Kagome to the kitchens. He talked to the head of the kitchens for a long while and finally she accepted the three. "They better be what you said they were or else they're going to be gone before tonight," the lady said.

"Of course they are," Myoga said with not that much confidence. "Good luck and don't make her mad," he whispered to them and left.

The three looked at each other, not really knowing what to expect. The lady came back and threw them three aprons. "Put these on. I'm Lin and that's what you're going to call me from now on. For today you're going to be cutting and washing all those vegetables." She pointed to three gigantic baskets filled with various vegetables. "One for each of you."

As soon as Lin was gone, Kagome said, "I can't believe we have to work under her. Couldn't Inuyasha have gotten us a better job than this?"

"Oh, don't complain. At least we're in here. I just have to ask Inuyasha if I can see Suga soon, then we'll be out of here."

Miroku looked sadly down at a head of lettuce. "I have to agree with Kagome, Sango. I hate this."

"Oh hush. I'll do some of yours if I finish fast." Sango was working quickly. She didn't want to get kicked out of the palace. She was a step closer of finding her father now and she was not going to let anything get in the way.

&

Inuyasha ran quickly to his room and changed. He would have to run another meeting with all of his officials again. When he had gotten into the room, they were all ready.

"Good morning," Inuyasha said.

"Your highness," they said in unison, each bowing down. They all stood up and Sesshomaru stepped out, in front of the others. "Your highness, I would like to inform you that there has been an uprising of the nomads in the northern regions. We have already sent some soldiers to subdue them, but we might need more men."

"How many men were sent already?"

"1,000 of your men, your highness." Inuyasha could not believe what he had just heard. Sesshomaru had sent his men to subdue the northern nomads without even asking him.

"My men?" Inuyasha said heatedly.

"Yes, your men have had the best training. I wanted soldiers that would take care of the nomads without too much trouble."

The other men around Sesshomaru were whispering to each other in disbelief. Inuyasha was now scared of the power he held. He was not able to control it. He now didn't have any men under his name.

Finally Inuyasha managed, "If we receive information that the nomads are advancing then we will send more men. Any more issues for today?"

No one else spoke and the meeting was over. Inuyasha sat in his chair, trembling with fury. He had to be more careful and more aware of the happenings around him or else he would soon lose his power… and be at the mercy of Sesshomaru.

&

They soon finished cutting up the vegetables and three more baskets were brought to them- these were for dinner. After they had completed the task again, Lin came back and told them to go to different rooms and refill the tea.

Kagome went to each of the rooms on her list and finally there was only one left. This room was bigger than all of the other rooms. It looked more elegant. The furniture was all inlaid with gold designs and there were porcelain pottery placed about the room. Kagome filled the pot of tea in the middle of the room and before she was about to leave, something caught her eye. It was a painting of the royal family. Inuyasha was kneeling in front of his father and on to the right was most likely his mother. It was such a picturesque image of a perfect family.

Kagome looked at the painting for a long time, examining every part of it. The artist was very skilled. It almost looked almost like a photograph. Kagome longed for a family like that. She wanted a mother and a father. She wanted to have their love when she was young and she wanted their love and support now. It hurt her to know that her parents had left her. Couldn't the story that Kaede used to tell her be true- that her parents had loved her until they died?

Suddenly, Kagome heard footsteps approaching. She knew she shouldn't have stayed in the room too long, but the painting had just totally mesmerized her.

The person that came into the room was no other than the lady in the painting- the queen.

Kagome quickly got down to her knees. "I'm sorry. I was looking at the painting. I came to refill your tea. I'm sorry."

The lady smiled. "You must be new here. I've never seen you before. You can't have to shake at the sight of me," she laughed, "You didn't do anything wrong. Get up."

Kagome slowly got to her feet. She looked into the queen's eyes. They were kind and loving. "Yes, your highness. I'm new here."

"Why are working here? You seem very young. You have the rest of your life ahead of you." The queen always felt so bad for the girls that worked in the palace. All of them could do some much more with their life rather than spending their entire life here… wasting it all away.

"My family needed money," Kagome lied.

The queen nodded, almost expecting the answer. She looked Kagome over. "What's your name?"

"Kagome." She didn't know why the queen was even bothering to talk to her. She was just a servant; she was expecting to be dismissed almost immediately.

"That's a very pretty name. You seem to remind me of someone… I just can't place who. You look so familiar." The queen couldn't understand why she felt that she knew Kagome. The moment that Kagome had lifted her face, the queen knew there was something different about her. "Would you like me to show around the palace? You can keep me company." She used this excuse to know a little more about the girl.

"I have to get back to the kitchens. I have been here longer than I was supposed to be already."

"I'll send someone saying that you're going to be with me. Don't worry about that. Come on."

The queen showed her the different monuments and buildings. There was over a dozen courtyards and more than a hundred buildings. The palace seemed endless. As they walked from place to place the queen would tell her all about it and Kagome began to feel more comfortable around the queen. She told her about her city and her restaurant. The queen listened to her and showed interest in her stories… like a caring mother.

&

Inuyasha sat in his study- still in fury. "Myoga, I want to read about every single occurrence in China right now and I want to be able to come up with a plan to work out the problem before night fall and you're going to be helping me. And we are going to get my men back to the palace as soon as it is possible."

Myoga quickly ran out of the room to retrieve the information.

"I can't believe I being put in this position. And again for that matter," he fumed to himself. "I'm going to be ready for everything this time. I'm going to rule this nation by God."

Soon Myoga returned with stacks of information. Everything that was possibly happening in China was soon on Inuyasha's desk. They shuffled through the papers and sorted out the important issues. Next they would have to find a way to solve all the one hundred and ten problems. By nightfall, Inuyasha and Myoga were both exhausted.

"The only way for you to control your officials is to let them know that you are the one that holds the power. You have to be feared. You can't let Sesshomaru run your nation. You can't let that happen and I won't stand by and let it happen," Myoga told Inuyasha was he got up ready to leave for the night.

"Thanks Myoga. I wouldn't let it happen."

"You wouldn't if you act like you did today. An emperor has to work. It's just not all about the glory." Myoga left and his words were lingered in Inuyasha's mind.

&

Kagome finally returned to the kitchens and Lin acted nicer to her than she had before. It must have been that she was with the queen, thought Kagome.

Dinner was served and the three of them were allowed to retire for the night. Lin showed them their beds. It was a room full of other members from the kitchens. Sango and Miroku quickly changed into the pajamas and they talked about their plan in finding Mr. Matsuo before going to bed. Kagome left their "dormitories" when the two had fallen asleep and walked outside with the piece of cloth in her hand. She wanted to go back to the bridge with the pond beneath it.

There were some things that she still didn't get to think thoroughly about. The place was easy to find and it looked even more beautiful than it did in the morning. There were lights around the area that caused the pond to glow. Kagome sat down on the bridge letting her legs dangle over the edge.

She held the cloth tightly in her hands. She had to ask herself the same question again: did she want to find her parents? Out of no where, tears started to fall from her eyes. She wanted to and she knew it. She wanted a mother to love her and a father to protect her. She wanted a family.

"Kagome?" A voice suddenly asked her.

She turned her head to see who it was. It was Inuyasha. He was standing right beside her and she didn't even notice until he had called her name. He sat down beside her.

"I was looking for you and then I thought that you could be here because you seemed so taken away by it this morning. Is everything okay? Were you crying?"

Inuyasha looked closely at her face. It was hard to tell in the dark because the lights were dim. "Yeah, I was," Kagome wiped the back of her hands across her face, "but it was nothing."

"It couldn't have been nothing. What is that in your hand?"

Kagome unfolded the cloth and laid it in her lap. "This," she said, "was the only thing on my when I was found on the doorstep of Kaede's restaurant."

Inuyasha looked at her in puzzlement. "What? The only thing on you? She's not your aunt?"

"No," Kagome shook her head, "I just found out too. I didn't know for all these years. I thought that both of my parents had died, but now I know that I was abandoned."

"Kagome… I… I'm so sorry." And that was all Inuyasha could say. He didn't know how to comfort her otherwise.

Tears started to come from her eyes again. "Do you think that I should try to find them?"

"Your parents? How could you though? You only have a piece of cloth… from nineteen years ago."

Kagome nodded. She knew that it would be near impossible to find them. "But I want to. I want to know them. I want to know why. Why they had left me. Why they didn't want me."

Inuyasha pulled Kagome to him and she cried it out. "I want to know the answers. I wanted a mother and a father and I was not able to. I was only a baby. I had done nothing wrong yet for them to leave me, Inuyasha."

He stoked her hair. "I'll help you find them. Just don't cry."

Kagome continued to cry. She was finally able to let it out. All her anger and sadness. "They could've left a note… they could have done something more," she said lifting her head.

"Everyone has their reasons."

"Like you…" Kagome wanted to tell Inuyasha that she knew.

"Me?" Inuyasha said confused.

She nodded. Her eyes gleamed from her tears. "You're not just some regular person. You're more…"

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha didn't know where this was going.

Kagome took a deep breath. "You're the emperor." She stated it as a fact. She wasn't asking him in order to be sure of it. She knew that he was.

A/N: So she knows that he is emperor and he knows that she knows now too. Will this change their relationship?