Hello to all who were brave enough to click the link to this fanfiction! This is the first one of mine I've decided to post, so, as one might imagine, it is, by no means, perfect. In saying that, any and all reviews would be greatly appreciated. Please do so.

Now, a few notes about the fic itself. The pairing for this fic is Miroku/Sango, with a little bit of Inu-Yasha/Kagome thrown in for good measure. It will be AU, set in a monarchy at about the 1500's, and it will be a series consisting of eight chapters. Chapters will probably be released one a week, though, if I'm feeling inspired ((cough)) reviews ((cough)) I might be able to squeeze out more. Also, please understand that, because this is an AU, there are certain liberties I'm allowing myself to take for the character's personalities. For example, Miroku does not have the Kazaana in this fic, so, as a result, he'll be a heck of a lot more open and optimistic. There are other changes I needed to make for the purposes of this fic, but I'll leave those for you to figure out.

Thanks once again, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Any and all characters from Inu-Yasha are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, and any other person or corporation associated with them. The plot and idea of the short story "The Lady or the Tiger?" belongs to Frank R. Stockton. I, myself, am not writing this story in order to further myself in any way and, as stated, do not own Inu-Yasha or "The Lady or the Tiger?". Please do not sue me. This fanfiction, however, is mine. Do not steal my idea. Thank you.

Day One

Sango strolled through the palace courtyard, sighing heavily. Somehow, the release of air from her tight lungs calmed her and helped to relax her mind. Sadly enough, though, the thoughts running through her now-clear head weren't pleasant at all, but heavy and burdensome instead.

Sango herself was fifteen years old at the time, only a week's breadth away from being sixteen. In her kingdom, sixteen was a holy year; it was the age that the young boys, with their broadening shoulders and still-squeaky voices, were assigned the profession they would perfect for the rest of their lives. Whether it be a blacksmith, baker, or, for a select few, guard of the royal family, once they had accepted the position, there was absolutely no turning back to the lives they once knew.

For the females in her society, however, their coming-of-age ceremony was slightly different. In the weeks that preceded her entrance into sixteen-year-old-hood, men of the same social class as her would court the lady in question, offering to her love and protection for the remainder of her time on earth. On her birthday, the young woman would choose her husband, and the two would be wed, bound together both legally and through their love for one another. Of course, should the girl choose a man undeserving of her, there was a chance that her selection would be overturned by Sango's father, the great King Ouji.

The king himself was naturally a kind-hearted soul. He cared for Sango and his younger child, a naïve boy named Kohaku, well, always encouraging them to learn and grow, guiding the children into the selves they were today. However, only those who knew him well were aware of the ruler's benevolent side. In order to assume the position that he currently held, King Ouji had mercilessly crushed many armies and slaughtered a great deal of people before his foes finally surrendered and handed over their land to him. Even still, he ruled his people wisely and well, though his more nefarious side took hold of him at times, turning the compassionate king into a ruthless leader. Perhaps his internal conflict between his two contradictory sides was the reason that Sango's kingdom had adopted "the system"…

"Sango-sama!" shrieked a high-pitched voice from not too far away. Sango turned, and, when she saw the figure running toward her, waving like mad, groaned. For that person was none other than Koharu, one of Sango's many lady-in-waitings. Koharu had lost her family at a young age, and King Ouji had been kind enough to allow her to live on the castle grounds so long as she was to serve him and his family. From the moment she agreed to that condition, Koharu got right to work, assuming the jobs a woman of her stature normally undertook, such as dressing the princess in the morning, bathing her when she needed cleansing, and keeping Sango company. However, in reality, Koharu would thrust clothes over Sango's head, painfully scrub her back in the bath, and yak her head off whenever she had a free moment in that gossipy, shrill voice of hers. Sango sighed yet again, putting her hands on her hips. "What is it, Koharu-chan?" she said, already exasperated.

Koharu finally reached the area where Sango stood. The lady-in-waiting had to stop for a moment to catch her breath before she could speak. "In... a… half a… hour… someone… will go through… 'the system'…"

Sango's eyebrows shot up. Despite its rather extreme nature, the princess was somehow drawn to the sacred ritual their kingdom practiced and rarely missed viewing it. Reaching out her hand to Koharu, Sango said in a firm voice, "Take me to the arena. Let's see what's in store for the poor fool today…"

Twenty-five minutes later, Sango sat beside her father in an old stone arena in the heart of the kingdom. On her father's other side was Kohaku, and surrounding the royal family on nearly all sides were the most elite guards in the region. After their sixteenth birthdays, these chosen men were required to undergo rigorous training in the dense forests on the outskirts of King Ouji's conquered lands for four years. All who were too weak to pass this brutal schooling were killed, the rest either joining the military or becoming one of the guards that encircled the imperial family now. Of course, this highly-respected position did not come without a few costs; those men on the guard were not allowed to take a wife and couldn't leave the castle grounds without permission given to them personally from the king.

The princess' thoughts of the guards, however, were shaken by a trumpet that sounded from a tower above her head. This noise indicated the start of "the system". The anticipating crowd, which consisted of nearly everyone in the kingdom, cheered as a scrawny-looking fellow entered through a doorway, his hands and feet bound by chains, which clanked along the stone arena's floor loudly. The door the convict had come out of slammed shut, leaving the man facing two more, exactly alike in every way.

What was behind these doors, however, would determine the felon's fate. One door concealed a bloodthirsty tiger, which, should the man choose to open it, would devour him in an instant. If this happened, the on-lookers would have a moment of silence to honor the recently-dead man and leave soon after, his relatives remaining in the arena longer to mourn. On the other hand, should the man open the opposite door, it would reveal a fair maiden the same age as he. From there, a priest would be summoned from the crowd to marry the two, and, from then on, she would belong to him. It did not matter if he was already married or if he did not love her; most who selected this door lived happily with their new "plaything". Sango herself could never understand precisely why this "system", as it was called, was revered so much, nor why she took such an obscene pleasure in witnessing it. However, the entire kingdom accepted it and, though one wouldn't normally think it, the crime rate did go down after it was issued.

What truly puzzled Sango, though, were the contradictions woven into their "system". For example, if the man in question was guilty of the crime for which he was charged and he selected the door concealing the woman, he would be rewarded instead of punished for his actions as one would expect. The inverse was true, as well; if one is accused of a felony he did not commit, why should he die painfully and in front of so many people? Her father told her often, "The main benefit of 'the system' is that one's own fate is in their own hands. If fate is truly inevitable, then the convict should make the correct decision." Still, it didn't seem fair…right?

The trumpeter blew his instrument again, telling the man in the arena to make his selection. There was no way he could have possibly known which door to pick; both were soundproofed by skins, and there were no clues inscribed on the stone doorways to hint as to which room contained which. But if what Sango's father said was true…

"He'll pick the door containing the tiger," said a smooth voice to Sango's left. Though she hated to tear her eyes away from the action, she turned and gasped at the sight. Standing merely a few feet away was a man, back straight, clad in heavily-plated armor and carrying a spear. He was obviously a guard, but one Sango had never seen before. It was no wonder, either; he looked young enough to be new to the force, what with his vibrant violet eyes and pale skin that showed no sign of wrinkle or spot so common to the elderly. Since the criminal in the arena hadn't moved yet, Sango decided to chance a conversation. "W-what?"

The guard turned at the sound of her voice, looking the princess up and down with his dark, dark eyes. He smiled at her—Gods, did he have a nice smile—and whispered, "Look how nervous he is. He has no faith in himself to pick the right door; no trust. That is the key to this 'system' of ours. Trust in conjunction with fate."

Sango, in a voice barely above a breath, said "Fate…" seconds before a cry arose from the crowd. Sure enough, the man had selected the door that held the tiger and, right in front of the expectant audience's eyes, was ripped limb from limb in seconds. During the moment of silence following his death, the princess stole another glance at the handsome young guard she had spoken to. She found him already looking at her and smirking in a way that screamed, "I told you so." For a reason she could not place, Sango blushed heavily.

After another minute, the guards, including the one that stood beside her, were called back to the palace, seeing as their job was done for now. The man with the dark purple eyes turned to go, but not before smiling at Sango yet again. Damn it, and my face just cooled off, too, thought the princess, feeling her countenance turn scarlet again. Why in Kami-sama's name am I blushing so much?

"Sango-chan," called King Ouji suddenly from a few feet away, "Time to go back to the castle."

Sango nodded, lifting the folds of her dress as she carefully got up and turned to go. However, just before she exited the arena, Sango stole one more glance at the carcass of the criminal in the arena and couldn't help but wonder if what that guard had said just now was true.
The rest of the day went uneventful, and, before long, the sky turned as dark as the new guard's eyes. Damn it, Sango, stop thinking about him! The princess scolded herself as she was undressed in her room, finally released from the heavy pink constraint that was the gown she had worn all day.

"Are you alright, Sango-sama?" asked the woman stripping the princess from behind. This voice belonged to Kagome, another one of Sango's waiting maids. She, unlike Koharu, had been taken from her home at a young age to serve King Ouji and become Sango's lady-in-waiting. Kagome was probably the servant—or, for that matter, person—that Sango was closest to, her best friend, if you will. They had always been there for each other, from the moment they'd first met right up to the present day. This fact persuaded Sango to tell her friend what—or, more specifically, who—was troubling her. "Er… Kagome?"

"Yes?" asked the girl in a chipper way. Though her voice was high, it was nowhere near as annoying as Koharu's.

"Did we, ah, receive any new guards to the force lately?"

Kagome closed her eyes and smiled as she undid Sango's corset. "Ah, yes, there is one that I can recall. His name is Miroku. He's the son of a monk, if you can believe it. He just graduated from the military academy maybe a month ago. He's strong, after all, and quite good-looking, too, if I may."

Sango smirked. "You wouldn't be looking elsewhere, now would you, Kagome-chan?"

Kagome laughed. "Oh, no! Trust me; Inu-Yasha is my everything!" Perhaps six months ago, on Kagome's sixteenth birthday, she had wed Inu-Yasha, a rather belligerent fellow on the guard who had a penchant for picking fights. Still, underneath his brash exterior was a soft heart that completely melted when he was around Kagome. Due to the normal limitations placed on the royal guards, a marriage like theirs usually wouldn't be tolerated. However, Sango had managed to pull a few strings for Kagome's sake, and the wedding had proceeded with out further incident.

After a moment of silence, Kagome stopped working. She blinked and, soon after, began to giggle uncontrollably. Sango whipped around, still smiling, temporarily ignoring the fact that she was stark naked. "Okay, Kagome-chan, tell me what's gotten into you."

Kagome fluttered her eyelashes at the princess, giving Sango a looked that plainly stated, "I know something you don't know". After a moment, the lady-in-waiting spoke. "How did you know about Miroku?"

Sango cocked her head. "'Know about him'? What makes you think I know something about him?"

Kagome shrugged. "I know what you're like, Sango. You only bring things up if you know you're going to get a response."

Sango shook her head. True, Kagome was her best friend, but she didn't have to tell her everything. "It's nothing. I was just curious, I swear."

Kagome, still laughing, said, "Do you swear on kishi-sama's life, then?"

Sango partly wanted to bang her head against the wall she was leaning against and partly wanted to slam Kagome's into it. "Yes, yes, I swear." Deciding against both of her previous thoughts, Sango simply let her head fall to her hands. "Just please stop."

Kagome smiled and began to dress the girl. Soon enough, Sango was in her bed clothes and ready to retire for the night. But sleep did not overcome her for quite some time for no other reason that she could not get that guard off of her mind. After they had spoken earlier that day, Sango had murmured the word "fate". However, the reason she had said this was not because she'd agreed that "the system" was governed by destiny. If anything, in fact, she thought that fate was idiotic, an excuse people could point to to explain the inexplicable things that happened in life. Even still, she couldn't help but wonder if there was some intangible force that had brought her and Miroku together, and, with this in mind, sleep overcame the young princess, only seven days away from the rest of her life.

End chapter.

Added Author's Notes:

The name "Ouji" refers to Sango's father. In the animanga, he remains nameless, but, for the purposes of this fic, I gave him a name.

In this chapter and later ones, as well, Sango refers to Miroku as "kishi-sama". "Kishi" is Japanese for "knight", which is basically what the men on the guard are. I made up the phrase "kishi-sama" on the spot as a respectful term to call someone of Miroku or Inu-Yasha's standing. We can't, after all, have Sango call Miroku by his name, now, can we? Well, not yet, at least…

Review, please!