Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha *sigh* but in this their personalities are MINE!

Also I do not own Sleeping Beauty.

~*~Mel~*~

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Sleeping Princess

By Golden Mooncat

Prolouge

~*~

Queen Higurashi held her new daughter close, sweat covering her brow as her first

born son, Shippo, looked over at his new sibling. Smiling he picked up his five

year old brother, Sota, so he could see his little sister and mother better.

"This is your sister, Kagome. I want you two to set a good example for her when

she gets older, okay?" the children's mother asked them.

"Yes Mother." the eight year old, Shippo, said.

"Okay Mommy." Sota said smiling down at his younger sister.

"Boys, I think your mother and sister need their rest. Okay? Why don't you go

and play with Miroku and Inuyasha?" King Higurashi asked as he brushed the hair

from his wife's fevered brow.

"Yes, Father." the boys said and left quickly to find their Father's friend's

son and nephew.

"How do you feel, dear?" the king asked of his wife as he made sure that she was

comfortable.

"I feel fine, just tired. Dear, I think we need to have a ball for our first

daughter being born. We had one for both of the boys." the queen said smiling.

"Absolutly, in two nights time, it will be known that Princess Kagome shall be

betrothed. Now to whom..." he said with a smirk as he left to find his friend,

King Inutokai.

"Thats your father dear...Kind of a scatter brain at times. But he's always

good." the queen said as she held her daughter close to go to sleep.

~*~

"Ah, there you are my good man." King Inutokai said as he pushed his long silver

mane of hair from his face, his eldest son, Sesshomaru at the age of twelve mimicking

him.

"Ah yes. You know my wife had our daughter today?" King Higurashi said smiling, his

forest green eyes flashing slightly.

"I thought I could smell a new addition." the youkai king said, his amber

eyes darting to Sesshomaru who was copying everything his father did, wanting to be a

king like him one day.

"Yes, she looks just like her mother too. The same bluegrey eyes." Higurashi

said with a smile.

"Are you having her too betrothed?" the youkai king asked, remembering that Shippo

is betrothed to Kirara, Sota to Kagura, and Sesshomaru to the human king's neice

Rin. Miroku was to be betrothed in a matter of days to a Princess in the western

side of the country named Sango. Inuyasha was yet to find someone to become betrothed

to.

"Yes, I just can't seem to think of whom she should become betrothed to..." the king

trailed off as his bait was taken.

"Inuyasha and the child shall become betrothed. I think that that shall make it a

very gainable union. Don't you agree Higurashi?" Inutokai asked while Sesshomaru let

his unemotional mask slip as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

'Of course he agrees father. Did you not see the way he was baiting you to marry off

the half-breed whelp to his human daughter? And I call you my father...' Sesshomaru

thought to himself as the aforementioned whelp went over and bit his older half-brother.

"Die whelp!" Sesshomaru cried out as his claws started to cast an unsettling green

color with his poison.

"Sesshomaru!" Inutokai growled out, his amber eyes flashing red as he nearly lost his

own control.

"Father." was all Sesshomaru said in apology and Inuyasha grinned, having gotten his

older half brother in trouble again.

Inuyasha walked back over to his cousin, Miroku, who even at the age of three was being

a lecher with the nurses they were set with. Inuyasha looked away from the human cousin

as he looked up his nurse's skirts once again.

"Miroku!!" the nurse screeched and Inuyasha pinned back his doglike ears at the sudden

noise.

"Yes ma'am?" the boy said with an innocent grin on his face.

"Inuyasha! Miroku!" Shippo called out to the younger boys who looked over as the elder

two boys ran over to them.

~*~Two Nights Later~*~

The ballroom looked magnifacint, the walls were covered in beautiful green, gold, and red

tapestries. The long elegant tables were covered in beautiful red silk. The china and

silverware was gold in color and was set according to each person's hand.

The two Kings sat next to eachother at the largest table in the center. Queen Inutokai,

who was human despite some of the youkai's in the Kingdom's displeasure, and Queen

Higurashi sat on the free side of their husbands. Next to the queens were their children

in the order of their age, oldest to youngest. Sesshomaru sat on his half-mother's right

side with Inuyasha on his right. Next to Queen Higurashi sat Shippo and then Sota while

their was a small crib before the table that held the new addition to the Higurashi royal

family.

Every Miko in the two kingdom's were invited, all but one that is. The dark Miko named

Kikyo.(A/N: I CAN'T STAND KIKYO! So for all of those Kikyo lover's out there I'm sorry

I have to disappoint you, but I think this is a pretty good part for her. Besides, I don't

think that Naraku would really be upset for not being invited to a feast for a human Princess.)

Each Miko was to present a gift to the Princess, may it be a spell for good luck during her

years living or a small talisman.

When Kikyo found out that there was to be a ball for the new Princess and she hadn't been

invited she became enraged. She had grabbed up her walking staff and stormed off to the

Palace where the ball was to be held.

(But back to the story)

Kings Inutokai and Higurashi stood before their two kingdoms and held a small peice of

paper that held the document for the new betrothal of two of the royal families. After a

long, and rather boring, speech about uniting their two kingdom's in peace the two Kings

told of who was to be betrothed to the new Princess.

"Prince Inuyasha of the Inutokai family shall become the husband to the Princess Kagome

of the Higurashi family." the two Kings said smiling.

Once the applause died down Inutokai handed his youngest son a box containing a necklace

to give to the Princess who was four years younger than himself. As the silver haired

young man approached the crib he could feel every set of eyes in the ballroom watching him.

Taking a deep breath he set the box down at the foot of the crib and looked at his bride-

to-be.

A set of bluegrey eyes stared back at him with a small smile on her face. Kagome noticed

something atop of his head and watched as it twitched, her hands reaching for the ears as he

bent down to open the box. The young princess's hand closed around his ear and she started to

rub the soft furr.

Inuyasha had just bent to open the box containing whatever it was that he was to give to his

future wife when he froze. Something had a hold of his ear that had been twitching atop his

head. Feeling that something begin to rub his ear he felt something strange bubble up in his

throat, threatening to come out loud if he didn't relax a bit. Once he relaxed somewhat

Inuyasha could hear someone chuckle as he purred not unlike a cat.

"Stop it." the young Prince said, his small clawed hands tightening on the box he held like a

lifesaver in his hand.

A small giggle reached his ears and he felt the Princess's hand drop from his ear. Relaxing a

bit he opened the box and gasped at what he saw. On a chain lay a pink jewel that looked almost

like glass. Fingering the chain he carefully placed it around Kagome's small neck where she tugged

gently on it.

"Princess Kagome Higurashi, I am Prince Inuyasha Inutokai." Inuyasha said as he watched the girl

tug on the necklace for fun.

"Mikos, approach with your gifts." Queen Higurashi ordered gently.

Inuyasha scurried back over to his seat and avoided his brothers claws as he watched the Mikos

approach his future wife. One by one a Miko would approach, state her name and then her gift

to the Princess. Just when the last Miko approached the Princess to state her name the doors

to the ball room burst open and there stood a pissed off Kikyo.

"Leave witch! You are not wanted here!" King Higurashi said as he and Inutokai jumped to their

feet.

"I have simply come to bestow a gift to the new Princess Kagome." Kikyo said, her black mikos

robes billowing out behind her as a dark wind circled around her.

"No!" the only Miko left said sheilding the Princess with herself.

"Down old woman." Kikyo said with such a deathglare it looked like the elder Miko might die right

then. "It is just a gift."

"Leave!" King Higurashi said again but was ignored.

"On her sixteenth birthday she shall be lovely indeed, her hair a raven color so dark that it shall

be as black as night. Her eyes, an intense bluegrey, will seem to stare right into your soul. Her

lips a red that shall not need any paint for they will be the color of roses red. Her skin shall

also be the color of cream, so fair. The voice she sings with shall be calm and beautiful, yet there

also shall be a curse. On this same birthday she shall be drawn to a Koto where she shall strum her

fingers across it until she draws blood. The second she does that the magic covering the Koto's

strings shall enter her system and she shall die instantanioulsy." Kikyo said before laughing manically

and disappearing in a flash of black light.

"No! My baby!" Queen Higurashi cried out and fell to the ground in a heap from being upset.

"I shall take her up to her chambers." Queen Inutokai said, standing and lifting up her friend's

unconscious form, with the help of her Chamber Maid, and taking her to her chambers where she was to

get attention.

"Your Highness!" a Miko called out from the crowd that had jumped to their feet when Kikyo entered.

"What is it Miko?" Inutokai asked, while watching after his wife.

"Miko Kaede still has her gift to bestow. She cannot undoe the curse, but she can help." the same

Miko said glancing at Kaede.

"Is this true Miko?" asked King Higurashi, desperate to do anything to help his daughter.

"Yes," Kaede said, bowed a bit and then went to the young Princess who had now started crying.

"My Princess, I am Miko Kaede, and my gift to you is that the magic in the Koto shall not kill

you, but merely put you into a deep sleep. Such a sleep that the only thing to wake her shall

be true loves first kiss." the elder Miko said, her heart feeling heavy as to the fact that

she felt she could do no more than that to protect her new Princess.

Princess Kagome seemed to take that as a good thing and silenced her crying almost imediatly.

Prince Inuyasha walked over to his future wife and carefully picked her up into his arms and

stared down at her, thinking that she would be safe. Kaede suddenly remembered that Kikyo

had her younger sister, Kanna who could tell her everything she ever needed to know. Rushing

over to the King Higurashi she explained quickly that the only way to keep the Princess safe

would be for her to take the child and protect her with only a slight bit of magic.

At first the King was a bit reluctant to let his only daughter be taken away from him and his

wife after they had been trying for so long to have a daughter. But after remembering that it

was the only choice for his daughter to live to see her sixteenth birthday she would have to go

with the Miko. Striding over to Inuyasha, he picked up his daughter, kissed her forehead and

handed her to the Miko. King Inutokai sighed, knowing what was going on, he went over to the

Miko and pulled the necklace from around Kagome's neck but couldn't pull it free of her tiny

fist.

"I'll give it to her on her sixteenth birthday. And that is when I'll tell her about what

happened. Your Highnesses." Kaede bowed and went to let Queen Higurashi say goodbye to her

daughter before she left with Kagome to a cottage somewhere in a forest far into the youkai's

kingdom, a safe distance from the Palace.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thats it for this chapter. Oh and for those of you who don't know what a Koto is, its a

Japanese instrument with 13 strings that you pluck like a guitar to make music. There is

also bridges on each string so that if you want to change the pitch of the music you just

move the bridges. Don't really ask me what it looks like, I'm just saying what I remember

from my encyclapedia, that doesn't have a picture.

~*~Mel~*~