Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Authoress' Note: thanks so much for the amazing feedback I got for the last chapter, you guys are amazing!

Living on a Prayer
Chapter Seventeen

It took three weeks before Sesshoumaru chose to leave his chambers. After three days of refusing to see anyone other than Kagome and the doctors, he chose to let Miroku and Inuyasha into his chambers so they could tell them the status of his city state. The death of the Spartan King was on everybody's mind and lips, as rumors regarding the manner of his death floated around all of Greece.

Sesshoumaru was worried that the Spartans would retaliate and attack Athens, and with the emperor out of commission – and without an arm – Athens would surely fall. But his fears were quelled as the weeks passed and there was no news from Sparta and he prayed it was because the gods took the need for revenge from the minds of the Spartan nobles, knowing he would not have been able to handle a war in his current state.

He was truly effected by the loss of his arm, not having realized how much he used his non dominant hand and having an immensely hard time compensating. Kagome was there every step of the way, urging him to get out of bed and walk around to get his strength back, helping him eat and write messages and to boost his spirits. He was not proud that he was depending so much on others, especially a woman, and Kagome knew that and was sure to only help him when he needed it the most, wanting him to be able to do things on his own.

What Sesshoumaru was proud of however, was that he kept the promise he made to Kagome. They ate dinner together every night, sharing light conversations as they ate and enjoyed each other's company. And he found that the more and more he opened up to her – although he was determined to still keep some semblance of his emperor exterior – the more happy she seemed living in the palace. No longer did he see her walking around with a frown on her face or looking depressed, she now always greeted him with a smile and seemed to almost float around the palace, lifting the spirits of everyone around her.

Preparations began for the wedding, knowing that this time Spartans were not going to be around to ruin it. It would be the first time that Sesshoumaru would appear to his people and reveal the fact that he was missing an arm. He feared for their loyalty but Kagome (along with Miroku and Inuyasha) assured him that they would stand by him as their emperor no matter what.

**

"Sesshoumaru, Kagome is ready and waiting for you" Inuyasha said, walking into his half-brothers rooms where he was getting dressed for the wedding ceremony. They were skipping the formalities this time around, having done them previously. Both of them just wanted to have the wedding done with and after asking the gods permission to forgo the formalities and sacrifices they decided to proceed and just have Miroku, as the high priest of Zeus, marry them in front of the court.

Sesshoumaru turned as Inuyasha walked into his room, dressed all in white, just as Sesshoumaru was. The robe the emperor was dressed in made his missing arm less obvious and he was grateful for that, but it was still a noticeable trait. He stared at his reflection for a moment in silence as Inuyasha walked closer to him, placing a hand on his half-brother's shoulder.

"Your people love you. Not for how many arms you have, but for how you govern them." He said sincerely.

"I certainly hope you're right Inuyasha."

"I am. Now let's go, Miroku and Kagome are waiting for you."

The two left the rooms together, walking towards the main audience hall of the palace where the court was gathered for the ceremony. They walked into the room and instantly all eyes were on them, especially Sesshoumaru – who had been in hiding for a month prior. The emperor instantly heard whispers as he walked down the makeshift aisle towards where Miroku was standing, wearing the white robes of the high priesthood. He took his place in front of Miroku and Inuyasha stood to his side.

Sesshoumaru took a breath to regain his composure before turning and addressing his court, holding his arm behind his back as well as the sleeve of his robe, to further the illusion that he did in fact have two arms.

"I would like to thank you all for coming here today" He began, his voice strong and regal, "After what happened the previous time I attempted to wed I am surprised that you all had faith this time it would go off without complications."

There were a few uneasy laughs from the assembled group before Sesshoumaru continued speaking, "I know that there has been some talk about my absence the past few weeks and I am here to set the record straight before I am to marry. As you all know, my future bride was taken from me a little over a month ago and I went to Sparta to reclaim her. I was successful in my mission, but something was taken from me as I reclaimed my bride from Sparta." At this he released the sleeve of the robe and pulled his arm in front of him, revealing to all that he did not have a left arm. "As I fought for Kagome's freedom, I sustained a great injury to my left arm. The doctor's were able to save my life but in order for me to live I had to give up my arm. I pray that you will stand behind me even though I have this new handicap, and if any of you doubt my governing power I will assure you all that I will overcome this and be a stronger emperor that I was before. I will have an empress and she will be my left arm. So I ask you all to maintain you loyalty to me, here on the day of my marriage."

The room was silent for a moment before a roar of applause swept through the building, a symbol to Sesshoumaru that his people still stood behind him. A tiny smile crept across Sesshoumaru's face as his faith in his people was renewed.

"I thank you." He said, nodding to the people, "Now I believe that my future wife has been waiting long enough." He turned to face Miroku, nodding to his friend to begin the ceremony that Sesshoumaru had been waiting for months.

The doors at the end on the hall opened and Kagome walked in. she was wrapped in his mother's veil that she had saved from Sparta. Underneath he could see she was dressed in a long white gown and her long black hair was curled atop her head, a white cord wound throughout it. She walked down the aisle until she reached Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, taking her place in front of Miroku at Sesshoumaru's side.

"We are here in the presence of Zeus and the pantheon of the Gods, as well as in the presence of the court of Athens to join our emperor, Sesshoumaru with Kagome, former priestess from the temple of Artemis. Sesshoumaru, do you take Kagome as your empress, til death do you part?"

Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome, marveling in how beautiful she looked, even under the veil, and cracked a smile that only she could see before answering Miroku with a confident, "Yes."

"And Kagome, do you take Sesshoumaru as your husband, as long as you both shall live?"

Kagome smiled at Sesshoumaru brightly, "Yes, I do." She responded before Sesshoumaru reached forward and pulled the veil away from her face.

"Very well. By the powers vested in me as the high priest of Zeus, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride."

Sesshoumaru leaned forward and placed his lips gently against Kagome's in a chaste kiss before pulling away and taking her hand in his own.

"May I present to you, the Emperor and Empress of Athens" Miroku said enthusiastically as the two walked out of the room, towards the room where their dinner would be held. They walked down the hall hand in hand until Sesshoumaru pulled her into his – now their – chambers.

"Your highness, we are going to be late to our own wedding dinner" Kagome said as she followed him back into his bedroom.

"Kagome, you are my wife now, you are no longer allowed to call me "your highness" all right?"

She nodded, "Sorry, it is the force of habit I suppose. But why are we in here?"

"I wanted to give you something. I want you to wear it to the dinner." He said, motioning for her to come closer.

She approached him excitedly, eager to see what he had for her, to see that in his hand he held out a gown of deep burgundy – her favorite color.

"It's beautiful." She said, taking it from him and quickly leaving the room to change. When she returned Sesshoumaru was awed by how beautiful she looked, the veil was folded and placed on the bed and she adjusted her hair to perfection as she smiled at him.

"You're wearing the necklace I gave you," he said, realizing that she was indeed wearing the large diamond necklace he had given to her when he first brought her to the palace. Her hand went up around her neck, gently touching the necklace.

"I love it."

He smiled at her, a real smile, causing Kagome to smile ear to ear as she reached out her hand, taking his in hers as they exited the chambers ready to go and see the court for their wedding feast.

"Are you ready to face your people, empress?" He asked her.

She laughed lightly, "As ready as I'll ever be, husband."

**

Authoress' Note: And that my loyal readers, is the end. If enough people want an epilogue I will be more than happy to write one, it will be about a year or so into the future. I hope you've enjoyed the wild ride this story was and I'm glad that so many people have stuck by me even though sometimes I would go months at a time without updating so thank you so much! You guys were the reason why I kept going.

Now I have decided that I am only going to update one story at a time and I want you guys to choose which story I work on next! So in your reviews (which I hope you all leave) let me know what you want me to start updating next!