Author's note: While I was reading Cinderella to my little cousins, I realized that it was just too perfect. Witches were always the bad guys and so I wondered what would happen if it was the witch who falls in love with the prince instead. Enjoy and I'll be updating soon!
Title: Once Upon a Time
Chapter: The Job
"On her 18th birthday, your daughter will prick her finger on a needle, and will be in eternal slumber. The evil witch cackled, and disappeared in a puff of smoke." The raven haired beauty slouched her shoulders. "Jeez Buyo, why must fairy tales always depict us witches like this?" Kagome stared at the chubby orange cat. Meowing back, Kagome flipped the page. The room was shrouded with darkness. Numerous spell books lined the shelves of the bookcases. The girl sat on a dark purple carpet in the middle of the floor, where as the cat was perched on top of a couple books stacked next to her. The long black cloak that concealed her figure was clearly too big for her; a big pointy hat with a circular rim completed her look. "Humans are so dim-witted, they all die anyway. They should have thanked the witch for sparing their pathetic lives." As the witch walked to her study, her eyes were focused on the small bubbling cauldron. "The potion of truth is almost done!" She giggled in delight. Although it was her job to end marriages and turn princes into frogs, Kagome knew she had to make a living somehow. "Buyo, the gold we make from this isn't going to last us two days." She sighed, waving her finger in mid-air, muttering mysterious incantations. A scroll suddenly appeared in mid-air, with a list of jobs available and the reward if one was to take it. Taking a feather and lightly dipping the tip in ink, Kagome checked off the job she took; to make a potion for a man who thought his wife was cheating on her. In the blink of an eye, the job disappeared.
"Ka-go-me!" A feminine voice muffled through her room. Not waiting for an answer, another witch suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. Unlike Kagome, her long ebony hair was tied into an elegant ponytail. She wore a long black gown that hugged her waist; blood red ribbons created a crosshatch down her back, revealing her back. The slit from her thigh down to her legs enabled to move freely. The v-neck design added femininity.
"Geez Sango, you could have knocked you know." Kagome stuck her tongue out, "how did the job go?"
"Job?" Sango looked up and pursed her lips together. "Right! Yeah, I gave an apple to some princess and now she's in eternal slumber and all that jazz. It was only thirty gold pieces, how am I going to pay for potion supplies with merely thirty gold pieces?" Sango sighed, taking out her gold pouch. Sitting down next to Buyo, she flipped the bag upside down, letting the gold fall down.
"I paid fifteen gold pieces for the potion I made, and the job was only twenty gold pieces." Kagome sighed, pouring the remaining potion of truth into a small jar. With a small wave of her index finger, the jar fluttered onto the shelf with the rest of the left over potions she made over the years. "I still didn't buy groceries nor pay my fees yet." She groaned.
"Well, with your powers, you can always set up a fortune telling stand in town. Just charge five gold pieces per fortune." Sango giggled, putting all of her gold pieces back in the pouch.
"Fortune telling is a sham, and if those humans find out I'm a witch, I'll be burned at a stake." The raven haired girl replied. "You could do it too, even if you can't sense someone's inner self. Just tell them they'll find a pile of gold at the end of the rainbow and they'll believe you."
A couple acres across town, there laid a certain prince who was certainly growing restless. His silver hair draped against his back as his cheek was perched against his fist. The throne room was adorned with golden portraits and exquisite flowers from across the country. A velvet red carpet paved the way from his throne to the front door. A bright chandelier hung on the ceiling, casting light into the room. Royal guards and advisors stood on each side of the carpet as a young girl entered the palace doors.
"Miroku, how old is she again?" Seshoumaru mumbled to one of his most trustworthy advisors.
"Fifteen. But she is still eligible to be your bride." Miroku sheeplishly chuckled.
Sesshoumaru snarled, this is the 54th girl who came by land or by sea in order to become his bride. So far, none of them interested him. "This will be the last one I will see today. Meet me in the corridors in the back of the kitchen after this. Remember to bring me a change of clothing." Fifteen minutes later, the prince quickly changed into the commoners clothing Miroku quietly slipped under his door. His hair was now hidden under a hat and his royal crest he always carried with him was hidden inside the secret pocket Miroku sown for him inside his shirt. Hiding behind one of the marble pillars, Sesshoumaru waited until his friend gave him the signal that the coast was clear.
"Okay, go." Miroku whispered, just loud enough for Sesshoumaru to hear. Together, they slipped into the dark corridors and out into the royal gardens. "Remember you do have a meeting in four hours." Miroku reminded the prince.
Sesshoumaru took a deep breath as he heard the word 'meeting'. Royal conferences were never his thing. At a young age, Sesshoumaru was taught to put on a mask whenever officials came to discuss politics and upcoming agendas. In reality, he was never concerned with such a thing. Quietly making their way to the marketplace, the two sighed in relief as they finally hit the entrance. "Let's go get us some noodles from your grandmother." Sesshoumaru insisted. It had been a long time since they snuck into town. Ever since his 20th birthday a couple months ago, InuTasho started to invite more and more princesses from faraway lands, hoping that Sesshoumaru will pick one of them and multiply with her.
"Look at the crowd over there." Miroku curiously said, ignoring his friend's hunger. As Miroku made his way through the crowed, Sesshoumaru reluctantly followed him. A throng of people, young and old surrounded the tattered looking tent. "Why is everyone crowded around here?"
"This lady is a fortune teller, and she's accurate!" A young boy pointed to the entrance of the tent.
"It's a sham. Come on, your grandmother is much more entertaining than some old gypsy." Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes.
"Excuse me? Did I hear someone calling me a sham?" A young woman no more than Sesshoumaru's age came out of the tent. Sesshoumaru immediately knew who she was, a poor peasant looking for desperate ways to make gold. Her hazel eyes glared at him, although she was a couple inches shorter than Sesshoumaru. Her long black cloak covered her entire body, and her pointy hat with a round rim screamed the word witch. Then again, everyone in the kingdom knew witches were rare, since his family extinguished them thousands of years ago. "Why don't you come inside and see if it's really a sham or not." Kagome cocked an eye, her hands on her hips.
"I rather not waste my time with peasants, go back to scrubbing pots and pans, woman." Sesshoumaru didn't take a step further. He could see the anger in her eyes. "Also, if I were you, I would get rid of the witch hat. You do know the royal family banished witches in the past century."
Kagome knew she should have never listened to Sango. Then again, everything was going so well if it wasn't for the man with the silver hair interrupting her. People flocked to her as if they were flies attracted to honey. Kagome could easily predict their ambitions. "Look buddy, I don't know who you are but you better get married soon or else your parents will ship you off to some other country." Kagome rolled her eyes.
Sesshoumaru stopped dead in his tracks. "Hey Sesshoumaru, maybe you should.." He could hear his friend's whisper. How the hell did this woman know about his troubles? No one in the town should know about the troubles that go on within the kingdom except for the servants and maids. "Wrong. I am already wedded." Sesshoumaru retorted.
The murmurs of the townspeople started to grow louder. 'There's no way I'm wrong.' Kagome thought to herself. It's either she's getting rusty, or he's lying. "And you!" Kagome pointed to Miroku. "You really should stop courting the woman at where you work at. You're really bad at it."
Miroku's eyes widened as he cleared his throat. "My lady, my charm and words of flattery may make you think that I do court women frequently, however I am married. We have three children and I have a lovely wife."
The whispers of the towns people started to get louder.
"Really? You seem like a womanizer with that face of yours, and you do too." Kagome's glance switched to Sesshoumaru's.
"I'll take that as a compliment. But I am very devoted to my wife. Now, my friend and I are just on our way to visit her. If you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave." Sesshoumaru cracked a smile and jabbed Miroku with his elbow. As the two men left, a throng of people surrounded Kagome, harassing her for their money back.
The spring breeze glided against the tree leaves as Kagome furiously mumbled to herself. "Damn it, next time make sure I don't follow Sango's advice on how to make money." Kagome sighed, as she walked back into the forest with Buyo. Buyo meowed back at the comment. She was now not only broke, but her tent was torn down too. It took her a fairly long time to set up the tent too, since she couldn't use her magic in front of humans. "Those guys, if I ever catch a hold of them alone, they'll wish they have never been born."
Suddenly, the sound of a fresh branch snapping caught her attention. She knew no one comes this far into the forest, especially humans. Witches and wizards usually use an invisibility potion whenever they come across this part of this forest. However, for Kagome's case, she was broke and didn't have enough money to make one or buy one. As soon as she spoke, she felt someone hit her pulse point from behind her. Her consciousness was not listening, as she blacked out.
"So, what do we do with her?" A familiar voice came from the background. Kagome stirred as she slowly regained her senses. Her hands felt awkward when she tried to move them. Then she realized that it was tied to the back of some chair she was sitting on.
"We put her to use of course." Another familiar voice came from the same direction. Kagome gasp. She cursed the bag that covered her entire cephalic area; she couldn't hear well nor see well. Mumbling quick incantations, her hands were free and the bag became less loose on her head. She could sense the men's eyes on her. In less than a second, Kagome let herself loose from the chair.
"If you think I'll work for you, then you're hilarious." Kagome glared at Sesshoumaru. She should have known it was him. However, this time she noticed that his hair is long and silver. His commoner clothes were gone, and instead was replaced with a exquisite clothing, with the royal seal on his cuffs. The other man on the other hand, still wore similar clothing. But, it was still a level up from peasant clothes.
"All I need is whatever you do to tell how a person is like on the inside. We will accommodate room and board, and all you need to do is follow me wherever the prince goes." Miroku cleared his throat, emphasizing the word prince. Kagome rolled her eyes, her arms still on her hips.
"This could be some scam for all I know." She retorted.
"Like you today at the marketplace?" Sesshoumaru smirked.
Kagome quickly pointed her finger at the prince, her face brimming with anger. "IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT. I WAS NOT A SCAM"
"I'll pay you 50 gold pieces a day, you do not have to do anything but just tag along wherever I go—" The second Kagome heard the word 50 gold pieces, her ears perked up. "Well if you're that desperate for me…" Kagome pretended to roll her eyes. Fifty pieces of gold a day can buy her groceries for two entire weeks. Plus, she could pay her school fees. Ever since she graduated from witchcraft school, she had trouble getting her income up.
"From now on, if I step left, you must follow. If I sit, you must sit. You cannot step in front of me, only to my left. Miroku will always stand to my right." Sesshoumaru gestured Kagome to follow him. As they walked past the elegant hallway of the kingdom, Kagome realized he was the real deal. Taking this all in, Kagome's witch senses started to act up. She knew she shouldn't be working with publicized humans, the prince especially. People follow his tail as if there were no tomorrow, especially since he's getting married soon. With a woman next to him every second of the day would cause much speculation. "This is your room." Sesshoumaru stopped in the middle of the chandelier lit hallway. There was a mahogany wooden door, with a steel handle. Once he opened it, a medium sized room as big as Kagome's work station was there along with a small bed. This job isn't THAT bad. All I need to do is to lay low and read the minds of the bratty princess that come waltzing in the castle Kagome thought. Then it hit her, she needed a place to conduct all of her experiments and potion making.
"I refuse to sleep here." Kagome cocked an eyebrow. "I need a smaller room that will be connected to this one, for personal reasons." In other words, she needed a private room to make her potions and such. Plus, if she was working for the prince, she clearly deserves a better room than this.
"Woman, you are working for me. This job is going to pay you more than you could ever make in a month." The prince retorted, shoving her in the room. "I expect you to move all of your belongings here by tomorrow. If you need assistance do not hesitate to contact me." Turning around to close the door, Kagome could still hear his voice. "Geez, acting like a princess when your attitude resembles a witch."
"You have no idea" Kagome smirked, closing the door behind her.
Author's note: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!