Alright everyone. Want to say thanks to cocoke5 for their review. I do try to be careful when writing from Kagome's point of view so it's nice to know how I am doing. Wish a few more people would have reviewed but I understand because some of you are experiencing technical difficulties and others only get on once in a while. Sorry about the messed up Roman numeral in the last chapter. This chapter will show what is going on inside the palace. Pay attention because some of this will be important later. How? Find out by reading and reviewing! Let me know how I do. REVIEW!!!

CHAPTER XXII

WHAT THE MAIDS HAD TO SAY

Kagome was sitting down underneath the shade of a large tree as she watched over the three children as they played near the water. She felt a mixture of excitement and anxiety over the trip that was coming up in only six hours. The miko hoped that they would find both Kamikura and evidence for Healo's family claim so that they could put this mate thing behind them and begin planning for taking out Naraku.

If she were honest with herself, she would admit that she didn't want to choose either of the brothers. No matter whom she chose she would lose something. Is she chose Sesshomaru she would have to live without any sort of love and lose all contact with Inuyasha. If she chose Healo she would increase the jealousy between the brothers and still probably alienate Inuyasha. It was a catch 22 situation. No matter what she would lose something that she didn't want to lose.

She was surprised when Sulam suddenly broke away from the other two and came to stand in front of her. Shippo and Rin were both watching him with a strangely solemn look as he sat down beside the miko. Kagome hesitated before asking quietly ", Is there something wrong?" The young demon stared at his two friends before saying ", Shippo is worried that you might agree to be my father's mate." The miko glanced at the kitsune before asking softly ", Why is he worried about that?"

His sky blue eyes widened in surprise before he said ", I forgot. You don't know very much about our ways. Well, I don't know if you have noticed, but demons normally don't have many children." Kagome nodded and said ", Yah. I have wondered about that." Sulam smiled warmly before saying ", The reason for this is that sibling rivalry is much more powerful among demons, because of our instincts." The miko sighed as she said ", Yup. I could have guessed that," she imagined the three brothers with a small grin.

He laughed secretively as if he was seeing the same thing she was. Sulam shook his head and said ", Usually a lord won't have any more than three children. This gives the lord an heir, and a few to spare." Kagome realized that this was meant to be humorous but since she had grown up in a different time the comment did not strike her as funny. The young demon seemed to realize this and so added ", This is part of the reason that the imperial line thinned out so quickly. They didn't have enough children."

Kagome nodded but asked ", What does this have to do with Shippo?" Sulam hesitated before replying ", Shippo didn't grow up with any siblings so he never has had to learn to deal with those instincts." The miko was confused and so said ", But he gets along with you now, doesn't he?" The young demon groaned before saying in a patient tone ", Yes, but that is because he sees me as a friend. If you agreed to become my father's mate then he would start to see me as a brother and, consequently, as a rival for your, and my father's, affection."

The miko's eyes widened in comprehension as she glanced at the young kitsune. She was silent for a moment before she heard a voice behind her ", Kagome. It's time to start making sure you have everything you need for our journey." She jumped at the voice as she turned to stare at the speaker. The miko glared at the smiling demon lord who was sitting above her in the tree. She tapped her foot in rhythm with her heartbeat as she asked ", How long have you been up there?"

The blue eyed demon smiled at her as he responded kindly ", Long enough. I wished to ensure that no one bothered you." Kagome narrowed her eyes as she said accusingly ", Except for you." Healo grinned admitting his objective but he replied solemnly ", I have that right. After all my son was here before you were." The miko said in an irritated response ", That's a horrible excuse!"

The demon leaped down from the tree and straightened his clothes before saying ", As I said you should go make sure that all of your possessions are ready. Did you already tell Shippo?" Kagome nodded with a solemn look towards the child as she said ", Yes. He seems to be handling it pretty well." Sulam straightened up as he said ", I'll make sure that he is well taken care of while you are away."

Kagome smiled at the young demon's statement as she responded positively ", I'm sure that he will be fine since he has you to look after him." Sulam smiled adorably before turning back towards his friends. Healo spoke admiringly ", Your mannerisms helped to set him at ease. That is wonderful." The miko nodded as she said ", I didn't want him to worry too much about it. It can't be healthy for any of them."

A comfortable silence followed this for several minutes as the two watched the young children play in the evening light. Eventually Kagome stood after her friend said patiently ", I will watch over them while you go check on your preparations." Taking the hint the miko decided to obey and so made her way towards the Northern wing. She entered her room and began to go through the stuff that Sesshomaru had already packed for her.

While she was searching through her belongings she could hear several servants talking from their quarters a room or so down the hall. At first she ignored their conversations, which dealt with the usual gossip about other servants, but soon their talk became more relevant to Kagome. "So what do you know about the guests that are staying here? Why are they in Healo's wing?" this voice sounded young and was high-pitched.

A deeper more mature woman responded ", Well, you know how our master almost never receives guests, and when he does they are of a most loathsome nature, but Lord Healo has very rarely had any. However, they are usually of a higher quality than that of Lord Sesshomaru. As far as I know, he has five guests this time, which is much higher than usual. I have seen them all, I think. There is a young lady with a fiery neko, who looks as if she could kill with her bare hands. She is constantly shadowed by a purple clad monk who seems to be a little too eager when it comes to her."

Some of the other maids giggled at the statement and even Kagome shook her head as she listened to the small talk. The older woman continued ", Then there is our master's own younger half-brother, the hanyou, Inuyasha. He appears to be terribly shy or, at least, he wishes to avoid everyone as I have seen him prowling outside of the city from my window. Well can I understand his desire for solitude. In an older time, he might have been killed for his blood alone, but it appears that our master has given up the old feud with his younger brother. I think that this is for our own good as while he doesn't appear to be a socially active man, he does appear to be strong."

The girls whispered small statements of pity for the hanyou before the older woman continued ", Strangely, one of the guests is but a small kitsune. He seems innocent enough and the cooks say he has a rather strong sweet tooth." The others all laughed and "Awed" at the description of the child, but Kagome was listening for the last description. She didn't think of herself as vain but it would be neat to see what these maids, since the maids know everything, would say about her.

The miko was stopped moving so that she could hear what was said. The older woman said in a kind tone ", However, it is the last guest who appears to be the strangest of the group. She is a very pretty little woman. Some of the guards have confirmed, to me, that she is a miko of strangely obvious potential. I also know for a fact that she carries some of the shards of the sacred jewel with her." Kagome gasped at the revelation; she didn't think that anyone would know about the jewel shards.

She calmed slightly as she listened to another, younger, maid who asked ", Is it true that both Lord Healo and Lord Sesshomaru have laid a claim to this woman?" There was a loud buzzing for a few moments since most of them had apparently not heard this yet. Disbelief pervaded the room until the elderly maid replied ", Yes it's true. Jaken himself confided it to me this morning after this was revealed in a meeting. However, according to the toad, Lord Healo only submitted a claim to give the girl three months before she had to choose a mate."

Some of the people were confused and one asked ", Why would she want to wait to become Lady of the Western Lands?" The elderly maid spoke patiently as she explained ", Jaken said that the young woman didn't understand what our master's claim meant. She accepted it then later learned what it meant. Lord Healo's response isn't strange, he has always had a very tender heart, but his urgency in the matter is. I would have thought that he would have waited before turning to this extreme solution."

One of the maids asked quietly ", Who do you think that she will end up choosing. I can't imagine trying to choose between the two of them." The elder woman commented ", Well. It's hard for me to say. Both of them are certainly easy on the eyes, in an exotic way. I think that they are both more a like then they realize. However, Lord Healo seems to be more optimistic and willing to deal with others while our master is, in my opinion, something of an introvert. Both are honorable demons but Lord Healo does have a rather depressing past, as you all know."

The elder woman continued ", However, where our Master is stern Lord Healo is understanding. You have all heard the saying "a man can be respected by everyone except his servants"? Well this is not true for either of them but it is even less of a fact for the Northern Lord." The younger maid asked quietly ", I know what you mean. It is said that " a man must be judged, not by how he treats his equals, but by how he treats those inferior to himself. I'm afraid that our master doesn't look so good in light of that truth."

Another maid asked ", What do you think the miko is like personally?" The elder woman sighed and said ", Well I have seen her. In fact, I met her the night she arrived. She seemed to me to be a polite and generous young woman, and young Rin simply adores her, but I cannot give a diagnosis on so little information. She may be what she appears, an innocent victim, but she may be a dangerous seductress. Still I don't think that she is any of those things. You all know that they don't last long"

The middle aged maid said derisively ", Last long? Lord Sesshomaru normally has them killed within 24 hours which, while severe, has been fairly effective. It is obvious that Lord Healo has to deal with this more often then his other brothers. Sometimes he is far to patient for his own good." The others laughed again at what Kagome thought was probably memories of some of these women. The miko was glad to see that most of them thought that she was a woman who had been deceived and not some temptress. 'I can just imagine mom's face when I tell her about this,' thought the young miko with humor as she went back to her chore.

Yay. I think this chapter was ok. Showed that everyone is starting to learn about what's going on between Kagome and the brothers. Not angry about the lack of response but I am hopeful that some will respond to this chapter. Always waiting to hear what you think. Dieing for some more feedback. Anyway, update will probably be Wednesday or Thursday, depending on inspiration and reviews to goad me. Hope to hear from you. REVIEW!!!