Chapter 10

Kagome stared with wide eyes at the vast array of youkai that had assembled for the banquet. She was from a region where the humans outnumbered the demons and she had never seen so many of them all in one place. It made her grip on Inuyasha's forearm get tighter and wetter.

"Oi, calm down wench." the hanyou muttered. "You are Sesshomaru's now. No one's going to hurt you."

The young woman smiled. "Thanks, Inuyasha."

"Stop thanking me already." Inuyasha snapped. "I didn't do nothin' to deserve it."

Kagome smoothed her gown again. "You've done enough." she said, her eyes sparkling. Suddenly all the commotion in the room died down and the crowd parted.

InuTaisho strode forward looking beyond regal. He passed by Kagome with out speaking to her but he gave her a cheery wink. After the king passed through the doors into the throne room, there was another silence followed by easily audible gasps.

Sesshomaru walked comfortably through the mass of youkai. Kagome went still when she saw him. He was dressed in a white silk tunic over a blue shirt. Black pants which made his legs look strong flowed into leather boots that padded softly through the room. A golden circlet sat among his silvery bangs and sparkled in the light. Even though he was dressed simply, Sesshomaru easily outshone everyone there.

Ignoring everyone else in the room, the youkai prince walked over to Kagome and held out his hand. The young woman let go of Inuyasha's arm and swept the magnificent creature a deep curtsey.

Sesshomaru grabbed her hand when she stood and gave her a small smile. "Come." he murmured. The prince nodded to Inuyasha who followed behind them. The trio made their way through the masses to the throne room. Once the door swung shut behind them, Sesshomaru pulled Kagome into his arms. "You look so delectable." he whispered. "It's hardly fair for you to look so good on this night when there is no room for bad behavior."

Kagome giggled. "I could say the same about you."

"Kill me now." Inuyasha muttered and went to stand with his father.

InuTaisho rolled his eyes. "My son is right, Kagome. You look beautiful. That gown suits you as well as it did the original owner." The king shot his younger son a sly look.

The hanyou flushed. "It was just sitting there gatherin' dust. Nothing to make a big deal over."

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped to his brother and he studied him for a time. "Thank you nonetheless."

InuTaisho had to smile. "Let's hope we can keep this cheer up once the council has arrived." "Now, Kagome, I know you are still unfamiliar with the layout of the castle, so I will explain what is to happen with detail for you. Our guests are being directed to the most elaborate banquet hall in the place. As you can see, this room has two doors, the one we came in through, and the one to the right of the thrones. After we receive the council in private here, we shall all pass through the door on the right, down a short corridor and into the banquet hall. I will greet our guests, announce you, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, and you all will go to your seats at the head table. Then I will announce the council as guests of honor. Once they have gone to their seats, the banquet can begin. Does that make sense?"

Kagome nodded, but remained silent. Sesshomaru gave her a concerned look and assured his father that they understood. The king and Inuyasha then left to make sure all the guards were in place.

Once they were alone, Sesshomaru turned to the young woman. "What is wrong?" he asked her gently. "And do not say nothing. I can sense the distress in you."

Kagome sighed. "What if they do not approve of me?" she asked. "I know how the council must feel about humans and how important it is for you to have their support. I do not want my presence here and your feelings for me to cause your family to lose it's position."

The prince took her hand. "It is imperative that the council give us it's blessing for us to rule." he told her. "And yet I could care less."

Before Kagome could say anything the door opened again and InuTaisho and Inuyasha returned. "Take your places," the king hissed. "They'll be here shortly." He smoothed his clothes and sat down on his throne.

Sesshomaru took the slightly smaller one on the left of his father. The one on the right was reserved for the king's mate and remained empty since InuTaisho had none. To the left of Sesshomaru's throne was the one reserved for the heir's mate or consort. At a look from Inuyasha, Kagome gathered that she was to sit there. She did, and the hanyou took his place behind her and his brother.

Moments later the door opened and a guard bowed the members of the inuyoukai council into the throne room. Kagome made to stand and curtsey, but Sesshomaru stopped her. "Here they show deference for us." he whispered.

Okudo heard and smirked. He eyed the prince. "Still prideful I see, Sesshomaru. It is a fine quality to have when you are powerful. Before then it is just bluster and ignorant arrogance." The elder turned to InuTaisho. "It was very kind of you to throw this banquet all for us."

The king raised an eyebrow. "It was nothing, Okudo." he replied dryly. "Aside from my heir who you are acquainted with already, you are in the presence of my younger son, Lord Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's intended, Lady Kagome from the Southern Lands."

The council members bowed as one. Sesshomaru accepted their obeisance with a graceful nod. "Kagome, my dear allow me to present the inuyoukai council to you." he gestured to the eldest of them, a youkai with long gray hair and bright hazel eyes. His cheeks were marked with deep green stripes and there was a green leaf on his forehead. "This is Okudo. He is the leader of the council and a respected inuyoukai elder."

The prince moved on to the next, a younger version of the elder with the same markings but lighter eyes. "This is Okudo's son, Riomaru." Next was who appeared to be the youngest in the group. He was tall and muscular with white hair that he had in a long braid and flashing silver eyes. His markings were golden and a sun burst was on his forehead. "That is Suteki." Sesshomaru said.

"Don't tell me you're going to introduce all the males first." spoke up the lone female in the group. "Isn't that just typical?" She was beautiful with silver hair that cascaded over her shoulders and curled along her back. Jade colored eyes stared out of an alabaster face that was marked with royal purple stripes and a five pointed star.

"This is Mitsuko." Sesshomaru said emotionlessly. "She has the honor of being the first female in the council in a century and a half."

The last member of the council was an older inuyoukai with gray-silver hair and golden brown eyes. His markings were black stripes and his forehead was bare. "That is Hikoshi."

Kagome wasn't sure what to do, so she smiled and waved at all of them. "It's nice to meet you all. I guess you already know who I am."

Mitsuko cocked her head to the side. "Indeed we do, Lady Kagome. Tell me, what do you hope to gain by marrying Sesshomaru? Power? Money? Or just bragging rights?"

The room was silent for a moment. InuTaisho gave his eldest son a look that said he was to keep quiet on no uncertain terms. Inuyasha was gripping the hilt of his sword in an effort to calm himself, and Kagome was quite red in the face. Finally she exploded. "How dare you! I have no intentions what so ever of trying to get anything out of Sesshomaru. I am a noble in my own right and no amount of wealth or power would make me marry or mate with someone that I didn't love!" The girl gasped at the end of her rant, remembering just who these youkai were. "I'm sorry-"

Mitsuko waved her hand. "Don't be. You have spirit. I like that."

Okudo frowned. "Do not mistake spirit for disrespect, Mistuko." he cautioned. "Humans are insubordinate creatures."

Before she could go off on another rant, Sesshomaru gripped her hand. "This is not what we are here to discuss. Shall we proceed to the banquet?"

"Wait," Mitsuko said. "Let her talk, Sesshomaru. I want to hear what she has to say. The elder of this council has offended your kind, girl. What do you say to it? Will you let such an insult stand and forfeit your honor?"

Kagome glanced over at Sesshomaru who looked just as bewildered as she felt. InuTaisho caught her eye and nodded. He didn't see the harm in offending the council if they were going to ultimately decided against her.

Taking the king's response as a cue, she took a deep breath. "It isn't fair for you to say that humans are subordinate to you, Lord Okudo."

"And why is that?"

"Because that puts you and other youkai in a dominant position to us."

"And your point is?" Hikoshi queried.

"My point is that you aren't. Yes you are faster and stronger than we are, but we are more resourceful. We have to rely on what we have to get by and we do fine. If we asked youkai for their help then humans would be placing themselves in a subordinate position, but we don't. Humans fend for themselves."

"What about the stigma that youkai have in mortal eyes?" Suteki wanted to know.

"Can you blame us? Before benevolent rulers like King InuTaisho took over, we had to live in fear for our lives. Youkai would slaughter a human just for walking in an area near their lands. It's been less than a century since humans have been allowed to be cardinal rulers. In that time the numbers of youkai that have been antagonized by us have dropped drastically. All humans wanted was a little respect. That's still all we want."

There was a strange gleam in Mitsuko's eyes and Suteki was looking at Kagome like he had never seen anything like her before. Okudo and his son exchanged glances with Hikoshi and InuTaisho beamed. "And now I think it is time for the banquet. Our guests will be getting restless."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The royal party and the inuyoukai council were announced and took their seats at the head table. Okudo gave a stiffened when Inuyasha sat down next to Kagome instead of going to stand with the other guards. The young woman made a point to smile at the hanyou and he gave her a grin in response. InuTaisho clapped his hands and servants emerged from the kitchen bearing trays laden with food and wine.

The hush that had fallen over the hall lessened as the food was served and people began to converse amongst themselves. Everyone was buzzing about the young lady that had been announced as their prince's potential mate. They were all glad that the obnoxious Princess Yukami was gone, but they had no idea how to react to a human woman.

One of the youkai ladies who had the privilege of sitting at the head table, leaned over to speak with Kagome. "Have you given any thought to what you will do here?" she asked. "I could always use another lady in waiting. Mine are all borderline incompetent."

All other ladies at the table were interested to hear the little human girl's answer. Kagome smiled. "I'm sorry, but I've actually been asked by Master Kuisotenboru to join his archers. I accepted of course."

The youkai women were silent. "Oh you poor thing!" one of them exclaimed suddenly. She turned outraged blue eyes to Sesshomaru. "Your Highness how could you let this happen? Your beloved has no business running around with the buffoons on the guard. Especially Kuisotenboru."

The prince remained impassive as he answered her. "I seem to remember, Lady Atuski, a time when you did not find our Master Archer so contemptible. Of course that was before he was mated. As it is, my beloved is competent enough to make her own decisions about where to spend her time here. Oh, and I would advise being a little kinder to those that ensure your safety."

Inuyasha snorted into his wineglass and shot his elder brother a grateful look. That drew the attention to him. "Lady Kagome, it is so nice of you to dine next to Lord Inuyasha." another of the demonesses remarked. "There are not many who are so kind to hanyou."

That was over the line for Kagome. Her brown eyes flashed as she gave the youkai woman a cold smile. "It is a sad world we live in when the son of a king cannot dine where he wishes. Especially when one is so devoted to keeping his people safe like Inuyasha. Perhaps you should take Sesshomaru's advice about how to treat those who look out for you."

A younger looking demoness laughed out loud from a few seats down. "You tell 'em, Lady Kagome." she said with a grin.

"Tsubame." InuTaisho said with an indulgent smile. "Behave."

The youkai ducked her head. "Yes, Uncle."

The king turned to Kagome. "I don't believe that you've met my niece Lady Tsubame, Kagome. She lives here in her mother's hopes that she will gain some refinement. My sister is overly optimistic in my opinion."

Tsubame was lovely. She had the long silver hair that seemed to run in the family, and pale gray eyes. The marking on her forehead was a teal water droplet and her cheeks were unadorned. "A pleasure to meet you." she said to Kagome. "I'm so excited you're here by the way. Even though Uncle is as progressive as they come, it's still boring as hell around here."

"Tsubame." Sesshomaru growled. "We have guests. Contain yourself."

Kagome giggled. She was beginning to love this family. "I'm pleased to meet you as well, Lady Tsubame."

Mitsuko leaned over and whispered something in Suteki's ear. The youkai reddened and glanced at the king's niece. The other members of the council had relaxed, enjoying the easy atmosphere of InuTaisho's court. Okudo was alert, however. His eyes scanning the tables and ending on Kagome's face. She was talking with anyone who spoke to her, but especially to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

She seemed trustworthy enough, but she was human! Never had a hanyou sat on an inuyoukai throne. Somehow, he had to remove her from the king's favor.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Ooooh, someone's up to no good. I am so sorry that it took forever to get this up. It's been half written for a while. Chapters 11 and 12 should be up in the next couple of weeks. Review please!