A/N: Hey everyone! Decided I would give this new story a shot. I've had this idea in my head for quite some time, just need to get it on paper. Also, this story takes place in the Middle Ages. It will also be told from a number of points of views, increasing as the story continues. There is no one main character. Think of it like a "Game of Thrones" Inuyasha version. So yes, this story is rated M.

Each chapter will be in the point of view of someone. This means that some chapters may be longer than others, while others could be rather short. I will try to keep it consistent.

Oh, if you are a Kikyo hater than you might want to skip this story altogether. It won't focus solely on her, but she will be playing a big part and is the character I picked to start this story off.

If you like this story, please check out my other one called "Forget About Me". I will be updating that one while working on this new story as well.

Can't wait to hear your opinions! All reviews, comments, and criticism are welcomed.

And enjoy.

Chapter One

Kikyo

A young girl, the age of fourteen, watched her reflection stare back at her from the bedroom mirror. Her eyes looked sad, as if in a moment's time, she could break down and cry.

Yet her face showed no emotion. Stone cold.

The older woman also in the room started to make her way to the young girl. She wore the typical black gown with a white apron, as all female servants in her home was required to do. Her hair in a bun tied to the back of her round head, she practically skipped over to the young girl with a smile upon her face.

"My, you look as beautiful as ever." The young girl ignored the compliment and continued to stare at herself in the mirror. The woman was but a servant. She was suppose to say things like that. "Now, shall I brush your hair?"

The girl did not respond, but this did not stop the woman. She started from the young girl's left side and began.

When did her hair get so long? She wondered. It had reached well past her chest, almost reaching the end of her bottom. The older woman continued to brush.

"My lady, your hair is as soft as ever. It's no wonder all the Kingdom's maidens are envious of you."

Liar.

No one was envious of her. And if they did, it was only her title that they were envious of.

"Your dress should be arriving any moment." The woman smiled, trying to coax the young girl into conversation. "I heard the Duke himself picked it out just for you!"

The young girl could feel her stomach turn. Her hands, which were placed on her lap, clenched into tiny fists.

The Duke.

He was five years her senior and belonged to the House Onigumo. He was tall, very rich, and extremely handsome. He was the talk of the continent, if not the world. His body was built like an ox and his voice could send any woman into ecstasy with a single word.

All but one.

She could still picture that night three months ago; the cold damp room, the dim flickering light from a candle and the dark hooded figure who had her pinned down on the floor. She could feel his weight push down on her chest as one hand was clamped over her mouth; the other had her hands above her head.

She couldn't recognize the face; it was much too dark for that. His cloak kept hidden most of his features as a safety measure so he could not be identified later. But there was one thing he could not hide.

His eyes.

She could remember the lustful look his eyes had given her, as they traveled up and down her body. She was fully clothed, but never did she feel so exposed to this monster. It was his eyes that gave him away, the thing that told her who he was. She had seen his face so many times before.

He gave a small chuckle as he slowly removed his hand from her mouth.

"Now my pretty, don't make a sound…" The young girl did as she was told, heart racing and begging for anyone to come and find them.

The man slowly took his one free hand and started to rip off her dress. She could hear the material rip as she too, felt her heart do the same.

The man smirked.

"Good girl." She could feel the tears in her eyes start to trickle down her face and fall to the floor, yet the man did not stop. In fact, it seemed like he enjoyed such emotion coming from the young girl. He then proceeded to pull at her corset until, that too, was ripped away exposing her bare breasts.

"This could have been all avoided if you minded your own god damn business."

She so badly wanted to scream. Call out to any of the guards, servants, maids, anyone within distance of hearing her. But instead, she stayed silent. Afraid to move, afraid to even breathe.

She could feel his hand caress her left breast, as his mouth slowly cupped her nipple. She closed her eyes trying to scream herself awake, hoping it was nothing but a nightmare.

But it was all too real.

The man raised his head up and stared down at the young girl, a smirk coming across his face.

"Your punishment has only just begun."

Knock knock.

The sound of the door forced the girl to come back to her senses. Gone were the dark room, the flickering lights, and most importantly the Duke. The older woman stopped her mundane task of brushing the girl's hair and turned around. "Come in!"

The door opened as three younger servants smiled holding onto what the young girl could only guess was the dress wrapped in a brown cotton sheet.

"Ah, it has arrived." The older servant replied happily as she motioned the three younger girls to place the dress on the bed. They laid it gently down and as quickly as they came, they left closing the door behind them once again.

"Oh, shall we take a look?" The older woman asked gleefully, slowly rubbing her hand against the brown sheet.

The young girl did not budge. She was uninterested in the dress, but more importantly she didn't think her stomach could handle it.

"Now child, don't be shy! Come, let us take a look." The woman glided to where the girl sat and linked her arm in with hers as she practically dragged her to the bed.

The young girl tried to fight her instinct to just run away as she watched the servant slowly unwrap the dress with such great care.

The dress looked magnificent. It was white in color with gold lace shaped like flowers on the bottom and around the border of the neck. The sleeves, as per custom, were long and nearly touched the floor. It was wide around the neck as to expose much of her shoulders. A golden fabric belt was laid upon the dress as to fit her properly around the waist. A veil was also laid upon the dress, white and covered in the golden laced flowers around the edges.

The girl could feel a large lump in the pit of her stomach as she felt the urge to vomit right then and there.

"My lady," said the servant, noticing the look of distress come over her young master. "Are you okay?"

She could feel the contents of her stomach coming up. Her body started to shake as she felt the strength in her legs leaving her. She quickly turned and faced the opposite direction of the bed.

"Princess Kikyo" was all that she heard before she fell to the floor on her knees and hands, hot tears she didn't even know she was making hit the floor. She could hear her rapid breathing, as she was trying to think straight and compose herself.

The servant quickly made her way to Kikyo's side and placed her hands on her shoulders.

"Princess Kikyo, should I fetch a doctor?" The woman asked voice thick with worry. Kikyo pushed the woman aside as she took two or three deep breaths.

"I am fine." She replied as she slowly got back up to her feet. "Please, take that thing away."

The servant, still very much concerned over her fallen princess, nodded and went back to the bed to wrap the dress back up.

Kikyo walked back over to the bench she was previously sitting on when getting her hair done, and sat down upon it. She was tired. So very tired.

She pictured the man with a smirk on his face and heard his sickening laughter ringing through her ears as she wrapped her arms around herself. She may never have seen his face clearly, but she knew without a doubt that that man from that night and the Duke were the same person.

It only confirmed her suspicion when only a few short days later, her grandfather was given a request for marriage: The Omnigumo's only son, Naraku for the Royal Family's First Born, Princess Kikyo.

Guess he wanted to keep her close.

It seemed like the perfect deal to everyone else. Omnigumo was a power house family, a family to be feared. Their armies held countless soldiers and they were rich beyond words. Nobody crossed them, not even the Royal Family though her family would tell her otherwise.

Then it was her family. Her grandfather was the King, and because of his age he end would be coming sooner than later. Her father was killed leaving her mother to be a widow, but not before she gave birth to their two daughters. Because of the death of the previous King, her grandfather was forced to take the throne back and leaving Kikyo, the oldest daughter to marry in order for a new King to be established.

Kikyo was uninterested in marriage and her mother tried to push it. Her mother wanted Kikyo to find someone she truly loved, much like she did with her father. But how was Kikyo suppose to find love cooped up in a castle, training day in and day out on how to be the perfect queen for the country?

When the offer came to her grandfather about marriage to the Duke, he was all but thrilled. It was about time she married anyway. She was fourteen, and not getting any younger.

No matter how much Kikyo protested, her words fell flat. Her grandfather accepted the marriage proposal and here she was, three months later.

Just as Kikyo was about to break down and cry, she heard another knock on the door. This time, it seemed much gentler than that of the servants.

Kikyo quickly wiped her face from the tears and jumped up from the bench.

"Come in."

The door slowly opened as a small child peaked into the room. When the female child noticed Kikyo, the door flew open as she sprinted to her, arms wide open.

"Sis!" the young child smiled. "Can you play with me now?" Kikyo bent down and hugged the child before releasing her and staring into those soft innocent brown eyes.

"Kagome." She breathed, thankful for her sister's interruption. It was like a breath of fresh air to see the smiling face of her ten year old sibling.

Though not a big difference in age, Kikyo had long but lost her childlike innocence. She was much more mature than her sister. She had to be. She was the heir to the throne after all. Her life was full of rules and regulations, high expectations, meetings with the counsel, and of course learning to handle the affairs of the people in her Kingdom. She had no time to be a child.

"So can you play now?" asked Kagome, eyes wide and smiling.

"I wish I could Kags, but I can't. I have to meet with grandfather soon and discuss tomorrow's-" She stopped, not wanting to finish. Kagome looked at her sister confused.

"Oh." The child seemed disappointed by her sister's response. "Well, is there anything I can do to help?"

Kikyo felt her heart ache. There was no way she was allowing her sister to be apart of this. He would not be laying a single finger upon her. That she would be damned.

"No, there is nothing more for you to do. You were already such a big help." Kikyo replied, now stroking her little sister's head. "Now go to bed. It's late and we have a big day tomorrow."

The little girl pouted as she stared into her older sister's eyes. "But I'm not tired yet."

"Of course not. But I don't want you to fall asleep during the ceremony."

Kagome laughed. "I wouldn't do that silly." Kikyo grabbed her little sister and proceeded to tickle her as her laughter rang throughout the bedroom. It was such a happy sound.

If only this moment could last forever, Kikyo found herself thinking.

Kagome gave one last smile before she started to make her way towards the door.

"Sis, I am going to be the prettiest flower girl for you."

"You already are." She replied as Kagome ran out into the hall, door slamming behind her.

Kikyo turned and walked towards one of many windows in her room. She opened up the shutters and peered out into her Kingdom. The sun had almost set and the air was cool. She could hear the bustle of the crowd below, everyone doing some last minute preparations for the big day tomorrow.

Again, the man appeared in her mind. It seemed like now more than ever he invaded her thoughts. And soon, he would invade her life entirely.

That's when she heard some voices from below. She had recognized the voices as a pair of maids that worked within her home. She was about to close the shutters when she heard one of them start to talk.

"Hey, did you hear? Apparently another one made the jump."

Kikyo stopped what she was doing and without meaning to, she started to eavesdrop on the women's conversation.

She could hear the second woman gasp.

"Are you sure? Poor lass, the demons must have been too much for her." Demons. Kikyo had heard about these demons from many people around her Kingdom. Apparently people were being targeted by these demons and would slowly lose their mind to the point where they would often commit suicide. The cases of these demons were increasing, especially as of late. When Kikyo had asked her mother about it, she kindly smiled and said, "Demons do not exist child. These people are simply sick and can't think clearly. This is why they often do what they do." Kikyo was unsure about that.

"Who knows," the first woman responded, bringing Kikyo back to their conversation. "But it's starting to get really common nowadays. Makes me worry about my young daughters' at home."

"Oh nonsense, you have nothing to worry about. Your daughters are fine lasses." The second one replied. "But I do wish they would do something about that damn bridge. Seems to do nothing but attract young maidens to their demise. No chance of surviving that fall."

"That's because no one can find the body most times." The first woman added.

Kikyo took a step back from the window and closed the shutters, all but drowning out the voices of the two women down below.

She had heard about this bridge. It was built years before she was born in order to connect their Kingdom to a small island called Marlu, not far from their land. The island was known for having very fertile soil so many of the land's farmers insisted on a bridge to be built in order to access this golden opportunity. As much as it was debated, the bridge was built and farmers were quick to build their homes there, providing a large amount of fresh produce to the Kingdom, doubling the amount they once had.

The problem being, the bridge was also famous for taking the lives of many who ventured out onto it and jumped into the waters below. The water was icy cold, even in the summer heat. The rocks were sharp and the rapids were fierce and relentless. Most who had fallen into the water did not make it back out. In most cases, the water was too dangerous to attempt a rescue, never mind retrieving a body.

Kikyo found herself, for the first time ever, very interested in this bridge. She took one glance at her bedroom door and listened. Nothing.

She grabbed a dark red cloak from her wardrobe and quickly put it on.

She was crazy.

If anyone caught her, she would be severely punished. No princess was allowed to venture anywhere by themselves, especially alone in the dark.

But she didn't care.

Kikyo walked to her door, opened it, and started making her way outside without a single glance back.

The water was vicious. Waves were crashing against the stone bridge. She slowly started to walk across it, still unsure of what the outcome of this would be.

Was she really thinking of doing it?

She continued to walk, taking in the site of the bridge itself. It was indeed old. The cobblestone walkway was full of pot holes from the ware and tear of so many carts making its way across it every day. Each arch on the bridge looked as though it had taken its fair share of abuse from mother nature.

And of course, people from all walks of life walked it, rushing to finish up for the day and return home to their loved ones.

Not one person took notice of the young women in the red cloak walking with no company. She hoped no one would recognize her.

Kikyo walked until she had reached the middle of the bridge. She placed her hands on the side and leaned over to view the wrath of the water below. It was terrifying.

She noticed her hands start to shake, but other than that, she strangely felt herself at ease. She continued to watch the water, trying to think of reasons as to why she shouldn't do it. For every good thing she could think of, the face of the Duke creeped into her thoughts and all but shattered it. She was starting to realize how much the Duke had robbed her of her normal mundane life.

She drew in a deep breath. This was the only chance she had.

If she went through with the wedding and then tried to end herself, the title would already be in Naraku's hands, leaving her family to be under his rein and that she did not want. At the very least, the Kingdom would be forced to wait until Kagome became a little older and have her marry. Kikyo just prayed that it wouldn't be Naraku.

The young princess had forgotten about the time and took a gander around. The pedestrians had dwindled to almost nothing. The sun had all but set behind the horizon, leaving nothing but the darkness. A few candles could be seen in the distance of the houses of her people. The wind was the only thing left to be heard.

She took a deep breath and began climbing the edge of the bridge. She used a stone arch upon the bridge as anchorage to help her up. Once up, the young princess held onto the stones that made up the arch to keep her from falling over.

She wanted to go on her terms, not by accident.

She took another look at the water below. She knew that there was no turning back once she jumped. The idea terrified her, yet filled with her the hope of true escape.

She took a deep breath. She would count down. No turning back now. She had to do it!

Five.

Her grandfather would surely be furious once he found out. The heir to their family committed suicide. She could only hope that this one final act of hers wouldn't destroy her family's good name.

Four.

Her mother. This would certainly break her mother's heart. Not only did she lose the man she loved, but also her first born. Kikyo could only hope that she could pull through her despair much like she did when her love left her to raise their two daughters alone.

Three.

Kagome. Her poor sister would be devastated. Most of their time growing up, they only had each other. She felt the worse for betraying her dear sister, but she could only hope that in due time, Kagome would come to forgive her.

Two.

That monster. Why, even now, did he invade her thoughts as she was about to take her life? Couldn't she even have this moment alone to herself without his presence wiggling its way in, uninvited? She pictured his face, that smug grin of his thinking that he won. And maybe he did.

She let go of the stone arch and moved herself about a foot away from it. There she stood on top of the edge, hands shaking and a look of determination across her face.

This was it.

One.

She took one last breathe before she closed her eyes and fell forward.