A/N: A little Halloween gift to you. I hope that I can actually end it on that date, but the way the story is going, I seriously doubt it. I really hope you enjoy it.

Special Princess

Chapter 1

It had been many years since humans no longer blighted the Earth. What remained now, were their legendary and sometimes mythical descendants. The wars that the humans fought, included the intentions to eradicate their existence, but in the end it only ended in their own calamity. What now remained was what one would consider, a modern world with scant few humans bred in captivity as a zoological attraction; however, that world was now ruled by a caste system and the most elite sat at the very top. Few would meet these elite and return and those that did, never spoke a word of what they had experienced or what they actually were, so it remained a mystery.

At the bottom of the caste dwelt a raven-haired, golden-eyed little girl, whom during her entire existence had hidden her natural form and power to "fit-in" and not gain the scorn of her wonderful little vampire prince Sho-chan, for not being normal. She couldn't remember her mother or father. She couldn't ever remember having them, but the Fuwa's had raised her almost as their own, aside from the fact that they mostly treated her as a servant.

Two sets of horns: one ivory and the other ebony, both sweeping up and back to form what looked like a crown. Two sets of large elegant, leathery, clawed, black wings, covered in spikes and what looked like bony little knives along the edges, adorned her back. A black miasma flowed from her and curled around her lovingly, filled with tiny little, black slithering creatures. A long, whip-like tail, unfurled from behind her. Her slitted, cat-like, eyes glowed a molten gold. Her raven-black hair billowed in an unnatural breeze and her fingernails were now an unnatural solid black like little chips of onyx. Tiny tattoos spread up her arms, legs and neck disappearing under her clothing. Her ears were pointed and her eye-teeth elongated and sharpened like fangs.

Looking at the laughing girl before them, Shoko Aki somehow knew that her vampiric charge had most likely signed his death warrant. Never in all of the lore that had been passed down in her tribe of were-folk, had she ever been told of such a creature and that could only mean one thing, Kyoko was beyond what either of them had ever been exposed to, and her charge was poking a hornet's nest with a stick.

He laughed. "I always knew you were a freak. You think with the way you are, you can ever reach my level?"

Kyoko smirked at him evilly. "I will have my revenge, Shotaro." With her words she hid her true form and turned to leave, just as the security guards from the television station came to "escort" her out.

Shoko turned to Sho and shook her head. "Sho, I don't think that was very wise. I've never seen or, heard of anything like what we just saw. What if..."

He scoffed. "What if what? Nothing's going to happen. She's probably just some lizard-bird freak. Who knows? My parents just found her when she was little. She doesn't even have parents. She's always been part of the lowest of the low." He laughed flashing his fangs in a smile. "I'm not worried. She'll never be above me. You shouldn't be either. It's just all talk. She'll run back home with her tail between her legs and come begging me tomorrow for forgiveness. It's her nature."

Shoko shook her head. "I don't know about that Sho. It didn't seem to me that something like that is likely to happen."

He looked up and glanced out the window of the hall that he and his manager were walking down. It was an old, familiar, long forgotten feeling. An old special scent and energy that he had not encountered for a very long time, almost ten years to be exact. Why after all of these years would his senses remind him of her and the promise between families? It wasn't the promise bothered him, it was the fact that they had all been told that she had perished with her kidnapper in an accident. When they demanded the stone as proof, they had been told that it must have been lost or destroyed. He didn't wish to think of those horrible, dark times.

"Ren? You okay?" Yashiro asked his distracted charge/friend.

He nodded and smiled a smile Yuki knew to be fake. "Just remembering something. It's okay."

Yuki wasn't going to pry. It had taken him quite a bit to get Ren to open up, and confide what little he shared, and he wasn't going to jeopardize that by being too nosy.

She finally entered her apartment, more calm than she was before. She closed the blinds, locked the doors with both locks and stripped off her clothing. She didn't need to hide anymore, he only had one key and besides, he had already seen her true form only hours ago. She let out a deep breath of relief and let her form take over, then spread her wings wide, shaking them out, taking care not to knock over her nick-nacks. She spun around and laughed.

All throughout Tokyo a strong pulse of energy hit. Some would say that it felt like a single strong heartbeat. Others would say that it was a strong surge of energy. Two knew exactly what it was, and it was an energy they had not felt in over sixteen years, the day of her birth. It was an energy they both had thought had been extinguished. A cataclysmic event that tore the pair apart ten years earlier when one of their own had been taken from them by a vindictive nanny. A talented shape-shifter that used her skills to harm an innocent of nobility. Death had been too good for her. Because of her, their little Kyoko had been lost.

~xoxo~

Lory Takarada dropped the controller to his game console when he felt the energy pulse. Had another royal been born? His excitement was almost overwhelming. He smiled with glee, yet he was a little disappointed that no one had informed him. It wasn't like the others to keep such a rare event hidden.

"Grandfather? What was that?" A sleepy-eyed little imp asked while rubbing her eyes tiredly.

He pulled her into a hug. "Something very special Maria. Hopefully we'll be informed soon." He stood with her in his arms. "Now, let's get you back to bed. It's past your bedtime." He kissed her brow and she snuggled into him, then drifted off as he carried her back to her room.

Now that she no longer needed, nor wanted, the large, luxurious apartment, she decided to pack everything up and sell all of his things. She had informed his parents via phone, that he had essentially disposed of her and no longer required her care. His manager had taken on the task. They released her. They no longer had use for her, didn't have a place for her to stay and no longer had the will to feed and clothe her. They had only kept her as a companion for their son. Yes, she did feel somewhat like a stray they had taken in, but now she had the opportunity to do as she saw fit. Just like everyone else.

With this newfound freedom, she quit three of her part-time jobs and rented a room with the nice Kitsune couple that owned the Darumaya. They didn't treat her as a servant, they treated her as if she were one of their own. It felt nice to actually be wanted for being herself. Although, she made it a point not to burden them with her true form. She felt that possibly they wouldn't want her around if they didn't think she was "normal". So to deceive them into thinking she was, she only allowed her teeth and pointed ears to be seen. At least this way, with her new hair color and style, the ass would never recognize her or even know what she was. He would never see her coming.