An: I worked super hard on this chapter and have once again broken my longest story record so I hope you guys enjoy! Also I have some good news and some bad news...

BAD NEWS: I have alot of midterm exams going on this week, which means alot of studying for little ole me :( , so I may not be able to update as frequently as I have been. :'(

GOOD NEWS: The week after my midterms is winter break! Which means i'll have plenty of time to write some more chapters for you guys and will be cranking them out like crazy hopefully :D

So now that we've gotten that out of the way, remember to read and review! I love all the ones that I have recieved so far and look for them to tell me how well each of my chapters are recieved so I know whether or not I need improvement :)

I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. I DO own the plot and any OC characters that may appear in this story though :)

Kagome was awoken some hours later by a small knock at her door and an unfamiliar voice calling out to her.

"Lady Kagome, are you awake?" a woman at the door asked.

"Yes, you may enter" she permitted, somewhat reluctantly rising from the futon. Her nap had felt almost too good and she wanted nothing more to lie there for a few hours more. However, the impending dinner with the royal family dismissed all thoughts of that from her mind.

As her door slid open to revel the young woman, who was to be her new maidservant, Kagome quickly noted that the woman looked to be around the same age as her. She had beautiful warm brown eyes, and she was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt that tied up around her neck. She was also wearing a pair of crimson hakamas that were fitted around her ankles so as not to get in the way while she tended to her daily duties.

"Hello Lady Kagome. My name is Sango and I will be the one to help you with anything you may need while you're here" she said introducing herself. "Right now, it is my job to help you get ready for dinner. The Lords do not like to be kept waiting" she said humor showing in her eyes.

"Yes, thank you." Kagome replied, glad to finally meet someone who was around her same age here at the castle. No matter how short her stay was going to be here.

As Sango helped to dress her, Kagome found out that Sango had been saved by Lord Sesshomaru while he was wandering around the western lands, as he was known to do. The demon slayer village that Sango was from had been wiped out by some unknown demon around 3 years ago when she had just turned 15. Sango had been out on of her first demon hunting mission when the massacre had occurred, and the only clues she was able to find in her village were the hundreds of lesser demon bodies and the seared and scarred bodies of the villagers.

She knew that lesser demons did not travel in as big of group as those that had attacked her family, so she was convinced that a very powerful demon had obviously been behind the attack. She decided to look for any potential survivors, and after finding none she looked for her family's bodies so she could bury them. She was able to find and bury all her family members, except her brother. No matter how much and how hard Sango searched the area surrounding the village and the village itself, she could find no signs of him. So brokenhearted, but still hopeful, she decided to start traveling alone to find her brother and the demon that had so mercilessly wiped out her village, determined to avenge her family.

It was one year after she had started her journey that she came across a very powerful boar demon, and while she had fought very valiantly she had been unable to defeat him. Just as she was sure that she had spent her last day on this earth, an even stronger demon with long white hair had appeared between her and the boar demon, slicing the charging demon in half as if he were nothing but paper. As the new demon turned to face her Sango felt no relief or gratitude, as she would have never had believed that a demon would kill another demon just to save a demon slayer such as her.

"Why would you save me form that demon just to kill me yourself" she asked the demon, as he began to slowly walk towards her.

"Who said that this Sesshomaru was planning to kill you" he asked, his gold eyes assessing her wounds.

Mistaking his actions Sango replied "If you wish to take advantage me because of my situation you should know that I will bite off my own tongue and kill myself before I allow to touch me in that kind of way" she spat out, gritting her teeth as she attempted to rise from the ground she had fallen on.

Admiration in his eyes at the fiery spirit this human woman showed even though she was well aware that he could easily over power her if he wished to, he told her "This Sesshomaru would never stoop so low as to take advantage of any woman, no matter the condition she is in" he said glaring at her to enforce his point. Seeing the truth in his eyes Sango allowed herself to relax on the ground.

"If not to kill me yourself, why then would you go out of your way to save a human like me" Sango asked him.

Not answering her question Sesshomaru settled down at the trunk of a tree to the far right of the slayer and asked "How bad are you injured?"

Watching the slayer as she finally took time to assess her own wounds, Sesshomaru thought to himself 'Why did I save her? And more importantly why am I finding myself unable to leave her until I know that she can properly defend herself again.' Unable to find a satisfying answer to his own question he pushed his thoughts aside as he waited for her to answer.

"I will definitely have a few bruises and I think my leg is sprained, but if I have something to lean upon I am sure that I will be able to walk." She finally answered.

Eyes narrowing, Sesshomaru took a minute to think. Finally after a few minutes of observing each other he surprised her by saying "You will accompany this Sesshomaru back to his home. Seeing as how you will be unable to fight properly with only one hand free if you use a cane, it is the only sensible option for this Sesshomaru to take" His tone implying that he would not take no for an answer.

"It would not be wise for me to leave, only for you to go and get yourself killed because of your inability to defend yourself." He said, partly to keep her from asking anymore questions and partly to justify his own out of character actions to himself.

After Sango had arrived with Sesshomaru at his home, and she got over the shock of finding out that her savior was none other than the great demon Lord InuTaisho son and Heir to the Western Lands, she decided to stay on at the castle as a servant of Lord Sesshomaru until her debt that she owed to him for saving her life was paid off. Even though he had told her many times that she owed him nothing and it was not required, she had insisted upon giving her service as a matter of her personal honor.

"Of course I still plan on continuing my quest to find my brother and the demon that slayed my entire village" she emphasized to Kagome "It will just have to happen after my debt to Lord Sesshomaru is fulfilled."

"Thank you so much for trusting me enough to share your past with me Sango" Kagome said smiling at the girl and hugging her.

"I do not know why but, even though the only one I have spoken to of my past is Lord Sesshomaru, I feel like I can really trust you" Sango confided. "I feel as if I have known you forever even though it is not my place to say"

"Nonsense" Kagome said smiling. Feeling the same way and happy to have made a friend that she could confide in so quickly.

"While in this room there is no need to be so formal as well, when we are alone I give you permission to just call me Kagome. No, in fact I order you to call me Kagome" She told Sango, smiling as the woman began to shake her head back and forth quickly, eyes widening.

"But I couldn't" Sango began.

"Yes you can and you must" She said with finality.

"Yes my Lady" Sango said bowing her head gratefully and upon seeing Kagome's look quickly corrected herself saying "Very well…Kagome."

As Kagome's smile brightened, Sango could not help the smile that broke out on her own face. After such a long time, Sango finally felt a bit of true happiness, as she felt she had not only gained a great friend but a sister as well.

"We should get you to dinner. I feel we have tarried long enough in this room" Sango laughed, tears in both women's eyes at the joy of their feelings.

"Yes, I do think your right." Kagome said nodding.

Kagome stopped in front of the tall wooden doors that lead to the dining hall to take a deep breath and calm herself. Upon their arrival Sango had left her with only a comforting assuring smile, seeing Kagome's nervousness. Kagome felt like there was a large boulder in the pit of her stomach, after she had left her room, as she thought of the fact that this would be the first time that the royal family would have a full uninterrupted chance to find out about the woman their son was to marry. She was sure that they would have many questions for her and she would be expected to ask many in return. She already knew of one question that she wished to ask, in regards to her room placement in the castle.

Opening the doors she quickly walked in and closed the doors behind her. Turning around she smiled at Lord InuTaisho and Lady Izayoi and nodded at Sesshomaru. She smiled to herself as she noticed that Lord Sesshomaru must have taken her hint and finally come to his senses, or at least had decided to not pretend she wasn't in the same room as him. However, her smile soon faded as she watched the server pull out the car facing directly across from him. She would be unable to avoid looking at him now she thought.

As Kagome made her way to her chair she began to look around the room. It was a big room filled with vases and flowers, and on the walls were portraits of the royal family. There were two portraits in particular that caught Kagome's eye. One was a picture of a beautiful woman with long silver and a crescent moon on her head, Kagome couldn't help but feel that the woman looked strangely familiar. She had never read of a woman ruler to the western lands so she assumed that she must have been Lord InuTaisho's first mate and Lord Sesshomaru's birth mother. Kagome did not know the reason behind the second mating of Lord InuTaisho, as the west kept most of their internal affairs to themselves, hardly ever requesting aid from the other lands. The other was a family portrait of Lord InuTaisho, Lady Izayoi, Sesshomaru and one other demon. This unknown demon was the cause behind Kagome's curiosity. She had heard that the western Lord had one more son other than Sesshomaru, but upon not seeing him when she first arrived at the western castle, that fact had completely escaped her mind.

"I noticed that one of your sons seem to be missing?" She said as she sat down. "I hope all is well."

"Oh yes, Inuyasha is helping some villagers get rid of a group of demons that are blocking their supply route to and from their village." InuTaisho said apologetically. "I apologize that he couldn't be here to welcome you but he should return in a few more days. It was an important matter that couldn't be put off any longer or handled by anyone else."

"Hn" Sesshomaru sarcastically added. 'I could have went but you said it would be inappropriate if I was not here to greet my future mate' he thought bitterly 'the idiotic half-breed is sure to mess up even the smallest of tasks'

Seeing Kagome's questioning gaze at Sesshomaru Lady Izayoi quickly jumped into conversation successfully diverting her attention.

"I trust your rest was very comfortable and your room is to your liking Lady Kagome?" she asked.

"Oh yes it was. I especially liked and enjoyed the bath house" she replied, a look of complete appreciation on her face.

"That's wonderful." Izayoi smiled. "I think we ladies should be able to properly treat ourselves to only the best after finishing our daily duties, and seeing as how we will have a lot of work to do this week, I convinced my Lord you should have room with its own bath."

"Well I am very grateful for your insight my Lady" she replied truthfully. "There was one thing that I was wondering in regards to my room placement Lord InuTaisho" she began and waited for his approval to continue with her question.

Nodding, he let her know that she had his full attention. However the fact that he didn't verbally reply gave Kagome a feeling that she wasn't going to get a real answer from him. She also noticed that even Sesshomaru seemed to be interested in father's answer, which told her that Sesshomaru did not know the reason behind her placement either. Lady Izayoi had quickly diverted her attention back to her food which told her, where she might not know everything, she knew something.

"I was wondering why my room would be placed on the same side as the high ranked royal guards" She continued "Are the western lands in time of war or do you suspect an attempt on my life before the wedding?"

"I thought you said the room was to your liking" Lord InuTaisho asked, eyebrows rising innocently.

Kagome almost sighed out loud as she recognized his attempt to deflect her question, she hated when people treated her as if she were no smarter than a child.

Keeping her smile plastered on her face, she smoothly replied "Yes my Lord it is, but I just assumed that those were the reasons behind it. Why else would I need to be surrounded by so much protection?" she asked, her face implying that she required an answer.

"It is nothing you should concern yourself with my child. It is simply an extra precaution I decided to take during the preceding week of the wedding." He quickly said waving his hands dismissively.

"All due respect Lord InuTaisho I think if it is something in regards to my personal safety, I should be made aware" Kagome said losing some of her patience. She was known to have a very short fuse to go along with her stubborn streak. "I can't help but to feel that you are keeping something from me"

She saw Lord InuTaisho and Izayoi's eyes widen at her straight- forwardness and brash words, and wondered if she had finally pushed her luck too far and met the one person who would not stand for her attitude. 'Well at least if I end up surviving this, maybe he'll finally realize that I am completely wrong for his son' she thought, quickly casting her eyes down at the table.

Actually if Kagome could hear InuTaisho's thoughts she would notice that he found her outburst and powers of observation very pleasing. 'Just the fact that she noticed that there was a deeper motive behind her temporary placement is very impressive. And the fact that she was brave enough to tell me that she suspected me of keeping things from her, tells me that she will be an even greater ruler and match for my strong willed son than I first thought.' If Kagome had been brave enough to tear her gaze from the lines in table cloth, that she suddenly found absolutely fascinating, she would have seen the wide grin that broke out on InuTaisho's face. However, before InuTaisho could reply and let her know there was no reason to regret her words as she only expressing her true feelings, Sesshomaru's voice interrupted him.

"You should learn to be silent and accept when someone tries to do something in which you can only benefit from" He said staring at her coldly.

Kagome head instantly flew up to meet his eyes, at a loss for words as her mind registered his words. However, her silence did not last for long as her eyes slowly narrowed at him.

Refusing to let go of his gaze, she gritted out from between her teeth "Excuse me?"

"This Sesshomaru does not repeat himself" he replied staring back at her "We are now aware of your inability to keep your mouth shut, but this one was not aware that you had trouble with hearing as well."

"Oh believe me, my Lord, there are no problems with my hearing" she quickly said, venom lacing her words. "I simply thought that I must have misheard your word. Surely one that possesses as much wisdom and great powers of hearing such as yourself would notice that I never once said that I was not grateful." "Perhaps it is you not I who has difficulty with his hearing" she finished, smiling falsely.

Practically growling in fury at her words Sesshomaru pushed away from the table standing to look down on her, his chair loudly scraping against the floor. Kagome however, didn't flinch an inch at his actions, silently preparing her miko energy in order to defend herself if need be.

"That is enough you two" Lord InuTaisho said, rising slowly from his chair at the head of the table.

When Sesshomaru showed no signs of standing down his father said "Would you really harm a woman who was simply expressing concern over her personal safety" when his words met nothing but silence he continued "Then sit down."

Tearing his gaze from hers Sesshomaru once again sat, still managing to hold onto his everlasting look of grace and pride, Kagome remarked unhappily. She still refused to look away from him even sometime after he had once again taken his seat. Finally unable to stand his presence any longer, looking at Lady Izayoi and Lord InuTaisho, she said "I must excuse myself" offering them an apologetic smile "I have suddenly found my appetite to be non-existent"

Nodding, InuTaisho allowed her to leave. When her figure finally disappeared behind the door he turned his disapproving gaze onto Sesshomaru, fury embedded deeply in his eyes. "You think I do not know what you are trying to do Sesshomaru. I know that you are purposely trying to run this girl off and I am telling you right now that I want this foolishness to stop"

"Know that there is nothing you can do to prevent this marriage from happening so you best just learn to accept it and attempt to get along with her. There is more involved in this marriage than just you two's feelings" he finished.

Standing and gathering Lady Izayoi from her chair they both left the room, Lady Izayoi offering Sesshomaru an apologetic smile to Sesshomaru over her shoulder.

'There is more behind this wedding than just our feelings huh?' Sesshomaru thought to himself, eyes narrowing as he thought once again on his father's words. 'Well then this Sesshomaru vows that tomorrow he will demand to find out the true reasons behind this troublesome marriage…. and he will receive an answer'

AN: Yes Inuyasha will be in this story will have a fairly big part in this story. Sango has made her first appearance and will also have a fairly big part in this story as well. How? Well you guys will just have to keep reading to find out ;P

I know I haven't said it yet, but I plan on this story being a long one. So if it seems like there isn't alot of action in a chapter it's probably because the purpose of the chapter is to give you information on some upcoming action in a future chapter. Just to let you know :D