My Not-So-Cinderella by Entity of Sorrows

The Servant and the Prince

Chapter 1: The Servant and the Prince

"Kagome! Get your worthless ass up here!!!" Came a resounding cry throughout the Yukihara Manor.

A lovely young girl struggled to get off of the straw matress in the sevants quaters as she hurried upstairs to heed the call. Kagome pushed her onyx black hair out of her crystal blue eyes and re-tied her scarf around her head and smoothed her ragged brown yukata.

"Yes Ichigo-sama?" She asked bowing to the woman standing in the middle of the room that would be her chambers.

Ichigo Mizumai had married her widowed father (the owner of the Yukihara Manor) when Kagome was only 10 and she and her two daughters, Sango and Kagura, moved in with her. Oh, she was nice enough when her father (Lord Kane of the southwestern district) was around but when he wasn't, Kagome was treated like nothing but a sevant. Sango and the older sevant, Keade, were her only comfort in life after her father died in a war the same year. It was raged against the Eatern Lands by Lord Inu no Tashio. The war was won but her father was lost to her forever. Ichigo, having no sympathy for Kagome, immeadiatly stripped her of her title as Lady and threw her down into the servants quaters. Now sixteen, the life of a servant was nothing new to her, but she never stood to be called worthless.

Ichigo looked at Kagome and felt the ever-familiar jealous bile rise in her acid heart. The girl, Kagome, was beautiful, even more so than her own daughters. Damn her. 'But,' she thought smugly, 'there is something I can always hold over her head.'

"I want you to help get Sango and Kagura ready for Lord Inu no Tashio's ball tonight."

"Lord Tashio is having a ball?" she questioned. This was very unlike him.

She knew because she used to love to come to the palace while her father did business with the great Inu Lord. Inu no Tashio was always very kind to her and her mother, even though they were human, and Lady Ai, his mate, was just as kind. Although their sons, InuYasha and Sesshoumaru, were a different story. Kagome bristled with anger at the thought of the cold and distant prince, who had alway riduculed her for being human. Inuyasha though, while a sweet boy, was annoying and rude and brash. She disliked them both terribly, but, she had to admit, that even then, she had had a slight bit of a crush on the older Tashio. She had even given him a small blue stone, telling him to remember her. She figured that he would not keep it, for he had looked at her with those same cold, "Thou foolish mortal" eyes. She shook her head slightly.

"Do I have to repeat myself you stupid girl? You are to make new kimonos. Two kimonos and have them by the end of this week. The formal ball for the choosing of his son's mates is Saturday. You also will not forsake your other chores, understood?"

Kagome nodded and bowed as she left the room. 'Stupid old crone!' she thought angrily. 'Although, I can't imagine who would want to put up with either of the lord Tashio's sons. Poor girls.'

Quickly going to finish her chores she sighed and thought about the old youkai lord. He and his mate were often in her mind and he held a special place in her heart much like Sango and Keade, except like a grandfather of sorts. Gathering up the herbs she had chopped into a basket she sighed again. "Maybe I'll see them at this ridiculous ball."

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"Sesshoumaru-sama! This Jaken has a message for you from Lord Tashio-sama. He says come to him in the study when you are finished training." said the two foot tall, green toad youkai.

"Hn." was all the hansome youkai uttered and Jaken left. Sesshoumaru turned and resumed practicing his parrays and guards. His long, bottock length silver hair swaying with him and his deadly gold eyes stayed on his instructor. Sweat dripped down his face, sliding past double maroon stripes on his cheeks and his hair became matted to his forehead, partially covering the blue cresent moon that resided there.

His eventually bested his instructor and bathed quickly before going to see what his father wanted.

"Yes father?" Sesshoumaru asked opening the door to the study after making sure that his mother wasn't in the room.

"Ah, Sesshoumaru, here sit. I must speak with you about the ball that is coming up."

"InuYasha's birthday? What needs to be discussed, my presence is not demanded." He stated coldly and emotionlessly.

Inu no Tashio sighed. "Which is why I have called you. I have decided to change the ball from simply celebrating Inuyasha's birthday to making it a mating ball. In which you shall choose a mate." Tashio counted off the seconds in his head. '4...3...2...1--'

"What?! Father what were you thinking?" Sesshoumaru roared. "I shall not be objected to those brainless bithering females who dare to call themselves Ladies! They wish only for the throne, which shall not be theirs anyway! So why should I have to choose a mate now?!"

"Because it is your duty! You are the heir to the Western throne and I will not have you breaking tradition! I was mated at the same age as Inuyasha! You, who are far older shall choose a mate at this ball!" Inu no Tashio countered, even more fearsomely.

"If I do not find a suitable female I will not choose." Sesshoumaru said icily.

"Oh, you will my son, because it will go on until you and Inuyasha do."

Sesshoumaru sent a rather nasty glare at his father and quickly left the study, growling all the way. He stormed into his chambers and sighed, his eyes landing on a small blue stone that rested on his desk. It was swirled with different hues of blues and silvers that blended perfectly together.

There was a small human girl who had given him this rock whilst playing with Inuyasha in the river. He was angry that he had to watch them and glared the entire time. Then, a messenger had come and gave the young child tragic news. Her father had died in battle as his was returning. But still all the same, as she left that day, she gave him this small river rock, the color of sapphire. Sesshoumaru couldn't remember her name but that rock she gave him reminded him of the colors of her eyes. He didn't know why he was thinking of her but he found he often times did. 'Perhaps I shall see the girl at this foolish ball.'

~END~

Okay, that's it. What do ya think? Good, bad, ugly? Just tell me. Adios!